it's the same old thing as yesterday

I recently reread Cryptonomicon so now I'm psyched about encryption again, and thinking about getting PGP for the new desktop PC I'm planning on building. Part of the reason I haven't actually commenced construction is that I'm not entirely sure what its function will be. I do want to be able to play more demanding games, but the majority of the games I play on the PC are older and don't require cutting-edge technology. I am also trying to find entirely new interesting uses that can be accomplished with newer technology.

In other news I spent most of the day figuring out how to build a high voltage test circuit. This will generate a few hundred watts of heat so I decided a case fan would help. While looking at case fans on newegg.com I found this amusing note in a review:

"The reviewer who is concerned about the .4 mm width difference really doesn't have much to worry about as .4 mm is about the width of 3 or 4 human hairs...about 0.015 inches. You should be able to deflect the back plane of your Sonata that much by giving it a dirty look. Then you'll be able to fit all those 88's in there."

Also, I went to Wikipedia at one point to look up resistor technologies, which eventually led me to reading about anamonics, combinations of anagrams and mneumonics that are frequently used in competitive Scrabble. Interesting trick.