My Computer’s Near Death Experience

– Part 1 –

NOTE – Crashplan is reported to be discontinuing support for individuals and is focusing on corporate customers. – updated 11/26/2017

Followers of JBRish might have seen a posting a couple of months ago that my computer was out of service and postings were temporarily halted. Having a computer crash is never fun; not even for the most casual or the most experience technology user for that matter. For someone like me who relies on the computer for his blog, photography and other creative needs, it is an extreme situation; a nuisance of great magnitude.

Unfortunately, there were circumstances that happened in the recent past that made this potentially even more devastating. I use an iMac. It is a five year old plus machine. To refer to it as a legacy machine is being kind. A month prior to my computer incident, I inadvertently plugged my 3TB Time Machine backup drive into my wife’s PC and for some reason my iMac would no longer read from it.

I tried every Mac utility I had on the machine with no luck. My wife’s PC would not recognize it either. I tried and tried over a period of days to get it to work, but no dice! I then tried to reformat it on the Mac…dead end there too. It wouldn’t even reformat on the PC. The drive was dead. The drive too may have been a bit old, but I cannot explain why it would no longer work based on the actions taken.

I recently read that external 3TB drives, for one reason or another, were more prone to malfunctioning. The article didn’t seem to pin down the exact culprit, but reported the devastating statistics. You can read more about 3TB drives here (Full disclosure – I did not read these specific articles.)

I never did get around to replacing that malfunctioning drive. My most precious files (see bird picture above) are my more than ten thousand photographs and my large music collection. Other than that, any loss of my other documents would not be devastating It would definitely be a problem and a great nuisance, but not devastating. I had two older backups of both my music and my photographs. The music was current, but the photo backups were three months old and I would lose my most current edits if I could not restore my most recent Lightroom files. Not tragic, but certainly not good either.

Realizing I was riding a potential disaster roller coaster, I decided to follow the trend to backup to the cloud using Crashplan. Crashplan (CP) and other cloud companies offer software to use to make a backup of your computer to a local drive as well.

Why did I choose Crashplan? – The Best Online Cloud Backup Service

As it turned out, this was a life saving move. All right, not life saving, but definitely a time and file saver.

Let me digress and say a few words about Crashplan. The reason I chose Crashplan was because they offered a thirty day free trial and, this is important, software to backup document, photograph and music files to a local drive. I configured my computer to do both. I began to backup to CPs cloud service and to a local hard drive I had connected to the iMac. This would not be a clone, just a safeguard against data loss.

During the configuration process, and to test the validity of the back up, I restored several files along the way to see if it worked. I needed to call CP’s support several times. Each time, I was given prompt support. There were a few delays perhaps because I was not as clear as I could have been. Nevertheless, all my issues were resolved and my backups seemed to be working.

This was a learning experience. I had never backed up a large number of files to any cloud service. The closest I had come was using Dropbox to store a series of photographs for family and friends to view. I was quite surprised almost bordering on shock that the estimated time to backup my 1 TB internal hard drive to the cloud was estimated to take between 45-60 days. I understand I have some large files and I am sure CP uses some algorithm to check for errors which slows down this process, but I had no idea of the amount of time it would take to place my data in the cloud.

NOTE – I also have a DSL line which, by nature, is slower than most cable companies and this almost assuredly increased the amount of backup time needed.

I decided to let the cloud option lapse when the trial period expired because I wasn’t sure this was the most efficient service for my needs and I still had days to go. To CPs credit, they continue to allow users to backup to their local drive via their software whether or not they are cloud-paying customers and I continued to take advantage of that option. This too was slow, but not as slow as backing up to the cloud.



Within a short time period, my computer completely failed. I knew it was the hard drive. After my heart returned to its normal rhythm, I began to think of my options. I did have two older hard drives with outdated backups of my most precious files, but there were a lot of documents I would miss. One example is an extensive checklist I have created for long hiking trips which reminds me of all the little things I need to take with me on my hiking vacations such as head lamps, hotel night light, bandages, instant coffee, etc. I even have a version for a short get-away trip. Yeah, that would be annoying to lose.

My most important document is a “coded” text tile with all my logons and passwords. They can be recreated, but what a mess that would be. I have several email accounts and my blog to keep up with almost immediately. Oh well!


