The rules are changing rapidly and it’s difficult to avoid the not-so-sneaking suspicion that anything is actually possible now. If not now, then maybe… now. Ooof, that ellipsis was an innovationternity… Why doesn’t this paragraph upgrade to the new version so it would be faster and higher resolution? Is this next sentence adaptive for a second and third-screen, seamless, immersive user experience? How will this question mark test with 18-34 year old gamers?

Over the last few years in our previous incarnations, we have had to address all sorts of questions in ways we never thought possible. Everything is measurable, somehow quantifiable and demonstrable in one way or another, and it has been such a rewarding challenge to find better and more effective ways of accomplishing all our clients’ goals and discovering new goals through metrics and insights.

In the last year, 42 has produced more award-winning work for more diverse clients doing more interesting and engaging things than ever before, by leaps and bounds. Our team of digital wizards has grown as more pros joined us, and we have heavily invested in broadening and deepening our expertise. While Tywin Lannister may be right that, “Only Jesters and singers require applause,” the recognition we bring to our clients and communities feels pretty good after all this time working as a vendor for so many other agencies and their clients.

Our clients are increasingly sophisticated, the challenges are increasingly complex, and our team’s abilities continue to blow me away. We may all be Fools, but we have spent a considerable amount of energy and time learning from all the mistakes along the way, and are sharper than ever. One learns valuable, impossible-to-teach lessons in the Doing of Things, and our team has done an amazing job of pulling each other up to the next level through shared successes and failures.

Last month, after half a decade in the Parrish Studios, we moved down the street to a beautiful 6000 sq ft space we took over last summer (more on that later).  While we loved our old space and it was so important to our culture to have our company grow up in an artist co-op, we were sharing desks by the end and bursting at the seams. We have way more space than we need for now, plus the good/weird feeling of walking into a real kitchen, having our own bathrooms, a lobby, and all that other adult agency goodness.

On our birthday, we’re reminded of our goals as a crew and priorities as a company while we look to the future. At the core of all of our work is a motivation to emulate the beautiful complexities of the natural world and find innovative ways to use digital tools and emerging technologies in more natural and magical ways.

Thank you to all our incredible clients for allowing us to work with you and your teams, and thank you to the entire 42 team for all the long hours and brutality while we push to the next level. Thank you to our communities (local, national, and Internets) for continuing to inspire us to listen, grow and participate in the Doing of Things.

(2001: A Space Odyssey Image courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, LP36136 1968)

Today, like every day, is our day.

This annual allowance of absurdity is driven by the culturally agnostic power and beauty of foolishness and the stretching of our malleable hold on our otherwise dependably causal realities. Whether it’s April Fools, Poisson d’Avril, or way back at the original Iranian Sizdah Bedar (around 536 BCE), we have perennially embraced prank traditions not as some unique splinter of our fragmented national identities, but a global human reminder to laugh at ourselves and embrace the hilarity for a moment.

I care about things enough to go do them and fail while trying to figure out solutions to problems that are bigger than me and my immediacy. I have devoted lifetime and tremendous energies to build things and have vested opinions and thoughts and positions on things that I take seriously. I hold beliefs and strive to reduce the great hypocrisy in my life and the decisions I make that affect so many people far beyond my sight and understanding. However, this conviction to produce and create does not prevent me from enjoying and embracing the absurdity of our condition today or any other day. Much to the contrary, I could not have done any of this if it weren’t for my inherent Foolishness. I am the butt of many jokes, blatant boss trolling, and the recipient of random unsettling Nerf darts to the face on a regular basis. All of this Foolishness leaves me better prepared to laugh at life and myself while Doing The Things.

It’s funny to me and other Fools when we see preened Hipsters and their unlabelled, yet equally apathetic and conformist “counter culture” cousins, spouting off about their “obscure” tastes and all the things that they’re “totally over” and don’t appreciate about “mainstream” society and culture at large. The brilliant Taylor Mali observes that we have somehow lost our conviction and in neglecting any position of consequence we invite those around us to “like, join us on the bandwagon of our own uncertainty.” Are we just waiting around for some new tech announcement, celebrity gossip, dongle dustup or the next 4chan meme to temporarily distract us from our own stunted potential and general treading in the inky waters of the cosmos?

I watch them pounding away on their shiny (sticker covered) Apple products, feigning the American existentialist mantras of Emerson, Ginsberg and others they deem disconnected and “anti” enough to conform to their anti-conformist goose-step as they “curate” their ironic tumblrs, Instagram feeds, and self-important Pinterest boards while they tweet musings on their cultural awareness. You selfish bastards… nobody cares about your useless bulls$#&t. Put down the PBR, do something new or original for once in your unFoolish life. Wake up and see that the Fools are changing the world all around you as you sit back and wax poetic about meaningless dribble. Stop pretending to be a “nerd” and go do something Nerdy. Do. Contribute. Make. Produce. Help. Amazing how quickly lazy haters STFU when asked to go do something real. Just go back to consuming, complaining, and pooping you zombies and leave the living to the living.

