Mac Computer Problems

 I love my Mac computer.  It does things Windows doesn't do.  But sometimes upgrades can drive you crazy.  The Mac people love to "improve" things.  But they are expert users and don't always account for the difficulties changes can make for a regular user.

They think "Well, now you just go here in 3 steps, then over there for a couple and you have better features.  And if you have a problem then just reboot from the safety startup holding down 3 keys, and redo this and then that from your backup and then..."  

As if that was simple and obvious.  And to them it is.  To me it is nearly gibberish, assumes that I know where everything is on the computer, and even know all the terms they use.

I sometimes wish they would just leave the damn OS alone for a while.  I like my OS as it was, and I like most of my apps as they are.  I don't mind security improvements.  But I wish they would stop obsoleting my apps!

So I'm writing this to warn Mac users about upgrading to Sequoia 15.2.  15.1 one didn't mess up my computer; 15.2 really did!  Photos is bizarre in 15.2.  I used to just plug in my camera, go to Photos, turn on the camera, and it automatically showed my the new pics to but uploaded.  Now, I have to go find the camera as a "device" through a couple of menus were are not obvious.  And since one of my major uses is Photos, that is a real problem.

And Mac seems to be trying to force users onto ICloud!

So, if you are Mac user on Sonora, be VERY cautious about upgrading to Sequoia of either current version.  You get locked in.  Reseting to Sonoma seems to be a real bitch of a process!  It seems, that if you don't make a backup of everything at the end of your daily use, everything you did since the previous backup can be lost.  And I don't mean your last Time Machine app backup.  They say Time Machine won't help you revert this OS!

And speaking of upgrades, Firefox seems to do it weekly.  Which wipes out all your saved logins.  Yeah, just login again, but that gets pretty tiring.

Blowing off some steam!

Software Updates

A year or so ago, I updated my software on my Mac.  Everything went completely whack. The apps failed. And the new Big Sur O/S was so mean that it couldn't be removed.  I actually had to buy a new Mac Mini to start again.

But some accustomed apps become obsolete and unsecure, so a few days ago, I upgraded to the newest Mac O/S "Monterey".  I expected a disaster.  Apparently, the BIG DEAL was that the programmers decided they liked Pink and Purple and rounded corners on the formerly square app icons.  

I may discover some problems with other apps, but not so far...  And if postibng works, I'm OK.

OK, pple mail is a bit different...  I'll have to get into that...

Computer Update

I have finally had to accept that  I can't stay on a 2011 Mac Mini with an old keyboard and High Sierra anymore.  But moving too far forward has problems too.  

I've spent the last whole day and night learning about options.  What I have is no longer supported.  The newest stuff has problems (both the newest Apple M1 chip and the Big Sur Operating System have difficulties according to Mac Forums).

I have settled on a middle ground.  I ordered a:

Maci Mini

3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz) 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 Intel UHD Graphics 630 1TB SSD storage

3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz) 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 Intel UHD Graphics 630 1TB SSD storage Mohave Operating System That will allow me to use some 3rd party apps like Word and Excel and maybe Firefox (because I'm on Safari and it fights me on edits and formatting). On the other hand, it will help me with standard apps like Photos (I was using iPhotos, and I miss it - much easier to use).  Switching from iPhotos was a real PITA.  The organization is harder.  But there isn't much choice.  I catch on a little bit better each time. To prepare for a new computer, I spent hours deleting old files, got on The Cloud and off it (doesn't do what *I* want).  I did a full backup.  The new computer is 2 weeks away, (it is non-standard, Built To Order) but I think I can manage until then... Firefox is failing for me, and that's where my Feedly is.  It won't load.  I have it on Safari too, and it doesn't like autofilling my email and URL, but I think I solved that.  One step at a time. Have to mention that I bought a color toner printer.  A  Canon Color imageCLASS MF644Cdw Wireless Color Laser All-In-One Printer.  I got tired of the inkjet color cartridges drying out every few months. Toner lasts 4 years.  Damn thing weighs a ton though.   But, after the pain, I think I'll be good for 5-6 years.  Hoping...

Email Accounts

This is long and has a pretty good ending, but you'll have to read to get to it!  And I'm writing this is relatively good humor, as you'll see by the end.  Consider it "a novel to read in 20 minutes".  I'm done complaining.  LOL!

I originally set up 3 email accounts on Verizon mail years ago (2008).  It was quite easy.  So I set up a primary email for myself (friends, family, shopping, my Cavebear's Lair blog).  That is me "in general".

