Noooooooooooooo!

Some of the carnage of the new setup.
The MacBook on life support has the Robcasting logo on the screen.

 

My day was proceeding like most days in recent times.

I keep trying to get my new (but probably temporary) home office into an optimum environment.

I've tried to merge my audio life to my videography life. I'm enjoying that work a great deal, handling items via Zoom. It works with my meticulous nature of organization, I guess. It also helps my desire to multitask.

So, each day since I brought a new setup home on Saturday, I've hauled in tables and removed tables. I've put things up and broken them down.

It is -- and will remain -- a work in progress. A different mixer here, a different microphone there.

And cables everywhere.

It was around 11 a.m. when I looked at my MacBook, which I've probably had for about four years, but it's older than that.

In what can only awkwardly be described as being like a death, it seemed to heave a release of air before turning off.

I've been unable to revive it ever since.

A little research indicated it might be the battery but I've also thought the hard drive might not be so good either.

I'd like to see it revived but I'd also like to invest in an upgrade for the good of my work, as well as Robcasting.

Certainly, if there were any games to do, I'd be panicking a bit more. But, if I may be shameless, I have to give a nod to Mixlr, my broadcasting provider since late 2013. A big advantage to them is that I can connect to my cell phone or iPad and broadcast that way. So I would panic but I could probable survive. That is a nod to my preparation with backup plans!

There is plenty that sits on the hard drive in that trusty machine, which has stickers form South of the Border and "The Office" on it. Fortunately, in this era of clouds, a lot isn't on the hard drive either.

Still, it just felt like another brick in the wall ("we don't need no education...").

I have other devices that are helping my survive, like the ancient machine that I'm tapping away on right now to keep the blog streak alive.

I have to. John Nash's last words to me today when I talked to him were, "Keep writing."

Essentially, Susan and Shawn and others say the same. So, here we are, on a computer that likely is as old as Jack Benny*.

Mr. Benny -- one of the great radio characters ever -- always said he was 39, even when he moved over to TV.

So I feel somewhat lost but I'm trying to stay calm. At least until the next item I realize that I need is on that MacBook.

I chatted with a helpful Apple rep named Jackson who ran through a few tests with me. Frankly, it felt like we used the paddles, but to no avail.

"We'll need to investigate service options," he said.

And so, it's time to find a store or a friend who can help, as I still have the outstanding issue of the other hard drive.

When it rains, it pours, no?

This is not the end of the world, of course, but it can feel like it, I suppose.

And so, we live to fight another day.