Re: What happens when I get some work (an oddyssey)

[Guest guest]

Way beyond my computer skills, Ken. I can understand what you are

saying, but have no concept of how its done or what to suggest.

Everything I know about computers is self-taught by sitting in front of

one for hours at a time exploring programs. Have whipped up some

doozies as far as stalling the system out and corrupting it. Always

seem to find a way out. If not, just plugged in WIN95 CD and it

automatically cleaned up my messes. My solution for everything is if it

doesn't work, reinstall. Need to back up all programs. I have a

relatively new hard disk, though the computer itself is 3 1/2 years

old...Pentium 90mghz, 32K RAM. Hey, I even installed WIN 95 on a laptop

with only 4K RAM and it worked super. Only used it for word processing.

My son, who is graduate school, uses it now when he's doing research at

library.

As to struggling with a professional identity...boy, am I ever! So much

that I can't do anymore, I despair at ever returning to " work. " Was

offered a long term substitute position teaching special education at an

elementary school...turned it down. The Reiters is in such a big

flare-up right now, couldn't think about what I'd do if...no, when I got

fatigued half-way through the day. Even if I went back to public

education in this community I'd make less than half what I used to in

Chicago. Have thought about going back to finish my doctorate. I'm

actually afraid to even attempt that. Grad school is about an hours

drive away. The thought of trying to drive home after a long day of

classes, etc., hits me about as hard as thinking about teaching again.

I just can't predict when the fatigue will HIT! And when it does, WHAM,

I'm down for the count.

I'm glad you have something to do that you do well, Ken. You really are

a versatile person. Sorry about the problems with the client's

computer. But I'd say he was sufficiently warned. He should have

bought a new computer and used his old one for the sports stats. Lesson

he should have learned is to back everything up. Boy, do I need to

follow that advice! I do try to make " hard copies " of all the stuff I

write. Should put it all on disks. I, too, wish I had a ZIP drive.

You suggested that I look into pastoral counseling. I've done some and

have truly helped a few folks. But to tell you the truth, right now,

thinking about dealing with other folks troubles on top of my health and

adjustment problems literally makes me nauseated. I already have enough

problems with nausea from the pain, inflammation, and meds and don't

need any extra assistance with that. I do teach an adult Bible study

class on Sunday mornings at our church and rather enjoy that. I tend to

direct the lesson using questions and being the " Devil's Advocate " (just

kidding) in helping people to apply the Bible lesson to their own lives.

By the way, if you haven't figured it out by now, I am NOT a right wing

fundamentalist. Which is not necessarily anything to brag about here in

the heart of southwest Virginia's fundamentalist headquarters. Jerry

Falwell is barely two hours up the road. Nor am I a " Liberal " , by the

way. Though I am a Democrat...just don't talk about the President's

personal life. Having been raised in the hey-day of Chicago's

Democratic Machine...yeah, Mayor Daley, Sr..'s days...it was almost

impossible to be anything but a Democrat. Funny thing, though, our

state rep and our National Representative are both Democrats and have

been in office for years, and years.

So there must be a lot of closet Democrats around here who never talk

about politics, but do vote anyway. Somehow mixing up politics and

religion has just never seemed right to me. Having grown up in Chicago

and having lived in several cosmopolitan communities (Madison, WI, and

believe it or not, Louisville, KY, as well as Chicago) I am only too

aware that everyone is not Christian.

Thanks again.

Ray

>

>

>Mike, , Ray,

>

> You may appreciate this & perhaps can help me. Long suffering the

>frustration of not being able to define myself occupationally, I

settled on

>doing business development on the web.

[Guest guest]

You really stepped in it this time ! Chronic pain not enough for ya ?

All joking aside, what happened to the data ? Have you recovered it ? I ask

because I've done a fair amount of work converting programs and old data to new

stuff. If that issue isn't resolved already, can you use help ? I could have a

look at the files and see what I can do. I have most of these old programs here

and could possibly re-import it into it's original format and re-export

it..perhaps. Contact me directly on this if you wish as it's not a list thing.

As far as re-defining yourself occupationally, why do you think I've been so

involved with computers ? Define a computer techie...disheveled hair, pony tail

perhaps, tee-shirt, jeans, no shoes, no socks, dazed look, unshaven, grumpy,

unsociable, talks to himself a lot, thinks in bytes, views the world in 16

million colors or monochrome, looks sleep deprived which he is, can't hold a

conversation, no attention span, talks to machinery and receives answers then

debates their merit with the same machine, can do multiple things at once and

calls it multitasking, lives on potato chips, Coke coffee and Twinkies, ... when

I figured out I was all of the above, I went out and bought a computer so I

could have an excuse to be this way ! To add to the irony, people started

thinking I was really smart because I spent so much time on the computer...sure

fooled them !

