There are things, and there are Things

I finally got to play a video game the other week.   Playing video games used to take up a lot of my time.  I couldn't afford many games so whenever I bought one I played through it with a vigor normally saved for life saving measures.  I'd don my headset so that I could fully immerse myself into whatever virtual world would consume me and try to block out the real world.

One of the problems though was that my headset was pretty old and frankly pretty bad.  It was a very 'tacticool' headset from Logitech with a 'letherette' band that surrounded my ears and went around the back of my head.   But at it's core it wasn't anything more than the standard circular ear pieces that sat over your ears.

As such it didn't do much to block out the sounds of the real world.  Oh it looked cool, and if I'm honest it wasn't bad when I got it.  Gaming headsets hadn't really come into their own yet and it had the two features I wanted at the time... an attached microphone and a volume control dial.

Well after years of use and abuse, it finally gave up any semblance of being a useful attachment to my computer.  The left speaker had an incredibly annoying crackling noise in it.  The 'letherette' ear coverings had a crack in it which made it almost painful to wear for more than a few minutes.  The volume dial got so dirty and corroded that it was a major undertaking to change.  The volume slider was difficult to move and if it was in anything bu the perfect position it would eliminate the sound in one or even both speakers.  It seems that the only position it really wanted to be in was at full blast volume... which made the crackling left speaker horrible.



So after playing for a few minutes I realized that I no longer had to just accept this piece of crap hardware.  I decided that if I was only going to have a few precious moments to play a game each week (or even only a few moments per month) I shouldn't be sacrificing any part of my enjoyment.  I needed a new headset.

Let me tell you... gaming headsets have come a long LONG way since I bought my Logitech set.  You can get headsets with 5.1 and even 7.1 sound.  It's now common to have them completely cover your ears and fully immerse you in sound and they are LOUD.  You can have wireless headsets.  The attached microphone can be removed and in some cases even retracted into the headset.  Many even include built in sound canceling.  And the brands... well damn I haven't even heard of many of them.  Where I was used to Logitech, Microsoft and Plantronics the top brands now include Razer, Seinheiser, Turtle Beach, SteelSeries and many many more.

The problem of course is that all of these features and improvements equate to higher and higher prices.  I thought I had overpaid for my Logitechs at $49, but the best headsets now top $300.  So the first thing I did was to start paring down the extra features.  I didn't believe I'd really need noise canceling as most headsets would dampen outside noises by simply fitting better over and around my ears.  I'd love to have true 5.1 or 7.1 sound, but while that would be cool having so many speakers (or drivers as they are called) in such a small space leads to less overall volume.  And while wireless sounds (no pun intended) cool, I don't like changing batteries.

Does this make my head look smaller?

So with those things in mind I could get a really good headset for just over $100.  I ended up choosing the Razer Tiamat 2.2 gaming headset (how crazy is it that my headset has a name!?).  There were two features that drove my puchrasing decision.  First instead of a single 40mm driver per earpiece, they include two.  That extra driver really helps amplify the sound and adds an extra level of bass.  Second, I could pick them up a the local Best Buy.

But as long as I was sinking a hundred bucks into a new headset I figured I'd look into getting a new keyboard as well.  I had replaced my old standard Microsoft keyboard several months ago with a 'gaming' keyboard.   I guess having both the arrow keys as well as the WASD keys in red made it a gaming keyboard because the performance certainly didn't improve anything.  There was also something wrong with the key layout.  I'm normally really good at typing without looking at the keyboard and can hit the number keys as well as more complex key combinations like Control C and Control V without taking my eyes off the screen.  But with this new keyboard I was constantly hitting the wrong keys.

As with the headset, I wanted to both get a new keyboard as well as improve on what I had.  There are a lot of gaming features out there for keyboards (like anti ghosting or the ability to hit up to 26 keys simultaneously), but frankly I never had problems with ghosting (I had to look it up to even figure out what it was) and I've never gotten upset when I could only hit 8 keys at the same time.  The two features I was  interested were having lit keys and having a truly mechanical keyboard.

Having a mechanical keyboard does add to gaming precision, but for me that feature was all about typing.  There is just something magical to having your fingers fly over a mechanical keyboard.  The sound is a wonderfully satisfying 'Click Clack' and there is a real tactile difference.  They keys almost feel like they are pushing back against your fingers and you KNOW when you've hit the key right.  As for having the keys lit... well I like to work in the dark.  My room is always fairly dim and when I game I don't want any light beyond the warm glow of my monitor.  But having it dark makes it hard to find special keys when typing and neigh impossible to find the right key when playing a game (and trust me you NEED to find the right key to reload your weapon before the big bad boss kicks your ass!).

Just like the headsets, there is a cornucopia of keyboard brands that I hadn't heard of before.  All of them seem to offer something that I would like, but unlike the headsets where I chose to ignore the more expensive options I've picked out two of the pricier features.  After spending about a hour trying to compare and contrast different keyboards and their associated features I decided to just put that purchase on hold.

I went off to Best Buy and immediately found my ridiculously packaged Tiamat 2.2 headset  Best Buy of courses knows how to arrange their products and right next to the gaming headsets were the gaming keyboards.  My eyes were immediately drawn to the Logitech G710+ keyboard.  I hadn't researched this particular one, but now that it was staring right at me I picked up the box to see what it offered.

