Andys Computer

  One of the vehicle brands I've always liked the idea of owning is Land Rover. Despite being a big fan of the Jeep Wrangler, in particular the TJ generation that I had many years ago, I have always been attracted to the iconic adventure/exploration image of Land Rover worldwide, something not shared by any other brand. What has always put me off is their other reputation, that of reliability or rather a lack of it. However some research suggested that all may not be what it seems when comparing the current vehicles to those even 10 years ago, despite what Internet commenters may think. We ended up at the Land Rover dealership after initially trying out both a Volvo and an Audi. For various reasons we didn't pull the trigger on either and as we would be passing the Land Rover dealership on the way home it seemed reasonable to stop by. Given these are expensive vehicles we initially tried out a Range Rover Evoque, the smallest vehicle they make but still a $60k pur...

    One of the benefits of living in New York City is the public transport system which, although nothing to shout about on the world stage, works sufficiently well to negate the need to own a car. But for me cars are more than just A to B transport, they're an interest, a hobby, a passion, and moving away out of New York City means that once again they will be a part of my life. While driving a car can bring a certain amount of stress, not to mention expense, I find sitting in traffic in my own personal temperature controlled box with comfy seat and choice of music to be infinitely more tolerable than sitting on a stuck subway train trying to avoid the stare of some mentally unstable passenger. I had booked a rental car for 4 weeks, a competent but forgettable Nissan Rogue, but once a house had been found and lease signed I could register a new car despite still driving around on a New York license. Ultimately we'd need two cars, one for my wife who would be lea...

  One of the reasons for moving to a new state was the possibility of buying a house large enough to accommodate a large room for my vintage computer collection. At present count I have: 16 desktop computers (each with their own CRT monitor and peripherals) 7 laptops Plus additional items like printers, PDA's, digital cameras and probably 100 pieces of boxes software, books, magazines and more... It's really rather impressive that I've managed to fit all this in our one bedroom apartment in addition to our two modern desktops not to mention the laser printer and server rack! At least I think it is now that I've had to pack all this stuff. It took several days plus 3 large Pelican equipment cases and 48 large moving boxes along with probably a thousand feet of bubble wrap but eventually we got the job done. Initially we'll be moving to a rented house, probably for the first 2 years, while we find our feet and get a feel for the area and our new life, so ...

  It's been a while since I posted anything to this blog as I haven't been working on Wenpress since the early part of this year due to a change in personal circumstances, job circumstances to be exact. With both me and my wife having gained permanent resident status she was looking to switch jobs and I was looking to do the same as my work had become boring and unrewarding due to a change in management and restructuring. As we both wanted to move on at the same time there was the possibility of leaving New York and starting a new chapter in life. I liked New York, it made for an easy transition from London, but I missed having a car and the idea of paying near 3/4 of a million dollars for a 1 bedroom apartment was not appealing especially as it would never meet my needs for space for my ever growing vintage computer collection. Having commuted in to New York City from Connecticut for a year when I first arrived in the USA, I didn't want to repea...