31W0D: Computer Troubles

Pterodactyl is still doing okay as far as we can tell. She is also still in my uterus, right where she belongs. I think I'd rather lug her around for a few more months instead of having to visit in the NICU. Plus, a room in Hotel Uterus is free; a room in Hotel NICU is definitely not free.

I guess the biggest news is that our laptop had a stroke last night. (I am using sister's computer.) We have all our stuff backed up on an external hard drive and/or Dropbox, so ye need not worry about that. The main problem is our consequent computerlessness. James does need a computer to do schoolwork.

As many of you are aware, James has been pining away for a gaming* computer for ages... and not just any gaming computer, a good gaming computer. One that can run all the latest and greatest games, and will likely also be able to run the latest and greatest in the next three or four years.

I suppose that some of my audience might not realize this means spending $1,500-$2,000. I assure you--for a good gaming computer, this is reasonable. That price range, however, most likely wouldn't be enough to buy a best gaming computer. It really is just enough for a good one. If you're not a gamer and you don't believe me... this is not the place to convince you.

Several months ago, we had saved up almost enough money for the computer and had actually bought a few  components (monitor, mouse, keyboard, and case) when disaster strikes in the form of... dun dun DUN! Root canal: $1,500. Bye-bye budget. Poor James not only had to endure the pain of a root canal, but the loss of an expected computer as well. 

We have been entering all the computer sweepstakes ever, you know, just in case God is as desperate to bless us with a gaming computer as James is to get one. We figure it can't hurt, even if the odds are most certainly against us. Waaaay against us.

Well, guess what. Dooooooooommm! Our laptop died today. It was functional last night and only slightly sluggish, as can be expected from a laptop its age. This morning, however, was a whole 'nother story. Sudden dementia. We undid our most recent Windows update, to no avail. We uninstalled something we installed last night, also to no avail. And then we ran all the exciting diagnostics and discovered a hard drive problem, which means this computer is on its deathbed.

Good news! There is, apparently, some hope for our checking account. Ben, James' super awesome brother who is a super awesome programmer, apparently sometimes gets free stuff from programming conference-type events. He may be able to send us a Chromebook that might possibly run LaTeX (a math program which James, as a math Ph.D. student, understandably needs). So if Ben can somehow hack the Chromebook to run LaTeX, we may be compelled to admit that he is a miracle worker and give him... oh, I don't know. The baby teeth of our firstborn child? ... Gross.

I've also discovered that James keeps his composure a lot better when he is not allowed to control the mouse/keyboard of a dying computer. If he is... this, in a nutshell, is what happens:

James: *click*

Computer: *no response, considers unicorns*

James: *click click click click click click*

Computer: *stays frozen, gets confused, thinks about rainbows*

James: AAARRRRRGGGHHH!!! *CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK* *forehead vein throbs* My life is HORRRIBBLE! *CLICK CLICK* *scream*

Computer: *finally opens whatever James was trying to open in the first place, then freezes again to try and process the last five thousand mouse clicks received, contemplates mold*

James: *tantrum* *presses lots of buttons*

Now, when he is not in control, he still gets sad and upset, but he isn't on the cusp of destroying any furniture or snapping at his lovely wife for no good reason. I think I shall establish a new rule in my household: when a computer is misbehaving, James must relinquish control. Yes. I think this is a wise precaution.

Well. I guess we'll see how long it takes in real life for us to get a gaming computer.

Love and heartburn,

Jenna and Pterodactyl (and a very sad James)

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*I want to make one thing extremely clear. James' love of video games does not bother me one iota. People assume his gaming would make me unhappy. Yes, James is (or was when the computer let him play) a Platinum League player in Starcraft II; this does not mean he ignores me or devotes too much time to video games. (That's like assuming an decent athlete neglects other responsibilities in order to improve his or her skills.) Yes, James is a gamer. James does not neglect his wife, or his graduate studies, or his church responsibilities, or anything else important. James plays games in his honest-to-goodness, never-in-excess free time. Now stop feeling sorry for James' wife.