i purchased euclid- my second of three networked, and thus named, computers- about 3 years ago. well 2 and 1/2. euclids purchase came at a strangely coincidental overlap between need and want. i wanted an apple. janus died the death of a thousand motherboards, and needed to be replaced. (as time progressed, janus would sporadically came back life, sputtering a bit, winding up, only to crash again mere moments later. she felt like the car you have parked on blocks next to your house; the proverbial "someday" project, to be tinkered on here and there.) since ive ever known computers, ive known desktops. large overweight cream-colored beasts, with the all to familiar hum, whirs and rattles. when euclid arrived, i half tried to break into its laptop-set of features, but really fell victim to my schooling. it soon took up a permanant place on my desk, with its accessories growning and their positions decided as well. it became a hassle to transport it simply because the second monitor, the mouse, the external hd, the sound jack, and ipod all had to be disconnected (and thus reconnected) so that i could take notes directly to file during class.

this all changed sorta, when i moved to brunel.

as one might when moving accross the world (or at least beyond driving distance), you sell everything you have, measure whats left, cut that in half, and sell again. as was the case when euclid first arrived in my life, laptops were not ubiquitous, so appearing with one was a sort of showy "look at my new mustang" move, associated more with the jock idiot types. luckily now, that has changed. laptops are common enough here that i can produce mine, and blend in. i like that. but my value for this machine goes beyond just portability. in a large way, it has to do with its shear size. heres this thing that, really, i use in almost every aspect of my daily life except for hygene. i get recipes from the net to cook better food, i put on nice music to lull me to sleep, i watch movies and downloaded family guy episodes to relax, i read the news to stay aware, i check posings for housing possibillities, i talk with my friends via im and email, i practice guitar via garageband, i procure income via programs like pshop, illustrator and dreamweaver, i read about music to learn about new and intersting bands, while purchasing bicycle and guitar parts on ebay to keep my hands busy. and its so small and quiet.

the pleasure involved with this machine leads me beleive that either laptops are the way of the future, or computers in general are going to get smaller.

below is a picture of my desk area taken a few weeks ago, when it occured to me that- at the time- i liked what my desk had to offer...