I think you're making an excellent choice ( but I am biased ). I can think of

few occupations as rewarding and " self rewarding " in that you usually find out

immediately whether you did good or not. The feedback is excellent, especially

if you've been experiencing depression and doubts about your abilities. I went

that route when I first tried to restart my life. I had been a heavy duty

mechanic, earning a truckload of money, with all the accreditation's you can

imagine and was turned down by Sears in a position repairing small appliances

like toasters and such. They were concerned that I might fall and hurt myself on

the job ! My thoughts at the time gravitated strongly towards the " here I am, a

licensed mechanic, not even good enough to repair toasters for Sears " syndrome.

I went through hell for a while. Deciding one day out of the blue that I was

still good enough to at least learn something new was the best thing I ever did.

And although my income has never equaled the old days, at least I get the

satisfaction of knowing I can still do for myself.

I wish you luck and if I can help out, please let me know.

Mike

> What happens when I get some work (an oddyssey)

>

>

>

>

> Mike, , Ray,

>

> You may appreciate this & perhaps can help me. Long suffering the

> frustration of not being able to define myself occupationally, I settled on

> doing business development on the web. In addition to some other things,

> work on getting some basic web design skills, & ran a cheap ad in the

> Sunday paper. Got some calls on it, and a nice job designing a commercial

> website for a biz that does sports handicapping & wants to go on the web.

> These are 2 guys who are , among other things, construction contractors

> with no contracts ( this is a bottom dollar town, & they would have work

> anywhere else). Both are bright, but regard computer stuff like they

> probably do construction work: " even if the tool is broken, there will be

> some way around it. "

>

> The one that does the handicapping was a Sports Book Director for 16

> years, & is good. But he has a Packard Bell (vintage 19994, insane bios)

> that he keeps on all the time (with the minimal surge-protector). The

> computer is erratic, and one of the things I advised him to do was get it

> working right before the biz goes on line. He wanted to reprogram it, so I

> worked with him for 12 hours a few nights ago trying everything in my bag

> of tricks. He was running Quatro Pro (old DOS Version) in Win95 DOS (7.0),

> which did lord knows what to his data-files & back-ups. A kind term for the

> whole mess would be " a hybrid operating system " . He was also using some DOS

> 6.22 from disk.

>

> Had so many conflicting operating systems on the computer that

> once we got

> rid of all the files, except for a special directory I made from Win95 to

> re-install, system would only boot from floppy. Did not disturb system

> files, but got error messages " wrong operating system " like crazy.

>

> I have a laptop with a special file I made to re-install Win95

> for my own

> use, & such situations. So I laplinked (networked the 2 pouters) & with

> great difficulty over many hours got the new Win95 on his computer, &

> installed a complete 95 OS, that cleaned up all his conflicts. It allowed

> re-install of AOL, seemed to work fine, & I left him to get some sleep.

> Later that day I get a distressed call from him (something like " now the

> computer worked, but the Quattro files all came out garbage (20 years of

> sports data & analysis) "

>

> I certainly felt bad, but he was giving me " I didn't really

> have a problem

> until you messed with it. " To some extent true, but he had a time bomb.

> After we removed all files from a 1 gig drive, there was still half a gig

> missing! My guess was the many power outages where he lives (suburbs) had

> fried his drive, but not in the usual way. from the operating noises, it

> sounded like a Western Digital, which can be sturdier than most. Didn't

> seem like the surface was bad, But I think one of the heads was in process

> of dying, or had died invisibly to the system.

>

> At any rate, I had suggested he have a back-up computer eventually, but

> that he just go to CompUSA & purchase a desktop on a credit card, use it

> for a few weeks while his got repaired by a good & inexpensive technician,

> then return it. He didn't like that idea. Also, he is frantic because the

> big football stuff kicks off this weekend!

>

> Tried calling him yesterday to say I was sorry for the

> difficulties & try

> to soothe him, but he was out. Spoke to his partner, who wasn't surprised

> at all about what happened, & guessed he was out getting a new computer.

> There is no problem working with the partner, I am revising the first

> version of a complex web site. But I really feel bad about what happened.

