I took my work laptop with me when I last went to PA because, ya know, i was working... When I got back to Buffalo, the screen stayed dark instead of lighting up on boot. However, I could still see the images; they were just very faint. I googled up some answers - most likely cause: inverter board failure. Since my laptop is about three years old, I didn't want to invest a lot in a repair, so I found a used board on ebay and also got a new battery because mine's no longer holding a charge for more than 10 minutes of use. $80 for parts and I'll have a functioning laptop for at least a few more months.... or so I thought.

The package came Tuesday and I tried the battery - wrong battery. The list of compatible Toshibas on the ebay listing was huge and mine wasn't specifically excluded... :-(

I installed the inverter board Thursday night because Drew needs something that's stored on that computer and I was going to the church on Friday... 6 screws and two small pin connectors later, I had it installed... Boot up... yea! lights! for 10 seconds. WHAT??? 10 seconds?? try again. same result. #$*!*#$ not just an inverter board problem, it's also a backlight problem. So screw it, I need a functioning laptop for finals, I need a functioning laptop for work... I gotta buy a new laptop.

I'm posting all this just to make sure it is reasonable...

How's this Toshiba look to you geeks?

I like this Sony Vaio but an extra $250 for a better processor (and admittedly excellent sony hardware) doesn't seem worth it.


I'm very hard on my machines so I don't want to spend a lot on them for them just to break because I'm clumsy and dangerous.

I have a $25 gift certificate to Shango Bistro & Wine Bar that expires 5/20/09 that I'm not going to have time to use (unless someone wants to go with me tonight). :-( Would anyone like it?

I also have two free admission tickets to the Albright-Knox permanent collection that expire 5/30/09 that I also don't have time to use. Anyone?

I was walking along Allen today listening to property law review audio files (really exciting stuff) and passed the lady in white. I looked back and it seemed like she was talking to me, and she waved me closer. She said that her friend (who I was... um... having a little trouble seeing) wanted to give me something. I held out my hand and she said, no, not me, him, so I shifted my hand toward where she was indicating and she said, I'm not sure how this works, but he has something for you. I waited a few more seconds and told her I think I got something, thank you very much. She seemed very pleased.

:-)

From AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com (only about 1 in 10 images are actually funny)

I have about 800 pictures to process from my adventures Thursday through Sunday. These are the most immediately relevant. ;-)

My hometown had its annual festival last weekend and my aunt asked me to take pictures of her & her company's parade float. She couldn't throw candy from the float and take pictures of it at the same time, she said. After the parade, everyone goes to Island Park for the festival, which this year included a beautiful old tortoise.