Serenity Springs Wildlife Center
Over the weekend, Kiara had the great idea to pack up Kiernan and me and haul us 90 minutes out to the eastern part of Colorado to visit Serenity Springs Wildlife Center. We had a great time on the tour and Kiernan was vastly amused and impressed by the large number of great cats that they have there. Christy, the tour guide, really knew her stuff and was very open and friendly. We even had our picture taken with one of their tiger cubs, and it came out great. Kiernan wasn’t too horribly sure about touching the cat even though we have plenty at home, but he did pet the little cub a few times after our urging.
If you have the time, head out to Calhan and visit Serenity Springs. They’ll show you a good time for $10 a head at the gate. You really can’t beat that price for 3 hours of fun and education. Make sure to take your camera (no video, though!)
My Oath To You
I have a cousin that sends the usual religious chain letter stuff around. I don’t mind the ones that she sends to me because the stories that are in them are great and wonderful. I’m not the kind of person that does the “forward this to 10 of your friends to capture an angel’s wish” or anything like that.
However, she sent me one today that included this portion at the bottom. I liked it so much that I thought I would share it with you here.
MY OATH TO YOU
When you are sad…..I will dry your tears.
When you are scared…..I will comfort your fears.
When you are worried…..I will give you hope.
When you are confused…..I will help you cope.
And when you are lost….And can’t see the light, I shall be your beacon…..Shining ever so bright.
This is my oath…..I pledge till the end.
Why you may ask?….Because you’re my friend.
Signed: GOD
This may be an oath from God, but it sums up fairly closely how I feel about friendship. Everyone has their family, and you usually don’t get to choose them. Friends are a different matter. They are the people that you choose to be as close to you (or closer!) as family. If you’re my friend, I’m there for you no matter what.
Correction: Water NOT Broken
Kiara corrected me when I got home last night that her water had not broken. What had happened was that her mucus plug fell out. I’ll spare you the details of what a mucus plug is. If you really want to know, this page can fill you in.
When her water does break, I’ll make sure to let you know…
The panic can stop now… Back to your regularly schedule programming.
Water Broke
Kiara just called me. Her water broke. No contractions just yet, though. We’re still a ways away from greeting our son for the first time. I’m at Kolvedic’s and Jhianna’s house playing Alternity right now. We’re about to wrap up, and I’ll head home as soon as I can.
More news on the way as it develops.
Sorry to break from the NaBloPoMo pattern, but I had to share this news. I’m also dangerously close to hitting the Midnight mark for today, I just didn’t have time to do any character creation…
gnat
Random word list:
obscuration
domboc
gnat
Kies
undergage
Word chosen: gnat
Definition: any of certain small flies, esp. the biting gnats or punkies of the family Ceratopogonidae, the midges of the family Chironomidae, and the black flies of the family Simuliidae.
Free association word list:
flies
annoying
dead
dying
fat
buzzing
freeze
winter
snow
warm weather
odd
thankful
hope it holds
November
Kiernan coming soon
meeting with doula
nice lady
packed for trip
heavy pack
NATO pack
3-day assault pack
MRE
emergency food
good eats?
probably not
survival
camping
dog food
Boy Scouts
Be Prepared
Word chosen: NATO pack
Writing:
A month or two ago, I realized that I needed a bag big enough to carry all of the stuff that we’re going to be taking to the hospital when Kiara goes into labor. I knew that I’d have this bag, my laptop bag, and Kiara to get into the hospital without killing myself. That’s when I decided that I needed a back pack that could handle a large load.
Instead of running to REI to buy an overpriced frame pack, I decided to hit the local Army surplus store. I had in mind to pick up an ALICE pack since I had heard about them, and I knew that they could hold most of what a solider needed for a day or five in the field. If it can help keep a soldier alive, then it can probably carry what I need.
I got to the store to find that ALICE packs are frame backpacks. Ok. Don’t need that for this trip. However, I’ll keep it in mind if I ever do the camping thing. While looking around the store, I came across a NATO pack and a 3-day assault pack. The 3-day assault pack was really, really nice, and could hold TONS of stuff. Unfortunately, it ran $90 for one of them. I decided that Kiara would castrate me if she found out that I had spent that much on a pack.
That left me with the NATO pack for $20, which is the option that I went with. The NATO pack wasn’t quite large enough to hold everything, but it comes close. I have a small bag that holds the rest of the gear that we’re taking with us. Fortunately, that small bag sits perfectly on top of the NATO pack, and one of my bungee cords holds it in place nicely.
