My nights are lit by the backwash of computer monitors. Changing patterns reflected off the wall or ceiling entertains while giving reassurance that the screen saver function is working. Not quite as engaging as an infant entranced by a ceiling fan, but by far better a soporific than counting sheep.
Along time ago, I was compulsive about computer shut down in the evening. All the discussions about burning out monitors and over heating made sense. Then came my foray into OS/2 and a Fido-net BBS. That computer ran continually without problems or reboot for 18 months. The reboot only happened because of an operating system update; again it ran flawlessly.
After that, several years after that, stuck with Windoze, I got frustrated with boot up times and started just leaving my laptops running. It didn’t seem to make a difference in their performance. After all, that blue screen appeared often enough to force a shutdown anyway.
I now have a MAC. I should probably think about shutting it down in the evenings as the boot up is so rapid it eliminates that excuse. Unlike my various Win laptops, this Power Book is probably going to last more than a couple of years, causing me to rethink the whole – computer as a door stop long before the monitor dies – theory.
But then my bedroom might not have patterns dancing across the ceiling, leaving only the lights on the router to keep me oriented as to house and country of my current sleeping location.
Audio
A few more Arbiter Chronicles from PRT. I admit, i don’t enjoy them as much on my MP3 player as on the computer where I can easily move the slider and skip all the extra chatter.
