Tech Olive

These 4th and 5th place winners sadly were shy of winning a cool FreeAgent Go drive from Seagate, but they deserve to be honorably mentioned. Check to see who the runner-ups are after the break.

Congrats to 5th place winner Alex Hofbauer for his hilarious entry. Read it below.

3 years ago I was a freshman in college.  It was December during my first set of finals for the fall semester.  I was sitting on my bed while a friend was using my laptop when I heard her say “Oh No!”  I turn to see that  her entire red Solo cup of beer was now on my laptop keyboard.  I tilted it on its side and the rest came out of the CD slot.  The computer wouldn’t even turn on after it dried out.  Two papers and all of my class notes were gone with my music and movies.  It made my freshman year just a bit more stressful having to buy ANOTHER laptop less than 4 months after getting a new one.

Our 4th place winner is Louy Macfinnigan for his unfortunate, but comical tale. Read it below.

It all started back in the summer of 97. I was a high school graduate looking to make some money. The grass was greener. The light was brighter. The taste was sweeter. I was a giddy, starry eyed kid ready to take on the world. I decided to start a business and make something of myself.

On August 14, 1997, I opened Louyslemonylawnsong.com inspired by my then signature yellow lawn mower. The color had it’s own way of word-of-mouth advertising. I put a whole lot of love into that company. My goal was to make it easy for people to manage their service online, even if they had little computer experience. I got a few customers and it grew into a fairly busy enterprise.

On June 28, 1998, when the lawns were turning brown and business started to slow, I crafted a nice photoshop banner reading “Thank you.” After receiving “could not connect to server” error, I went to restart the server and found it making a dizzying tapping noise. Assuming it to be the sound it used to make when it processed data, I thought nothing of it and gave it a joking nock with my foot. At this point there came a loud rattling followed by the computer shutting off. The sinking feeling was overwhelming. I hoped in vain that it was salvageable. Everything was gone. All of the phone numbers, addresses, and people I had worked so hard to assemble were gone; swallowed in the hollow emptiness of the internet’s rejects.

That day I learned what is and what should never be. I was not destined for the business world. I snatched up my half finished copy of Moby Dick and decided, in that instant, to ramble on in college.

Stay tuned for the announcement of our three finalists!