Jessie and the HP DV6-1230us prohibitively large battery

Jessie bought a laptop! After months of deliberation and study, Jessie decided on purchasing an HP laptop in a DV6 chassis with a T6500 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and at least a 250GB hard drive. Fortunately, OfficeMax not only has a great deal on one (a DV6-1230US), but there's a $50 rebate at PriceGrabber on the model! Fantastic, right?

Not exactly. We noticed that OfficeMax (and BestBuy) display the models in the store without a battery installed. We figured this had something to do with preventing anyone from stealing a battery, and it was nothing we should worry about. When we get to the checkout line, we notice that the side of the DV6-1230US box says "12-cell battery". We both wonder if that's a typo. 12? Really? Certainly they meant 6. Right? How could it be 12? That must be one fancy long-lasting battery, right?

Not exactly. It's just two 6 cell batteries shoved into the same package. Note that the DV6 chassis is designed for a 6 cell battery. As a consequence, it looks like your laptop is sitting on top of another battery to prop it up. Here's an image from the side (with laptop upside down to see the battery):

Here's an image from the back (again, with laptop upside down):

Check out the size of that wart! That's not portable! That's not going to fit in any laptop bag/pouch/etc!

We could purchase a 6-cell battery on-line for around $80, but for all we know the DV6-1230US needs the extra under-laptop space for ventilation. It's crazy upsetting. I guess it's not surprising that you get screwed when you ask for "service" from a company that goes by the name of "Huge Pecker."

We've landed!

Two movers, a truck, three cars, a flight of stairs, and more trips to Meijer than you can count, and we're finally here.

Fritz has had the hardest time adjusting. Scratching has been particularly difficult on the wood floors; it's hard to scratch your ear with your back legs when your front legs keep slipping out from underneath you. Plus, just when he learned how to run on wood floors, we gave him a soft blanket to use on the hard kitchen floor; while chasing the ball, Fritz wasn't able to quickly recalibrate — he hit the blanket at top speed, slid, tried to turn, and fell sideways against the hard floor with a thump. Fortunately, the only lasting injury was to his pride.

Our 19th century shotgun apartment includes a huge bedroom and three closets. Unfortunately, the architect put the closets two rooms away in the office. So we visited IKEA to get three easy-to-assemble wardrobes. A long car ride and twelve hours later, two are in place and the third still sits in a box downstairs waiting for someone to build up the stamina to carry it piece-by-piece up the stairs. We had to use two pieces of plywood, two Quick Grips, a large C clamp, and a diamond-coated file to get the tracks pushed into the wood. IKEA probably has some great hinges, but they need some work on their sliding doors. Hopefully the purple bruises on Ted's hands will clear up by Winter Solstice.

All of that being said, it's nice to be within walking distance of coffee shops, a movie theatre, restaurants, grocery stores, and a dog-friendly ACE hardware (the C clamp was Fritz's idea). We've also been enjoying the beautiful park across the street; Fritz is waiting for the day we let him swim in the lake.

Updates will follow!