Author: John

John Mueller is a freelance author and technical editor. He has writing in his blood, having produced 123 books and over 600 articles to date. The topics range from networking to artificial intelligence and from database management to heads-down programming. Some of his current offerings include topics on machine learning, AI, Python programming, Android programming, and C++ programming. His technical editing skills have helped over more than 70 authors refine the content of their manuscripts. John also provides a wealth of other services, such as writing certification exams, performing technical edits, and writing articles to custom specifications. You can reach John on the Internet at [email protected].

Keeping Your Animals Healthy in Hot Weather

It’s incredibly important to keep your animals cool in hot weather. Just as you need to keep your cool, animals need to keep cool too. The same sorts of heat-related problems that affect you, affect your animals. However, there is one important difference. Unlike you, your animals have no way to communicate that they’re hot. Sometimes people misread the signs until the animal dies, which is incredibly sad.

You might think that air conditioning would solve all of your problems. However, I’ve noted that some animals, like some people, don’t do all that well in air conditioning. So, besides being incredibly expensive, you could end up doing your animals more harm than good. There are better options for keeping your animals cool. With advancements being made all the time in this area of ‘refrigeration technology’, it will only become more adapted for general use over time, keeping you and your animals cool in the summer months without any ill effects or significant financial impact. In fact, developments in the use of natural CO2 are enabling high energy efficiency and enormous cooling capacity meaning that the future of air conditioning is bright. Take a look at these Air Conditioning Facts for German Readers on Solaranlagen Portal to keep up to date with the latest.

Water, lots of it, is an essential element in keeping your animals cool. The water should be kept fresh at all times, which means changing the water three or four times a day for most animals. It helps to put the water in some sort of bucket, instead of a water bottle. Yes, the bottle does keep the water cleaner, but the animal can’t access the water when you put it in a bottle. Think about your methods of keeping cool. When you want to stay cool, just drinking water doesn’t do enough most of the time, you want to put a little on your body too. Animals like to have water for more than just their drinking needs too.

Cats seem to be the least affected by heat in our experience. You need to allow them a cool place and lots of water. Don’t be surprised if you find the cat lying in the bathtub, on the shower floor, on your tiles, or anywhere else there is a smooth cool surface. Placing the water near this surface means the cat expends less energy finding something to drink. Cats will overheat rather than splash water on themselves. Sometimes you need to give them a helping hand (hoping that they don’t scratch too much in the return). Cats prefer cool, not cold, water. Running water (as in one of those bubbler bowls) is better than stagnant water.

Dogs seem to like a bit of a breeze and copious quantities of water. Sometimes our dogs will lie right in front of a fan in order to grab some breeze. Many dogs also love ice. In hot weather, ensuring they are kept cool is very important to their health. Whether that’d mean applying dog conditioner after giving them a bath, topping up their water supply or providing air conditioning, these are just some steps that can keep your dog feeling cool throughout the summer months.

We’ll put ice in their water bowls to get the water ice cold. Our border collie is especially adept at grabbing ice cubes and grinding them up. A big issue is keeping your dogs quiet in hot weather. A dog will hurt itself, rather than disappoint master. Master needs to understand that and keep the dog as quiet as possible. Misting your dog does seem to help. In fact, I don’t know of many dogs who don’t enjoy getting completely wet during hot weather (try one of the many dog pools available on the market). Some dogs don’t do well in air condition. I know that our beagle gets a sinus condition from the air conditioner.

Rabbits do well in air conditioning for the most part, which means getting Air Conditioning Repair done before the season starts is very important. We’ll bring our most vulnerable rabbits inside during especially hot weather. Bucks need the cooling more than the does do (a buck can become sterile if he gets too hot). Younger rabbits need cooling more than older rabbits. It’s essential that you not keep rabbits together during extreme heat. For some odd reason, they’ll pile on top of each other-hastening the inevitable. We’ve tried freezing drink bottles (mostly full of water with a little air gap at the top) and placing them in the cages. It works quite well. The rabbits will lie next to the bottles and use them for cooling. Expect to go through a number of these bottles. The rabbits also seem to delight in chewing holes in the bottles.

