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Good news, bad news
Oct. 27th, 2004 01:47 amThe good news is regarding my laptop. My current laptop is getting a little older and slower. It meets my needs, but just barely. But as long as it works, I’ll stick with it because I can’t afford to replace it at this time. Perhaps with next year’s tax return….
Anyway, this laptop is a bit over 4 ½ years old. It has served me quite well except in one area: about a year after I bought it the battery failed, it would not hold a charge at all. That really sucks on two counts. First, replacements start at around $125. Second, it’s not a warranty item. In all fairness Fry’s Electronics now covers batteries as part of their extended warranty, but it was not on mine.
I didn’t want to have to buy a new battery, and I needed battery power, and I got very lucky. My previous laptop was a Toshiba Satellite, a very useful Pentium 90 that served me well for over 3 years before it gave up the ghost. My current one is also a Satellite, and conveniently, the physical dimensions of the two batteries are identical. The model number is also the same, with the exception of adding a letter suffix to the new one. And the new one has a higher current rating, which means it would last longer than the old one if both were tested in laptops that drew identical amounts of power.
So I put my old battery in my new laptop.
It is still working like a champ. This battery is pushing 7 years old and is good for about half an hour on its own. I won’t complain about that.
Yesterday I was going through a box of “stuff” and came across the new (dead) battery. It had been retired for over 3 years, so I decided to take a risk: I put it back in my laptop and charged it. It took a while, but finally it reached 100%. And I used it at school for over a half hour with no problems. In fact, I’m on battery power right now and it’s saying I have 2:20 left.
Pretty spiff! The only thing that I can figure is that by sitting totally idle for three years it somehow reset itself and is ready to work again. So that’s cool.
The bad news is my brother-in-law. This is my sister’s second, and they’ve had one kid together. My sister brought two girls from her previous. Don’t ask me why, but several months ago he joined the National Guard. He had previously served in the Army, I don’t know what he did, I think he was an MP or maybe just straight infantry.
To give him credit, he only joined for a one year hitch, and allegedly he could not be sent to a combat zone while serving a one year hitch. However, those who make the rules have the power to break the rules. Apparently he’ll be in Afghanistan by the end of the year.
And the Pentagon is saying they want to evaluate women in infantry or battle positions, which is fair and smart considering that they’re getting shot at regardless of whether or not they are trained.
And Georgie swears that we can win the War on “Terror” (Where exactly is terror? I thought we normally declared war on nouns.) with an all-volunteer army. And that there will not be a draft.
Stay tuned and watch those papers. AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER SECOND!
Anyway, this laptop is a bit over 4 ½ years old. It has served me quite well except in one area: about a year after I bought it the battery failed, it would not hold a charge at all. That really sucks on two counts. First, replacements start at around $125. Second, it’s not a warranty item. In all fairness Fry’s Electronics now covers batteries as part of their extended warranty, but it was not on mine.
I didn’t want to have to buy a new battery, and I needed battery power, and I got very lucky. My previous laptop was a Toshiba Satellite, a very useful Pentium 90 that served me well for over 3 years before it gave up the ghost. My current one is also a Satellite, and conveniently, the physical dimensions of the two batteries are identical. The model number is also the same, with the exception of adding a letter suffix to the new one. And the new one has a higher current rating, which means it would last longer than the old one if both were tested in laptops that drew identical amounts of power.
So I put my old battery in my new laptop.
It is still working like a champ. This battery is pushing 7 years old and is good for about half an hour on its own. I won’t complain about that.
Yesterday I was going through a box of “stuff” and came across the new (dead) battery. It had been retired for over 3 years, so I decided to take a risk: I put it back in my laptop and charged it. It took a while, but finally it reached 100%. And I used it at school for over a half hour with no problems. In fact, I’m on battery power right now and it’s saying I have 2:20 left.
Pretty spiff! The only thing that I can figure is that by sitting totally idle for three years it somehow reset itself and is ready to work again. So that’s cool.
The bad news is my brother-in-law. This is my sister’s second, and they’ve had one kid together. My sister brought two girls from her previous. Don’t ask me why, but several months ago he joined the National Guard. He had previously served in the Army, I don’t know what he did, I think he was an MP or maybe just straight infantry.
To give him credit, he only joined for a one year hitch, and allegedly he could not be sent to a combat zone while serving a one year hitch. However, those who make the rules have the power to break the rules. Apparently he’ll be in Afghanistan by the end of the year.
And the Pentagon is saying they want to evaluate women in infantry or battle positions, which is fair and smart considering that they’re getting shot at regardless of whether or not they are trained.
And Georgie swears that we can win the War on “Terror” (Where exactly is terror? I thought we normally declared war on nouns.) with an all-volunteer army. And that there will not be a draft.
Stay tuned and watch those papers. AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER SECOND!
