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Health food, computers, and general bullshitery
DirtyDirtyVagrant
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have been unemployed lately. And some of you may be all too aware of that as, during my descent into hopeless depression, I prowled the forums some trying to find guidance or encouragement. I got both. You guys really helped me a lot, like more than many of you might imagine. So thanks a lot H/A.
I work now, and with work comes money. As debts and bills are paid and money is set aside, certain bubbles of thought surface the still rippling waters. (They were raging before. Get it?)
...Man my writing is suffering lately. The point is that I'm taking care of business and am setting aside money, but keeping a certain little bit each check (~$50) to spend on whatever dumb shit I please. This sum is approaching $1000 quickly and I need a new computer. Preferably something portable.
I don't know much about laptops, but it seems that the general advice is the exact opposite of that you get when you're looking for a desktop; i.e. look at HP, Dell, etc and shy away from other stuff.
My budget: $1100 and below. I'd prefer something around 500-800.
What I do:
-Internet (Youtube, Games, Forums, and whatever it is that happens to catch my attention)
-Media (Movies, music, pornography, that sort of thing)
-Digital Painting- I'd prefer a good bit of ram, and I don't care about the differences between XP and Vista because I have yet to any really significant change in the workings of it during my regular activities. Although I haven't really poked around yet.
-Low to mid range games. And by low to mid I mean PSX emulators up through WoW level games. I'm not looking for anything that even approaches bleeding edge, but I would like a computer capable of running WoW at a very good frame rate. I quit that game. I'm just using it as an example. I swear.
-Other stuff that I cant remember but that presents no greater performance challenges.
So that's the end of that. More or less. In terms of looks I would like something fairly sleek, and if at all possible I'd like to avoid obnoxious brands engraved/plastered onto the frigging case. Smaller is better, down to maybe 14-15 inches or so, and customizable colors or even patterns would be incredible.
Next is food. I noticed that I've been eating complete shit. I'm losing a good amount of weight, but I kind of feel like I'd be doing a lot better if I found something better.
What I'm aiming for: Vegetarianism for noobies, and then maybe a step farther. It makes more sense to eat veggies and grain and stuff in terms of diet and in terms of economics, plus meat is generally bad for you, so fuck it.
I live in a place where I cannot cook at all, and my storage is limited to a dorm fridge measuring approximately 8 cubic feet. It has a freezer. I can't do a lot of prep work either, and if at all possible I'd like to be able to make stuff that I can take to work with me. Maybe prepare in a large batch and keep it for a while? If I can get away with cooking a lot of food and storing it I can probably nudge myself into using my electric skillet.
Stuff I like to eat: Beans, Crunchy stuff, carrots, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a lot of stuff that I couldn't possibly list here.
Stuff I wont eat because I'm just picky that way: Raw onions, brocolli, cauliflower, mushrooms, meat I guess.
It's important I think to remember that I'm trying to ease myself into this.
And then the general bullshitery is basically whatever side conversations may occur in this thread.
I work now, and with work comes money. As debts and bills are paid and money is set aside, certain bubbles of thought surface the still rippling waters. (They were raging before. Get it?)
...Man my writing is suffering lately. The point is that I'm taking care of business and am setting aside money, but keeping a certain little bit each check (~$50) to spend on whatever dumb shit I please. This sum is approaching $1000 quickly and I need a new computer. Preferably something portable.
I don't know much about laptops, but it seems that the general advice is the exact opposite of that you get when you're looking for a desktop; i.e. look at HP, Dell, etc and shy away from other stuff.
My budget: $1100 and below. I'd prefer something around 500-800.
What I do:
-Internet (Youtube, Games, Forums, and whatever it is that happens to catch my attention)
-Media (Movies, music, pornography, that sort of thing)
-Digital Painting- I'd prefer a good bit of ram, and I don't care about the differences between XP and Vista because I have yet to any really significant change in the workings of it during my regular activities. Although I haven't really poked around yet.