I set up one for the cat blog (Mark's Mews).  That one gets 95% of all my emails of course.  Mostly notifications on comments.  It is easier to read them in email than actually going to the blog.  And all of those are saved that way "just in case".

I set one up for my garden posts and forums (Yardenman).

I was happy as a pig in mud.  I loved being organized in my slightly different 3 personas.  No deceit intended, but it was just easier to have family, cat blog, and garden forums separate.

And then, in 2017, Verizon sold their email accounts to AOL.  "Rest assured", they said, "you keep your email addresses forever, and will get more experienced service at no cost.  This is for YOUR benefit".  I ask, are there more chilling marketing words than that?

AOL is used to people having one email.  But they worked hard to get my 3 accounts transferred.  And they did succeed.  I ended up with a dozen different passwords and I wasn't sure which went to which email account, but they assured me they could always find it or give me a new one.  No cost.  I was a legacy from Verizon, and free service was part of the contract.

Nothing is forever...

When I foolishly downloaded Mac OS 'Catalina'  last November, everything to Hell in a Handbasket, as they say.  Catalina was a 64-bit system and none of my 32-bit apps worked.  And it was not reversable.  Apple WANTS everyone to "progress" and that meant 64 bit.  I kicked like a mule and I bit like a crocodile.  Didn't do me any good.  Catalina wasn't leaving my computer. 

So I pulled out the previous Mac Mini (that didn't have 'Catalina') and started migrating the Catalina one to it.  I had some short cables, so I had to snuggle both Macs on one desk.  Along the way, I moved one that still had an overlooked cable attached

That cable caught my wine glass and spilled it onto the Catalina Mac.  It's OK to laugh.  I'm trying to write this as a comic-tragedy...  The Catalina Mac was immediately fried.  Dead.  No power.  Drowned.  Zombied.  6' under.  You get the point....

So I had the older one I stopped using in 2017.  But I also had an external backup from a few days before.  On Mac, it is called "Time Machine".  Theoretically, you can restore your computer  down to the last email setting from it. 

But what they don't tell you is that it has to be the same computer.  To a different computer, it is just a collection of apps and docs and folders.  Guess who was on "a different computer"?

I tried everything for a couple months.  Ceiling Cat KNOWS I tried (I'll get some credit for that somehow someday, I'm sure, but not NOW).

I bought a new Mac Mini, not realizing that it was a cloud computer and had little memory.  I was able to return it.  I bought a real one.  1TB and faster stuff.  So I confidently went to use "Migration Assistant".  Apple says it will copy everything from an old computer to a new one.  Guess what doesn't work as claimed?  It copied most of the old Mac, but not the photos or email or settings. 

I'm going to guess it is partially my fault.  I customize and organize my computer files freely and in ways the designers probably didn't expect. 

When we got our first office computers (Convergent Technology, aka C3) in the early 90s , the spreadsheet was called Multiplan.  It had a way to link files together.  I linked freely.  I crashed the system.  Not to the point where our Data guys were upset, but to where the Multiplan programmers and C3 managers called me asking what I had done.  Well, it was more like "What the F ing H*ll did you do

I told them that I had explored their spreadsheet and used the features.  They had to rewrite large parts of their spreadsheet code to allow what I did.  I am very likely infamous at C3 and possibly mentioned in some software articles from the time.  

So I can get around software given a half a chance, and I find things the programmers didn't think of.  I couldn't fully migrate the old mac to the new one.  The Photos would NOT go (too many I suspect).  The settings wouldn't transfer (I had to many alterations?) maybe.  My mail wouldn't go at all!

I got the photos transferred one folder at a time using an external HD.  The new computer didn't like it the way I did it, but it has to copy files directly if you are determined enough.  On tyhe other hand, you can't MAKE it copy "settings" apparently.

So then I called AOL about the email.  Remember that part about free service forever?  Forget that. Never heard of it.  And they hate us legacy Verizon email users.  They ARE stuck with keeping our email addresses working though.  I have no idea why that and not the free service, but that is money and who really knows what the contract actually says.

They demanded I have a separate phone to receive temporary codes.  I only have the landline (yeah, I'm THAT primitive).  Call waiting would work, but I had never set that up and wasn't even sure I had it.  AND they wanted me to pay $5 monthly for a support account for each email account.  I went for one for the Cavebear email account.  If I had to live with one, that's "me".

