# I am a loser - literally !!



## sinbad (Oct 27, 2009)

Don't ask me to calm down !! 
I am mad like anything. :nuts:

Yesterday I have lost my 8 GB flash drive and I don't remember where it is or what was exactly in it. 

I claim to be prepared, but I fail like all other unprepared folks whom I see as another form of life on this planet.

OK. Why am I this mad at myself, cause I always advise and preach others to take precautions, and always put a safety net around you and never allow your self to be in such a position.

A few months ago, the boss distributed flashdrives among us employees and a week later, I simply lost it. How and where ?? I don't know. Have I learned a lesson from that ?? I don't think.

A few months ago, I found someone's flash drive and after a few questions here & there the owner was found and I gave him the advice of adding a small text file in the drive to tell the founder the name and phone number of its owner.

DID I DID THE SAME WITH MY OWN FLASH ???

<<< NO. >>> 
That is a shameful NO.

Shows a guy with lower IQ than you would think of him at a first glance.

Also, I was always thinking, ahead of any mishap, that inventories should be taken as frequently as possible. This is a routine (what if) mental personal exercise I had in the past. So, yesterday when I was using the flash copying files from the office PC, did I record what folders and data I had on it ?? Nope. I only remember the folders I deleted from it to make space for copying, and remember that it had around 6 GB free space ( means 2 GB data was left on it ) before the copying. Now, what kind of data was that ?? No idea.

It was sooooooo easy to just take a picture of the computer screen and it would show me NOW which folders were there when I lost it. That would have not brought back what I lost but at least it would help me cut my losses like making another backup for those files or whatever.

Forum discussions are very nice but when reality strikes, seems I am as unprepared as anyone else on the planet.


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## pdx210 (Jan 8, 2010)

OK, but did you learn anything from it this time around?


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Pdx210 is right,how will you do things differently the next time.


pdx210 said:


> OK, but did you learn anything from it this time around?


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

I had the same type of "knot in my stomach" feeling when last years garden failed monumentally. In my arrogance, I felt I could do no wrong when it came to growing our food. Then I watched helplessly as the rains came all summer long and 2/3 of my crops rotted in the ground, if they even came up in the first place. I felt as unprepared as all the other sheeple. The only thing you can do is pick up the pieces and learn from the experience. :flower:


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

OMG, what were we talking about.....:gaah: I think I misplaced my brain. So, see you are not alone...again what was the question, where's my coffee, is it bedtime...


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## kyfarmer (Feb 22, 2009)

Yep, well i,am one of those you should at least be ready just in case fellas. Well i have those days more often than i would like to admit that's for sure. I do get twisted up over my own slip ups and try to learn from them, but sometimes they come back no what we do. Old age i guess.


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## sinbad (Oct 27, 2009)

> OK, but did you learn anything from it this time around?


Too early for this kind of question  
I have to cool down first and think about the options

I am going to assume/think (wishful thinking ???) that it contains no personal data and no more than internet technical files ( from professional websites) and raw data from measurement instruments. If that is what was there, it will be of minimal interest to anyone outside our line of work. But then again, what if it had some personal or family stuff ? 

I'll add some more thoughts after getting rid of the knot in my stomache


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

I was an IT-professional for years. My recommendation for everyone is to make multiple copies of everything. I have daily copies of my personal info put onto a portable harddrive and then the weekly copies (Friday) of all my data is put onto data-DVD's. The newest data-DVD goes into the safe at work, the one from the week previous goes into my desk and the one from the week before that goes into a folder here at home.

Data is the key to the operations of our business and if something was to go wrong, we need to be able to get back to BAU as quickly as possible. That is one of my #1 responsibilities ..


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

UncleJoe said:


> I had the same type of "knot in my stomach" feeling when last years garden failed monumentally. In my arrogance, I felt I could do no wrong when it came to growing our food. Then I watched helplessly as the rains came all summer long and 2/3 of my crops rotted in the ground, if they even came up in the first place. I felt as unprepared as all the other sheeple. The only thing you can do is pick up the pieces and learn from the experience. :flower:


Well Uncle Joe, don't feel to bad, last year in my zeal to have the best apple orchard of them all, I sprayed my trees to early and only one of them got 2 apples on a lower branch. In Septem/ber my Lab pup decided to eat them the morning I was going to pick them.


