Wrist injury, new computer specs

-
I injured my wrist again. Well, this time the left instead of the right, but it hurts just as much. Sparring it was that did it. Ok, YES I should've break-falled, but I didn't -- I was too busy worrying about smashing into the mirror somewhere behind me. Oh, and at the time my leg was held by my rushing opponent. Is this really news? For me, it's a pain certainly, and makes riding my bicycle unpleasant. I have to be careful handling cups and dishes, as I have no gripping strength. Oh, and I can't do pushups. I'm not sure which is better, keeping my wrist straight all the time and not using it or to exercise it and use it normally. I would think the former would result in faster healing, but the latter lets me maintain its strength.

The new computer is almost ready! Just have to install all my primary apps and chat and copy over files and program data and... well, ok, not so ready ready as to replace my current system, but it's at least getting on its feet and showing off some of its colours. For those keeping track, my current system is a Pentium IV 3.0 GHz/1.5 GB RAM/Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB. Here's the new guy, with the prices I paid:
  • Motherboard: ASUS Rampage Formula Socket 775 Intel (Dual-channel DDR2). $338
  • CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83 GHz. $380
  • Memory: 2 GB (2x1 1024 MB) DDR2. $95
  • Video: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048 MB. $580
  • Storage: Seagate 1TB SATA 3 Gb/s. $136

So the core system is about $1529. Add onto that the case (Lian-LI PC-60B, $120), power supply (Antec TP3-650 TruePower $95), and DVD reader (LG GBC-H20L SATA OEM, $130). I also splurged and got a new monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22", $213) and a new mouse (Logitech MX518, $45). Pre-splurge total is $1874. Total with splurge: $2132. With taxes, grand total of $2409.16. Yup, it's a mid-life crisis! This should keep my gaming appetite sated for a while. At least, the non-XBox side of it.

This entry may be a long one since I'm at the same time installing things on the new machine.

Friday night was drinks with some karate people at a bar on College. I think I'm just about done with alcohol. Really I am. No desire, tired of not controlling my brain, inability to concentrate. Fun, sure but tiresome. Saturday I slept in, saw my Korean tutor for the last time before he returns to Korea, and then drove out to KW to see UFC 90. Oh what a sad thing it was! Far Cry 2 proved to be an accurate indicator of who would win each fight, even if it meant a freak accident. Do not doubt the power of Far Cry 2! Sunday was dragon form practice, then lunch with mom, then returning home to sleep.

Sunday I also finally watched Donnie Darko. I must admit that I was very impressed, am very impressed. I'm not much of one for horror or thrillers, but this one is just too damn smart I can't help but enjoy the way everything was laid out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

fifty is the number

-
I turned fifty last month. We had a small party with old faces, lots of laughs, and, at least for me, a reminder of the life I had before the pandemic, before having a kid, before my colon surgery . That is to say, a good time, and I hope to have many more like it. I do feel older, in practical, daily ways. For one thing my eyes have gotten much worse over the past year, so bad that I find myself looking over my glasses to look at my phone. My skin is just ravaged by this dry winter air, well beyond anything I'd ever experienced. A lifetime of neglect and sun-exposure has finally caught up to me. While I'm not exactly getting heavy I have noticed a softness building up around my torso. So over the past few months I've taken to doing modified burpees as my daily exercise and have been pretty happy with the results. I do them in small bursts, HIIT-style, and that seems about the pace I can afford, both on a time and energy level. I do try to play video games but I definitely ...
Read more

Dying, up close

-
In media people are portrayed as alert and cognizant right up to the moment they pass, able to give a final message to a loved one. Not so with my father, and I feel his death is more typical of the experience — a disinterest in watching or reading anything, increasingly jumbled speech, a loss of any appetite or thirst, just long periods of sleep. Finally a day or more of near-constant sleep, his heart beating slower and slower, until we turned away for a moment and he was gone. Though really he had been dying in varying degrees for weeks, his bodily performance a far cry from even a couple months before. It’s been over a month since the funeral  but the events leading up to it are still fresh in my mind, a history where my dad still lives, still has advice for me, still has smiles for his friends and family. My grief comes and goes, gradually trending to a melancholy, a deep sigh in my day. In truth I have been grieving these past few years as signs of my father’s end would appear...
Read more

a return to the mood

-
Image
And yet life goes on. In June we had a short visit to Montreal, packing in the usual sights and flavours, tempered by the heat and our own waning energy levels. We took great advantage of the hotel's pool, swimming a joy I never tire of, encouraging Sora to get more comfortable in the water. I didn't have much opportunity to pick out my old haunts but I could see that the city has grown since my days there, shimmering halcyon days full of youth and opportunity. Indeed every moment on the streets would bring waves of memories, of friends faded or forgotten, my head lost and spinning and trying to breathe it all in again. Obviously very different now but seeing it anew through Sora's eyes gave some fresh pleasure. We made the trip to the recently updated Biosphere, probably the highlight of the trip, the biomes living up to their names. My heart shatters at the thought of our poor Ontario Science Centre being stripped of its wares, each precious exhibit cast out, the unique, ...
Read more