TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Andrew Warren wrote:
>
> 1. Your credit cards, cash, and keys to your house and car are
> presumably as valuable to you as your LinkedIn password. If your purse
> or pocket is safe enough for those things, it's also safe enough to
> hold a sheet of paper or a small notebook containing all your usernames
> and passwords. If your desk at home is safe enough to hold credit-card
> and bank statements, your PC with all your financial records on it,
> etc., then it too is safe enough for a small notebook.
You need two copies, at least. One should be in a safe deposit box.
I think I'll finally get around to doing this...
I think the relative number of all working persons, retired
persons, and students, who wear suits all day, is small and
getting smaller, so for 50% of you (the men... women tend to
have purses) chances are your paper or notebook will
be in your pants pocket, subject to body heat, humidity,
and friction. It will slowly turn to pocket lint. Long before
it gets there, it will lose legibility of some important notes.
At home, the relative safety of your desktop or drawer is
a matter between you and your spouse, your children, your
visitors, your children's visitors, any external services
you contract, such as cleaning, care visits for your elderly
parent, etc.
Your spouse and children are not likely to make much of
your credit-card and bank statements... but when the pre-teens
and teens get nosy and maybe find your pron collection...
er.... ah... did I say that out loud? Well, that'll have
a different kind of consequence.
But more to the point, many of us already have "protection"
in the form of a service with one-or-more credit-card
providers such that you call one number in case your wallet
is stolen. They take care of all of your accounts, even with
competitors, sending alerts, putting stops on transactions,
processing changes to security (passwords, check questions,
etc.) You can be back in business with all your financial
and utilities and other accounts within days or weeks.
But I'm not aware of any such service that'll do the same
for the dozens or hundreds of web-sites and forums and
organizations you might have joined over the years (you
did finally give in and register so you could see NY Times
articles, didn't you?)
If you had a fire or other disaster at your house, there's
a good chance that the notebook and its contents would
still be safe in a safe deposit box. Not infallible,
but a good chance that a fire in your home would leave
the bank's safe intact.
Just sayin' . . .
-k
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this
message and deleting it from your computer without copying
or disclosing it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help. Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need.
Try Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days.
