A man or a mouse
Lately I've been engaging in some computer building and other related nerdery. The PC that got wrecked by the malware got a different hard drive and was nicely reborn as a workshop PC, and I actually bought my first desktop machine, as in one I did not assemble from parts. Newegg.com had a sale on refurbed business desktops, I picked up a cheap HP with minimal flash and glitz to use in the garage. For 149 bucks complete with Win 7 Home Premium, and a cheapass new keyboard and mouse thrown in, I figured what the hell. These PCs seemed to be all over the place at work, they go through life functioning quite reliably, and they get replaced with the latest 'n' greatest in a couple years. It's a five year old machine, ruggedly built and small. Hell, for all I know it came from my lab.
I have the reborn PC on the side cabinet on my basement workshop toolbox. The HP is in an identical situation out in the garage. While the purchased machine came with a kb and mouse, I needed to come up with something for the one downstairs. I didn't want to use anything fancy, the sawdust and dirt would take their toll in time. I was rummaging through my collection of still-usable computer junk and found a nondescript Microsoft optical mouse. This would work fine. I notice the green sticky dot that was affixed to the left mouse button and it gave me a bit of pause. Then it hit me. This had been the mouse that was attached to a PC that I put together for Mom many years ago. I had stuck the green dot on the left button as a reminder to her which of the buttons was the "main" one. She had gotten used to using the PC, but the dot remained. The PC was repurposed later on after she had died. Sitting there and staring at the cheap little mouse with the green dot, knowing what it had been used for, left me in a hollow, silent place for a bit of time. I got choked up, I stopped futzing with the computers for the night, I took the mouse with me, cleaned the dust and smudges from the time in storage, making it look new again. I left the green dot attached, still hanging on with its now dried-out adhesive. It's a nice little reminder.
I have the reborn PC on the side cabinet on my basement workshop toolbox. The HP is in an identical situation out in the garage. While the purchased machine came with a kb and mouse, I needed to come up with something for the one downstairs. I didn't want to use anything fancy, the sawdust and dirt would take their toll in time. I was rummaging through my collection of still-usable computer junk and found a nondescript Microsoft optical mouse. This would work fine. I notice the green sticky dot that was affixed to the left mouse button and it gave me a bit of pause. Then it hit me. This had been the mouse that was attached to a PC that I put together for Mom many years ago. I had stuck the green dot on the left button as a reminder to her which of the buttons was the "main" one. She had gotten used to using the PC, but the dot remained. The PC was repurposed later on after she had died. Sitting there and staring at the cheap little mouse with the green dot, knowing what it had been used for, left me in a hollow, silent place for a bit of time. I got choked up, I stopped futzing with the computers for the night, I took the mouse with me, cleaned the dust and smudges from the time in storage, making it look new again. I left the green dot attached, still hanging on with its now dried-out adhesive. It's a nice little reminder.