Originally posted by DonWolfo
Good luck for your computer
Thank you, I hope I can get the problem taken care of while I'm at work tomorrow. It's weird, everything was working as usual until some time last evening.
I got this laptop around four years ago, would be a little early to buy a new one already, I think.
Basically you dont need a battery in your laptop. Try to remove it from laptop, it should be easy. Plug in your laptop to network and turn on. Maybe your slowness issues are caused by your computer trying to charge your battery.
Originally posted by heimdall1988
Basically you dont need a battery in your laptop. Try to remove it from laptop, it should be easy. Plug in your laptop to network and turn on. Maybe your slowness issues are caused by your computer trying to charge your battery.
Well, you do need it if you plan to use your laptop on the go.
And the battery is not directly removable, at least not without opening the case and unscrewing it and all. If I still had one of those older models with the removable batteries, I already would have tried disconnecting it, which had already solved some issues in the past with one of my older ones.
To give an update about this, the repair shop is currently checking with the manufacturer whether a certain battery they have would be a fit for my exact model. If it is, it shouldn't be a big deal to exchange it, I should hear about it later.
If this is a cheaper laptop 4 years are a lot of time. Older ones like IBM (Lenovo) or HP have no problems to run more then 4 years (used them normaly at work) and when you did not play crazy games power for poker is always enough
Originally posted by DonWolfo
If this is a cheaper laptop 4 years are a lot of time. Older ones like IBM (Lenovo) or HP have no problems to run more then 4 years (used them normaly at work) and when you did not play crazy games power for poker is always enough
The repair shop also told me that a battery failure after four years of continuous use is not necessarily unusual. I guess the laptop was in the mid-range when it comes to the price, I think I paid around €800 for it? Back then, of course, prices were completely different to what we're used to today.
I heard back from the shop regarding that new battery... it's €108, with an extra €30 for installation, and two weeks of delivery time. I told them that they will hear back from me tomorrow, but honestly... I'm considering looking for an entirely new laptop by now. I will have a look around, I'm pretty sure those things got pretty expensive by now too.
30 for installation is a scam :). You can do it by yourself, its not complicated. Also you can buy unoriginal battery for a half price.
Originally posted by heimdall1988
30 for installation is a scam :). You can do it by yourself, its not complicated. Also you can buy unoriginal battery for a half price.
I agree, and I expect the price for the battery itself has some huge markup as well. I have had some worrying experiences with that repair shop before when it comes to pricing, but in this case, I was interested in getting this issue fixed quickly. In fact, I made sure not to mention the slow speed of my laptop to them, because I suspected that they may use it as an excuse to run an all-day long virus scan and charge me accordingly.
As for third party batteries, I have had bad experiences in the past with them too, so I decided to stick to original parts only, even if it's a little more expensive. My mechanical skills are usually up to the task, but when it comes to PCs, I'd prefer to leave it to the pros. I've modded old games consoles before, it's not a huge deal if they break, but my main laptop is more important.
Anyway, I decided that I might as well just buy a new laptop tomorrow after work. Maybe I would have taken the battery if it had been immediately available, but using the laptop in this state is not very fun, so I wouldn't like to wait two more weeks - especially for such an unreasonable price. My current laptop has other problems too, like a defective earphone jack, some damage to the casing, and a few keys were a little unresponsive too until recently. Also, the touchpad was pretty bad since day one, just by design, and the short power cord has always been a bit of an annoyance. I already thought before that in one or two years, I might look into buying a new one anyway, demoting my current laptop to a backup PC.
I found some offers for decent models in the range of €600 to €1K. I think I'd rather spend that much on a brand new one than put up €140 to keep the old one around for a for more years.
By the way, it got even better last night, when I was just about to wrap things up on my PC and had a complete power outage at home all of a sudden. 
And since my laptop now only works if it is plugged into the wall, it immediately shut itself down too, so I was sitting in complete darkness with no light source whatsoever from one moment to the other, leaving me with no choice but to stumble through the house trying to locate one of my flashlights, so I could at least prepare to go to bed. Luckily, the lights were back on within about half an hour, and my alarm clocks have a battery backup so they don't need to be reset immediately when things like that happen.
Let's see how it goes, trying to hunt for a new laptop tomorrow. If I manage to pick up a new one, I expect I will be busy trying to properly set it up until the weekend. It can take a while until you have installed everything, transferred everything, and made the new machine at least somewhat privacy-friendly, which tends to be an issue with modern technology in general.
Sorry about that, I know most of you care more about poker updates than sports updates and the like, but for the time being, I guess it will be mostly tech updates. 
Maybe Primrose will have something else to add soon, at least - if nothing else, we may see a few more FTs from her this weekend.
Ah, and congrats to both of us for completing our first 2 minutes plank today. 
Plenty more where that came from - our goal is to eventually hold the plank for 5 minutes, after all.
