My laptop has finally died. I saw my constant companion start slipping lately. A dropped wi-fi connection here. A couple programs crashed there. While I worked on the road, I had started the habit of saving on an external drive every couple minutes for fear that I would have a system freeze and lose everything that I had been working on. Today, my friend passed away in it's sleep. It went peacefully as most of us would like to imagine ourselves going. There in the quiet of my office, I removed the power cord from its stand one last time as I said a heartfelt good bye. 

I'll miss you buddy. I'll miss the looks as I pull your tiny frame out of my bag. I'll miss your fake carbon fiber lid which bore the scars and blemishes of our travels together for the past 5 years. Be at peace.