Computers to be feared

Now that I’m a blogger (add that to the list – project manager, boyfriend, hunk, role model and now blogger) I have decided to upgrade my laptop. My needs are quite minimal as I only really need to use online services. I’m not a gamer and most of my document creation takes place on my work computer. So I am happy to get something entry level to replace the 2 year old HP Pavillion laptop that overheats so badly you could cook your dinner with it.

I have considered Dell, but I’m never home to receive deliveries. Apple are a little out of the budget. So I’ve taken my search to the tech stores of Milton Keynes. I’m avoiding HP, so on my current budget I’m looking at Toshiba, Acer and brands I’ve never heard of.

So the question I’m asking is whether there are bad computers anymore? My negative experience with HP has turned me off their devices, but as the technology of these laptops is so similar I wonder if I’m being unfair. Are there brands we should seek to avoid? And if so, is that fear justified?

I write this from outside Currys/PC World which has been evacuated because of a fire alarm. Maybe someone left a HP Pavillion switched on overnight…

Getting smarter

I’m 36 years old but my brain is 40 years old.  I remember when it was good to hear your brain is getting scores higher than your age group, like at school when you’re 8 and you’re reading things for teenagers.  But I’m 36 and the Brain Exercise app I downloaded last night has given me a brain age of 40.  I’m not sure when it became undesirable to have a brain age older than the rest of me.  Is there a chart out there that gives an illustration of when our brain and our body are supposed to be the same age?

Worse than having a brain 4 years older than the rest of me, the app also said it was “average”.  Average.  I’ve got an average brain.  The last time I did an IQ test – about 10 years ago – I was told I was a genius.  So in a decade I’ve gone from genius to average.  What state is my brain going to be in by 2022?  Will the latest app tell me I have an 80 year old brain and it’s a bit thick?

Well, I won’t just sit back and accept this.  I am resolved to make use of all the self improvement materials at my disposal.  I shall use Tony Buzan’s speed-reading course to triple my reading speed.  I shall use Paul McKenna’s hypnotic CD to get smarter as I sleep.  I will eat right and get plenty of sleep.  I will exercise 4 times a week, drop a stone and hulk up.  And I shall be a genius once again.

Or I may just decide to not trust brain tests that only cost £1.49.

Hello world!

Image via Wikipedia

Hi all!

I have no actual content for this first blog, but I didn’t like the standard “Hello World”  you were getting by default.  I’ll do all the introductions later, so just consider this a placeholder for now.

First blog – I’m off to lunch.  Byeeee.

Stuart.