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.
Global Warming: Polar Bear Threat?
The largest terrestrial carnivore on the planet is in danger of disappearing. Polar bears are facing trouble in the near future as the ice sheets they rely heavily on for survival are disappearing each year. Perfectly at home in the harsh conditions of the Arctic, they use the ice sheets as floating islands where they hunt for food, search for mates, and rest between swims. As the ice sheets melt, valuable limited hunting grounds are reduced and swimming distances between them are increased. Their habitat is disappearing beneath their feet and scientists believe that global warming is behind this growing threat.
So are polar bears really in trouble? More than a fourth of the world’s polar bear population is in sharp decline and alarming evidence of the impact of global warming on polar bears continues to grow. Scientists have gathered evidence of polar bear drownings, cannibalism, starvation, reduced cub survival and denning dislocation.
Polar bears are one of the world’s strongest swimmers but four were found drowned in the Bering Strait and scientists believe that as many as twenty-seven may have perished.
Two female polar bears were found starved to death, malnurished and without any fat stores on their body.
Newborn cubs were crushed to death when their snowy dens collapsed from unseasonable rains.
The majority of pregnant polar bears in Alaska are now digging snow dens on land rather than on sea ice.
So what can we do to help? It’s simple, get involved and raise awareness. The threat of global warming to polar bears has led to them being added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Greenpeace have put heavy pressure on the Bush Administration to shield the polar bear under protection from the Endangered Species Act. There are plenty of ways for people to make their voice heard and keep pressure on the politicians to do the right thing for these amazing creatures. Take action now!
- Defenders of Wildlife
- Greenpeace’s Project Thin Ice
- Natural Resources Defense Council’s BioGems
- Save Our Environment
Upgraded to WordPress 2.1 Ella
Curiosity got the best of me with the release of WordPress 2.1 Ella. I couldn’t wait to see what new features they have added so I installed the upgrade tonight. It was relatively simple and took a whole 18 minutes to complete. Everything went smoothly with no problems. I don’t use many plugins and only one, WysiwygPro, doesn’t work with the new version. Hopefully they will get it fixed since I really like the extra functionality provided by the editor. As far as the Ella goes, there aren’t really any noticable differences on the surface but I like the new features added to the admin panel and they cleaned it up some. Everything said, the upgrade was worth the time and effort.
Cool Project: 2,000 Bloggers
While I was making my daily visit to 9rules I stumbled across a very interesting project a fellow blogger has undertaken. His name is Tino Buntic and he has started the global project to create a blogroll that consists of the faces of 2,000 bloggers from all walks of life. Any type of blog is acceptable and he doesn’t care what the blog is about or why the person blogs. He is including anyone that leaves a comment with their name and a link to their blog. The only requirements are that the blog must have been started before January 1st of this year and include a picture of the person somewhere in the blog. That’s pretty simple, although he has a lot of work to do making all those thumbnails for his listing. This is some pretty cool stuff!
My Own Little Piece of the Ocean
About three years ago, I got this hair-brained idea to set up a saltwater aquarium in my classroom. No big deal, I had set up plenty for laboratory studies in college so it would be a breeze. The whole idea was to be able to show the kids the real-life relationship between a clownfish and anemone. It’s a concept that’s in nearly every biology textbook I’ve ever read so I thought it would be a pretty cool to bring the pictures to life. It worked out better than I had planned. The kids loved to watch the clownfish nestle in the anemone. It reminded them of Finding Nemo which is one of their favorite movies. Who would have thought high school kids would be so fascinated with the relationship between a fish and invertebrate. The only problem was that I too had become fascinated. It wasn’t just something to study, it was calming just to simply watch.
I have always had freshwater aquariums in my home and classroom, but saltwater aquariums were always too expensive to own and maintain. With improvements in technology and a drop in prices of equipment, I decided it was time to take the plunge. The classroom experiment was such a success that I began working on a home project. It took months of planning and building and the help of family and friends to get it done. Two years after beginning the project, I can honestly say it’s been an incredible learning experience. The animals are the easy part, I spent my life studying them, but the maintenance has been tough. It takes an elaborate system of filtration and lighting to keep a reef aquarium going. For the most part, I’ve had great success and I enjoy the results every day when I walk through my front door.
It has been a lot of fun watching the fish, corals, and other invertebrates grow and interact with each other. If I can ever afford a new camera I plan on creating an album in the gallery so there will be visuals to go with the words. You can’t put a price tag on the hours of peace and enjoyment I get out of my aquarium. I have always found peace in the ocean and now I have my own little piece.
