3/13/2022

I got a new laptop in the mail today. My old laptop began falling apart at the seams so I decided it was time for a new one. I kept doubting my decision because the old laptop still works fine but the casing for it just wasn't holding- Attempting to open it usually resulted in the lcd falling out of the panel. I tried taping/gluing but eventually just came to the conclusion it wasn't worth it, and so I pulled the trigger on a pretty good deal for a gaming laptop that fortunately doesn't look like a gaming laptop. I like gaming, and I like having a beefy computer, but I hate the bizarre trapezoidal sci-fi looking things that are branded as gaming laptops today. I just want a normal looking laptop that has some power behind it, is that too much to ask?

The other thing about it is that I wasn't really out of a laptop. Aside from that main laptop, which arguably worked fine, I still have my work laptop, my backup laptop which is just an old gateway that I got in high school but has a shattered screen, and my sister's old laptop which has no screen at all. Not to mention my buddy's old desktop with a bunch of broken fans and my raspberry pi. I had plenty of computer power at hand, just none of it in a very convenient form. Maybe I should let some of that old junk go- I can be a little bit of a pack rat I think. I think that holding physical possessions in too high regard is areally bad way to be, personally- I'd like to think I could get rid of all that stuff in an instant, and not worry about what would happen to it after. I suppose I'll have to learn that lesson someday, one way or another.

All that aside, I got a new laptop. It's probably 20 times more powerful than any computer I've ever owned, and significantly cheaper than my last one. To be fair, it was a pretty good deal- i5, rtx 3050 16g ram for about 670 USD, after tax. I think I've got a bit of a thing for shopping for deals- I think I get it from my mother. She was telling me the other day that she had been banned from using groupon (a site that gives you coupons as a subscription service) because she was trading her coupons with other users to maximize coupon profit. If you ask me, I don't know how anyone has time to do something so involved to save an extra 60 cents of toothpaste.

Speaking of criticizing people with too much time on their hands, I've had a busy weekend so far with regards to retro modding. I recently installed a modchip in my Playstation 1 so that I can play games that I've burned at home. I've been playing metal gear solid 1 again and it's been really entertaining- some of the dialogue and plot points of that game are pretty bizarre. About a year ago a bunch of my friends from high school got together to play it, so I've been reminiscing a bit about that. Unfortunately, I don't actually own any memory cards for this PS1, so I can't save my game. I also have a hunch that the laser is starting to go, so maybe I'll have more modding to do in the near future. At any rate, it's been a joy to play though.

SO and I also finally modded out our respective gameboy advances. We had ordered the backlit screens online a few weeks ago and they finally arrived, so we spent today pulling each of our gameboys apart and trying to the various parts together. SO got a new case as well for their gameboy, and it looks great. Clear pink case with green buttons and edges, and with the backlit screen it all looks fantastic. The buttons for their gameboy fit a little weird- Maybe we ordered from a bad store, but everything ultimately crammed together in a way that seemed to work, so now we've each got our own backlit gba. Mostly I just use mine for LSDJ, which is a modtracker style music program for the gameboy. I'm not much of a DJ or anything, I just like to fiddle around with it really. I look forward to being able to do so at all times of day and night, rather than only being able to at high noon when the sun hits it just right.

I've been up too late. Gotta go to bed, hope you have a good day/night whoever you are.