Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Because life has its charming ups and downs

The breathing study was, on the one hand, a success in that my breathing appeared completely fine, but on the other hand, a dud, in that when people with asthma are in between flareups their breathing is completely fine. So nothing was ruled out or in.

And my dog spilled water all over my computer yesterday morning. The computer is...how you say?...ah. Toast. The computer is toast: this is the word from the folks at the Apple store. It's going to cost an arm to rebuild it and a leg to recover the pictures, and another leg if I decide to get everything off the hard drive.

If I don't start backing everything up maniacally when this is all over, youall have permission to shoot me.

Meanwhile, posting is going to be pretty patchy--no computer at home, and all.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad the breathing study went well (even if it's inconclusive). I'm sorry to hear about your computer woes. That bites.

Phantom Scribbler said...

Really I should back up my computer tonight. I suspect this sort of accident is contagious...

None said...

You could try using a peak flow meter to see if your breathing varies day to day. The meter can indicate that things are going south breathing-wise before you feel symptoms.

I hope it's not asthma though. Although if it, the treatments today rock. So much better than when I was a kid. If at any point you get diagnosed and they put you on inhaled steroids, tell them about your eye condition because one possible side effect of some inhaled steroids is an increased risk of glaucoma. I just read that. (But inhaled steroids changed my world, so I'm not downing them.)

Tall Kate said...

I had heard about your computer, and I'm so sorry!

I actually started paying for Norton online backup -- it happens automatically, and buys peace of mind.

kathy a. said...

ack! must back up computer.

co's got great advice.

S. said...

Thanks, everyone, for the sympathy. I can't even tell you what an idiot I feel like. Tall Kate, you are brilliant and I am totally going to find some kind of online backup.

Co, my next step is to call the pulmonologist my GP recommended. I'll ask what he thinks about tracking peak flow. It seems like if the difference is subtle, but I'm still feeling it, it could be really useful.

Anonymous said...

If you have a Mac w/OS 10.5, you can just use the built-in Time Machine app. Get an external hard drive (or, if you like, the Apple Time Machine wireless router), and then everytime you are hooked up physically to the hard drive (or wirelessly to the wireless router), the OS will automatically back up everything for you. It does a full backup initially, then incrementals (i.e. only changes) after that. This way, you only pay once, not every month.

Liz Miller said...

Your hard-drive is probably fine. Dry out the computer, REMOVE the hard-drive, and bring it to someone who has an external drive bay to plug it into. They can copy the thing onto discs or a usb stick and you're off to the races again with your old files and your new computer.