With tech stuff, the first time is the hardest. So many questions, all based on the possibility of failure. The only real question is will something get broken, when the switch is thrown for that first time.
Read the rest of this entry »posted in technology | Comments Off on Transferred, slowly and carefully | 327 words
Earlier this week, I happened to find some donationware that does something useful (for me). The package tests the hard drive(s) in your computer, including the S.M.A.R.T. parameters, and awards your drive(s) a score. That is: good, caution or fail (I think). One of my drives is now flagged as caution, after more than 56,000 hours of spin time. That alone is a statistic that surprised me, although it shouldn’t. This is not a new laptop, at all.
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Among my earliest recollections concerning birds and their habits is the relationship of the robin and the arrival of spring. I believed it to be so; these birds went south for the winter, like so many Canadians. To my dismay, a robin showed up on my deck, this afternoon, seeking food. We tried raisins and oranges, in lieu of worms. And, in Google, I learned that many of these birds now winter over, given that the season isn’t as long or difficult as in earlier times. More proof of climate change? Perhaps.
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The ferry came by today. In both directions. Despite a heavy snowfall, which precluded my actually seeing the transit. So, how did I know this? Was it by the sound? Or the schedule, which is somewhat erratic at this time of year? No, I relied upon modern technology; a small radio receiver that captures signals from the ship’s systems, giving me a mapped trajectory along with speed and depth under the keel. Magical, in a historical light.
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Today, I may have resolved my gas issues. Gas, as in CO2, not anything petrol based. Our family has developed a taste for bubbly water, and the SodaStream unit goes through those cylinders like a mad thing. Gets expensive, feeding an addiction. My long term goal is to bring the cost of recharging my little tubes to as close to zero as possible. And, like I learned in that high school course about calculus, the last few units are the hardest. No matter. Today, I made progress.
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I may be getting to “that age”. You know; when the obituaries pass from a list of strangers to a chronicle of your own life. When phrases like “we were in school together” actually become relevant, rather than something heard from others. Today, the announcement of someone that I did go to school with (although we never shared classes), came across in the local newspaper, and I had to pause.
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Lost and Found, in this century, has changed. Certainly, things still get lost. That’s not important. That some of those lost things can be found using modern technology IS. I’m not thinking of the mine detector, so beloved in silly movies. No, we live in a Bluetooth world.
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In that murky world of firmware upgrades that go awry, there is something worse than failure. What do you do (next) when things halt, and all of the online forums suggest that you keep trying, again, and again? How much of your time are you willing to invest? I guess I am going to find out (got a gadget that is stuck in update limbo).
Read the rest of this entry »posted in health, technology | Comments Off on A failure to restart | 289 words
A nod to the city of S’side, which just announced an investment in solar panels. Estimated price tag? Just short of $70 million. Given that they operate their own utility, this makes sense, long term. Sure, the sun doesn’t shine all the time; the wind doesn’t always blow, and I’m getting new wind machines in MY neighbourhood. Let’s avoid the silly tendency to burn fossil fuels, and not get nuclear. Right now, the best plan is to mix wind and sunshine, and we’re getting closer to a useful mix, all the time.
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“The wetter, the weightier”; unsure if the phrase obeys the laws of grammar, but that was my motivation for today. Overnight, the winds dropped, and the temperature went above freezing. Knowing that there is a system inbound with rain in the payload, I decided to push myself (just a little bit harder) this morning. Get up, get out and get busy!
Read the rest of this entry »posted in technology, Wx | Comments Off on Proactive prevention | 280 words
