How a computer processor is made

This is pretty mind-boggling…

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built to last

built to last, originally uploaded by Michael Clark.

I bought this sempron processor (= not very good) laptop in the summer of 2006 for a whopping $900+  after taxes. Since then both hinges have busted and I prop it up with two pieces of lego (underneath) and a cabinet (behind).

I don’t get excited over buying computer stuff these days, so if it works, I’ll probably keep using it.

One thing I noticed was that my fan was getting loud and the laptop hotter than usual.

After trying to take the back off (generally not a good idea!), I decided to vacuum it at the main air vent.I figured that some accumulated gunk might be laboring the fan.

Well, I was right. The machine is running silent and cool!

But both hinges are still busted…

Troy Davis – The night the lights went out in Georgia

Image by C. Elle via Flickr

I’d never heard about Troy Davis until the MSN homepage flashed a story about his upcoming execution. After a while I turned on CNN and saw the full TV coverage.

Part of me was hoping that his appeal would be successful. I mean, even if he did kill that man, does another death make anything better? And what if he didn’t?

If there’s a shadow of a doubt the death penalty just can’t be applied. Actually, I don’t believe in the death penalty at all. It seems so primitive. And, as much as I love and admire Americans, I just do not get how such a great nation, one that can put a man on the moon, can still stoop so low as to execute human beings.

I could go on about how jail time would allow the sinner to reflect and repent for their sins. But… the main thing is that someone was killed last night when there was a shadow of a doubt in the case. And that, IMHO, is barbarism.

No nice way to dress it up.

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NASA’s first television picture of Earth from space

NASA’s first television picture of Earth from space, a photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.

coffee break

coffee break, originally uploaded by Michael Clark.

The man in this picture was talking to himself. When he bought a coffee and came to sit inside the cafe area, another customer (in a group of three middle class customers) looked askance at him, as if he were a weirdo.

Then the group of three all started smoking, which stank, and prompted me to leave. When leaving I reflected how the man talking to himself (a basically harmless activity) was regarded as weird, while the smokers (a self-destructive and potentially lethal activity) were not.

Today’s reading at Mass

The Resurrection Mass in Stavropoleos, oil on canvass via Wikipedia

I was talking on Facebook earlier this morning about synchronicity, magic and spirituality. Then later at Mass, this reading sort of stood out:

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of this world rather than on Christ.  ⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

Source: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+2%3A6-15&version=NIV

It seemed like a funny kind of synchronicity in itself.

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last days of summer

last days of summer, originally uploaded by Michael Clark.