My monitor smoked and stank. It was old, a CRT, 19" at 1600 x 1280 75 hz, good in its day. I borrowed a spare LCD from a friend to get me by: 1280 x 1024 @ 60Hz. It's OK for now.

While I was down I did a D&C on the case, reseated some cards, etc. which improved some things and quieted some gerbils. But, it was a sign. It's time to think about a new box.

In the past I've always tinkered up my own boxen. That may no longer be useful since the prices of off-the-rack systems have fallen sharply. There may even be some sales coming up if the retail season is off a lot - it's down 8% per capita by one account. Still, I enjoy the tinkering even if it isn't worthwhile in other ways. I'm a DIY sort of fellow.