I spent considerable time today figuring out what I want to go on two new CDs I burned. The first has the theme of 'endings', and is kind of depressing. The second has the theme of 'punk/goth'. I'm burning the second CD now, the first is already done. This time, my mp3s are of good enough quality that I didn't need to re-rip any of the source tracks. That's good -- some of my CDs are in a box in my parents' basement.

I stopped by Giant Eagle today, and got more Saag Paneer, Oatmeal, and cat food. I remembered that there was an offer to order Saag Paneer in the last box I got, that I accidentally tossed. This time, I puled the coupon out immediately, and went to the website. Alas, the discount is only for the vendor's Thai foods. However, they charge only about 1/3rd the price that Giant Eagle wants for the same thing. Hmm.. there are shipping charges though, and that's pretty steep. If I order in enough quantity, I can save a lot of money though. Tempting. Saag Paneer, mail ordered. Hmmmmmmmm

I've decided that I definitely need a laptop for when school starts. I'm going to make it happen, and if it means that I'm going to need to dip into my emergency funds, so be it. I can't take notes by hand, and I've been wanting to be able to program when out and about for some time now. So, here's my needs:

It must run Linux. I've been thinking about it, and although OSX is nice in several ways, I don't want to experiment with it on such an important machine in my life. Sorry Apple.

It should have wireless. CMU has wireless everywhere, and some other places around town have it too. I also don't really want to run ethernet all the way from my computer room to my living room. 802.11g would be nice, but b will do.

Trackpoint would be a big plus. Otherwise I'll just carry an external mouse around with me. I might need to do that anyhow -- few laptops have 3 buttons on their builtin mouse.

Battery life is really important. I might get a spare, just in case.

It must be reasonably fast, and have decent RAM.

I would prefer it not have a builtin modem.

I've been talking with a friend who I trust quite a lot on these issues, and he sped my research along quite a bit. I was already inclined to look at Dell and IBM, and he suggested I also check out Fujitsu. He suggested a few specific models from IBM and Fujitsu. I'll check them out tomorrow in more detail, and probably make a choice either tomorrow or Monday, at which time I'll make the financial arrangements to clear my credit card entirely so I'll have enough credit to order it.

I shall now attempt to sleep.