I don't know if it's because I'm a programmer or if the Vermont frugality has seeped into my bones in my six years of living here, but I have a hard time when it comes to parting with my hard earned moolah. So last week was quite an anomoly as I managed to justify purchasing an IPOD Nano, a new external hard drive and a new digital camera. The justification was size. These are very small things indeed! I found that at PDC I didn't bother bringing my camera to the convention center all day as it took too much room in a bag. It has been replaced by a Canon Elph, less than 1/2 the size of my Kodak. The Nano is so small, I'm terrified of losing it. I think getting stuck in the airport on the way home and seeing the ad for the Nano about 100 times while waiting for my plane to Burlington late at night may have something to do with this. The last, a LaCie external USB powered 7200 RPM 60GB 7oz hard drive seems perfect for taking along with me when I present at conferences. Though I must admit, I was really tempted by the Pocketec version of this, with the same drive and a casing that shaves 1.5 oz off of the LaCie and is red to boot! But the thrifty Vermont”er” in me would not let me justify spending the extra $60. Darn!