I don’t care what you like or used to like before it became cool. I don’t give a f*%k what you listen to on 45s or Soundcloud or the stuff you bought on Etsy or the super underground basement show you went to unless it fuels the Doing of Things. If you are not producing anything or doing anything or trying to mitigate the horror of our collective existential struggle then you are a different kind of fool all together. If you are not Foolish enough to try and puncture the obscuring membranes of our corporeal cocoon and punctuate your moments with something other than quotes and sarcastically detached questions, then you are as worthless as the socially reinforced spherically mirrored malaise of ironic flattery in which you and your crew reside.

Chaucer’s take on the Reynard Cycle, and potentially the original reference to April Fools, reminds me that The Fox might not always win, but I would rather spend my life trying to find clever solutions on the hunt than hiding up in a tree like Chauntecleer.

In the first season finale of HBO’s Newsroom, Olivia Munn’s Sloan Sabbith breaks it down for Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) as a call to arms to keep fighting the foolish fight to bring people the Truth through network news. She reminds McAvoy that the great things are built by the Greater Fool as each of us somehow believe that we can succeed where others have failed. We stupidly iterate and fail time and time again in the great Sisyphean cat herding endeavors of building anything that actually matters to those outside the sympathetic confines of one’s foolish optimism.

Let’s all do something Foolish right now, look up from your screen, step away from your desk, and go get into some sort of good trouble. Don’t just get up and stretch, then go back to Reddit… Go mix with the wrong crowd and do something you normally wouldn’t when Foolishness is less appreciated. If only for the next 24 hours, stop allowing our fear of consequences to prevent us from the dirty unpredictable business of Doing The Things.

Try to remember that Fools push us all to the next levels of what we never thought possible while the Hipster mass sits back, resisting the calls and cries from within and beyond , while they suckle from the great cosmic teet of that Foolish notion that maybe this time, if we Do The Things, it will be different.

Today, like every day, is our day.

Those who read this blog and know our team are aware of our reverence for Douglas Adams and his approach to the biggest of questions involving Life, the Universe and Everything.  42 wanted to take a moment, on his birthday, to dip into the archives and share some of his prescient, increasingly relevant observations for our times and inspiration for that Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

Growing up reading the science fiction / fantasy canon, our crew noticed something different about Hitchhiker’s Guide series and the rest of the British humorist’s works.  While Asimov, Dick, Roddenberry, Clarke and other sci-fi luminaries treated the genre and its underlying analogy laden futurism with seriousness and gravity, Adams preferred to mock the human condition through uniquely harnessed cosmically introspective absurdity.

Throughout the Hitchhiker’s Guide series, we travel with fellow unprepared yet resilient human, Arthur Dent and his Betelgeusian friend and guide, Ford Prefect from our home “planet” Earth, which was demolished by the Vogons for a hyperspatial express route only 5 minutes before finishing the program, all the way to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe… and beyond… to the old man in charge of not only our Galaxy, but the entire Universe… chilling in a shack… with his cat “The Lord.”  Some demoralizingly awesome stuff.

On the prototype ship, the S.S. Heart of Gold, they use the powers of the Infinite Improbability Drive to travel through both space and time to any point in the Universe.  Particularly cosmic companions Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed President of the Galaxy, Marvin the depressed robot and original Paranoid Android, another human woman Arthur actually once met as Tricia McMillan at a party, in Islington, now known as “Trillion” and so many other fascinating reflections keep us relating and distancing throughout the journey.  Along the way, we absorb wisdom from G’Gugvuntts and Vl’hurgs, avoid the evils of Frogstar World B and  find out that everything that has ever happened on Earth has all been a 10-million year program, designed and produced by pan-dimensional beings whose projections into our corporeal dimensions are what we know to be mice, that was going to finally answer the Ultimate Question to Life, The Universe, and Everything after the last computer, Deep Thought, gave them an answer they didn’t like… Heavy right?

We learn all sorts of things about ourselves in the brilliant and brutal portrayals of our most primal characteristics as they would manifest on the intergalactic stage of the space-time comedy cellar that is Douglas Adams’ Universe.  In a distinctly British sense of self-depricating and yet acutely aware and emotive sensitivity to the rarest and most definitive human qualities, Adams used TDS style truthhumor to mitigate the jarring magnitude of his subject matter and context.  But for all our flaws, we are actually better than we think at all this Universe living.

Whether it’s reminding us to not get too worked up about the power dongle thing on all your power cords in the Salmon of Doubt or Slartibartfast’s musings about Fjord design, Adams reminded us to open our ears and minds to the hilarity surrounding our existential horrors and unanswered grounding questions relating to our existence and the meaning of meaning itself.  Have fun and play with the time you have before the dolphins leave and we know the party’s over.  Adventures abound for beings of all kinds and little missions in your bathrobe can turn into pan-dimensional wormholes to experiences you can’t yet imagine.  Don’t Panic, always bring a towel and remember that we dont need the Total Perspective Vortex to know that we’re all just decendents of the ship of fools Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B anyway.

Sony’s recent string of nostalgic-laden retrospective videos had me fondly reminiscing about the countless hours I’ve spent with their consoles. A part of me has been a Sony fanboy ever since I rented an original PlayStation in late 1998 and stayed up all night playing Tekken 3 with a buddy. I obtained a system of my own not long after, and played it nonstop until the release of the PlayStation 2—perhaps my favorite video game console of all time (no offense, SNES). The graphical upgrade was nice, sure, but for me, PlayStation 2′s legacy was cemented by its incredible catalog of games, including many important exclusives—Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2, Shadow of the Colossus, to name a few.

