Time to make it mine

[Grant Lamontagne]

After much deliberation I purchased a new laptop and after a few weeks I am still adding software and changing setting to make it mine.  This is what I hate about new computers, even though, like everyone else here, I can appreciate a newer, faster, upgraded machine from what I had before. 



It's a sleek, all black (I had to get the BO version! ) Lenovo unit that keeps throwing me curve balls because the shift key is in a different spot than I'm used to (I keep hitting the up arrow instead of shift) and it has a keypad that I am loving, at least enough that it will probably be a requirement on all future machines, and, as I said, I am making headway on installing the software and other components that I use.



But, despite having my passwords, software and wallpaper, it's not quite mine yet.  So, it's time to fix that.  You've probably seen photos of my old laptop, even if you didn't know it was my laptop- I've used it as a background for many photos in the past.



Unfortunately many of those stickers were the last of a breed- for example, I doubt I'll ever get another Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race decal or the original oval Multitool.org decal but they really helped make my laptop into my laptop.  Yeah, the decals were available to anyone, but no one else had that selection or placed them in that order.



First off, the Lenovo gets this- one of the limited edition vinyl stickers from Rovot- these are absolutely brilliant, and photos can't do them justice.  He did an amazing job on these, but as they are quite large I never knew just where to put one before.  Next comes this one:



This one is cool on multiple levels- for one, it is Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Galaxy from the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and shame on you if you didn't already know that.   

The rest of the significance of this is a bit of a story, so buckle up- even the Reader's Digest version is lengthy!

When I was in high school and recently moved back to Ontario from Halifax (the first time ) I watched a lot of TV.  I was especially fascinated by CITY TV, a privately owned station that dealt almost exclusively with Toronto and the surrounding areas.  It was like your local radio station, but on TV and I loved it.  One of the things they did was advertise what bands were playing at what bars, and they often mentioned a place called Zaphod's, which I eventually learned was nowhere nearby- it was in Ottawa and Ottawa is roughly 500kms away from where I lived at the time.  Still, having read the Guide several times since I was a kid, I was fascinated by Zaphod's and always wanted to go there.  I'd been to Ottawa several times since then, and never had the opportunity to go.

This year I moved to Ottawa, and, coincidentally, turned 42.  The coincidence is so palpable, it could only have been the result of an Improbability Drive.

So, come Hell or High Water, I was going to go to Zaphod's and get a Pan Galactic Gargleblaster for my birthday, which I did.  And, I got this sticker to commemorate it. 

Zaphod's is apparently going out of business now (if they haven't already) after many decades of business, and I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad I was there- so this decal is a tribute not only to a great book and series, not only a reminder of my first birthday in Ottawa, but also a way that a long standing business can live on, at least until this machine breaks and I need a new laptop.... 



And speaking of birthdays.... longtime MTO and SOSAK member Deputy Tom celebrates his birthday at the same time as mine, and years ago he sent me this sticker.  I'd asked in SOSAK (pre MTO days) if anyone had any old shoulder flashes or patches kicking around that I could have, as I am fascinated by those kinds of things.  Along with several patches and a tin star, Tom sent this decal, so it's only fitting that it finally gets stuck to something and fulfills it's destiny!



The same story goes for this Canadian Rangers decal- except it wasn't from Deputy Tom, it was from PTHYCRPG, another old SOSAK member and frequent contributor to SOSAKOnline.  I haven't heard form him in a while, but I hope he is doing well, wherever he is!  For those that don't know, his username was an acronym for Port Hardy Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, and, as a child of the Canadian Military I can fully support a group like that, even if I didn't have a friend involved with them!



Not every decal needs a story though, and this Pebble decal came with the Pebble Talk that I got as a replacement for my original Pebble that died.  It's not overly visible, but it was handy and so on it goes!

This is just the start of my exterior personalization- More will come eventually, but I thought I'd share what I have so far. 

Who else decorates their laptop or computer?  Or whatever else you may have- let's see them!

Def

[Whoey]

if some deadbeat would only finish up the latest batch of stickers and get them in the mail eh? 

[lister]

42! 42! 42! 

[magentus]

Love the Zaphod sticker!

Time to 'Make it Mine' 90's style!

[MadPlumbarian]

Very nice!
JR

[Aloha]

I was one who never put stickers on anything.  I made certain for the most part to never wear blatantly branded clothing either.  In the last few years I added my Leatherman sticker on my back camper window.  I'm still a little hesitant with things like that however.   

I do enjoy looking at others who do and your laptop is looking great.   

