Dedication (again): Yousef, you're the reason why I keep trying.
It has been about a year and a half since I moved. I have survived two winters, completely off-grid. It hasn't been easy, but it has been interesting. I've learned a lot!
Specific to this story, I've learned a lot about electricity, and efficiency. More specifically, I've learned to appreciate my Raspberry Pi. Please, keep reading!
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In the beginning, electricity was plentiful! I has cheezeburgerz! And my own apartment, complete with hot and cold running water and hydro!
When I bought my first Pi (Mk 3B), I was just curious. I'd 'heard' good things about it online, and I wanted to see for myself. I was honestly surprised, even then, by the capabilities of this tiny 5-watt computer. It couldn't ever compare to my 700-watt PC, obviously, but that's literally an unfair comparison! Yet, there were many things that this little-computer-that-could...did.
When the Pi Mk4 was released, it didn't take any convincing, I bought the 8GB model as soon as I could afford one.
Honestly, even then, that Pi4 was still competing with my gaming PC. So it was given the role of turning my bedroom TV into a 'smart' TV, a task that even the Mk3 would have no trouble with.
Life was good! I had a PC in the living room, and a Pi4-powered 'smart' TV in the bedroom!
---
Then, my Dad asked for my help. Of course, I said 'Yes!' immediately! Because my Dad has always immediately said yes when I've asked him for help...I love my Dad, he's my hero.
And that was the day that electricity (and water on tap) died. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! I am now caretaker of my dad's property. But that property is...under-devloped. There is no running water, nor sewage, nor on-grid electricity...
---
I still had my Dell Precision m4500 laptop to fall back on...my 'Laptop Corvette'. I'd upgraded that thing to the max, i7-840m, 16gb of RAM, and SSD storage. Like the car, she had a cooling problem, and that problem eventually destroyed the onboard GPU. I knew she was as old as a Stingray, but it still hurt when I said...'She's dead, Jim!'
That was last winter...
At that time, I still didn't understand why off-grid power didn't like my 'Laptop Corvette'!
But this isn't a story about Dell, or laptops.
This story's title is 'Living the Pi Life'
And it has only just begun.
Chapter Two coming soon.
It has been about a year and a half since I moved. I have survived two winters, completely off-grid. It hasn't been easy, but it has been interesting. I've learned a lot!
Specific to this story, I've learned a lot about electricity, and efficiency. More specifically, I've learned to appreciate my Raspberry Pi. Please, keep reading!
---
In the beginning, electricity was plentiful! I has cheezeburgerz! And my own apartment, complete with hot and cold running water and hydro!
When I bought my first Pi (Mk 3B), I was just curious. I'd 'heard' good things about it online, and I wanted to see for myself. I was honestly surprised, even then, by the capabilities of this tiny 5-watt computer. It couldn't ever compare to my 700-watt PC, obviously, but that's literally an unfair comparison! Yet, there were many things that this little-computer-that-could...did.
When the Pi Mk4 was released, it didn't take any convincing, I bought the 8GB model as soon as I could afford one.
Honestly, even then, that Pi4 was still competing with my gaming PC. So it was given the role of turning my bedroom TV into a 'smart' TV, a task that even the Mk3 would have no trouble with.
Life was good! I had a PC in the living room, and a Pi4-powered 'smart' TV in the bedroom!
---
Then, my Dad asked for my help. Of course, I said 'Yes!' immediately! Because my Dad has always immediately said yes when I've asked him for help...I love my Dad, he's my hero.
And that was the day that electricity (and water on tap) died. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! I am now caretaker of my dad's property. But that property is...under-devloped. There is no running water, nor sewage, nor on-grid electricity...
---
I still had my Dell Precision m4500 laptop to fall back on...my 'Laptop Corvette'. I'd upgraded that thing to the max, i7-840m, 16gb of RAM, and SSD storage. Like the car, she had a cooling problem, and that problem eventually destroyed the onboard GPU. I knew she was as old as a Stingray, but it still hurt when I said...'She's dead, Jim!'
That was last winter...
At that time, I still didn't understand why off-grid power didn't like my 'Laptop Corvette'!
But this isn't a story about Dell, or laptops.
This story's title is 'Living the Pi Life'
And it has only just begun.
Chapter Two coming soon.
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