Low Tide

This morning I was riding my bike to work on the path shown in the picture above and it was very low tide (unlike in the picture). Along the bike path are several piers that go out into the water. They are not much more than a couple of planks of wood and are used mainly by kids doing a bit of fishing. I have often thought about stopping on the way home and taking a walk out on one of the piers. After my ride today, I don't think that is a good idea.

At low tide, it is about a quarter of a mile walk from the bike path to the water. This leaves the piers totally exposed and you can see their supports. Salt water is a very corrosive environment and some of the supports have been eaten away to the point that they are little more than toothpicks. One or two are completely gone. At high-tide it is impossible to see the decay that has taken place and it is easy to assume the pier is safe.

Computers can sometimes be like those piers at high tide: it is tough to see what is going on underneath. Most of the time, that is fine because computers are fairly reliable. However sometimes things go wrong. Computers can easily pick up a virus and so a scan should be done on a regular basis. Hardware can also fail and so it is important to pay attention to errors you get. Hard disks are the most common component to fail and should be replaced at the slightest hint of a problem. Cooling fans and power supplies are also components that can fail. While it is rare to have memory go bad, it can happen.

Unless some maintenance is done, someday soon, one of the piers I ride by on my way to and from work is going to fail. If someone is on it when it does, then he or she is going to get wet and/or muddy. Don't neglect your computer and let the same thing happen to you. While you may not get wet, you may lose some cherished pictures from your digital camera or important documents. If your computer is getting old, be sure to make a backup of your irreplaceable files. Most importantly, pay attention to any error messages you get. It could save you some grief in the future.