Tech Update
I went to a local store to see what kinds of notebooks they had on offer. My main requirements were at least 1 TB disc space, a performance that is at the very least equal to my old machine but ideally higher, and a price below €1K. Turns out the disc space requirement made it a little tough to stay below 1K. There were a few models just barely below that threshold, but they all had some kind of dealbreaker, or at least something that made me be less than convinced about them.
I mentioned that I didn't like the touchpad on my current laptop, but unfortunately, this kind of design seems to be standard these days. I miss the old ones with actual buttons. Oh, and one otherwise quite passable notebook got the axe at the last moment when I noticed that the keyboard didn't have a numpad, which is a definite dealbreaker for me.
Unfortunately, I was not sold on any of the models that were immediately available, so we had to settle for another one that will be shipped to me within two weeks. In the end, I went for a Medion Akoya E16433.
At €650, it seemed like a good deal. It has my minimum 1 TB of space, more RAM than my old machine, better performance in general, and it is also slightly larger. I don't like that it only has two standard USB-ports, but it will have to do. It does have HDMI, which was also important, but most models these days should have it anyway.
Now the only problem is that I will have to wait up to two weeks until it gets delivered to me. Until then, my old one will have to do, and yes, it is pretty darn slow. I'm not doing too many resource-heavy things at the moment, but even just typing is a hassle. Prim and I resort to playing mahjong instead of Overcooked together after work, and I'm not sure how well poker would work... I wouldn't even want to play chess puzzles against other people with this one.
Using that laptop still feels like driving my car last December, with that constant "emergency" mode that locked me into a snail's pace. It will have to do for one or two weeks more, however.
We might not see any poker updates this weekend, as I heard that even Primrose will be away on some kind of meetup with her tennis colleagues. I could have at least played the mahjong freeroll, but I might skip it, I imagine it would be a bit more resource-heavy and laggy than poker, for example.
The mahjong games that I play with Prim on Steam are pretty nice, though - and after some back-and-forth trolling between the two of us, I was even on the brink of making what I consider this game's version of the Royal Flush today. Primrose had a ready hand too.
The pushups workout has been going surprisingly well, to the point that I found myself wondering if I was accidentally cutting any corners. I already did 47 reps at the end of yesterday's workout, so I guess I could move on to Week 6 already, but I think I will still do my proper test tomorrow. Not sure if I will have time for a swim either, with new goals, now that the Silver lifeguard badge is secured. I have another badge to collect tomorrow, after all. 
And remember, Prim: We have to do another 2 minutes plank tomorrow. 
Here it is: Trollympic Gold for Harrier, Pokerstrategy's only contestant at the Trollympics last year. Formally, it is known as the German Sports Badge, of course, an official medal of the Federal Republic of Germany, in use since 1913. You followed my progress last year on the Troll Challenges blog, and today, the awards have finally been handed out.
In total, 31 badges have been awarded today in my hometown, 20 of which being in Gold, and I think it was 8 Silver and 3 Bronze. As you can see, most people who decide to go for the badge already have a solid athletic foundation to build on. For most of them, it was not the first time either, some have been collecting that badge for over a decade, sometimes even two, I think.
The organizer even made a special mention about me in his opening speech, as the guy who made his first appearance last year, but immediately "tasted blood" and wouldn't settle for Bronze. He also described how I kept showing up for all kinds of events even after already achieving Gold, adding "even though he sometimes made me roll my eyes with his special requests for yet another go at this or that event".
Here's the certificate, presented by Trimmy and Misha.
And here is the actual badge again, presented by Sonic and Tails, my other two sports mascots since Christmas last year, even though it is tiny in relation to their size:
You can be sure that I will be back this year. And who knows, maybe even Primrose will join in this time...
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Congratulations on your Gold performance!
Thank you very much! I hope I can repeat that performance this year, with some new events and new personal bests.
I will be informed when the "Trollympics 2024" will begin, but the expected start is June 10th, with five sessions before the summer holidays and five sessions afterwards.
This should give me plenty of time to work on my stamina, I'm looking forward to re-introduce jogging sessions to my schedule, now that the days are getting longer. Also, I want to practice my front crawl for the swimming events, which I guess will be my next aquatic challenge, with the lifeguard badge being essentially locked up now.
With my current PC troubles turning mundane tasks into a struggle, it can be easy to forget about this week's menu, so let's get it out of the way. For the second time in a row, sandwiches were our motto. I made them on Tuesday.
This time, I wanted to make a version of the classic meatball sandwiches that I often put together in my youth when my father was making those German-style pork meatballs for lunch. The meatballs, known as frikadellen over here, were prepared as usual, with some onions added towards the end.
Instead of putting them into regular rolls, I cut the meatballs in half and used them to stuff these subs.
The other fillings were identical to the ones I would use for the standard sandwiches back in the day. First some slices of processed chester cheese, the sautéed onions, as well as some roasted onions...