Chickens apparently don’t sweat. They actually fan out the feathers to allow for cooling and will pant much like a dog does. We’ve tried misting the chickens with mixed results. However, we have discovered that chickens will cool themselves by wading in cold water, leading me to believe that chickens cool themselves through their feet. Spraying the feet also seems to have a good effect. Once I discovered that chickens hate to get their feathers wet, but delight in cool feet, I was able to redirect the spray from a hose to more effectively cool them. We have also employed fans to help the chickens cool themselves. They’ll sit in front of the fan, feathers fluffed, gathering as much of the breeze as possible. Chickens don’t seem to do well in air conditioning. Chickens do need more fresh, cool, water than most animals do and expect that water to get quite dirty between refills.

The one constant that we’re finding is that eating generates heat. We’re finding that withholding food until the evening hours seems to help every animal we work with to stay cooler. In fact, chickens will often die immediately after a meal when the weather is too hot from a heart attack (a condition known as flip). Wait until evening, when it’s cooler, to feed your animals during the summer and you’ll keep them a lot cooler during the day. As an alternative, try feeding your animal in the extreme morning hours (before the sun rises, if possible). Don’t feed your animal during the hottest hours of the day.

The point is that you must discover how your animals get cool. Each animal will also have personal preferences. Observe your animals closely to ensure it stays cool in a way that works with its body type. Some animals like misting, others don’t. Some can tolerate air conditioning, others can’t. If you know that your animal can cope in air conditioning, and does better with it when the weather is hot, then make sure that it is working perfectly during the hot weather. If it breaks you should get it fixed by someone like this air conditioning repair Jacksonville has to offer. Water is always a primary ingredient to keeping your animals cool and making that water accessible is incredibly important. The number one thing we’ve found out though is that animals will also try to tell you in a non-vocal manner when it doesn’t like the manner of cooling you’ve chosen. Find something that works. Let me know about your experiences with animal cooling at [email protected].

Dealing with Timing Issues in the Garden

Timing can be everything when it comes to food. This summer we’re experiencing a number of timing issues, just as we do every other summer. The first timing issue is getting too much food to process at one time. We finally had success growing cantaloupe this summer and had planned for the fruit to grow at a rate that would allow us to harvest a little cantaloupe at a time. The squash vine borers that killed all three of our cantaloupe vines had a different idea. At first I thought that the cantaloupe was a complete loss because the cantaloupes weren’t full sized. However, after waiting for a while, we found that the cantaloupes ripened just fine on the vines-they’re just a little small. Unfortunately, they all ripened at the same time. We saved some for eating now, but Rebecca is busy pickling the rest so we can eat them during the winter. The point is that when you get an overflow of items, try to find a way to quickly preserve them of later use.

Before I get a number of e-mails about potentially swapping the cantaloupes with other people, the cantaloupes were indeed small and not quite as flavorful as we would have liked. Pickling them made up for these deficiencies. I only trade high quality items with other people because I expect them to do the same for me.

There are pesticides I could have used to prevent this problem, but Rebecca and I don’t believe in using pesticides except as an absolute last choice. If we had to, we would Check out these organic pesticides rather than mass produced, chemically filled pesticides. In this case, we would have had to preemptively applied the pesticide in order to prevent the damage (one day the plants were fine, the next they were dead). We won’t do that because of the potential damage to the pollinators and the contamination of the food.

Meanwhile, some people have given up on their tomatoes this year because they simply didn’t want to grow in the combination of high heat and lack of water. With the short rainstorms we’ve had, the addition of lightning, and some good irrigation, our tomatoes are finally taking off. Yes, we’ll get the tomatoes late in the season, but the weather service is predicting a warm fall, so the choice to keep our tomatoes turned out to be a good one. Sometimes you have to be patient and wait for the right conditions to happen for your plants. Unfortunately, it appears that a number of other items are also going to ripen late, so I foresee having to juggle more than the usual number of late season processing needs this year. In fact, we may have to ask for a little neighborly help to make everything work out right.

Our okra is producing slowly, but consistently this year. In fact, I think this will turn out to be one of the best years we’ve ever had. However, the slow intake of okra is causing us some problems because we had decided to pickle some of our okra this year and there isn’t enough okra at any given time to pickle. The solution for this problem is to gather the okra each day and freeze it. When we have enough okra to pickle, we’ll defrost the entire lot, and get the pickling done the same day. I’m thinking that we’ll notice a small loss in quality, but probably not enough for anyone else to notice.

Timing is an essential part of planning the garden, the harvest, and the food processing. Your garden is unlikely to know or care about your plans, however, so you have to remain flexible. When you encounter a problem of too much, too little, or not enough at the right time, think about solutions that will help you overcome these problems, rather than fret over a situation you can’t change anyway. Let me know about your garden timing issues at [email protected].

