I bought a then-still-IBM Thinkpad in 2005. It was a T42, I think. Over the next five years it did over 700,000 miles of flying with me, was dropped (in and out of its case), stood on, had coffee spilled on it and was generally abused. By the time I replaced it in 2010 the CDROM had packed in and the letters on the keys were mostly worn out. That's it. I gave it to my mother as her first laptop and it's still going strong, three years later. So 8+ years uninterrupted service.
Obviously I was immensely impressed with that, and contrived to immediately buy a new Thinkpad. "They can't be all that different" I thought. I could not have been more wrong.
Its replacement (I forget the model right now) was DOA. The replacement lasted three weeks before suffering a terminal mainboard failure. Lenovo, declining to replace it, took almost three months to return it to me.
Over the next year it progressively disintegrated. The DVDROM died, the keyboard had to be replaced, the hinges needed constant tightening and the hard drive was replaced twice and it developed cracks in the lid, and the battery was almost useless after a few months. The power adaptor socket also broke. It looked cheap, it felt cheap, and it was anything but cheap. Lenovo could not give a fuck.
I will never buy another Lenovo product, Thinkpad or not.
I have lever-arch files in which I keep copies of all utility bills for one year (appropriately sub-divided into water, gas, electricity, phone, internet etc). After a year, they get shredded.
Receipts (for large/expensive things like TVs, computers) go into a file and are not shredded until the warranty period is up.
Very important documents such as insurance and legal papers and mortgage documents are filed permanently but are also scanned to PDF and backed up offline along with the rest of my data backups, in case my house goes up in flames.
I discovered this radio station when I visited Columbus in 2002 and have been a dedicated fan ever since. Better than almost all of the crap we get over here (western Europe).
It pisses me off that the majority of people crying about this (and the demise of colour films in general) are mostly the ones who scour eBay for expired rolls with which to stock their fridges, instead of buying fresh packs of film, demonstrating to the manufacturers that there is actual demand for it.
When the US can stand up and be properly accountable for what happened at Bhopal then you can feel free to do some finger-pointing at evil foreign corporations.
I spend a lot of time in Western Europe, they don't even make you take your belt off at the airport. Try again, slick.
I live in Western Europe and they actually usually do make you take your belt off at the laptop. I fly several times per week.
Shit, last week I was in Edinburgh and not only did I have to take my laptop out of my carry-on, I had to take it out of it's sleeve!
'What, does X-ray not see through Neoprene?' 'Sir, are you declining to follow my instructions?'
Make no mistake, airport security is as preposterous here as it is in the States.
Keith Allen also (two years ago I think?) did a documentary on a group of children with Tourette's Syndrome which, while very informative and surprisingly sensitive, was hilarious.
www.tourkiev.com is the one my friends and I used.
They also can arrange apartment rentals in downtown Kiev (we rented a really nice large one just off Independence Square for about 140 Euros per night).
I was there in May 2009 and I had much the same experience as you did.
Unfortunately my friends and I opted to join a big tour instead of paying for a private one; the stragglers from the bus constantly kept us behind schedule, eventually to the point that we didn't get a chance to see the KGB offices or the swimming pool, both of which we'd been promised a tour of. I was fucking enraged.
Anyway, we also had dosimeters and were told where we could and couldn't go. I'm not too worried about my kids being born with two legs.
I'm pretty certain I'll go back, and this time pay up for a private tour.
Maybe they should look at other, more effective road safety measures, like installing limiters for trucks that stop them exceeding 56mph (like they do in the UK).
Being overtaken by a tractor/trailer at 70+mph is quite disconcerting.
...and while it was interesting enough, this will never get any major recognition or earn a place in the public mindset unless they start using it in ralleys, or other high-profile automotive sporting events.
As a Brit who was brought up in Scotland, let me just say that the only people who label themselves "Scottish" are the typical moronic anti-English separatists whose voices are unfortunately getting ever louder.
...are necessary. I once received a CV from "slap_head_dave@..." He didn't even get an interview.
That sort of jocular email address is fine for your friends' use but you need to use a serious one for business / applying for jobs etc. or else nobody will take you seriously at all.
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I bought a then-still-IBM Thinkpad in 2005. It was a T42, I think. Over the next five years it did over 700,000 miles of flying with me, was dropped (in and out of its case), stood on, had coffee spilled on it and was generally abused. By the time I replaced it in 2010 the CDROM had packed in and the letters on the keys were mostly worn out. That's it. I gave it to my mother as her first laptop and it's still going strong, three years later. So 8+ years uninterrupted service.