...and finally some bacon and barbecue sauce.
It may not look like the kind of food for someone who is about to start a jogging program, but it was tasty and filling nonetheless.
Maybe you should try mixing all the ingredients in a blender and eat it with a spoon. Less time to chew, so more time to run 
Originally posted by Zeezout
Maybe you should try mixing all the ingredients in a blender and eat it with a spoon. Less time to chew, so more time to run
Is that the kind of food that runners get during a feeding stop in an ultra-marathon? 
Admittedly, I never kept a very close eye on nutrition, but I don't think I'm terrible in that regard either. And it's not like I'm trying to lose weight, I'm happy to keep it in my current range.
I miss poker. I really do. Still, it will have to be postponed until I receive my new PC and got it up and running. Hopefully, I can also get those crypto-based OFC tables running again at that point, while we're at it.
Not sure if Primrose will have time for poker this week, I believe she may have some tennis matches on the weekend. If she can't cover for me at the tables, however, we still have our other challenges:
Today was especially tough, and believe Prim had to skip yesterday? If so, that's okay, we will continue as usual. Congrats to both of us for keeping it up so far. Also, we made it to the halfway point in the program.
Next week's schedule:
Monday: 2:00 minutes
Tuesday: 2x 1:15 minutes (1:30 minutes rest)
Wednesday: 2:00 minutes
Thursday: 2x 1:15 minutes (1:30 minutes rest)
Friday: 2:30 minutes
Saturday: rest day
Sunday: 2:30 minutes
2:30 minutes now? 
Well, we're aiming for twice that time in a few more weeks.
I did another test yesterday, I managed 47 reps once again, just like at the end of Friday's workout. This means that I can finally move on to Week 6, albeit at the lowest column in the program. Potentially, this would be the final week before going for the 100 consecutive pushups, but I expect I will have to repeat it at least once before I'm ready.
My schedule:
Monday: 25, 30, 20, 15 and 40+ reps
Wednesday: 14, 14, 15, 15, 14, 14, 10, 10 and 44+ reps
Friday: 13, 13, 17, 17, 16, 16, 14, 14 and 50+ reps
Nine sets now on Wednesday and Friday? Well, get down and get busy, ya wimpy squirrel! We're getting ready for the 100 reps.
That should give us plenty to do already, but you know - it was mostly the winter workout for us. Today is a lovely mild day already, spring is in the air, and... do I smell barbecue outside right now? I think I do. 
The warmer seasons will give us plenty of opportunities for further sporting challenges. Stay tuned...
Hope the things with your laptop will come to a good end. I think I have the right equipment for your cooking ordering today this one.
Originally posted by DonWolfo
Hope the things with your laptop will come to a good end. I think I have the right equipment for your cooking ordering today this one.
It surely will, I just have to wait up to two long weeks until the new laptop arrives, and deal with my barely functional old one until then.
What exactly is that device in your post? It looks like a grill, but it also comes with some kind of press? Is it for cooking meat or toasting bread, or possibly both?
Beyond 5K?
Gold in the Trollympics overall last year was a great achievement, but I did not manage to achieve Gold in a single stamina event, having to rely on extra credit from my Gold swimming badge instead. You may remember my Road to 5K challenge that I did last fall, culminating in a 5,000 meter run in 30 minutes flat in December.
Another challenge was passed that day, but we don't want to stop there, do we? We are not quite on Gold pace yet in either the 3,000 or 10K meters, and wouldn't it be cool to participate in a proper public race at one point too? This means that I will have to improve.
For this, I have had a look around on the Runner's World website once again, where I also got my training schedule for the 5K run challenge. I found several suitable schedules, one that is supposed to prepare me for a 10K run instead, and one that aims for a 5K run below 20 minutes. Unlike my old 5K plan, both of these schedules mostly rely on distances rather than running time on each training day. The problem with that is while time is easy to measure, distances can be a bit more complicated in the open, and I don't plan to go to a running track every single time.
In order to be able to compile a good running plan, I have had a look online to measure the distances of a couple of footpaths near me. Since the plans from Runner's World use miles for their training targets, that what I was using there too. I found two different courses near me:
This one could be my new standard running track, it measures just about 2 miles. I would have to run more than that on any day, of course, but I can always take multiple laps to get to the required distance, which should be easy to do, since this route automatically gets me back to my starting place again.
Sometimes, however, an additional lap might be too much. For that, I have found a shorter alternative route:
At only roughly 1.3 miles, this could be a nice filler if another 2 miles would just be too long. And once again, I can take several laps in order to get to the distance I need.
In general, those paths are more or less where I did my training for the 5K run too, but since my targets were based on running time, I just went wherever I saw fit. The terrain is just as hilly as ever, giving me an additional challenge during those runs.
This should give me all the tools to work with. Now the only question is when I will start, and what goals I will be setting for myself. And this will be a matter for another day.
