I’m not dead. Just very, very busy. The first week of school nearly always drives me under. I’m pretty tired, and yet so pumped on chai masala (from Peet’s Coffee and Tea) that I’m not really ready for bed yet. And I’m enjoying a new high-speed Internet connection that lets me surf from nearly anywhere in the house. Heck, I could surf from the dormitory common room, the AirPort Express makes such a big electronic footprint.
What I haven’t figured out yet is how to hook up my printer, my scanner and my Internet in a way that’s really very successful all around. It seems I’m either going to have to update my iMac’s operating software, or give it to . That may be the best solution anyway, and then I can concentrate on having one computer for a while. How do people feel about having only a laptop as opposed to a desktop and a laptop
I have lots of ‘free’ periods this year, in the form of Detention coverage. Whereas I had five study halls per week last year, one a day…. this year I have eleven periods when I cover Detention. On Mondays and Fridays, I only have one period each day, but then on Tuesday through Thursday, I cover three each day. That makes nine Detentions, plus the two on Mondays and Fridays. Eleven.
The Detention room is a small, airless, windowless room with yellow cinderblock walls, no posters, five bare desks, a bare blackboard, no posters, an out-of-date computer, an intercom phone that connects only to the school’s academic office, and a broken thermostat. It is not a room any sane person would willingly spend time in. I suppose that’s part of the point.
I’m so glad that I’m actually getting to teach two history classes this year, that actually meet every day. If I’d given up my ninth grade class to one of my colleagues, as I reported on earlier, I would have been given another period of Detention coverage. Sixteen periods a week in this dungeon would drive me crazy. It’s possible that eleven will be bearable.
points out, seeing the bright side of things, that I will have lots of free time to write, assuming kids don’t get sent to Detention during my periods. I suppose this is true, and I thank her for the reminder of the useful stuff.
My main personal computer (versus the plethora of stuff at work) is a laptop. Under normal circumstances it is hooked into a docking station with a 21″ monitor, regular size keyboard, mouse and all the various connections get to stay in place. When I need to use the laptop some place else I remove it from the dock and go.
I don’t use my home system for much more than balancing the check book and Internet stuff. It works fine for me.
My main personal computer (versus the plethora of stuff at work) is a laptop. Under normal circumstances it is hooked into a docking station with a 21″ monitor, regular size keyboard, mouse and all the various connections get to stay in place. When I need to use the laptop some place else I remove it from the dock and go.
I don’t use my home system for much more than balancing the check book and Internet stuff. It works fine for me.
Re: NO LAPTOP!
If you play games, you’d probably want a desktop.
On the other hand, if you have a Mac you probably don’t play a lot of games.
Re: The Pit
More like, The PIT.
We also took finals in The PIT.
Did I mention it got too hot in the winter? The radiators were always hissing away. It added to the ambiance.
NO LAPTOP!
I have 2 laptops and no desktops…it’s horrible.
You can’t really upgrade a laptop…
We’re looking into buying a nice desktop. Laptops are great to have as an addition…but not having a desktop for the past 3 years has stunk for me.
NO LAPTOP!
I have 2 laptops and no desktops…it’s horrible.
You can’t really upgrade a laptop…
We’re looking into buying a nice desktop. Laptops are great to have as an addition…but not having a desktop for the past 3 years has stunk for me.
Re: NO LAPTOP!
If you play games, you’d probably want a desktop.
On the other hand, if you have a Mac you probably don’t play a lot of games.
The Pit
The Pit? The Pit. The Pit The Pit.
I like that.
How do people feel about having only a laptop as opposed to a desktop and a laptop
It depends on how long you’re using it at a stretch. I have a desktop at work, where I spend beaucoup amounts of time (like right now, in fact). At home we have a wireless laptop, a loaner laptop, and a desktop, but the desktop mostly only gets used when my husband is writing. The laptop floats around from room to room — email at breakfast, movie listings in the living room, recipes in the kitchen. No laptop in bed unless you’re sick or your boss is calling at 8AM, we have a rule and I don’t care how good the Internet porn is.
