Useless Wastes of Money

So I have purchased several new toys.  To be honest, these are all complete wastes of money and I'm not here standing up tall and saying that I'm spent my money wisely or purchased something that will make my life better.

Nope.  I just wasted some money, far too much money on one, on things that make me smile.

On each item I justified it to myself just before purchase and it seamed reasonable at the time.  In retrospect I wasn't so much getting reasons to buy them, I was pushing down my financial responsible side that was saying loud and clear "YOU DO NOT NEED THIS".

I think that part of me, the financial responsible side of me, is weak.  It had far to much help in the past.  In the past it was hardly ever a decision to make.  I simply didn't have the money to make purchases like this.  Sure, I wanted the techy toys since I got my Voltron action-figure/toy when I was a little boy, but I also recognized that they were wastes of money.  I guess it's kind of like wearing a cast.  Your broken body part can't support itself, so the cast does that job.  Once the cast is removed your body part is used to NOT supporting itself and needs work so that it can do it's job again.

In that way, my cast was removed when I got this job and I skipped going to physical therapy.

So my purchases were, in order of purchase, a Roku 3, a Kindle Voyage, and a Microsoft Surface Pro 4.  The Roku 3 is a video streaming device that connects to the television.  Think Netflix.  The Kindle Voyage is the Cadillac of ebook readers from Amazon.  The Surface Pro 4 is a tablet/laptop.

Roku3.  I've talked before how I watch television.  Ever since we got Netflix on our Blu-Ray Home Theater system, I tend to find a series that I like and binge watch it.  Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Breaking Bad.  I honestly like watching television this way better than waiting a week for the next episode or waiting through the off season for the new premier.  It's really great for series with many episodes as it will take me months to watch them all.

Now, the Home Theater system works great as a Home Theater system.  It has the new standard six speakers (2 front, 2 rear, center, subwoofer), and makes television and movies sound amazing.  It also plays DVDs and Blu-Rays exceptionally well.  The 'smart' part of it seems to be a cheap addon.  It allows you to stream Netflix, Amazon Videos, Hulu, and several other services.  But it's so damned slow.  I mean S L O W.  Skipping the cursor through the varied options in Netflix should be as fast as it is on the computer.... click click click on the remote translates to click move click move click move.  On this device though it looks more like this click click move click move move.  That's when it's at its best, but like all technology it sometimes slows down. Then it's click click click, painstakingly long pause, move move.  You have to then sit and wait to see if the third click even registered.

Worse was the hookup.  My television - cable box - blu-ray/home-theater set up was designed and set up for my mother.  We all know the curse of multiple remotes.  When you want to watch television is a setup like this, you:

1. Turn on the television with it's remote and make sure it's set to the cable box input
2. Turn on the Home Theater with it's remote and make sure it's set to the television input
3. Turn on the cable box with it's remote
4. Begin watching television using the cable box remote

Our system is a little better in that the television and Home Theater are both from the same manufacturer and communicate with each other through a proprietary system.  When the television turns on it tells the home theater to turn on and go to the proper input.  For an extra bit of ease, the remote for the cable box will also turn on the TV and control the television volume.  So for mom, to watch television she only has to:

• Use the cable box remote to turn the cable box turns on
• The cable box remote turns the tv on in the same action
• The television, when turned on, turns the home theater on
• The television auto set's it's input
• The television sets the home theater input

She can then watch television using just the cable box remote.  Yes, that remote doesn't use the volume on the home theater, BUT when it tells the TV to turn the volume up/down the TV passes that information on to the home theater and it works just fine. 

That's fine for mom, and I'm happy to not interrupt her television viewing habits.  But I don't want to watch the cable box, and I don't want a mess of remotes either.  So I purchased a Harmony learning universal remote quite awhile back (and an updated one late last year) that will control everything.  The remote is incredibly smart, and once all your devices are set up will at the single press of a button:

• Turn the TV on
• Set the TV's input
• Turn the Home Theater On
• Set the Home Theater's input
• Tell the Home Theater to go to the streaming channel

I then simply have to select Netflix and wait for the painstakingly slow process there.   OH but wait... that's NOT how it works.  Here's what really happens when I try to use the universal remote:

• The remote turns the TV on
• The TV tells the Home Theater to turn on
• The remote turns the Home Theater on.... which means it turns off. 
• The remote sets the TV to the correct input
• The TV tries to set the Home Theater input... but can't because it's off. 
• The remote turns the Home Theater on
• The Home Theater tries to turn the TV on... which turns it off. 
• The remote set's the Home Theater to the correct input
• The Home Theater tries to set the TV to the correct input... but cna't because it's turned off
• The remote set's the Home Theater to the streaming channel. 

