Battery Cycling

The "battery needs replacing" light on the UPS came on today along with the beeping alarm (which thankfully shuts off after a few minutes). The unit still works as a surge suppressor, so it wasn't a crisis, but this afternoon when work ended, I shut everything down, pulled the battery, and Lisa and I went into Reno/Sparks to replace the battery. It being a weekday afternoon before 5 PM, Lisa took the opportunity to make a few stops for things only available during regular work hours, like stopping at a welding-supply store to buy new safety glasses. (She generally wears a pair of shaded safety glasses as sunglasses, because the wrap-around portion shades her eyes from peripheral light.)

While making the rounds and driving along I-80, we spotted something along the railroad that is both ordinary but also out of place, and at Lisa's suggestion, I got off the freeway and managed to find a place where we could access the tracks.

( Lonely Amtrak Locomotive Wandering Sparks Yard )

After our various shopping trips and impromptu railfan side trip, we went to dinner at the Nugget Oyster Bar, as trying to fight our way across town to the Peppermill at the peak of rush hour seemed like a bad idea. Lisa drove us home after dinner and put the battery back into the UPS, then vacuumed under the desk while things were handily out of the way. Everything came back to life correctly, and we should be good to go for a couple more years of battery life.