The really, really short version is that you should go get your credit card and buy at least a year subscription right now.

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Quick survey:

Do you have any important photos on your computer?
Do you have more than a few songs you’ve purchased that you love?
Do you have a few videos of your kids that only exist on your hard drive?
How about those important tax or accounting documents for your small business?

If you answered yes to these questions then you should be backing up your computer(s). Seriously. There is one thing that all hard drives do – fail.

Most common drives in a computer are mechanical – which means there are moving parts within that little box that spin around at speeds greater than 5,400 rotations per minute! These parts are moving all the time when you using your computer. Eventually, this drive will go toes-up and stop working. If your super lucky (winning-the-lottery-lucky) you might be able to get data off the drive when it breaks. Even better, you might be able to go long enough on that drive without it breaking to get a new computer and start the spin of the roulette wheel all over again.

The great news is that on-site backups have been super easy to set up for the last few years. On-site means a backup of the information on the drive inside of your computer to another drive (most likely an external drive that is attached via a USB cable) that stays relatively near the computer. Here in the Koerner house, both my wife and I backup our computers to little Seagate drives that are tucked next our monitors. Software like Time Machine and Windows Backup and Restore are great solutions that you can set up and forget about. They work diligently in the background making copies of your photos, pictures and documents as you work.

Sounds great right? You’re saying, “Well now I have my stuff in two locations, so the odds of both those drives going bad is slim.”

Well, that’s true. Having your data on two drive is a smart idea. Just like putting on your seatbelt when driving. But how many of us have a car that has airbags as well?

That’s what Crashplan+ is. Airbags for your computer…Wait, that doesn’t make sense. Let me explain.

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On-site backups are great if your problem is just a hard drive gone bad, but if your system is stolen or damaged you’re still toast. Now you only have one copy of your data. Natural disasters aren’t very picky when it comes to damage. Most likely, if your house is flooded the same drive you back up to will be damaged. Off-site backups are backups stored somewhere other than where you computer spends it’s time – preferably in a geographically separate location.

Off-site backups complement on-site backups. They give you another layer of security when it comes to the integrity of your data. If something happens to your computer and the local on-site backup (like theft or the aforementioned flood) your data is still safe somewhere else.

So, back to Crashplan+. I had been looking for an off-site solution, but none of them were as easy as on-site backups via Time Machine. Either the software looked funky or the billing was confusing. How many gigabytes and how often were things backed up? Ugh. So then I heard about Crashplan+ from a friend of mine.

I downloaded their 30-day trial and began to back up all of my important files. Their software and billing is easy to understand and after checking the files I wanted to back up it was off. A few days later (for me it was around 20 days – I used the super fast connection at my work to do most of the backup. For home users it might take a bit longer.) I had my most important documents securely stored on redundant servers somewhere miles away. Now every time I import some new photos into iPhoto or some new songs into iTunes, Crashplan+ waits for changes and then without much fanfare begins to back them up for me. If something happens I can order a drive with my data to be delivered to my door, or use their tool to restore my files to a new hard drive.

Some of my favorite features:

• You can tell it what to ignore and what to watch or just let it backup everything. Very customizable if you want to ignore some files (Apps you can download again for example).
• There is no limit to the amount of space you can use for backups. With my recent purchase of a new laptop my local backup drive was too small. With Crashplan+ I’ll never have a ‘too small’ drive that won’t hold my backups.
• Accessing my backups is super easy. I can do so through their app on my computer, or in an emergency from a web browser on any computer. I can download a whole folder or just a few files within minutes. This already saved my bacon when I absent-mindedly deleted my daughter and I’s most important Minecraft world.
• They also recently launched mobile apps for Android and iOS that allow you to view your files ala Dropbox. The advantage over Dropbox is that it’s all of your files – not just a single folder.
• It’s also fairly inexpensive. I subscribed to a 2-year Crashplan+ Unlimited plan for $89.99. That’s less than $4 a month to make sure all my photos, songs and documents are safe.

So give Crashplan+ a try. My experience has been nothing but positive. The service is by a bunch of nice folks working in Minneapolis, MN making software I forget about – and it helps me get sleep at night. How could you not like it?

This article was written while listening to Kina Grannis – Stairwells

In a nutshell at least.

She said, “Didn’t you get my voicemail!?”.

I did not and she proceeded to tell me that she noticed my abandoned phone, grabbed it on her way out, found my car in the parking lot where I work and left it there for me.

Best. Wife. Ever.

No, I’m not being sarcastic. You see, this email came from an iPad/iPhone game called Pocket Frogs. In this game you breed and nurture tiny frogs. You can feed them and race with them with the goal to create new generations of offspring with new combinations of colors and designs. To encourage new users the developers have a messaging feature baked in. You can message your friends to let them know about the app in hopes they’ll download it.

So why do I love emails like this? Because they’re from my daughter. At the ripe old age of five, she’s discovered how to use the in-game messaging – she taps on the frog, then the “Share”, then “Email” and sends a message to my name, stored in her Grandmother’s iPad.

