1. Prepare the client for the worst.
2. Pray that Google has the answer and start searching.
3. Open a cmd prompt as administrator
4. Change directory to C:\windows\CSC\
5. Run a takeown command to give the local admins group owndlership of all the files in that directory. This command will grant ownership of all files and folders to the local admins group: takeown /A /R

6. Wait for takeown to process all of the files in the directory. For me this process took about an hour.
7. Once takeown has finished you should be able to browse the folders and find your lost documents. If the file wasn’t cached it will show up as a 0 KB file. If it was you will see that it has a file size greater than 0.
8. Now that you have ownership of the files you still must grant your account full access rights to the file in order to move or copy it. If you are trying to recover a lot of files this is best done using the cacls command. I was only recovering a few so I did not want to waste the time getting my syntax right.
9. Copy or move the files to a location of your choice.

A lot of work for a few files, but whatever the client needs right?

As I have struggled over the last 2 months to really keep up with the demands of my job, I have been forced to realize two things. First, I’m not as immune to stress as I thought I was. Second, when under stress, my organizational skills and ability to prioritize and remember what needs to be done on the fly completely break down. The two are intimately linked and can cause a horrible downward spiral from which I have found recovery is difficult.

Prior to Christmas we were going through end of year purchasing – a process that involves analyzing needs, getting quotes, and filling out stacks of paperwork – which was sheer hell. I’ve never been so exhausted, irritable, and just all around short tempered in my life. The process was just taxing. After Christmas, well really the whole month of January, I was working to install all of the equipment that we purchased at the end of the year – not to mention all of my clients came back from Christmas ready to work hard. So basically for the past 2 months I have been working long hours just trying to keep up. Finally in mid January I came to realize my limitations and began to reevaluate how I organize my life.

The first thing I did was to create a daily stress release system – exercise being my main release. I now spend a good hour and a half or more in the gym five to six days a week. This helps me to relax and disconnect from my job (as well as gives me an excuse not to be tethered to my Blackberry). I’ve also been eating much healthier and between the exercise and better diet have been much more alert, focused, and energized throughout the day. I’ve also lost 20 pounds.

Next I had to develop a system of organization that would help me be more efficient and allow me to know that I haven’t missed or forgotten anything. This system has involved better email management through email filters and labeling, creating a centralized task list (using the iPhone app 2Do which syncs with my laptop) and a centralized note taking system (using SimpleNote and Notational Velocity). Now, when I receive email I filter and label email as I get it to ensure that important emails are labelled as such and easily searchable. Any task that I need to perform goes to my task list in 2Do which notifies me of time sensitive tasks, displays tasks I need to complete by day, and gives me peace of mind by helping me to not forget anything. All notes that I take are jotted down on my SimpleNote iPhone app, in the SimpleNote web interface, or in Notational Velocity on my Mac which all synchronize so that I have that info anywhere I need it.

Finally I had to take the last and most difficult step – to rely on my stress management and organizational system something I’ve never had to do. As a part of this I adopted a mantra:

– “Nothing is more important to me than what I am doing right now.” –

By focusing solely on what I am doing right now, I am able to perform that task, or enjoy that meal, or solve a complicated problem better than ever before. My clients receive my full attention when I am with them. I don’t have the distraction and worry of work when I am at the gym. Kendra and I have been able to go on a vacation weekend without me stressing about work. My focus is on what I am doing right now because I know that my organizational system will help me accomplish everything I need to. The experience has been very freeing and I plan to continue evaluating how I manage my time and hopefully I can continue to improve my daily life.

1. Research the parks before arriving in Orlando. I mean, watching the hotel info channel at 1 AM the day you are going to go to the park is great, but… enough said.
2. If traveling without children Universal Studios is a one day adventure not to miss. Both parks can be experienced in one day, no matter what the guy at the gate says. Just keep moving and you’ll get it done. It’s a long day but well worth it. Every ride we went on was awesome.
3. If you are going to do Disney World, stay at one of the Disney Resorts. There are 22 to choose from, so I think you can find one you will enjoy and in your price range.
4. All transportation in the park is free and you will have to use it. Disney is 55 square miles and over 28,000 acres in size. All transportation to the park from outside the complex is expensive not to mention impossible to figure out so save yourself the hassle.
5. Understanding Disney’s internal bus system requires a minimum of a college degree; a masters is preferred. (I still don’t know how it works…)
6. If you don’t want children invading every inch of your vacation Disney is not for you.
7. Even though the Hotel claims to be a mile from Disney, remember Disney is HUGE and 1 mile to the outskirts of the Disney complex can still mean 5 miles from anywhere you actually want to be. Walking is not an option, believe me.
8. The Epcot fireworks and laser show is worth every penny of the Epcot entrance fee. Even if that is all you see, its worth it.
9. Make sure you look good at all times. You will end up in countless pictures taken by random Asian people rapidly darting about snapping pictures as if they are documenting the experience for National Geographic.
10. Michael Daley (of Michael Daley Destinations) is a pretty rad taxi/limovan driver. He got us around and took care of us. Visit his site here. He told us to call him when we fly in next time and he’ll pick us up from the airport.