 

Pondering the Death of the Desktop Computer

Being an author of computer books makes me naturally curious about the health of certain technologies. After all, I need to know what to write about next. Lately there has been all sorts of ruckus generated about the death of the desktop computer. Many people claim that the desktop computer is on its last legs with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. The expression is cliched and so are the arguments about the desktop computer you’re probably using at work most of the time.

At issue is whether everyone can use a small device to perform all of their work. From some of what I read, I get a picture of a teenager texting a tome the size of War and Piece on a smartphone. (You can even find articles that tell you how to replace your laptop with a smartphone.) The moment that the visualization is complete, I admit that I get a good laugh from the picture. Imagine for a moment seeing someone’s thumbs flying at a speed that defies imagination for months on end to complete the book. The whole idea is ludicrous, but I’m sure someone will try it and succeed as a proof of concept.

You can create a Dick Tracy style computer in a watch. The technology has no size restriction. In fact, I’m not entirely sure that you’d even require the space consumed by the entire watch anymore. The problem isn’t one of making the technology small enough, but one of allowing a human to interact with the technology safely. The reason that the teenage texting of War and Peace brings tearful laughter to my eyes is the insanity of even attempting it. At issue are repetitive stress injuries and special needs.

Desktop computers provide an instrument that is large enough for most people to interact with successfully without incurring almost immediate trauma. That trauma occurs even with this form factor should tell you something. In order to work successfully for long periods of time, the environment must suit the human form factor—something that smaller devices simply can’t provide. As keyboards get smaller and people start typing in crouched or other uncomfortable positions, the opportunity for serious injury increases. In short, the reason the desktop computer won’t go away completely is that people need something large enough to perform large quantities of useful work successfully.

The issue of special needs would seem to seal the deal for desktop computers. People constantly complain about the size of smartphone screens—how the text is nearly impossible to see. It’s hard to believe that anyone would seriously consider trying to write large documents, work on graphics, or create presentations on such a small display. In fact, as the population ages, I see a problem performing even minor tasks with the small screen in some cases. People simply won’t be able to see the display to use it.

It was with great interest that I recently read a post entitled, “Post-PC Bunkum” by John Dvorak. In it, John mentions something that should make everyone aware that the desktop computer isn’t going away—it has become a commodity. It has become something that most people are familiar with and have in their home, office, or both. The desktop computer has almost become a refrigerator in terms of ubiquity in the home and office environment. However, the reason most people are uncomfortable with the desktop computer is that it truly is a complex device capable of performing some truly amazing feats in the right hands. People want to make tasks and their environment mindlessly simple and the desktop computer doesn’t do that for them. Even so, I doubt very much we’ll see the desktop go away anytime soon.

What is your take on the death of the desktop computer? What sorts of devices do you work with to perform most of your tasks? What sorts of tasks do you perform most often? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Thinking About Robotic Physicians

I have had a long term interest in enhancing the human condition using technology in a positive way (which is the main reason I wrote Accessibility for Everybody). For example, I explored how exoskeletons can help those who don’t have use of their legs to walk as if they did. The Robotics in Your Future post started things off though by reviewing the topic of robotics as they relate to humans. Recently I read an article about robotic physicians in ComputerWorld. The robot is simply a method for a real person to interact with a patient over a distance. Using the robot’s functionality, a doctor can perform a number of checks on a patient and learn what has gone wrong. The technology is obviously in its infancy at this point, but I already had questions about it as soon as I read the article.

While writing Determining When Technology Hurts, I tried to consider the negative aspects of a particular technology. For example, a doctor doesn’t have a face-to-face environment in which to interact with the patient in this case. Consequently, the doctor could miss subtle cues as to the actual issues that a patient faces. This sort of technology depends on the doctor’s ability to use instruments that are attached to a robot in a remote location. The doctor may not even know whether the instruments are fully functional and providing accurate information. I’m sure the technology will eventually include safeguards (and may even include some now), but these concerns are something that we as a society must ponder before making the technology generally available. Of course, there is the major issue of dealing with the human reaction to a robotic doctor. I’m sure many people will refuse to the submit to the cold hand of technology in place of the warm hands of a real doctor.

Even with these concerns, however, there is real potential for the robotic physician. For one thing, you can find any number of articles online about the expected shortfall in doctors. There simply won’t be enough doctors to go around at some point. Some plans for addressing this shortfall include using nurses to perform more of the work normally associated with doctors. Of course, because a nurse doesn’t have the same level of training, there are some serious issues with this approach. The robotic physician could help address the shortfall, especially in rural areas where patients typically have to wait now for the one day a week that a specialist visits.

The robotic physician could also fill in when there is no doctor available. Smaller, isolated communities could finally have a doctor available, even if that doctor isn’t physically present. A robotic doctor will also be necessary as our ventures into space increase. It’s also easy to imagine larger nursing homes staffing a robotic doctor who could help with critical patients until physical help can arrive and take over. The loss of life will be reduced in such situations because the doctor could be there in seconds. In short, this is an exciting development in technology that will have practical uses as long as we’re careful in applying it.

How would you react to a robotic doctor? Would you even let it touch you? I would imagine that human reluctance will be one of the major issues we’ll have to overcome, but I’d like to hear your take on the matter at [email protected].

 

An Interesting Review

I’m always on the lookout for an interesting book to read. The only problem is that the supply of equally interesting book reviews are in short supply. So, it was with great interest that I read a review entitled simply, Summer Reading, about an interesting sounding book with a really long title, “Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day.” The book is written by Stephan Talty and sounds like a real winner-one that I must have for my collection. The book has everything I would want: history, mystery, secret agents, and probably more; all of which is presented by an author who really sounds as if he knows his topic.

The author of the review, William Bridges, is a favorite blogger of mine. He has an easy to read writing style and doesn’t tend to embellish his experiences. I find that I can trust what he has to say, which is more than I can say for the majority of what I read online. Of course, the topic of this post is the review, which I hope you’ll read critically for the style it provides.

Any review that you read is an opinion-never confuse a review with fact. What you need are reviews that match your world perspective. When an author presents ideas, concepts, and remarks that fall in line with your own-you’ve found a reviewer who can help you make an intelligent buying decision. If you want to find out more about this then take a look at this buying decision article that goes into more detail. But ultimately, that’s the purpose of a review; to help you understand the product in question well enough to make a good buying decision. Of course, the review has to be well-written. Ask yourself questions such as, “Can the reviewer actually gain insights into the hurdles faced by the book’s author?” A good reviewer presents an informed opinion, one that considers a number of perspectives.

I’ve always felt that good reviews are critical, but also constructive. A review must examine the topic in enough detail so that the reader can understand the reason the author took time to review the book (or any other product for that matter) in the first place. However, the review must also explore both the pros and the cons of the book. Bill always provides these sorts of elements in his reviews, which is the reason I’ll continue to read them as long as he sees fit to write them.

My current book list is a tad tall. People have been kind and sent a few items of reading material my way. However, once I wade through the current pile I’ll read this book and provide my own review of it. I hope that you enjoy my review as much as I enjoyed Bill’s. What do you look for in a review? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Woody

Woody my friend,
has met his end,
amidst leaves and briars so cold.

Never to pound,
the woods to resound,
looking for his next luscious meal.

He’ll never again spy,
as I pass him by,
to cut down a tree or two.

Our talks I’ll so miss,
as he filled me with bliss,
just seeing that red head of his.

While others do fly,
away in the sky,
as I invade their sanctum so rude.

Woody was there,
as near as my chair,
cut from a tree stump I hewed.

So goodbye my friend,
my heart you do rend,
I’ll think of you each morning dew.

Dedicated to Woody the pileated woodpecker.
Copyright 2012, John Paul Mueller

Okra Pollination Problems (Part 2)

Last year I noted in my Okra Pollination Problems post that our okra had serious pollination problems—that the flowers were simply drying and falling off. What a difference a year makes! This year we moved the okra completely away from the tomatoes. Suddenly, there are all kinds of ants on the plants and the flowers are opening up as they should. In fact, we’ve already picked quite a bit of okra, which is one of the few bright spots in our drought impacted garden this year.

After talking with quite a few people about the issue, I’m becoming convinced that the okra flowers must have some sort of wax on them, much as other flowers such as peonies do. The ants are necessary to eat the wax off and help open the flowers. In addition, the ants must act as the pollinators. I haven’t seen much in the way of bee or other flying insect activity around these flowers to date and I’ve spent quite a bit of time watching. If someone else has an opinion about pollinators for okra, please contact me at [email protected].

