On Saturday 09 February 2008, Frank Cox wrote: > On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:34:21 -0500 > > Lamar Owen <lowen@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > > It appears that scdbackup is the tool of choice for this sort of > > thing. If he had wanted to know about or have a discussion about backup > > best practices, he would have asked that question instead. > Sometimes bringing up things like that will elicit an "I never thought of > that" or "That's a better way than what I was thinking of" response. If the response is phrased in a manner other than 'why would you want to do a stupid thing like that' tone, perhaps I would agree. > If I asked what the best way was to pound nails with my screwdriver and > the answers I got tended toward "you should use a hammer for that", I would > start taking a serious look at hammers. Perhaps I could even find one for > a cheaper price than I would have to pay to replace my screwdriver.... Using the right tool for the job is a great ideal when one has access to all the tools one needs. One doesn't always have that luxury, and one sometimes must press a tool into uses for which it was not designed. My favorite example is from the automotive mechanic's world. If you are rebuilding an alternator, and the blind bearing in the back housing is in dire need of replacement, but you don't have a blind bearing puller and you have no way of getting to the auto parts to get one because, well, your car won't start due to the dead battery due to the bad alternator, what are you going to do? I would use a dollop of the thickest axle grease I could find in my shop, fill the blind bearing with the grease, take a rubber mallet and the alternator's armature, insert the armature shaft into the bearing, and tap the bearing out with hydraulic pressure. Yes, I actually did that, have the shirt with the indelible grease stain (it was moly-based) to prove it. The look on my helper's face was priceless. And, yes, MacGyver and MythBusters are two of my favorite TV shows. -- Lamar Owen www.pari.edu
