Today I have my laptop (my Apple M1 13″) back. A friend told me that we misunderstand Artificial Intelligence (AI) and that it is not the model we see in SciFi, HAL 9000, from the movies. He believed that the incorporation of technology into our lives was what defined us and was the creation of AI. He reasoned, “When you lose your phone, do you not feel more stupid”? I felt broken without my usual laptop, but I soon recovered my abilities on my Dell and actually wrote the blog with Grammarly. The most significant loss was the familiar interfaces. But yes, I agree that AI is the enhancement we get now from technology–we are already there. We are AI.
I use a high-quality solid-state drive connected to my Apple when I plug into the landing station; it backs up all the changes on the machine. It is automatic and uses TimeCapsle from Apple. I had lost hard drives before and restored my laptops without any data loss. It covers me until Dec 2021! I used to also make a manual copy of the working directories and put that in the car monthly–something I will, after this little adventure, return to. Others use services online, but I found nothing as good as Apple’s TimeCapsle for restoring a working system in about twelve hours. It even works when upgrading the laptop.
I have also retrieved an old version of an MS Word document with TimeCapsle. It allows you to retrieve documents, emails, and files without much trouble. You just request it to be brought forward and if you want to replace the existing copy (if there is one).
When the hard drive fails, and it will someday, I buy a replacement at Other World Computer (OWC). It can be delivered in a day, for extra money, and is guaranteed to work in my system. In addition, they have a kit and instructions for taking apart the laptop and tools for a small extra price. OWC supplied my landing station, backup drive, and excellent aluminum case. I usually buy a case for the old failed drive so that I can try to use it–sometimes the failure is partial, and I can still see the data, and I then have a spare copy.
So had I not recovered my laptop, I would have purchased a new system, likely at Best Buy, as they have some stock (unlike the Apple Store, which takes nearly two weeks to get a new system sent directly from the plant in China). I would have followed Apple’s process to rebuild from TimeCapsle, and in twelve hours (or less), I would have my computer back with no data loss. I would buy a new backup drive from OWC and put the old one aside for a year, just in case.
Starting with the narrative, I did not sleep the night before and was up at 4ish, got dressed, and drove to Portland. I was a bit jagged but competent. The off-ramp for 405 was flooded, but I managed (without traffic) to slam a lane change and avoid turning Air Volvo into SS Volvo. Arriving safely, I parked across from the Starbucks (opening at 5:30) and discovered parking is free until 7AM on my app, Parking Kitty. Portland uses Parking Kitty to pay for parking, and it meows when your time is running out.
Some days, I have stayed up all night as I sometimes like to have an impossibly long day and wait for sunrise. As the architect for Nike’s SAP central accounting and fulfillment system, I sometimes organized an all-nighter to look for performance issues. I found that if you “sweep” the system on a good night, you can find some problems and solve them before they impact essential deliverables. So staying up all night is fun for me.
At Starbucks, as they unlocked the doors, they found my laptop! It was at security at the Financial M building across the street, and they open at 8ish. I was relieved and had coffee and a breakfast sandwich (puffy and microwaved–awful). I sat there for a bit and read stuff on the tiny screen of my iPhone from Nike.
I moved to my car and tried to sleep in Air Volvo. The city is full of sounds and lights. I love cities and their sounds and felt privileged to experience them in Air Volvo. Two homeless guys were having a loud conversation with Portland. A truck parked behind me and unloaded supplies for the day. A surprisingly large number of folks went to Starbucks before sunrise. My alarm went off at 7AM, and I must have been asleep as it woke me. I did not remember falling asleep to the music of the streets, a strange lullaby.
I stepped out, and the wind blew my hat off, but I caught it in time. The promised “dangerous high winds” were here. I got the location number for parking and followed the ritual of legalizing my parking with money via Parking Kitty. I returned to my car and tried to rest. The trains started to run, and the traffic increased; I did not sleep again. The winds would shake the car, and I had to start it a few times as the wind stole the heat from the vehicle; it was cold!
I walked into the M building, and there was some drama at the front desk. I stood in the background as the construction folks talked to the desk folks and talked about some water damage. The fire alarm was also ongoing and caused by the vibration of the winds or the water leak–it was unclear, but there was no fire. Portland’s Fire Department arrived with all the appropriate loudness. I was ignored and tried to be invisible while the adventure continued. No need to add to the chaos.
Once the construction folks were given access and the Portland Fire Department was waved off, I asked for help. The desk folks gave me a double take as I had been there all that time; apparently, I was invisible or at least well disguised with my worn Carhartt coat, cowboy hat, and blank expression.
They were happy to return my bag with my laptop. I then went to Starbucks and thanked them again. They were all happy and all but cheered. A merry Christmas miracle.
The trip back via Air Volvo was scary. The winds had broken trees all over. At one intersection, I did not see that the lights were out; I have been out-of-practice traveling in Portland since the pandemic. I drove through it and nearly connected with another brave driver. I passed trees completely broken apart on the 26 to 217 ramp. And there was still water everywhere. So Air Volvo dodged deep puddles, and the roads were covered with broken pine branches. It was like Christmas melted and then exploded. A tree was entirely down on 209 within a block of my house.
As I drove in, I could not see my trees. I was worried. But I did not recognize them without leaves. Apparently, all the brown leaves were now somewhere else, and the bare branches were fine. My lawn was mostly leaf free now.