And then I'm left with a mess.  As various components take their time to do their thing all while the remote is sending off signal after signal, I really can't predict what state the TV or Home Theater will be in.  

Over the years I've worked out a method that works, but it took a LOT of programming and trial & error.  And for Netflix, this is all for a slow cumbersome process.  

So a streaming device seemed like a natural choice.  I selected Roku, but I could have just as easily picked up an Apple TV, an Amazon Fire TV, or a Google/Nexus TV product.  Oh but wait, the TV is old enough that it doesn't have an open HDMI port.  It only came with two.  One is used by the cable box, the other is used by the Home Theater.  The TV doesn't even have a USB port.  

So my only option is to get an HDMI port replicator.  Long story short (I know... too late for that right?) I got the port replicator, the Roku 3 and got it all programmed up into my remote.  Total cost... about $200.  And it doesn't stop there.  The Roku 3 is nice, but for the best streaming you have to pay for streaming providers.  I already was paying for Netflix at $10 a month.  I had joined Amazon Prime which includes Amazon Videos among other benefits, but that's $90 a year.  And of course I wanted to add Hulu which with commercials costs me $7.99 a month.  I hate commercials so I upped it to the $11.99 a month package to get rid of the commercials.  

$200 plus $10/month plus $7.50/month plus $11.99/month.  Yeah... this is money I didn't need to spend.  I love it, it's great, it meets almost all of my desire for a product like this.. but I didn't need to spend this money. 

Kindle Voyage.  If you aren't up to these type of things, the Kindle is a line of eBook readers (or at least it was... now it's just a branding of Amazon on eBook readers, tablets, and television devices).  I use it to read books.  That's all it does.  

Years ago my brother got me an eBook reader for Christmas.  It was crap... battery lasted about a day, it was difficult to read, and it couldn't easily get books on it's own.  I'd have to purchase the book (or steal it online), get it onto the computer, then transfer it to the reader.  It was not any easier than just going to a bookstore and buying the paperback and it most certainly was not as easy to READ as a paperback.  So with my brothers permission I took it back, paid a bit more out of pocket, and got a Kindle.  This was the 3rd edition of the Kindle when it got a lot smaller and a lot sleeker (the first to generations were horrible looking.  

My old Kindle

For years I used it with pleasure and relish.  I loved it.  It hooked up to wifi and using my Amazon account could purchase and download books on it's own.  I now own 36 Kindle eBooks and beyond Stephen King books where I purchase the Hard Cover first edition and add it to my collection, I purchase almost all of my books on the Kindle.  

I never looked to upgrade it as it worked fine.  The battery lasts for weeks if not months, and it only does one thing... read eBooks.  It's not like the new editions added much if anything.  Sure, they made the screen sensitive to touch.  With mine there were buttons on either side to flip the page, on the new ones you simply tapped the screen.  Then they took the keyboard away and using the touch screen added a touch keyboard there.  

Nice, but nothing that really adds value.  I thought my 3rd edition Kindle would last me forever.  Until I took a trip to Chicago with my friend.  We were both on the train and we each pulled out our Kindles.  My trusty old one and his new Paperwhite edition.  If only I had kept my eyes to my own damned device I would have never seen how awesome the new paperwhite screen is.  

You see, one thing they DID upgrade in the most recent versions was the screen.  Mine was great when it came out, but through improvements in technology they've made the background screen more white (mine is a dim grey), and the text more black (mine is a dark grey).  Just talking about it doesn't make it sound like a big thing... but damnit when you see these side by side mine looked old and dim and difficult to read.  Not difficult... hell I've been using it for YEARS without thinking it was bad... but not as good.  Oh and his is backlit.  Mine is just like any book... books don't include lights.  To read it in the dark you simply point a light at the screen.  But on a dimly lit train that just isn't possible.   His... his is backlit so that he can read in any lighting condition.  

That same friend and I were planning a trip down to Mexico which would involve a 4 hour plane ride as well as plenty of beach reading.  That little dark hearted green part of me couldn't stand him having a better reading experience than me.  Yes, jealousy pushed this purchase.  I could have gotten the same reader he has.  The Kindle Paperwhite edition.  It would have the same screen and the same back lighting.  There has even been a new edition that makes the screen even more crisp.  But then I saw the Voyage.  

