Cool Computer Parts

I suppose I should title this post getting to know the Pixeladies—or, specifically, learning more about Deb than she wants you to know.
Hi, my name is Deb, and I’m a packrat. [Audience: Hi, Deb] It started during the holidays. I was cleaning up the studio and throwing things away. [Audience: (applauding) Good job, Deb!] [Kris (louder than anyone else in the audience): I don’t believe it.] So I decided I should go inside the house and see if there was anything else I could throw away. My DH Dave was also trying to purge his office, so he was making a pile of stuff to take to the e-recycler. You should know that DH is also a packrat. This pile included all sorts of computer stuff like hard drives (full-sized and laptop), cd burners, even old cell phones and TV remote controllers. Well this brought back childhood memories of taking apart Big Ben alarm clocks (you know the old black ones) and playing with Legos. [Audience (murmuring): Oh no! Not childhood memories. Not for a packrat. That could be dangerous.]
Well, I have grandchildren now. They like to play with Legos; maybe they’d like to take things apart. It’s not a stretch, right? Well, of course, I had to test it out for myself, right? [Audience: Of course. It’s called being safe and responsible.] [Kris (again louder than anyone else): Noooo! I can see where this is going] My dad gave DH some teeny-tiny screwdrivers for Christmas. You know, like the ones you use for eyeglasses, only smaller and with a gajillion different tips—flat head, phillips, hex. So DH, being the DH he is, brought down the tools, his mini vise, and even his visor with LED lights and magnifying lenses. [Men in the audience: Ooohh, aaahh.] I looked like a diamond cutter from Amsterdam, so I was ready to start taking something apart.

I started with a hard drive from a desktop computer. Put on the hex tip, ignore all the warning labels and start taking out the screws. Hmmm, it’s not coming apart. [Man in the audience (hmmphing loudly): She didn’t look under the labels] Yes. You are right, sir. Those sneaky @#$@ put screws under the labels. After bending the back of the case a little bit, I could see that there still had to be some screws in the case. I peeled off the warning labels and removed the rest of the screws. Wow! All that shiny metal. And perfectly round. My hear t beat faster. What I could do with all that shiny metal.

More screws, this time I need the phillips tip. Remove the screws. Hmmm. Still something’s keeping me from those (sigh longingly) shiny, round, metal things. I went to the tool drawer and got out the big, old flathead screwdriver. [Man in the audience: Thank gawd she didn’t try prying with the teeny tiny screwdrivers. That would have been grounds for divorce in my house]. Yep, sir, in my house, too. That’s why I have my own tools. (“He called them “teeny tiny” screwdrivers and he’s worrying about using them to pry with?” I thought to myself. I digress. Back to the story.)

Well it turns out a hard drive has magnets in it. Not just magnets, but MAGNETS! Not just MAGNETS, but very strong MAGNETS. It was not easy to pry them apart. But once I did, I could remove the fingered thing that kept me from my (sigh longingly) shiny, round, metal things. Wow, not just one, but many shiny, round, metal things. Large and small. But what’s this? The fingered thing is pretty cool. Wouldn’t that make interesting striped lines? If only I could get these flimsy parts off. A little prying—presto! A beautiful shiny metal thing that could make striped lines.

Then I had to look at the green board with gold lines and black squares. It looks like a miniature city. Hmmm. What could I do with that? Put it in a quilt? [Kris: (obviously not as riveted as the rest of the audience) I told you, I told you. This is not good! (Now crying) I just cleaned the studio. Waaaahhhh!] This stuff is just too cool to throw away, I told myself. Magnets, (sigh longingly) shiny, round, metal things, beautiful shiny metal thing that could make striped lines. I need to keep these parts. [Audience: Oh no!]
Come back tomorrow, dear audience, to see what I made.