MP3 Player
Remember the MP3 player I bought? Listen to this. I was at work Friday. I had just walked in from the bus stop. I get to my office. I grab the MP3 player, having listened to NPR on the whole way in, and try to turn it off. That sounds simple enough. But, wait. The light is still on. The drive is running. I can feel the ever so slight vibration. That should not happen. None of the keys respond. The thing is locked up. Nothing seemed to work, so I though it in my bag and got on with my life. Eventually the battery wore down. I charged the device back up and it seems to be working again. That really pisses me off. Stand alone devices should not lock up. They should be exhaustively tested and rendered reliable. I bet the frigging iPod would not have done this.
The whole interface on this thing just seems "hokey". It just feels like some one threw it together on a weekend for pocket change. It was cheep, but it shows. The drive capability seems to work great. The music plays with no skips. The unit seems sturdy enough. The buttons work OK. They are kind of funny feeling. There is no way to run the device without looking at it. When it licks up, it isn't worth a dime. I have to recommend that people pass on this one.

Saturday
Well my appointment helping some one fix their computer has been moved to tomorrow. I went out with some friends this afternoon for lunch.
Ever-Crack
The talked extensively and obsessively about Ever-Crack 2. The could not help themselves. They tried talking about work. Soon enough, we found our way back to Ever-Crack. They tried talking ab out food. We worked our way back to Ever-Crack. One of my friends said something like "Kelly should have known this was going to happen." Like I care. They all seem to have fun. They want me to become as immersed as they are. I just can't bring myself to play those games. If you don't go the extra mile of doing out-of-game research, you will be stomped in the virtual world.
After lunch
I am burning some data DVDs. I'm watching some old X-Files episodes. I don't have to go to my friend's place to fix her computer now. I don't know what to do with myself. I suppose I'll keep up the good work.

New Computer
I keep hitting Dell's web site looking for deals. Over the Thanksgiving break, Dell was running an offer that basically threw in a free flat panel monitor. It was pretty close to the computer I'm looking for. Dells are so expensive for the numbers. They make great machines. I recommend them all the time. I missed the deal over Thanksgiving. Now, the prices have gone up. What is a geek to do? I hate buying off the shelf. I want "my" computer. I'm tired of building them. I always manage to get lazy and screw it up somehow. The ones I build always run hot, or develop a legion of gremlins. I'm going to wait until Dell runs another sale.