Backups - Here we go again

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This is probably my third post this year about backups, but it's sooo important.  

If you have been following my twitter feed, you will know that I've recently experienced a hard drive failure of my boot (C:) drive on my main multimedia computer tower which is actually composed of two uber fast hard drives (at the time anyway) that spin at 10,000 RPM (normal is 5000+ RPM, up to 7,200 RPM).

The drive is covered under the 5 year warranty so I will get a free replacement from Western Digital, but what isn't covered of course is any loss of data.

Here's my current backup scenario for the main tower.

My backup system for the C drive is composed of an Acronis True Image Home edition backed up weekly to my Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ 4 Terabyte system, which itself is backed up to an external USB drive system.  My C drive does not contain any data, just programs and windows so its non-critical.

When I am ready to restore, all I need is access to my image files (copy them over to a local drive probably), and my restore CD created within Acronis.  

For my drives containing data, I use another external hard drive for immediate backups using Acronis True Image and then online / offsite backup using Mozy. 

I should note that I have multiple computers that also serve as backups to this main computer I work on.  So in case nothing is working right on this computer, I have a few more I can jump on to get work done.  Although sometimes with licensing issues, I experience some downtime while I transfer a license or program over - same thing with settings and macros.  

I haven't decided if I want to go all flash storage yet for the C drive, especially since my drives set in RAID 0 is pretty darned fast already and Black Friday is coming around the corner.

I think I'll wait.

Save 10% on MOZY and get up to 3 months free by using the promo code OCTOBER

Acronis True Image Home 2011

Are dangerous levels of microwaves leaking from your oven?

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I made the disturbing discovery today after unboxing my Trifield 100XE EMF Meter I had packed away from storage.  I discovered that the microwave oven is leaking dangerous amounts of microwaves when its in operation.  Luckily we mostly set the microwave and forget it (sometimes completely) and come back to it later for the food.

I walked around the checked the levels of various items around the house and found the following:

 

  • The microwave oven was emitting dangerous levels from the door.  Even from 7 feet away!  The shielding was not doing a good job.  From the sides where there are metal enclosures all around is safe.
  • A Panasonic massage chair emits over the 3 milligauss threshold regularly.  Even while off.
  • Old school CRT monitors and CRT TV screens emissions are very high from the back and sides.  OK if you are a few feet away from them like say watching from the couch.
  • Consumer Wifi routers are generally within the safe limits.
  • AC Adapters emit fairly high levels.  Don't keep an AC adapter near your head when you sleep at night.
  • Washing machines emit fairly high levels as well when operating.
  • AT&T's 3G microcell is relatively safe, and probably keeps the radiation from the iPhones it is serving to be safer and minimized.

 

I'm most concerned about the Microwave radiation leakage.  Imagine what a microwave oven does to an egg in under a minute, and then imagine what it could be doing to your body!

While absolute thresholds have not been established, they have been by the FDA for microwaves!  Read your owner's manual and heed the warnings about operating microwave ovens.  Get your microwave tested!

 

I've been saying this for years - milk does the body bad

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image890191299.jpgI just read an article in Men's Journal this month about the case against milk.

In a nutshell: "We're not calves, and we're not evolved to drink cow's milk" -Dr. Alexa Fleckenstein.

Some people can handle milk better than others do. Try giving it up for a month and see how your body responds. If you're like most people, you'll be better off without milk.


[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

IT is very important - but why do companies keep cutting back?

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Ask any business executive how important IT has been to their business over the past 5 years and chances are they will agree that not only is it crucial, but it's becoming more important than ever.

But if you talk to accounting and get an idea of the company's IT budget, you will see a completely different story.  It seems that businesses are cutting back on IT expenditures, and overall money spent on IT innovation has been steadily dropping.  From the years 2005-2009, IT innovation has dropped from 20% to the 14% of the typical IT budget expenditure according to a study done by A.T. Kearney It Innovation and Effectiveness.  

What is astounding to me is that there is the attitude that while the technology portion of their business is important, the IT department isn't.  It's now only there to merely keep things running.  This past year we have seen cuts of over 25% across the board and more businesses that are just asking for contract IT to come in to repair, not even perform preventative maintenance - much less innovate or upgrade IT infrastructure.  And if anything with the way the economy has been going I've been seeing IT cut-backs so that even maintaining company IT infrastructure is a challenge.

These same companies are leaving IT out of the loop.  They are taking a do-it-yourself attitude and trying to take IT innovation in their own hands.  This ranges from buying their staff a complete new set of android based smart-phones, to new computers, all the way to complete new servers without consulting IT.  Naturally when compatibility issues come up, and things don't work (as wass as the advertising campaign where the business owner is standing next to a simple server box with a smug look on his face) - they blame IT for their downtime.

Business executives, please let us do our job.  Dell computers does not know your business like we do.  Best Buy is not selling you computers that will work in your corporate environment.  Consult with us.  Listen to what we have to tell you.  Don't cut back on your IT budgets because in the long run, your business will suffer.

As temperatures rise, power outages occur more frequently - protect your electronic equipment

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We just had a short blackout a few minutes ago that lasted maybe 5 minutes.  Earlier around 2 AM, we had another one.

