Add Context to Your Notes
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Sat Dec 11 04:15:51 PM EST 2021
My dad found an old USB from 2014 that was mine. I had
given it to someone with some mp3's that I thought
they'd like, but it was at first a mystery as to who
it was.
There was a README.rtf, which I was able to salvage
via GNU unRTF (shoulda used plaintext!), and the USB
itself was UMass (my alma mater) branded, so I had a
rough idea of when I received the USB... but the
full context was woefully lacking from the README.
Fortunately, the modification times on the files indicated
it was my brother's birthday--a dead giveaway; but I
couldn't help but feel I got lucky this time around.
Mod-times are notoriously easy to break as we move
files between devices, back them up, etc. It occurred
to me how important it is to keep crucial context
(who was this for, when was it written, etc) in the
note itself, and not rely on external systems
(filesystem info, word-of-mouth, memory) to stand up
to time.
Do your future self a favor: Add Context to your Notes!