If you have the opportunity Kendra and I highly recommend you visit Orlando and see the sites there. It is a pretty amazing place. Enjoy!

I didn’t realize it until today, but Apple is slowly mastering the Holy Grail of computing – user/technology interraction – and by defining how the user interacts they will remain one or two steps ahead of the competition.

1. The Sacraments – “Efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us by the work of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC) – I have often heard
   Catholics speak of the blessed sacraments and how wonderful they are, but it wasn’t until I actually learned of their meaning that they began to make sense to me. In short they are an outward sign of God’s grace. It’s not that God needs to show this outward sign in order to give us grace, but rather I need this outward sign to comfort and encourage me. These outward signs, or sacraments, have become very important to me the closer I get to confirmation.
2. The Structure – The Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium (the teaching office of the Church made up of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him). In most Protestant churches there is a heavy focus on
   Sacred Scripture while Tradition is left by the wayside (not to mention that Protestant churches generally have no equivalent to the Magisterium, leaving scriptural interpretation to individuals). I have always thought this was very imbalanced By following these traditions I am able to reflect on Christ’s actions on earth. Finally, the Magisterium (I’ve noticed that word bothers people), is responsible for studying the Scriptures, Tradition, and all of the works of the Saints to make decisions on theology. Call me overly trusting, but I would rather statements of theology be considered, crafted, and handed down by people called to God’s work and who have spent a lifetime studying the mysteries of faith rather than myself. While every aspect of faith must, at some point, be considered by every individual, leaning on the guidance of the Magisterium is like using sources to write a history paper. Why would that be considered unthinkable or inappropriate when making decisions about faith?
3. The Apostolic Tradition – Every bishop in the Catholic Church can trace their ordination back to the Apostles; never has the line of ordination been broken. That is powerful to me.
4. The Unity amongst Diversity – There is a unity in the Catholic Church that I have not found anywhere else. On Sunday, Mass happens around the world and all are identical in purpose and tradition. I
   love that the Catholic Church is universal and readily available to all.
5. The Open Door Policy – I have found no other church that I can go to at anytime of the day or night and walk in to meditate, pray, or worship. The doors to the Catholic Church are always open.

In the end, these are just a few of the multitude of reasons, some inexplicable, for why I am joining the Catholic Church. However, I must say that the most important reason, the one that unequivocally motivates me to become Catholic is that I feel at home. I feel as though I meet God there. He and I haven’t gotten on much since I went to college, but my renewed interest, my homecoming if you will, has brought us closer. To be frank, I have found the Trinity to exist in the Catholic Church and to come alive to me there unlike anywhere else I have ever been. And that is all that need be said.

First the desktop app is a well designed, sleek looking Mac app. It has the standard easy to use buttons, straightforward configuration that every Mac user looks for and loves. Set up is a breeze and synchronization with Google Reader was simple. It even brings down the folder arrangement I have in Google Reader and allows me to browse by feed, by folder, or by the last 24 hours of news (which by the way is a feature Google Reader should add). I often fall behind in keeping up with my RSS feeds and the 24 hour view allows me to get up to speed on that days news quickly. Then I can go back at my convenience to read up on what I have missed.

Second NetNewsWire has built in tabbed browsing functionality or it easily sends links to your default browser. I prefer to open all of the news stories in NetNewsWire and thereby never leave the app. In fact, after using NetNewsWire for some time, I don’t even realize at that I have been surfing the web from within it. I can click links and browse just like a web browser.

Third is built in functionality to post directly to a blog (via my choice of blogging software) or post to Delicious with just the push of a button. This functionality makes it incredibly easy for me to read a story and immediately blog about it.

Lastly it provides me with reports about the feeds I am subscribed to – how often they update, the bandwidth they take, etc. The stats aren’t that important to me, but it is extremely interesting to see what feeds provide me the most content and which ones I read the most. Absolutely perfect for a guy like me who enjoys the numbers.

Overall, I don’t think I will ever go back to using the Google Reader web interface except when viewing my feeds from a computer other than my Mac. Especially since NetNewsWire also is available as an iPhone app with a much easier interface to use than Google Reader on the phone via Safari. Best part is it’s all free as long as you are willing to put up with a few tastefully displayed adds. If not the desktop app is only $9.99 and the iPhone app is just $1.99.

Download NetNewsWire Mac App

Download NetNewsWire iPhone App

I’ve been reading a lot of RSS feeds (as usual) but one that I have really found worthwhile is Technibble. The guys over there seem to have a really good grasp on both running a small business and actually doing the tech work necessary to compete in the marketplace.  I’ve taken much of their advice into account when dealing with customers and it has proved to be very sound.  I also love the Tech Tool of the Week issue they do.  I have gotten so many good apps that I have immediately put to use.

Another blog I’ve been reading is Zen Habits.  While I’m not a big fan of self help reading I’ve found this blog to be fairly insightful and not full of useless mush.   The author, Leo, tends to give very good examples and tips for how to be more productive, less stressed, and just all around better at life.  I’d encourage anyone to read some of his posts to get a feel for what it has to offer.  Obviously you don’t want to read too much at one time – I can only handle about one post a day, but that’s all he offers so it fits me perfectly.

Anyway, I plan on blogging again – so look for updates!