The Voyage is the premier edition of the Kindle.  For the actual use of reading books, the Voyage adds almost nothing.  It improves some things slightly, but it's practically the same experience reading books on a Paperwhite 3rd edition.  What it improves is the physical packaging and therefore the feel of the device in the hand.  Where the Paperwhite 3rd edition (and my old 3rd edition), is made of a decent plastic, the Voyage has a magnesium shell.  It feels wonderful.  Where the Paperwhite 3rd edition (and my old 3rd edition) has a plastic screen, the Voyage's screen is micro-etched tempered glass.  It has almost no glare (less glare than the plastic) and feels wonderful.  The Paperwhite 3rd edition is a touch screen so to turn the pages you simply either swipe across or tap the edge of the screen.  My older 3rd gen had comfortable buttons build into the side to turn the pages with.  The Voyage has the touch screen like the Paperwhite but also has a pressure sensitive button built into the bezel.  Sounds like a button right?  Well, this pressure sensitive area is right where your thumb sits and you can hold the Voyage in this same area without hitting the 'button'.  To flip the page you simply give that area a little extra squeeze.  Literally you don't have to move your hand to change pages, you simply squeeze lightly where your thumb is already sitting. 

The screens on the Paperwhite 3rd edition and the Voyage (beyond the glass covering) are exactly the same.  The battery life is the same.  The Wifi connection is the same.  The connection to Amazon is the same.  The Voyage costs $80 more than the Paperwhite 3rd edition.  

Yeah... the jealous little monster in my heart demanded that the $80 was worth it so that I could have a better eBook reader than my friend.  This is of course on top of the $120 I was spending to replace an eBook reader that worked just fine.  Add in the case and I spent about $250 to replace a perfectly good device that I use minimally.  

This is money I didn't need to spend. 

Microsoft Surface Pro 4.  This is by far the most trivial purchase and by far the most expensive one.  So I 'wasted' about $500 on a TV streamer and eBook reader... I use both of those a lot.  I use the Roku almost daily and will use the Voyage daily whenever I don't have a new Stephen King hardcover to read.  

But a tablet?  A laptop?  I had an old android tablet that sat next to my couch and hardly got any use.  I love the idea of having a tablet, but just don't have any good use for one.  Especially with my Nexus 6.  It's a 6 inch android phone that I can easily use for web browsing and facebooking (the two activities I do most often while sitting on the couch.  It can play music, be my alarm clock, read books, and watch movies.  The movies part is about the only thing a tablet would be better for... 6 inches just isn't enough to really enjoy some big Hollywood blockbuster on.  

So for over a year now I've wanted a tablet, but just couldn't justify it.  A good sized (around 9 inches) basic one goes for between $300 and $400.  A similar sized good one goes for closer to $600.  

Then came this Mexico vacation.  It gave me the reason.  Watching movies.  It's a four hour flight and I probably wouldn't have a way to watch movies on the flight.  Yes, I had my new Voyage but I probably wouldn't want to read for 4 hours.  I'd want other diversions.  Plus there's the hotel.  This is Mexico and I have no right to expect any English speaking options.  So a tablet with several movies preloaded onto it would be a nice option there.  Then there's all those fun internet things (facebook, my 'Caitlyn' activities, my web browsing... stuff like that).  Yes, the phone does those things but do I want to use its battery up that bad?  I mean do I want to risk killing the batter halfway through the day and not only losing my internet device, but lose my phone as well (I checked, my phone would work to make/receive calls and texts while in Mexico).  

No.  No I wouldn't.  So having a tablet for those activities would leave the phone for an on-the-go internet device but mostly a phone.  In the evenings in my room I could power up the tablet to watch movies and play on the internet.  The last bit of justification was the price.  This is a week long vacation so having a tablet for the plane ride and the hotel at $400 was worth it even if it didn't get any use after the vacation.  I guess my lesson here should be that once I've justified something in my head I have to remember the justification and NOT just the fact that I've justified it.  

I looked at both Android tablets and Apple tablets.  As I wanted to load up several movies on it I wanted to have at least 32 Gigs of memory.  Preferably 64.  Considering I also wanted at least a 9 inch screen, that alone pushed me up to the $600 range.  I didn't even blink at the price as I had already justified the purchase right?  Yeah... stupid.  

When I started to think of all the uses I realized that even on my phone I don't like to type on the onscreen keyboard.  It's fine for quick texts or facebook style posts... but to interact on a forum or post a good comment on a TG blog, I'd need a keyboard.  That thought brought the Microsoft Surface to mind.  I remembered that it had a nice keyboard that attached to it.  So I looked at them.  