> He may never get his data back because it may have been encoded in some

> bastard form that only worked on his fractured operating system. But I've

> certainly had my share of similar disasters, & realized I had to go to

> automatic tape backup for both work & personal stuff (Win95 has 15,000

> admitted bugs, & all Windows operating systems tend to fall apart every

> several years anyway)

>

> So the situation has become strained to say the least. My ex-wife, who

> unfortunately became a serious pessimist, has a saying: " No good deed goes

> unpunished. "

>

> Anyway, I learned a lot from doing the site, & am working on

> finishing it

> & getting it up. Will certainly have to be paid when it goes on line. They

> already have money tied up in it, so I am pretty sure it will work out. But

> I'm certainly going to think twice about helping the next person! Any & all

> suggestions are welcome.

>

> Ken

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

> I certainly felt bad, but he was giving me " I didn't really have a problem

>until you messed with it. " To some extent true, but he had a time bomb.

>After we removed all files from a 1 gig drive, there was still half a gig

>missing!

Ken... We've a saying here and stick to it like GLUE; " I won't touch your

computer until you have a backup of your whole system and preferably, a

separate copy of all your important data " . This way is never blamed

when the walls come crashing down and the customer or friend has lost his

data. He's even gone so far as to have a customer sign an agreement stating

that he has made a recent backup. I had to do this when I had the cable

modem installed. I agree with you, he had a real mess and it was an

accident waiting to happen. He probably knows that too but would much

rather blame you completely than accept any responsibility on his part.

We've a friend who does web pages, hosts web pages, helps SOHO folks getting

up and running online (he also sells accounts on a nationwide ISP), and has

worked his way up to being a VERY viable business. He has health problems

that dictate that he must stay at home and this has worked out very well for

him. It didn't happen overnight but with a lot of work and determination

he's done well! Keep going!!

hugz,

Ruthie

===========================

Ruthie Cunliffe K2ZQ

ruthie@...

http://www.cunliffegroup.com/ruthie/

experimental web cam: http://www.cunliffegroup.com/ruthie/spy/

[Guest guest]

Ruthie,

Have only one thing to add about computer disasters:

Tape backup, tape backup, tape backup!

If you watch COMPUSA for sales it is really cheap. I have one

installed

on my pc & one Sony portable for my laptop & working with customers. With

rebates, the Sony Stor Station came to only $50. Tapes are also heavily

discounted every several weeks. Have the PC tape drive set to do an automatic

incremental backup every night, and I do a full backup every 7 -10 days, or

sooner, depending on what I'm doing.

It's not completely bulletproof, but a lot nicer than having to

completely re-program a system. I decided that for business, had to stay with

one operating system and do the tape backup. Probably comes from a lot of

experience I had with research computers. Managed to take down an entire NSF

system with a delete command where an electron zigged, and made itself into a

global erase command. They had the system completely restored i 2 days & I had

many new enemies!

Ken

At 12:30 PM 9/16/98 -0400, you wrote:

>

>

>> I certainly felt bad, but he was giving me " I didn't really have a problem

>>until you messed with it. " To some extent true, but he had a time bomb.

>>After we removed all files from a 1 gig drive, there was still half a gig

>>missing!

>

>Ken... We've a saying here and stick to it like GLUE; " I won't touch your

>computer until you have a backup of your whole system and preferably, a

>separate copy of all your important data " . This way is never blamed

>when the walls come crashing down and the customer or friend has lost his

>data. He's even gone so far as to have a customer sign an agreement stating

>that he has made a recent backup. I had to do this when I had the cable

>modem installed. I agree with you, he had a real mess and it was an

>accident waiting to happen. He probably knows that too but would much

>rather blame you completely than accept any responsibility on his part.

>

>We've a friend who does web pages, hosts web pages, helps SOHO folks getting

>up and running online (he also sells accounts on a nationwide ISP), and has

>worked his way up to being a VERY viable business. He has health problems

>that dictate that he must stay at home and this has worked out very well for

>him. It didn't happen overnight but with a lot of work and determination

>he's done well! Keep going!!

>

>hugz,

>Ruthie

>===========================

>Ruthie Cunliffe K2ZQ

>ruthie@...

>http://www.cunliffegroup.com/ruthie/

>experimental web cam: http://www.cunliffegroup.com/ruthie/spy/

>

>

>

>

>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

Ruthie,

If you fix toasters, there is *something* wrong that you fix. If

you fix

computers, *everything* is always wrong!