They got that working, but refused to touch the others unless they could send a text or voice code to a separate number.

Well, after finally getting the photos moved and setting up new setting all around, I set up a "chat" with a Verizon agent.  She told me I had call waiting and how to activate it.  Stupid me, it was right there on a phone button!

But armed with call-waiting, I confidently called AOL again, expecting to have to pay $5 per month for tech support for each account.  And expecting to have trouble understanding what the agent was saying.

And THIS is why I am so thrilled.  First, imagine an Asian Indian/Irish accent (it sounded beautiful whatever it was).    Second, imagine not being asked to sign up for a year's worth of monthly payment for 3 accounts.  Third, imagine someone who cheerfully led me through all the stages of all 3 accounts (correcting a few previous mistakes by the previous AOL agents) for over an hour and got all 3 accounts working AND even helped me get the email accounts under my Inbox.

I even asked her if she enjoyed her job when it takes so long for a customer like me and she said she really does enjoy helping people with difficult problems.    She seemed sincere.  OK, I get that.  Sometimes I spend hours at a gardening site answering questions that will never benefit me in any way.

And another thing.  They always tell you a name when they start and you never remember it.  So when I told her at the end that she was the most helpful tech person I ever dealt with and wanted to commend her to AOL, she requested I didn't.  I was stunned.

After we tested sending a few emails between my accounts to be sure it was all working, I thanked her and hung up.

And I immediately emailed AOL.  I told them I didn't have her name, but I gave them the case number, and that they had better make her "Employee Of The Year" because she did what 5 other of their agents didn't! 

I do have 11,000+ emails to sort out, but that is sure better than none.  I can do that.

And I did an internet search about where my Firefox bookmarks are.  I learned I can't "import" them because they don't get the idea of importing from Firefox to Firefox.  I'll bet I can import them to Safari and THEN to Firefox.  I LOVE "workarounds", LOL!

I have duplicate pictures that won't go away using a "duplicate-remover" app.  I'll remove them manually over the next few weeks. 

BTW, I learned the difference between email settings of POP and SMTP.  Email providers love POP because it is simpler.  SMTP files are recoverable.  POP files aren't.  Take a look at your email settings and see which you have...  If they are POP, call your email provider and demand a change.

But nearly everything is re-established on my new computer.  3 months of misery.  But you know what?  Next year, I will hardly even remember it.   Times heals all wounds.  And in the grand scheme of things, the past 3 months will not matter next year. 

Happiness to all.  My computer life is finally coming back into order...

And thanks to all who read this far.

Mark

Fixed Computer Problem

Well, I HOPE I have solved my computer problems (both Mac and Windows actually).

1.  I brought the Mac Mini that won't start to a local computer store today.  They are really a Windows shop, but they will do simple repairs on Macs.  After a half hour, they determined that the CURRENT Mac Mini was not repairable by them.  Some of the spilled wine got inside and shorted out some circuits.  Too complicated and time-consuming to clean and no guarantee that would solve the problem...  They did say they could pop the drive out and migrate it to an external storage device if I provided the device.

And they didn't even charge me for the diagnosis work!

They also advised me not to bother shipping it to an Apple repair store; saying that Apple doesn't actually repair hardware anymore, they just migrate the drive to a new unit and charge you for it.

The OLD Mac Mini I'm limping along with right now is making fan noises (which assures that it will fail soon).  And it is SLOW (well it IS a 2010 model).

So I went to Amazon and looked at new ones.  They are all designed for Cloud use, meaning they have less storage on the hard drives.  I'm not ready for the Cloud yet.  So I did a google search for Mac Minis  and found there were more powerful standard Mac Minis.  One site lead me back to Amazon, where they also offer 3rd party "diagnosed, cleaned, renewed" Mac Minis guaranteed by them, 90 day warranty and 3 year repair guarantees (for under $60).

I ordered and renewed Mac Mini with a faster Intell chip, 1 TB storage, and 2x the Ram of my current one.  That should last a while, and it will arrive in 3 days.  Plus I get 5% back using my Amazon Cedit Card!

AND, I got no flak this time requesting to return the underpowered128 GB Mac Mini I bought last month.  They even sent me a free shipping label.

So I am returning a useless new 128 GB Mac Mini at $720 for a fully renewed faster 1 TB one at $560 that will probably serve me well for many years.  I will migrate the OLD Mac Mini I'm using right now to the new one.  And I will have the local computer place copy my drive on CURRENT one that wont start to a 512 GB external drive I saw at Walmart for $50.