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was one who never put stickers on anything.  I made certain for the most part to never wear blatantly branded clothing either.  In the last few years I added my Leatherman sticker on my back camper window.  I'm still a little hesitant with things like that however.   

I do enjoy looking at others who do and your laptop is looking great.   

I used to be the same way- and in fact, I still am.  It takes effort for me to do something as simple as putting a sticker on something.  My parents always pointed out to me that if you stick stickers on something then no one else would want it, and I was always obsessed with keeping everything in perfect condition for potential resale.  It also never helped that we lived in military housing, so we were never allowed to put up permanent decorations, and, if for some reason we did, we lost them a few years later when we moved.  Once they are stuck on to something, they are gone.

But, there's no resale value to a laptop- they are very short lived products, and I keep them going as long as possible in most cases, while stickers often get put in a drawer and forgotten about.  I am working on convincing myself that they have a shorter, but more pleasurable life by being out and seen than they would living forever in a drawer.

I forgot to post the finished product- finished at least for today. 



I think it looks better already!

Def

[Aloha]

I recently read this

http://theartofsimple.net/stop-saving-your-stickers/
 

[Whoey]

mine is pretty simple, Marvin the Martian and then the RCAF roundel on the other side:

[Grant Lamontagne]

I recently read this

http://theartofsimple.net/stop-saving-your-stickers/

Best advice ever.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

mine is pretty simple, Marvin the Martian and then the RCAF roundel on the other side:

The RCAF one looks familiar! 

Def

[Aloha]

I recently read this

http://theartofsimple.net/stop-saving-your-stickers/

Best advice ever.

Def

My friends and I now use that saying, "Use your stickers!"

[Grant Lamontagne]

There is a very good chance that I will be using it too.   

Def

[AimlessWanderer]

I recently read this

http://theartofsimple.net/stop-saving-your-stickers/

Best advice ever.

Def

My friends and I now use that saying, "Use your stickers!"

I like that little blog post. It kind of falls inline with my philosophy of using collectible tools and knives that other people might see a different value in. I do save some stuff "for best", but get frustrated after a while if they haven't gotten use. This applies to clothes and shoes and cookware and other aspects of life, not just tools. I've occasionally worn my gold pocket watch around the house for no other reason than it's been in the drawer for too long. 

I'm very much with you on the "no labels" stuff too. I don't get caught up in branding that much, and several of my favourite fixed blades are knives which would be off the radar for most people, because they aren't of the brands that get the most attention.

I haven't decorated my laptop though, so can't reciprocate with pics on that.

[Aloha]

Glad to hear the pocket watch gets some time doing what it was meant to do.   

Not to steal Defs thread but I think growing up with next to nothing I tend to take great care of my things.  I have "special occasion" things that see infrequent usage.  Its a strange feeling to own items that wont see use.  I certainly am still like that in some ways.  I've gotten much better for sure.  I "air out" things that haven't seen the light of day more often than before. 

I can honestly say I have enjoyed them very much more in doing so.  I have a cast iron pan from the turn of the 20th century that I was "saving" for special use.  Its now part of my every day cookware.

Lets all use our stickers!!  Even if just around the house in limited function.

       

[Poncho65]

Cool way to personalize your laptop Grant I stick a sticker here and there on some things but really put more thought into where I stick them than I should

[SteveC]

Looking good !

[Vidar]

It seems the first thing I do with new computers is to fill them with a personalized selection of viruses, trojans and assorted malware.

More seriously, I do quite the opposite - clean out everything I don't need so I have a fresh start.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I deleted a lot of crap from it as well.

Def

[Ron Who]

I like Brooke´s sticker story. She´s comparable -- more or less -- to a knife collector afraid to use his knives.

[Vidar]

I like Brooke´s sticker story. She´s comparable -- more or less -- to a knife collector afraid to use his knives.

I think it is a bit more diverse than that. Brooke focuses solely on the fleeing positive experience of using the sticker, and the value it has a usable item. But an item can have value for people in various ways, even if originally just intended for something else.

Thus for collectors I suspect the real value and appreciation is not so much connected to actual use, but more to the value they get from the item exactly as a collective item - and maybe as part of a larger collection. And to the degree that actual use diminishes the perceived collective value it can make perfect sense to not use a certain item. For some the pleasure of collecting is more worth in itself than the usage or monetary value of each item as such. I suspect younger Brooke felt like that, but that older Brooke, having lost that feeling of pleasure, forgot about that.

Why you got interested in something, and hence got it, how and at what level you appreciate it, and how you use it (or not) is largely an individual matter. Thus, if you got or want to preserve the item for its value to you as part of a collection, or its sentimental value, I think it is perfectly valid to not use a sticker or a knife. (Blunt point - look at coin collectors - they can likely use many of those, but they have more value to them personally as part of a collection).

