New Toys
I'm getting a motorcycle and a new computer. Whoo-hoo!
The motorcycle is a '96 Yamaha Seca II. It's red and looks really clean. It's not a huge bike, but that's okay. I haven't been on a bike in 15 years, so I don't want to go too nuts. I looked at quite a few 'entry-level' bikes and this one is the best fit for what I'm looking for - at least in my price range - around US$3000. If I had more money to spend, I'd probably get a BMW F650. The Seca II is a good bike, though, and I'm thrilled with it. It's even recommended by BeginnerBikes.com. I'm going to pay for it today and transfer the title, but I don't get the bike until Friday. A little frustrating, but that's okay. I could take it today, but I don't want to ride it home on the freeway. I need a little practice before I'm ready for that mess.

I ordered the new computer a couple of days ago from General Nanosystems - they're a Twin-cities outfit that has a good local reputation among the geekerati - decent prices for good components. I'm getting a pretty basic Athlon XP1600 machine -
Athlon Value System
Athlon XP 1600+ (1.4G) CPU
ATX Mid Tower Case w/300W Power Supply AMD Approved
Lite On 16X DVD-ROM
Cooler Master Socket A Heatsink and Fan
Teac 1.44 Floppy Drive
Western Digital 40G 7200RPM ATA/100 Hard Drive
Keytronic PS/2 Keyboard
Biostar M7VIB Mainboard w/Integrated 16bit Audio
256MB PC2100 DDR
Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse
TRENDnet 10/100 Network Card
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Chaintech GeForce2 MX 400 64MB AGP Video Card w/TV Out
1 Year Parts and Labor Warranty

Subtotal $664.00 Tax $46.48 Total $710.48
If you're thinking about getting a computer, wait a week or so. Now that I've actually ordered one prices should drop dramatically.

I'm just glad to be finally getting away from the broken down box we have at home right now - see previous rant - 4/25/2002.