I'm sorry, but I love driving my new Prius.  I have come up with excuses to do so.  Part of it is the "new toy" feeling that driving Mera brings.  Part of it is that this is the first car that has really been "mine" from the start.  Part of it is that the Prius is just a nice car.

That said, the Prius is designed to beep continuously inside the cabin when put in reverse.  The idea is that, because the car is so quiet, some drivers might not realize that the car is in reverse when they are trying to put it in drive or think it is in park (although I would think this could be a problem with any car).  The beep is similar to the sound made when large trucks back up; however, unlike them, it cannot be heard outside of the car.

The problem was enough of an irritant that I looked for solutions online.  Until 2010, this was a problem that Prius could fix on their own using a complex set of button-presses (which sounded a great deal like casting a magic spell) in set intervals.  Doing so could turn the beep to a single beep that goes off when the car is first put into reverse, or could turn the beep off entirely.  Unfortunately, beginning with the 2010 model (Mera is a 2014), the only way to fix the issue was to interface with the car's computer directly.  For me, that meant taking it to the dealer.  Online discussions on this topic said that Toyota dealerships should be able to take care of the problem at no charge.

I had to pick up my new plates at the dealership anyway, so I figured that I would have this checked too.  It took a bit of haggling (the first two people didn't know it could even be done and then they wanted to charge a little over $50 for a 1/2 hour of labor), but the person in charge of the service area was willing to switch the beep for free.  

Now, Mera only gives a single beep to remind me that I have set her to reverse.  It is a much better arrangement.  While I don't doubt that Mera and I will have future disagreements, I am glad that this one was able to be resolved with almost no trouble.

My daughter recently purchased a new computer, putting her on a two-year cycle for upgrading (laptops seem to die sooner than desktops).  My discussion with her about it brought to mind memories of the times when I either bought or received a new computer.  I was having trouble figuring out the actual timing, so I decided to work it out on this post.

First computer: Apple II+
I think that I was in seventh grade (1986-7).  My family got it through my uncle from an older woman who never really used it.  It can a green-scale CRT monitor and a 5 3/4" floppy drive and only a couple of disks.  I remember playing a Donkey Kong-like game with a construction worker removing rivets to trap monsters and Moebius, a ninja-adventure/exploration/fighting game.

Second computer: Commodore 64
I traded the Apple II+ to a friend for his Commodore 64 (he already had a 128) and a tiny color TV (which I still possess) in the summer of 1988.  No one was really using the Apple II+ besides myself, and while my friend was somehow able to make a good deal of money from selling a hardly-used Apple II +, I still think this was one of the best deals I ever made.  I had a large collection of games (most of the copies from friends), but my favorite game was the SSI series with Pool of Radiance.  

Third computer: 386 (Can't remember the brand) mini-tower desktop
My father sent me this computer in March of 1993 to help with my college work (although he also hoped that it would keep me distracted from sex; my daughter was born in December of that year, so he considered that goal a failure).  It used Windows 3.1 as its operating system (although I often had to have my games run in DOS).  I remember being astounded that it had megabytes, MEGAbytes, of RAM and hard drive space.  It did see me through college and reengaged my love of computers.  I remember seeing the 3D polygons of the X-Wing Fighter game and being in awe of how far computer graphics had come.  My favorite game was Betrayal at Krondor, which got me hooked on the writings of Raymond E. Feist. 

Fourth computer: Pentium I (Can't remember the brand) tower desktop
We purchased this computer soon after arriving back in Michigan in the summer of 1996 during a clearance sale at the closing of the office supply store where my sister worked.  This computer would undergo several upgrades over its existence, actually maxing out its motherboard (all with way with a 133 processor).  One of its main features that I liked was how easily its case could be opened to deal with these upgrades.  It ran Windows 95 and was the first computer that I ran Myst and Warcraft on, not to mention my favorite: StarCraft.  I really don't remember what happened to it.

Fifth computer: Pentium IIm Dell Laptop
Back when schools were receiving a decent amount of money and before Michigan went into an economic downslide, the State of Michigan decided to encourage teachers to better use technology by purchasing a computer for every teacher for the 2000/2001 school year (we go ours in November).  Like many good ideas, this one got messed up in the politics.  The computers were purchased through a "lowest bidder program" and most districts missed the part that there were supposed to be the teachers' personal property.  I could at least take my laptop home, but I never bothered with upgrades due to the district's claim that I would have to return it at any time.  By not allowing the teachers to truly own this technology, most teachers didn't really invest time into the devices.  I remember that this one ran the rather buggy Windows 2000 Millennium edition.  I did, however, use this computer to run multiplayer games of StarCraft in my home with some of my fellow teachers who also received similar computers.

