November 14
Touch
My laptop has a sensitive spot, as I've recently discovered. Usually it does its best impression of a desktop with a small screen to get by. However, recently, I bought a bean bag. Best decision (whilst sober) I've made in a long time, even though I had to lug 300 litres of beans home via the tram. The thing is huge, I can sit on it, and still have enough space left to use as a mouse pad.
So that's exactly what I've done. I now actually use my laptop as a laptop whilst submerged in my bean bag. And laptops, I've also discovered, get pretty hot after a while. It's probably not a bad thing in the winter, but it's pretty unbearable in the summer, when 30 degree ambient temperature plus fifty degree hot plate (aka bottom of my laptop) results in medium rare thighs. So I shuffle it around once in a while to make sure it all cooks evenly. And I've found that if I apply pressure to just the right spot in the middle bottom of the screen, I get an instant shortcut to the blue screen of death, do not pass go, do not collect $200.
It's not a major issue right now, but I foresee tears when I start writing research essays the day before its due on my laptop, on my lap, come next academic season. Hopefully temperamental electronics becomes a valid excuse for special consideration by then.