Work wise on my computers and my VOIP systems, I wasn't phased.  Phone calls still came through on my Ooma.  I was still on my network tapping away.  It wasn't till my lights went out that I realized it was a complete blackout in the building.

Things could have been a lot worse though.

I could have lost all the work on the training video I'm working on all morning.

Get yourself a good UPS if you don't have one already.  Here are a few good ones:

 

    

The Art of (micro-)Stock Photography

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There is an interesting article posted by Pocket-Lint with some details into the current leader in micro-stock photography companies (iStockphoto) you might want to read.

I fall in the category of 'just messing around' if you look at my portfolio on iStock.  I have uploaded a total of 6 files since... well since they first started.  Those six files have only netted me $63 over the years, so figure a regular photograph that is well lit, composed, sharp and relevant equals about $10 USD.

 

View My Portfolio 

Say you want that new 'L' series Canon lens for $1500 - expect to upload 150 photographs to sell on iStockphoto.

I've recently started uploading to iStockphoto competitor Dreamstime.  They simply pay more royalties.  Over the same period of time that I've made $50 on iStockphoto, Dreamstime gave me nearly double for the same 6 photographs.

I've since uploaded a lot more, but mostly editorial pictures and just cashed a check just over $100 for the sales of those pictures.  ($100 is the minimum check payout).

Popular Mechanics abusive lab test on padlocks

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image1406209993.jpgI'm in market for some good locks to protect my gear : bike, storage, house gate, etc and this month's issue has a feature on some "all-weather" locks. Perfect!

Check it out.

Short story is I will be getting a few Master Lock Magnums M930XKADLH. You can't even shoot a hole through it with several rifle shots nor by a .300 Winchester Magnum.


[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

 

Buses are both convenient and economical

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image1038512746.jpg
I'm sitting here at a bus station 1-2 minutes walk from the apartment.

Over the course of my 10 minute wait for my bus to the Taipei High Speed Rail at least a dozen buses have passed by going to any number of destinations in Taipei.

If you are new to Taipei, do yourself a favor and buy a bus map / schedule. I found one at the local 7-11 for under $5 USD and has stops in English.

Most fares are just around a dollar. On some buses you pay when you get on, and on others when you reach your stop. I never knew that until I asked the driver who pointed at a sign right above him.


Mobile Blogging from here.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]


Drive much?

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Beltronics

I've been doing a lot of traveling up and down California lately.  On this last trip I was driving a rental truck, and completely forgot to pack my Beltronics Pro GX65 Radar Detector .  So on my trip down from SF Bay area to Los Angeles, my partner and I counted about a dozen police officers / highway patrol vehicles that we could see.

What is interesting is that I know typically my radar detector would have detected over 20 during the times that we were traveling that we could verify once the detector pointed out the proximity.

Now I'm not saying every one needs one of these devices, but everyone can benefit from the useful information they provide.  Whether it be alerts about traffic cameras, speed cameras, road hazards, or whether or not you or someone close is shooting a laser at you, it keeps you aware.

I program other information to the GPS as well to alert me of certain conditions to watch out for: stinky cow plop farms along the I5, school 25 mph zones, dangerous intersections etc.  

Also, they have a reasonable $29.99 fee for 3 years of their database updates/upgrades which from my experience covers almost all the traffic cams, speed camera locations so far in Californa and Nevada.

Anyway, with traffic tickets costing over $600 in some cases, its worth investing in one of these top end units to keep you safe and out of the speed traps.

 

Escort Radar

I use Norton Internet Security 2010, and so should most of you.

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People often ask me what kind of antivirus protection and firewall protection I use and recommend. Currently its Norton Internet Security 2010.  Of all the popular ones available out there for individual consumers to use, it provides the best balance of features, stability, protection and just as important - it doesn't bog your system down.

Also even for the one user license version, they give you three activations.  All expire at the same time, but that's three times the protection for the price for you people that have more than one computer system on the internet.

If you have more than three computers that need protection, they also have a 3 user license version as well.

Also, I recommend that you not do the yearly additional updates.  Buy a completely new updated version and uninstall the old version before you install the new version.  For example, if you have Norton Internet Security 2009 - uninstall that first.  Then buy and install Norton Internet Security 2010.

Corporate customers should look elsewhere though.  Their corporate network wide protection / antivirus just isn't as up to date as their consumer software.

 

Traveling with expensive camera equipment

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I'll be heading out to parts of China where I've never been.  Even though I look Asian, I'm sure my clothing, my travel partners and the gear I carry will make me stick out like a sore thumb.  Not to mention the camera gear which I will be carrying.

So I happened across this article about how someone disguised his camera so that it looks like something nobody would want.

It's ingenious really, more out of necessity than anything else.  While I won't go to such extremes, I will definitely consider older bags, beat up camera markings, stickers and tape in future adventures where travel can be risky.

Microsoft recommends that people install SP3 for XP now...

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I hope nobody out there is still on SP2, you should have moved to SP3 over a year ago!

"

Dear Windows XP Customer,

 

We have released a free update for Windows® XP called Service Pack 3 to make your PC with Windows XP run more securely and reliably.  Support for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) is coming to an end on July 13, 2010..."