Another Word for Nerd

I got tired of straining to see the old 17″ Sony Trinitron flat-square CRT monitor I’d been using, so tonight we got Amy a new laptop for when she travels, and I got a Sony SDM-HS73 17″ flat panel LCD monitor.

It was about $150 more than the cheapest 17″ on PriceWatch, but it has a BEAUTIFUL picture (I’d say as good as the $700 Apple 17″ LCD display) and also includes a 3-year parts/labor warranty. I would have ended up spending around the same amount for a generic LCD at CompUSA plus an extended warranty.

I got the real sword.

(Plus, a leather jacket, six new shirts, etc..)

Despite dreary weather that wouldn’t finally just give up and rain and a hangover from too much mead last night, today was a good birthday. My cheap sword arrived on schedule, and I’m impressed with what I got for $20. I’m reading John Ringo’s latest book tonight, having finished “A Cook’s Tour” by Anthony Bourdain last night. I liked it better than “Kitchen Confidential”, his first work.

Oh yeah, many thanks to Tony for the $10 iTunes gift certificate, which provided new music for me to listen to while I’m reading.

Picked up John Ringo’s latest, There Will Be Dragons, and A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain. Amy got the 3-disc Indiana Jones DVD box set, widescreen edition of course.

Bought The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship a week ago, and received Iaido: The History, Teachings and Practice of Japanese Swordsmanship as a gift in the mail a couple of days ago. My second cheap knockoff sword should be here by my birthday (the 5th), and once I work with it a bit, I’m looking at buying a Paul Chen Practical Katana (an actual working blade) in a couple of months.

The Austin City Council amended the sign ordinace Thursday to ban signs on city property, specifically along roadways.

I’m happy to see this. About time they did this, instead of just sporadically enforcing some older anti-sign laws.