With this software-over-hardware preference in mind, I’ll reserve judgement on the new consoles until they’ve had the time to build up decent game libraries. Until then, let’s continue the PlayStation reminiscing:

Zachary Abresch: I had to put a coil of speaker wire on my PlayStation 1 just to keep it closed while I played. I did that for so long that I was always amazed by PlayStations that stayed closed on their own.

Jason Gilmore: My first experience with the PlayStation came from my first real job—Target. My only enjoyment from that job came from the cute girls I flirted with and the old game demo kiosks they put in the employee lounge. I wasn’t allowed to have a game console at home, so I would get my ‘fix’ at work. It was just a demo, but it was still a video game. It was through an old PlayStation kiosk that I became enamored with the Final Fantasy franchise. Just the demo of Final Fantasy VII was enough. The blocky 3D graphics and cheesy cutscenes hooked me, and my decade long love affair with FF began. Even after the leaps and bounds 3D engines and cinematics have made, I will always have a soft spot for the original PlayStation and Final Fantasy’s first foray into the 3D game world.

Ross Harrison: I once lit a PlayStation on fire by plugging it into a European outlet without a transformer. Surprisingly, it still worked.

Adam Templeton: I’d go over to my friend’s house almost every day after school to watch him play Final Fantasy 7. We’d named the characters after ourselves, and 11-year-old me got extremely invested in watching the adventures of Adam, the burly sidekick with a Gun-Hand.

During the cutscene where Diamond Weapon blows Rufus Shinra into next decade (where—coincidentally—he’s conveniently revived by fan service), the game froze. We tried a few more times, but it always locked up.

We asked my friend’s older brother (the fount of all gaming knowledge before the Internet), who told us to try putting the PlayStation upside down, and maybe smacking it once or twice if it still froze up. (In retrospect both were super bad ideas, but we were kids and a vast majority of our choices were…ill-informed).

Anyway, we flipped the PlayStation upside down and tried to play FF7 again. This time, the game wouldn’t even load, so—drawing from our expert advice—we gave the console’s underbelly a solid smack. And to my friend’s brother’s credit, something did happen, and an FMV did load.

But it wasn’t the game’s intro.

Instead, we saw a different scene, best described as Shinra Car Show, technical specs for each vehicle flying by on the screen. We proceeded to freak out, certain we’d lain bare before us the game’s most forbidden secrets. In reality, it was pretty short and not that interesting, particularly when compared to say, battling a giant monster with a laser cannon who’s also basically a city.

Apparently, it was a test FMV from the game’s debug room. I found video of it online, saving you the expensive hassle of beating your PlayStation.

At Saturday’s Nebraska ADDYs, our work for barHappy won a gold ADDY award and two silvers.

The barHappy website took home the Professional Gold, while the iOS app and the overall campaign won Professional Silvers.

barHappy, a free online community of bars, restaurants and clubs in major cities across the United States, provides users with reliable and up-to-date information on their city’s nightlife. Users have access to a wide range of search options, allowing them to find exactly what they’re looking to do. Businesses are also able to customize their pages and manage their own content, including updating events and specials in real time.

With a great product already in place, our team visually reworked the website and iOS app to help users have an even more fun and engaging experience. This included redesigning the interface, adding new features and refining the search process—all in the name of helping users have a great night out. We also integrated Facebook connectivity to both the site and the app, making impromptu get-togethers a snap.

Working with barHappy was a truly awesome experience as their team provided a great product to work with, as well as the space to be creative.

Okay, before the orchestra plays us off, please allow us to list off everyone who had a hand in shaping this award-winning campaign:

Production

Katie Briggs, William Buller, Erin Carr, Tom Duong, Emily Harrenstein, Nathan Hamel, Andrew Lamberson, Jesse Laney, Tad Luedtke, Tim Scahill, Nolan Tredway, Dustin Wilbourn

Development

Zachary Abresch, Nick Franken, Brandon Fulk, Jason Gilmore, Ross Harrison, Paul Klopping, Jay Knapp, Adam Templeton

If you’ve already ordered parts and put them together (or if you’re the sort of person who looks up film endings on Wikipedia first because you loathe suspense), then read on to find out how to make your computer a computer!

Step 3: The Waiting Game

So, your computer works. Good. You’re in the home stretch. Only a few major steps left:

1. BIOShock

First, power up the system and confirm that your optical drive opens and closes (it’ll want to enjoy the attention while it can—after it’s helped you install your OS and your drivers, it’ll be relegated to an expensive cup-holder).

Once your optical drive is good to go, you’ll want to check your PC’s boot order. Without an operating system installed, you should see a prompt to access your system’s BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) when you boot the computer up, if it doesn’t just come up automatically.

The BIOS tells your computer what order to spin up your new PC’s various parts. If you acquired your parts fairly recently (and didn’t steal an old elementary school computer from 1998), all your drives should use the SATA interface.

(It stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, if you’re curious, but all you need to do for this guide is remember the acronym.)

Navigate to the BIOS screen and make sure all your SATA devices (your HDD and optical drive) are detected, and then move your optical drive to the top of the boot order. It’s usually a straight forward process, but just in case, here’s an excellent guide on the topic.