I returned my laptop to power, and it backed up. The wind was now joined with heavy rain and was raining sideways. The water in the back corner, which sits as part of the slightly slow French Drain, was not deep and the most I have ever seen back there. We had over three inches of rain in twenty-four hours. We added another inch with the wind. I was amused to see waves on the water that was now just reaching my roses (roses do not like “wet feet”) and may have dampened the newly planted tulips.
Happy to have my laptop back; I took a shower and started laundry before the power failed, likely in a wind storm. I managed to do the laundry and shower with the power on. The laptop and network all have an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that is good for about 160 minutes. Even the desk light is covered (It is hard to use a computer without light). It measured one event.
I had Physical Therapy (PT) at 11AM, and while getting a bit more jagged, I was able to make it work. I called Leta to know what was happening as if the storm impact increased, I would be out of contact–it did not get worse. So I drove to Bethany, avoided the road Christmas display, and managed four dead lights at intersections. Michael, the PT guy, was happy to see me without the bad cold.
We reviewed the exercises again; I had done some in Air Volvo’s gym facilities (also known as sitting in the front seat). We covered a few complex ones. I could not do one of the new as my knees gave out–this is a new condition and has to be diagnosed by Colin, who I will see on Thursday.
Aside: Next year is a new set of deductibles for health insurance which is covered by my withholding for medical expenses, which is now maxed out for the new year as advised by my new CPA. Thus, if my PT continues into 2023, I will likely have to pay over $200 a session until I reach the max again. I am ready for more expenses.
Toward the end, I called a halt as I was getting dizzy from a new exercise that involved moving my head down to stretch my back. No time to put my head down. I left feeling a bit more jagged and forgot my scarf; they called me to come and get it, and I retrieved it.
I headed to Bethany Public House for lunch, reasoning that I might be hungry (when I sleep deprived, I am not hungry), and quickly enjoyed a bowl of their chili and two diet sodas. The bubbly cold drinks cleared my head.
Next, I risked 26 and 217 to reach the hummingbird house, the winds were worse, and the wind had been spreading Christmas tree parts all over. Susie was asleep in her chair when I got there, and I woke her. She was delighted to see me, but she could see that something was wrong, and I told her I had not slept but had my laptop back.
We called Leta, Susie’s mother, and they chatted for a while. Susie seemed to space out for a bit (maybe sleeping with her eyes open–something I know she does), but Susie could chat with her mother once she got back into it. I soon left after the call with Susie telling me to go home and rest.
I returned by crossing Beaverton and avoided most puddles and unplanned Christmas tree parts on the road. My street was still looking safe when I reached the Volvo Cave. I climbed into bed and blinked, and it was 5:30, and I awoke not sure what 5:30 it was and what happened. I was asleep that fast; I was not aware I was sleeping. It was still Tuesday.
I was feeling quite refreshed; after just a few hours of deep sleep, I recovered and was soon back to normal without any jagged feelings. I had the last Christmas dinner (I still have plenty of ham). I was feeling much better.
Evan wanted to meet as he was nearby–he was going to the enemy’s (Columbia Sports) employee store on a pass but discovered it closed without power. Columbia’s headquarters is also in the Beaverton area, and they have many former Nike IT folks there, including one of my former bosses, and I have to admit we used to share our upgrade notes for SAP systems with them.
I met Evan at Wildwood Taphouse (off of Cornel) for beers and board games. We got some happy beers (a hazy IPA for me) and played the uplifting board game Vindication (Evan’s favorite). This game, with unique resource management, and a light engine building style, was designed here in the greater Portland area. I know the designer and even played an earlier version; according to Marc, the designer, some of my ideas are included in the final version. It is a game where you explore and improve yourself as you get more followers, become vindicated, and fulfill your full potential (literally).
We played a mid-length two-person game, and I could see Evan starting his engine building and causing the game to end. I was too late, and Evan pulled off a one-point victory. Evan had just managed to grab a last-minute resource and cancel my advantage. Evan thought I should have played two more rounds to win. Next time!
I got a small glass of a dark beer tasting of smoke, I thought–nice. This went well with the next game, Brass: Lancashire. Set at the start of the industrial revolution in the UK, where coal is king. Evan was less sure of this game as he had only played it once. I had my new poker chips for the game and wanted to try them out. It made the game much more fun and easier to play (Richard has the kinder version of Brass and poker chips–I wanted to try it with my meaner version). Brass has you balance resources, raising cash by loans (they just lower your income as they represent a stock/bond offering), building networks of boats and then rail, and building, of course, the industry of the 1700s and 1800s kind (iron forges, boats, docks, and coal minds). The game is mean, as each action you take (other than loans) removes options for your opponents. But, on the other hand, it is competitive and a brain burner as you have to plan multiple turns ahead while calculating what your opponent could do.
Evan, still new to the game, struggled a bit and the score differences were high, but I enjoyed the brain stretch and the theme. I like the feeling of building my industrial empire. While rule-heavy and you often undo your turn when you discover that your grand plan is missing some vital resource, I enjoy Brass.
After that, I headed home. I read a new brain cookie: Nameless Serenade (The Commissario Ricciardi Mysteries). I recommend this series. Set in 1930-40s Italy and a police and ghost story.
I slept a broken dream-filled sleep, often waking as my rest was off.
Thanks for reading.
Feel free to call, send cards, or even visit. Susie resides at:
Allegiance Senior Care
Adult Foster Care Home
9925 SW 82nd. Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97223
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 