The main laptop is a Dell, and the keyboard is condensed compared to a normal keyboard. It has both the button mouse and a drag-your-finger mouse. It was uncomfortable by the end of my spring programming class. The loaner from work is an obsolete ThinkPad, with a button mouse and a much more condensed keyboard. That was uncomfortable by the end of a weekend. These factors could be ameliorated if you get one that allows you to plug in a real keyboard and mouse for long writing hauls. The advantage to a laptop is, again, the flexibility if it’s wireless. I worked from my front porch on Sunday, which surely beat working in the study where the network cables plug in.
I hear working from cafes, on or offline, is very pleasant too.
The Dell has been very stable, but laptops are somewhat fragile. You should consider how you will back up your files. Maybe a CD-ROM burner? Or FTPing it to another site? It would be a shame to lose your writing.
That makes nine Detentions, plus the two on Mondays and Fridays. Eleven.
Vice Principal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Movie, when the prom is strewn with dead vampires: “Detention, detention, deeeeetention!”
[ The detention room …] is not a room any sane person would willingly spend time in. I suppose that’s part of the point.
At our school, it was in a small 2-story room that used to be a gymnasium. There was a track around the top at ground level. The detention area was where the old gym floor used to be. It was called The Pit. Reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai, “No one comes in here”. Not if they could help it, anyway.
How do people feel about having only a laptop as opposed to a desktop and a laptop
It depends on how long you’re using it at a stretch. I have a desktop at work, where I spend beaucoup amounts of time (like right now, in fact). At home we have a wireless laptop, a loaner laptop, and a desktop, but the desktop mostly only gets used when my husband is writing. The laptop floats around from room to room — email at breakfast, movie listings in the living room, recipes in the kitchen. No laptop in bed unless you’re sick or your boss is calling at 8AM, we have a rule and I don’t care how good the Internet porn is.
The main laptop is a Dell, and the keyboard is condensed compared to a normal keyboard. It has both the button mouse and a drag-your-finger mouse. It was uncomfortable by the end of my spring programming class. The loaner from work is an obsolete ThinkPad, with a button mouse and a much more condensed keyboard. That was uncomfortable by the end of a weekend. These factors could be ameliorated if you get one that allows you to plug in a real keyboard and mouse for long writing hauls. The advantage to a laptop is, again, the flexibility if it’s wireless. I worked from my front porch on Sunday, which surely beat working in the study where the network cables plug in.
I hear working from cafes, on or offline, is very pleasant too.
The Dell has been very stable, but laptops are somewhat fragile. You should consider how you will back up your files. Maybe a CD-ROM burner? Or FTPing it to another site? It would be a shame to lose your writing.
That makes nine Detentions, plus the two on Mondays and Fridays. Eleven.
Vice Principal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Movie, when the prom is strewn with dead vampires: “Detention, detention, deeeeetention!”
[ The detention room …] is not a room any sane person would willingly spend time in. I suppose that’s part of the point.
At our school, it was in a small 2-story room that used to be a gymnasium. There was a track around the top at ground level. The detention area was where the old gym floor used to be. It was called The Pit. Reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai, “No one comes in here”. Not if they could help it, anyway.
The Pit
The Pit? The Pit. The Pit The Pit.
I like that.
Re: The Pit
More like, The PIT.
We also took finals in The PIT.
Did I mention it got too hot in the winter? The radiators were always hissing away. It added to the ambiance.
Call me your silly boy! I left 2-3 messages on your answering machine and you haven’t called me back!!
Call me your silly boy! I left 2-3 messages on your answering machine and you haven’t called me back!!
Not yet… but I haven’t been to the post office since Tuesday, so I may have to wait a bit.
Funny story– I called, Tim McGregor at SPEAK… the other night, the last time I was able to go in a while. Tim McG, he was a student of mine for a while, and a very good fellow. I read Kitchen Samurai in honor of you two, because it was dedicated to .
But of course, I called our Tim, this other name. How embarrassing. 🙂
did you get my postcard?
didyadidyadidya?
did you get my postcard?
didyadidyadidya?
Not yet… but I haven’t been to the post office since Tuesday, so I may have to wait a bit.
Funny story– I called, Tim McGregor at SPEAK… the other night, the last time I was able to go in a while. Tim McG, he was a student of mine for a while, and a very good fellow. I read Kitchen Samurai in honor of you two, because it was dedicated to .
But of course, I called our Tim, this other name. How embarrassing. 🙂