(As always, if something isn’t detected or powered properly, turn off your PC and make sure it’s properly connected to both the motherboard and the power supply. This guide has some useful insights as well.)

2. Wizard of OS

Next, insert your OS disc into your drive and restart your computer. If you successfully moved the optical drive to the top of the boot order, your PC should try to read from the disc before anything else and commence installing your OS.

At some point, the OS installation will require an Internet connection to validate your copy. If you have an ethernet cable from Step 1, go ahead and plug your PC into your router or modem.

(If you went with a wireless card or USB wireless adapter, give that a shot—it probably won’t work, though, so skip this step for now. More on that below.)

From here on in, it’s mostly waiting. Grab a snack. Watch some Cartoon Network. Introspectively contemplate the looming specter of your own mortality. Whatever passes the time.

You’ll need a working mouse or keyboard (preferably both) to navigate the installation process. If you’re using a USB mouse or keyboard and your motherboard has some USB 3.0 slots, plug your stuff into a USB 2.0 slot instead. USB 3.0 is a fairly new architecture, and usually requires installing additional drivers to function properly.

3. Driver, Take Me Home

What are drivers, you ask? Oh, you’ll learn—over the next two-three hours. Drivers are programs that tell your computer how to use the hardware you’ve inserted.

Remember those discs I told you not throw away back in Step 2? Get those out now.

If you ignored me, start rooting through the trash. If the trash has already been picked up, go on an adventure to your local landfill, reuniting a father with his estranged son and teaching an orphan the true meaning of Christmas along the way.

Or just request a new disc from the component’s manufacturer. If you’re boring like that…

Once you’ve successfully installed your OS, go through every driver disc and install those one-by-one. Odds are good your motherboard needs some drivers installed (USB 3.0, I’m looking at you), any non-ethernet Internet solution has its own driver set as well and your video card definitely requires drivers, too.

(If you had issues with your video card previously, see if driver installation fixes the problem. If it doesn’t, open the case back up and ensure the card is properly powered and fully inserted into its motherboard slot.)

When you have your Internet working, activate your copy of Windows if you haven’t already. This allows you to install the latest updates.

It also fixes an annoying bug that occasionally emerges where Microsoft acts a fool and deems your OS illegitimate, causing your optical drive to fail even though you kind of, sort of really need it right now.

This whole process WILL take a while. It’s cool. I’ll wait…

4. Vice President Of Programming

With that ordeal behind you, you’re probably sick of those damnable little progress bars that accompany each install, lying to you at every turn about how much time remains. Good news, then—you don’t have to install anything else!

Unless, you actually want to, y’know… do stuff on your computer.

Fortunately, there’s Ninite, a handy little program that automates the installation of commonly used applications. It even installs Steam, which—let’s be real—is probably half the reason you’re building your own PC in the first place.

5. This List Needed 5 Items

That’s it. You’re done. Like, done done. You have a working, completely amazing PC that YOU BUILT YOUR-FREAKING-SELF.

Just like LEGOS, amirite?

For real, though, you might want to go outside for a bit now. I’m serious…

If you’re ready to go—or you just enjoy the added challenge of trying something you have neither the necessary background nor required parts to reasonably attempt—then jump right into Part 2!

Step 2: If you build it…

So, your parts have all arrived, and you’ve finally managed to pull yourself away from the awesome fort you erected from the boxes they shipped in. Time to get building…

The Where

First, grab your tools. You should really only need a Phillips head screwdriver and a pair of needle-nose pliers. A flashlight and some tweezers are also handy for snagging lost screws. Finally, a half dozen cable ties will save you some serious headaches down the road.

Next, set up your work area. If you have an anti-static mat and wristband, lay the mat out in a cool, dry, clutter-free area.

Place your case on top of the mat, then clip your anti-static wrist band to any metallic section of the case. This will ground you, discharging any excess static electricity you’ve built up; even the tiniest shock can kill one of your components deader than Kel Mitchell’s post-Kenan-Thompson career.

If you don’t have a mat, then just make sure the surface you’re working on is free from dust and debris. Also, it’s best to work on something that doesn’t conduct electricity well, such as wood or glass.

And should you find yourself sans wristband, you can also ground yourself by frequently touching any metal part of your case. I personally wear a wristband and self-ground, because paranoia is so “in” right now.

The How

Now, I wish I could give you step-by-step instructions from here on in, but that’s just not possible. Your best bet is to find a generalized tutorial on the subject, like… oh, here’s one right now:

No single video will have everything you need, but it should show you in what order to add each piece.

Guy in the video is adding his processor? You should probably do that now. Not sure how? RTFM. But seriously, the manual is your best friend. Most have pictures—if you don’t even have to read, you have no excuse, really.

Alternatively, if you are both literate and reading this, you probably have a working Internet connection as well. Chances are good, then—in this age of information pouring from our every orifice—you can find someone on YouTube who’s filmed themselves installing your exact part.

