I have spent the past three days putting together a server that will host our gajillion pictures and be a backup system for our sundry Idiots’Books files, which are going to be priceless as soon as we hit the big time. Actually, I should say I have been trying to put it together.

Using this handy-dandy diagram from my right honorable genius geek friend Varzeus, I felt well-equipped to figure out whatever was headed my way:

This diagram unfortunately did not prepare me for the following, however:
1. Mac minis do not come with a screen.
2. Mac minis do not come with a keyboard or a mouse.
3. “Easy server setup” obviously means something different to me than it does to everyone else.
4. Sometimes too much is just frickin’ too much.

So today I am calling it done. Everything’s getting backed up, and for the most part it is doing what I want it to, but some of the things it touts as its great benefits I just can’t figure out. I am giving up on calendar sharing, for example. I’ve decided it will take much less time for me to walk over to Matthew’s calendar whenever I need to look at it for the rest of my life than it will take for me to figure out how to make one server calendar we can both work on. Perhaps the right honorable Varzeus will help me, but I believe I might have overtaxed him with the diagram request. (He has, BTW, suggested he might design a whole website like that, in MacPaint. I would be all over that.)

So now that I’m done, I thought I would finally turn my attention to writing those final few thank you notes that I’ve been meaning to write on behalf of Kato (the lazy SOB) for presents he got when he was born (did I mention he’s lazy?). It’s seven months in, for god’s sake. But there is sad news: I have lost the list. The list that had who got him what and whether I had written them yet or not. I swear, I only have a few left to go. But if you are one of the few who hasn’t gotten a thank you note yet, I profoundly apologize. Here’s what it looks like:

That’s on the front, and it says, “… but only because I have to” on the inside. And, of course, “Thanks for giving me stuff. I like stuff.” He’s older now, but the onesie still fits (figuratively and literally). So, thanks to you folks who haven’t received a proper card. If you still are due one, please write me, and I’ll send it to you. I promise. It only hasn’t happened yet because I also suck.

(I would, of course, be remiss to forget to mention that the onesie is an Idiots’Books creation, available here for the bold, here for the even bolder, and here for the bold and thrifty.)