Over the last couple weeks, some major updates have been taking place with the main website.These updates are not finished and will be finished soon. I’ve been occupied by various other things, such as finishing out my Senior year and Graduation. I also have recently been struck by a fairly nasty cold which has rendered me near useless over the last few days. In addition to all of this, my family is moving out of town following my Graduation.
Kewanee Boiler Section
The Kewanee Boiler section got a major facelift. It not only got a completely new stylesheet and graphics to complement, but also some of the content has been revamped and (some of it – for the first time) proofed and edited as needed. It is a corner of my website which 99% of most people won’t visit, therefore, it doesn’t get much attention.
Upgrading the T420
As mentioned above, my senior year is quickly coming to an end. This is a good thing for many reasons. I can finally close one chapter and start on a new one.
However, these last couple weeks are still important and filled with hard works and a LOT of essays! Which brings me to the ThinkPad T420, which has remained a steady and reliable workhorse through my essays and miscellaneous work.
Well, the T420 will be getting some nice hardware upgrades this summer in order to get it “ready for the next chapter.” This includes a new 1 TB hard drive (which will replace the existing 140 GB hard drive that is nearly full) and a new battery which will allow the ThinkPad to live longer on a single charge. Since it will only last about 2 hours on a single charge now (depending on what applications are open – with no applications open and a dimmed display, it will run 3 hours), something will need to be done. I’ve been looking at a 6-cell battery.
As for everything else, the T420 is already “ready to go.” I will hopefully be buying better headphones, though. 🙂
(As for a website update, the T420 is actually relevant. The T420 page is being completely rewritten. This is the first time that page has been “touched” since last fall.)
Other Updates
Canon Pixma Update
If you can recall this recent post about my HP Officejet biting the dust, you can recall that I purchased a Canon MX922 “Pixma” all-in-one printer to replace it. This is my first all-in-one printer, and it is finally nice to have colors back, as well as to have a modern scanner with a built in auto-feed mechanism. (You should’ve heard my squeals of delight when testing it!)
I have been meaning to write a follow-up post, as I promised to do in that original post, but time hasn’t been on my side. It has been running well, although the ink has already went empty. I learned a cool tip that I never knew about before… there is a “fast/speed priority” setting on the printer which allows it to use less ink. I knew a setting existed in Adobe Reader, but I didn’t know it was available in the standard Windows print center.
Sadly, I found out what may have killed the HP. I’ll own up to it: I’m guilty of using refilled ink cartridges. I’ve learned my lesson, as I learned that the HP died from a clogged ink delivery mechanism, which caused it to do what it did when I retired it. There is no good way to repair this, and therefore, the HP will (sadly) be taking a final trip over to the electronics recycling center.
Hopefully, after I graduate and we are moved, I will write a in-depth review. Perhaps a “6-month reflection.”
Spaghetti Dinner Foodraiser
The Spaghetti Dinner Foodraiser, an event I held to raise funds to purchase new computer systems for a local non-profit organization who operates a resource center, was a success. We raised almost $500, and the food was delicious! The funds raised allowed us to buy one new computer, although three was our target.
The Buick (elephant in the room)
As some of you all may also recall, I was in a car accident in December 2016 which took the Pintomobile. Despite the Pintomobile being made in a time where quality actually meant something, and its integrity reflected that, it was no match for a roll-over wreck which bent everything.
However, a successor to the Pintomobile was chosen in April. A 2000 Buick Century took its spot. The Century is a nice car. While not as nice as my grandparent’s 2003 Buick LeSabre, it is much fancier than the Pintomobile.
The Century is the first car I’ve owned which has electric everything in it. Electric locks, electric windows, and even rear defrost! It also has working air conditioning and a trunk! It’s also the first GM car I’ve owned. (My parents are Ford fans; the rest of my fans are huge die-hard Chevrolet fanatics. This just proves that they are both equally cars.)
Since the Century has the 3.1L “3100” engine, it is less powerful than the 5.0L “302” that was in the Pintomobile. However, the 3100 offers way better fuel economy.