I just reinstalled Windows XP on Calvin (my computer has a name, I keep forgetting that… which makes me a poseur nerd, I know )… after putting it off for about a year. Wiping a hard disk clean and doing a fresh install is a great way to eliminate problems and excess junk that's built up on one's computer, and mine was no exception… hell, I think I still had Kazaa installed on it.

As nice as it is to have a speedy, minimalist computer running, it's still a pain in the ass to do this. One, I had to figure out which programs I still used and if I still had the installation programs stowed away. Two, it took me 6 CDs to back up my mp3 collection. And three, I completely forgot to save my bookmarked websites, so I'm now stuck trying to remember what obscure sites I had bookmarked for one reason or another. (For example, the original chronicles of the Redneck Neighbor.)

Oh yes, and four - 94,572 Microsoft updates, since apparently Service Pack 2 didn't cover all of them.