After work I stopped by Lake Lavon Dam, where I could not get a picture of a Cooper's hawk before he flew away, saying "kik, kik, kik", but I got a few blue jay pictures:
I listened to music on my backup desktop computer this morning. It is great for that purpose.I also tried to use my software synthesizers. I got them installed quickly. But the system was a bit slow with them. The CPU on the backup is an Intel Atom, a lightweight processor. Its passmark is not much different from my laptop's, but it is so far a bit less able with audio software. This may be a driver matter, so I might tinker a bit with the driver. But the system is fine for routine tasks and listening to music.
The service guy for my main desktop wrote me a constructive email about finding a solution to my hard drive problem, which he suggests is a corrupted disk (and I imagine may be a corrupted boot device on the drive). He is looking into manufacturer tools for more extensive disk reformatting. I will try RescueCD this weekend.
They say a storm is coming tonight. The local high schools to our east started their football games early. My wife made us lamb chops, cous cous and butternut squash. We are watching the Kansas City Royals play baseball against the Baltimore Orioles (game 1).