MyBookWorld Network Storage

Backup drives fail – eventually. We’ve had our WD My Book World for 4 years and it’s been a great device for backing up files around the office.

When this one failed where it wouldn’t power up or mount over the network, I had to pull it apart.

Thank goodness I had a hard drive dock (see image below), my Mac and access to this web page: Mounting Linux (ext2/ext3) partitions under Mac OS X. The fourth petition has all the data, which is quietly backing up now.

**phew**

Important Note: I found out that one of the staff had been using the network drive as his primary storage area. He didn’t have a local copy of anything! This is not how a network drive should be used, in my opinion. For SMEs, I recommend that staff keep a copy of files on their desktop/laptop, and backup to the network drive, so that there are a minimum of 2 copies of files at any one time.

Hard drive docking station

How to activate the conditional call forwarding options on your iPhone

I love my iPhone, however the lack of call forwarding options is frustrating.

At the moment I’m working out of a location that has poor reception on the mobile network. Fortunately Skype is coming to the rescue and I’m able to divert my mobile number to my Skype number. I then answer calls on my iPhone (it has a Skype app), or my Mac.

Rather than having to divert and undivert, using this method I’ve set up Call forwarding if unanswered. That way I have enough time to go and put my headphones on before the call is diverted to my computer. Yay!

My answer is here:

FIrst you want to create a friends list with the people you want to restrict. Maybe call it acquaintances or something similar. Instructions on how to do that are here:
http://slymarketing.com/how-create-friends-lists-facebook

Then you want to change who can view things on your wall. This can be done through changing 2 settings.

I’ve copied the following from Facebook’s page:

You can control the visibility of all content you and your friends post on your wall by following these instructions.

Your friends’ posts:
1. Choose the “Privacy Settings” option in the Account drop-down menu at the top of any Facebook page.
2. Select “Customize settings” in the “Sharing on Facebook” section.
3. Look for the “Things others share” section. A drop-down menu allows you to choose who can view the content that friends post to your Wall (you can start typing the name of the friend’s list you’ve just created and it should appear here). If you don’t want people to post on your Wall, uncheck the box next to the “Friends can post to my wall” option.

Your posts:
1. Choose the “Privacy Settings” option in the Account drop-down menu at the top of any Facebook page.
2. Select “Customize settings” in the “Sharing on Facebook” section.
3. Look for the “Things I share” section. A drop-down menu allows you to choose who can view the content that you post to your wall (you can start typing the name of the friend’s list you’ve just created and it should appear here).

They have a couple of sites (you can view their website here for the latest info), but we frequent the one at Macpherson Road. Great grub!

We love the French Onion soup and the grilled dory… but we’ve tried a few things on the menu and they’ve all been pretty good!

Bon appétit!

Romani Spagetti (Broccoli Spagetti)

One of my favourite things about cooking with my Thermomix is that I can cook rice, noodles or pasta, while using the steam to cook vegetables and other parts of the meal. This makes the cooking more or less ‘set-and-forget’ – perfect for me!

This is called Romani Spaghetti after a friend of mine who used to invent dishes for a local restaurant. This was his creation – a good, simple meal to have after a day at work.

Here is my ‘Thermomixed’ version of his recipe.

Ingredients

Spaghetti (80-100 grams per person)
Broccoli (half a head per person, cut into florets)
Parmesan cheese (grated or ground, to taste)
Salt
Olive Oil
Red Chili (cut, to taste)
Garlic (we like it strong – 2 to 4 cloves per person)

Method

1. Add 1 to 1.5 litres of water, salt (to taste) and 5 grams of olive oil to the Thermomix bowl. Cook for 14 minutes, temperature 100 degrees C, speed soft.
2. Arrange the broccoli florets in the steaming tray (bottom level), and the garlic in the top tray. (If you are cooking for one, you can put all in the same tray – see photo below.)
3. When the water is boiled, add the spaghetti.
4. Put on the lid, lock into closed position, and add the steaming trays to the top.
5. Cook for 9 minutes, temperature 100 degrees C, reverse, speed soft.
6. When cooked, drain spagetti into bowl and then pour over a dollop of olive oil. Gently toss with cut chili, and garlic (crush the garlic into the pasta after steaming).
7. Add broccoli and the parmesan cheese to the pasta and toss gently (so that you don’t damage the florets).
8. Serve!

Broccoli, arranged in the steaming tray

So this is really simple… mix:

• 150 grams of butter
• medium bunch of chives
• garlic – I personally like it really strong, so we add 8-10 medium sized cloves of garlic

Put all in the Thermomix, set the dial to the closed lid position, and then hit turbo for 2 secs. Do this for as long as it takes for the chives, garlic and butter to mix together. (Usually I do this 4-6 times.) Add a little salt to the last time. I do this mainly for the preservation factor – it lasts longer in the fridge.

Smear on your garlic bread (or use it to cook with prawns in a pan – also very yummy).

Honestly, however, I’m not sure how long this keeps as we generally use it within a couple of weeks – very popular at our place!

Enjoy!

Garlic & Chives Butter