Getting my desk back!

Recently, I was working on the computer and I heard a loud POP and my monitor went dead. Being the technological genius that I am, I knew immediately that this was not normal behavior. (I know, I know, I amaze myself sometimes.) I got the image to come back eventually, but about half the desktop was permanently blurry, no matter what I did to resolve the issue. After a few weeks of getting headaches when reading, or moving windows to the edge of the desktop to the remaining "clear" area, Amy and I decided we had to replace the monitor.

Given the current state of technology in which we live, I suggested looking at flat panel monitors. Amy readily agreed. To leave out all the gory details, I ended up finding several on eBay that got good reviews but were at prices that made it a short stretch from a traditional CRT to Flat Panel.

The immediate result was the stress of trying to win something on eBay, but eventually this produced the fruit reflected in the pictures I'm about to show you. The first picture is a shot of our computer desk with the dying monitor. Notice the lack of anything that can really be called desk space.

The second, however, is the same desk with the new flat panel display. Notice the healthy 15" of room to sit and actually do something at this desk!

The lesson from all of this, obviously, is that I should not have waited so long to pour coffee on the monitor. Er, did I just say that?

Seriously, Amy and I have a love-hate relationship with technology in that when you buy something new, you frequently find yourself needing to buy other parts and components to be able to use the features of the original purchase. We would have preferred not to spend the money, but given that that was not a viable option, I must say we're both very pleased with how things worked out!