The white screen of death, I am sure aptly named by ex-Microsoft detractors, is what happens when the hard drive on the computer won’t mount. I did the reasonably sane thing, pulled out the iPhone, and started searching for possible fixes for the problem. Allow another hour of elapsed time and I realize there really is no way of getting around packing the computer up and taking it to the closest, or one of the closest, Apple store so their well advertised Geniuses at the Genius Bar could look at it. For those who are in the need to know, you can actually schedule a time from home to visit one of these geniuses. In my case, I got there, had to set up an appointment, and then waited about an hour and a half before they saw me.

The genius determined the same thing I did: the hard drive is dead.

They checked to see if there was any way of getting my data off the now dead hard drive – they couldn’t; with the outcome that I’ve lost all of the data and documents created (more or less) since I bought the computer. There are some items that were uploaded to different places, my writing samples are all on my website and an external hard drive, and I have some things in email, but for the most part, I get to start over on all of the fiction writing I’ve done since I started working in this environment.

The outcome, a bit more than a hundred dollar’s for a new hard drive and a stand so that air gets all around the laptop and I am back up and running.

What I did notice was that I had to configure the OSX 10.5 install the Apple Store put on the computer (I do have Leopard and took the disks in case they needed them . . . dumb me) then told it to check for updates. If this had been Microsoft, those updates would’ve been downloading and installing for about twelve hours. I was done in under an hour.

At this time, I reinstalled iWork and Firefox, made sure iTunes is up-to-date and am hoping when I sync my iPhone and the iPod Classic and (maybe) get the paid for music not backed up on Erin‘s computer or the external hard drive.

The outcome, my computer is back to being alive and well. I lost everything. And I am happy.

Real Heroes Fly ]]> http://www.johnhattaway.com/2009/05/the-white-screen-or-what-happens-when-hard-drives-go-to-heaven/feed/ 0 http://www.johnhattaway.com/2009/04/things-that-happened-when-i-didnt-update/ http://www.johnhattaway.com/2009/04/things-that-happened-when-i-didnt-update/#comments Sat, 04 Apr 2009 06:21:53 +0000 smokingpen http://www.johnhattaway.com/?p=1797 This week has been interesting. The lack of updates has been more a result of me working graveyards than anything else. I get home, spend some time with CAMPER and Erin and then I go to bed and sleep for a period of hours before I wake up, spend a little more time with CAMPER and Erin (hopefully) before I head off to work. At the moment I am sitting in front of my computer after 1 a.m. because I took over with CAMPER (he’s asleep and someone has to pay attention to him and his needs) and he is now back to sleep AND I am not tired, though I hope to get another four hours of sleep before sunrise, I am in for the long-haul.

I did apply (or start the application process) for a graduate program. Sent them my resume (which is required) and my writing sample (just a wee bit longer than 20 pages). Erin offered to go over it again, but I decided that we could nitpick until the cows came home and, at least for the moment, it needed to be sent out into the world to live its own life. I am currently beating my head against a required Personal Statement. I need to send that over as well, get some mailings together, look up how to get the three different schools I spent parts of my undergraduate career at to send the transcripts over to the new university, and then cross my fingers to get in.

Speaking of fingers, a couple of nights ago, whilst at work, I sliced open the index finger on my left hand. The manager on duty asked if I could just put a bandaid on it. Since it was both long, over a joint, and deep I said, “No,” and then went to the Emergency Room. It’s sad to note that that was the easy part, when I got back to work last night I was told I had a bunch of paperwork to fill out and that I had to go to a compulsory drug screening at 8 a.m. this morning. Gotta tell you, I am normally in bed or ready for bed and heading (quickly) in that direction by the time I was to be drug screened and that a salaried member of management had to take me. The outcome was me staying at work for an extra couple of hours, me finishing ALL of the computer-based learning modules – including power lifting equipment (which means I will get to use power lifting equipment in the near future) – and then (smelling of dirty human being) was taken for the drug screening.

All I can really say is, “Thank god for not having a shy bladder.”

Anyway, finally made it home. Waited with CAMPER until Erin had gotten ready for the day and then slept for about four hours. When I woke up, Erin and I went on a date where we ate at Bennigans, bought some things for Easter, went to the bookstore where books were purchased (though absolutely none for me, which is amazing as I generally use any excuse to buy books) before heading home and ensuring CAMPER was asleep and then I was put to bed, which is where I was until about midnight when I got up, told Erin to get some sleep, and let CAMPER sleep on top of me for about an hour.

Really, I’ve had some thoughts about things to write. While working graveyards and having music piped (pretty) directly into my ears most of the night realized something important:

It is against the laws of Islaam for djinni to take on the form of animals.

Not the kind of important (I am sure) you thought it would be. However, along with a new application I am using on the iPhone, SmartGo (I am a little amazed at the iPhone adaptation when the company does not support Mac), I have been trying to connect disparate pieces of a story together. I  know this story is going to be something significant for me AND at the same time I have to have more than character A arrives in town, meets character B, and ends with the opening of object Z. Confusing, but it makes a lot of sense to me. Not really the point other than to say that I’ve discovered aspects of my story I didn’t know existed before. And yes, the above is actually very important.

Real Heroes Fly ]]> http://www.johnhattaway.com/2009/04/things-that-happened-when-i-didnt-update/feed/ 2 http://www.johnhattaway.com/2008/08/the-better-part/ http://www.johnhattaway.com/2008/08/the-better-part/#comments Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:08:18 +0000 smokingpen http://www.johnhattaway.com/?p=965 Sometimes when life starts tossing rotten lemons at you, experience dictates that you turn the other cheek and take the better part of valor by not responding to whatever thing you think you should respond to. One of the hallmarks of an immature person is someone who reacts eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth. Like responses to injury are an Old Testament, Moses thing. It’s a theoretically immature people (collectively) unprepared for the responsibility of a higher covenant. Since this is not a religious post, but a post on maturity, the outcome lends itself to flame wars online.

I won’t point anywhere specifically, but what is interesting to me is that many aspects of the internet are created by individuals who are talented at programming but do not have the emotional capacity to handle criticism, especially competitive criticism heaped on by peers. What makes all of this pertinent is that when you use the internet and you find something you like, chances are it was developed (or at least programmed) by someone who was sub-30, has a lot of talent, and also has very little to know control over emotions and is willing and able to speak up and sabotage other people.

And this is why, on the internet, flame wars are so dangerous. Because you will, more than likely, cause someone to get made who is emotionally immature and who knows more about how the internet works than you. The emotional immature is the actual problem.

John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West

Real Heroes Fly

My job on campus is supposed to be a webdeveloper position. Essentially, I come to work and help in the creation and display of websites. I don’t mind telling you all that I felt qualified to make changes (I still do), but I didn’t feel a whole lot when it came to creating pages from scratch. I don’t see myself as possessing the visually creative gene. Some people do and can create dynamically appealing websites; I, on the other hand, can create functional websites with (what I consider) very little visual appeal. S’why this site (and others) remain so… BLAH!!!!

I do like knowing something about CSS though.

I also like the fact that my boss will push different non-design related things my way – and he is patient in allowing me to do what I can (and am comfortable) do within the group. What I can do: create new pages from old templates and research issues and provide (possible) solutions (often implemented).

One problem that presented its ugly head (last month) was the main site being cracked. Yes, I am tempted to post the site I work for on here (and no it is not the main BYU website), but I won’t. The crack on the site was pretty benign, though a lot disturbing, which inserted a lot (read thousands) of invisible links into the index.html page. What this does is create a positive improvement for the receiving site (Google, MSN,