Friday, December 5, 2008

The Amazing Electric Box


If there’s anything that’ll make you feel like you’re in a vintage science fiction movie, it’s this little (or, should I say, not so little) mechanism in which I plug my electronics. Yes, it’s true. We’re advised to use one of these “voltage regulators” if we value our laptop computers. Seeing as I got mine the summer of two thousand six, I’d prefer to hold onto it for a while, and unless I’d prefer it get fried by a less-than-even electric current, I was recommended to utilize this contraption.

However, would others agree when I say it might not be necessary? Don’t get me wrong. People use surge protectors and the like all the time, but just look at this thing. It costs thirty-five manat. That’s roughly forty-three dollars and seventy-five cents. Not chump change, especially on my salary, or whatever it is we receive as payment. Let me also add that Josh Weil, an administrator, told us at a hub day that these machines could very well be superfluous expenditures. Now, granted, he’s the one dishing us our money regularly, but we won’t hold that against him.

Oh, right, and don’t let me forget this. My laptop holds a charge for about, oh, forty minutes now. Oh, how fantastic. I’m glad it’s been in good hands. That’s not to say explicitly that the regulator I bought has failed, but, hmm, there’s a chance. And if that chance just so happens to be true, then what the Hell is this clunky contraption doing on my floor with my computer plugged into it (as I type this, might I add)? If this thing actually hasn’t protected my computer from harm, then it would better serve as a doorstop, or booster chair, or one of those blocky things short people use to reach the urinal.

Alright, I will now shove all bitterness aside. Whatever the case, I’m still unsure of this thing’s effectiveness, and instead of pointing a finger and throwing the regulator out the window, I will hold onto it for the duration of my service. Rather than scoff at its large size and weight (And, really, why is this thing so heavy? What’s going on in there?), I will embrace the blockyness and accept it as, if anything, a novelty of my Azerbaijan experience. I mean, really, what’s a few extra pounds when you can add some fun to the mix…and perhaps protect your computer as well?

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