A theme emerges: check first
Feb. 4th, 2026 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
christopher575One recent cleanup task I didn't mention was deleting some work stuff from my personal laptop. It was several months into my current contract before anyone decided I needed corporate network credentials, so I couldn't use the company laptop and had to work on mine. When a reason to get those credentials arose and I got them, I copied everything over to the work laptop and resumed a 2-laptop lifestyle.
Since I was cleaning stuff up anyway, the outdated copies of everything I'd worked on were low-hanging fruit, so I deleted that folder. It was backed up to OneDrive and I got a message about whether I wanted to delete the documents for everyone and thought, yeah whatever. But then a scenario flashed in my mind wherein I somehow accidentally created links to those on my work laptop rather than copies. My blood ran cold even though that situation, if true, would likely be fixed easily by grabbing something from the trash. But I confirmed that the ones on my work laptop were still there and backed up on a work instance of OneDrive. Phew!
The update I promised about YouTube provided another lesson in checking first. After deleting all those old videos and my channel for my original YouTube account, that account did indeed disappear from the opening screen on the YouTube TV app. I checked my second-oldest YouTube account found it didn't have a channel, just likes and Watch Later. No videos meant nothing to delete, so I thought I'd check the TV to see if there was an option to simply remove it from the screen. I didn't start there with the first account because the last time I thought to try to clean up that screen, it didn't have that option. But it does now, so I removed the second account.
All of that reminded me that I used to use the "like" feature on YouTube more, and there was probably some interesting stuff in the like list on the oldest account. But that's gone now and I won't worry about it. I'll check on the second account sometime. I already reviewed its Watch Later list and didn't find anything that mattered much. I'm still happy with my decision to nuke that first account, but it's funny to learn after the fact that I could have just removed it from the TV.
It's nice to know Google will actually add features to their apps that they don't just delete because they got bored with them. I should see if I can get them to introduce a sound leveling feature to YouTube Music. I know Spotify offers that but I refuse to give Spotify any money. I haven't deleted that account yet, but I found its replacement for the only thing I used it for, podcasts. Now I'm using PocketCast for the two shows I still listen to, Text Me Back and Melrose Place Cast. Eventually I'll probably start listening to more of them again, but for now the time that I used to devote to podcasts goes mostly to TV and movies. I generally only listen to podcasts when I walk, and thanks to water fitness, I walk way less than I used to.
I've strayed quite far from the original theme of checking first before deleting files and accounts, but a new one is suddenly on the chopping block. I use TimeHop every day to look at old tumblr and Facebook posts, and today's journey started off interesting because three years ago was when I tested positive for COVID. But the app froze and crashed, and kept freezing and crashing over and over. I'll try one more time this afternoon and if it doesn't work, I'm done trying for the day.
I just checked the app to see if it can tell me how long my streak is, and I've been using it since 2016. And in that process I just noticed I can connect Flickr, which I either didn't know, or forgot. The idea's intriguing for sure, since Flickr's the most comprehensive nostalgia source I have. There's also really no good way to review it all except for TimeHop, because breaking up the archive by day lets you see the whole thing over the course of a year.
Ok I just answered my own question. I'll connect it and cross my fingers that the app stops crashing.
Since I was cleaning stuff up anyway, the outdated copies of everything I'd worked on were low-hanging fruit, so I deleted that folder. It was backed up to OneDrive and I got a message about whether I wanted to delete the documents for everyone and thought, yeah whatever. But then a scenario flashed in my mind wherein I somehow accidentally created links to those on my work laptop rather than copies. My blood ran cold even though that situation, if true, would likely be fixed easily by grabbing something from the trash. But I confirmed that the ones on my work laptop were still there and backed up on a work instance of OneDrive. Phew!
The update I promised about YouTube provided another lesson in checking first. After deleting all those old videos and my channel for my original YouTube account, that account did indeed disappear from the opening screen on the YouTube TV app. I checked my second-oldest YouTube account found it didn't have a channel, just likes and Watch Later. No videos meant nothing to delete, so I thought I'd check the TV to see if there was an option to simply remove it from the screen. I didn't start there with the first account because the last time I thought to try to clean up that screen, it didn't have that option. But it does now, so I removed the second account.
All of that reminded me that I used to use the "like" feature on YouTube more, and there was probably some interesting stuff in the like list on the oldest account. But that's gone now and I won't worry about it. I'll check on the second account sometime. I already reviewed its Watch Later list and didn't find anything that mattered much. I'm still happy with my decision to nuke that first account, but it's funny to learn after the fact that I could have just removed it from the TV.
It's nice to know Google will actually add features to their apps that they don't just delete because they got bored with them. I should see if I can get them to introduce a sound leveling feature to YouTube Music. I know Spotify offers that but I refuse to give Spotify any money. I haven't deleted that account yet, but I found its replacement for the only thing I used it for, podcasts. Now I'm using PocketCast for the two shows I still listen to, Text Me Back and Melrose Place Cast. Eventually I'll probably start listening to more of them again, but for now the time that I used to devote to podcasts goes mostly to TV and movies. I generally only listen to podcasts when I walk, and thanks to water fitness, I walk way less than I used to.
I've strayed quite far from the original theme of checking first before deleting files and accounts, but a new one is suddenly on the chopping block. I use TimeHop every day to look at old tumblr and Facebook posts, and today's journey started off interesting because three years ago was when I tested positive for COVID. But the app froze and crashed, and kept freezing and crashing over and over. I'll try one more time this afternoon and if it doesn't work, I'm done trying for the day.
I just checked the app to see if it can tell me how long my streak is, and I've been using it since 2016. And in that process I just noticed I can connect Flickr, which I either didn't know, or forgot. The idea's intriguing for sure, since Flickr's the most comprehensive nostalgia source I have. There's also really no good way to review it all except for TimeHop, because breaking up the archive by day lets you see the whole thing over the course of a year.
Ok I just answered my own question. I'll connect it and cross my fingers that the app stops crashing.
