Sony VIAO goes bye-o.

Sony Dies!

The "Old Computer"

It happened so suddenly.  I have known of this issue for a while, but I unwittingly turned off my Sony computer (named: RED...after my favorite cat of all time) ...and it has never come back on.  Sad, isn't it?   When you lose a computer.   Like losing a friend...or worse...a really cool cat. 

But,  as with all things,  a Broken Heart is healed with Time.  Lots and Lots of Time... BUT, even faster with....a REPLACEMENT!
However, similar to cats,  Computers are difficult to just substitute in a new one.  Cats have peculiar behaviors that you may find either endearing...or annoying.   Place new computers in that same category...without the hairballs and litter smell. 

The "NEW" computer

Cheryl,  having lots of luck shopping.....online....for pretty much everything,  suggested that we try Amazon.com to find a new and improved laptop that fit our budget of nearly zero dollars, while performing above and beyond the Sony Corporation's best and brightest.  Add in that it came with no taxes and free shipping from AmazonPrime, ( because Cheryl is a "Preferred Customer") and I was all over it.  Call me a sucker for a bargain!

Three weeks later!...Really,  should I even say more?    THREE WEEKS LATER.....  we finally receive our computer....and it is the wrong one. By Wrong...I mean NOT the one we purchased!  (different model number all together!)

May take some getting used to.

Half the memory, No CD drive,  No windows 10, Blue Tooth, No HDMI! ...basically the one that was WORSE than old RED, the Sony VIAO.  The Computer we paid for ( with the time ticking.. Hurry! "only 7 left!")  was now  resupplied  AND almost $100 more than the price we paid.  The one that arrived had none of the features we purchased...so we sent it back the same day and headed to BEST BUY.   Currently, I'm wrestling with a similar model that we wanted and it cost $100 LESS than what we paid for on Amazon.com...and, Best of ALL.... I have it NOW!   The three weeks of waiting, instead of healing,  caused me Great Irritation!

Sure, it has it's bugs  and hiccups that I have to figure out.   Even now as I type this, the keys feel funny compared to Old RED's   But I'm sure I will get used to it.  Perhaps I will even grow to like this one.  Similar to the Outside Cat that rummages through our Garbage. 
 I thought I could "fix" the Sony, but things look pretty bad.

My invasive surgery on "Red"

I admit I really worked that computer hard.  I'm not even sure if I can save the RAM from it. (Perhaps it is a good thing I never entered the field of Medicine...)  I have already upgraded the RAM in this computer, so hopefully I will see a noticeable improvement.  We shall see.

Another successful failure!

So what have we been doing for the last three weeks with no access to Porn , er... I mean Anime, News and Blogger?  Uh,    Well,   The weather has been pretty bad, but we managed to get in a walk on most days.  

For ONCE we captured the Eagles from the car!

Sometimes we even see an Eagle or two....or 8!   Check out these guys on this Deer Carcass.   This deer was possibly one of the bucks we saw during  early December.   ( He was only about an 8 pointer in the same location where three crossed the road that day.)

Meal time on an 8 point!

Just as the group flew away!

They come back after we pass by.

The Baldies pretty much picked him clean as the next day there was only a ribcage left! I guess Eagles replace the scavengers during the winter months.

Cheryl back to running...a little.

Not the safest running conditions.

At times like these,  Best to Walk around

Cheryl is finally able to run again.   10 WEEKS after her injury she is back to taking the slow baby steps of a newbie runner.   Well,  It is ridiculously cold outside this time of year,  so speed and traction were never going to be in the cards.  Best to play things safe and take them slow.  With warmer weather about a month away, I'm sure that will be the perfect time to get back on track for the upcoming Marathon season. 
As for me,  I was up to 32000 words when the computer died.   I have not written anything since.   With three weeks of mind numbing time on my hands, you may think I have accrued a decent cache's  worth of material.   But alas....I have to rethink things over.  Inspiration is like the wind;   Fierce and powerful one day,  Soft and still the next.  With Cheryl busy scoring, I'm sure I can get things back to operational levels soon. 

Do Birds Predict the Seasons in Iowa?

And even more!

Robins Under the Crab Apples

Today,  it is cold...  Cold-er than yesterday.... and that was pretty cold.   Today,  it was solidly in the teens...and that is a very cold day  for Iowa.    However...

More came after I stopped

There are Robins here.  Not just a few stray ones that seem to be confused or lost  ( Although I question what they are thinking at this moment) ....But a BUNCH!  As if they are the vanguard of some  massive Migration.

As close as I could get. 

The thing is,  the ground is so frozen,  it is similar to concrete... even where there is no snow.  Luckily,   there are several crab apple trees scattered through out the town so they have some fruit to nibble on during the deep freeze.  I think I blogged about this before...but it still shocks me to see it.

Michigan Spring Herald

And it is not like the Robins never left.....They did!   They pretty much were gone by October...I'm not sure where they go, but I'm assuming somewhere south  ( and warm!) .  So I'm not sure why they suddenly feel the need to come back up north when the weather in January is traditionally the worst!

In Michigan,  you could pretty much bank on the Robins coming during the spring.   It used to be a game for us as to who could see the first Robin of the year.   It was almost always after a solid warm day in March or April. Forget the groundhog.....we used the return of the Robins as our measuring stick.

They don't seem like friends here

I guess Iowa has its own set of birds that foretell the season.    For instance....Bald Eagles and Turkey Vultures. Vultures arrive in late spring and stay for the summer.   The Eagles seem to come back only after the last Vulture has vacated the area and remain for the duration of the winter.   Not sure if they hassle each other over territory or if things just work out that way.

Spare room 

Bedroom Closet

Other than that,  Cheryl and I must have been motivated today, because we completed the closets in the spare room and bed room.   I'm quite happy they are now finished.   As soon as the paint dries,  I'm sure we will have to reorganize a few things.  I guess we have a few other projects on the horizon,  but for now...it appears we may be in the closing moments of the "apartment painting" chapter.

Cheryl paints the edges

Hiro shows how cats help out.

Hope everyone else is staying warm.   As for me,  I am brewing up a pot of home made Chili!   I could not rely on HyVee to keep their Chili stocked,  So I'm taking a stab at making my own.   The recipe seems simple enough.  I don't like mine too spicy.   I guess with this first attempt,  I should have cooked the beans a little longer.

Chili on a cold day.

  Or used canned beans instead of the dried ones.   All information I can use for the next batch.   The flavor is still good enough to eat...just the texture is off a bit.

Soaking the dry beans 24 hours

  I'm going to try to soak the remaining beans overnight.  ( recommended by Betty Crocker)  to see how well that softens them up.  We shall see how things go.