For those who believe that every problem sows the seeds of opportunity, you may be right...

For the last three days, my eyes have been opened as I struggled with first trying to restore a backup that had passed a validity check and then using the nuclear option of rebuilding my system from the bare metal.

Some of the things I learned along the way...

(1)  Backup software, even professional-grade software, can be dodgy in ways that are not apparent until you face a data disaster. In this case, the validation feature prominently displayed in the center of the screen is misleading. It may mean that your data file is valid, but the disk file system is corrupted, so you cannot restore the entire system. Likewise, critical hidden files may not be captured. Luckily, I use other software to protect my data files, not the installed programs.

(2)  Then there is Microsoft... putting more cruft in their installations, which pack unwanted and unnecessary features into their bloated programs -- and then force you to adopt their work process even though you must re-tool your own workflow. And, of course, they are trying to force you into the cloud -- where they hold the keys to the kingdom and can unilaterally scan your data without your permission—using a pay-as-you-go money-spinning scheme to generate outlandish profits on some products that have seen better days—forcing you to use a Microsoft account to download third-party software.  Even with a new installation from Microsoft's latest software release -- expect to spend hours updating and tweaking settings.

(3)  Even my blog provider gave me some grief. I use third-party blogging software to post entries and needed the vendor's server address. They told me, straight up, that they don't support third-party software and to use their inferior software offering -- telling me that it may have some new features. Of course, this was lousy customer service and pure bullshit from a company whose aging platform has seen numerous issues—time to reconsider our 17-year relationship.

(4)  You can do everything right and still get screwed by the fickle finger of fate wielded by Father Time.

Bottom line...

It's great to have a fallback position of simply walking away from the bullshit.

It appears that we are in deep doo-doo -- a full-on communist rebellion and a police state enforcing the nonsense that would have our ancestors running our tarred and feathered politicians out of town on a rail.

We are screwed.

-- Steve