Well, I got my CPU returned, a matched pair on mail order to replace it. I got what sounded like good advice to buy SMP CPUs simultaneously to avoid potential problems, though I got advice on what looked like the best prices from mail order after I ordered, so I'll save that for next time. I also finally found a copy of NT (eight billion miniature Statues of Liberty in New York, and one copy of Windows NT). It's finally getting through my thick skull that it's historically always a soap opera when I go out hardware shopping, inevitably requiring at least one return trip to the store, so I think I'm going to stick to mail order from now on, which I've generally found much more reliable. Thankfully, at least, for the first time in the history of this site, such a saga (and this is easily at least the third time this has happened) didn't result in a few days of spotty updates, as loony has been doing a great job of keeping up as I've been gallivanting about buying components.

Link of the Day: Mitchell, South Dakota Corn Palace. The world's only. No... really! Thanks toast.
News Story of the Day: ABCNEWS.com Fred Moody The Big Bang, Part 2 is another look at Brookhaven's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, already discussed here previously, with an updated look at the potential problem. Thanks LaRcEn.