That way, I will have all my OLD files saved onto the new one and can pick and choose which newer files to save to it from the CURRENT one.  That's not as complicated as it seems.  I migrated the backup of the CURRENT Mac Mini to the OLD one (which is sort of why it works at all).

So, cheers and drinks all around!

I Surrender, Almost

Mac and Windows have finally won.  They've beaten me.  They have sent my computer life out of my control.  I don't say that lightly.

A month ago, I confidently downloaded the lastest version of the Mac O/S.  Catalina.  But it prevented me from using my Mac version of MS Office Word and Excel.  Huh!  Well, OK, I'll revert to the previous Mac O/S.  I can't.  It doesn't want me to.  There are suggestions on how to do that on some sites, but I can't make them work.  Catalina really wants to stay active.

I've spent hours on and off for the past week trying to get rid of it.  No luck.  So last night I sat down determined to restore the entire computer to a November version. 

Macs have that capability through something called "Time Machine".  I've done it before.  You go to a timeline of external drive backups, choose the one you want, hit the "restore" button, and you have the old version from that day.

Guess what won't work anymore?  Time Machine.  I spent several hours trying to do the "restore".  On the few occasions I even got the restore button to be active (most times it was greyed out), my password wouldn't work.  Catalina is actively thwarting my attempts...

Mac has moved from 32 bit to 64 bit and it wants you to stay there!  THEY KNOW BEST, after all...  They are creating a consistent world of users that suits their conception of the  future. 

So, while persistence in the past has usually worked, there is evidently a wall I can't get around now.  I've tried everything I can (with an exception I will get to later).

So, I suppose I have with Mac O/S Catalina.  And if you haven't, don't.  Unless you love buying new apps.

One of the things I lose on Catalina is my old MS For Mac Office.  MS Word and Excel are much better than Mac's iWorks Page and Numbers apps.  I do a lot in both Word and Excel that Page and Numbers won't.

So, I said I surrendered.  That means upgrading to MS For Mac 365.  And that means a yearly subscription fee of $70 rather than just buying the program.  I hate that.  The previous version was Office 2008 for a reason.  Lasted 11 years, no problems, cost about $40.  Until I find something really better, I'm perfectly happy with basic programs tat do the simle things I want them to do.

So, I went to the Mac App store to but MS For Mac 365.  It sends me to Microsoft.  Microsoft wanted me to set up an account.  OK.  I was kind of pissed off, so my password wasn't really "friendly".  Nothing "nasty" but It violated some rule.  

So the site said I had to send them my phone number so they could text me a temp password so I could get into my new account and change it.  Guess who doesn't have a smart phone?  And guess who didn't offer me any options to contact them?

THEY (MS) WON'T EVEN LET ME BUY THEIR DAMN SOFTWARE!

And apparently, even if I can figure out how to buy MS Office For Mac 365, it is in "the cloud".

Mac and MS are doing their uttermost to take the least bit of control I had away.

Now, given ALL THAT, I may have an "out".  I have a new mac mini I bought last year because I misunderstood how much RAM I had left on the current one.  And I have the previous one too.  The newer one might not have Catalina.  And I know the older one does NOT!

I'm going to set both up offline tomorrow.  See what O/S the new one is on first.  If it is Catalina, I will set it aside (it may have MS For Mac Office 365 on it and some other good programs).  And if so, I will check the older Mac Mini and hook up the Time Machine external drive to see if it will do the "restore" function.

If it does, maybe I can migrate the old computer  to the current one (not the new one) and keep going from there as I've been doing.

I'm not a computer geek.  For me, many changes are like beating away a crocodile with a baseball bat.  I don't even understand why some changes are made.  Mac Photos is probably an improvement over Mac iPhotos for some people, but I was perfectly happy with iPhotos. 

Photos just keeps saying it is rearranging things (anticipating my desires, I suppose) but I don't WANT it to do that.  If I want rearrangements, give me the option to tell it to do that.  Don't force it on me.  Ah but Mac knows best...  And so does Windows. 

When I was younger, I used to read a lot of science fiction.  Some of the stories "predicted" dystopias where Government or Business would force people to do things a certain way or act a certain way, or people would just learn to all act the same. in the "future".

The "future" is now.

I bet I can get around Mac and MS for a few more years.    But there will come a time when I just plain CAN'T. 

