Istanbul's blog

**Posted:** Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:34 pm

So where to start? How does one recover files off a damaged hard drive? That is a question that the 1st Earl of Beaconsfield could maybe answer. EmmyLou suggested I contact him as one can never tell for sure. People often find new solutions if they sleep on the problem. Mind you hard drives were a bit before Disraeli's time. Nevertheless I was convinced he would have solved the problem if he was confronted with it.
I also knew he would be more cooperative if he was dealing with a youngster or a ravishing young woman rather than with one of his peers.
So I sent him a email requesting assistance. I figured if I used EmmyLou's email addy I would get super personal service.

Dear Mr Disraeli.
1st Earl of Beaconsfield.

My name is EmmyLou and I am a blond 24 year old. (Picture attached.)
I have a problem with my toasted hard drive.
Will you help me retrieve some data from it? ( see pic)

I am using DOS ver 6.2 which is one of the latest if not the greatest DOS versions.
Also the size of my drive is about 3 1/2 inches wide by 15 centimeters long. It uses a fixed diskette (see pic)

rather than floppy disks as you no doubt probably very very well know.******

Thanking you in anticipation of a expeditious reply.
Emmy.

******
I figured a little flattery here would get Benjamin's attention.

Well the ploy didn't work. Damn server must be asexual. Message returned as "Server detected spam" "No such address". That seemed preposterous as even a common Fishmonger can have a email addy. Why shouldn't an Earl?
So much for the Earl of Beaconsfield.

So what to do now? I can't let a pumpkin pie and a tuck-in fly out the window like a herd of ravens. It is a Fujitsu hard drive, maybe they can fix it? It will cost a bundle so I will have to apply for a government grant. They have money waiting for some talented Artiste to claim.

Grant Programs
The Canada Council for the Arts offers a broad range of grants and services to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations in dance, media arts, music, theatre, writing and publishing, interdisciplinary work and performance art, and the visual arts.

They said where and how to find the file-forms (PDF). There was a closing date so I guess they meant PDQ. Is PDF french?

So I will use Gus's Email addy. After all he had most of his artwork stored on it.

Dear Sirs/Madams.
My name is Gus Slobomavitch and I am a well know artiste here on the West Coast. Most of my collected "artwork" is residing on a toasted hard drive. Mr Fujitsu will attempt to retrieve my collected works of art for a nominal $2500. Canada can not afford to stand idly by and allow these priceless works to end up in the bit bucket of cyberspace. I will donate some of the retrieved works of art to the new Canadian Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg, Ontario.

Thanks. Take care.
Gus.

Well I mailed it off to Mr Fujitsu in Tokyo. It was returned as they do not accept COD parcels. A small delay while I got the necessary postage stamps.
I hope the grant gets approved before they request payment. Fujitsu works so much more efficiently as the Canada Council for the Arts for in no time I started to get some retrieved data.
Gus had a "Arts and Paint" folder.
They sent the complete contents. A body of painted pictures.

Wow what painted landscapes? What body art!
What is cheaper, a painted wedding dress or a real one?
And for Emmy her recipe! All that trouble and I could of got it off the Internet!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Foolproof Pie Shell
2 tablespoons unsalted butter. 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped.
12 ounces cream cheese, softened. 1 1/2 cups sugar.
2 large eggs, at room temperature. 1 cup canned pumpkin.
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
1/4 teaspoon salt. 1 cup sour cream.
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Prepare, chill, and prebake a Foolproof Pie Shell. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°.

2. Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler set over, not in, barely simmering water. Add the chocolate and leave it over the heat until melted (5 to 7 minutes), and then whisk it until smooth. Set aside the top of the double boiler to partially cool the chocolate.

3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl, gradually adding 1 1/4 cups of the sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Next, blend in the pumpkin, vanilla extract, spices, and salt until the filling is evenly combined. Pour slightly less than half of the filling into a separate bowl and stir in the melted chocolate until evenly blended. Pour the chocolate filling into the pie shell and gently shake the pan to settle the filling. Bake the pie on the center oven rack for 20 minutes. Then let it cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

4. Carefully ladle the remaining plain pumpkin filling over the chocolate layer and shake the pan to settle the filling. Return the pie to the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. When done, the filling around the perimeter will have puffed somewhat, but not so much that it develops large cracks. Place the pie on the cooling rack until the filling levels, about 30 to 45 minutes.

5. Combine the sour cream and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Stir the mixture over very low heat for about 2 minutes, until it is fairly thin and slightly warm. Carefully pour it over the last layer and tilt the pan to evenly distribute the topping. Cool the pie thoroughly, then cover it with loosely tented tinfoil and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
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Sorry. I am not sharing. Either of them.