Taking a trip back to 1998
As Wednesday would soon be upon me and as I am an unrepentant consumer, it was time to buy something. You can't just take up a new adventure without buying something; it's un-American. Our whole gd econonmy is based on people buying cool stuff they don't need. I had to do my part.
I had already bought De la Maza's book and the CT Art 3.0 CD, so I was fresh out of ideas. Perhaps a wall chart to track my progress with a gold-plated marking pen? How about a big fat sand timer that takes 2 hours to drain? Cushy pillow for my ever-expanding butt? How about 2 chocolate chess sets? I could eat a piece after I finished every night.
I was just about to give up hope when I happened upon something that I might actually need -- a laptop computer. Yes, I know. I already have a computer, but the problem is that the Empress de la Maza often needs to use it for her work in the evenings. The Empress is lovely beyond compare, but she has little appreciation for the fundamental importance of chess training over ... well, everything. As such, I saw 4 months ahead of me of discussions about who's turn it was to use the computer. Avoiding (losing) these arguments was worth somewhere inthe neighborhood of $350 in my estimation. As such, I pulled out the CT Art CD to see the system requirements --
Pentium PC -- 75MHZ+, 24 Meg RAM, 4 Meg disk space, SVGA color monitor 800x600
Such a laptop of course no longer exists new. The last time these were being made new President Clinton was still denying ever having had sex with Monica Lewinsky; Internet stocks were still on the way up; and Windows 98 had just about to come out. I checked for models like this on eBay and found that you could get one easily for less than $200. In fact, if you are patient, you can probably get one for less than $100. I asked a hardware geek friend about 1998 laptops. His recommndation was to get a Toshiba or a Compaq. He said to stay away from Dells (they were new to laptops back then) and that an IBM ThinkPad would probably be OK in a pinch. He also pointed me to a local source where I'm going to get a PII Compaq Armada for $70. Hell, that's cheaper than the chocolate chess sets.
So if you want a laptop computer for CT Art only, stick with a Toshiba or a Compaq made sometime near the end of the prior millennium
Did exercises last night.
27 down, 128 to go.
I had already bought De la Maza's book and the CT Art 3.0 CD, so I was fresh out of ideas. Perhaps a wall chart to track my progress with a gold-plated marking pen? How about a big fat sand timer that takes 2 hours to drain? Cushy pillow for my ever-expanding butt? How about 2 chocolate chess sets? I could eat a piece after I finished every night.
I was just about to give up hope when I happened upon something that I might actually need -- a laptop computer. Yes, I know. I already have a computer, but the problem is that the Empress de la Maza often needs to use it for her work in the evenings. The Empress is lovely beyond compare, but she has little appreciation for the fundamental importance of chess training over ... well, everything. As such, I saw 4 months ahead of me of discussions about who's turn it was to use the computer. Avoiding (losing) these arguments was worth somewhere inthe neighborhood of $350 in my estimation. As such, I pulled out the CT Art CD to see the system requirements --
Pentium PC -- 75MHZ+, 24 Meg RAM, 4 Meg disk space, SVGA color monitor 800x600
Such a laptop of course no longer exists new. The last time these were being made new President Clinton was still denying ever having had sex with Monica Lewinsky; Internet stocks were still on the way up; and Windows 98 had just about to come out. I checked for models like this on eBay and found that you could get one easily for less than $200. In fact, if you are patient, you can probably get one for less than $100. I asked a hardware geek friend about 1998 laptops. His recommndation was to get a Toshiba or a Compaq. He said to stay away from Dells (they were new to laptops back then) and that an IBM ThinkPad would probably be OK in a pinch. He also pointed me to a local source where I'm going to get a PII Compaq Armada for $70. Hell, that's cheaper than the chocolate chess sets.
So if you want a laptop computer for CT Art only, stick with a Toshiba or a Compaq made sometime near the end of the prior millennium
Did exercises last night.
27 down, 128 to go.
posted by Don Q.
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