Here are a few things to keep in mind before starting the actual build:

• When unboxing parts, don’t throw away ANYTHING that isn’t the box itself. You’ll need the manuals and discs that come with each piece.
• There are only so many ways components fit together, just like LEGOS. Super delicate, unbelievably expensive LEGOS. If a piece doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to bend that way, it probably isn’t.
• Most sensitive components are shipped in anti-static bags. The insides of these bags are Amish, if you follow me. The outsides, however, are not Amish, and can hold an electrical charge quite well. So, maybe don’t set your components down on any anti-static bags you have laying around, yeah?
• Remember to ground yourself regularly. I know I already said this above, but seriously, guys… SUPER. IMPORTANT.

The What

Regardless of quirks inherent to your individual build’s pieces, you’ll always perform a few important steps:

1. Insert the CPU and RAM into the motherboard

Your motherboard manual will have the specifics, but generally speaking, you’re looking for a large square socket for the CPU and raised vertical slits for the RAM.

(I realize “raised vertical slits” applies to half the motherboard. Typically, the RAM slots are labeled, but you can identify the proper slots by matching them up with the pins on the bottom of the RAM)

2. Attach the CPU fan

This fits on top of the CPU and plugs into a nearby (almost assuredly labeled) section of the motherboard.

3. Mount the motherboard

Now it’s time to secure the motherboard inside the case:

If you look at one side of your case, you should see several rivet-like screws protruding inward. These are your motherboard mounts. (Some cases don’t come with the mounts pre-installed, so you’ll just see divots instead).

You’ll find holes along the outside of your motherboard—these need to be matched with the mount pattern inside the case. If the mounts and board don’t match (or if your case doesn’t have mounts installed to being with) add and remove mounts as necessary.

Mounts left where there are no holes in the motherboard are a bad thing—they can short the board entirely. When you have exactly as many mounts as holes in your board (and they actually match) screw your motherboard in place.

4. Install your power supply

Find where your power supply fits in your case (the manual shall guide you, my son), and affix the mother. Grab the power cord (or more often than not, cords) for your motherboard and plug them in.

Your power supply will come with a plethora of different (and probably scary) cords. Keep these handy to plug in and power other components as necessary.

Power supply slots are sometimes labeled, based on what type of component it’s meant to power. For example, a slot explicitly labeled PCIExpress is for whatever’s plugged into your motherboard’s PCIExpress slot (also labeled).

5. Install your video card

Look for the raised, thin slot on the motherboard that matches the pin pattern on your video card’s connector. Firmly push it in, but don’t force it. The video card will require a connection to the power supply as well.

6. Install all drive components

This includes hard disk drives, optical drives and floppy drives (if you’re into irony). These items all mount to your case in different ways (m-word, people). Once they’re secured, they’ll require a connection to the motherboard AND power cords to function.

7.

At this point, you’ve hopefully connected most of what needs connecting.

The CPU fan should be connected to the motherboard. The motherboard (and most likely video card) should be connected to the power supply. Any drives should be connected to the motherboard AND the power supply.

Finally, look around for cords attached to your case. These will connect to things like the power button, and potentially fans or LED lights. Take those cords and connect them to the motherboard (if not labeled, the proper configuration will be in the—actually, do I even need to be here anymore?).

If your case has any built-in fans, those will likely need power connections as well.

8. Test Drive

You’re done! (Hopefully) Plug it in, toggle the power switch to on and press the power button.

If it whirs to life, success! Peek inside and make sure all the fans (CPU, case, video card) are spinning, just to be sure. Also, plug your monitor into the PC and see if anything shows up.

(You may notice multiple monitor sockets on the back of your PC, one or more from your motherboard and one from your video card. Try your video card’s first. If that doesn’t work, use the motherboard’s instead—you may need to install some display drivers, which happens in Step 3)

If your computer doesn’t start, or only partially starts, turn it off and re-check all your connections based on what is and isn’t working.

Video card’s fan isn’t working, but the CPU fan is spinning like cable media? Check the video card’s power.

Video card is powered, but you’re not getting a picture? Make sure it’s pressed all the way into motherboard slot. (Bigger video cards also require 2 power connections: one for the fans, and one for the card itself.)

Or maybe the disc drives flash on, but the motherboard lies silent? Make sure the motherboard has all the necessary power cables attached.

With any luck, sequentially installing each element of your computer by hand should have given you a pretty good idea of how each component is powered.

If nothing works from the get-go, it could indicate anything from a faulty power supply to a bad motherboard. Or worse… you were remembering to ground yourself, right?

9. Sew It All Up

If everything works as intended, power the system down and grab some cable ties (most cases come with them). Tie off stray cords as best you can, with the aim of keeping them off the components and away from fans.

With that done, you can put the sides back on your case and screw it together.

So… Close…

10. Great Success

You did it! Go have a beer. Go outside. Go attempt to woo the ladies with your newfound technological prowess.

Or—more realistically—hang out in front of your computer with bated breath, waiting for tomorrow to arrive, the final leg of our ‘Build a PC’ series in tow!

The snarky comment above (something I told a coworker about cobbling together a pile of components into a functioning PC) may be a slight exaggeration, but the absurdity of the statement belies a deeper truth: building a PC isn’t nearly as hard as you think it is.

I understand that’s like claiming “astrophysics” or “truly earning a cat’s love and respect” aren’t as hard as you think they are, but bear with me: constructing your own computer is fun, thrifty and makes you better than everyone else on the Internet.

Let’s begin, shall we?

Step 1: Piece-By-Piece

To get started, pick out the parts you’ll use to Frankenstein your little mechanical monster into being.

