Coded green.

Friday 27 October 2006

Screenshot anime Sumomo mo Momo mo

Pic of the day: ...yet I shall not give up my battle against evil... at least for a few days more.

"Evil desire"

When I was a kid, I would go to church with my grandmother, the only churchgoer in our fairly large family (9 people). I quite enjoyed it too. One reason for this may have been the chocolate. When the congregation started singing, which they did several times each Sunday, my grandmother would give me chocolate. It would take many years before I realized that this was to stop me from singing. My song voice is really that horrible, or more exactly my total inability to sing the same tune at the same speed as other people. I integrated poorly with the world even then.

Be that as it may, some rudiments of what I heard in church stuck with me. I can remember almost word by word part of a prayer the priest performed on behalf of us all. I guess it must have resonated with me in some way. The part that made such an impression was this: "God, look in mercy to me poor sinful human, who has insulted you in thoughts, words and deeds, and feel the evil desire in my heart!"

This is how I feel now as NaNoWriMo approaches. Because I have looked at a Alphasmart Dana to covet it in my heart. Even though I have 2 PDAs, 2 laptops, and 4 desktops (OK, 3 in working order, sort of, as in they don't smell of burnt rubber). God, look in mercy onto me poor sinful writer!

***

My bank does not exactly help. The Norwegian bank, not Skandiabanken, who are helpful indeed in so far as they have not yet sent me the credit card that I supposedly applied for successfully on the 16th. The other bank, however, has now for the second month in a row sent me a very simple explanation of how to withdraw money from my credit account (which I have heroically paid down on since March). Borrowing money for dummies, complete with a code I can use to verify the transaction. One time I can see, but two months in a row? It is as if they cannot believe their own eyes. "There must be something wrong with that guy, he does not borrow more and more money!"

Well, I am probably going to. I try to hold out until I get the cheaper credit card from Skandiabanken, but by the time that has passed when I write this, it seems likely that they have mislaid it or that someone has intercepted it. I fear this is the only thing that has saved me from buying yet another computer-like object.

People on the NaNoWriMo forums swear by the Alphasmarts, although most seem to prefer the Neo. It is a bit cheaper, the batteries last for like 700 hours (but can not be reloaded like the Dana batteries) and it does nothing but writing. No risk of going online or playing games or anything. (As if I would do that with a Dana when I have all the other stuff.) But the Dana has a visibly larger screen, and can be extended with SD memory cards. These card get more and more capacity for every year, and already have a lot, so space would never be a limitation ever. It's mostly the screen, though.

All of the Alphasmarts are very sturdy and more lightweight than a Notebook computer (but slightly heavier than an actual paper notebook, of course). It's something you put in your bag whenever you go anywhere. It would fit in the bag I use to work, as well. And magically I would suddenly have more time! That must be it, because it is time, not writing implements, that is the limiting factor in real life.

My higher mind knows this. It knows to say: "I want to..." rather than "I want a...", and rework my assumptions from that. But the evil desire in my heart says otherwise. As the saying goes, my head says "no" but my heart says "yes yes oh god YES!" I want you, Dana, and I want you NOW!


Yesterday <-- This month --> Tomorrow?
One year ago: My computers
Two years ago: So, about NaNoWriMo...
Three years ago: Small update
Four years ago: Kitchen meltdown
Five years ago: We are all different
Six years ago: "Vacation"
Seven years ago: Shop of angels

Visit the archive page for the older diaries I've put out to pasture.


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