So Little, Yet So Much

It is extremely difficult being a nerdy goof that loves techie things when you are on a tight budget. You begin to try and find the simplest of gadgets to feed your addition. For example, I recently got a pen with a laser pointer at a conference. I play with it almost every day, as my coworkers who sit near me will testify.

However, recently, one person's misfortune proved to be my gain. As many have read, Circuit City is closing their doors. As a result, they are liquidating inventory. Now, typically, when a company liquidates, it means they mark everything up 20%, then take 10% off. But occasionally, you will find a deal.

Last weekend I found a deal!!

I have been planning to save for a real cool new laptop...a Macbook Air. But, as Chris will testify, I am not strong on discipline. In fact, I am incredibly weak.

So, last week I decided to stroll through the local CC to look for any bargains. As I walked around the PC's, trying out some HP's with 8 freakin gigs of RAM, I happened upon a small laptop. In the news, these are called Netbooks. This one was from Lenovo, had 1 gig of memory, a 10.2" screen and a 160 gig hard drive. Pretty descent numbers.

I played with it for a while, then walked away. Out of sight did not translate into our of mind. I ended up spending about 3 hours that night seeing if the price was a good deal. To my surprise, the machine had good reviews, and was marked down about $65....likely because it was an open box model.

So, a day later I went back to CC to try it out some more. Since it was still there, I was able to give it a few WHW tests (tested things such as Paint, spelling Shell Oil with the calculator, and made sure the sound worked). Then I walked away again.

Next work day, a coworker, at my request, brought in their netbook (a different brand, but a similar machine). I tried it out again (this one had been loaded with Windows 7). Again, very pleased with the response, the display, and the overall convenience of it.

Next day, I went to lunch with my wife and three of our kids. I let the kids pick a restaurant, and they picked one across the street from the Circuit City!! As we ate, I explained what a great deal it was to everyone (not directly approaching the keeper of Quicken for our family). All seemed in agreement that I should buy the laptop.

So, after eating I made the big buy!! The machine is extremely cool. When coupled with my Flip Camera, I now possess enough neat techie stuff to last at least through July.

Here are some pics of my new laptop:

My new laptop next to my old workhorse (same memory in both, the new one has larger hard drive)




Here's my new on sitting on top of my old one.



Here is my new one, in all its new glory.....

Nerd Analyzer - The Explanation

Some might think I dedicate a lot of time thinking up goofy things like my last post. However, this typically isn't the case. In a Television and Stuff exclusive, I am going to explain why I came up with the Analyzer. Then, you will all know "The Rest Of The Story".

I like electronic gadgets. Not sure if its a guy thing, a techie thing, or a WHW thing. Anyway, I recently purchased a cool little gadget, the Canary Wireless Detector. Here is a pic of it....

The idea behind this is that I can be anywhere and with the push of a button see any wireless networks in the area along with if they are open or secured. Pretty cool, isn't it (Those of you with Noint totals over 300 are probably googling this right now :).

When I got it, Mrs. WHW gave me a couple funny looks, but said nothing. Then, recently, as I was walking Spike I decided to take it along. I wanted to see where all the wireless networks are in my town. I'm not planning on using any of them...I'm just nosey. It is also cool to see what some people name their wireless networks. I have see "F*** Off" and "GetYourOwn" as creative names.

Anyway, upon coming in from my nightly walk with Spike the other day, I eagerly (almost child-like) told Mrs. WHW about the "F' Off" network near by. She asked how I knew about it. When I told her, she stared for a couple seconds and said, "You are such a nerd!".

Ouch.

After trying to debate her for a few minutes, I decided to write the Analyzer and see if she was right. Now I need to tweak it so I am right.

All I Need Is Tape Between My Lenses

Websters defines Nerd as "an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits ". Hmmmm...slavishly. That sounds cool.

Since I'm not sure what this means, I am unable to determine if I do, in fact, qualify as a nerd. So, I decided to come up with "The Nerd Analyzer". It is a simple set of questions with Nerd Points (or Noints). Total them up at the end and see where you stand.

The Nerd Analyzer

1. Do you own any Star Trek memorabilia? (add up all that apply)

• No - 0 Noints
• I own a phaser - 25 Noints
• I own a tricorder - 25 points
• I cherish an autographed pic of Shatner - 75 Noints

2. Which are you most comfortable at? A social gathering(yes, women are there) or a .NET User's Group?

• Social Gathering - 0 Noints
• .NET User Group - 25 Noints
• If you said neither, because I use Linux - 100 Noints

3. Do you frequently where a t-shirt with either Microsoft, IBM, Sun, or Google on it?

• No - 0 Noints
• Yes - 50 Noints
• No, but I have "Apple Rules" tattooed on my chest - 100 Noints

4. A grandparent dies, leaving you $5,000. What is your first thought on how to spend it?

• Put it in your savings account - -25 Noints
• Go get that Duo Core laptop with 2 gig of memory that you have had your eye on for months - 50 Noints
• A 60" high def TV so you can watch the upcoming Dr. Who Marathon - 100 Noints
• A year's subscription to MSDN - Call for help now

5. Have you ever written and/or debugged assembler code...and enjoyed it?

• What is assembler code? - -25 Noints
• Yes I have - 50 Noints
• I wouldn't have had to but that idiot next to me performed a NAND operation before moving a hex 13 into register 2. - 250 Noints

6. What is your favorite beverage?

• Water - 0 Noints
• Milk (skim) - 0 Noints
• Milk (whole) - 10 Noints
• Coffee - 20 Noints
• Coke/Pepsi - 25 Noints
• Mountain Dew - 100 Noints
• Red Bull with an Amp chaser - 110 Noints (and you need to see a heart specialist soon)

7. How much time do you spend in front of the computer on a daily basis?

• Less than 2 hours - 0 Noints
• Between 2 hours and 5 hours - 25 Noints
• Between 6 hours and 10 hours - 50 Noints
• I never leave - 100 Noints

8. How many blogs do you manage?

• 0 - 0 Noints
• 1 - 10 Noints
• 2 - 20 Noints
• More than 2 - 50 Noints
• Blogs are so 2006, dude - 100 Noints

9. How many of these technologies are you familiar with? Twitter, MySpace, WordPress, PHP, and HTML.

• 0 - 1 - 0 Noints
• 2 - 3 - 10 Noints
• all 5 - 20 Noints
• "hey, you forgot FaceBook and Ruby" - 100 Noints

10. Have you ever hugged your TV or Computer (and I mean hugged)?

• No - 0 Noints
• Yes - 50 Noints
• I refuse to answer because my iPod will get jealous - 100 Noints

Now, add up your totals and compare to the chart below:

• 0 - 50 Noints - You are normal. Not sure why you are even reading this blog.
• 51 - 199 Noints - You are a closet Nerd. You need to be honest with yourself.
• 200 - 400 Noints - Nice pocket protector
• More than 400 Noints - How's life in your parents' basement?

For the record, I had 450 Noints. Surprise anyone??

Another One????

Before anyone jumps to conclusions based on the title of this post....no, I am NOT talking about a baby.

I have decided to stretch myself even thinner. I started another blog where I could post techie, nerdy, typically boring stuff. If you are having a hard time falling asleep, feel free to jump over to my Geek Spot and read my techie ramblings.