I recently burned out one of my Ti 4200 GF4 cards and needed some thing new. I’ve loved my 4200’s since I got them back in 2002, but the fans seem to stop and then they burn out. One will still work, if I can find a replacement fan.

Anyways, I went looking for something newer that didn’t have a fan, if possible. I found the NV44a 6200/AGP at Newegg. It’s a AGP 8x part, 128MB of RAM (no TurboCache crap) and passive cooling for $78.

I promptly ordered a ASUS N6200/TD/128 Video Card and Newegg delivered quickly as usual.

I quickly found one BIG problem: The NV44a (6200/AGP) isn’t currently supported by the Nvidia 7174 Linux drivers! Argh, my new card will be sitting on the bench until we get some new drivers.

The folks from Cummins Tools came through town and did a truckload sale here at the Elk’s Lodge. I picked up a $40 Drill Press and a set of 6 bar clamps for $30.

The Drill Press isn’t fancy and is a table top variety with 50mm (2″) of throw. I figured that for that price, if it works twice it’s just about paid for itself.

The Bar Clamps are similar to the speed clamps you can get at Home Depot or the like, but 6 for $30 instead of ~$20 each.

Melissa and I stopped on the side of the road the other day and looked at cat toys. They wanted close to $250 for some of them and I mentioned that “I could make that”. My birthday was coming up and I’ve been wanting a good power driver so my parents took us to Home Depot. We found a kit that included an 18v driver/drill, 5.5″ circular saw, flashlight and 2 batteries and a charger for $149.

I’ve had a tons of fun building:

1. Cat condo (2 floor enclosed box with circular holes in and out, fully carpeted)
2. Cat tower with 2 platforms
3. A 24″ x 48″ workbench on casters
4. Small parts box (8″ x 9″ with dado’ed base)

Since the initial purchase, we’ve been back and I’ve purchased the 18v speed saw (Rotozip like) and the 18v stapler/brad nail driver. All of this has made work around the house a pleasure and we have the cat toys + tools to make more for around the price the guy on the side of the road was asking.

My next purchase is a Ryobi 3100c table saw which we’ll be needing for the work on the house.

Charlie, Stoney and I played Landa on Friday. We had a very nice day and a very pleasant game. Now that I seem to have solved my slice, I actually enjoy getting to the tee box. The downside is that I’ve managed to screw up my short and mid-game since those shots are going well right, but not slicing. I think I can fix that by closing my club face a bit more.