DAMN!

New Mac Mini

I recieved a new Mac Mini today.  It has about 8x memory.  Setting it up will actually be easy.  Mac has something called a Time Machine that saves everything on the disk to an external one.  But sometimes you want to clean things up first.  It a good time to do that.  One of the things was to delete all those notifications I had about blog comments.  I had 15,000+!

I deleted those.  The comments are on the blog, so I mean just email notifications of them.  I have tendencies of a hoarder, so I have to clear things sometimes. 

I'm organizing my files a bit.  I have picture files organized into Cat, Home, Family, Yard, and Other.  Set up by year and month. There are a lot of loose files around those.  Sometimes when you want to save attachments and pics etc, the program doesn't let you get them to exactly the detailed folders I have.  That will take a day.  Or I can just save that "as is" and hope to do it later.  Won't take up any extra space. 

I'm going from 16 GB RAM to 128 RAM, so it not like a few files will be a problem.  The speed is faster, and that's good.  I was starting to get the "slows".  And it isn't the internet connection. 

Speed is relative...  When I remember that 9600kbs dial up seemed fast, I smile.  I used to think that several minutes to refresh a screen was great.   LOL!

I'm also going through the apps list to de-install many unused ones.  And ordered a new keyboard.  I can't touch-type, but I know where most of the keys are.  But so many are pounded to invisibility (is that the E or the R?).  I wanted a keyboard with the letters depressed (sunken) rather than decals but couldn't find one.  OH well.  I read about painting them with clear fingernail polish, so I will try that.  I also saw an overlay, but I don't think I would like THAT!

So, I may be off-and on for a few days, while everything gets set up again.  The world won't end at my end or yours. 

It also means that I have to upgrade to the latest Mac OS.  I tried that a few months ago, and it ruined a few old programs I liked.  But I tried it 2 days ago and they worked.  I hope that continues. 

Anyway, if I come and go until 2020 a bit, that's why.  Just wanted to let everyone know...

A Good Day

Some days you spend all day doing routine work around the house.  Some days you spend all day doing one major infrequent task.  Some days you accomplish a lot of fairly unusual stuff.

Today was the last type...

1.  My online Mac computer had looked stretched out for a couple of days.  Symbols that were supposed to be circles were ovals, the text seemed oddly spaced, some sidebars weren't showing all the information they usually do, and people in pictures looked fat.  I had tried a couple of times to correct that in my settings and window sizes, but nothing worked.

2.  My offline Windows 95 computer (that I bought a month ago for playing some old favorite games suddenly stopped working).  I had just bought cheap speakers for it and there both a typical small round plug and a USB connector on the same speaker wire.  There were no actual instructions in the box, so I made a best guess and plugged in the round plug into each of the several small round port in the back.  Nothing.  So I unplugged that and tried the USB port.  Nothing.  Then I tried both.  Nothing.  So I unplugged the speakers entirely assuming they didn't work with such an old computer.

When I restarted the computer, instead of the usual Windows 95 demand to press f1 for setup or Esc to boot, I got a message saying to insert a bootable disk.  Naturally, in my cleanup campaign last Fall, I had tossed old "useless" software like the original Win 95 and Win 98 disks...  I figured I had shorted something, messed up the installed Win 95 software, or something and would have to haul the tower to the local PC repair shop.

3.  I have never been a dedicated paper filer.  Oh, I'm ORGANIZED.  A file folder for everything.  But I tend to just drop stuff on the top of the file cabinet to file "later".  The stack was 6" high and I needed several things in it.  But sorting the stack out meant I needed space, and my dining table was clutterred.  Recipes, DIY articles, computer and security advice, gardening suggestions, medical articles, etc.  Yeah, I'm a "clipper".  So to de-clutter the table meant I had to file stuff.  Catch-22!

   ----------------------

So, today I decided to tackle those annoying problems...

1.  I tried another round of correcting the setting on the Mac, to no success.  For those who don't have a Mac (and having used both Macs and Windows, I make no judgement).  But I use a Mac online, so you can tell which I prefer.  And to those of you who use a Mac and have experienced the Finder App, you understand why.  The other joy is the way Macs can stay in sleep mode without problems.

But it occurred to me that some problems can be solved just by restarting a computer.  So I actually went a step further and SHUT IT OFF!  First time in months...  After a few minutes, I started it back up.  Problem solved!  Everything looks normal again.  I concluded it was one of those "cats on the keyboard" things.  Macs have loads of keyboard shortcuts, and the cats frequently (randomly) activate some and I have to admit some of them take time to figure out how to undo.