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

You just have to remember that shit happens. You can be the most prepared person in the world, but eventually something is going to go wrong. It is unavoidable. Something gets lost. Something gets broken. Somebody gets hurt. It is going to happen. Don't kid yourself. 

To me, the difference between a winner and a loser depends on which one keeps going. A loser would see some sort of disaster, pout a while, and give up or wait for somebody else to come along and fix it. 

A winner will see that same disaster, probably spout some profanities, and start rebuilding.

You may have lost your flash drive but it is far from the end of the world. Get another one. Collect the data again. It sucks but it needs to be done.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

Not to belittle your situation, but this is why I don't trust computers. People are always telling me that I don't need all of those books, that I could fit all of that information on a mega-giga-gugu-gaga harddrive . . . . but I know exactly which room of my house contains the library.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

I think along the same lines. When I come across information that I thing will be useful, I print it. I have several 3 ring binders filled with stuff I've gleaned from the internet. Unless we get burned out, it should be around for a long time. :2thumb:


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## sinbad (Oct 27, 2009)

Hi guys

Ihave lost a few things earlier , some of which I have some memories ( liek a multitool I took with me on many trips ) but I haven't lost my mind or heart like in the case of this flash drive. 

These gadgets (flashdrives, notebooks ..etc. ) are not super important for their high price ; it is mostly their contents that are valuable. What if you carried some confidential stuff and your boss found you have lost it ?? Having backups isn't going to help when competitors grab that flashdrive or notebook and read everything. 

Anyway. 
Seems the harm is minimal in my case, as I have copied most files in my newly-formatted home PC and dates of those folders and files have helped me 'see' what was on that flash. It was not really critical stuff. Most likely the guy who found it would format it ( thanks to a trojan in my office PC ) and will use the flashdrive which seems to be more valuable than the contents in this case. 

Lesson learned. 
A (owner.txt) text file now resides in each flashdrives and external harddrives. Also, a written log of my important e-activities are added every time I take these gadgets for backup or otherwise. Also, I am reinforcing the (check every stage) rule that I have taught my kids. When I carry wwth me something of some importance, I have to check its presence every step of the way. If I stop at a gas station , I will check my pocket to feel the drive before leaving that station , and so on . It maybe hard at first but not too hard when you get used to it. 


Now, for the last few days I have been suffering from another problem, which is a twisted back muscle that made it very painful to stand or sit. Again, I thought of this situation in view of preparedness or lack of. Suppose something happens when I am still in this situation. My DW is helping me even to put on socks in my feet !! That is very close to be 'handicapped'. :dunno:

Being prepared does not come with any guarantees 
And if history is any indication, problems come together in bundles. 
Having a city flood while I am crippled is not fun at all. 

But looking at the bright side, sitting most of the day allow me to do more thinking (planning) , more reading, and more prep files downloads. And all these are great for preparedness. :2thumb:


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## McGyverish (Feb 7, 2010)

I believe you can't be totally be prepared for any and all scenarios. There are just too many scenarios with widely varying needs. Preparation is just to minimize the effect of the emergency, not totally avoid it.


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

Exactly. Like I said earlier, no matter how prepared you are, something will always go wrong or come along unexpectedly. It is impossible to prepare for absolutely every possibly scenario.


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## texican (Feb 15, 2010)

Well I learned something today... 
Placing a text file on each thumbdrive, with contact information on it, if it's lost and recovered.

Haven't "lost" any of my thumbdrives, at least not outside the house or truck. I got to where I tie a long fluorescent orange fishing cord around each... it works as a necklace to hang the usb drive by, and also the orange cord gives me more visibility... the tiny drive can easily get misplaced, but the cord is usually hanging out for me to see it.


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## flowerrosy (Feb 16, 2010)

*Private Murphy's law*

If something can go wrong, it will. We are always harder on ourselves than others. Don't be so hard on yourself. Part of servival is attitude and when things go wrong you have to get up, dust yourself off and make the best of it. You can't turn back the clock.


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