Browsing the archives for the Heavy Lifting category

It’s Good To Backup

1 Comment
16 Oct, 2009
Heavy Lifting, Tech Support, Wisdom I Have Learned

You’ve heard that. You know it’s true. You may even have done it, or at least think you have done it. This has become an especially important topic for those of us who have a WordPress blog (such as this) or a personally maintained photo gallery, such as Gallery2.

It seems the first thing that’s emphasized is the importance of backing up the system’s database. Most packages provide specific instructions for doing that. If you have done that you figure you’re done. After all your blog or gallery is the same thing in your mind as the database. The trick here is that the database is a particular thing used by web systems to enable them to function. It’s not your data — your content — it’s data about your data. After you have backed it up you still have not completely backed up your blog or gallery.

Your blog or gallery consists of three things:

  • the content (the wise words in your blog or the great shots in your gallery)
  • the program package that tells it how to work,  and
  • the database that describes its structure so it will work

The entire system resides on a web server somewhere. To back up the database you follow instructions explaining how to use mySQL to back it up and download it to your computer where you store it somewhere safe. Now, if anything happens to the system as it resides on the far away web server you would have a copy that can be used to restore the database, but you cannot necessarily “rescue” the programs nor your content.

To backup the programs and your content that are on the web server you need a FTP capability — a package such as FileZilla — to download them to your computer where you can store them.

There is one further consideration about backups that goes beyond what is needed to backup a blog or a photo gallery. What about any files that are stored on your computer that you do not want to lose?  Have you backed them up onto something that is stored away from where your computer is,  so they will be safe in the case something happens to your computer or its location?

In the “old days” we did not have many of these files so we could store them on floppy disks or later on CDs. They didn’t take up much room and we could keep them at some other location we felt was secure. Now there are many more files and they have become quite large. Furthermore we’d like to back them up frequently and immediately move the backups “off site.” Two packages that can be used to accomplish this are Mozy and the new S3SystemBackup. One final decision you will need to make if you decide to use such a package is whether and how much to backup backups you have stored on your computer of your blog or your photo gallery.

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=420

Why Are We at War with the Taliban?

1 Comment
26 Sep, 2009
Heavy Lifting, United States

Well, let’s see: the Taliban are really, really nasty people. You do know, don’t you how they treat women and children, and criminals. You don’t want to be caught stealing in Taliban territory, not using a hand that’s a favorite of yours. But, there are also nasty people in Darfur, and in Somalia, and actually in some neighborhoods here in Los Angeles. We could be trying to clean them out, too, right, if nastiness is the criterion for directing the firepower and youth of the United States of American to get rid of nastiness or at least correcting nasty behavior.

I heard another idea today. Since the guy from Denver arrested as a probable terrorist is from Afghanistan, then obviously we must keep up the war; otherwise we’ll be troubled with more like him. But, but, he trained in Pakistan not Afghanistan. Pakistan is where the anti-American guys are nesting now. Also, in my humble opinion continuing to bomb innocent Afghan civilians in our efforts to root out Taliban bad buys might actually be motivating more folks with links to Afghanistan to want to do something bad to us.

OK, then how about this, the Taliban supported the Al Qaeda guys. Yes, they did, but those guys seem to have melted into Pakistan now. Well, they did it in the past, and they deserve to be punished.

Another idea is that we’ve got to keep on keeping on. We’re in there now; we’ve been mucking around in the country for 8 years now. It would really look bad to leave now and the United States would lose credibility. After all we do want the world to believe we continue wars even if they’re pointless, wasteful, impolitic and possibly evil. What kind of a reputation would that give us if we were to quit now? People are still laughing at Russia and England, and way back, even at Genghis Khan, for running away from Afghanistan and calling it a quagmire.

So, I guess we’ll keep on keeping on. The one job I really wouldn’t want is having to come up with the words that come after: “Your son/daughter died in Afghanistan to…”

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=414

Today August 26, 2009 in 100 Seconds

No Comments
26 Aug, 2009
Heavy Lifting, United States

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=404

Thank Heavens The Prez Will Save Us

23 Jun, 2009
Heavy Lifting, Thoughts, United States

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=387

The Latest on “Kings”

22 Apr, 2009
Entertainment, Heavy Lifting

Originally this was entitled “I Still Like ‘Kings.'” Instead of congratulating myself on that, the latest first is that there will be no more episodes until summer. By summer who knows whether it will still be around. Next it will be gone I fear. It makes no sense to me that NBC would have the courage to try a show so daring on network TV but not maintain the courage to support it until it finds an audience. It’s too complicated (to the point of including “God talk”) and adult for network TV:

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=302

Frightening FACTS for Fearless Folks

14 Apr, 2009
Heavy Lifting

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=296

George Soros on Currencies

7 Apr, 2009
Economy, Heavy Lifting

What’s George Soros’ opinion of the dollar? I’m not sure he says here. One really has to read between the lines.

In this part of the interview doesn’t he hint that he likes gold?

He also says things aint goin’ back to where they were.

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=292

I Take CNBC with More Than One Grain of Salt

5 Mar, 2009
Economy, Heavy Lifting, Humor

It isn’t wise to slavishly follow what is shown on CNBC, and for heavens sake, when they start yelling, mute it!

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=202

‘Tis a Ponderment

25 Feb, 2009
Heavy Lifting, Humor

To click on the pronunciation of “ponder” is to experience a frisson of bewilderment.

https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=149

PONDER “The Phenomenon of Man”

Feb, 2009
Heavy Lifting

Many words went through my mind to headline what I’d like to do with The Phenomenon of Man — study, discuss, review, examine, critique, etc. — but I chose “ponder” as the one that best describes what I want to do.

First of all what am I hoping to get from The Phenomenon of Man? I’m looking for

  • a scientific-philosophical proof for the existence of the mind (soul?) separate in some fashion from the existence of the body
  • a demonstration that the Internet/Facebook/IRC/Twitter phenomena we use day-by-day is definitely gathering us into some version of the Noosphere

What should come after this is a first attempt of mine to describe where I am in my ponderment (sorry, I couldn’t stop myself) with the hope that it may elicit others to join in with comments other than ones focused on my obvious lack of erudition.

Tagged , ,
https://manageknowledge.us/blog/?p=140

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