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I've not been on LJ for a while. I was having a sort of *Long Dark Teatime of the Soul* (thank you, Douglas Adams), and just wasn't feeling like communicating with people via LJ much.
And then my aunt's longtime companion died, and I went out to CA for the funeral. Which was sad...although not totally unexpected, because he'd been quite sick for two years, and was slowly declining. The funeral was really quite good--and the minister was kind. It reinforced for me that one of the primary qulities necessary in *the clergy* is simple kindness, genuine caring. He didn't know Bill, but he did the work necessary to speak to people close to him to get a good picture of the man. And he made great choices of quotes...not just from the bible, but from literature and poetry. And the final bit for the burial itself was from the Carmina Gaeldica. I was impressed when I heard that one.
Then I came home and my hard drive decided to eat itself. Ray the Wonderful tried many tricks, but no data could be saved. And there really was no joy in Mudville, because it had been a while since I'd backed up the drive...and I wasn't sure I could FIND the CDs I had backed up. And my house wights aren't always cooperative. ;)
But then, after Ray dropped in a new hard drive and reloaded my OS... and as I was reloading accessory programs, I started coming across CDs that look *vaguely* familiar, and when I checked, they HAD much of my background data. And I even managed to find two CDs that had some of the MILLIONS of classes I've been transcribing (OK, so it only seems like millions). And so, I have managed to cobble together about 70% of what was actually on the old hard drive. And life suddenly didn't seem so bleak.
Lesson to take from the horrible death of my computer is...back up your hard drive. Do it often. I've set my calendar to remind me to back the fucker up at least once a month. The cruel irony was that I was getting ready to put the damn CD into the tray to back up the latest round of classes when my computer suddenly decided it was just done and that suicide was the only option. So, remind me...the Gods have a sense of humor and we are their playthings, right? :)
And then my aunt's longtime companion died, and I went out to CA for the funeral. Which was sad...although not totally unexpected, because he'd been quite sick for two years, and was slowly declining. The funeral was really quite good--and the minister was kind. It reinforced for me that one of the primary qulities necessary in *the clergy* is simple kindness, genuine caring. He didn't know Bill, but he did the work necessary to speak to people close to him to get a good picture of the man. And he made great choices of quotes...not just from the bible, but from literature and poetry. And the final bit for the burial itself was from the Carmina Gaeldica. I was impressed when I heard that one.
Then I came home and my hard drive decided to eat itself. Ray the Wonderful tried many tricks, but no data could be saved. And there really was no joy in Mudville, because it had been a while since I'd backed up the drive...and I wasn't sure I could FIND the CDs I had backed up. And my house wights aren't always cooperative. ;)
But then, after Ray dropped in a new hard drive and reloaded my OS... and as I was reloading accessory programs, I started coming across CDs that look *vaguely* familiar, and when I checked, they HAD much of my background data. And I even managed to find two CDs that had some of the MILLIONS of classes I've been transcribing (OK, so it only seems like millions). And so, I have managed to cobble together about 70% of what was actually on the old hard drive. And life suddenly didn't seem so bleak.
Lesson to take from the horrible death of my computer is...back up your hard drive. Do it often. I've set my calendar to remind me to back the fucker up at least once a month. The cruel irony was that I was getting ready to put the damn CD into the tray to back up the latest round of classes when my computer suddenly decided it was just done and that suicide was the only option. So, remind me...the Gods have a sense of humor and we are their playthings, right? :)