Aside from the fun in problem-solving and learning new things, there is great satisfaction in building something that works. Sometimes it’s a computer. Sometimes it’s a pie, or squeezing grapes or peaches into wine.
As you can see from the photo, I try to remember to make notes as I’m going. This particular copybook has information from the first computer I built in January of ’97, all the way through this go-round. The same thing with the wine; I wouldn’t have remembered that back in ’98 I added sugar and ascorbic acid (to prevent re-fermentation) to the peach and raspberry wine just before bottling. Notes are important that way.
I’ve been thinking about how and why the software installations have gone through basically with few hitches and none that I couldn’t work around and I suspect that part of the reason is that the computers are networked. I held off on the rebuilding until a particular time when loss of internet connection wouldn’t be a major problem. Even as I had the new pc up and running, the internet cable was still hooked up to the hollow shell of the old pc because regardless of all the missing parts, it still worked (though I realize it was just a junction point at that state). As soon as I plugged the cable into the new pc, it knew exactly who and where it was and internet connection was immediately established.
I love it.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology