S is for Sweetness
They say time flies when you’re having fun and I’m a believer. The past six months have flown by faster than the six weeks I waited to get my new Mini. I test drove my first Mini last April and right then I knew it was the car for me. A few weeks later, I ordered one of my own custom built by Mini to meet my specifications. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
My new ride is a 2007 Mini Cooper S, for sweetness, in Laser Blue Metallic with a black roof and bonnet stripes. It has the sport package which includes the on-board computer, alloy crown spoke wheels, run-flat tires, and xenon headlamps. I also ordered it with automatic air conditioning, chrome line exterior trim, anthracite headliner, and fluid silver interior trim.
Since I picked up my Mini on June 6th, I have put nearly 5,000 miles on the odometer. Although, most of the miles were accumulated in a one week period. Trips to North Carolina, Ohio, then South Carolina totaled more than 2,800 miles. This is a considerable feat since I rarely drive more than 500 miles in an entire year. I have to be careful not to put too many miles on the car, especially since it’s just plain fun to drive a Mini.
Building a New Computer
After putting it off for close to a year now, I finally decided to get the ball rolling again and start building my new computer. The last time I upgraded my computer was more than three years ago so I am pretty excited about the new project. I have spent about an hour each day for the past week reading reviews, researching new technology, and hunting for the best prices on computer parts. It took some time figuring out the best configuration using the new motherboard I bought last year, especially since the technology has changed since then. My new plan is finalized though, and I started ordering the parts.
After plenty of debate about going with the newest technology avaiable, it just was not worth the extra cost involved. There is virtually no performance increase over the new motherboard and memory I already have so that money is going toward a new case. Below is the new computer configuration.
(1) MSI RD480 Neo2-FI motherboard
(1) AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 dual core processor
(4) OCZ 1024MB PC-3200 DDR400 EL Platinum Edition memory modules
(1) Western Digital Raptor X 150GB Serial ATA150 hard drive
(2) Western Digital Caviar SE16 400GB Ultra ATA100 hard drives
(2) ATI Radeon X1600 Pro PCI-E video cards
(1) ATI TV Wonder 650 PCI tuner card
(1) Thermaltake Truepower Cable Management 750W power supply
(2) Sony DRU-830A 18X Dual Layer DVD±RW disk drives
(1) Logitech Z-2300 speaker system
(1) Logitech Cordless Desktop MX3200 Laser keyboard and mouse
(1) Dell UltraSharp 2007WP 20″ Widescreen Digital Flat Panel LCD monitor
(1) Lian-Li PC-A10A aluminum case
(1) Lian-Li CR-33A media card reader
(1) Microsoft Vista Ultimate edition
(1) Microsoft Office 2007 Professional edition
Well, that is the list of component parts and software for my new computer. So far, I already have the motherboard and memory which I bought a while ago. The processor and copy of Vista was an awesome deal I just could not pass up. I basically got both for the cost of the processor. The hardest decision to make was which case to use. I must have looked at hundreds of different cases before making my choice. The last case I bought was from Lian-Li and it has been incredible, so I was leaning in that direction right from the start. It was still difficult because there are so many nice cases on the market. It finally came down to the overall quality and craftsmanship. The new case should be here sometime later in the week. I cannot wait to start building and sharing the process with everyone. Stay tuned for more.
Hello World!
Fathom the Unknown is now a reality instead of just an idea tucked away in the back of my mind. This website is a place where I can share my life experiences with the masses. Putting my innermost thoughts and dreams into words that people can interpret and understand. Please remember that what I say is my own opinion and not that of the people around me. Enjoy getting deep inside the unconscious mind!