So while I’m staring at code, sitting in a meeting or editing video for 8 hours a day, my daughter sometimes thinks about sending her newest frog to her old man. I’ll never tell her she’s doing it wrong.

My wife as she appears in the week’s edition of The University News (The student-run newspaper at the university we both work at). They did a piece called “Let Us Introduce You ” on her and her work with St. Louis Pet Rescue. Go Jack!

I work on the web every day. My job title is “Web Project Coordinator” and while this implies that I’m focused on the web I find myself both professionally and personally doing so much more.

On some days I shoot and edit video, others have me designing a layout for a site or coding some JavaScript. I even manage a few servers and help edit objective-c for an iPhone app! Not to mention my past IT support role has perpetuated my title as ‘computer guy’ around the office and at home.

I freely admit this is a 1st world problem and there are far greater difficulties facing the universe, but on an individual level I find the feeling of not being proficient in one particular area to be a serious mental drain. Why do I feel like a jack of all trades and a master of none?

Some days I feel like a fraud, that everyone I work with (and for) have been duped by smoke and mirrors. That if they ever found out how little I actually know I’d be branded as a fluke, a huckster. Part of me knows this isn’t true. That I’m smart and well received by those I work with, but man because of the Internet I feel like such a moron. Why is this?

It’s because I read. I read a lot.

I pursue Twitter and Google Reader to find out what’s going on all over the world. I read about Adam Lisagor and his awesome video work or Neven Mrgan and his splendid design chops. Boing Boing fills me with oddities to delight the senses and bizarre people I would love to meet.

Guys like Merlin Mann and Jeffery Zeldman make me feel like a sloth with their intelligent and witty writing. Don’t even get me started on Mike Matas‘ photography or Brent Simmons‘ helpful articles on coding. How about Michael Lopp’s awesome guide to being a better geek?

I digress, but you can see how after daily observances of a plethora of cool things one can start comparing themselves and asking, “Why am I not that successful? Why are these people so awesome?”

But I think I’ve figured it out.

I was having a discussion bitching to my wife on the ride home from work. I was withering in fake pain about how I don’t feel like I’m strong in any particular area and how I worry about my future. My wife, as smart as always, pointed out an obvious fact.

I’m comparing myself to 5 different people – of course I’m not going to be as good in each profession as these folks have chosen. I’ve been trying to stretch myself in so many different ways because I’m excited! I want to do everything I read about because it all sounds so interesting.

I realize now that I can’t try to do what 5 separate people have accomplished. I can dabble here, and try something over here, but at the end of the day I need to relax.

My wife reminded me that what is important is that the people I work with enjoy what I can do for them and that I continue to develop as an individual without the pressure to be as good as everyone on the Internet. I often forget that these folks are great at what they do and that what each one of them does is diverse and specific. People rarely blog about their shortcomings – about topics that they’re not proficient in. They talk about their successes, their passions and what cool things they’re doing.

So anytime I’m down in a funk, that I feel like no one would hire me and that I’m some sort of goober, I just need to remember that even thought the Internet can bring so much information to my fingertips that it does nothing to filter – to remind me that I need to take things in one at a time. Admire these things I see and hear, enjoy them, but ultimately be at peace with who I am and where I’m going.

I didn’t know my cousin well. The only memory I have of him was the first time I met him. Which also happened to be the time I broke his arm.

Toward the end of my Mom’s second marriage she decided we should all visit her family back in Washington. We all flew up to spend a week with my Grandparents and visiting my cousins – Latisha, Vanessa and Jeremy. He was the youngest of the three.

We visited the local city of Richland, went on a RV trip along the border of Oregon and Washington, visited the Pacific Ocean and other family-related things.

On the final day of our visit, Jeremy and I were rough housing on the front porch. It wasn’t a very impressive porch. It rose from the gravel driveway all of two feet. Just three steps up off the ground.

I was holding him in a bear hug/hold with his back against my chest, swinging him around. I stepped a bit too close to the edge of the porch and started to loose my footing.  Fearing that I would fall on top of him I let go and he fell the two foot distance to the ground. Right on his arm, breaking it.

At that point in my life I had never felt as bad as I did. He was screaming, the adults swarmed around him and I ran into the guest bedroom and started crying. I had no idea what happend, but I knew it was all my fault.

He survived the fall and returned home very drugged up and with a new bright purple cast. Somewhere exists a video of his return, wherein he tries to talk to us about what happened and we all laughed at how silly his responses were.

The next day we said our goodbye’s and left to head back to St. Louis. I haven’t seen Jeremy since then.

Grandma mentioned that he was due to go to jail within the next few days on alcohol related charges. They sighed, like grandparents do, and said it was such a shame. They hoped that he would turn himself around and find direction.

Unfortunately he was unable to deal with whatever demons that had entered his life. I found out today that Jeremy took his own life as a permeant solution for what I’m sure was something temporary that could have been helped.

It’s sad to hear of a young person taking their own life. Even more so when it’s someone you know. I’m saddened and am reminded of how difficult life can be for those who are missing something that prevents them from being a whole person.

To me, and to you I hope, let this be a reminder to us all. Be an example to young people and to try and keep them on a good path.