First of all - hats off to MemoryStock.com! Free Shipping! that got here from Stockton, CA in about 48 hours. (Actually less, but I'm too lazy to calculate the exact time involved.) And the right part - the first time! Once I adjust my laptop's attitude, I am definitely going to order from them again.

Now for the bad news. I have an off-lease IBM ThinkPad R40e 2484-NU2 that we bought (okay, Frankie bought it) from a third-party on eBay. It's not the speediest of laptops and, in fact, came with only 384MB of RAM - of which, the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) recognizes about 366MB. (I'd swear the description didn't mention this dearth of RAM, but then I'm old and forget things.)

For an oldie, moldie laptop - at least the RAM is upgradable to 1GB. Unfortunately, the BIOS doesn't know that. So, we (meaning me) need to update the BIOS. Easy, peasy - right!? {buzzer} Nope!

In order to update the BIOS, I need a solid A/C connection and a fully charged battery. Go on the A/C; no-go on the battery. It quit charging about 6 (or more) months ago. Since the A/C works and I never (okay, hardly ever) accidentally pull out the adapter plug - not an issue. Plus - have you priced laptop batteries lately!?!

Well, now it's an issue. In order to use the RAM we just bought, I have to purchase the replacement battery that I have been trying desperately not to need. If you follow JMark Afghans on Twitter, you may have noticed a Tweet that mentions "Visions of Laptop as Frisbee {film at 11}" recently.

All I can say? If this $30 memory upgrade gets any more expensive? I'm buyin' a hammer. A really big hammer. {film at 11:15}