CD-ROM drive? Which CD-ROM drive?

For some reason, my computer has decided not to recognise its two CD-ROM drives when it started up.

When this started happening, I thought I'd try detaching the cable from the motherboard and plugging it in again; that worked, kind of. At the next boot, the system recognised both drives again. But afterwards, they were gone.

This morning, for some reason, it decided to recognise them again. Bizarre.

I wonder whether the computer is simply getting old (perhaps some capacitors going wonky?). It also decides to freeze occasionally. Perhaps that's its way of saying "I'm just a piece of consumer equipment and am not designed to last more than two years; please spend lots of money on a replacement". *sigh*

A LiveJournal user in the NYT

My So-Called Blog; not just about LiveJournal but about youths and the Internet, more or less.

Get it while it's hot; I don't know how long it'll be available on that site to non-subscribers.

Books.

Some questions, from marnameow. In her words, Have some questions, and take 'em away and answer them in your own journals.

• What are you currently reading?
  No books at the moment, only computer magazines. The last book I finished was probably The Soul of a New Machine, which I got from my Secret Santa.
• How long have you been reading it (or them)? How much longer do you think it will take you to read it?
  I read it in, oh, about ten days? Don't remember.
• Is it a gobble-in-one-session sort of book, or a read slowly through book, or a pick a page at random now and then book?
  I used to read it on my way to and from work. So about half an hour at a go.
• Do you ration books and force yourself to read them slowly? What books have you done this with recently?
  No, not really. But I usually end up reading them fairly slowly as I usually read them while travelling, not so much when I'm at home.
• Do you sometimes *wish* that you'd rationed a book when you get to the end of it?
  Don't think so.
• What was the last book you bought?
  Bought myself? Oh, this one's hard. Perhaps a used copy of the Shavian edition of Androcles and the Lion.
• Do you know what book you're going to buy next?
  No. I imagine it'll be a programming book of some sort, though.
• How many borrowed books are sitting on your shelves?
  About ten; Terry Pratchett books I borrowed from Meike.
• When will they get given back?
  After I've found the time to read them. Which could take months at the current rate, perhaps even a year or two.
• How many books of yours are currently on other people's shelves?
  I don't think I've lent any of my books to anyone else just now.
• When do you expect them to return?
  n/a

Pay for Cynthia's Wedding!

Yes! Because I absolutely must have my dream wedding even if I can't afford it!

That's why you should all PayForCynthiasWedding!

Um, yeah. $2000 for an engagement ring, for starters? Does it have to be that expensive?

(Found in a mock_the_stupid entry)