We had an earthquake today!  I’m actually surprised that nobody else has really mentioned it.  But there was a magnitude 4.2 earthquake today right near Milpitas California – only about 10 miles from where I work, and 10 miles from where I live, and you could feel the shaking in both places!

It’s pretty wild to be sitting in your vehicle when an earthquake hits.  I was parked outside of my office, with the engine running, talking on the phone, when suddenly my vehicle started rocking.  I was sure someone in the office had seen me, and come out and hung on my luggage rack and started trying to rock my car – it was that intense of a movement (and I drive a fully-loaded Chevy Suburban, which is like a train car!)  I immediately started looking around, out the back, trying to see anyone, but nobody was there… and then I saw people starting to walk out of offices and gather outside, all of them on their cell phones.  Only then did it occur to me that we might have actually had a quake!

Fortunately nobody was hurt and no damage occurred… this time.  But it was still a wild ride, and not one I’d care to go on again!

I never thought I would actually pick one of these up, but over Christmas I picked up an HP Mini 110 Netbook from Costco.  I had an excuse: My employer handed out a Christmas bonus, and told us that we had to (a) spend it on ourselves only and (b) spend it that day and (c) use it for something that we wouldn’t normally buy and that (d) anything we didn’t spend we had to give back. 

Well, not a problem!  In fact the amount the handed out was one penny off the amount of the Netbook (not accounting for taxes, of course), so I shot straight over to Costco and picked one up.

I’ve gotta tell you – it’s an indulgence!  Okay, the keyboard is slightly smaller, so you have to get used to typing on it (and until you do, it’ll be typos galore!) and the processor and RAM are slightly less than what I’m used to (not to mention the smaller screen)… but, all that said, this thing is really very cool, and cute, and a pleasure to use!

For the technojunkies out there, the model I picked up had the 1024×600 screen, 1.6 Intel ATOM, 1GB of RAM, and Windows 7 starter… with the Costco 2-year manufacturer’s warranty… for $349.99.  And now on HP’s site you can get one for $299!  Naturally I picked up the HP 3-year extended warranty with accidental damage protection, and some accessories, and then I loaded it up with software (Office, iTunes, and I got Contribute set up today, as my last step!) and I am having a ball!

And I’m not the only one… Matt the Road King also owns one of these, and reports that it fits quite nicely in the saddlebag of his Harley. 

If you’re looking for something to carry with you, and you don’t want to spend a ton on a new laptop, the HP Netbook is highly recommended!

Because we can.