2019 – TJ Online

Extending the Life of an Old Laptop with Linux

December 31, 2019December 31, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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My parents have a number of computers at their place, the oldest of which is an 11-year old Compaq laptop. The laptop still works fine, but it’s not really usable anymore mostly because of software. Yes, all of our smartphones and tablets that we bought within the last 5 years probably has more compute power than this laptop, but the main reason it can’t be used is because it has Windows Vista. Windows Vista is so old that even Chrome or Firefox don’t support it anymore. Running a Windows machines without updated software is a bad idea. My parents still wanted to keep the laptop around just in case, so I turned to Linux to extend the life of this old laptop.

Linux on Old Laptop — Getting into the Linux game with the old Compaq A939CA laptop

New Monitor: HP Pavilion 32″ Display (4WH45AA)

December 4, 2019December 8, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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Black Friday was the biggest shopping day of the year in the US, and this year I bought a few things for myself. One of my purchases was a new 32-inch LCD Monitor to replace the 24-inch one that I currently have at home. My old Dell 24″ monitor still works fine, but I got used to having two 30″ monitors at work so I wanted a larger monitor at home as well. I ended up getting a 32″ unit from HP (model no. 4WH45AA). Here are my first impressions of my big new monitor.

New Tablet: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2019)

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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Thanksgiving and Black Friday are just around the corner, which means it’s time to spend that hard-earned cash. While I’m still waiting to see if there is some deals to be had on the days of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, I picked up a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 tablet for my parents, and here are just some quick initial thoughts.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 box — New gadget time!

Fun in the Fall

November 18, 2019November 18, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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Fall is coming to a close now, and it’s time to recap all the new and fun experiences of the past season. In addition to the small outings in this post, I went on a family trip through Yellowstone. I don’t know when the meteorological season ends exactly, but most of the fall foliage is gone and we are getting to the grey and dreary weather that is typical of the Pacific Northwest winter. Here are the highlights of what I’ve been up to in the past three months.

Hiked up to Mount Si. Not as tough as Mailbox, but still plenty strenuous. Saw some snowflakes falling while at the summit.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton Trip

October 13, 2019October 13, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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A few weeks ago, I went on a family road trip through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and also visited Craters of the Moon National Monument. This was my biggest road trip since driving across the US for my move to Seattle. The abundant wild life and wonderful geothermal features of Yellowstone, the majestic mountains of Grand Teton, and the strange landscape of Craters of the Moon made for another great trip. Here’s a look back on the trip with lots of photo highlights.

Classic view of the Tetons at Oxbow Bend of the Snake River

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TonyJiang.com: Year 13!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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It’s that time of the year again! No, it’s not Christmas yet. It’s the anniversary of my domain woo hoo!!! 13 years and still chugging along.

In recent years, I haven’t focused too much on my websites, and so not much to report. No major changes in terms of the look and content, and of course ad revenue and traffic are trending down every year. There were some big changes in my life as I moved all the way across the country back to the Pacific Northwest. I’m definitely happier than I was a year ago, so maybe that’ll translate into me putting some work into these websites…? Or at least I’ll try to update this blog more often lol.

Shimmying Through Summer

August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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It’s getting to near the end of August already, which means the summer is almost over. I’ve tried to take advantage of the nice weather we have in the Pacific Northwest and go explore the outdoors during the weekends. Here are some photo highlights of what I’ve been up to in the last 2 months.

Views of Mount Rainier and all around from the top of Granite Mountain (click to enlarge)

Springing Through Spring

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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It’s been almost 3 months since I’ve posted here so it’s time again to share what I’ve been up to. The warmer and less rainy weather in Spring meant more opportunities to go hiking and enjoy the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest. Here are some photo highlights of my adventures through spring of 2019.

Not sure where the other 21 lakes are, but Lake 22 in the Cascades is gorgeous, and still had a bit a snow when we visited.

Unexpected New Laptop: Dell Latitude 7390 2-in-1

April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 TJ 1 Comment
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I ended up getting an unexpected new laptop. True story. I was happy with my 2.5-yr old Dell Latitude E7270, but an issue popped up and I ended up with a newer Latitude 7390 2-in-1 as a warranty exchange. Here is what I thought of the replacement and a quick comparison to the E7270.

Dell Latitude 7390 2-in-1 on — Turned the computer on after finally figuring out where the power button was

Las Vegas and Grand Canyon Trip

April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 TJ Leave a comment
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Other than working and hanging around the Pacific Northwest, I also recent took a family trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. I haven’t been to Las Vegas since high school, and have never been to the Grand Canyon before. It was a fun trip, and here are some highlights.