Your hard drive will die… Back it up

Do you have precious pictures, music, and documents on your computer? I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me to help recover data from their failed hard drive. Consider this advice your data insurance plan. I think most of us would prefer to have a $300 fail-proof plan (on 1 terabyte of data, or as little as $50 if you only have a few gigabytes) compared to the $1000 to $3000 data recovery cost – with no guarantee – if your drive dies. I will use my own experience in buying a new drive, enclosure, and testing software to illuminate some of the things you should consider when it comes to backing up your data. I’m almost as wet behind the ears as the next guy when it comes to home-user backup strategies, so don’t take this as gospel advice. Please chime in with your own backup strategy.

Why you should have an offsite copy of your data (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Tasty Mega Green juice

I discovered a new organic juice today during my Louisville Exploration. There are several flavors of R.W. Knudsen Family® brand’s Simply Nutritious® juices and I randomly picked out Mega Green. I’d never heard of the brand before, but I’ve enjoyed the flavor and I am trying to decide how nutritious it is.

Mega Green juiceNathan’s a little shocked at the 27g of sugar in an 8 oz. serving, but I’m intrigued by these spirulina (620mg) and chlorella (420mg) ingredients. The people at Amazing Grace Whole Foods on Bardstown seem pretty knowledgable, so maybe I’ll ask their opinion next time I go in there. (Jon and I were very impressed with their small store and will definitely be going back. I think it’s the closest organic store to the apartment.) After checking the Knudsen website, though, I’m confused at the actual nutrient content in the 32oz bottle I bought ($3.99). Other than the calories, all the ingredients on the bottle are more plentiful than the ingredients listed on their website! 120 cal (vs. 130), 100% Vitamin C (45), 25% A (4%), etc. That’s a significant difference!

As you can see from the picture, it looks (and also tastes) a lot like the Naked Green Machine which I’ve enjoyed many a time. While Mega Green probably doesn’t pack quite the “Superfood” punch that the Green Machine does, it’s a better deal. I’ll probably try some of their other flavors, but hopefully I can get some answers about the correct dietary facts!