Tuesday, June 05, 2007

DOA and Mt. Everest

Dead on arrival:
My computer and companion of 3 years. Yep, I made a mistake and killed my computer. Buuuuuuut, the good thing is, my warranty is good until August 4, and even though I told them (Best Buy) that I killed it, they will still fix it for free! I am very thankful!
See, my computer is veeeery sloooooow. So I consulted various persons who are more knowledgeable in this area (i.e., Paul, Ryan Heathers, and Garret) and bought some ram. So far so good. The guy at Fry's made sure it was the right stuff. He said that it would cost $35.00 to install the memory, and I said I would rather do it myself. He assured me that it was very easy. What he neglected to tell me was that you have to take the battery out before you attempt to add the ram. So I tried to insert the ram while the battery was still in the computer and thus killed the computer. Poor computer!
Any way, I took it to one of my dad's clients and had him diagnose it (the motherboard was shot). Hence the "dead on arrival." He took the thing completely apart, explained a few of the parts, and pronounced it dead. Fortunately he was able to get all of my data off the hard drive. Yea! He then reassembled the computer, and I took it to Best Buy.
So my computer is away for the next 2-4 weeks at which time it will be returned for a new battery! For some really annoying reason you can't send the computer in for parts and service at the same time. Oh well, at least it will be fine (I hope!).

I have finished The Flying Carpet, Life with Jeeves, and Cheaper by the Dozen since I last posted. One part from The Flying Carpet, by Richard Halliburton, keeps coming to mind. I will record it here:

Why must men match themselves with such a cruel opponent [Mt. Everest]? One man will say - Because it is monstrous, merciless, demanding the utmost of one's energy and effort. Another will say - Because with the summit attained, everything else on Earth will be below. And yet a third - Because that streaming and defiant flag [of mist] flying from Mt. Everest's citadel is the greatest challenge in the realm of exploration.
But Mallory himself [who died trying to reach the summit] gave the best reason of all.
To the literal-minded his reply seems puzzlingly abrupt and inadequate. But to the questioning spirits, to those who understand, it is eloquent and altogether sufficient - an answer that reveals, moreover, the impulse in the souls of such men as Mallory.
"Why do you wish to climb Mt. Everest?" an un-imaginative person asked of him.
"Because it's there!" he said.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

ah, so true :) infact, the same could be said of many things . . . such as 'why did katharyn break into my house through the basement window? because it was there.' well, maybe that's a slightly inadequate example, but true none-the-less.