I bit the bullet...

Well, it's official. We are finally getting a new computer. After the much needed validation I got from a select few, I decided to make the purchase. For those of you who care, this will be the first new computer I've had since I built this one I currently use. That was before I was married. When I lived in Logan, UT. And I moved from there in August of 2002. So that lets you know how old the thing is.

The specs on this old machine are:

ASUS A7V266-E mother board
AMD Duron 1.2Gig processor
785 MB Ram
20Gig Hard drive (yes you read that right)
Philips CDRW drive 24X
Mitsumi CDRW drive (can't remember the speed, it was free from Elder George)
On board sound
NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64 video card
Windows 2000 svc pack 4
15" monitor

The new one is a Dell. Yes, some say blah to Dell, but they had the best price because I wasn't in the mood to build one this time, sorry Sticks.

Inspiron 518

Quantity

Item Description

1	Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q6600 (8MB L2, 2.4GHz, 1066FSB)
1	4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz (4 DIMM)
1	No Keyboard
1	Dell S1909WX 19 inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
1	ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB supporting HDMI
1	500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
1	Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
1	Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit
1	Mouse included with Keyboard purchase
1	No Modem Option
1	Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
1	16X DVD+/-RW Drive
1	Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
1	No speaker Option
1	No Productivity software pre-installed
1	McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days
1	1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
1	Windows Vista™ Premium
1	Dell Remote Access, free basic service

Some had suggested a larger monitor. Our computer is in a hutch. We do have room for the 20" but I didn't want to wait the 2 weeks extra it would take. It will be a big enough difference to get the 19". I will purchase whatever software I need later. Office 2007 home and student most likely.

Thanks for the validation those who validated. I do appreciate it.

Frosty Morning

It was a balmy -4 this morning when I checked the temp. It was also foggy all night long. The good thing about the fog is what it leaves in the morning.



Trees look much better in the winter with frost all over them.

Report on trip to the citay.

So, we went to Tucanos. Very good food. Although the bacon wrapped turkey was dry. Every slice of whatever beef they brought was delicious. Although it seemed they came by all to often with the garlic beef. It got old quick. All you in the south country need to visit and eat there. It is well worth it. But, make sure you get a reservation. We had one and it seemed to help.

On a report on eating at Moochies Meatballs. This place was on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We figured that since they are said to have the best Philly cheesesteak in Utah we'd give it a shot. If that's the best, I'll stick to the Arby's cheesesteak sub any day. Not good.

After we ate the plan was to go visit Dale at work. Zion's building down town. Whenever I tell someone to follow me somewhere I also give them an address so they know where to go incase they get lost. Amy told Jeremy to follow us. She didn't give them an address. So they were on the phone, and Amy was relaying every turn we made. I was beyond annoyed. Just give them an address and let them find their way there. We ended up going the the Gateway Mall and parking there, then taking trax over to the building. Once again, Jeremy got lost. He couldn't get get onto the train with the stroller fast enough. So we waited, and waited, and waited. He ended up running/jogging his way on the street instead of taking another train.

While visiting Dale, a coworker came in for some dirt. We didn't have anything. Then he asked Lily for something. So I asked Lily to tell him what Grandpa's name was. As soon as I said that Dale let out an "oh no". Lily has called him Grandpa Marvin for quite some time. After stating his name the guy gave Lily a quarter. She was quite happy.

By the time we headed home, my gut was hurting. Lunch was not settling well. That night I puked at least 12 times, and had enough diarhea to clean me out well enough to get a colonoscopy. We suffered through the day doing what shopping we needed to finish then headed to Orem to spend the night before making the trip home.

It was nice to get home and sleep in my own bed after so many nights away. My guts still hurt from the sickness, but I think it's like I pulled a muscle or something. I'll just try to take it easy this week and rest over the next long weekend.

Alas, my twenties, I knew them well.

Today is a fateful day. It is the last day of being in my twenties. Tonight we are headed to "the big city" to do some Christmas shopping.

The birthday plan goes thusly:

1. Wake up when I wake up.
2. Eat when I feel like eating.
3. Go where we end up going.
4. Eat lunch at Tucanos and do my best not to gorge myself.
5. Complain to Amy because she let me eat too much.
6. Do whatever else we end up doing.

Oh my next thirty years, I'm gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many Dr. Peppers
Maybe I'll survive my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here, in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years.

That's all I have to add to this subject for now. It's time to pack up and leave for the citay.

Snow

Well, we've had a wee bit of snow here in Roosterville. I don't really mind the white stuff. In fact, I actually enjoy it. The only thing I don't like about it is how stinking bright it gets. You can't go anywhere in the day time and not have sunglasses. If you do, you can't see for 10 minutes after you get inside because of the snow blindness.

One good thing to remember about the snow though is this. RABBITS!! It seems to be a downer year for rabbits this year from all the reports I've heard. Rabbits go through seven year cycles. They boom for a while, then they bust. Last year was probably the last boom year. This year has been a bust. We didn't see a single rabbit when we went to get our Christmas tree. And I've only seen one live rabbit out in the oil patch while doing deliveries. But that was all before the snow. Snow changes everything. Now I just need to take the time to go chase the tasty little creatures.

Anyone care to join me?