The afterlife

In May of 2009, I took possession of a Sony Vaio VGN-FW390. It was sleek, fast and friendly. Nearly two years later, with a battery that drains in less than half an hour, a power brick that’s losing its cord, translucent spots developing on its display, finish worn away in places … fleabite chips, hairline cracks, increasingly frequent blue screens … it’s showing its age.

Whether I euthanize it now or retire it to ebay later, Vaio Sr.’s afterlife likely will include a third world scrap yard where peasant women burn the precious metals from its bones.

A friend loaned me a book last month about near death experiences and indirect scientific evidence of the afterlife. Something like that, anyway. I haven’t read it yet.

The cover art for another book that I haven’t read caught my eye yesterday. Robot Dreams. I’d just watched a “Star Trek: Enterprise” episode about mankind’s first encounter with the Borg. They’re self-healing, you know.

If only my Vaio were filled with nanobots to fix it and upgrade it for all eternity. I could use some of those myself.