Some time ago, a Dell Optiplex GX280 was donated to me through my office. I brought it home and installed it for the kids to play on. It's actually spec'd out very nicely. I turned it on, and it sounded like a huge jet preparing for takeoff. After it started booting, though, the fan inside calmed to respectable level.
And then I fired up "Battlefield 1942." Yes, the gamers out there will scoff, I'm sure, but my kids and I love playing the game. Tyler likes to help kill off the baddies (or me if he chooses the other side) and Emily likes to fly the planes. You have not lived until you let a six-year old fly a plane in a game.
The computer's fan(s?) started up and I couldn't hear myself think. It was so loud, you couldn't hear the game. I quickly shut the game down, and started poking around the Internet. Sure enough, the GX280's are notorious for being loud as it was Dell's first real foray into 'liquid-cooled' cases. Funny, I thought liquid-cooled meant NO FANS. WRONG! The fans they use are set up to suck the air out of the case, rather than blow cool air across the chips. Stupid design. Stupid free computer. Well, unless I buy a heatsink/fan for it. Frankly by the time I do that, I can just get them a new gaming machine.
This is one 'gift horse' that will go back to the company that 'donated' it... Pronto!
Nov 10, 2008
Nov 9, 2008
Nov 8, 2008
Roadkill Bingo - seriously! And other "gifts"
I have no idea what led me to the Roadkill Bingo Company (here), but if you want something to help pass the time while driving.... Here you go...
Need a gift for the person who has everything? Or you just want to freak people out? Here ya go... A "Saw Puppet" mini voice recorder... Yeah, it's kinda weird, but kinda cool.
You say the memo deal was not for you? How about an upright gaming system like in the 'old days?' Yeah, you can get the one below that has 12 Midway classic arcade games in one machine. Cost? About $250 or so... Not a bad gig if you like low-res, easy-to-play retro games... :-)
Ned a flash drive, but don't want to look like everyone else? Well, why not add a little more cash to the Hannah Montana coffers?
And, of course, if you'd rather just have a plain old thumb drive, there is always this little gem:
And, last but not least for today... If what you really want is a woodie:
Yes, USB drives made out of wood... Now, why didn't *I* think of that!?
Hello?? Is thing on?
Okay, my Aunt is one of those bloggers that posts when she is able to take a breath. She's got a lot of interesting ideas and puts a unique perspective on many things. But, for whatever reason, I can't comment on her posts. When I try, I get a rejection notification that her account is not valid with adelphia. I'm sure it's as an Adelphia thing.
So, her most recent post is about the fact that Obama is *NOT* the first black President-elect. He is, in fact, BI-RACIAL. Top that off with the way most schools deal with bi-racial students: They are given the race of their mother.
Of course, I think the fact Obama is bi-racial should actually lead to MORE equality and unity, rather than less. Then again, I don't think it really matters in the long run, anyway.
I told a couple of colleagues my take on his Presidency: He will make things "look good" for four years and get himself re-elected. Then the first three years of his second term will also be filled with false "goodness and groovies." Then, the last year will show the truth of the legacy and life will fall apart in ways we have never seen. But, that's just my two cents. :-)
So, her most recent post is about the fact that Obama is *NOT* the first black President-elect. He is, in fact, BI-RACIAL. Top that off with the way most schools deal with bi-racial students: They are given the race of their mother.
Of course, I think the fact Obama is bi-racial should actually lead to MORE equality and unity, rather than less. Then again, I don't think it really matters in the long run, anyway.
I told a couple of colleagues my take on his Presidency: He will make things "look good" for four years and get himself re-elected. Then the first three years of his second term will also be filled with false "goodness and groovies." Then, the last year will show the truth of the legacy and life will fall apart in ways we have never seen. But, that's just my two cents. :-)
Nov 6, 2008
"We ain't gotta listen to you no mo'!"
That is a direct quote from one of three students in one of the districts I serve. They were speaking to a teacher who had asked them why they were in the hall and told them to get back to class.
Yes, the teacher was white and the students were black. The conversation also included many cuss words from the students, along with other related tidbits. Among those tidbits was the phrase becoming more and more popular, "it's OUR time now."
Perhaps the scariest thing said was, "You'll get yours... I'm gettin' paid, and you'll get yours..." Make no mistake. This was a threat.
A colleague said that now Obama is going to be President, we have finally leveled the playing field. Now, there is no excuse for anyone, any color, to say they can't do this or can't do that. I agree. Unless it is disrespectful or breaks the law. That applies to EVERYONE.
I don't care what color you are, where you live, what you have gone through, what you have been taught in life: You will get nowhere fast if you are disrespectful. You think Obama got where he did by acting like a fool and showing disrespect? No. He followed the rules - got an education, ran for Senate, learned and taught, then ran for the highest office in our land. There are rules you live by. There are rules WE ALL live by.
Another colleague (for the record, a black woman) said this about the incident: "We black folk cannot stand to see another one of our own kind get more than us, do better than us. We are the first ones to reach up and grab his ankles and drag him back down. Blacks is a jealous people, killing each other, putting each other down. Obama's undoing will be by black folk, not by whites."
For the sake of America, for the sake of American history, I hope she is wrong.
Yes, the teacher was white and the students were black. The conversation also included many cuss words from the students, along with other related tidbits. Among those tidbits was the phrase becoming more and more popular, "it's OUR time now."
Perhaps the scariest thing said was, "You'll get yours... I'm gettin' paid, and you'll get yours..." Make no mistake. This was a threat.
A colleague said that now Obama is going to be President, we have finally leveled the playing field. Now, there is no excuse for anyone, any color, to say they can't do this or can't do that. I agree. Unless it is disrespectful or breaks the law. That applies to EVERYONE.
I don't care what color you are, where you live, what you have gone through, what you have been taught in life: You will get nowhere fast if you are disrespectful. You think Obama got where he did by acting like a fool and showing disrespect? No. He followed the rules - got an education, ran for Senate, learned and taught, then ran for the highest office in our land. There are rules you live by. There are rules WE ALL live by.
Another colleague (for the record, a black woman) said this about the incident: "We black folk cannot stand to see another one of our own kind get more than us, do better than us. We are the first ones to reach up and grab his ankles and drag him back down. Blacks is a jealous people, killing each other, putting each other down. Obama's undoing will be by black folk, not by whites."
For the sake of America, for the sake of American history, I hope she is wrong.
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