Tag Archives: G4 desktop

Digital Housekeeping

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Sunshine, it brings light into life in so many ways! Today was beautiful. It was -24C out there when I arose this morning. Now, at 5 p.m. it is -10C. The blue sky and white snow were so beckoning that I bundled up and headed out for my walk. Oh how I appreciate the knee warmer my Mom knitted for me, it kept my knee functioning and pain free for the whole 20 minutes that I was out of doors. I feel much better for getting out for my walk, as I have been confined to the house through the cold snap earlier in the week, and then the blizzard that followed.

The backup project is proceeding slowly. I have about 40GB of music files, some of which are backed up on CD, and some not backed up at all. I began the sort today, storing the files that have already been burned to CDs in a separate folder. That was step one. Step two will be burning the rest of the files on data DVDs. The files need to be organized, saved on both of the computers, the external usb drive, the Cloud, and the DVDs. Then the bulk of the project will be complete.

My oh my, how I regret not having been consistent with the digital housekeeping over the last 24 years.

I have a G4 computer that was purchased around 2001, it is still going strong. It is dated and will not manage online activities. It is just too old. Terra had expressed an interest in Photoshop and the Adobe creative software packages, all of which I owned when the G4 was new. I sent all the hardware and software to Terra. However, she barely got started with it when she found out she was pregnant. That is the end of learning Photoshop! She will be returning the computer and accessories, to get it out of her way. I have yet to decide what to do with it! Really, it would only be good for working on office tasks, like letter writing, database management, spreadsheets, modest graphics work, etc. It is extremely slow compared to new computers, so I doubt anyone would want to use it at all. But of course, there are no viruses, trojans, or malware of any kind developed for that machine, so it would be good for working with and storing sensitive information.

I have only had two Macintosh computers that wore out on me over the last 24 years, and both of them were laptops. The rest of my computers just keep going and going and going… I have given away the Apple llE, the 7300, and even the laptops that had worn out. The G4 is still going strong after 15 years, although it cannot be updated to the current operating system. The iMac is still going strong after 9 years, and can still be updated to current operating systems; it is getting very slow. My present main computer has been very reliable, a four year old MacBook Air, and it still does everything I need it to do.

I am not sure what I will do with my time when I get all of these computers backed up. I think it would be a fine idea for spring to arrive, just as I finish the job. Tomorrow would be good. Did you hear that spring? I am into it if you are.

The birthday rose. Attila gave me a potted pink rose for my birthday. The blooms are spent now, and the plant is sending out new delicate green leaves.
BirthdayRose

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-10°C
Date: 5:00 PM EST Thursday 18 February 2016
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 103.8 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: -10.0°C
Dewpoint: -18.6°C
Humidity: 50%
Wind: SW 7 km/h
Wind Chill: -14

Quote

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
Henry Ward Beecher
1813 – 1887

Saturday!

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This morning we were up and “at em'” at 3:30 a.m., to begin our very first weekend together here at Mist Cottage. That is the time Attila needs to get up for the next two weeks, to accommodate the shift he will be working. Since we retired to bed at 8:30 p.m. last night, we had no trouble waking up so early in the morning.

Today the washing machine will be installed in the basement, in theory. This house has given shelter to people who must have had next to no resources. The renovations that were done here used bits of lumber, and particle board pieces, all patched together to make studs and walls in the basement. This has come to light this morning during the attempt to move the washing machine into the area with plumbing. The last wall of a former mouldy bedroom is being removed, as this entry is being typed. The wall removal includes relocating a light switch and an electrical outlet. Not your usual prep work for installing a washing machine.

Yesterday the plumbing was redone, to accommodate the installation of a washing machine. Of course, one thing leads to another, and the old original kitchen tap began to leak when the water was turned back on. Another project, fix the leaking tap in the kitchen.

Attila has been enjoying himself. The extra preparation work for the washing machine install isn’t bothering him one bit. It is slowing down the project, but there is no hurry to get that done.

Yesterday I reduced the number of food canisters by two, by using the flour and the raisins in the canisters brought here from the country house. I baked raisin scones, a personal favourite of mine. There are more duplicates in the kitchen to merge, which means I will be doing a lot of baking for the next little while.

Terra dropped by yesterday for a chat, just in time for try my fresh baked raisin scones. She mentioned that she was thinking of buying a computer to do graphics. My old G4 desktop has a legal full version of Photoshop and Illustrator, so I offered the computer to her, and she carted away the computer, monitor, keyboard, and two boxes of software. None of the software will run on my newer computers, and I seldom, almost never, use it for anything else, so I am very happy that it is going to a good home.

This morning I gathered together the bits of dishes, and cutlery, and pots, and other kitchen items, all to go to the local women’s shelter. I considered having a lawn sale this morning, but really, for the $20 or so that I would make selling the items, it just doesn’t make sense. A yard sale is a lot of work, and I don’t like doing it. It is more important to me that the items make someone else’s life a little easier.

We filled three big boxes, and headed over to the local women’s shelter with them. They did not want the dishes, as they already had too many, but they were grateful for the other items, and there were a lot of other items. We were grateful that the items will be useful to someone. The dishes will go to a large corporate donation store in the nearby city, the next time I visit. We didn’t get everything into the boxes though, so another box is sitting in a corner ready to receive more duplicate items to pass along.

By mid-morning Attila had the washing machine installed. The first load was his work clothes. Wow, the machine is loud! It makes lots of incredible noises, but I know that soon I will be accustomed to them, and I will no longer notice them. The top loading machine is a little different than the front loading machine, and the clothes seem to be just as clean, and just as wrung out as with the front loader. We can conveniently leave the lid open when the machine is not in use, so that we shouldn’t have the issues with mould that were so persistent with the front loading machine.

I followed up with two loads of linens, and a load of my own clothes. Now the clotheslines are swaying in the breeze with our fresh, clean laundry.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

22°C
Date: 1:00 PM EDT Thursday 24 September 2015
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.9 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: 21.9°C
Dewpoint: 14.4°C
Humidity: 62%
Wind: NE 18 km/h
Humidex: 26

Quote

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
Carl Jung
1875 – 1961