Darkness on a summer afternoon
Arrived home this afternoon to find the house in darkness. Or, at least, as close as you can get in mid-afternoon. A power failure. Notable only because of the rarity – it’s been years since I last had to reset clocks before bedtime. There is no UPS in my universe, so the weather station server took a hissy fit, and required a lobotomy (that’s where you bounce the BIOS battery in and out to force a system reset). Things are running again, but I may have to consider what the next used machine I purchase will be. Perhaps a real server, with multiple drive bays. Hmmm.
Since I spent the morning stripping drives and SIMMS out of 18 machines that are headed for the recycler, this was just another pebble on the beach. My world and its quota of obsolescent technology.
Back to work, after six weeks on the beach; lots of movement in the telephone directory. Although the dust won’t settle for most of this week, there are new faces in office space. Renewal? Maybe. Unlike other public service departments, we don’t seem to suffer from attrition. Fewer parking spots to go around.
On a sadder tack, Canada lost a respected politician this morning. Jack Layton succombed to the multiple cancers that have kept him out of the public eye since the elections. For today, the bitter words are stowed under the chairs in Parliament, and there is unanimous praise for a man that actually wanted to change the foolish path of the governing parties. Jack, you will be sorely missed by the rest of us.
