It's midnight but I cannot sleep. The temperature is still near eighty degrees outside, nearly ninety degrees at the back end of the house. It's so hot that Kris asked me to turn on the air conditioner in the bedroom. During the eight years we've lived here maybe she's asked me to turn on the air conditioner twice before.

So I'm sitting here watching the World Cup again. Sweaty. Sticky.

Three days ago when I stayed up to watch Satchel was by my side. I miss him.

Dave e-mailed me that he's installed Pergo (a laminate flooring similar to that which we are considering) for his parents. It sounds as if he's willing to give me a hand should we decide to install a new floor in the computer room. Kris and I both found this tip from Dave amusing (and likely apt): "The worst thing to do is have a person that hangs around and constantly offers suggestions/critique, but doesn't ever really help (the general name for these people is spouse or parent) so you have to get rid of those people."

By installing the floor ourselves we'd save around $750, enough to actually finish the room. So, Dave, if you're willing to help, we may have to work out another work swap.

(A night like tonight, a night when I'm hot and sticky and unable to sleep, makes me think that I'll wait until fall to install the flooring. On the other hand, if we can afford it we may be able to install the flooring by the end of this month, opting for a relatively cool day.)

After installing the new floor, that room will become our library. We currently have most of our bookshelves in a back bedroom, a room that has only about 120 square feet of floor space. The computer room is nearly twice that size and will accommodate many more shelves. We'll also add a futon and a nice work table.

Unfortunately this leaves us with very little space for the computers that are in there now. Kris and I each have our own computer desk. These desks are wonderful corner desks that take up little room compared to the functionality they offer. There just isn't space for two of them in that room with the futon and the table and all of the bookshelves, though.

We're exploring several options to remedy the problem. We could move one of the computers to the back of the house, but there's no room for it in the television room, and the current library will be converted to a storage room (a "larder", as Kris is fond of calling it), which is no place for a computer. We could run with just one computer, but there are times when we both need (or, more precisely: want) to be on-line or burning CDs or whatever. Another option, one that appeals to me, is to sell one of the computers, put the cash generated from the sale toward remodeling, and then purchase a new compact computer for Computer Resouces. Specifically, a Macintosh.

I started life as a Mac user and am often swayed by their siren song. OS X is especially appealing. I'm still wary of their many drawbacks, though (lack of software, expensive hardware, etc.), and need many of my fears assuaged before actually purchasing a Macintosh.

For example, can I use standard 168-pin PC SDRAM in a Mac? I used to have to buy special memory for Macs, memory that was much more expensive than its PC equivalent. Is this still the case? I fear that it must be so because the Mac sites want $100 for 256mb of RAM which is twice what you'd pay for it in the PC world. (Worse, the Apple Store wants to charge $150 to upgrade from a 256mb DIMM to a 512mb DIMM. WTF? A 512mb DIMM for a PC only costs $100!)

And what about hard drives? Most of the Macs that appeal to me come with 40gb drives. I'm a hard drive hog and 40gb is inadequate for my needs. Can I just pop in a 120gb ATA drive, or are Macs still using SCSI? If I can run an ATA drive, is there something goofy about doing so that I need know first?

I'm drawn to the new iMac, not because I think it looks good (in fact I find it quite ugly) but because of its small footprint. However, the technical specs offer no information on its expandability. Are there any open drive bays on this machine? Am I limited to a single hard drive? If so, how difficult is it to swap out the built-in 40gb drive and replace it with a 120gb drive? How upgradeable is the processor?

I'll be researching these questions and more during the next few weeks.

On this day at foldedspace.org

2004 — Biding Time   Most of our stuff has been packed now. We've settled into a nervous, fidgety waiting state. We signed the loan documents on Friday afternoon, and we are scheduled to take possession of the new house on Thursday.

2003 — Ashamed   In which I am drunk. In which I hate fags. In which my best friend wants to become a woman. In which I am ashamed.