We added the last bits of stuff that we need for the trip to the hospital into the bag this afternoon, and cinched all of the flaps and compartments closed. Things are packed up, and we’re ready to go.
Now if we can just keep the weather nice for a few more weeks until we’re at the hospital things will work out nicely.
PS: Not used to posting on the weekends. Hah! Barely made it with a few minutes to spare.
rejoices
Random word list:
underliking
ill-effaceable
flower-embroidered
ped
rejoices
Word chosen: rejoices
Definition: To feel joyful; be delighted.
Free association word list:
happy
joyful
Joy
My Name Is Earl
Randy
Earl
Prison
Uncle Nathan
son’s name
nice
helpful
giving
caring
wise
generous
donations
charity
water buffalo
scary woman
warm bowl of water
not going there
Vince
J.J.
skating
youth
fun
careless
Word chosen: Uncle Nathan
Writing:
My Uncle Nathan was my mom’s little brother. After a long hard life, he passed away in early 2000. I don’t remember the date, but I remember the day. I was out of work, and I had two job interviews that day. I was dressed nice, had tons of copies of my resume with me, and I was ready to go get employed. I decided to check my email one last time before leaving the house to make sure that nothing had changed on the time or location of my two interviews. I only had one new email, and it was an email from my Aunt Jane telling me (and others) that my Uncle Nathan had passed away.
I was crushed. Nathan was my favorite uncle growing up, and into adulthood. I knew that I needed one of these two jobs that I was interviewing for, so I pushed back my tears, and focused on what needed to be done. Once I was done with the interviews, and I was safely home, I re-read the email, and sat in my chair and cried for quite a long time.
My Uncle Nathan grew up in an abusive home. My biological grandfather was an abusive drunk, but my mom told me that the massive violence that he was capable of was never directed at my mom or Nathan; they were too young. However, he grew up watching this violence, and I’m sure that affected him. Fortunately for everyone involved my biological grandfather bailed out when some of the children were very young, and my Mama Stella managed to find the great man, Papa James, that I grew up knowing as my grandfather. I never knew that he wasn’t my real grandfather — wait… He was my real grandfather, but just not biologically.
Back to the point…
Nathan always had an awesome work ethic. He was always employed. He always had hard jobs though. He was a mechanic, welder, construction worker, and things like that. I don’t say that in a derisive way, though. I have respect for anyone that shows up for work on time, puts in an honest day’s work, and then goes home to be a good man. I don’t care if they are a brain surgeon or a welder. A hard day’s work goes a long way.
When I was fairly young (maybe 7 years old or so?), my Uncle Nathan was driving past a cop writing a ticket, and his work truck back fired. The cop thought that Nathan was firing a gun at him, and immediately chased him down. When Nathan pulled over, he cop yanked him from the car, busted his head open on a curb, and started cuffing him so violently that Nathan’s wrists were slashed open. Nathan, trying to defend himself, knocked the cop down. The cop hit his head on the same curb, and was knocked out. In a moment of panic, my Uncle Nathan ran. He jumped back in his truck and took off.
When the cop came too, he radioed out about an “armed and dangerous” criminal on the loose that had “assaulted” him. Nathan was caught not too much longer later, and he was convicted of assaulting a police officer. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison. This devastated our entire family because we all knew that there was no way that Nathan would ever do something like that except for in self defense. I remember driving all the way across Texas to Huntsville a few times during his incarceration to visit him. He seemed beaten, broken, and down. I know that he was putting on a brave face for all of us, and we seemed to genuinely cheer him up a bit. It’s hard to be cheerful in a place like that though.
Nathan, being the man that he was, was released early for good behavior. I was around 9 or 10 years old when he was released. He hopped on a bus, and came home to Midland. He never told anyone that he was coming home. His very first stop wasn’t my Mama Stella’s house. His first stop was to see my mom and me.
I remember being the first to the door to open it when the doorbell rang. I opened the door, saw Nathan, and screamed in delight. Nathan charged through the door, grabbed me up in a huge hug, and was so happy that he was crying. Mom, Jill, and my step-dad jumped to their feet at all of this. Mom was so happy that she started to cry right away too. My step-dad, who had never seen Nathan before, thought that we were under attack or something. My mom had to hold him back while things were explained. It was like our family was complete — for a while — again.
I remember that we all went out to dinner that night, and Nathan ate a huge steak. He hadn’t had a good steak in a very long time. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had any spicy or greasy food in his system for a few years. The steak really tore him up, and he ended up throwing up for a while that night. Once the grease was out of his system, he was back to normal.
