I can tell you this: I am never, ever, ever, EVER doing this again. Took the frankenputer back over to the computer shop with its new motherboard installed, ready to go. Wouldn’t you know the fucker wouldn’t start again? I’m starting to feel cursed! It finally started after a bit of plug checks, but it disturbs me that it would do that so easily. I mean really, the shop is only like four blocks from here, it’s not like I’m taking it on an international journey.

The owner was pleasant and offered me even more money this time (I think he forgot his old quote). So that was cool. Things were fine until one of his techs starting inspecting it. This dude–we’ll call him Sam–really raked me over the coals. He complained about everything, even down to the way the cords weren’t tied up inside. I admit that’s not a great thing but it’s not the end of the world either; I had them fashioned out of the way and hey, we don’t have a Fry’s Electronics around here so I can just go buy stupid shit like that. SORRY. Then came complaints about the CMOS setup…I didn’t turn the SATA or floppy drive search off, or cache the BIOS, or enable S.M.A.R.T.. Look, my goal was to just get the thing running and make sure it stayed that way. I was just happy that it was doing that much. But the guy just would not stop. After about ten straight minutes of this litany of complaints, honestly, I really couldn’t take any more of it. I politely said I had somewhere I had to go.

“Oh no you don’t,” he said. “Look, you need to learn this stuff, girl.”

Except he was flipping around so fast you couldn’t see what he was doing. Obviously he didn’t really want to show me anything, he was having too much fun being an asshat.

There is another guy that works there that looks a bit like Bill Deneen (locals will know exactly who I am talking about). Now he’s really nice, and will joke around with you, and doesn’t treat you like a moron. He was very gracious about everything he showed me. I liked him. Why couldn’t this other guy be like that?

It occurred to me this is probably a huge reason women don’t go into computer stuff. The industry is dominated by men, and there’s lots of them like this Sam character that get off on making you feel stupid no matter what you do, and who wants to deal with this crap all day long? It’s a boys club.

Anyway, to make a long story short, frankenputer is right back by my feet. Asshat wants me to reformat it.

The photos I entered in that contest up in SLO lost. All of them. I had a look around at the stuff that made it, and the only thing I could notice was that a good portion of the winning ones were double-matted (like I can afford that), and/or pictures of junk.

This would have won:

Links!

Tivo for your ipod (podcasting)
St. Clinton - via Rashunda
Got a secret? (thanks Teresa)
Gallery of an abandoned island