I hadn't looked at the MS Surface line since it first came out.  When they came out they were running Windows RT.  Windows RT sucks.  The new line all run Widnows 10.  FULL Windows 10.  That alone, at least in my mind, make these equal parts laptop and tablet.  Here's how the current Surface line breaks down:

• Surface 3.  This is more tablet than laptop.  The version I looked at has 4Gb of memory, 128Gb of SSD hard drive space, and runs on an Intel Atom processor.  Yes, it's full Windows 10 but the Atom processor would limit it's power.  Great for browsing the internet, working on Word or other office style apps, and maybe some casual tablet style gaming.  It has a 10.8 inch screen which would make it great for movie watching.  It sells for $499 and the keyboard goes for $129.  
• Surface 4 Pro.  This is more laptop than tablet.  The version I looked at has the same 4Gb of memory and 128Gb of SSD hard drive space, but it runs on an Intel i5 processor.  And this isn't some pared down 'mobile' processor... this beast is faster than the one in my desktop!  It can run Photoshop, render video and play the newest full games.  It has a 12.3 inch display that runs at 2736x1824.  For comparison my 24" Samsung monitor only runs up to 1920x1200 and is gorgeous!  The only real limiting factor on this beast of a computer would be the RAM and it's built in video card.  High end current generation gaming would be possible but not nearly as fluid as my desktop with 16Gb of ram and a $400 discrete video card.  The SP4 in this configuration was $999 and the keyboard was the same $129. 
• Surface Book.  This is a laptop where the screen can detach and act as a tablet.  I won't go into specs beyond  saying it's better than the SP4 and DOES include a discrete video card and a 13.5 inch very high res screen.  It truly is a computer that can hang with any other current generation computer.  It costs $1899.  

Obviously looking at these and what they can do, they are all better than an Android or Apple tablet.  They keyboard integration, and the more powerful processors (even the Atom is more powerful than the iPad Air 2's A8X processor) make this an easy choice.  The Surface Book is out... I don't need a laptop and while it's amazing, the extra computing heft adds a lot of extra weight.  I figured the same was true of the Surface Pro.  Sure, I'd like the i5, but the 12.3 inch screen was pushing the whole tablet experience.  And with they keyboard (a necessary part that makes it better than Android or iPad) it costs over a grand.  

So I went out to buy the Surface 3.  Now this decision to purchase a table was made late on Friday night.  I was leaving for vacation Sunday afternoon.  There was no time to ship anything.  If I couldn't get it locally, I couldn't get it.  Thankfully Best Buy not only carried it, but had the Surface 3 in stock in the configuration I wanted.  On my way to Best Buy I decided that I'd put this on my credit card.  I could pull it out of my checking account (put it on my debit card), but I wanted that extra cash for vacation.  And seeing as I just filed my taxes, I could pay off the credit card in a week or so anyway.  In essence... this was going to be a 'free' purchase.  Yeah Yeah Yeah... I could have used the tax return to pay off more of my student loans or even the car, but this was only going to be $700.  I'd still have enough left over to pay off the rest of the credit card and make an extra student loan or car loan payment.  

Just to be sure the keyboard was as necessary as I though it would be, I went first to the newest iPad Air 2 and tried to type up something using the onscreen keyboard.  Ick.  It was awful, slow, and full of errors.  Just like the phone, it's good for a quick facebook style post or to input a web address, but otherwise useless.  I checked out external keyboard options and while I assume there is something that could work well out there, they didn't have anything worth considering at Best Buy.  

Android tablets were easily eliminated as the best ones they had only included 16 Gb of memory.  

So I moseyed over to the MS Surface area and found... that they no longer carried the Surface 3.  I found out from an associate that they were told to pack up all their demos and unsold Surface 3s and ship them back to Microsoft.  I played a bit with the Surface Pro 4 and like I suspected it's a wonderful machine.  Fast, powerful, and it's keyboard is laptop quality.  I can't type as fast as I can on my desktop keyboard... but I can type at nearly full speed without a bunch of errors.  

I refused to let convinience make me spend that extra cash though, so I went to every store in town that might sell the Surface 3.  Toys R Us, Target, Sears, Office Depot, Sams Club, Meijer, and Walmart.  Nobody carried it in the store although they all carried it online.  It seems the only place I could get it inside of a store would be a brick and mortar Microsoft Store.... the closest one of which was 100 miles away. 

