Lofbomm.com

Two days ago we had a hard drive catastrophe. I fired up iTunes and pressed play on the Party Shuffle. iTunes started hiccuping out the track and then up came the dreaded spinning beach ball, telling me wait since it was thinking really hard about something. This was not normal.

I waited for a bit and still nothing, just the spinning ball. Soon, the whole system froze up and crashed completely. Yuck.

I rebooted, which took ages. When OSX finally came to life, my external backup drive was missing from the desktop. ‘That’s no good,’ I thought. I ran some disk utilities (OSX Disk Utility & Disk Warrior), and came up empty handed. It seems there was a mechanical failure, as far as I can tell. Almost 220GB of trapped inside that dead drive.
Fortunately, it was my backup, so nothing critical was on it, but a couple of months ago I needed to free up some space so I moved my entire music library (over 60GB worth) over to the external drive. It was a highly rated FantomDrive and only a year old, so I felt pretty safe. The irony is, next week when we go home there is a 320GB Western Digital backup drive I ordered to backup the backup that just died. It could have waited a week and a half to die, couldn’t it??

I still have some hope. Once I have the new drive in hand, I’m going to try out a data recovery program for the Mac, DataRescue II, that I heard about. It’s a last ditch effort, but it’s worth a shot.

Anyway, this little scenario has woken me up to just how valuable (and fragile) data is, and how important a sound backup strategy really is. Right now, I’ve got four years of priceless digital photos sitting on my hard drive, vulnerable until I can back them up again. I’ve got the drive at home, but what if my iBook’s drive crashes too between now and then? That’s scary.

In comes JungleDisk. JungleDisk uses Amazon’s new online storage service, S3, to create a virtual drive that mounts on your system like a regular network drive. Instead of your data being stored in one vulnerable location, though, data on your JungleDisk is stored at multiple datacenters. Distributed, redundant backups- very good thing. On top of that, all data is encrypted, you can schedule automatic backups and space is unlimited. Here’s an excerpt from their site:

What is Jungle Disk?

Jungle Disk is an application that lets you store files and backup data securely to Amazon.com’s S3 â„¢ Storage Service.

• Store an unlimited amount of data for only 15¢ per gigabyte
• No monthly subscription fee, no startup fee, no commitment
• Your data is fully encrypted at all times
• Data is stored at multiple Amazon.com datacenters around the country for high availability
• Access files directly from Windows Explorer, Mac OSX Finder, and Linux

So, I’m really tickled pink to find this. Paired with automatic backup to our external drives, JungleDisk will help us create a really simple, very safe solution to protecting our data.

This little story also reinforces the ideas I discussed in my Society and Technology discussion post the other day- high bandwidth internet has changed the game, and moving data and applications off the desktop and on to the servers can be really beneficial to the end users like you and I. Case in point.

-A.

p.s. Geek Notes: Is it fast? Speeds will be determined by the bandwidth of your connection, of course, and will vary, but I uploaded 225MB in a minute and twenty seconds today. That’s pretty darn fast. Also, to clarify- you only pay when you play…15 cents per month, per GB, and 20 cents per GB of bandwidth used. Phenomenally cheap. There’s no file sharing option or web access interface yet (like Xdrive), but there is talk that these features are forthcoming on their FAQ.

I just realized that Adam and I recently passed the three year anniversary of our first blog.  How romantic.  We weren’t even married yet, just newly engaged.  It’s fun to read back and see what we’ve gone through and how much we’ve grown.  What a good life.

-Jessica

Here’s a pic from back then…

I was just highlighted in the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus email newsletter.  I sang in the chorus from 1989-1995.  It is an excellent group in which I learned to really sing, and they gave me the travel bug.  It’s an honor to be highlighted, and I want to welcome those of you who have come here from that email.  We’re glad you’re here!

I’ve got to work now.  See you later.  Take care!

-Jessica

Well that was sweet.  Adam is a good man, and I’m a very fortunate girl.  Adam wrote the previous post while I was getting my hair done today.  I’m also glad that he was feeling so loving at the moment because my hair cost quite a bit more than I expected…  :).

He read his post to me, and he got all teary.  It reminds me of when Adam asked my dad if he could marry me.

Did we ever tell you that story?

So, they’re at Cracker Barrel in Nashville having breakfast, and Adam is giving my dad a status report of our relationship.  He isn’t intending to ask for my hand just yet, but we’re definitely headed that way.

My dad interrupts Adam and says, “Adam, you can stop right there.  I know where this is headed, and we would love for you to marry Jessica.”

…but…ummm…I wasn’t asking yet… 

“When are you thinking of asking her?”

“I was thinking maybe Christmas time, around her birthday?”

“Aw, do you think it could be any sooner?  I know Jessica and her mom are itching to plan the wedding.”

“Well, um, I guess I could do Thanksgiving…”

They melted from there into tears in the middle of the Cracker Barrel.  Adam and my dad are both wonderfully sensitive men.  What a gift.  :).  I love you, Adam.  And I love you, Dad.

