Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, May 15, 2021, or: Reflections for a Warm Spring Afternoon in Florida

Hi, Dear Reader. It’s early afternoon here in New Hometown, Florida on Saturday, May 15, 2021. It’s a warm late spring day; the current temperature is 83˚F(28˚C) under sunny skies. With humidity at 28% and the wind blowing from the east northeast at 8 MPH (13 KM/H), the feels-like temperature is 82˚F (28˚C). Today we can expect partly sunny skies and a high of 87˚F (30˚C). Tonight, the forecast calls for clear skies and a low of 63˚F (17˚C). The air quality index is 48 or Good.

My new Lenovo IdeaPad S340 laptop arrived late yesterday afternoon, so I charged the battery and downloaded Norton Lifelock 360 antivirus and Internet security software. Best Buy tried to get me to add a different company’s product when I ordered my new laptop, but I did not click on that option because I already have Norton and I had – until yesterday –  used only one of the 10  licenses I own.

There’s no way on Earth that I am going to use an Internet-connected computer without antivirus or Internet security protection, so my first priority – after charging the battery, natch – was to make sure I added Norton to my new laptop. That took a while because every time I get a new computer – which is probably every 5-10 years, depending on the make and circumstances at the time – I need time to get used to its keyboard, its features, and its operating system.

And because Lenovo and Microsoft Edge are security conscious, I had to download Norton via the Edge browser because the computer is set on a mode that only lets you use Edge and only edge. (I tried downloading Chrome, but my laptop sternly said that I had to get out of that security-conscious mode before I downloaded anything not available through the Microsoft Store. I was tired and just wanted my Norton Security stuff downloaded and installed, so I didn’t change that setting at that moment.

I also downloaded Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Music, two apps that are absolutely necessary to have on a computer with no DVD-ROM drive. I like listening to music when I write, so if I can’t pop in a CD into the DVD-ROM drive, I can’t play any music on the new computer unless I listen to stuff on YouTube or use an app like Pandora or Spotify. I already pay $7.99 a month for Amazon Music, so I went with that app.

Same goes for movies or TV shows. I can watch any of the 238 DVDs I have in my collection on my desktop PC because it has a DVD-ROM drive. But if I want to watch a movie on the new laptop, I need an app to watch any of the movies or TV shows that I have digital copies of in Movies Anywhere. I have Amazon Prime Video, so…..  

And, Dear Reader, that’s all I did with my new laptop last evening. I haven’t synched it to my Steam account yet, so I can’t play games on it, and I’m too tired- mentally and physically – to see if I can write something on  Word using my Lenovo IdeaPad, either with a wireless mouse or the trackpad/touchscreen.  And I still have not tried to access WordPress from the new computer, so…..

Well, that’s all the news I have to share with you for now, so I’ll close this up and bid you a fond “see you later.” Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.