We spent the next week driving everywhere together. He was seeing old friends, family, and just talking to me. Looking back on it, he was trying to recapture a sense of normalcy. We never did talk about his time in prison. He always wanted to know what was going on in my life. He was probably the first adult to treat me like an adult, and this may be one of the reasons that I love him so dearly. He would intently listen to me ramble on about elementary school, GEM, friends, computers, and all sorts of other stuff. He always told me that he knew that I would make it big because of my smarts, and that he was very proud of me.
This made me very happy. I finally had someone that was treating me as an adult instead of a kid. This is probably part of what helped me stay on track. I knew that someone was proud of me, and had high expectations of me. I could disappoint myself without much repercussion, but there was no way that I was going to let Nathan down. No. Way. Ever.
The years passed, and Nathan moved away, but he always made a point to stay in touch. During the low times in my life, I would avoid him because I didn’t want him to see me failing. Maybe if I had talked to him, he would have had some words of wisdom for me to help me out. I just didn’t want him to see me that low. I didn’t want to disappoint him. I couldn’t let that happen.
When I finally got my life back on track, I was in San Antonio, and he was in Austin. We saw each other about once a month, and he was back to telling me how proud of me he was. He always had a different junker car that would barely make it around. I’d always ask him what happened to his hold car, and the story was the same, “Someone else needed it more than me, so I gave it to them.”
Life took some turns for me, and I ended up in Colorado by way of Montana. I never did talk to Nathan again after I moved to Montana. He didn’t have a phone, and I never did have his address. I thought of him fairly often, but after the email that contained the announcement of his death, I wished that I had put some effort into contacting him more often.
Nathan was an important part of my life, and I wish he was still around to tell me how proud he is of me. I wish he was around to see the next Nathan, my son, come along, and watch him grow up as he watched me grow up. I miss him dearly. I have a handful of photos on my cork board in my office, and Uncle Nathan is one of them. He’s at the top of the board, above all of the cruft and miscellaneous stuff that I have on my board. He’s at the top because he is one of the most important people to me in the world.
Looking forward, I can only hope that I manage to raise my Nathan to be as kind, generous, helpful, hard-working, diligent, and wonderful as the uncle that I remember so fondly.
wahine
Random word list:
flavanilin
night-prowling
forepad
trasy
wahine
Word chosen: wahine
Definition: (in Hawaii and Polynesia) a girl or young woman.
Free association word list:
hula skirt
luau
food
roast pig
pineapple
fruit
fruit cake
breaking a tooth
dentist
oral surgery
implants
bone graft
not fun
expensive
broke
paycheck
income
401k
retirement
old age
endless vacation
RV
road trips
travel
good times
summer vacation
Word chosen: Road Trips
Writing:
When I was a kid I spent most summers with my paternal grandparents. There were some exceptions, but not many. During these summer vacations, my grandparents and I would pile into the RV of the year*. Our destination was always Colorado. I’m not sure why.
We’d trundle across New Mexico heading for different parts of Colorado. We’d head to Colorado Springs, Durango, Pueblo, and various scenic parts of the state. The trip there would invariably take a full week. We’d stop at every little cafe, historical marker, scenic outlook, and tourist trap. Every. Single. Year. It got to the point where I would know what historical marker we were at without even getting out to look at it.
Thinking back on it, I’m sure that my grandfather was just looking for a chance to get out and stretch his legs. He had to sit in the driver’s seat the entire time while I was free to romp and play in the back of the RV. I’d spend most of the time reading books, or coming up with some great** D&D adventure.
After creeping across New Mexico, we’d finally reach our destination. We’d spend about a week there. I always had a blast hiking, fishing, rafting, walking the small towns, and just hanging out with my grandparents. It’s one of the more innocent times of my life, and I really miss it quite a bit. I can sometimes recapture those moments in memories, but they’re distant and fading.
Maybe with the coming of my son in less than three weeks, I’ll be able to re-experience those wonderful times through his eyes. Everyone seems to want to live vicariously through their single friends that come home with a different hottie every night, but those dreams are behind me. I no longer envy those friends, but I don’t find them pathetic either. They are what they are.
I now look forward to the days where I can recapture a little innocence, wonderment, and excitement at “the new stuff” (even if it’s old to me) through the life of my son. Most people ask me if I’m nervous, anxious, scared, or frightened at the prospect of having a child. I do have a little of that, but it is background noise compared to the things that I’m looking forward to with excitement, eagerness, and longing.
