Hey There! It's 8:55 AM EST, 36°F, light snow/rain mix.
As noted in yesterday's short post, it's been a hectic two days. Here's the condensed narrative.
I decided Wednesday that I would work with my new Mac Mini and see if there was anything constructive I could do with it. I did all the updates the computer called for, and once everything was upgraded there was nothing on that computer that wasn't on any other computer. So my first thought was to turn it into a home server, which I don't really need, but at the least I thought I wanted to see if I could actually make that work. I also wanted to add an external hard drive so the server could hold more data. I'm not interested in spending more money on upgrading the Mini.
The trouble began when I started to think about transferring information from one external hard drive to another. I have most of my photos on a hard drive that is Linux-compatible only. I have 2 others that are Linux/Mac, which is 75% empty. I have yet another which is full, and I also have a 3TB external drive that requires power, and it has maybe 1TB available. My first thought was to move data from the Linux drive to the Mac/Linux drive. The trouble began, however, when the computer balked at moving that amount of information across. The file program stalled, and in the process I thought I had lost all my photos.
In the meantime I fell down a rabbit hole of trying to decide what data to erase from these drives. I could not make up my mind. I have photos and videos from my old job, from vacations, and from other family affairs that are completely unorganized, and that I haven't seen for years. The existential question is of what value are they? Are they worth preserving? Who wants them? It's not an easy question to answer. I got a little emotional and lost trying to figure out how to organize these files so as to make rational decisions. It seems like the winnowing of files would take a year of uninterrupted work. I grew discouraged and depressed.
I dug myself out of that hole and proceeded to do research on how to access a remote server so as to be able to transfer files across separate networks. I researched ssh, sftp, and file sharing via MacOS as the options. I downloaded a lot of mostly free software to see how it all worked. By the end of the day I had at least discovered that I could set up the Mini as a headless server and actually control the screen with my Macbook Air. That is probably the way I will eventually go. I will also add one of the Mac/Linux drives to it as well. But by the end of the day I was so frustrated and disappointed that I felt like a failure for not coming up with an adequate solution. Because I was so frustrated I had a hard time falling asleep.
Yesterday was the complete opposite. Shit got done! I started off by bringing DW to PT for the final time, then taking a walk in the park. The weather was quite mild, a break from all the freezing temps, and the snow had melted away, so the walking path was clear. When I finished, I bought 100 stamps at the post office, and then drove to the hospital parking lot to finish listening to my podcast and waiting for DW. When she came out, we went to breakfast at a supposedly upscale breakfast place, which was a tad disappointing. The coffee was bad, and the corned beef hash was from a can. Not going back there again.
Then I came home and tackled the RV. By the afternoon I had taken out anything that was in danger of molding, brought in some storage containers and other kitchen gear that DW wanted, brought a pack of water bottles and a power station to the basement, taken out the battery, stored the electric cable, put on the windshield cover, and locked it up. The RV is now completely winterized. I do have to go get a battery post, however, for the battery so I can put a trickle charger on it for the winter.
I also completed the holiday letter. Unfortunately my plan to print the letter at home was undermined by the fact that the printer heads on my printer appear to have shit the bed. I bought new color cartridges, but it seems like the printer heads are beyond repair. So I brought the file down to the local Copy Boy and had them print the letter for less than $50. I can recoup some of that money by returning the cartridges. What I will do with the printer at this point is an open question, but it's one I won't worry about until April. The letters look good. Today I'll get them in the mail.
Our long-time handyman came over as well, and he will be working in the house while we're gone. DW gave him a laundry list of repairs and improvements - all small in themselves, but they will add up. His rate is up to $60/hour, which is relatively cheap! Goodbye, cash reserve!
By 3PM I was pretty beat, so I took a nap. Dinner was some chicken fingers, zuchinni fritters and pasta with sauce. I chatted a bit with Son2 (who is now coming home for Christmas Eve as originally planned with his girlfriend) about some high finance (!), watched a few videos, and went to bed at 11PM. I slept pretty well overnight, as I felt yesterday was the complete opposite of Wednesday.
Today brings some bad weather and indoor work. I don't have a specific agenda yet, but one will show up as the day moves on. I have to get to the post office at a minimum. I may set up that headless server and play with it for a few days. I've got a list.
Notable deaths: Peter Arnett, Vietnam War correspndent for the AP, 91.
'Til We Meet Again!