Obviously I was immensely impressed with that, and contrived to immediately buy a new Thinkpad. "They can't be all that different" I thought. I could not have been more wrong.
Its replacement (I forget the model right now) was DOA. The replacement lasted three weeks before suffering a terminal mainboard failure. Lenovo, declining to replace it, took almost three months to return it to me.
Over the next year it progressively disintegrated. The DVDROM died, the keyboard had to be replaced, the hinges needed constant tightening and the hard drive was replaced twice and it developed cracks in the lid, and the battery was almost useless after a few months. The power adaptor socket also broke. It looked cheap, it felt cheap, and it was anything but cheap. Lenovo could not give a fuck.
I will never buy another Lenovo product, Thinkpad or not.
I have lever-arch files in which I keep copies of all utility bills for one year (appropriately sub-divided into water, gas, electricity, phone, internet etc). After a year, they get shredded.
Receipts (for large/expensive things like TVs, computers) go into a file and are not shredded until the warranty period is up.
Very important documents such as insurance and legal papers and mortgage documents are filed permanently but are also scanned to PDF and backed up offline along with the rest of my data backups, in case my house goes up in flames.
Irregardless, your gay and I could care less.
http://www.cd101.com/ Columbus, OH.
I discovered this radio station when I visited Columbus in 2002 and have been a dedicated fan ever since. Better than almost all of the crap we get over here (western Europe).
It pisses me off that the majority of people crying about this (and the demise of colour films in general) are mostly the ones who scour eBay for expired rolls with which to stock their fridges, instead of buying fresh packs of film, demonstrating to the manufacturers that there is actual demand for it.
Seriously?
Transocean, wasn't it?
When the US can stand up and be properly accountable for what happened at Bhopal then you can feel free to do some finger-pointing at evil foreign corporations.
It's spelled 'Scotsman', not 'Scottsman'.
A little proof-reading wouldn't go amiss.
Sorry, I mean take your belt off at security.
I spend a lot of time in Western Europe, they don't even make you take your belt off at the airport. Try again, slick.
I live in Western Europe and they actually usually do make you take your belt off at the laptop. I fly several times per week. Shit, last week I was in Edinburgh and not only did I have to take my laptop out of my carry-on, I had to take it out of it's sleeve! 'What, does X-ray not see through Neoprene?' 'Sir, are you declining to follow my instructions?' Make no mistake, airport security is as preposterous here as it is in the States.
Officer Crabtree, how nice of you to drop in to my humble cafe.
http://i.imgur.com/51f9p.jpg
Yes, good call. Including a recovery disk with a laptop that doesn't have a disk drive would certainly have been questionable.
I got one with my EEEPC 1005HA which does not have a CD/DVD drive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_boring_machine
Keith Allen also (two years ago I think?) did a documentary on a group of children with Tourette's Syndrome which, while very informative and surprisingly sensitive, was hilarious.
www.tourkiev.com is the one my friends and I used.
They also can arrange apartment rentals in downtown Kiev (we rented a really nice large one just off Independence Square for about 140 Euros per night).
I was there in May 2009 and I had much the same experience as you did. Unfortunately my friends and I opted to join a big tour instead of paying for a private one; the stragglers from the bus constantly kept us behind schedule, eventually to the point that we didn't get a chance to see the KGB offices or the swimming pool, both of which we'd been promised a tour of. I was fucking enraged. Anyway, we also had dosimeters and were told where we could and couldn't go. I'm not too worried about my kids being born with two legs. I'm pretty certain I'll go back, and this time pay up for a private tour.
Maybe they should look at other, more effective road safety measures, like installing limiters for trucks that stop them exceeding 56mph (like they do in the UK).
Being overtaken by a tractor/trailer at 70+mph is quite disconcerting.
All six teeth, you mean? Well, we are British...
Where do you live? Here in the Netherlands my 16/1 MB DSL costs me 40 Euros a month :(
Oh god. Between that and the fucking 'compare the meerkats' advert, I frequently want to put my foot through the TV.
Mod parent up. I live in the Netherlands and I receive British channels quite easily and freely via Freesat. Adverts and all.
...and while it was interesting enough, this will never get any major recognition or earn a place in the public mindset unless they start using it in ralleys, or other high-profile automotive sporting events.
As a Brit who was brought up in Scotland, let me just say that the only people who label themselves "Scottish" are the typical moronic anti-English separatists whose voices are unfortunately getting ever louder.
I moved to Holland to get away from that.
...are necessary. I once received a CV from "slap_head_dave@..." He didn't even get an interview.
That sort of jocular email address is fine for your friends' use but you need to use a serious one for business / applying for jobs etc. or else nobody will take you seriously at all.