Sixth computer: Pentium IV Dell tower desktop
We got this computer about a year after being in Burr Oak for a couple of years about a year after upgrading my Pentium I as high as it could go (2003?).  This was my first time ordering a computer through the Dell site (and during the time that everyone was quoting "Dude, you got a Dell?").   It ran the "new" Windows XP, which is still one of my favorite operating systems.  This was the first computer where I found that my older programs (back from the 386) would no longer run.  I still have the case in my basement (anyone know a good electronic scrap dealer?).

Seventh computer: Intel? Dell laptop
As Janelle started taking classes at Western, we decided that she needed a computer that should could take with her to campus and back.  As we were pretty happy with Dell computers, we decided to go with them again.  I don't know much about this computer as it was Janelle's and I only touched it when she was having problems with it.  It died (apparently due to video card overheating) and some parts of it have found ways into some of her art projects.

Eighth computer: Intel Centrino Dell Laptop
This is my baby, my favorite, and it died on me a few years ago.  I purchased this computer in June of 2005 after I had to return the teaching technology initiative computer back Colon (even though it was supposed to be mine) after taking my current job.  I wanted a computer that I could take back and forth as I was about to live with my sister during the work week and back in Burr Oak on the weekends while my wife finished her degree.  I also wanted a computer that could hold up to my brother's LAN parties.  Again, I went to the Dell website and put in a near-perfect order.  While I held back a bit on the processor and ram, I got the best video card that I could (and would later update the ram), and a 17" screen.  I even special ordered an olive green laptop case/carry-on bag.  I loved this computer and was (and am) depressed when it succumbed to the same problem that my wife's laptop had.  If anyone knows how to fix it with relative ease and small expense, please let me know.

Ninth computer: Intel Duo Core 2 Dell Slim desktop  
After the death of her laptop in 2009, my wife wanted a new computer of her own.  We found a great deal on a Dell computer (with a monitor that of which I am still envious) at Sam's Club (well before we began our boycott of all things Koch brothers).  This is still my wife's main computer.  Unfortunately, we got it just before Windows 7 came out and so are stuck with Vista.  Again, as this is my wife's computer, I usually only deal with it when it is experiencing some sort of problem.  Unfortunately, one of its fans has started to occasionally make a great deal of racket.  My wife is also looking for a little more power now that she is putting a lot of her art online.  She's looking seriously at Macs right now.

Tenth computer: Intel i3 Core inside Toshiba laptop
In March of 2010, my "baby" fried its video card (and still sits next to my bed on the side where I sleep).  We couldn't afford for me to get a top-of-the-line system like the last time, so I picked up a well-rated, but inexpensive Toshiba.  While it has a better processor, its on-board video card can't compete with my "baby."  I still insisted on getting a 17" screen, and we can hook it up to the TV if needed, but it is not my favorite computer to use and has already had a couple of its ports go dead.  However, it did come with Windows 7, which I like nearly as much as XP.

Eleventh computer: Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook 13-inch laptop
At the request of my social studies department head, I joined a technology initiative at my school which provided all participants with a MacBook, iPad, and iPod Touch in the summer of 2010 (yes, not that long after I bought the Toshiba ... had I known ...).  Unlike many of the participants who got their technology through the new bond, mine was provided through a grant from the special ed department whose director specifically worded it so that the equipment became my property (unlike the other administrators, she had learned the lesson from the TTI in 2000).  While I can't stand how small the screen is (and that we got the MacBook rather than the MacBook Pro), this is my main computer for most of my work for school.  I am amazed by how easy it is to use, its track pad technology, and its power consumption.  That said, as it doesn't play PC games ... I probably wouldn't purchase one for myself in the future.

Twelfth computer: AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core - Self assembled (w/brother) desktop
Last summer (2013), after hearing me complain about my computer for the thousandth time while playing StarCraft II, my brother gave me a motherboard, processor, new case (which makes it easy to install updates), and a couple of hard drives (it loads off of a small solid state drive).  I have since added a secondary hard drive with a terabyte of space, 8 gigs of ram, and a GeoForce 660 video card.  I have two older, but still LCD monitors hooked up (I hate only using one monitor now).  While I will need to put in a new motherboard and processor at some point in the future, this is a computer with which I am very happy right now.