Plan
2010-08-30 09:26

I was paying $50 a month for 50 Gigs of offsite backup space from iBackup, which is a good service. I need more space than that. The next tier is 100 Gigs for $100. If I'm really going to back up everything (music, images) I need more than that, too.

We're data heavy. I have 150+ Gigs of data, and it's growing quickly because of my e-book project. Jeanne has around 50 Gigs on her machine. So our total load is 200 Gigs and growing.

I tried moving our backups to my Web server, where I have 250 Gigs available. But there's the matter of trying to push data through the Internet (this affects both iBackup and my Web server). At 1.5Mbps, 100 Gigs takes a bit more than six days. The way incremental backups work, you have to either do a fresh, new upload of the whole wad every month or so, or watch as your backup files grow into monster size. So when you're dealing with a lot of data, FTP uploads over the Internet become impractical.

As I've alluded to before, we've gone to local backups. I finished the setup yesterday, and it seems to be humming along. We each keep an external 1TB drive on our desks, and use Norton Ghost to back up to it nightly. I installed a 2TB drive over in the barn, and Ghost clones the backups over there every night. Double backup, two locations. I added new big-boy surge protectors, power conditioners, and backup power supplies. So we're in good shape.

Total cost about $600. Backs up much more data than before and pays for itself in six months.

The
2010-08-30 09:01

I read a sentence in a magazine that went something like this: ". . . including Bob Smith (a biologist), John Jones (a State Department representative), Mary Brown (an environmental activist), and George Soros (the investor and financier).

Soros was "the." The others were "a" or "an." That struck me. At first I thought that we should all aspire to be a "the." But that would include "the notorious serial killer," and "the guy who puked on my dress."

Then I realized that each of us is already "the." Each of us is more than one "the." The question is, What "the" do you want to be? The accountant on the fourth floor with the bed-head? Maybe the driving force behind the community theater, or the guy at the convenience store who's always so polite.

It's worthwhile to figure out the most important "the" that you are. The top-tier "the" that most people would accept as your defining description. The "the" that sets you apart. If you can't come up with one, or if the one you come up with isn't particularly flattering, you have some work to do.

I have some work to do.

Peepers
2010-08-30 08:46

The quail are still here, which is fun, but they really need to move on before Buzzy gets lucky.

Drudge
2010-08-30 08:22

Drudge knows how to touch a nerve. He calls this "Summer Snapshots":

Quail
2010-08-27 10:28

This morning we have three Bob-white quail under our feeder. A rarity; the fire ants make it hard for ground-nesting birds to survive. As does mowing. As does Buzzy.

Women
2010-08-27 10:26

Last night I began telling Jeanne all about my new SATA data cable, but I could tell she wasn't interested. Women always complain that men don't communicate, but when you try your best . . . I tell you, it's frustrating as hell.

Noise
2010-08-26 09:15

Update. New drive is silent. The noise wasn't its fault. The data cable (provided by me) had a big plug that touched the door of the PC case, transmitting vibrations to the door and turning it into a tympani (or tympano, if you must). I took off the door, and it's silent. Then I ordered a new SATA cable.

Also. Norton Ghost ($24 from Amazon) seems to be working flawlessly as backup software. No fuss, no muss. Much, much, much better than my previous Backup4All software. I think I'm going to be able to do both local and remote (FTP) backups efficiently. More testing for a few days.

Good yolk
2010-08-26 08:58

Someone at AP should go to jail for this headline: http://yhoo.it/daJyF7

Drive
2010-08-25 11:10

New drive up and running. All is working. The drive is noisier than I expected, though. My other two drives (same brand) are basically silent. This one sounds like drives used to sound like.

Blue-light special
2010-08-25 08:35

I have a super-special relationship with Amazon that gives me free two-day shipping. A couple of days ago I noticed a new feature popping up: overnight shipping for $3.99. I ordered some stuff around 5 pm and got it by 11 am the next day. Amazing. They must have opened up a distribution center nearby.

Now if only they would deliver dinner from San Francisco. Or Dallas, even.