-Jessi

I’m full of ooey-gooeyness today, so I just need to release. I do apologize. Sort of.

I love this woman more than I can say. I am sooo incredibly thankful for her. She is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met. To think that I actually get to spend every day with her…unbelievable. I have to pinch myself sometimes.

Cliched as it is to say, she is truly my best friend, partner and lover. And she’s so wonderful in every one of those departments.

Each day we go just a little bit deeper. (On difficult days, we go way deeper!) I had hoped marriage would be great, but I got all I hoped for and more.

I do try to let her know how much I appreciate her on a regular basis, but today I just felt like saying it so everyone can hear.

-A.

Here are my unrelated comments for the night:

This afternoon, Adam and I took another walk around Heyri Art Village across the street. What a cool place. Adam really wants to show his photography in one of the galleries. I’m sure he will. He has been taking some fabulous photos lately.

Tonight was the farewell party for our friend Natalia. She’s headed back to the states on Wednesday. It was a great and very chill party. We look forward to seeing her again.

I briefly caught our friend Elizabeth online tonight. She and her husband (and Adam’s childhood friend) Daniel have arrived this week in Ethiopia where they will be working in AIDS relief and education for six months. We’re so proud of them. They’re going to do a lot of good. Adam and I have been in the posh set up of English Village in the not-so-foreign culture of Korea, and we have learned so much. I can’t imagine the life-changing experiences they will have these six coming months.

Adam’s dad is going in for the first in three rounds of brain surgery (yes, brain surgery) on Tuesday in Nashville. It is to correct a condition called torticollis he has had in his neck for several years. The surgery has an incredible success rate, and he is cool as a cucumber. Still, it is brain surgery. Please remember Steve in your prayers this week. We’re glad that we’ll be home with him while he’s in recovery from the second round. Soon he’ll be in perfect shape to come visit us in Korea. :).

Okay, that’s it. Much love,

-Jessica

Here’s another blog about Annie. She and her mom came over for dinner, and Annie brought an anime “Sen Chihiro” puzzle that she said she has treasured since she was little. Adam looked it up online, and it’s the same as “Spirited Away” which we have heard of in the West. Annie said that dragons in Eastern culture are considered sacred, something very different from the Western myths where heros must slay the evil dragon.

After we assembled the puzzle, there was a special message on the back:

It is so nice to think that she will always be with us. We’ll get to know this sweet kid as she grows up and see what she becomes.

Annie makes me think of my cousins Becky and SC. I was young, but I still remember when they were born, and I have proudly watched them like an older sister as they have grown into beautiful young women, in and out.

I enjoy getting older and watching children grow up. I read on my college friend Melanie’s myspace how she is loving being a mother, watching her infant son begin to discover the world. I thought about how different we are in our current lives. She in rural America with a baby and I in Asia with no immediate plans for such. But I feel a joy similar to Melanie’s in caring for friends and looking out for a few special kids like Annie, Felicia, and Becky and SC (who aren’t really kids anymore).

I’m looking forward to being a mom someday. But not yet. Don’t get any ideas.

-Jessica

Just wanted to say hi…

We had our Artist’s Way group tonight at Cheryl’s place. Simon couldn’t come because he was making things happen for his new Speed Dating scheme (go Simon!), but Cynthia was able to join us for the first time. We had a great discussion and set some creativity goals for the week.

My goals for this week are:

1. Sing every day
2. Blog every day
3. Write the first draft of lyrics to a song (even if it’s lame)

Adam’s goals for this week are:

1. Find and begin practicing vocal exercises
2. Sketch thrice
3. Begin cataloging his photographs (with the intention of preparing for an art show)

I feel good. Cynthia and Cheryl both encouraged me about my CD. Even though I released it just seven months ago, I already feel disconnected from it, like it’s so old. I appreciate hearing from friends that they still listen to it regularly and that they love it.

Also, I taught Future World today, and the regular costume was being cleaned, so I had to wear the skinny costume. And it fit! I feel good.

:).

We’ll be home in less than two weeks.

Good night.

-Jessica

I just found this video on YouTube, and I thought it was nice. We’ve seen free huggers all over Seoul in Insadong and Myeong Dong. Here is a picture of the guy we have hugged several times.

We’ve been seeing more and more free huggers, and I started to wonder if it was an organized group or movement. It’s nice. You really do smile when you see someone advertising free hugs, and you smile even more when you hug a friendly stranger. I just found their website at www.freehugscampaign.org.

Adam’s old boss, Tony Rankin wrote a book where he says that a person needs at least 8-10 meaningful touches a day to be healthy.
Just a nice warm fuzzy for you… Go hug someone.

-Jessica

Tonight we went into Seoul with Larry and Melanie and saw the “B-Boy Korea” show. It’s a break dance show with some traditional Korean drumming mixed with a lot of hip hop music. The guys were incredible. And there was a cute little love story in it too. We had a great time.

Afterward, we had dinner at McDonald’s and sang “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” with a disabled boy from Taiwan. Sounds funny… and it was.

-Jessica