The okra plants also seem to be responding well to heat. We’ve had to water them, but the plants are growing normally despite the heat (as contrasted to our tomatoes that don’t appear to want to grow much at all). I’d be interested in hearing other experiences with okra when it comes to summer heat. Given that this has been a hotter than normal summer (breaking all sorts of records), it’s a good test of what will happen when climate change starts to take a fuller effect. Okra seems to be on our list of items to maintain despite the heat.

The one thing we have noticed is that we’re having to be a little more diligent than normal in monitoring the okra. The individual spears are growing faster than normal and it’s possible to see a smallish okra one day that turns into something a bit too large the next. When okra get too large, they also get woody. You don’t want to pick them too small, but too large definitely presents problems. We normally pick the okra when it reaches 2 inches in length. That size seems to provide a good tradeoff between getting enough value for the time invested and not having a woody result.

How is your okra growing this year? For that matter, how is your garden doing as a whole? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Technology Addiction

Whether a tool is an asset or a hindrance often hinges on how the tool is used. A recent Baseline slideshow added to my perception that addition really is becoming an issue with many technology users today. For example, the slideshow pointed out that 65 percent of iPhone users can’t get along without their iPhone, while only one percent said they can’t get along without Facebook. The issue from my perspective is that it should be possible to get by without either of these technologies for some period of time—they’re simply tools and not needs essential for life. How does a technology become so important that 65 percent of its users would feel some sort of withdrawal symptom without it?

The slides went on and I’ll spare you the crudity of some of the questions the author asked of the respondents. However, as you read through the slides, it becomes apparent that the respondents would willingly give up contact with loved ones in order to maintain a grip on their iPhone. There was one statistic that really got to me though. If you have personal business in the bathroom, please complete it before you call me. I’m more than happy to wait.

That this phenomenon truly is an addiction is no secret. A recent article in the Telegraph talks about students having withdrawal symptoms akin to drugs when denied access to their technology. The LA Times reported that technology addiction is more extreme than addictions to chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol. Even Web MD has gotten into the act and provided articles about the symptoms of technology addiction. Psychology Today recently provided an article that helps explain the underlying metal and physiological basis of the addition. My experiences with addiction tell me that it won’t be long and Americans will start seeing the rise of centers devoted to helping people overcome their technology addictions. At some point, people will be forced to do without their technology in order to save their lives. In fact, I’m already seeing articles such as the on The Guardian that describe how others have beat their technology addictions.

I’m often asked why I’m not using Twitter and Facebook (amongst other social media products). I do have a LinkedIn account that I visit it once every week or so, but I don’t devote a lot of time to it. In fact, I don’t carry a cellphone either and I perform all of my work using a desktop system. For many people, the lack of technology on my person is a bit puzzling. After all, I write about technology and I’m obviously familiar with it at a significant level. However, for me, computers are a tool and will remain so. I use my computer to write books, create applications, perform research, and do other sorts of useful work. However, when I’m done for the day, I gratefully shut my system down, turn off my office light, and close the office door. I go out and do something different for a while in order to actually enjoy my life. I’ve also written about how the technology is turned off during vacations—I really do need time to unwind.

The topic of just how much technology useful will take a long time to work out. The whole idea of a personal computer isn’t that old and the older systems weren’t user friendly. People haven’t had time to build up any sort of knowledge level about them. I imagine that the conversation about how much technology one can enjoy without becoming addicted will be a long one, with many professionals taking part. In the meantime, take time to enjoy life. Shut the cellphone off for a while. Better yet, just leave it at home. You really don’t need to be connected to the thing 24 hours a day.

What is your experience with technology addiction? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Power Management and Computers

I have written more than a few times about power management issues. For example, my CFLs for Free and More on CFL Usage look at the benefits of using Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) in the home. Over the years, readers have asked me time and again about power management on computer systems. Microsoft and other vendors have come up with all sorts of automation for turning hard drives, monitors, and even processors off in an attempt to use less power. In many cases, these strategies start with laptop devices and quickly move to desktop computers as well. The strategies often sound good in theory, but do they work in practice? In addition, does a practice that works well on a laptop translate into equal savings on a desktop system?

The main annoyance issue is one of turning off parts of the computer after the system sits idle for a while. I can’t tell you the number of times where I stopped to read something and suddenly found myself without a monitor. In some cases, I needed to wait until the hard drive powered up before I could continue working. There are even some situations where the system powered down other components that didn’t power back up correctly, causing me to reboot the system in order to restore stability. There are also times when there is a sudden power failure which causes the system to shut down or not give the desired outcome. In case you’ve trouble to fix a switching power supply like a pro, you should learn from a pro. There are quite a few websites on the internet which could help you learn more about the same.

