No Slight of Palm

[robotech_master]

Well, I tripped on down to Circuit City today to look at the Sony Clié I had my eyes on. In fact, there it is, over to the right. Spent a lot of last night reading reviews of it and watching the back-and-forth from people who'd either liked it or not. It was heartening to note that, though a lot of people thought the screen sucks, there seemed to be just as many who liked it. I took a good look at it, decided I liked it a lot...and then realized that, since my tax return money hadn't come in yet, I couldn't yet purchase it. So, I settled for giving it a longing glance, then headed back home to put the old Visor and backup module up for auction on eBay. I'll put the Stowaway keyboard up there, too...if I can find it, in this mess of a room.

I suppose that the Visor might actually be reparable, with skill and patience and the right tools. I'd just have to buy a $50 part myself, then crack the thing open and put it in. But let's be honest here, I don't have skill, patience, or the right tools, and if I were to try it, I'd end up pestering my brothers or friends or whoever until I found someone who could do it, and even then there's no guarantee they could get it done. Better to sell it on eBay to someone who might be more willing and able, and use the money from that to help defer the cost of the newest model, with all the toys I could possibly want in a PDA. Ironically, at ~$220, $233 with tax, the Clié is cheaper than my Visor Deluxe was when I first bought it. Technology does indeed march on.

Now, I realize that some people might think that, as cash-strapped as I am, this might not be the best time to buy a new PDA. But the truth is, I just don't have much choice. My Visor has my life on it--and most importantly, my checkbook register. I don't always do the best job of keeping track of expenses even with it, but before I got my first Palm, overdrafts were my way of life--and that check register program must surely have saved me at least the cost of the Visor in overdraft charges. My finances might have a hard time taking the strain of my buying the device...but I know for sure they couldn't take it if I didn't.

Took the car over to a friend of my brothers' yesterday, to see what could be done about the blinker that's going to cause it not to pass inspection. He seemed to think that we could indeed replace it without totally replacing the front end...so I guess we'll go for that. Of course, I'll still have to wait, again, for the tax return money to come in, so I can get the part. It's supposed to be in by Friday at the latest...

I finished the Honor Harrington novels, right up to and including the most recent preview chapters of the next one, War of Honor. I'm well and truly hooked, and it's most frustrating that I'm going to have to wait until July or so to read any more of it. It seems like this is a year for stuff to be waited for--the new Star Wars movie, and the Spiderman movie, and the Two Towers, and Harry Potter #5, and 1633 and War of Honor. Patience...must have patience...