The Logical Increments guide does an outstanding job of ranking components by… well, logical increments, I guess.

The pieces you get depend on what you’re hoping to do with your PC. If you just want an electronic box that makes the Internet happen, anything from the Entry to Fair levels of the Logical Increments guide should do you just fine. If you’re looking for a gaming rig, scope out the Good to Outstanding sections, depending on how high you want to crank your settings.

You can probably stop short of Exceptional and higher. Unless, or course, you want to be the nerdy parallel to that one amped autophile who won’t shut up about his recent car tweaks (without a slew of Vin Diesel movies to validate your poor spending habits and life choices).

When you have your part list completed, it’s time hit the Internet. I personally use PCPartPicker because not only does it compare prices from several sites, it also warns you if certain parts aren’t compatible, and features a built-in wattage calculator (more on that below).

Strictly speaking, you only need the following items to make a computer:

Motherboard
The core of your computer, into which every major component is plugged. (Don’t think about it in a Freudian sense, unless you want to make things weird.)

Most mid-range and up motherboards have video and audio functionality included by default (check to see if the board has “onboard” video and audio), so it’s possible to skip buying a video and audio card altogether if you’re just building a Facebook/email machine.

CPU
The central processing unit, AKA your computer’s brain. CPU’s are generally ranked by their number of cores: independent processing units working in tandem.

You’ll want at least a dual core processor (which is actually the lowest level component featured by the Logical Increments guide), but a quad core is recommended.

Don’t bother going up to octo-core, since most applications aren’t even configured to fully utilize all eight units, and you’ll just be that metaphorical jerk who hires a fleet of black SUV’s to drive him the two blocks to Arby’s.

RAM
Random-access memory determines how many things you can do at once on your computer. 2GB is good, 4 is better, 8 will get you into all the fanciest Internet parties (once those become a thing that actually happens).

HDD
The hard disk drive. Also a form of memory, but for storing permanent data (porn, cat gifs, porn). Solid-state drives are the hip new way to access your manifesto and/or iTunes playlist with lightning speed, but you’ll sacrifice a disturbing amount of storage space.

For reference, at the time of this post, you could get either a 60 gigabyte solid-state drive or a normal “make you wait a little bit” drive (1024 gigabytes) for around the same price of $80.

Patience is a virtue…

Power Supply
Supplies your machine with juice. Power supplies are measured in wattage, which tells you how much power they can provide your system’s components.

As I mentioned above, PCPartPicker has a built-in wattage calculator that updates as you go, so you have a ballpark idea of your power needs. I say ballpark because everything you plug into your computer that isn’t externally powered (i.e. flash drives, headsets) also draws from the power supply, although the amount’s usually negligible.

Err on the side of too much power whenever possible. If your system requires 515 watts and your PS is dishing out 550, no harm, no foul.

But if the opposite is true, you’re looking at a probable case of PC seppuku.

If you’ve gathered everything above, then congratulations: You have a computer… that you can’t see the output from… or install applications on… or interact with in any meaningful way!

So, you’ll probably need this stuff, too:

Case
The metal shell in which to encase your glorious creation.

New builders should lean toward a bigger case if possible, since organizing all your components’ cables is one of the trickiest parts of the build.

Video Card
The graphical core of your computer. If you’re hoping to game, edit videos or Photoshop cats’ heads on celebrities bodies, you’ll need a video card.

There are entire sites dedicated to ranking and testing video cards, so they’ll help you find the perfect fit better than I ever could.

Optical Drive
Even though CD and DVD drives are becoming increasing antiquated in a world of direct downloads and digital distribution, they’re still nice to have, especially as a means of installing an operating system.

(Unless you just want to put Windows on a flash drive. However, most components come with discs full of necessary software, so this isn’t a recommended approach.)

Operating System
The software that makes your computer a computer, at least commonly speaking. Windows 7 is a safe bet for a first-time PC builder.

All the rest
You’ll also need a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse, but you probably knew that.

An anti-static mat and wristband are recommended, but not required. These will keep you from accidentally frying your electrical components.

Also, have an ethernet cable handy, unless you’re planning on installing a wireless card or using a USB wireless adapter.

CPU Cooler
Any decent CPU comes with a fan anyway, and you really only need a more powerful CPU cooler if you’re planning on over-clocking your system.

Sound Card
If you have onboard audio support, you have an audio jack. If you have an audio jack, you have decent sound quality—unless you’re one of those insufferable snobs who can “totally hear a difference” between FLAC and MP3.

Don’t feel pressured to grab everything at once, or all from the same place. Shop around; compare prices on Newegg, Amazon and elsewhere. Just keep your components boxed in a cool, dry place, and they’ll be ready whenever you are.

Speaking of which, check back tomorrow when I delve into Step 2: the actual build. I think you can wait that long—unless you already bought your parts and shelled out for overnight shipping.

In which case, chill, dude. I mean, I’m slightly impressed, but mostly concerned…

Cory Kibler

Cory’s band, Shacker, played with my old band at a house show back in 2003. When I met him, I could definitely tell he loved words. I talked with Cory about how he’s managed to work that into his career, as well as his music. 

Occupation
Nelnet – Associate Creative Writer

Bands
Shacker
Robot Creep Closer
The Sleepover
Demos
Cory Kibler(solo)

Any good stories from your early years?