-Low to mid range games. And by low to mid I mean PSX emulators up through WoW level games. I'm not looking for anything that even approaches bleeding edge, but I would like a computer capable of running WoW at a very good frame rate. I quit that game. I'm just using it as an example. I swear.
-Other stuff that I cant remember but that presents no greater performance challenges.
So that's the end of that. More or less. In terms of looks I would like something fairly sleek, and if at all possible I'd like to avoid obnoxious brands engraved/plastered onto the frigging case. Smaller is better, down to maybe 14-15 inches or so, and customizable colors or even patterns would be incredible.
Next is food. I noticed that I've been eating complete shit. I'm losing a good amount of weight, but I kind of feel like I'd be doing a lot better if I found something better.
What I'm aiming for: Vegetarianism for noobies, and then maybe a step farther. It makes more sense to eat veggies and grain and stuff in terms of diet and in terms of economics, plus meat is generally bad for you, so fuck it.
I live in a place where I cannot cook at all, and my storage is limited to a dorm fridge measuring approximately 8 cubic feet. It has a freezer. I can't do a lot of prep work either, and if at all possible I'd like to be able to make stuff that I can take to work with me. Maybe prepare in a large batch and keep it for a while? If I can get away with cooking a lot of food and storing it I can probably nudge myself into using my electric skillet.
Stuff I like to eat: Beans, Crunchy stuff, carrots, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a lot of stuff that I couldn't possibly list here.
Stuff I wont eat because I'm just picky that way: Raw onions, brocolli, cauliflower, mushrooms, meat I guess.
It's important I think to remember that I'm trying to ease myself into this.
And then the general bullshitery is basically whatever side conversations may occur in this thread.
DirtyDirtyVagrant on
0
Posts
a crockpot would seem an easy way of getting some meals together. beans, stock, frozen veggies = good soup.
Hey, I've been trying to put a dent in the cow population for years by eating those suckers, but I can only do so much.
To the OP, how vegetarian are you going? Is fish still on the menu? If it is, that's a way to go. You don't have to buy the raw fish and cook it, since you mentioned you can't cook. Get some cans of tuna. Salmon comes canned now also.
If that doesn't work, there's also dairy. Yogurt and cottage cheese are always good sources of protein. Nuts are good, too, but avoid peanuts (technically legumes, but whatever). I find a serving of cottage cheese on some chopped cantaloupe goes pretty well and is quite filling.
So it got to the point where I was basically eating frozen burritos and chef boyardee out of the can. But if I can find food that I can prepare in my room and then just microwave or something, I would be in good shape.
I didn't really mean that all meat was generally unhealthy. Just that most meat has one quality or another that's generally unhealthy. It's usually the fat content, and while it's lessened with chicken, it's still present. Fish is good...but it's expensive as shit unless it's canned, and I don't know what to do with it.
Go ahead and add cantaloupe and cottage cheese to the list of things I'd rather not be eating. I forgot about them. Sorry for being difficult.
The computer!
Ruby Red or Red Swirl.
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2
Speed: 200GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall Sensor
256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Dell 1397 Wireless-G Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
High Definition Audio 2.0
Standard Keyboard (included in the price)
Integrated Finger Print Reader
No Security
No Productivity software pre-installed
My Service
1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Earthlink Internet Access
Sennheiser CX300-B Headphones
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 LCD (1280x800) w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
Windows Vista™ Premium
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Seems like a reasonable system at a glance, but I may be missing something. The memory makes no mention of being expandable and I'm worried that one or more of the extra components (the camera, print reader) could become a hassle at some point.
Total: $974 (1024 with red swirl)
When I was living off that I was actually still able to afford meat in the form of shrimp. If there's a Trader Joe's nearby they have a seafood mix that's actually cheaper than any most meat.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06a/321957-321957-3329742-89318-89318-3548233.html
For $540
I'm thinking about getting it. Bad idea? Because it seems like a pretty badass little system for the money.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8913241&st=m-6862&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1213399955100
It is far superior to the one you listed!!