Does turning off parts of the computer for a few moments actually save money in the long run? I think you have to weigh the cost savings against several other factors:

 

  • The cost of asking the user to wait while the components power back up.
  • The cost of powering the component off, rather than have it simply sit idle (start up power is normally higher than idle power).
  • Wear and tear on the equipment (although, most computer components never serve their entire lifetimes).
  • Support requirements for users who don’t understand the power saving features.


I admit to using power saving features to an extent with laptops because battery life suffers otherwise. It’s worth a little of my time to extend the life of the battery. However, some users with laptops plug them in wherever they go anyway, so battery life isn’t such a big deal for them. In short, you need to also consider how the user works with the computer. A laptop that is normally plugged in doesn’t really need a long battery life.

On my desktop system, I normally run in high performance mode. My time is more precious than the part of a cent that I would save by turning the monitor off for five minutes while the system waits for me. This strategy seems to run counter to other posts I’ve made, but devices are there for the convenience of the user, not the other way around. Saving power when it makes sense to do so is one thing-having the monitor turn itself off while you’re in the midst of reading something is quite another.

I never put my system in hibernate mode. When I’m finished for the day, I turn my system off. There are a lot of reasons for this strategy:

 

  • The system doesn’t use any power when it’s off, so turning the system off consumes less power than hibernate mode.
  • The system doesn’t produce any heat when it’s off, so I also save money on cooling bills.
  • Restarting the system each morning clears memory, so I encounter fewer memory corruption issues.
  • Because I get a cup of coffee after starting my system, it doesn’t cost me any time to turn it off at night.
  • Turning the system off reduces noise in the house.
  • Even though my system is protected by an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), turning the system off reduces the risk of damage to the system during the evening hours.
  • Powering the system down reduces the risk of fire from the computer system components overheating while I’m not there to watch them.


I realize that corporations often perform maintenance during the evening hours, so placing the system in hibernate mode means that any automated updates can wake the system long enough to get the maintenance done. Still, I can’t help but think that leaving the system on during one night of the week would be sufficient to accommodate updates. The organization would realize significantly more cost savings by turning systems off at night.

What is your take on power management with computer systems? I’m currently exploring this issue as part of one of the books I’m writing and would love to hear what you think. Is there a good reason to turn that monitor off after a short interval of inactivity? How do you normally configure your system? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Equipment Failures and Local Backups

I had originally thought to provide a post today on the TimeCheck application. Friday is normally series day on the blog. Unfortunately, my computer had other ideas. Yesterday morning it decided not to work any longer. I heard a pop and then the screen went black—no helpful error message like 0x000000D1 and no blue screen of death—nothing at all. Replacing the power supply with my ready backup brought no joy. I’m sure I’ll find the cause of my woes eventually, but for now, I need to get up and running so I can meet my deadlines (and write this blog).

Fortunately, I had already decided to upgrade my computer and have all of the parts on hand to build my new dream machine (at least, what I can afford of that dream machine). In addition, I had made a local backup of my system the day before, so I’ll lose one day’s worth of work at most. What all this means is that I’ll be back online soon with a newer system that will provide me with everything needed to complete my work for the next while.

Using my emergency online e-mail will help keep me in contact with the few people who absolutely must contact me. Others are relying on the phone to contact me. If you’ve sent me e-mail about a book issue, I apologize in advance for not addressing your question in a timely manner. I hope that you’ll understand that it wasn’t my idea to have a system failure (it’s never my idea—the computer apparently has a mind of its own).

The one thought that has come to mind during this current crisis is that I’m extremely happy that I don’t rely on an online backup service. In order to get some things working on my new system, I needed the backup files, but I didn’t have access to the Internet. If I had relied on an online backup service, things would have gotten extremely interesting. Fortunately, my local backup is easily accessed despite the lack of connectivity, so everything is fine. I mention this in passing because I know that online backups have become quite popular. They have their place, but don’t neglect local backups because you never know when you’ll run into a situation like mine where online access is impossible.

As far as the TimeCheck application is concerned, we’ll restart the series as soon as is possible on Fridays. I appreciate your patience while I get things sorted out. In the meantime, let me hear about your dream machine at [email protected].