One problem solved...

2.  Encouraged by that, I sat down at the bewly-purchased old Windows computer.  I tried restarting it.  No luck.  I tried shutting it down.  No luck.  I tried unplugging it from the surge protector for a few minutes.  No luck.  Same message demanding a bootable disk.  Considering that a visit to the PC repair shop was sure to cost at $200, I was about to but Windows 95 from Amazon or eBay, but them I recalled the stacks of game disks on the bookshelf.  I recalled that when I switched form Windows to Mac I had copied all my Windows folders to writable CDs.  Mac apps can read most standard Windows formats like .doc, .xls, .jpegs, etc.  And I had saved those (and in fact I think there are old pic and docs and even emails that I should retrieve, having deleted some trying to solve a storage proble. 8 years ago, but that is a future project).

What I recalled having ALSO done was copy the entire old Windows C drive the last time I bought a new one (on advice from a clipped article - that's why I clip stuff).  And sorting through about 30 jewel case of disks, there it was!  A CD labelled "Original From Store Basic Win 98 Configuration" dated 4/23/99... 

I hoped the Bootable File would work.  I slipped it into the CD drive, restarted the computer, and "Lo And Behold", up came the desired request to choose setup or boot.  I chose setup, which means the computer wants you to establish the date and time, display resolution, etc, just like the first time I started it after purchase.  It opened Win 95 again, and sure enough, the few files I had added since purchase where there.

When that was done, I took out the old CD copy of the Win 98 program, slipped in the game disk (Civilization II - Best non-real-time play-at-your-own-speed strategic fighting and city-building game of all time...  And I could play it again!

Two problems solved...

3.  The paperwork filing was in no way tricky, just unbelievably tedious.  To make room om the dining table, I sorted out all the clipped articles and set them on the kitchen counters (at this point do I really need to tell you that I had to clean the kitchen first, LOL!)?  So after that, I had an empty table to sort out the bills.  It's amazing how many types of them there were.  Some are monthly or quarterly, so I knew they needed their own spots.  Some come in a bunch at once (like vet bills).  Some are nearly one-offs (stuff that isn't regular).  Those got their own stack.  Some were tossable (like the 2017 recycling pickup schedule and my 2018 Health Care Insurance Plan summary).

Iza wanted to help, so that meant rearranging a few stacks.  But I eventually got them all sorted out.  Which them meant arranging each group by date.  Finding the dates on some bills can be hard (companies that keep rearranging the layout on their bills should be penalized). 

But I started with the smallest stacks and arranged them on the floor by date (Iza was happy to help again).  I filed those.  That finally left some space on the table and I got through all the stacks, filing as I went.  What a relief.  And I found a few of the documents I was looking for.  I even had some letters and poems that had stayed on the bottom of the stack the previous time I had sorted and filed stuff.

I think I should end this post and discuss those next time...

But today had some good endings and that doesn't always happen.  So I'm pretty pleased with the day's work.  And of course that doesn't count the routine stuff.  I'm celebrating getting the odd stuff done.

Quite a Day!

Most people keep regular hours waking and sleeping.  I managed that for 35 years of regular office work, but since I retired in 2006, that went totally out the window.  For example, I got up at 11 am Thursday and stayed up til 1 PM  Friday.  I did some yardwork in daylight and stayed on the computer from after dinner to 1 PM Friday and crashed for 4 hours sleep.  Got up at 5PM, fed the Mews 1st and 2nd breakfast then let them out for the brief daylight left.

Stay with me here...

Made dinner at 8 PM.  I had lots of "refrigerator-fodder" and a packaged 1/2" slice of uncooked ham.  Tghat ham slice is large.  I pulled out my 2 burned Lodge cast iron flat griddle and heated tht baby up for 15 minutes.  Talk about sizzle! 

Then I went to the basement and harvested a dozen leaves of the baby bok choy  and celery I'm growing there.  Destrung (destringed?) a dozen snow peas, cut strips of red and green bell peppers, sliced up a jalepeno pepper, sliced a 1/2 onion and 4 cremini mushrooms and went to work with the wok. 

The celery chunks . peppers, and mushrooms went into the wok first.  Followed by the onions, then the celery leaves, sliced bok choy, and shredded garlic and ginger.  Then, before they were "almost crisp", I added a 1/4 cup cornstarch and chicken broth mix and let it bubble for slightly over a minute.

