When I started this morning it was a 'chilly' 28C in here. I have managed to finish and tartify the next chapter of VotV so it is up for your enjoyment. Now it is 32C and things are getting a bit too much even for me, let alone the equipment.
I'm sorry everything has taken so long but Real Life(tm), you know? Assuming the weather breaks, and I don't get burnt out of my home, then things should become a little easier in the next month or so.
Which reminds me: When disaster strikes, have you got your stories backed up on a separate drive or USB key which is sitting in a building somewhere else entirely? Just askin'.
Penny
Comments
Excellent Advice Ms. Lane
Back up without question and if one wishes to be extra sure several different formats. I'm betting everyone is like myself and promising, cross my heart, hope to die, I'll back up, and....? Yes you know the rest of the story. A lot of stories are on five and half inch floppies and four inch disks. I have six hard drives in a box I keep promising to put in the reader I have which can extract data from dead drives and..., you probably know the rest of that story also.
Maybe tomorrow..., yes I'll get right on it..., okay another rest of the story.
Hugs Ms. Lane, maybe a jump drive, a fireproof safe for all your important records and your stories?
Barb
And when tomorrow comes and there are no more tomorrows?
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Doing what you're good at
I'm told that you should do what you're good at; it turns out that I'm really good at procrastinating. Someone observing me could easily conclude that my motto was: "Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow."
I have a thumb drive that lives in a USB slot on my laptop. It's simply a matter of calling up drive D: in one window and drive E: in another and doing a drag and drop of my data folder from D: to E: and waiting the two minutes for it to transfer the data. After that find and click the button to prepare the thumb drive to eject and wallah; all backed up.
You'd think that would be easy enough that I'd do it regularly. And, sporadically I do. But recently, my C: drive crashed and my thumb drive hadn't been prepared to eject for many days, so I lost the ending of one story and a couple of chapters in two more. Fortunately, D: drive was unaffected so after getting the computer repaired, the lost data could be retrieved.
But you know what? I'm currently using the back-up computer I bought in anticipation of getting that computer's keyboard replaced and the thumb drive hasn't been updated or prepared to eject in days. I'll do it today because I just got back from the repair shop with my laptop and I'm going to swap back to it.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin ein femininer Mann
I strongly recommend ...
... a free piece of s/w called Synchredible as a back up tool. Because it only backs up folders/files that are new or changed it's quite quick. It's free to none business users.
I've also got 5 1/4" floppies as well as 3.5" ones and CD/DVD back-ups.
Storage moves on; when I first got involved with micro-processors (MC6800) everything was on C90 cassettes, including the assemblers and simulators. That was back in the 1970s. And who has a reel to reel tape recorder/player now? The first time I heard my voice as others do was in 1950ish when my Dad recorded me on a wire recorder he had to sell in our electrical shop!
Excellent Advice Ms. Lane
I know what you mean about having things on old drives and floppies that you "should" get off & on new media soon. LOL I still have a 5 1/4" drive & some disks out in my shop as well. Nothing on those disks that I really care about however. I'm something of a packrat I guess. I found a copy of Windows 3.1 still in it's box on top of a shelf the other day. *sigh* That will come in handy some day I'm sure. Oiy!
Blossom
Good advice!
Luckily, this kind of disasters tends to spare me.
I commented about that under the chapter, but maybe this is the more proper place.
Isn't it time to make some more visualisation for the world of Anmar? Big and detailed maps? Images of animals, characters, places? Descriptions of what still only you know about it? I am tempted to offer help with that.
There are maps
Actually, there are maps, almost all expertly drawn by Julia Phillips. They can be found here: Map Repository.
These are all (mostly? PDFs but can be expanded a certain amount. I have copies of the originals which are .svg and can be expanded from half a continent right down to individual building level - where the buildings have been placed, of course, which is mostly Blackstone.
In VotV the 'upstream' region of the Sirrel needed developing for that story and so I have expanded and enhanced some small sections to help follow the story. I may add those to the general collection in time.
All the maps are available to folk with logins to the Anmar website.
Penny
Dogs have owners; cats have staff. Grand-daughters have minions.
I am aware of these
19 maps and a picture of Julina of Blackstone?
What I meant is something much more detailed and richer. Maps of the quality and the detail of a very good map of a real place. Probably images of many landscapes, buildings, characters, animals, trees... Your stories contain plenty of information about many more places etc, it is just spread over, not given in one place.
BTW, the link to the Anmar website in the comment is broken.
Well, finally!
Yes, I am paranoid about losing important documents, deeds, insurance policies, family photos from the 1920's onward, birth certificates, passport, etc, all scanned and labeled so I can print out copies as needed. Many could be irreplaceable if lost due to fire, power surge, etc.
I have 2 internal data drives with backup folders plus an external drive that I keep in small fire proof Sentry type box which I store inside a large 1930's double door safe. With all that, I have thumb drives at my daughter's home in their safe just in case. On that note, please don't forget to add new documents into a folder and update your stored information as needed.
Blossom