Freedom

Logan's computer is stunningly fast. This could have something to do with the fact that my computer is a few years old and currently has about 300 megabytes of space left on it, down from some reasonable amount of gigabytes when I first got it. My computer probably has a little indigestion and can't really get Photoshop started in a reasonable amount of time because he's bloated, all right? Leave him alone and maybe pull some of these pictures off your hard drive once in a while.

My computer has begun doing this really fun thing where, while I'm typing it just *BOOM* shuts off! On the bright side I've become quite adept at saving often, on the dark side I continue to lose data at least once a day.

Most of the time, if I ask nicely, the machine will turn back on immediately after this fun game of "Shut Down!" But with increasing frequency the stupid thing will turn off for hours on end and then, for no apparent reason, it will power back on.

This has been happening for a while now and you may be asking yourself, "Gee, why wouldn't you just take it in to get it fixed? And for God's sake lady, back up your photos!"

The only possible answer is I like this churning feeling in my gut as I ponder all the data I've lost.

My computer was kind enough to allow me to complete both my pieces at The Buzz Off and Ordering Disorder. At The Buzz Off I'm sharing a new (to me) Halloween tradition one can do in a neighborhood where you don't mostly wish a pox upon your neighbors with the boat as big as their house.

At Ordering Disorder I'm cooking from the new Jessica Seinfeld cookbook, Deceptively Delicious with mixed results.

Logan and I have not gone away, without kids, in three years. The last time we left them for the weekend was when Logan ran the Chicago marathon. This was big fun since he had to eat a lot of pasta, couldn't drink at all, had to attend a running expo, went to bed at 9pm both nights and then ran for an ungodly amount of time. Don't worry the night after the run we went out to dinner, or rather we hobbled out for dinner. When Logan saw our table was on the second floor of the restaurant, he threw his body down in the lobby and cried for his mommy. Big big fun!

Tonight after work Logan is running 20 miles as part of his current marathon training. He's doing this because he doesn't want to squeeze it in over the weekend. Because this weekend we will have exactly zero children with us because we're going to celebrate my brother's 40th birthday in Indianapolis.

There are a few things you don't do when you have a rare weekend away without the kids. You don't bite your tongue as you deal with your daughter's rampant anxiety. You don't cut up anyone else's food. You don't wake up at 7 am and you sure as hell don't run 20 miles.

I don't think I've ever been this excited to go to Indy.

Comments

[LadyBug]

I read that cookbook title as "Deceptively Delicious with mixed results." Cracked me right up.

Have fun on your kid-free weekend!

[angelawd]

No way, Scott is turning 40? That can't be possible. That makes me...ick.

[srah]

Is yours a desktop or a laptop? My three-year-old laptop's battery doesn't fit properly into the battery spot anymore, so it sometimes doesn't make the right connections. If I'm working from the battery and the battery shifts in its compartment thingy, it will just shut down.

[Ariel]

I learned the very hard way that your internal (startup) hard drive should never be more than about 80% full, 90% max. The original 40gb drive on my Powerbook was 99% full, and when it inevitably crashed, it was gone gone gone. The disk-repair utilities need empty space to do their magic. So please, for the sake of your sanity, back that stuff up (twice if you can!) and clear some of it off. You don't want to lose EVERYTHING like I did. External hard drives are cheap. Way cheaper than paying someone $600 to manually scrape the 0s and 1s off your dead hard drive.

David Pogue of the NYT put it best: "There are only two kinds of people: Those who back up their computers, and those who will."

[/lecture]

[ang]

My computer started doing that--turning off randomly, restarting only when it felt like it. We finally figured out that the fan wasn't turning on--shutting down was a failsafe to keep the motherboard from frying. Just before I had it fixed I was cooling it in the fridge for about 20 minutes, backing up some data, then 20 minutes in the fridge again.

[Cadbury]

Don't get me started on the constraints of partner to the marathon runner! Last Thursday, I rearranged all my business travel to fly to Reno, so that I could drive 2 hours north on Friday for the Biz Johnson trail marathon on Sat in Susanville, CA. On arriving, and chatting with other runners, we learned that the marathon was actually on SUNDAY! Of course, there were no available rooms, nothing to eat, nothing to do, and lots of COLD!

[Sumo]

Disclaimer: I don't know beans about laptops/notebooks, so the following will primariily relate directly to desktop units.

First, getting a second hard drive and backing up your data is definitely something you need to do. An external drive with a USB connector would be easiest, though internal would be cheaper.

All that being said, I agree wth ang that it sounds more like an overheating problem, so open up your case and check ALL your fans. The most obvious one is the big one sitting on the processor. Then there is the one in the power supply (where the power cord plugs into the computer). It might be hard to see if it is running, so just feel for air flow. If it isn't working you should just replace the power supply (see below). There might be a fan attached to the back and/or front of the case. And there could be one built onto the graphics card. Or, it may be that a fan is much slower and less efficient because it has gathered so much dust and cat fur on it... try blowing the fans off with some of that canned air. You'll be amazed at how much crap comes out.

It could also be that your power supply is getting flaky. I'm not sure how you test them, but they are very easy to replace and relatively inexpensive. Well, inexpensive if you watch your ads or buy online (like at newegg.com).

Oh, have fun in Indy!

[Lisa]

Enjoy your kid-free weekend!

We just had a kid-free weeekend last week, but alas we were in Chicago so my husband could run the marathon (that seemed to be relocated to the sun ~ sweet Jesus it was hot). Fortunately my husband doesn't subscribe to the no drinking/no fun rules before a race. We actually spent Friday night at a crappy little corner dive bar with another couple (that husband also ran the race) buying round after round of drinks.

[Jessica]

My computer was randomly shutting of much like yours - turns out it was overheating. I put a little fan behind it to blow on the back parts and voila, computer stayed on! And by little fan, I mean like a little four inch fan. Worked like a charm!

[Alana]

Don't you have a Mac? My iMac G5 was doing the shut off thing a few weeks ago. It turns out that it was the systems management unit, I think, and was covered. There was a certain generation that had that defect. We took it in to the Mac store and they fixed it for free. It's now good as new.

So, if you have a Mac, you might want to see if that is the problem. Good luck!

I apologize if my post doesn't make much sense. I have a two-week-old baby, and am sleep deprived.

[BOSSY]

You may want to cut up your own food, though. Choking hazard and whatnot.

[CinAA]

I am so jealous of a kidless weekend. I'd even go to Indy for one.

I'm joining the chorus to tell you it is overheating. My husband's (Toshiba?) laptop is doing the same thing, and we are using the "have a little fan nearby to blow on it" technique while he mulls over what new laptop he wants.

[Coma Girl]

I am also enjoying a kid-free weekend. I am in Detroit.

Not only am I in Detroit, but I am staying at a hotel at the airport with no rental car.

And I could not be happier!

[ImTheFunkyMonkey]

WOW... the NYC marathon. I am exhausted just thinking about such a thing. All hail Xenu - rumor has it that Kate Holmes - Cruise will also be running the NYC marathon... look out for her!!

[encorelady]

enjoy yr time
we just went to LA and the result was amazing
we got out of cars and walked into buildings
seamless smooth transistions
point a to b
we all need kid free time
glimpses of the way things used to be
freedom
play hard