Growing up in Ventura, California, I was in bands in high school. Some of those songs were good, but most were very bad. It was a cool learning experience. I started legitimately playing shows and being able to look back and be proud of what we did musically, when I got to Nebraska for college. That was around 2002 or 2003, when I started playing around in a band called Shacker. Since then I’ve been in a couple other bands, like Robot Creep Closer, and I solo once in a while. I now have my band called The Sleepover and I’m also in a band called Demos. Two regular, kinda full-time-ish bands and then the occasional solo show.

When we were in Shacker we decided we were going to play an out-of-town show, so we drove to Warrensburg, Missouri, which is a small college town. We played a show there and the sound guy ended our set after like 20 or 25 minutes, just because he must’ve thought we were terrible.

So, after the show we go around trying to sell CDs to people so we could make some gas money back. So we went up to these girls and were like, “Hey, we have some CDs for sale if you’d like to buy some.” We told them we’d sell them for just a few bucks. Then they said, “How long have you been playing music? Like, is this a new thing for you?”

At that point we got in the van and drove back to Nebraska. That was pretty demoralizing. I feel like playing a show out of town makes you have to not suck because, you know, my parents can’t go to every out-of-town show, to cheer me on and tell me what a great job I did afterwards.

How would you describe the overlap between your job and your music?

When I started at Nelnet I didn’t think there was any overlap between work and music. Advertising is so much different than any other kind of writing. It’s really close to journalism, in that it needs to be concise and to get to the point. You really have to boil it down, which at times is hard for me because I’m a verbose guy. It usually takes me a long time to answer yes or no questions. I’m learning all the time how to use words with utility and to be as brief as possible. I think that carries over into storytelling when you’re writing lyrics.

Poetry is a little bit different because you want to use words that sound cool and bring up great imagery. I do think, a lot of times, less is more. Sometimes when I’m songwriting I’ll think, “I have to put in a bridge just because that’s what you’re supposed to do.” Then I realize once I’ve put in the bridge it feels like it’s out of place, then I’ll feel like, “You know what, what’s wrong with a 2 1/2 min song that’s just a verse, chorus, verse, chorus then ending?”

What are the differences (or similarities) between coworkers and bandmates?

My coworkers are all really creative people and that makes them fun to be around and fun to concept with. It makes them more open and vulnerable, creatively. When you work with people who have never been in a band or shown anyone what they’ve drawn, written or painted they’re not used to the kind of brutal criticism that comes along with that—outside of a collegiate setting, anyway.

Once you’ve been in a band for awhile you get used to the harshness. It’s a respectful bluntness, but it is blunt. So, if you and I are in a band together and I bring a song and play it for you and you realize one part could be way better or something needs to be changed, you’ll say, “Cory, let’s just try it this way and we’ll see how it sounds.” Then we’ll try it and chances are I’ll be like, “You were right! That sounds great!” I think everyone I work with is like that—they’re really willing to try out new stuff and they’re open to new ideas, and nobody is scared to share stupid ideas because stupid ideas lead to good ideas a lot of times.

Being creative with other people, and being open to a lot of feedback is a really vulnerable thing. It’s like when you laugh really hard with someone the first time, it’s kind of like a bonding moment. Music and art are the same way.

If I were to compare bandmates to coworkers I would say that bandmates are far less reliable, way, way sketchier, and never on time. And I’ve been lucky to be in a band with Howie Howard (Shaker, The Sleepover, Mars Lights, and Dark Satellites), because if he says he’s gonna be there at a certain time, he’s gonna be there and he’ll bring your favorite snack. But most of the other musicians, even the most reliable ones, it seems like there is an inverse ratio of the more brilliantly creative you are the more the more likely you are to completely flake on something really important. [They will] not show up to a gig, or something like that. As I’ve gotten older, band members have become more reliable and more of them have families, full-time jobs, kids, and homes.

Anything else you want to say?

I got into my field (editing, writing and all that) relatively late in my career. I graduated, I had a weirdo job for awhile, I went to grad school while I was doing data entry. Then I did accounting for awhile because that’s the job that I could find. Since then I’ve tried to be where I want to be and get what I wanna get. I feel really blessed to be working where I work and to be working with the people I work with. Everyone is so intelligent, creative and collaborative. It feels really awesome.

I think that young musicians and people who are trying to start a career have very high expectations. There is a certain generational thing—which I’m sort of on the cusp of—that you were told if you go to college and you get a degree things are just going to happen for you. Whereas my older counterparts, folks my parents’ age or older, say, “I worked at a bowling alley after college and then I figured it out.”

If you’re just graduating college, chances are you’re going to have to take a crappy job for a couple of years and that’s okay. Keep grinding away at what you love.

If you’re just starting a band there is a good chance your first couple bands are not going to be well-received or are going to suck. If you like it, just keep doing it. After playing for so long I’m just now getting some neat opportunities to play with bands that I really look up to and have people not related to me tell me they like my music (laughs).

It’s neat to finally have a job where my talents are exploited and appreciated. At work, they’re like, “Oh, Cory likes making jokes. If we need to do something silly let’s capitalize on that. Let’s get him pumped. If we give him a pot of coffee and put him in a room for half an hour he’ll crank out a bunch of weirdo ideas and we can tell him which ones are stupid and which ones might be cool and go from there.”

