Monthly Archives: August 2006

Blogging/IT

A technical question about ‘complete computer’ backups

The time when I should have really sorted out backing up my computer is long past, so I’m finally getting to it. Any experiences, suggestions welcome.

I’m planning to get a portable external hard drive which I can keep in a different place and backup the whole computer once a week.

I’ve now got about 20GB total on the computer (with a capacity of 140), so figure an 80GB storage will do for a long time to come.

I’m looking at say this Phillips from Amazon, which has Nero software which presumably should do all I need for a complete backup. (I’ve had bad experiences with Nero before, but perhaps it has got better?

Or perhaps I should buy a cheaper drive on eBay and also buy Norton Ghost, which some seem to suggest is THE solution. (But then I’ve had bad experiences with Norton too.)

Ahhh – computers don’t you love ’em.

(And for an encore tonight I’m planning to update my WordPress installations – one still running 1.5 and the other an early 2, but I believe if I install the latest I’ll solve the sending referrer problems … If you hear a faint screaming in the distance anywhere in Europe tonight it will probably be me. Any tips on this will also be welcome – I’m planning to work – carefully – off the Codex directions.)

Lady of Quality

Don’t hail the Pretender

The family of my 19th-century blogger, Frances Williams Wynn, was clearly of Jacobite sensibilities in earlier times, but she did not retain any lingering favouritism for the Stuarts. Today she’s sharing some family gossip about an incognito visit to London by Charles Edward Stuart in the 18th century, and making comments (less than favourable) about his character.

Feminism

Women judges to hear rape cases in India?

At the moment only a Bill to be presented to parliament, but it sounds like a great idea:

Women’s groups and rights activists have for long campaigned for reforming the judicial process that deals with sexual assault in a country where a woman is raped every 29 minutes.
The national capital, New Delhi, is the most unsafe Indian city for women, accounting for 30 percent of rapes, according to government data.
“This is a very positive step and will help get justice for the rape victim,” said Girija Vyas, chairwoman of the National Women’s’ Commission.
“Until now, male lawyers were able to threaten the victim and scare her. A woman judge will help build a sensitive atmosphere.”
The amendment would also allow the rape victim to have her lawyer with her during cross-examination. Earlier, this was in-camera, making it uncomfortable for the victim, Kumar said.

History

The Domesday book …

… no doubt you’ll be able to access the new online edition some time next week. As is becoming traditional in these matters, it was launched with much fanfare yesterday, and crashed under the strain.

In the meantime there’s a lively article on the Guardian that will tell you about what you can’t see.

In the meantime meantime, a site that is working, Jordanus: An International Catalogue of Mediaeval Scientific Manuscripts. “It provides information about mediaeval manuscripts written in Western Europe between 500 and 1500 A.D. which treat the mathematical sciences in the wider sense, i.e. arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and mechanics.”

Hat-tip to Medieval Woman.

Feminism

In memoriam

Iris Marion Young – “one of the most important political philosophers of the past quarter-century”. And a feminist.

Friday Femmes Fatales

Friday Femmes Fatales No 64

Ten great posts from 10 new (to me) women bloggers.

To begin with a horrible tale on loteria chicana, about a woman who happened to be an illegal immigrant seeking a restraining order against an allegedly abusive husband. The judge found what he thought was a neat solution: force her to flee the court, there’d be no order, and gosh, the couple could even end up back together. She wouldn’t have any choice.

Then not exactly “new” to me, since a Blogcritics regular, but Dawn Olsen hasn’t featured here before, and her post on how American Moms Freak Over Breastsucking Infants is just a must read. It is a mother’s magazine. And there’s a baby feeding on the cover. So?

Getting more cheerful, MsAbcMom enjoys a lively shopping trip in Panama with her family. A very different experience to a similar trip in the US. And great pictures! (Probably not good if you are feeling hungry…)

Speaking of family, on Family Oral History Using Digital Tools, Susan A. Kitchens talks to her mother about HER mother – who graduated from MIT in 1920. That’s what you call a pioneering family tree. (Video)

Quite a bit of art criticism this week, starting with Big A little A. There Kelly Herold finds that stereotypes ruin an otherwise good movie: Monster House.

On Confessions of a Bibliovore (love the name), a review of Dairy Queen, which might be classed as a “young adult” novel. It sees its young heroine running a dairy farm. Perhaps for a slightly younger audience, on Book Moot Camille reviews Let’s Go Pegasus – it is retelling the classic myth, and a chorus of owls sounds like a nice touch.

Then, definitely for grown-ups, A.L. Harper on My Coffee Clatch reviews a novel about Mormons and Salt Lake City. It’s also about sexual addiction. Not at all what you’d expect.

Gillian on gillianic tendencies has been doing her part to raise half a million dollars for cancer research. Boo, hiss to those who questioned her motivation, and good on her for standing up to them.

On Chrissy’s Random Life, subtitled “The Life of an Obsessed Knitter”, you won’t be surprised about the subject of the post to which I’m pointing. But this also has a nice “green” angle, for knitting your own farmers’ market bag has to be the ultimate alternative to using plastic bags for shopping.


If you missed the last edition, it is here. (If you’d like to see all of them as a list, click on the category “Friday Femmes Fatales” in the righthand sidebar. That will take you to a collection of 640, and counting, women bloggers.)

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Please: In the next week if you read, or write, a post by a woman blogger and think “that deserves a wider audience” (particularly someone who doesn’t yet get many hits), drop a comment. It really does make my life easier. Or don’t be shy – nominate yourself! (Thanks to Penny for her suggestions this week!)