Did you remember Father’s Day is less than two weeks away?  Have you purchased a present yet?  If you are going to purchase another necktie for your dad this year, step slowly away from the tie and consider something else.  Think about your skills and hobbies and create a gift that your father will remember and use for a long time to come.  Does you dad use a computer?  How about spending Father’s Day upgrading or fixing your father’s computer.  I know my dad loves it.

• Install more memory in your dad’s computer — If your father is anything like mine, his computer is a couple of years old and could use a shot of memory this year.  Of course, we both know that installing memory is going to take you 15 minutes at the most but imagine the extra points you can gain from showing up before Father’s Day dinner and announcing that you are going to upgrade the computer before dinner.

• Clean up the hard drive and remove any unneeded software — If you have a couple of hours to spend with your father sit down and go through all the programs currently installed on the computer.  You should remove any viruses and trojan horses but also look at the programs that are currently installed.  If there are programs that are no longer needed or software programs that no longer work, help your father to uninstall the software.  Take this time to also update all the programs you can, including the virus scanning software and operating system. 

• Start over and install a new hard drive — You may not want to spend hours uninstalling old computer programs, so how about installing a new hard drive instead.  If your father’s computer is several years old, chances are the hard drive is running out of room.  If you want a quick gift, pop a second hard drive into the computer and leave the operating system running on the original hard drive.  Or, if you want to spend a little more time on the project, take out the old hard drive and install a fresh hard drive and a fresh copy of the operating system.

• Upgrade one component in the computer — One of the greatest projects and gifts you can give to your father is your knowledge.  Use that knowledge to upgrade one component in your father’s computer at every holiday.  Just think of the possibilities and the memories you can create.  A hard drive for christmas, a new CPU for his birthday.  While not the most glamours gift, your father deserves the best and taking care of his computer shows him that you do care.

• Build an entirely new computer — If you are a dad or your dad really likes putting things together, purchase a new computer kit and spend the day building your father’s new computer.  Spend the day with your father and create a new computer that everyone in the house can use.  If you are inclined you could even decorate the case of the computer for your dad.