This afternoon I took two 5 1/4 inch diskettes down to the computer room. A cousin had sent me the diskettes, thinking they might have information that I haven't seen yet.
The date on each file was from March 1995. Time capsules. 10 years. An eternity in the computer industry. The floppies are from a different technological epoch.
The TSRs had an old computer down there that still has a 5 1/4 inch drive in it. The computer took 15 minutes to boot up. It's hard drive is beginning to fail, causing the slow-down. We had to boot it twice.
Patience is a virtue.
Finally the little task was done: I copied the files from old technology (5 1/4 inch diskettes) to new technology (my USB JumpDrive). A quick look through the files reveals clues that will help me track down more cousins. The information persisted a decade and is still viable.
Current thinking in the Computer Science realm suggests that the media on the diskettes should have gone bad years ago. Tiny electronic miracles still happen.
On another note: Today at the cafeteria, as I fumbled with my wallet, the lady in front of me got into her purse, bumping my tray. The plate holding my sandwich, flipped into the air and landed, all a-clatter, on the floor. The plate didn't break, oddly enough. The sandwich, of course, split in half, hitting the floor with both slices mayonnaise side down. I tried to rescue my sandwich (I was in a bit of a hurry - 10 second rule and all), but folks said, "Go make another one..." I still smell like mustard and mayo.
No comments:
Post a Comment