* – My grandfather always seemed to find something newer and better every spring, and he would trade in the old RV for a new one.
** – The word “great” is relative. I’m very sure that my first hundred attempts at creating a D&D adventure were anything other than “great” by any standard. They seemed great to me though. I was always known as the guy that could use the widest variety of creatures in a single dungeon. Of course, there was no logical explanation for the zoo-like collection of critters, but my players didn’t care because even the “wild dogs” that were roaming a 10×10 room on the 4th level of the dungeon came with at least 2,000 GP worth of treasure. Yeah. I know. Pathetic. Don’t scoff. I was in elementary school, ok?
Weekend
It was a long weekend for me, and not in the “I’m on a vacation” kind of email.
My Uncle Bub’s funeral was Saturday. I took Friday off work, and headed to Texas. It took me about 6 1/2 hours to get there, which was a little longer than normal, but not a bad drive. I got to my destination about 7 PM MST, and immediately fell into my family. We were sitting around talking, looking at photos, and reminiscing about everyone that wasn’t there or that was already Gone Home. I found a ton of photos that I wanted copies of, and I didn’t have a scanner with me. I did have my laptop though. I ran into the neighboring town (about 12 miles away) and hit Wal-Mart before they closed.
The Wal-Mart trip was interesting. I walked around for a bit, and couldn’t find the electronics department. I finally stopped someone with a name tag and asked them where I could find a keyboard or a mouse. I figured those were pretty common computer parts and everyone would know what I was talking about. The lady looked at me like I was speaking Klingon. I broke down and asked her if they had computer parts. She pointed me to the electronics department. I went that way, and wandered around a few minutes without finding what I was looking for. I finally came across a woman in that department and asked if they had any scanners. She pointed back into the corned and said, “The police scanners are over there.” Ahh… rural Texas. I clarified things a bit and told her that I wanted a photo scanner for my computer. She pointed me in the right direction this time. Their selection was small, and all of them were the combo units: scanner, printer, and fax. Only one was a flatbed scanner (as opposed to a form-feeder), so that was the one that I got. It didn’t include fax capabilities, but that’s ok. I didn’t want that, and it saved me a few bucks.
I got back to the house, and didn’t get a chance to get things setup. DeNise needed help getting a video put together for the reception after the funeral. We were up until about 1 AM getting the video together. It finally came together and turned out really nice. I liked what we put together. I stayed up for a while longer (until about 2 AM) setting up the scanner and scanning photos.
The next day started about 9 AM, and I spent part of the morning scanning some more photos and talking to family. DeNise called me about 11 AM in need of help getting some audio visual stuff setup for the reception. We got that setup and working, and then headed to the church for a lunch thing that the church was doing for family and friends. We sat around, ate and talking some more. The funeral service was at 2:30, and there needed to be some more work done at the church for more A/V hook ups (which I did) and then back to the senior center getting some more stuff setup. We finally got done about 2 PM, and I headed back to the house to change clothes.
Some more relatives had shown up at this time, and we talked some more. I never did a chance to change clothes, but that’s ok. I enjoyed talking with my family. A little before 2:30 we headed to the church, and I managed to throw on a nice shirt in the parking lot before the service. The funeral service was nice, but it really hurt. It really drove home the point that Bub was gone. Most everyone was crying at various parts of the service. The part that made the cry the most was watching the honor guard fold the flag that went to my Aunt Vernelle, and listing to Taps play.
During the funeral, I was sitting in the second row right being B.T. (Uncle Bub’s younger brother), Melba (B.T.’s wife), and Sandra (B.T. and Melba’s daughter). I could see Vernelle and Bub’s children, Reese and DeNise. I could feel their pain in their loss. That’s when I said a prayer to ask God to give me their pain. I told him that if he had more grief and pain to give out than what they could handle to give it to me. I could handle it where I thought they may not be able to do so. I know that they will feel loss and pain for a long while, but I don’t want them to feel overwhelmed with their grief to the point where they could not continue to live their lives.
