I have determined that the base cost of one's Dell system exponentially increases the likelihood of its failure :)

Rob's XPS, bought a year ago in anticipation of EQII, is already dying. Mine is awaiting the Second Coming of the Dell Tech Dude only 3 weeks after I got it. My original Dell Dimension 8100 (three years old) is doing absolutely terrific and is the cheapest of the three. Hmmmm...shall we say it together?...hmmmm.

I took the day off (or rather, will work on Saturday instead) to be home for Mr. Dell. He hasn't called or shown up yet and after another one hour call to Dell ("Hello, my name is Hugo...do not let my East Indian accent throw you off...of course I am in America; how else could I get a ridiculous name like Hugo, mem sahib? I mean, ma'am?") I really hope this guy realizes my Saturday night Dell call concluded with "The guy will be out on Tuesday," not "The guy will call you and figure something out."

In other news, my Christmas cactus is thriving again, though it looked touch-and-go for a couple of months. Right now, every single stem is sporting a tiny little bud which will burst into flames of fuschia in time for Thanksgiving! Isn't that cool? Even the bits I pruned off and stuck into a glass jar with water are budding. On the bright side, being home today I can also get some maintenance guy in to fix my closet doorknob, which doesn't work. If only I had a locksmith in the family to fix it for me. Oh! I do! But he's not here! Goober :P