Last week the two owners of the paper I work for went on a much deserved vacation. That meant that I would have to post all the AP stories as well as run around town and try and keep the paper looking like everything was fine while they were gone. I got up extra early (4:30 a.m.) and although things were hectic, I was holding my own until Friday of the week they were gone.
Now the paper is broken into a dozen sections so more than one poster can be working at the same time.
You can't have two working in the same section since you could end up "saving over" the other which means whatever they are doing is wiped out.
We have a rule of thumb that we never "save over" our chief poster if by chance we are in the same field. She is a retired English teacher and she spends a great deal of time making sure an article is coherent, so we, who are just clicking and pasting, give up our post in deference to hers.
Now you get a little message saying a more recent file is being saved. Do you want to save this one over the previous one. We always click "No" and just wait a minute and then click and paste and all is well.
Now for some reason I didn't notice in the template that posting was being done and so I thumb nailed a picture. Immediately the message popped up about someone else's save and without really reading the message box I hit the "NO" button.
At the instant I hit "NO" the field went blank. There was nothing and in a panic I wondered if maybe the message I didn't really read said something else and my pushing "NO" had screwed up the entire template.
I went out, closed everything and tried again. Nothing. I then went to the internet and typed in www.lincolndailynews.com and to my terror a message popped up saying "Server not Found."
It was now 5:30 on Friday and all I could think of was the message I didn't look at said something like "Do you want to save today's edition or in fact any of the eight years of archives." And I had hit the "NO" button.
I jumped in the van and drove over to the office hoping there was someone still there who knew how to undo my greatest electronic blunder in the history of mankind.
To my relief, the English teacher was still there and told me there had been a glitch in the system and that the tech at the server had advised them he was going to reboot the system.
It seems by odd chance they had rebooted the exact same moment my finger hit the "NO" button. What are the odds on that?
She laughed hard when I told her I thought I dumped the system and she explained that we have two backups that I never asked about and no one ever told me about.
Of course, I was still in cardiac arrest mode but thank God I had jumper cables in the van. Hooking them up to the battery I was able to defibrillate myself and go back home to finish my posting. But I waited until I was sure everyone else was done for the night. I also will always read those message boxes even if I think I know what they will say. I also need to buy a new shirt. There's scorch marks on this one.
Freelance writer, columnist, author and writing coach, ex-Chicagoan Mike Fak presently resides in Central Illinois. More information about Mike's services are available at his home website www.mikefak.com
Mike currently writes primarily humor columns for searchwarp bi-weekly and is the managing editor of www.lincolndailynews.com
Jeez! What a coincidence. I think I'd have a heart attack too. Great article. And it points up the importance of actually reading the message in those annoying little boxes.
these "machines" are smarter than us, aren't they?
i have lost so much over the past 10 years. now, when i am in word, i hit the save button as soon as the page comes up. helps alot! i'm glad everything worked out for you,
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
