Graveyard

You know what I hate most about losing another computer? Not the loss of data, the amount of time wasted reconstructing everything, or the frustration of being at the mercy of complex technology. It's having one more dead CPU in my apartment.

I have three.

I can't throw them away, because the sanitation department won't take them. There are periodic collection dates, but I missed the last one. Plus, I am paranoid that somebody will rescue them and manage to get them up and running, and have access to all of my lost files - my semi-completed novel, my Microsoft Money financial information, my family photos, my emails, etc. (Don' tell me about password protection - if someone has the technical ability to rejuvenate the dead beasts which are my former computers, getting past passwords will be cake.) Probably a long shot, but it's still troubling.

I could donate them to charity, but they are broken. And even if they could get them up and running, well, see paranoia above. Do I want some techie working part time at the Salvation Army to have my checking account info?

I am tempted to take them apart and deposit them in the trash, piece by unrecognizable piece. Like disposing of the dismembered bodies of a recent murder victim.