Discussions

This is probably one of the toughest questions anyone has already asked me in all these years. Basically because it isn’t a technical question but rather a personal one and, hey, I hate to admit it, I am a nerd.

But I am not the über geek that likes all latest electronics gadgets – you know, the kind of guy that looks like he is wearing Batman’s utility belt. I look very normal. In fact so normal to the point that during my spare time I try to be as far away from a computer as possible, since I already work 10-12 hours a day in front of a computer. That is why my hobbies include things far from computer-related like Taekwondo and saltwater aquarium (which has an extremely high dose of “nerdism” when you start studying corals, believe me). Ok, Ok… I bought a PlayStation 3 (now would you believe if someone told you that my favorite game at the moment is LEGO Batman?)…

So how a notebook could improve my quality of life? Maybe by locking all my computers so I wouldn’t use them besides working hours? I am just kidding, but that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all… LOL.

I’ve already mentioned one aspect that notebook improves my quality of life: watching movies when I am on the road. You see, I love movies and I have a huge collection of them, in particular 1980’s high-school comedies (Back to School, Sixteen Candles, Ferry Bueller’s Day Off, Three O’Clock High, Secret Admirer, Real Genius, The Breakfast Club, and so on) and I am also addicted to used CD/DVD stores (Amoeba Music and Rasputin in San Francisco and Second Spin in Los Angeles are my favorites) – which allows me to increase my collection without going bankrupt.  So whenever I am out of town I look for this kind of store and at night I am able to watch at least one of the movies I bought.
During international trips I can shorten the distance between me and my friends with Skype. Once I was in Hong Kong killing time at the airport and talking on Skype with a friend in Israel. Talk about a globalized world!

But there is one particular project that I have since I was 12 that I haven’t done yet and that will require a laptop. To have a room at my home to play with HO trains and a laptop computer controlling the trains, the detours, etc. But of course this will only be fun if I build everything by myself, including the interface between the computer and the trains. I am just waiting for the day I move to a bigger house so I can implement this dream.

How about you, what role portable computers play in your life? Do you also have strange projects like mine in your drawer? Maybe a Batman-like GPS tracking system to find out where your kids are?