Last night, I rather delayed my getting to bed time because I spent a certain amount of time 'playing' with my IBM ThinkPad which I have in the study and is built like a brick. The original ThinkPads were built by IBM but the Chinese company LenNovo acquired the brand name and continued to build successors to the ThinkPad under is own name, LeNovo. But the original ThinkPads had an extraordinary build quality and they were indeed allowed in space, specifically on the International Space Station (ISS) The first ThinkPad to go into space was the 750C model in 1993. For many years, ThinkPads were the only laptops certified for use on the ISS. The brand has a strong loyalty following and there are some journalists who are prepared to forego some lack of features in return for the superior keyboard. ThinkPad keyboards are widely regarded as among the best, especially for touch typing, due to their clicky action, longer key travel, and overall tactile feedback Many users find them comfortable for extended typing sessions. They also incorporate unique features like the TrackPoint pointing device. While there are some differences in keyboard feel across different ThinkPad models, the overall quality and typing experience are generally considered high. ThinkPad keyboards tend to have a more pronounced click when keys are pressed, along with a greater distance that keys travel, which many users find more satisfying and easier to type on, The TrackPoint, a red nub in the centre of the keyboard, allows for cursor control without moving your hands off the keyboard, a feature appreciated by many. ThinkPads are known for their robust construction, including durable hinges, reinforced chassis, and spill-resistant keyboards. The keyboard layout and overall feel of ThinkPad keyboards are often praised for their suitability for touch typing and long-term use. So I have a degree of affection for my ThinkPad but as it was designed decades ago, the older models have a ridiculously small 40GB internal hard disk. I have extended this with one of those little 'nub' like SanDisk drives which SanDisk called 'Ultrafit' of 128Gb as well as a larger, credit card sized hard disk of 500Gb. So all in all, the number of USB ports is very limited and the external speakers would normally demand another USB port to draw some power. This is where an external Power Bank comes into play because you can use this as a power source thus obviating the need for an extra USB port. These are really thought of as emergency sources of power for one's phone when on the road but I have just purchased a high capacity one cheaply from the web. I wanted to see how long it would provide power for my speakers and discovered that whilst it takes some time to charge, it seems to provide about an hour's worth of power at the cost of 1% of its capacity. So if I play my ThinkPad for about an hour a day whilst in the study I will have about three months 'playing time' before I need to recharge it. I was also hunting for some classic photos including one of Meg pushing our son in a little pushcart when he was about 2 years old and I was glad to have rediscovered the location of this and one or two historic photos evidently scanned in at the time but the originals have been lost decades ago.
Our University of Birmingham friend called around this morning and, as usual, I was delighted to see him. We had a very serious discussion about lay ahead in the months and he gave me some very good and practical advice, much of which I am I will follow. Our The arrival of the late morning care workers is always a signal for our friend to depart and I always say goodbye to him with a heavy heart. The two care workers who called around today were the same two who called around four times yesterday so we decide collectively the next way to make Meg comfortable without unnecessary handling that might her cause her discomfort or actual pain. Then I proceed to cook my Sunday lunch which is to sear some chicken pieces and then have them cooked in a sweet and sour sauce in the microwave oven which I use a lot these days. I gave my son and his wife details of how to get to Clevedon to which we had been first introduced by our University of Birmingham friend and he had made his first visit there yesterday. It had evidently made quite an impression upon him because he had some of the best tapas ever in a restaurant overlooking the Bristol channel and had evidently taken on the delights of walking along the pier which has been described by Sir John Betjeman, that most notable lover of Victoriana, as 'the most beautiful pier in England'. When Meg was more mobile, my friend and I took het there on at least two if nor three occasions and we always enjoyed our excursions out there made more accessible by the fact it is easily reached from the M5 motorway. In the afternoon, as soon as lunch was over, I set myself the task of getting our front grassed area mown. Although the sun was a little overcast when I started, the clouds rolled away and I finished the task with the sun shining. Later on this afternoon, they are showing 'Paddington' for the umpteenth time. Although I have seen it several times, I still enjoy it tremendously and actually prefer the first film slightly to its successor, Paddington 2. I have always maintained it as much an adult's film as it is a children's with some interesting themes such as how, as a society, we react to strangers (even polite ones like Paddington) in our midst. The carers will come to Meg in the late afternoon and we may follow the pattern of the last day or so and actually put her to bed , but not actually go through the actual 'going to bed for the nighttime' routine until later on in the day.
© Mike Hart [2025]