Pic taken in low light

The first thing that hit me was the weight.  Having a mechanical keyboard adds a lot to the heft and picking the box up put that intellectual fact into reality.  It was heavy.  At 4.6 pounds it was almost four times heavier than a standard keyboard box (for comparison a standard Microsoft business keyboard weights in at just under 1.5 pounds).  So just by picking it up I knew that this had the mechanical features that I was looking for.  The picture on the box told me everything else I needed to know... the keys were in fact lit and they were done so individually.  That's actually important as some lit keyboards aren't and that leads to a lot of light leaking out from between the keys.

While the G710+ is still a bit gawdy (it has an orange plastic piece around the magical 'G' keys as well as it's name stamped all over the place) it's fairly plain when it compared to other gaming keyboards.  Lastly while there are many brands to pick from, I know and respect Logitech.  Their keyboards have been known for durability and quality for decades now and I can't imagine they through out those defining characteristics just to dip their toes into the gaming market.  The price for all this goodness..... GAH!!!  $129.99.  On Sale.

I almost put it back but when I thought about it this had everything I wanted and wasn't to much more expensive than other gaming keybaords from companies that I had no history with.  So I walked out of Best Buy over $200 poorer, but with a headset and keyboard that should make my gaming time all that much better.

I haven't had much time to really game with these things... sadly I took to long on that day to pick out the damn headset and keyboard to get any time IN game.  But I can say that I'm happy with both.  The headset sounds amazing and it's loud enough that when cranked the bass actually moves it around on my head.  The keyboard is everything I dreamed it would be.  I can have the lights off and can quickly and easily find any key I'm searching for, but more importantly it feels great to type on.  There's even a little volume roller on it that sits right next to my mouse so I can change the volume on the fly now instead of reaching for my speakers or my headset volume control.





Now... since I've gotten this job I've talked about the things it's allowed me to buy.  Fiona of course is the biggest thing, but there's also my Samsung Galaxy S4, my scrubs for work, my new universal remote control, the keyboard and headset, a couple pair of shoes and some new clothes.  These are all things that make me happy... or at least they did.  But driving home last night something hit me.  Something that put these mere 'things' into perspective.

I had to stay late at work because I found a fairly serious medical error.  One of the inmates is on a seizure medication that expired.  In all likelihood I could have let it go... I mean after all the doctor didn't renew the prescription and the normal med nurse didn't mention it to anyone even though she has to count each pill every night.  But I didn't let it go... I was fairly sure that he wouldn't have a seizure from missing a few doses, but we're told that an inmate cannot miss any seizure meds.  So I had to track down the doc (calling him at home), take a verbal order to renew the prescription, figure out how to input the verbal order into the computer, try to find some extra pills (no luck.. we don't stock extra of that particular med), and finally call in an order to the local pharmacy and set up another nurse to pick them up the next day.

When I finally got to my car it was 10:45.  On Friday's I like to listen to Radio Lab on the local NPR station.  It's a great show and you should check it out if you get the chance.  It plays from 10pm to 11pm so by staying late I missed almost all of the show (and I was looking forward to this episode as they were talking about AI).  So 15 minutes into my drive home I switched from the radio to my music.  About 10 mintues later one of my favorite songs came on:

It's a song that can make me both happy and sad.  I wasn't in a particularly great mood but I wasn't down by any means so I cranked the song (it sounds great in Fiona by the way!) and started singing along.  It was early in the third verse and my voice was already cracking as these words spilled out:

"Take me to the place where you go

Where nobody knows if it's night or day" 

Our of nowhere I thought of Dad.  Intellectually I don't believe in an afterlife.  I don't believe that his ghost is standing behind me and looking over my shoulder nor do I believe that he's smiling down at me from heaven... but emotionally I know he's around.  I was so proud when I got my job and so happy that I could help out Mom in a more concrete financial way.  I was so happy that I could afford my life and buy all these shiny new baubles that would make me smile.

But you know what I can't do?  I can't show Dad that I did it.  I can't show him that his boy has not only stepped up into manhood but is now taking an active role in caring for his wife.  Dad would know that these petty things add to my happiness, but he would also know that they aren't important.  I'll get a different car in a few years... I'll get new clothes... I'll get new phones and new computer toys.... but none of that matters if I don't take care of the things that are truly precious.

My family.  My Friends.  My Loved Ones.

Somehow over the past two months I've gone to a place where I didn't know what was important... where I didn't know if it was night or day.  I focused on making me happy and enjoying myself and didn't focus on the things that will outlast any 'thing' that I can buy.  Dad wouldn't have done that.  Dad didn't do that.  He was the man of the house and could have spent his money how he wanted... but did he buy himself that truck that he always wanted?  Did he buy himself nice clothes?  Did he buy himself the tools that he always dreamed about having?

Hell no.

He drove around in a POS 25 year old truck that needed constant repair so that his wife could have a safe vehicle.  He wore his clothes until they fell apart so that my brothers and I could always have new clothes for school every year.  He did all his repairs around the house with second hand tools so that his family could save up those pennies to go on family vacations.

Dad knew what was important.  He knew that no 'thing' could ever be more important than those he loved.

I'll still buy things... but I'm going to try my best to be like Dad was and know that these things won't bring me everlasting happiness.  Instead I'm going to focus my considerable will, creativity, and passion into those that I love.

Thank you Dad.  Thank you for coming out of nowhere, six years after leaving this existence and helping me remember what's important.