Nate Lanxon
Nate Lanxon is CNET UK's Senior Editor of News and Features, and covers every aspect of technology for Crave. He also enjoys popular-science books, obscure Japanese animation and plays 'technical metal' on the drums, whatever that is.
Next: Your grief is lucrative for Facebook
Previous: iPhone speed boost could spell trouble for iPod touch
Friday 29 May 2009, 4:27pm
Geek saves Mac, not cat, from burning flat
We were watching Death Note when we smelled the unmistakable stench of something burning. 11:30pm, and the entire block of flats we live in erupted in fire alarms, and we dashed out of the flat in a hot panic.
I forgot my coat, my phone, my wallet, even my shoes. Then my brother pointed something out to me: despite the noise, panic and rushing, I'd still found time to unhook my MacBook and salvage it from what I believed was a burning building.
The burning, it transpired, was the fault of some tool who'd gone out for a fag and left his midnight feast burning on the stove. We've only just moved into this flat, and apparently it's not the first time something this ridiculous had happened.
But what apparently concerned my girlfriend more, is that of all the things I could've picked up as we rushed out of the door -- a fire extinguisher, a snack, Batman -- I saved my laptop.
It wasn't the first time I heard, "You know what, Nate -- I think you love that thing more than me."
I went back to finish watching Death Note.

My cat, Batman, distinctly unimpressed in her plantpot
Note that had I discovered the building actually was burning, I would have grabbed the cat before you could say 'i can has rescue'. There's no way I would actually have left her!
Next: Your grief is lucrative for Facebook
Previous: iPhone speed boost could spell trouble for iPod touch
Comments on this post
I'm fairly certain the cat has enough sense to get out on her own. No matter how good a Mac is at crunching information, it doesn't have the common sense or the legs to walk itself out. You were wise to grab the Mac first. I have nothing to say about whether you love the Mac more than your GF. Those questions are best left unanswered. Loving both equally won't cut it. :)
Posted by Constable Odo on Fri 29 May, 2009 6:25 PM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
You can try and undig yourself from the hole you've just dug yourself into... You can even try and justify yourself to those around you including the GF, but Batman knows the truth deep down, that at the first whiff of smoke, you ran straight for the while plastic lovechild of Steve Jobs ;-)
Posted by Nanchatte on Fri 29 May, 2009 6:44 PM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
I completely understand.
Posted by GBrock on Fri 29 May, 2009 6:52 PM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
Batman would still have eight lives remaining. I will not comment on the girlfriend vs. MacBook; though, the gentleman already appears to be in the dog house.
Posted by barjar on Fri 29 May, 2009 8:39 PM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
Ironically someone i knew's apartment caught fire, and they all managed to escape, then he remembered he forgot his laptop, went back in and sadly never came out again
Posted by MacFan on Sat 30 May, 2009 5:41 AM
Offensive? Inappropriate? Report this comment
Articles by Nate Lanxon
What does Google Suggest suggest about the state of humanity?
Crave People ask Google some exceptionally worrying questions. We poked through the things it suggests you might be asking and offered some answers to the hard of thinking
Why won't they die? The tech we won't forget
Crave If you were born, it's highly likely you'll die. Sorry about that. For consumer tech though, it's not quite so cut and dried. We explore the technology that just refuses to be killed off
EMI baffles us: Offers Beatles MP3s... on memory sticks
Crave EMI and Apple Corps have released a £200 USB memory stick in the shape of an apple, with all The Beatles' albums in MP3. We're so unimpressed we felt compelled to complain
Interview: Zero Punctuation's Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw reveals all
Crave Zero Punctuation is a wonder, truly one of the greatest online video shows of the age. Its creator -- Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw -- sits down to take us behind the scenes of its creation
Every BBC iPlayer device tested
Crave The BBC's iPlayer is compatible with so many portable devices now it's almost funny. So here's your ultimate reference resource: we've tested and judged every single one of them
Firefox 3.6 beta tested in-depth
Crave The next major revision of Mozilla's Firefox Web browser is version 3.6. Mozilla promises speed boosts and many new features. We've been testing the beta for a few days
Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300
Review Dispensing with bells and whistles, the Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300 ebook reader does one job and does it well. It's extremely easy to read text on its e-ink display, it's attractive and pocketable, and it's very simple to use. Overall, we think it's the best ebook reader currently on the UK market
Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600
Review The Reader Touch Edition PRS-600 is a decent ebook reader with some intriguing capabilities, such as its touchscreen, which not only lets you turn pages with a swipe of a finger but also allows you to make annotations. It's not as simple to use as Amazon's Kindle, but it offers much more freedom when it comes to finding books






