In Memoriam

My beloved Viewsonic A70 died last night, after eight years of faithful service.  I wish I could say that he died peacefully in his sleep, but alas, that was not to be.  I suppose, though, he went the way he would have wanted to go: in the thick of action, alternately displaying e-mail and a blog post, both with heavy content.  My only regrets are that he will never know the irony of the timing of his demise; and his replacement will never get to meet him.  I think they would have liked each other.

Some good will come of this.  The new one (a Viewsonic LCD) will use only 35 watts, instead of 200.  Some bad will come as well.  Because CRTs emit x-rays, the front glass contains lead.  That is bad for the environment.  It seems that, death often is like that.  You take the bad with the good.

Many argue the relative merits of CRTs versus LCDs.  There is no point in trying to compare them.  They both have their good and their bad points.  You cannot say that one is better than the other.  What is important to us, as humans, is that we all find a monitor that is pleasing to our senses.

There will be no viewing, as there is little point in viewing a single, bright white horizontal line across an otherwise totally-black screen.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the American Red Cross, to help refugees from Katrina.  

I happen to have two monitors connected to my computer; that is how I am able to write this.  Some argue that it is improper, unseemly, confusing, or even immoral to have two monitors at the same time.  I say that people should keep their judgments to themselves.  

At least he was happy with the arrangement.