I was pissed.  I had talked myself into a tablet and not getting one felt like a personal defeat.  I steamed about it all Saturday night.  And that little part of me that wants things it doesn't need kept needling me.  The Surface Pro 4 is better.  It's worth the extra money.  It could still be purchased with tax money and be 'free'.  The only thing I would miss out on is an extra payment on the student loan or car.  

I bought a Surface Pro 4 tablet/laptop with it's keyboard Sunday morning as soon as Best Buy opened up.  

Let me be clear... this thing is amazing.  I have MS Office on it.  Not the mobile version, the full same edition as I have on my desktop.  I have Photoshop on it.  Not some mobile hacked version... the same full version as I have on my desktop.  I have iTunes and all of my music on it.  Playing 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' and 'The Man of Steel' on it was glorious and they both fit onto the hard drive.  This isn't a tablet, it's a computer.  When the keyboard is attached it is the best laptop I've personally ever used.  When the keyboard is off it works perfectly fine as a huge 12.3 inch tablet.  Yes, it's a little heavy for long time use, but it's big enough that while I kick back on the couch I can rest it on my belly and still see most of the screen without craning my head down.  

And it's a complete waste of money.  Here at home, I have no use for it.  It facebooks and browses the web just fine... but so did my phone.  If I want to type something up it's nice, but not as good as my desktop which is only one room away and includes a comfortable office style chair that's perfect for typing.  If I want to play with Photoshop it can do it, but really I use Photoshop with a mouse and a big screen.  Again... it can do it but my desktop is only one room away and is better at it.  

At least I got to use it while on vacation right?  Well... no.  The plane had gorgeous screens, a bunch of free movies, and active noise canceling headphones to watch said movies with.  I watched 'Sicario' on the way down and '2001' on the way back up.  My hotel room was nice enough but didn't have any free Wifi.  When I purchased wifi for the room, I found out that the equipment was broke and that I couldn't have ANY wifi in my room (I considered changing rooms but it wasn't worth the repack and reunpack).  Even the free wifi in the lobby was just awful.  When you COULD connect to it it was painstakingly slow.  The only good wifi was in the bars and restaurants and I wasn't going to go there with my tablet/laptop to check out my websites, let alone my TG blogs.  

I did watch the movies on it, but I think that was more out of spite.  The TV had plenty of channels in English including both news and movies.  I didn't need the tablet for video entertainment and couldn't use it for anything else.  

This is money I didn't need to spend. 

So three wasteful purchases.  Almost $1800 on things that will make me happy but ultimately not be worth it.   I guess I can be happy that I CAN afford such frivolous purchases and not be slowed down by them.  I still paid all my bills, paid for the vacation, got great souvenirs for my family, and even got my Mom a very nice birthday gift.  

But I still am ashamed that I wasted that much money.  I guess I'll have to drown out that shame by watching Justified on the Roku3 while reading The Talisman on my Kindle Voyage and playing Team Fortress 2 on my Surface Pro 4. 

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Update 2/25/2016

I'm fairly sure I've discussed one of the bonuses of changing jobs.  The retention bonus.  I had read in the union contract (and subsequently confirmed at work) that RNs get a $5000 retention bonus for working at this particular facility.  No one could give me a clear answer as to whether or not I would actually get this bonus as it required a full year of service... it just wasn't clear if that was a year's service with the State (which means I would get it), or a year's service at this facility (which means I wouldn't get it).

Well... I got it.  After taxes this netted me just over $3000.  Considering this post, my first thought was to spend this money wisely.  To just push it all toward my student loans as that would be a big chunk of interest saved over the next 7 or so years.

But much like the Surface Pro 4 (once I get my taxes it's FREE!), I got the bug of buying something I would otherwise NOT get.  Of course I've run into t his before... I don't have much on my list of wants that I wouldn't or haven't already purchase/d.   I gave it a once over in my head... what would I buy with $3000 of 'free' money?

A car?  Well... $3000 isn't even going to get me out of being upside down on my current car loan.

Something for my car?  Umm... nope nothing I want there.

A new computer?  There isn't anything I ask of my computer (the desktop) that it doesn't do flawlessly, so no need or want t here.

