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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Brainfail: digital version

Last Monday Lambda Literary went live. Tuesday, I rested. Wednesday, my computer got weird. Thursday, my hard drive failed. Utterly.

I run Carbonite, which backs up data (mostly; it doesn't back up video or anything over 4 GB, unless you remember to tell it to do so, sigh). But I've been working so hard the last couple of weeks and my old computer was under such strain that I kept pausing Carbonite to coax extra performance and cut wait times. (Note to self: never, ever do this.) Most crucially for me, it doesn't appear to back up settings and log-ins and all that fiddly stuff.

I swore that my next computer would be a Mac, so that's what I'm typing this on. A naked Mac Mini: no software, no video, no settings, no customised keyboard (no printer, not even Carbonite yet, because it's literally fresh out of the box).

And let me tell you, typing is hard. I've been using the same wildly customised ergonomic keyboard for nearly fifteen years: splayed, spread, curved, and raised. Using this thin and skimpy (quite beautiful) keyboard is like trying to speak another language. I think with my hands. My hands are currently inarticulate. That plus a brand new OS and none of my files (yet) and none of my settings (ever again) is making me feel a bit snappish.

I do not, not want to run Windows on this machine, so the next week or two will be full of hunting for serial numbers and negotiating with little software companies to get discounted Mac versions of their apps and.or figuring out how to pay for other software. And learning how to use it. And all I want to do is work on Hild. (I didn't lost any Hild. I back that up obsessively.)

So, yeah, snappish. On the other hand, this machine is bee-yoo-ti-ful. And Lambda Literary is up and looking good. And Kelley made oatmeal and craisin biscuits. Doesn't suck.

This blog has moved. My blog now lives here: http://nicolagriffith.com/blog/

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