There's something so satisfying about keeping an old computer running.

My sister-in-law just gave me a couple decade-old laptops. They were running Windows 7! (Barely). Swapped in an SSD, installed Linux Mint, and had one ready to serve for another decade. The other one gave me a fan error and needed a new CMOS battery. The battery was on the bottom of the motherboard--classic planned obsolescence. Every little microscopic screw had to come out of that bastard. But I got to the battery. And I found a big wad of hair blocking the fan.

I thought, there's no way this thing is going to work if I get it back together. But it did! A quick rub-down with rubbing alcohol and the same Linux treatment as the first one and now I've got two thumbs and a couple extra laptops. These things can take a surprising amount of abuse.

I'm thinking Golden Boy might be doing better for the dose of caffeine! If you can track down an old business class Lenovo Thinkpad, they've actually got drainage holes for just such occasions.