Tag: technology

Many years ago, I worked as a tech writer. I knew the importance of making copies of my work, so I’d faithfully backup my files each Friday as I wrapped up the workweek.

One Friday was particularly hectic, and in a rush to begin my weekend, I postponed making my backup, planning to do it first thing Monday morning. That was my first mistake.

My second error is that I left my computer running. Over the weekend, a power spike corrupted the files. As a result, I lost forty hours of carefully crafted writing. I needed to revert to my backup from the prior week.

Although dismayed at my shortsightedness, I immediately began reconstructing my lost work. Fortunately, the second pass went much quicker, and I was able to recompose everything by midday Wednesday. As a bonus, the second version was better than the first.

Having experienced firsthand the importance of frequently backing up my work, I became fastidious in doing so. It’s a practice that continues to this day. Not only do I make backups on a network drive, but I also use an automatic off-site backup service.

For people who feel they can’t afford the 40 dollars or so annual fee for such a service, they should at least sign up for a free Gmail account and email themselves a copy of important files each time they finish working.

But some people still don’t follow this advice. Periodically, I hear from aspiring writers who lost their entire book when their hard drive crashed. Ouch!

Please make sure I never hear your name mentioned in such a devastating story.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices. Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

There is a growing phenomenon of people who can’t seem to survive without their cell phones and/or Internet access. They have a compulsion to stay connected 24/7. When they go on vacation, they won’t leave without their technology.

They actually develop anxiety when they’re electronically disconnected from the rest of the world. The thought of unplugging causes panic and a foreboding sense of loss and confusion.

In a way, I understand this. In my work technology is an essential element, which without I could not accomplish much. For those rare times when I lose my Internet connection, I feel helpless because so much of what I do requires access to Cyberspace—such as composing this blog entry.

Yet, when I end my workday, I can make it without being online. Yes, the World Wide Web is a nice tool and a convenient resource, but it is just a tool, nothing more; it is not essential to life and living. I can survive without it.

On my recent trip, I chose not to lug my laptop. As such, I went 90-plus hours without checking email. What a pleasant break!

True, I did pay for it when I returned, with hundreds of messages clamoring for my attention and requiring a full day to wade through, but the respite from the information superhighway was wonderfully refreshing.

I did pack my cell phone, but that was primarily to call home. (By the way, my cell phone is just a phone—no Internet access, no text, nothing but voice). Even then, the cell phone was off much of the time—and didn’t work in the convention center anyway.

Frankly, despite my great affection for technology and constant use of it at work, I look forward to those times when I can totally set it aside and live life sans Internet and cell phone.

I can disconnect, can you?

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices. Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

As I mentioned on Valentines Day, I bought my bride a printer to express my deep and abiding love. That’s quite romantic of me, but I can’t help it; that’s just the way I am. I actually hooked up the printer early – I had plenty else planned for V-Day itself.

My intent was to get up early Saturday morning and have a working printer before she ventured out of the bedroom.

How hard could it be to hook up a printer?  Unbox it, connect the cables, turn it on, and boot the computer.  Just “plug and play.”  I’ve hooked up printers many times before — in a couple of minutes.  Yet this effort took more than three hours.  I was not a happy camper.

The install was anything but straight-forward.  Twice I was prompted for the install disk, I had to download several updates, and then there were “dueling windows” to contend with.  My quandary was which one to do first. 

Was it more important to “reboot now,” click “OK to continue,” or allow the update file to continue downloading?

Then there was way too much time wasted on installing the ink cartridges.  My unit’s insides simply did not match the picture.  I pushed, prodded, and probed, but could not ascertain were to insert the messy little contraptions. 

Eventually I determined that the carriage that holds the buggers was hidden under a panel on the far left of the unit, when it was supposed to be in plain sight on the far right.  Never mind that the instructions and diagram failed to even hint at the possibility of this annoying anomaly.

However, way before the test sheet printed, my bride appeared.  She was a bit dismayed, unsure of what she should do or say — all the while sensing that anything would be the wrong thing. 

Frustrated and flummoxed, I was certainly not in the proper frame of mind to romantically convey my true love for her with words of eloquence or a clever printout of a red heart.

Once again, my efforts at romance failed — this time, stymied by an obstinate printer.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices. Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.