I just checked my inbox and noticed the following urgent message from the SMART daemon on my laptop:
The following warning/error was logged by the smartd daemon:
Device: /dev/hda, FAILED SMART self-check. BACK UP DATA NOW!
For details see host's SYSLOG (default: /var/log/messages).Crap.
Luckily, I recently ordered a new laptop, and it should be arriving tomorrow. Good timing.
Once it arrives, I should be able to transfer my dying laptop’s personality to the new laptop from the back-up copy on my development RAID system. Still, getting things set up just right will probably eat half a day.