<--- TO BE CONTINUED --->


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All content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — 20170731

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

 

“Whose bread I eat: his song I sing.” — Proverb

“The most efficient water power in the world – tears.[ed]” — Wilson Mizner

“Share your M&Ms. There are bags and bags of them all over the place. If you give them one of yours, even one of the green ones, you will not be lacking. Honust Injun. Now apply this to Time, Concern, Touch, Interest and Being Vulnerable.” — Hugh Elliott

“Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better.” — Robert Redford

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Thousands and thousands of quotes delivered since 2011!

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — Picture Quote — 20170730

Today’s Picture Quote

Not all classrooms have four walls.

“Not all classrooms have four walls.”

Via

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — 20170730

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

 

“A Sunday well spent brings a week of content.” — Proverbs

“You can only flap your arms so much before gravity catches up to you.” — J & A Foundation

“When I was young, the old regarded me as an outrageous young fellow and now that I’m old the young regard me as an outrageous old fellow.” — Fred Hoyle

“My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?” — Charles M. Schulz

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Thousands and thousands of quotes delivered since 2011!

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — 20170729

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

 

“Ask a lot, but take what is offered.” — Assyrian Proverb

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” — James Baldwin

“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.” — Leon J. Suenes

“In Hollywood now when people die they don’t say, ‘Did he leave a will?,’ but ‘Did he leave a diary?’” — Liza Minnelli

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Thousands and thousands of quotes delivered since 2011!

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — Picture Quote — 20170728

Today’s Picture Quote

It doesn't matter who you used to be, what matters is who you are today.- Book of Prosperity
“It doesn’t matter who you used to be, what matters is who you are today.- Book of Prosperity”

 

Via

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — 20170728

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

 

“Whatever advice you give, be brief.” — Horace

“The mystery of grace is that God loves Henry Kissinger and Vladimir Putin and me exactly as much as He or She loves your new grandchild. Go figure.” — Anne Lamott

“Stubborness we deprecate, Firmness we condone, The former is our neighbors trait, The latter is our own.” — John Wooden

“Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?” — Clarence Darrow

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Thousands and thousands of quotes delivered since 2011!

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


STATUS QUOtes — 20170727

Today’s STATUS QUOtes

 

“Paradise is not a place; it’s a state of mind.” — Frank Sonnenberg

“You too must not count too much on your reality as you feel it today, since like yesterday, it may prove an illusion for you tomorrow.” — Luigi Pirandello

“Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“Astronomers say the universe is finite, which is a comforting thought for those people who can’t remember where they leave things.” — Unknown

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE

Thousands and thousands of quotes delivered since 2011!

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


Pickleball – Coming to Rose Mofford Sports Compled, Phoenix

On the heels of good news that new pickleball courts are being planned for the Paseo Highlands Park, (see Pickleball Expanding in Phoenix we have been made aware that the Rose Mofford Sports Complex will have three pickleball courts available once the the park renovation is completed

Here are some pictures of the signs provided by a member of our pickleball community:


Pickleball Sign at Rose Mofford Sports Complex


Pickleball Sign at Rose Mofford Sports Complex


Pickleball Sign at Rose Mofford Sports Complex

For a larger picture, Click HERE

For those who may not know where the Rose Mofford Sports Complex is, here is a screen shot taken from Google Maps.


Pickleball Sign at Rose Mofford Sports Complex

Rose Mofford Sports Complex
9833 N 25th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85021

The grapevine has it that construction was planned to start after July 5, 2017 although the sign indicates late spring.

As always, we would like to thank and acknowledge the City of Phoenix and the Parks and Recreation Department for their efforts on behalf of the Phoenix Area pickleball players.

Pickleball Videos

To See additional Pickleball Videos Covering Many Aspects of the Game Click Here (primarily for beginners and less experienced players)

Check out Additional Pickleball Info and Videos! (for all players including average to more experienced players)


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017


Picture Quote — 20170726

Today’s Picture Quote — 20170726

You make me understand how wonderful it is for little lizards when they find that one special rock that's perfect for sunning themselves on. You make me lizard-happy. - Randy K. Milholland
“You make me understand how wonderful it is for little lizards when they find that one special rock that’s perfect for sunning themselves on. You make me lizard-happy.” – Randy K. Milholland
Original Photograph Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross – 2014 – 2017


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Photo Meta Data

File Name: IMG_2262.CR2
Capture time: 10:18:27 AM
Capture date: May 9, 2015
Exposure: 1/1250 @ f5.6
Focal Length: 89mm
ISO: 120
Canon Powershot SX50 HS
Location: Las Cruces, NM

*Edited: Lightroom with text added in Photoshop

 
See previous STATUS QUOtes HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2017