What Have We Learned?

So, what would I tell young musicians looking to start their careers?

Make true connections in the creative communities you want to join and influence. Pay it forward to those collectives, and they’ll return the favor. Get internships, play shows for nobody, start bands that might (will) suck, watch tutorials to learn that thing you can’t quite do yet, play a show out of town, take risks, have a back-up plan… but most of all, work really, really, really freaking hard at what you love.

It won’t be easy. People will talk over your whole set. A stunning total of twelve people will turn up for your show (two of them, your parents). People will think your ideas are stupid.

Why do it then? Because if done right, there is a harmonious relationship between work and play (and all the connections you develop along the way); this intersection of passions is where you’ll experience the best results.

The best advice I can give to any struggling young creative? Don’t quit your day job.

Dave Ozinga

A transplant from Michigan, Dave began his pursuit of a musical career early, and hasn’t looked back yet. In fact, UUVVWWZ landed a featured spot on Rolling Stone’s Daily Download back in December. Here, Dave talks about balancing his double life as musician and designer.

Occupation
Open Harvest Cooperative – Communications and Design Manager

Bands
UUVVWWZ
Carrot Carrot
Shipbuilding Co.
Black Hundreds
Well-Dressed Man Disguise
Husbands
The Duke of the Hazardous Waste Pool

What were your early years of playing music like?

My musical history started very young—playing cardboard cylinders in my room until I got a drum set when I was 8. Then I found a bass guitar in a dumpster and played that through a stereo for a few years. So, I started pretty early; before I was 10 I was playing all that stuff. I was living in Kalamazoo, Michigan playing in “punk” bands (we thought we were punk anyway). Then I moved to Texas. I got really sick one summer and couldn’t go outside at all, so I learned how to play guitar and piano. I played in some bands for a few years and made a couple albums. Then I moved to Nebraska in 2006 and started meeting some people. I played in a band called Black Hundreds from 2006-2008 and then I started my own project, Carrot Carrot, which relied on a rotating cast of a dozen or so collaborators.

At one point in my life I was barely working and mostly just playing music about 40 hours a week. That was amazing.

High school was where my “career” really started. I really wanted to be on the newspaper staff. I started doing some makeshift web design, and I never really knew what I was doing, but I tried really hard to impress people and I guess it worked. I eventually became design editor of the newspaper and yearbook and all that stuff. I worked at a print shop in Texas for about two years as a graphic designer until I graduated high school.

When I came to Nebraska I started studying print journalism but ended up in Broadcast Production. Then I became the music director for a couple years at KRNU, where I was able to do a little shameless self-promotion. It was pretty great.

In 2010 I got a job at Open Harvest as a cashier. That soon changed to produce clerk, slowly working my way up. Then BJ Birkel (at the time was the merchandising manager, now the brand manager) told me he needed some design help on the side. He knew that I had some experience, so I started doing little design things for about 10 hours a week. Then that turned into 20 hours, then 30 hours, then they offered me a full time position and I got to write my own job description. It took me about a year but I worked my way up administration at the co-op. So I wrote that job description and that was that.

How would you describe the overlap between your job and your music?

I do all the visual work for the co-op. That includes design work for store signage, any in/out-of-store advertisements, even audio work on the commercials. I recorded the music for our first commercial with Jim Schroeder from UUVVWWZ. I got paid for a whole day of work just sitting at Jim’s house recording jingles. It was great!

I also do a lot of video work at Open Harvest, for example, right now we’re doing a documentary about Common Good Farm in Raymond, Nebraska and their most recent growing season. That’s been the best part of my job, spending hours and hours out at this farm with people that I love, showing everyone what they do and showing everyone how much they struggle—really telling their story. So it’s great doing all that video work and I get to use what I studied in school a little bit. Also, I’m getting to collaborate with friends like Michael Thurber.

What would you say the differences (or similarities) are between coworkers and bandmates?

If my boss, BJ Birkel, wasn’t a creative-type I wouldn’t have lasted two months without him understanding the way that I think. He played in my favorite Lincoln band, Big Language, so he knows that world; he gets it. He knew when he was hiring me that I was going to be going on the road a lot. I’m leaving for several weeks pretty soon and it’s not a big deal. It’s great. I just communicate with him and I can even work on the road if I want.

Within my band it’s overwhelmingly democratic. There are exceptions, but we don’t do anything unless everyone is satisfied with it and we work on things until everyone agrees with it. And sometimes that’s like two years.

Working with my coworkers at a co-op is different because there is a bureaucracy. I could show you a chart of who has to answer to who. So when everyone is equal, I think you work a lot harder to not only please yourself but please the people who are equal to you. At work I’m dealing with other managers and seeking input from other employees, but I don’t have to implement that unless I feel it’s right for what I’m working on. It’s just a completely different process.

Any final thoughts?

I do feel good doing my job. I really believe in working for the co-op which works for the community. Not only do I work there but I own a share in it and I don’t buy food anywhere else. I have a really hard time working anywhere that I don’t believe in. At the co-op I believe in their vision, everything they stand for and where it’s going. It’s kind of amazing working for a place like that. I’d have to justify working somewhere I didn’t care.