Something for my computer? I replaced almost all the components of the computer 15 months ago.  Since that re-build I've replaced the keyboard, the mouse, and the speakers.  I still don't utilize but half of my hard drive space, I now own both Photoshop and MS Office on annual subscriptions, and there are no games I want to play.  About the only thing that's even near 'old' on my computer is the monitor and...

wait a minute

Upgrade the Monitor?  Hmm.  I thought a bit about it but the next natural upgrade for my monitor is a 4K monitor.  And while those are nice, they are actually very TOP end.  Top end enough that gaming on a 4K monitor is a bit beyond even my beefy computer's capability.  Realistically to game on that beat of a monitor I'd have to drop another video card in and run them in parrallel, and probably upgrade the processor to an i7.  Games would look better... but I just don't game.

So more resolution isn't really something I'm after... but how about more screen real estate?  My monitor is a 24 inch 16:10 monitor.  It's resolution sits at 1920x1200.  I could always upgrade to a 27 inch monitor like my brother has.  It would be nice... mine IS 9 years old now.  It was pretty top notch at the time.  I could even upgrade to a 29 inch monitor.

So I took a look at some comparison videos.  Honestly, moving to a 27 inch monitor just didn't seem like it would be worth it.  It's not a big enough upgrade and seeing as nobody really supports the 16:10 ration anymore it would force me into the 16:9 format making it even less of an upgrade.  But one of the comparison videos was comparing a 16:9 4K screen and a 21:9 UWQHD display.

21:9?  I hadn't heard of such a thing.  After doing some research.... OH MY FUCKING GOD I WANT THAT!

A 34" 21:9 monitor is roughly the same height as a 27" 16:9 monitor but it is about 30% wider.  In every day activities it will help me spread my windows out more.  Currently my main window (a web browser) covers up roughly 75% of my screen real estate.  That means it sits over secondary web browser windows, Photoshop, iTunes, and other things.
In gaming... well it's just amazingly sweet in gaming as it gives you a more cinematic style experience.  And of course it will be lovely watching movies that are made for that wider screen format!  The resolutions at this aspect ration fell into two sizes: 2560x1080 and 3440x1440. The former would be a bigger screen with a little less resolution than my current setup (meaning I would actually have LESS screen real estate up and down and more side to side, while the latter makes sure I would have more real estate in both directions.  Considering that it's a little taller physically than my current screen, the latter made the most sense.

After that it's just about extra features.  All of the actual display screens are made my either Samsung or LG, so there isn't a big difference in screen quality.     I looked and looked and looked (and looked and looked and looked) at the options available and finally decided on the Acer XR341CK.  It's 34", 21:9, 3440x1440, with a 75hrtz refresh rate.  For desktop use this will be amazing.  For gaming it will be better than my current setup but less than ideal as you really want more hrtz.  Pro gaming rigs have up to 144hrtz.  BUT... while I will game on this, it's not primarily for the gaming experience.  Price at Amazon with free 2 day shipping?  $941

And lest you roll your eyes and say I just picked out the most expensive one I could find, understand that ALL of the 34" 21:9 monitors are in that price range.  A low resolution cheap one goes for about $700.  I selected the Acer for many asthetic reasons.  I mean... look at that base!  It's a single piece of aluminum!  It has height adjustment (something many of them don't have), it has LCDs underneath it for mood lighting (I'm fairly sure those will be turned off after an initial 'wow'), It's curved just a bit, has an amazing color spectrum available (in real world testing it got over 99% of the RGB spectrum) is well calibrated out of the box, has minimal bezels, and just looks damned fine!  In addition to those features which would make it near the top of my drool-o-meter, it's 75hrtz is near the top in refresh rate for this size of a monitor.  Many only hit 60hrtz.

And again, this isn't a top of the line, even from Asus.  There is the Predator Z34 which is similar in specs but can go up to 100hrtz and has nVidia GSync enabled.  GSync is an advanced gaming performance enhancing tech which ensures games don't 'tear'.  As I have an nVidia card it's something that I would definitely be able to utilize... but it's a $350 premium over the XR341CK.  I probably would have paid an additional $50.  I MIGHT have paid an additional $100.  But $350 for a feature that I might use 6 or 7 times a year?  ON TOP of a $1000 initial price tag?  Umm... no.

Yes, it's still a waste.  Yes, it's still frivilous.  And yes, I'll smile and giggle like a school girl every time I see it and STILL put two grand extra onto my student loan payment this month.


end update
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BTW:  I hope to write more here.  I want to tell you about my vacation, my thoughts on the presidential candidates, my thoughts on the supreme court and replacing the dead judge, my mother's continued health decline, and my thoughts on the current job, the real and almost full return of Caitlyn, and several other subjects.  Hopefully I'll update here more  than once every month or so as I honestly feel better when I put my thoughts down here.