I use a Travan type TR-3 internal that does automatic incrementals at

night. If there's not much to backup, I just turn the computer off that night.

Also got a Sony Stor Station net after rebates for $50.! Seems like these

things don't sell well, & they are always liquidating last month's technology.

Only major problem I have had with them is that unless you

re-format the

drive, they either overwrite existing backup files or just updated files,

leaving what could be tons of garbage files that are either protected or

unduplicated. Because of this, one restore put more on my c drive than it

could

hold. Only fix for that was a new, larger drive. But things were so

confused by

then I had to re-program the whole system from scratch. Fortunately, the first

tape drive had some free extra tapes, so I used one to copy only compressed

program files & such.

That way I could move around programs I didn't have CD's/floppies for,

and then put in the data files from backup.

The CD ROM is an excellent idea, which I didn't do first because of

the

limited capacity. But with drive costs coming down, probably will too,

eventually.

Also considered going to LINUX as an operating system. The big

manufacturers are now writing most major software for LINUX. & UNIX. It is

pretty bullet-proof, but you have to sacrifice some software availability. I'm

sure that someone will write a windows shell for LINUX if it hasn't already

been done.

Ken

At 08:24 AM 9/18/98 -0400, you wrote:

>

>

>>Ruthie,

>>

>> Have only one thing to add about computer disasters:

>>

>> Tape backup, tape backup, tape backup!

>>

>

>

>You got it, Ken! I've had my ups and downs with tape backups over the years

>but still use them. Currently I'm using an Iomega Ditto Max internal tape

>backup system. We also just purchased a CD-R and I'm going to use that as a

>backup to the backup. I'll make a master backup with the CD-R of all our

>systems here and set that aside, probably away from home, just in case. We

>chose the CD-R instead of a CD-RW because we'd like to be able to read the

>CD on any system, not just our own CD-RW. It will also be our primary

>backup for the laptop because our portable tape backup is so stinking slow I

>don't use it as I should and it using the Zip drive with the laptop is

>almost as annoying. Making a backup with our Iomega Ditto Max drives, which

>are in two machines here, over our network never seems to go as well as I'd

>like thus I'm not confident enough of it. The CD-R will resolve that

>problem/worry. The portable tape backup system is one we've had for a

>couple of years but we hardly use it anymore, prefers customers and

>friends to be responsible for the backup of their system, this way we're not

>blamed AT ALL for ANY problems.

>

>Fun, fun fun!

>

>CUL,

>Ruthie

>===========================

>Ruthie Cunliffe K2ZQ

>ruthie@...

>http://www.cunliffegroup.com/ruthie/

>experimental web cam: http://www.cunliffegroup.com/ruthie/spy/

>

>

>

>

>

>------------------------------------------------------------------------

>

[Guest guest]

> If you fix toasters, there is *something* wrong that you fix. If

>you fix

>computers, *everything* is always wrong!

Isn't that the truth! It seems to me that no matter what you are attempting

to do with a computer, meaning upgrades, installs, etc., it's never as easy

as you think it will be!

> I use a Travan type TR-3 internal that does automatic incrementals

at

>night. If there's not much to backup, I just turn the computer off that

night.

I was doing mine every night but usually there wasn't THAT much so I changed

it to once a week, like you..auto at night. When I make major changes I set

it up to do a backup as soon as I'm done. I have three backup tapes, one is

what I think of as a basic and the other two I alternate with.

>Also got a Sony Stor Station net after rebates for $50.! Seems like these

>things don't sell well, & they are always liquidating last month's

technology.

Good deal! I don't know why they didn't sell well but then again I don't

know much about them to make a call on that.

> Also considered going to LINUX as an operating system. The big

>manufacturers are now writing most major software for LINUX. & UNIX. It is

>pretty bullet-proof, but you have to sacrifice some software availability.

I'm

>sure that someone will write a windows shell for LINUX if it hasn't already

>been done.

has been teaching himself Linux and so far he's fascinated with the OS

but it doesn't come easy, not by a long shot. I have no desire to attempt

it. I know enough UNIX to get me around in a shell account for internet

access but even that is fading now that I don't use my shell access anymore.

When the web came to be and I went to a PPP connect, happily, I was glad I

didn't have to " do the UNIX thing " anymore. If I get truly interested and

want to spend the time with it I may dig into his Linux machine someday.

Fun, fun! :-)

CUL,

Ruthie