in which nothing functions the way it's supposed to
So it's been...oh, a month since last I posted. I am truly made of fail. Or busy. One or the other. Let's say busy, because being made of fail isn't any fun.
This post has a purpose. It's kind of a game, one called "if all your stuff was broken the way that mine was, what would you replace first?" So let's get started, shall we?
First we have the TV.
As you can see, the colors are wonky (top picture is from Wall-E, the second is *cough* the McLaughlin Group - don't judge - that's what's on on sundays, and you can see the full extent of the wonkiness). Sometimes the green creeps in even further, and the entire effect is like peering through a telescope made of green plastic. Also, the TV is enormous and heavy. I bought it just under 3 years ago, and it was SUPER cheap.
Reasons to Replace: The color. It's BAD. / The TV, it's heavy / The TV, it's just cheap, and you didn't expect it to last long anyways
Reasons to Keep: I watch quite a bit of TV on my laptop / There is also a large, functioning TV in the basement / the color isn't that bad
Cost to replace (with a decent model): around $500
Next is the Laptop
If you can't see, the Defragmenter is telling me that there is only 3% free space in my C: drive, and 58% free space in my D: drive. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the D: drive had any part in the running of my computer, but all it does is hold all the stuff in "My Documents", while the C: drive does stuff like...hold Microsoft Office. It's getting really bad. The computer grinds to a stop, and then tells me there's no space, but I can't figure out what to delete to make sure there's space. When I do delete stuff, practically nothing happens. Also, the computer keeps asking me to download new updates every night as I turn it off, but I think something is wrong when it needs updates EVERY NIGHT for a WEEK. This laptop was purchased about 4 years ago (my grad school laptop!), and it was a gift.
Reasons to replace: It's an old computer, sometimes you just need to suck it up and get a new one. / The memory thing isn't something you can easily fix / It's just FREAKING OLD, that's what's wrong.
Reasons to keep: I'm a cheapskate / I might be able to fix the memory problem with the assistance of my tech support cousin / it's too difficult to get everything migrated over, and there are so many cookies and settings that i don't want to set up again.
Cost to replace: Between $600 and $1500 (depending on brand)
And finally, my car:
This is my car. It's a 1997 Nissan Sentra. It has about 135,000 miles on it currently. The engine was replaced a while ago, and the brakes have never been the best. It makes squealy noises as I turn on cold mornings, leaks oil (not enough where it's obvious, but enough where it will be GONE when it gets close to the 3000 mi / oil change time. It has no hubcaps. The heating/cooling system is messed up. The windshield wipers don't work, and the rear defroster only defrosts the top half. Passengers often ask if it always makes that noise as I drive, and I say, "Yes." Through it all, gets very good gas mileage (~30 mpg average) Bought 7 years ago used, I started driving it full time 6 years ago.
Reasons to replace: It's old / It has too many problems / My fear that one day it will explode while I'm still driving it
Reasons to keep: It hasn't exploded yet, and I've had that fear for 30,000 miles. / No car payments / Decent gas mileage / Not having to re-register my car with the county/state/work, etc.
Cost to replace: ~$16,000
Poll And now, a poll
In other news, I'm going to the computers in libraries conference tomorrow for 3 days - it's here in DC, which makes that SUPER easy. Also, if bad things happen with my basketball team this afternoon, I won't have to face the dude at work that I hate who roots for oklahoma until thursday at the earliest.
This post has a purpose. It's kind of a game, one called "if all your stuff was broken the way that mine was, what would you replace first?" So let's get started, shall we?
First we have the TV.
As you can see, the colors are wonky (top picture is from Wall-E, the second is *cough* the McLaughlin Group - don't judge - that's what's on on sundays, and you can see the full extent of the wonkiness). Sometimes the green creeps in even further, and the entire effect is like peering through a telescope made of green plastic. Also, the TV is enormous and heavy. I bought it just under 3 years ago, and it was SUPER cheap.
Reasons to Replace: The color. It's BAD. / The TV, it's heavy / The TV, it's just cheap, and you didn't expect it to last long anyways
Reasons to Keep: I watch quite a bit of TV on my laptop / There is also a large, functioning TV in the basement / the color isn't that bad
Cost to replace (with a decent model): around $500
Next is the Laptop
If you can't see, the Defragmenter is telling me that there is only 3% free space in my C: drive, and 58% free space in my D: drive. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the D: drive had any part in the running of my computer, but all it does is hold all the stuff in "My Documents", while the C: drive does stuff like...hold Microsoft Office. It's getting really bad. The computer grinds to a stop, and then tells me there's no space, but I can't figure out what to delete to make sure there's space. When I do delete stuff, practically nothing happens. Also, the computer keeps asking me to download new updates every night as I turn it off, but I think something is wrong when it needs updates EVERY NIGHT for a WEEK. This laptop was purchased about 4 years ago (my grad school laptop!), and it was a gift.
Reasons to replace: It's an old computer, sometimes you just need to suck it up and get a new one. / The memory thing isn't something you can easily fix / It's just FREAKING OLD, that's what's wrong.
Reasons to keep: I'm a cheapskate / I might be able to fix the memory problem with the assistance of my tech support cousin / it's too difficult to get everything migrated over, and there are so many cookies and settings that i don't want to set up again.
Cost to replace: Between $600 and $1500 (depending on brand)
And finally, my car:
This is my car. It's a 1997 Nissan Sentra. It has about 135,000 miles on it currently. The engine was replaced a while ago, and the brakes have never been the best. It makes squealy noises as I turn on cold mornings, leaks oil (not enough where it's obvious, but enough where it will be GONE when it gets close to the 3000 mi / oil change time. It has no hubcaps. The heating/cooling system is messed up. The windshield wipers don't work, and the rear defroster only defrosts the top half. Passengers often ask if it always makes that noise as I drive, and I say, "Yes." Through it all, gets very good gas mileage (~30 mpg average) Bought 7 years ago used, I started driving it full time 6 years ago.
Reasons to replace: It's old / It has too many problems / My fear that one day it will explode while I'm still driving it
Reasons to keep: It hasn't exploded yet, and I've had that fear for 30,000 miles. / No car payments / Decent gas mileage / Not having to re-register my car with the county/state/work, etc.
Cost to replace: ~$16,000
Poll And now, a poll
In other news, I'm going to the computers in libraries conference tomorrow for 3 days - it's here in DC, which makes that SUPER easy. Also, if bad things happen with my basketball team this afternoon, I won't have to face the dude at work that I hate who roots for oklahoma until thursday at the earliest.