918th Friday Blog Roundup

We do not play the lottery or live in California, but I still outlined everything I would do if I won Powerball. First and foremost, I would set up a foundation that funds projects close to my heart: food insecurity, animal protection, literacy, and fine arts. That would take care of over half of the money. Plus, I’d have to hire a few people to run the foundation.

Then, I would give away a chunk to various family members, yadda yadda yadda, AND THEN I would work with Blackwell’s in Oxford and Politics and Prose in DC to send me one of every book that comes into their stores. Just do a weekly box-up and send me one of every book. I know what you’re thinking: Melissa, some of those books would not interest you. I KNOW. That is why I would also have a little free library (except it would be a big free library) where I could give away all the books that don’t appeal to me as well as copies of books I do like once everyone is finished reading them.

The kids told me winning the lottery would ruin me, but I think a box of books delivered straight to my door every week would be pretty awesome.

What would you do with the money?

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Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff…

Okay, now my choices this week.

Infertile Phoenix laments that some people don’t change, and in those cases, it’s okay because she has changed. She writes, “What used to make me angry now makes me annoyed. What used to hurt me now shows me what’s in other people’s hearts and minds. Others’ rudeness, meanness, and inconsideration have nothing to do with me. It’s not my fault, and it’s not my problem.” Your mouth will drop open over the insensitive comment she received that kicked off the post.

Lastly, No Kidding in NZ has a thought-provoking post about how infertility changed her feelings about risk. She is more aware of life’s uncertainty and that some things are not givens. She explains: “My assessment of risk might be a bit more brutal … But my appreciation of my life, and what I am able to do, is stronger too, along with the confidence of knowing that I can cope with adversities that might confront me.” I love this insight into life.

The roundup to the Roundup: What I’d do with billions. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between November 4 – 11) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week? Read the original open thread post here.