I bought my first computer, a Timex Sinclair 1000 in 1982. It had a membrane keyboard, Black & White NTSC output, a whopping 2 KB of RAM and weighed in at hefty 12 oz. Since then, I have never been caught alone without a computer. If I am not mistaken, the laptop I'm caressing with my fingers right now is the 9th I've had in the ensuing 27 years and she is the first girl in the bunch. At my age one would assume that I should be making more sense than to genderize machines but I have always looked at them as personal friends. I have started my blog on a Toshiba Satellite laptop. We became very close over the last few years and I have entrusted him with all of my secrets, big and small. Yes, he's a boy and he has a name too but as of late he's been sick and started showing his age. I knew that he's not going to last forever but it was so hard for me to think of, simply, putting him to sleep. Recently he made two visits to Damascus and Aleppo for maintenance. W