Concrete schoolyard:
Charles reviews his things-
My apartment: A 4-bedroom unit in the West Town complex on Mortensen. The low price is quite pleasing and it has enough space that all of it is used but we don't feel cramped, especially since Neal's departure has left us a spare room. It's a bit too far from campus to be convenient, but the bike ride is nice when the weather's decent and despite some frankly quite ridiculous parties, we haven't had a noise complaint since October. It's a pretty good place overall but there are a number of minor annoyances like the shitty oven and construction in the area; it's nearly definite I'll be living somewhere else next year though. 6.2/10
My car: A 1993 BMW 740iL. I'm quite proud of it as it is a rare find in its trim level, mileage and color. Despite a series of mechanical issues last year, it's all been sorted out and has been running perfectly for a long time now. It's right about at the sweet spot of modern engineering but still allowing for repairs and modifications by a person with my knowledge and available equipment. It achieves on the low side of decent gas mileage and isn't kind to rear tires but it's really comfortable and faster than nearly all of my friend's cars. 8.75/10
My laptop: An HP L2000 ordered in March of 2006. Obviously in computer years it's been dead for like three centuries, but in my opinion it's held up pretty well. I got it with pretty high-end specs and options for the time of its creation so it's got Bluetooth capability, a 64-bit processor, two huge batteries, and some other crap. The biggest block I've been running into is the hard drive which is only like 70GB. Anywho, it's been up to every task I've set for it and plays Half Life 2 at moderate graphics settings without crashing and the batteries still last over four hours. Last year I had it serviced for free by the tech solutions people at Durham when it was acting really shitty and it's been great since then. 7.9/10
My Bed: A twin size mattress with atop a box spring on a metal frame, purchased approximately spring of 2002. Disappointingly, I fit more comfortably in the bed in my old dorm from last year. It's about six inches shorter than I'd like, and could stand another eight inches or so of width. Additionally, the mattress is a bit old and has been used by persons larger than myself, so it's getting worn. I've got one of those egg-crate foam implements between the sheet and the mattress to alleviate the situation, but the underlying issues remain. The bed works and fits the space I have in my room but leaves me wondering what could be. 3.7/10
My camera: A Sony Cybershot DSC-W50 purchased in March of 2006. This camera has documented many of the ridiculous adventures it has accompanied me on. During its travels, the camera has been subjected to the following abuses: dropping from the roof of a house, burial in sand, submerging in water, numerous botched catches when thrown, blistering heat, freezing cold, being tread upon, use as a hammer, and whatever wear imparted by residing in my pocket during extreme maneuvers. As a result, I sometimes have to pop the lens assembly back on track, the screen has an abundance of scratches, and one side is made of duct tape. Disappointingly, it only has 3X optical zoom, and it's just a bit larger than I'd like for this type of camera. Six megapixels has nearly always been adequate, but it's a bit low by today's standards. It can be tricky to avoid taking blurry pictures in certain situations, but by now I've got a good feel for it. On my computer I have saved over 6,000 images from this camera, digitally reinforcing a few years of memories. 7.1/10
My apartment: A 4-bedroom unit in the West Town complex on Mortensen. The low price is quite pleasing and it has enough space that all of it is used but we don't feel cramped, especially since Neal's departure has left us a spare room. It's a bit too far from campus to be convenient, but the bike ride is nice when the weather's decent and despite some frankly quite ridiculous parties, we haven't had a noise complaint since October. It's a pretty good place overall but there are a number of minor annoyances like the shitty oven and construction in the area; it's nearly definite I'll be living somewhere else next year though. 6.2/10
My car: A 1993 BMW 740iL. I'm quite proud of it as it is a rare find in its trim level, mileage and color. Despite a series of mechanical issues last year, it's all been sorted out and has been running perfectly for a long time now. It's right about at the sweet spot of modern engineering but still allowing for repairs and modifications by a person with my knowledge and available equipment. It achieves on the low side of decent gas mileage and isn't kind to rear tires but it's really comfortable and faster than nearly all of my friend's cars. 8.75/10
My laptop: An HP L2000 ordered in March of 2006. Obviously in computer years it's been dead for like three centuries, but in my opinion it's held up pretty well. I got it with pretty high-end specs and options for the time of its creation so it's got Bluetooth capability, a 64-bit processor, two huge batteries, and some other crap. The biggest block I've been running into is the hard drive which is only like 70GB. Anywho, it's been up to every task I've set for it and plays Half Life 2 at moderate graphics settings without crashing and the batteries still last over four hours. Last year I had it serviced for free by the tech solutions people at Durham when it was acting really shitty and it's been great since then. 7.9/10
My Bed: A twin size mattress with atop a box spring on a metal frame, purchased approximately spring of 2002. Disappointingly, I fit more comfortably in the bed in my old dorm from last year. It's about six inches shorter than I'd like, and could stand another eight inches or so of width. Additionally, the mattress is a bit old and has been used by persons larger than myself, so it's getting worn. I've got one of those egg-crate foam implements between the sheet and the mattress to alleviate the situation, but the underlying issues remain. The bed works and fits the space I have in my room but leaves me wondering what could be. 3.7/10
My camera: A Sony Cybershot DSC-W50 purchased in March of 2006. This camera has documented many of the ridiculous adventures it has accompanied me on. During its travels, the camera has been subjected to the following abuses: dropping from the roof of a house, burial in sand, submerging in water, numerous botched catches when thrown, blistering heat, freezing cold, being tread upon, use as a hammer, and whatever wear imparted by residing in my pocket during extreme maneuvers. As a result, I sometimes have to pop the lens assembly back on track, the screen has an abundance of scratches, and one side is made of duct tape. Disappointingly, it only has 3X optical zoom, and it's just a bit larger than I'd like for this type of camera. Six megapixels has nearly always been adequate, but it's a bit low by today's standards. It can be tricky to avoid taking blurry pictures in certain situations, but by now I've got a good feel for it. On my computer I have saved over 6,000 images from this camera, digitally reinforcing a few years of memories. 7.1/10