The First Day of the Rest of My Life – What a Difference a Day or Two Make – November 7, 2019 – Day 66

I learned to take those experiences that were difficult in my life and in the adversity that I had overcome to use it for a positive change. - Dominique Moceanu

So, today is Day 68 of this “adventure.” It was actually a very good day. Yesterday, Wednesday and Day 67 was a good day, too, but today was better. There seems to be a trend going on here.

Meet my buddy, Bella. I'm not a cat person, but Bella has adopted me. She is cross between a feline and a canine. That is, she is a cat, but she has certain attributes we normally associate with dogs. She will come in, play “high 5” with me, very gently reach up and touch my face, nuzzle me to pet her and then she'll curl up and make herself at home as you see her in this photo. She can be feisty with other cats and is generally a loner. But, she does bring me some comfort.

Now, let's get back to the “adventure.” Eating improved slightly yesterday along with drinking. I still dealt with the massive fatigue and low energy problem. I had about my typical 4 hours of low energy productivity throughout the day with lots of resting and napping. But, I actually accomplished a few things.

Today was very interesting. I didn't get the usual amount of sleep last night that I've typically been getting, but that's probably because my mind turned on early and was busy thinking and planning. Breakfast wasn't so hot this morning. I ate some of it, but ended up throwing about two-thirds of it away. I don't like to waste food, but I just couldn't stomach it today. However, I had a great sandwich for lunch, I've been snacking and I had a decent dinner. Oh, and I've regained 3 pounds since Monday. That is a really positive direction.

But, the real change today was that I actually was productive for between 7 and 8 hours. WOW! That is fantastic. It's been weeks, maybe even a month or longer since I've had a day where I was able to keep both my body and mind actively productive for that long. I even went outside and walked almost a half a block and back and felt good. It was a dreary, cloudy, chilly, light rain, fall day today. So, that was kind of depressing.

Tomorrow, I might bundle up and try to walk a couple blocks out and back. The weather is not going to be great. We might see a little sun peeking through some snow showers and the temperature is only going to hit a high of 32 degrees in the afternoon. But, the wind chill factor will make it feel like it's in the teens and low 20s with blustery winds. Maybe that's exactly what I need.

But, I am getting more done or so it seems. And, for me, that's important. I do have my lazy tendencies. I won't deny that. However, as a lifelong serial entrepreneur, it's sort of genetically embedded in me to have my brain in gear (and that does require energy) and actually turn some of the thoughts into actions. Today, I felt like I accomplished some of that. It felt good. However, around 4 PM I finally ran out of power and the fatigue washed over me and I was down for most of the next couple of hours.

The other day I mentioned I had purchased and received a new computer. Lorraine and a few others commented and emailed me wanting to know more about the new computer. So, here are some photos and details about the computer.

As I recall, I mentioned that I'm a Lenovo fan. The ThinkPad series is their flagship business computer line. IBM originally introduced the ThinkPad as their entry into the personal computing industry a few decades ago. The computers were manufactured for them by Lenovo in China. Like other early personal computer competitors, IBM decided to leave that market and sold the line to Lenovo. Thus, the Lenovo ThinkPad. My son, a veteran graphic designer and Web developer adopted the ThinkPad as his primary computer a number of years ago, owning as many as three or four at a time for his work. About five or six years ago, he suggested I consider them. So, I did and I bought a used Lenovo ThinkPad T420s. I'm still using that computer.

The new computer is a ThinkPad T470. It's five generations newer than my T420s. It's new, not used or refurbished. I bought it directly from Lenovo. As you can see in the first photo, Lenovo doesn't monkey with cosmetics. They focus on building a solid, reliable and high-performance business computer. The new T470 is on the left and the old T420s is on the right in the photos. They are not pretty. They are practical, pragmatic computers. I don't buy a computer for how it looks. I buy a computer for how it works. ThinkPads are built to meet at least 12 military specifications.

They are not cheap. When they introduce a new generation (designated by the last two numbers in the model number – the first number indicates it has a 14” screen), depending on the amount of hard drive, RAM, processor, buss speed and graphics options you order, they typically begin at about $2,500 +/- a little. The current generation is the T490. So, my new computer is actually two-generations old. However, there are only minor differences between the 470 and 490 series. 

Lenovo has reduced the price for the T470 series to around $1,600 for my specific computer. However, I keep my antenna up for deals and I hit one when Lenovo sent me an email with a special limited-time price of $799.00, plus I qualified for a veteran discount. So, with free shipping and sales tax added, I paid just under $800 for this computer.

As you can see in the second photo, there is a considerable difference in the display. The 470 is quite a bit brighter and sharper than the display on the older 420s. Another feature in the new 470 is the touchscreen. I'm really liking this. Additionally the specs are considerably better on the new 470. Here is a basic list of the important specs:

T420s                                            T470

Intel i5 processor Intel                   i7 processor (5 generations newer)

512 GB SATA hard drive               512 GB SSD (solid-state drive)

8 GB of RAM                                16 GB of faster RAM

5 generation older display              5 generations newer, WAY better display

5 generation older graphics card    5 generation newer improved graphics card

No Touchscreen                              Touchscreen

No backlighted keyboard                Backlighted keyboard

Windows 7                                      Windows 10 Pro latest version

A few hours of battery life              12 to 13 hours of battery life (dual batteries)

And, there are other much better specs. The major thing is that this new computer is infinitely faster than my older 420s. It also operates cooler, probably due to the improved processor and the SSD. It also has a 720p HD video camera, considerably improved audio and it's just a solid computer. Oh yeah! And, I can use it in either a standard laptop computer mode or as a tablet at the flick of a menu switch. In the photo below, you can see the backlit keyboard. It turns on or off by pressing the FN key and the space bar.

It's a solid, reliable, durable computer. Like I said earlier. It may not be the prettiest computer on the shelf, but it is a solid performer. So, if I sound like I'm pleased, I am. Today, I ordered a 27” monitor to hook up to the computer to give me a better audio, video and photo editing/production capability/experience. With my Sony professional studio quality headphones or a decent set of reference monitors, I have a very nice Digital Audio Workstation and Non-Linear Video editing/production capability.

You may not need all the power I was looking for (and this computer is still expandable) nor the durability or reliability. There are a lot of decent computers on the market for half the price I paid for this one. And, they are prettier, too. But, for raw, solid, computing power, if that's what you're looking for, I'd look into the Lenovo computers. They also have several other lines designed for gaming, more general computing and other kinds of flexibility. So, you might consider something other than the ThinkPad line.

Well, that's all the energy I have for tonight. I hope I gave you enough (probably more than you wanted) information about my new computer. So, with that . . .

Live free and be happy. EH