My friends, it was the most perfect stir-fry I have ever made!

I did not eat it with a salad,
I did not eat it with a side.
I just put the bowl on table
And I put it all inside!

Even the TV choices were great (I eat watching TV).  There was a show about the Broadway hit 'Hamilton', a good Nature show, and MSNBC  commentary about the days political events.

I NEEDED THAT!  These last 2 weeks have been frustrating.  And I haven't even resolved all the email issues yet.  But the new computer is up and running except for that, my backup program is working, and I CAN get to each of my 3 email accounts by logging in and out for each one whenever I want to check.  I'll solve that one soon.

Cavebear

New Mac Computer

Well, the new Mac Mini arrived Wensday, but I was tired.  I had to do errands most on yesterday, but got at it in the late afternoon.  Macs have something called Migration assistant that helps you transfer important files from a Mac to a PC, a PC to a Mac, or a Mac to Mac (from new to old or old to new).

That sounds really great, but unless you have about every cable and/or adaptor in existence, it can be an adventure.  I don't, and it was!

The most direct way of migrating from one Mac to another is too simply have them both up and running with an HDMI cable between them.  Which requires 2 sets of monitors/keyboards/mouses, all of which I actually have!

But Mac Minis have only one HDMI port.  My monitors plug into HDMI ports.  But so does the recommended Mac to Mac. No amount of searching through my box of odd cables and adaptors would make that work. 

I could have gone to a local store and bought the one adaptor I needed, but NOOOOOO, I had to make it work with what I had.  Well, sometimes half the fun in life is the challenge...

And one thing I had was a brand new Western Digital (WD) 4Tb backup drive (my old Seagate 500Gb drive just wasn't able to backup all my files anymore) that I ordered at the same time as the new Mac.

So, I didn't have the right cables to go direct Mac to Mac.  But the Mac Migration Assistant said it was perfectly happy using a Time Machine backup.  So I set up the old Mac to the new WD backup disk and set it to backup the old Mac.  Took 3 hours!  It was an initial backup (copying everything).

I was just finishing a late dinner when the backup completed.  I moved the WD backup and all the other cables to the new Mac and opened Migration Assistant there.  I had to register the new Mac slightly (language, location, User ID, Password, etc.  The user name and password set me back for a while.  In spite of it being a new computer, somewhere, the Mac Universe knows who I am and disagreed with my name.  I finally discovered that my old password on Capital letters and some numbers NOW required a lower case letter also.  Got THAT straightened out, and went through a bunch of stuff about using the Cloud.  Sorry, not yet for that for me. 

They were insistent, so I had to go through a bunch of "Are you SURE?" questions.  But I finally got to the NEW Mac Migration Assistant, and it searched for an external drive.  Found it and started downloading files. 

I was really worried at first.  The progress bar stayed at 1% for 30 minutes.  But then it suddenly progressed faster and only took another hour. 

I amused myself during the wait by changing the water for my 2 Siamese Fighting fish (separate containers of course),  doing a load of laundry, tossing toys to the Mews, and listening to MSNBC commentary in the background.

But even massive file transfers through slow cables do come to an end and the new Mac reported it had completed the file download.  A quick check suggests that all my files are saved, are saved in familiar folders, and my Firefox and Safari browsers have my bookmarks.  I checked iPhoto next for all my photos.

Its not the same.  Nothing I couldn't figure out, but more on THAT soon as there are changes I don't like and may ask questions about to fellow Mac users.

Everything ELSE seems to work pretty much the same, but I checked iPhotos first as it matters more to my blogs than word or spreadsheet programs do.

The important thing is that I am up and running on a Mac with more memory, processing speed and backup.  I understand the programs (generally, given some changes)

It doesn't solve my unhappiness with the transfer of my Verizon email (which I was utterly happy with) to AOL (which seems restrictive, user-unfriendly, and overflowing with ads).  THAT is a problem to solve in a few days.  I can LIVE with AOL for right now, just won't STAY with them for long.  They want to "nickle and dime" me to death for every service to avoid what I don't want them to provide in the first place.  And I have 3 email addresses (for which they charge a monthly fee each).  And I can't simply switch from one to another as I could on Verizon, I have to log out and then back in each time. 

But the migration is complete, my new computer runs faster, and I'm back on line.  For today, that's is enough.