Broken Computer Update 8/12/19

Just a little update on my computer situation. As you may already know, last Thursday morning my computer would not start. I took it in and it will be at the shop to get a new hard drive until at least this Wednesday or Thursday, possibly longer if there are any hiccups.

I called the shop this morning to ask a couple more questions and discovered some more potential issues that could slow down my return to productivity:

1. Provided they can find the license key for the installation of windows on my old hard drive, they will be able to put the same version of windows on the new hard drive. This would be ideal and get me back to work more quickly. But if they do not find the key I may have to upgrade to a newer version, which will no doubt slow me down as I adjust to the changes, and may also cause bigger problems depending on compatibility with the software I use. Speaking of which...

2. I will need to re-install ALL of the software I had on the old hard drive. Of course, this could go smoothly. But in my experience, anything that has to do with updating software or fresh installations comes with some hoops to jump through and sometimes even a series of error messages that have to be stomped out one by one before I can continue with even the most basic functions I take for granted daily. There may also be some things that were installed on my computer and set up by my brother in law (who custom built the computer for me years ago) that I will have to re-install and set up again without the benefit of his know-how. (He lives in Pennsylvania, while I'm across the country here in Arizona.)

Now, none of this necessarily means I will not be able to get back on track later this week, releasing a new episode of the podcast on Friday and youtube content later this week as well. Then again, it could mean NO new content goes up this week,  because I am busy smashing my face against a wall trying to make things work again. (This is a proven technique by the way, it just takes time and energy.) All that to say, I'm afraid I will have to continue to depend on your patience as I work to get things back on track. 

Now that I know more about the work ahead of me, I am better able to be productive before the computer comes home, looking up software license keys to have those ready to go, for starters. I've also moved some things around in my schedule to work on this week so that I will not have to take as much forced vacation as I thought (maybe not more than a few hours total), which will help me get content releases back on schedule more quickly in the long run. For example, I can start doing research for my Gen Con coverage this week, and prep notes for the next "Essential Issues" installment as well. I also took my spiritual "office retreat" two weeks early (which I try to do every 3 months).

Thank you this week for your patience and prayers. My attitude about the whole situation is very good, to my surprise. It is not adding stress to my life, which is a bit new for me in these kinds of situations. (So thank you Yahweh for your grace and shaping of my heart!) I'm mainly just a little bummed for those of you who look forward to the content each week. Please know I'll prioritize that as soon as I can.

Thank you again!

-Paeter