After the funeral was the reception, and which was more hanging out, talking, hearing stories of the past, and making plans for the future. Everyone wanted to know how Kiara was doing with her pregnancy, and everyone was very happy for us. There are a few more people that we need to email/call after the baby arrives. Another thing that constant happened to me was that people kept asking where my dad was at, how often I talked to him, why he wasn’t there, what he was up to, and what the status of my grandfather’s estate was. I was forced to make up some lame excuses for why my dad wasn’t there. I made sure that they were lame enough that everyone knew that they were lame excuses and that my dad really didn’t want to be there at all. That was the worst part of the whole weekend. Everyone knows that me and my dad don’t really get along all that well, but I went out of my way to make sure that I didn’t bad mouth him too much. I could go on and on about my dad, but that’s a post for another time.
Saturday closed out, and we went back to the house. I spent the rest of my night talking with my cousin Jeremy. We talked about the good old days back on the ranch, our childhoods, how things were simpler back then, and how we all missed it. I think I finally managed to crawl into bed around 2 AM.
Sunday was an early day. I got up around 7:30, hopped in the shower, and got ready for the long drive home. I didn’t want to leave, but I had my son’s baby shower to get to by 2:00 PM MST. The time zone change bought me an extra hour, but that barely managed to help things out. I managed to say my goodbyes, and get out the door around 8:30 even though my target was to leave by 8:00. During the A/V setup and tear down on Saturday, I lost my iPod patch cable. I didn’t realize it until late Saturday, and the person that supplied the A/V equipment was already gone. I went back to the Wal-Mart to buy a new one, but they didn’t open until 10 AM (Yeah, rural Texas, remember?) That meant that I was stuck listening to my one burned CD of songs. It actually lasted me until I almost got home. I let the CD repeat and start over again, but about 30 minutes from home I needed a change. I flipped to the radio for the first time in a LONG time.
I managed to get home at 2:05 for the baby shower that started at 2 PM. I got there before most people, so I was able to greet them as they arrived. The house was decorated and all fancy looking. Jhianna, Spice, Jasmine, Kiara, Campbells, and Craing did a good job on the house. I was quite happy to be home and around my friends.
The women did stuff, but the guys weren’t involved. We stayed downstairs, drank some beer, and watched a football game. It was good to relax for a bit after such a long weekend. After it was over, Kiara and I cleaned the house a small bit, took down the decorations (they looked yummy to the cats, I bet.) and finally fell into bed. I was in bed about 9 PM, and asleep almost right away.
It was good to see all of the friends and family and such that I got to see over the weekend, but I’m still not recovered. It was an exhausting time. I’m looking forward to the trip to Breckenridge in a few days to recover from my trip this past weekend.
Uncle Bub
My Uncle Bub passed away last night. I’m not really sure what to say about him. He was my grandfather’s brother, and I saw him most summers at his ranch for a few weeks. Him and his wife, Vernelle, would come down once or twice a year. Always in the spring for a HAM fest (amateur radio swap meet), and sometimes for Thanksgiving.
Bub was one of the the nicest men that I’ve ever been around, but he was no pushover. He stood up for what he believed in and defended it tirelessly. He was proud to be an American. He loved this country very much, and, like most men of his generation, volunteered for military service (Navy in his case) during World War II. He served for several years in the Pacific Theater. I’m not quite sure what he did, what ship he served on, if he helped liberate any islands, or anything like that. I do know that at one point he was assigned to a small island that was a munitions depot for raids that the front lines were doing. Part of his job was to guard the munitions depot, and blow it up if the Japanese managed to get their hands on the island. This never happened, so I guess he and his men did their job well. An interesting story that he told me that was one night an interesting bomb arrived at the munitions depot. He said that they were not allowed to look at the bomb (it was covered with a tarp), or do anything with it. They were to make sure that no one entered the building until the bomb was moved on to its target. Of course, they had to look at the bomb, and they did. It was unlike anything they had seen before. It was HUGE. A few days later the bomb moved on, and they thought nothing more about it. A few days after that World War II was over with. It wasn’t until years later that photos of Fat Man were declassified and published that Uncle Bub learned what it was that he was guarding. In some small way, my uncle was part of bringing the worst war the we’ve seen in a long time come to an end. I’m proud of him for that.
Bub was a Modern Renaissance Man. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, rancher, gourmet chef, archaeologist, Native American afficiando, and history buff. Like most people of his generation, he had a ton of stories to tell, and I loved listening to every single one of them. I just wish that I had been closer to him (geographically), so that I could have spent more time with him listening to his tales.
In the later years of his life, his chemotherapy had taken his hair and beard. Someone meeting him a month ago wouldn’t believe me if I told them of his bushy gray hair, and his full beard. His white teeth always shone out from between his whiskers, and he was very quick with that smile. It’s a smile that I’m going to miss.
