The passing of the great and powerful Laszlo

Not that I’m ready to pen a eulogy, but our fourth roommate, the wise and all knowing Laszlo of the closet passed away last week.  For almost five years, he had been diligent and constant, a rock that rarely let us down. 
Unfortunately, school has meant neglect for poor Laszlo.  He suffered his first stroke about 9 months ago when an upgrade to iTunes version 7 left him without music control.  Shortly after, the PCI modem flashed, leaving him without the ability to control the phones.  And then 4 months ago he suffered permanent nerve damage when the X-10 repeater switched off.  I managed to install a new repeater but he never did gain the control he one had of the internal home devices.  Specifically, he lost the ability to maintain the correct temperature in the Common Quarters. 

Then, last week, the end.  He started complaining of heat problems, setting off the overtemp alarm at 3 in the morning.  Even though he was able to kick on his emergency air conditioning system, it didn’t help.  He eventually just puttered out. 
After 5 years of stolid assistance from our super smart computer from the closet, I am back to manual control in the house.  I suppose I had forgotten just how much of a pain it is to have to turn on the lights when you enter the room.  Or to have to get up to set the thermostat.  Or to have to turn off all the lights and set the alarm when leaving the house.  I certainly hope I don’t forget my keys because Laszlo won’t be there to open the door for me. 

The only saving grace is that this semester is almost over.  On my horizon is a free weekend where, instead of traveling to a far off land to sit idle on a beach, I will be deep in the heart of Laszlo’s dedicated head-end room, dutifully conducting a loving rewire.  I have all new fans, a new power supply, and a nice cleaning rag with his name on it.  I can rebuild him.  He will be better than before.  Long live Laszlo.