Bursts of handiness
Just to break up the monotony of the biketrip updates (hi, Myles!)... Minor panic when my current best approximation to a computer broke a second hinge -- or to be precise, when a second corner of the back of the display, just above the hinge proper, cracked right across and all the way through. Not a huge surprise, as after the first one went, the extra load on the other seemed likely to make it a matter of time, but a bit of a shock regardless. Fortunately, one thing I'm not short of around here is bits and bobs of Dell 600-series computers in various conditions, so I managed to swap it with a not-yet-broken one.
Then yesterday, fixed the my rear brake lever, which had managed to work its way off its mount. Might still have been usable, but not something I'd have wanted to bet my neck on, um, as I had been since I'd noticed it mysteriously rattling. Rather tricky to get into, and it necessitated detaching the brake cable, but in due course got it back on. Then tested it... as you do, by going up the steepest inclined plane, the better to brake on the way back down. Well, I had some recycling to do... I did get my mum's birthday card posted, and recycled some glass in the bins in the complex, but... all the recycling bins up Sarsfield were gone. Odd. Not sure if the whole facility is gone, or it they were just being "emptied". Might need to tighten the brakes somewhat more.
Then today... the hattrick. Inspired by Roj's donation of a TV with a big screen, and more pertinently, a vast profusion of different connectors in back, decided to try and replace the non-working fan in my previous laptop. As it also has a non-working screen, it seemed a promising candidate to use as a "TV server". The bizarrely located fan in the D420 means that this involves near-total dismantling, hence why I'd been procrastinating about doing it, but it's not especially complex or tricky. Bit nervous powering back up, as there's always the anxiety that I've fried something vital with static, or otherwise completely destroyed it, but... green light! And preliminary testing seems to indicate a working fan. Remains to be seen if it's able to usefully do the intended.
Then yesterday, fixed the my rear brake lever, which had managed to work its way off its mount. Might still have been usable, but not something I'd have wanted to bet my neck on, um, as I had been since I'd noticed it mysteriously rattling. Rather tricky to get into, and it necessitated detaching the brake cable, but in due course got it back on. Then tested it... as you do, by going up the steepest inclined plane, the better to brake on the way back down. Well, I had some recycling to do... I did get my mum's birthday card posted, and recycled some glass in the bins in the complex, but... all the recycling bins up Sarsfield were gone. Odd. Not sure if the whole facility is gone, or it they were just being "emptied". Might need to tighten the brakes somewhat more.
Then today... the hattrick. Inspired by Roj's donation of a TV with a big screen, and more pertinently, a vast profusion of different connectors in back, decided to try and replace the non-working fan in my previous laptop. As it also has a non-working screen, it seemed a promising candidate to use as a "TV server". The bizarrely located fan in the D420 means that this involves near-total dismantling, hence why I'd been procrastinating about doing it, but it's not especially complex or tricky. Bit nervous powering back up, as there's always the anxiety that I've fried something vital with static, or otherwise completely destroyed it, but... green light! And preliminary testing seems to indicate a working fan. Remains to be seen if it's able to usefully do the intended.