In computer years my workstation was just shy of Methuselah. Not that I really cared. Writing and light gaming doesn’t take that much horsepower. Then I decided to take a course in machine learning.

Why?

Because.

I’d been an IT guy for most of my day job years. Had the degree, did the work, coded, often built my own computers just for fun, that kind of thing. It had been a while, though, and I wanted to try something new, like a different computer language and an introduction to AI. Learning something new freshens the mind, and frankly mine was getting a little stale. Problem was my computer was overdue for an upgrade which the course made apparent. So I thought why not build the replacement yourself? You get exactly what you need.

Well, that’s the plan anyway. One thing has definitely changed since my last build. I mean, I knew there would be differences and thought I had a handle on what I needed to research. One thing I hadn’t counted on, because I’d never run into it before:

Fakes.

Things advertised as a two terrabyte flash drive that, well, aren’t. Then there was a name-brand external disk bought from a reputable dealer. It provides the promised storage but, judging by the model and serial number, is almost certainly counterfeit. Kind of annoying. Adds a complication when you’re trying to source parts.

Buyer beware.