Now unfortunately I seem to have gotten into collecting hydraulic parts, but I have no pleasure at all from it. Anyone here a passionate hydraulic part collector?

Edit: Geez that was a ramble - hopefully some tidsbits make sense.

[Mattexian]

I recently read this

http://theartofsimple.net/stop-saving-your-stickers/

Best advice ever.

Def

+1! 

I had my own wake-up call to that idea, stop saving stuff for some "special occasion," go ahead and use it now, wisely, of course,  but go ahead and enjoy using it now.  There's no guarantee that you're gonna live long enough to see that "special occasion," so make today special.

I love the stickers, especially the Canadian Rangers and Zaphod ones, and the stories behind them. 

Closest to personalizing a laptop I've come was the desert tan Magpul phone case for my Samsung Galaxy S5, with "Come and Take It" and an AR-15 laser etched on it.  I was so disappointed when the screen cracked after a year, and they couldn't give me a replacement,  so I've got this case that doesn't fit anything else. It's replacement,  a Note 4 is having battery life issues, so when I see ads for the latest and greatest phones, I mutter "Will an S5 case fit on it?" To which, the answer is usually, no.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

[Aloha]

I like Brooke´s sticker story. She´s comparable -- more or less -- to a knife collector afraid to use his knives.

I think it is a bit more diverse than that. Brooke focuses solely on the fleeing positive experience of using the sticker, and the value it has a usable item. But an item can have value for people in various ways, even if originally just intended for something else.

Thus for collectors I suspect the real value and appreciation is not so much connected to actual use, but more to the value they get from the item exactly as a collective item - and maybe as part of a larger collection. And to the degree that actual use diminishes the perceived collective value it can make perfect sense to not use a certain item. For some the pleasure of collecting is more worth in itself than the usage or monetary value of each item as such. I suspect younger Brooke felt like that, but that older Brooke, having lost that feeling of pleasure, forgot about that.

Why you got interested in something, and hence got it, how and at what level you appreciate it, and how you use it (or not) is largely an individual matter. Thus, if you got or want to preserve the item for its value to you as part of a collection, or its sentimental value, I think it is perfectly valid to not use a sticker or a knife. (Blunt point - look at coin collectors - they can likely use many of those, but they have more value to them personally as part of a collection).

Now unfortunately I seem to have gotten into collecting hydraulic parts, but I have no pleasure at all from it. Anyone here a passionate hydraulic part collector?

Edit: Geez that was a ramble - hopefully some tidsbits make sense.

Totally makes sense.  Ownership in and of itself can be very rewarding.  However in the case where one has bought something with the intention to use and for reasons afterward decided not to the sticker analogy is relevant. 

Pure collecting for sake of obtaining is neat.  I can appreciate those who do so. 

[WoodsDuck]

Maybe I missed it, but which model is that?
I have a Lenovo Y70 Touch that's pretty nice, aside from one very irritating design flaw.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Maybe I missed it, but which model is that?
I have a Lenovo Y70 Touch that's pretty nice, aside from one very irritating design flaw.

Sorry, I missed this post the first time around!  It is an 80ST without a touch screen.  My last computer had one, so for a while I kept poking at the screen to make things happen, and they never did!   

I wanted to update this one with a more recent photo of the stickers I have added to it, but, before doing that I decided to read through the thread first for the fun of it and I see that the link to the blog above is no longer functional.  Here is the new link to the same article in case anyone is interested in reading (or re-reading!) it:

https://theartofsimple.net/stickers/

I've added a few more to it as you can see, including another Wenger Patagonia sticker that I didn't know I had, a Benchmade sticker I forgot I had, a Total Rock sticker from the radio station that Micah and his wife used to work for in the UK, some camping/park stickers and one from a 3D printer parts company.

I doubt those will be the last to be added!

Def

[ezdog]

I support both PCs and Mac and move the stuff to the new computer for clients all the time.

On a Mac you can just run a Time Machine Backup on the old one and open it on the new one and it is done.
I can also just Clone the old drive and transfer it that way at anytime.

Windows on the other hand........not so much usually?

I also never considered Stickers and do not really understand the idea.

Although I do sure have a pile of unused stickers too?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Self expression?

To paraphrase the great musical talent William Shatner, I put them on my laptop, I don't know why.
Stickers have to go somewhere, so I put them there.

Def

[WoodsDuck]

Captain Kirk is putting stickers on his tricorder.

Why is he putting stickers on his tricorder?

Because it's there.

[Grant Lamontagne]

 

Def