Brain.In.Petri.Dish

Just received a notice informing me that all unspent eCompany Store Dollars (MVP Dollars) will be expiring on July 2005. Last year, I didn't spent my 150 USD and it was wasted. But this year, I had planned to buy some Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 MS Press books. Unfortunately, the products have been delayed and the books won't be out so early.

But I still have to spend the money anyway, otherwise it will just vaporize and I will waste it again. Looking at the merchandizes, I don't really have much choices. I'm sure most MVPs will be attracted to the Keyboards, Mice and Bags. Unfortunately for me, I already have a nice and comfy Logitech wireless keyboard (and mouse) - so I won't be needing another set. And knowing that I always seem to win keyboards from contests, I think I better stay away from them (I still have one spare Multimedia Keyboard lying around - anyone interested?).

Next were the Mice. There were some pretty cool ones available i.e. the one with the finger print reader and the one with the mood rings. Initially, I thought the one with the finger print reader was cool but on second thoughts, I don't think I want to waste an USB port for that. So I skipped it. I took a small wireless mouse for my notebook instead.

The bags - Most of them look very cool but I have been accumulating bags every year from attending Microsoft events. So I have to skip them as well (My cupboard is overloaded with bags). One of the computer peripherals caught my attention - the USB hub, but I gave it up because it was only USB 1.1. If it was USB 2.0, I would have taken it without thinking twice. The thumb drives were lame - only 16MB and 32MB. If they were higher capacity i.e. 512MB or 1GB, I may consider getting one.

All that has limited my choices to just T-shirts. So, I grabbed five T-shirts ranging from .NET, MSN and Office logos. Initially, I took seven t-shirts but then I gave up two of them for the mouse. Finally, I wanted to get some stuff for decorating my desk. I got a small chess set and this cool thing - Brain in Petri Dish. Since, I'm studying my brains out, that thing really caught my attention. *Hehe*

The product description says, "Here's a brain teaser! This miniature brain, approximately 2 inches long, sits in its own petri dish, which can be opened for you to touch and squish. The dish is 3.5 inches in diameter with cover." *Squishing the brain sounds fun* *Hehe*

My last dollars was spent on a .NET stress ball. Will be looking forward to their arrival next week. *Hehe*