While I was close to Bub, I’m not looking forward to the pain that I’ll see on the faces of Vernelle, DeNise, Reese, Jeremy, Jordan, Merideth, B. T., Melba, and the rest of the family. I’ve always felt more sadness for those around me than for myself in situations like this. I am going to go to his funeral this Saturday, and I’ll do what I can to be strong for those around me. Yes, I’m going to grieve, and those around me today at work probably don’t see it much. I generally do this in private. I have a 6 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow, and that will be my time to feel my emotions. I have a 6 hour drive back Sunday, and that will be my time to start my recovery. Don’t worry. My emotions won’t overwhelm me to the point that I won’t be able to drive. I’ll be ok.
There’s a question that James Lipton asks his guests on Inside the Actors’ Studio that goes, “If Heaven exists, what do you want God to say to you at the Pearly Gates?” I know that Heaven exists, and I hope that God says to me, “Welcome, Beosig. We’ve saved a table for you at the back, and your family is waiting there for you.”
I have one more person at that table now waiting for me.
Bub, I’ll see you at that table when my time comes. Say “Hi” to Papa and Granny for me, and save up some good stories for me when you see me. I want to hear them all.
Picture Frame
Kiara got me a digital picture frame for a Father’s Day/Birthday gift last night. It’s really frickin’ cool! It has 128Mb of internal memory, but it also has card slots for SD, compact flash, XD, and another type of card that I don’t recognize. It also has a mini-USB port, so you can copy files to the internal memory from your computer (but it didn’t come with a cable for this [that's ok. I had one handy.]) Lastly, it has a port where you can plug in a USB flash stick. Very cool stuff.
It has the ability to cycle through all of the photos one at a time, or it can chop the screen into quadrants, and show 4 pictures (although fairly tiny) at a time. I played with the mosaic option for a while, but I decided that I liked the one-photo-at-a-time option, so that’s the one that I’m going with. This allows me to see more details of the photos. It’s really cool. I like it!
My PDA also uses SD cards for external storage. I currently have a 256Mb SD card, and I thought that this would be a good time to upgrade the PDA card to 2Gb. I would then take the 256Mb card and put it in the frame. No dice. My PDA can’t address memory up to that large of a size. Matter of fact, when I plugged the 2Gb SD card into my PDA, it totally freaked out and crashed. I had to turn it off, wait a bit, and then turn it back on to have it reboot. Fortunately, it came up intact with all of my data. Too bad the 2GB didn’t work. Oh well.
I took the 2Gb SD card, and plugged it into the frame. The frame found it, and it was empty (of course.) Now I need to get a card reader (they’re pretty cheap) so that I can drop a ton of photos on to it. The picture frame also does AVI animations as well. I’m not sure I’ll use that feature, but the 2Gb of space on the card allows me room to experiment with that.
I went to a local computer store at lunch to pick up the SD card (it was $15 [great price!!]), and while there, I also picked up two 2Gb USB flash sticks for $15 each. I’ve been wanting to play around with being able to boot from a USB drive to test out various flavor of Linux. This will give me the chance to do that without wiping my current 4Gb USB flash drive that I use for data storage, backup of essential software, and general goodness like that.
I was also told that this store carries new Microsoft Elite Natural keyboards. They are my favorite keyboard of all time, and you can’t get them anywhere any more. I’m glad this place had them. Maybe they were found in a warehouse somewhere, and the store bought them up to sell them. I picked up two of these keyboards. I need to replace the one that I have at home because my BIOS on my laptop doesn’t like it at all. I’m getting tired of unplugging my keyboard when I (re)boot my system. Replacing that keyboard with one of these will do the trick. The second keyboard will go into storage until one of the ones that I’m using now dies a horrible death.
I also walked around most of the store while there (never been there before and had to check the place out.) If I ever build another desktop system (doubtful), I’m going to go there and pick up everything that I need to build a new system. I’ll probably never do this again, though. For my personal machines, I just love having a laptop. The freedom that it gives me to do stuff from any room in the house (or at a friend’s house) can’t be beat. As far as my server goes (which is currently a custom-built desktop tower,) I’ll probably replace it with a 1U Dell rack mountable server. Of course, I have no need to replace the server anytime soon, so that plan will wait until the time comes that the server dies a horrible ugly death.
If the digital picture frames weren’t so expensive, I’d pick up one for my office at the house, and one for Kiara to have at her office. They’re just that neat. I guess it’ll have to wait until a later date to pick up two more of them.
