The holidays are a wonderful time to pause and reflect on all the things that happened in the past year. With some time away from work, voluntary or otherwise, many folks have a chance to catch up on those little loose ends of their lives.
In my case, the company that handles my broadband connection is taking a bit of a breather, leaving me in the dark as they repair “a optical fiber cable” that is leaving many residents of the San Francisco bay area without their usual internet access. Luckily, I’m able to find a local, independent coffee shop that offers free WiFi access for their customers. They make excellent lattes, but unfortunately their taste in music is really awful. They’ve got their radio tuned to the sappiest rock of the 80’s, playing way too much of the music I’ve been trying to avoid. As I sit in the cafe, trying to check my email, I’m reminded of an odd dream that trapped me in the elevator, listening to the worst commercial schlock ever recorded. Is this a bad dream or just another funny chapter? I pinch myself. It’s real.
As soon as finish fulfilling my internet fix this afternoon, I’m heading back to the house to get back to the task of the “New Year’s Day Backup.” I try to back up the hard drive of my laptop at least 4 times a year, but I always make sure I do a backup at the beginging of each year. I just discovered an excellent email archiving script that works great with Apple’s Mail software on OS X. I can transform an email “mbox” into one gargantuan-sized text file, or a series of individual text files with attachments. If Apple was smart, they’d include this feature as part of the regular interface on the Mail program. Maybe my wish will come true at next week’s annual MacWorld love-fest in San Fran….
Hopefully, my internet access at the home base will return quickly. In the meantime, I hope there aren’t too many emails that demand urgent attention, as this coffee shop music just doesnt’ cut it…..