November | 2007 | Matt & Jen Simerson

Last September I wrote an article about backing up a Mac. I’ve received several inquiries about how best to back up while using Time Machine.

I find I have two distinct needs for backup. The first is total disk loss. If my system disk fails, I need to get back up and running with a new disk. If that disk is pre-populated with the OS and all my data, then I have an extremely fast and reliable way to recover. I consider this part of my backups absolutely essential and I use SuperDuper for making and updating these disk disks.

Creating a bootable snapshot requires a spare disk. My dual G5 had extra drive bays so it was easy, buy and insert a spare disk. When I switched to the Intel iMac, I connected those same backup disks to the iMac and laptops via my Wiebetech ComboDock. That worked but wasn’t very convenient so I picked up an external dual drive Firewire to SATA enclosure with a spare hot-swap drive tray.

My other backup need is file recovery. If a file is deleted, incremental backups allow recovery from a specific point in time. A bootable snapshot can only help if that particular file existed when the snapshot was taken. Fortunately, the few times when I really needed to recover a file, that was the case.

Time Machine fills a void in my backup regime and works out perfectly with the dual disk enclosure. One disk stays in the enclosure and is my designated Time Machine disk. Time Machine manages incremental backups automatically. I maintain my bootable snapshots using two disks and the other drive bay. Every other month I swap out the snapshot disk and store the eldest offsite.

The year 2007 brought about The Great Book Purge. Our personal library has been slowly growing and we have insufficient space for them. To inflict our books on someone else’s bookshelves, I set up accounts at half.com, Bookins, and Bookmooch.

To get started, I checked the value of each of my books on half.com. Any books worth more than a few bucks ($5+) I listed on half.com for a little less than the highest priced similar item. Most of those books sold within a week, clearing off almost an entire shelf.

I listed another batch of books on Bookins, a book swapping site. On Bookins, the buyer pays $4.95 for shipping. The seller (me) gets a USPS label printed with the persons address. I have only to wrap the book, tape on the label, and drop it in the mail. After a month, I’ve shipped off a half dozen books and have a bunch of points in my Bookins account. However, I’ve only received a couple books of my wishlist. Bookins only has a couple thousand members and most book trades are fiction, a genre I have little interest in.

The last site I’ve been using is BookMooch. As with Bookins, on Bookmooch I created a list of books I wanted and books to purge. When a book I want becomes available, I get an email alert and can request the book from the giver. The giver pays the postage to send the book to me. They gets points when I receive the book and those points are redeemable for books that they want. It’s a pretty good system and my biggest complaint is that with BookMooch, as a giver I must take the book to the Post Office due to new Media Mail regulations enacted in October. It would be most excellent if I could print online postage as Bookins does.

While going through our books, some stand out as truly excellent books that deserve a mention. Here are my three favorite books on child raising.

Why Gender Matters