A coworker pointed out this interesting utility for visualizing what files are taking up space on your hard drive.

http://windirstat.info/ 

So originally I was going to buy a CyberPowerPC computer.  But after they took 20 days before shipping it to me, and messed up my plans to goto Vegas, i decided to take the parts list to www.newegg.com and buy the parts myself and put the computer together.  I ended up saving money on the purchase (even including the tax, that I was avoiding with the CyberPowerPC).  In addition, I was able to add silent CPU + GPU fans to the order, as well as getting an Antec Sonata 2 case, that offers a quiet solution for my computer.

Motherboard: EVGA nForce 680i 122-CK-NF68-TR
Processor: Intel E6600 2.5Ghz Core Duo 2
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 7300 GT 512MB
Memory: 2x1G Corsair CM2X1024-6400
HDD: SATA: 160GB Primary, 500GB Seagate ST3500630NS
Case: Antec Sonata 2 - Ultra Quiet 450W Case (Piano Black Finish) 

I just got the below letter from Ron, stating that he is stopping the wednesday night game nights.

I am so bummed... I've been going to Ron's house on an almost weekly basis for close to 9 years. In so many ways, Ron's house was a weekly retreat from the stresses of work, family, and life in general. At one point I actually told Ron that game night was the happiest things that happened in my life. Through the years the group has changed and at times the "family" feel to things at the house were really strong, and some times they were bleek, but we always had a good time, and fragged some bad guys.

I know Ron is going through some big things right now in his life with work, school, and family, so it comes as no surprise that things need to stop... hopefully they will return, or maybe this is just a natural evolution of all of us growing up. Regardless I'm sad today... especially since I won't be at the last game night, nor will I be at this months game day.

There are alot of great things I take from going to Ron's... I can thank Earl for inviting me the first time, (right before he moved to Texas). I met many great fellow geeks that on different levels kept gaming part of their weekly activies. At Ron's house EVERYONE was welcome, even if you never gamed, and just wanted to play, you were welcome, and made to feel like you were part of a team, not the fresh meat to for the elite to feed on. If one team was overpowering another, we would mix up the teams so everyone had a good time.

Rons house was also the place i got to do some of the first networking ever. We wired the walls of Ron's house with more CAT-5 cable than a medium sized company at the time. Even before that, we had Steve getting old network cards working with IPXSPX and NETX so we could play some of the first network based games like Duke Nukem, Decent, and DOOM.

I guess I just need to focus on Saturday, and make those must attend events in the future. :(

Overall i'm in a crappy mood, and although I know this sucks for me, I know that it was no easy choice for Ron to decide to cancel things. I hope that everything is OK with him, and that he gets done what he needs to get done.