E traordinary
Life March 30, 2008
vol. 5, no. 13
Backup, Backup, Backup
“Oops” is the most terrifying sound one can operator error. His email was a tragic mea culpa,
make while sitting in front of a computer. Some- bemoaning his stupid mistake. I quickly emailed
thing was done or something happened that him back and told him he should be able to re-
elicited that sound that was not good. If you see cover most of the pictures with the right program
a BSoD (commonly known as the “Blue Screen of and patience.
Death” from the blue error screen displayed by
Microsoft Windows, after en- Later, we were talking via
countering a critical system er- instant messaging and I asked
ror which can cause the system Nathaniel if he knew what the
to shut down to prevent dam- first three rules of computing
age) or the message “DISK BOOT were. “No,” he wrote back, “what
FAILURE - INSERT SYSTEM DISK are the first three rules of com-
AND PRESS ENTER”, the ‘oops” puting?”
may be followed by a depressing
sinking feeling. After waiting a moment for
the tension to build, I typed in,
Perhaps the only computer “Backup, backup, backup.”
error worse than a BSoD, is
operator error. It is much harder Nathaniel thought this was
to face a “computer error” that hilarious, despite his sorry situ-
swallows up vital data due to ation, but he got the message,
a self-inflicted error of hitting like most people do, after the
the wrong key or switch at the tragedy had already occurred.
wrong time. In the click of a The reason for repeating the
mouse, faster than a Microsoft rule three times is to emphasize
window can blink and close, your just how important backing up is.
most important files can be gone and lost forever. But it usually takes a dramatic loss of precious or
important information before many people will
Nathaniel, my 2 year old son, is in his third take backing up their computer data seriously.
year of college and spending the current semester
in France. He recently took a trip through Prague, Every computer storage device has a “lifetime”
Vienna and Budapest in Eastern Europe. Since usually described by the MTBF (Mean Time Be-
Nathaniel got a nice digital camera for Christmas, tween Failures). The MTBF is just an average life
he was excited about taking photographs of the span. Just like us, some hard drives fail sooner,
sights on his sojourn. But two thirds of the way some will fail later, but all of them will fail and
through his trip, I received a sad email message die one day. “For the living know that they will
from him that basically said, “Oops!” die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no
more reward, For the memory of them is forgot-
After taking over ,000 pictures, Nathaniel, ten” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). As Job said, “For I know
somehow, reformatted his digital memory card, that You will bring me to death, And to the house
losing all of his pictures in one swift flash of appointed for all living” (Job 30:23).
-25-
-The Extraordinary Life-
Just like a computer hard drive or a memory Upcoming Messages
storage device, like a memory card or flash drive,
your life is fragile and it holds some very impor- We invite you to come and be our guest at the
tant and precious information. In the blink of an Connersville church of Christ. You and your loved
eye or a flash of light, you could have a hardware ones will want to hear these messages on the fol-
crash or commit operator error and face the BSoD. lowing Sunday mornings at 0:00 AM.
Will you have a backup ready; will you be pre-
pared for the end of your MTBF?
God warned His people to have a backup
ready, “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
Today:
(Amos 4:2). Jesus reminded us that we don’t
know when a catastrophic failure or the end will • What Jesus Thought
come: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son About the Bible
of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect”
(Matthew 24:44).
What did Jesus say our backup, backup,
backup plan should be? “Take heed, watch and
pray; for you do not know when the time is” (Mark Next Sunday:
3:33). For a backup plan to work, it must be • Is the Bible God’s
worked, regularly. A hit and miss backup will be
sorely lacking when the big “oops” comes. Most Only Book For Man?
businesses backup their data at least daily, some
even backup continuously. Life’s backup plans
for the day of life’s hardware failure cannot be a
casual, inconsistent half-hearted, weakly effort. ting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a
helmet the hope of salvation” ( Thess. 5:4, 8).
Backup preparation for the day of disaster
should be a daily matter: daily prayer to God; Remember, the end of your MTBF is coming
daily listening to God’s Word; daily thinking about and the dreaded BSoD is a certainty. It is not a
God. Paul said “But you, brethren, are not in dark- matter of if, but when, and you don’t know the
ness, so that this Day should overtake you as a when. So in the “mean time”: follow the three
thief… But let us who are of the day be sober, put- rules of computing: backup, backup, backup.
Connersville A Friendly Recommendation… Come Join Us!
church of Christ
Do you attend church? Many don’t because the Worship
meets at Waterloo & Erie
sermons are boring and don’t relate to your real life, Sunday Morning
Connersville, Indiana too many churches seem more interested in your 10:00 am
money than you and the members are not very
friendly. Attending church should be enjoyable!
Sunday Evening
I would like to recommend the Connersville church of Christ which
meets on the north side of Connersville just off Waterloo Road. We
6:00 pm
are a friendly and happy group of friends who enjoy worshipping God (last Sun.) 2:30 pm
and sharing with one another.
At the Connersville church of Christ you will: Bible Classes
• Meet new friends and get to know your neighbors for all ages
Minister • Hear positive practical encouraging messages each week Sunday Morning
Wayne Greeson • Enjoy uplifting songs, powerful prayers & meaningful worship 9:00 am
(765) 825-9690 • Find help for your family, your marriage & yourself
Come and be my special guest this Sunday at 10:00 am. Give us a try! Wednesday Evening
Visit us on the web Your neighbor, 7:00 pm
connersvillecofc.com Wayne Greeson
-26-