Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I’m not sure where I originally saw it, but someone posted a Twitter thread of pictures that represent moments from a 1980s childhood. All except maybe five or six triggered such a clear and happy (or sometimes unhappy) memory from elementary school.

It will likely only be meaningful to kids in the United States, but yes to all of this. This is what childhood in the 80s looked like.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

Once upon a time, there were songs in books, and we had no idea how the tune went if we didn’t know the song. Sometimes, they would tell you that this was a made-up song sung to the tune of “Old MacDonald,” but more often than not, if it were an actual song, they would assume the reader would know it. For example, “Amazing Grace.” And some kids knew it, but some kids didn’t. I was one of those children who often didn’t, but because I was a good, rule-following child when I encountered a song in a book that I did not know, I guessed the tune. And then I sang the words in that tune to myself while reading.

Occasionally, one pops into my head — especially if it was in a book I re-read a lot — but now I can Google it. I first record myself singing or humming the tune so I don’t forget what I originally thought, and then I Google the song to see how far off I was. I really like my version of “Oh, You Can’t Get to Heaven” better.

Now, when I see a song, I click the title in the e-book, and it opens a Google search so I can listen to it while I’m reading. So I guess there won’t be a generation singing alternative tunes to popular songs now that people can get everything correct. And maybe it’s silly, but I think sometimes I miss out by knowing the correct tune.

I survived my first colonoscopy and do not have to return for another for 10 years. There are a few things that made prep easier, and I pass them along in case they help you, too. You can have dye-free lemon or lime Italian ice or popsicles. I bought both and ate them through the day, and I never got too hungry. In fact, I worked up until I started drinking the prep in the evening.

I added lemon Crystal Light to the gallon of prep before adding water (skipping the provided packet), but I only used half the amount of flavouring for the amount of water. I worried a stronger flavour would be harder to get down. Not sure if this theory was correct, but I had zero issues chugging a 12-ounce glass every 10 minutes for 2/3rds of the bottle. It tasted like salty lemonade. I had a harder time with the final third and had to sip it, but got all of it down without issue.

So I pass along these tips to you in case they help you make your appointment. Glad to have it behind me, no pun intended.

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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:

• “Talking About My Freedom” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Dear John took a road trip with her daughter and unfortunately ended their journey with the big Delta flight cancelation situation. But in between, it sounded lovely, with unexpected detours and beautiful sights. There is an ache behind the words, missing her husband while appreciating the time with her daughter.

Lastly, The Next 15000 Days has a post about hanging up a child’s art. A new friend comments they couldn’t hang up a child’s drawing in their house because “seeing them would break her heart every time. I told her I understood – that 15 years ago, I could never have had the drawings there either. But now I can.” It’s a lovely post about where life is now.

The roundup to the Roundup: Colonoscopy tips. 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 August 2 – 9) 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.

We went to the beach a week ago. We normally have reception on the beach. It’s sometimes a little weak, but I’ve checked email from the beach and made phone calls. But this time, our phones didn’t work for whatever reason. We had zero bars, as the teens say.

I was unreachable, which is how one should be on vacation, but I also could not reach out. I could not check my email, which meant that I couldn’t peek at something for a second and give an opinion. It was a very weird and wonderful feeling to be cut off during those hours. I read my book without feeling guilty because I could do nothing about it.

I mean, beyond going back to the hotel and checking my phone, which I didn’t do because have you ever tried to get a parking space near the beach? It’s impossible, so you don’t relinquish your space if you’ve landed one.

It helped that we were on vacation rather than at home, where we had the expectation that we’d be online. But sometimes, it’s nice to be unreachable.

Consider this your PSA to clean out your vents. I was reading Apple News, and there was a headline about the toilet paper test. What is the toilet paper test, you ask?

Get up right now and go into any bathroom with an exhaust fan. Turn it on. Take two squares of toilet paper and stick them to the vent. If the toilet paper sticks, you’re okay. If it is a little loose or falls, you’re not.

We vacuum our vents, so I didn’t think I actually needed to test anything, but I wanted to see if it worked. We went into the first bathroom and turned on the fan. The toilet paper stuck firmly until we turned off the fan. Yay! We are awesome home owners. We went to the second bathroom and tried it again, and this time, it took a few tries to get the toilet paper to stick. And even when it did, it felt loose.

We ended up taking the fan apart and cleaning everything out inside, too. Better safe than sorry because these fans can cause a fire. So go try the toilet paper test yourself.