Where Have You Been?

I am back! Did you miss me? Or, are you the type of person that didn’t even notice that I was gone? After all, since there was nothing to read on my blog, you probably assumed that I must have fallen off the edge of the earth or experienced some other such calamity, right? Hopefully, you did miss hearing from me on a semi regular basis, and now are so tickled to read my tidbits of wisdom again, that you can hardly read the letters on this page through the crocodile tears of joy welling up in your eyes. (Hey! A guy can always dream, can't he?)

So then, why it has taken me so long to get back to my writing online? Well, I could say that I was just being lazy and get on with the rest of this blog. Or, I could use the excuse that I just haven't written anything that was worthy of appearing on my blog. Or, I could say that I won the lottery and I'm now independently wealthy, and that I no longer feel the need to share my thoughts with the world. But, none of these explanations would be accurate.

The real reason that I haven't been writing is because my computer bit the dust! Crashed! Died! Stopped working! It is swimming with the fishes!

The slow march to recycling bin was not unexpected though. My computer had been staggering along like a boxer who received too many vicious shots to the jaw in a fight. Dazed and stumbling around the electronic metaphysical ring, my PC had not hit the canvas yet. It was hurt, I admit. But, I figure it would recover enough to battle another day after it got rubbed down by the trainer with a warm towel and inhaled some smelling salts. Unfortunately, before I knew it, the referee stopped the fight. My laptop was declared the loser.

My heart stopped at about the same time my computer screen flickered to darkness. I knew that I had a myriad of story ideas, unprinted digital pictures, and other things on it that I needed to save. But, what could I do?

Luckily, I was able to get some flickering life back to my screen. I discovered that by grabbing the power cord and twisting it back and forth and holding it at an angle, I could get my PC to work for scant few minutes at a time. It was then, during the cold and dark month of January, that I, while swearing under my breath and manipulating that wire for all that it was worth, was able to retrieve most of my files. In this way, I was able to save most of my important stuff.

What did I learn from this incident? I learned some valuable lessons that I would like to share with you today. So here goes...

First lesson: Always, always, always, BACK UP the information stored on your computer prior to it crashing.

In other words, don't assume that your computer will work forever. I have a friend who works at a large electronics retailer who related to me that he’s noticed that many computers built today will only last from 3 to 4 years. I haven't researched this tidbit of information to find out if it was totally accurate. But, his message to me was quite simple: Nothing lasts forever. In other words, don't treat your manuscripts, pictures, artwork, research, web page designs, login information, or other items stored on your PC so frivolously. Back them up! I learned the value and wisdom of this first lesson the hard way.

Second lesson: Always, always, always, BACK UP the information stored on your computer prior to it crashing.

If you forget this lesson, refer back to the first lesson.

Third lesson: Always, always, always, BACK UP the information stored on your computer prior to it crashing.

Are you seeing a pattern here yet? You should. Here are some ways that I am attempting to keep my work and family memories safe for future generations. Hopefully, one or more of these ideas will work for you, too!

I have started to back up my stories and pictures at least once a week on an external hard drive. My preferred schedule right now is to upload my information on Sunday nights while watching TV. This is fairly easy to do, and relatively quick. I just have to plug in my USB cord to my computer which leads to my external hard drive and … voila.

Another thing that I am doing for safety reasons is to email myself the manuscripts and notes that I've written, edited, or revised. I try to do this as soon as I finish working for the day. Whenever I write a new draft or come up with new story ideas, I email them to myself from one email address to another as an attachment. I use two different online email service providers so that in case one of the companies self destruct for any reason, I have a backup of my work at the other site. Low tech, but effective.

The last thing that I do to protect my files is to cross my fingers, and hope that my hard drive never completely has a meltdown and self-destructs. (Is crossing your fingers really a strategy?) As I found out when my desktop PC crashed a couple of years ago, there are several companies that can save your pictures and files from your computer hard drive. You just have to drop off your computer with them for a few hours. If you're lucky, magic happens, and the contents of your computer are saved on a brand-new external hard drive that you get to take home with you. A fee is charged for this service, but I found it more than adequate in order to recover pictures of my precious kids, my beautiful wife, and my beloved pets.

To conclude, I hope you are as happy to hear from me as I am to be back writing on my blog again. It's been a while, but with a little luck and proper precautions, computer crashes and the destruction left in the aftermath, will be a thing of the past for me and for you. Take care!