I backup my data religiously. I have a special program that automatically makes a copy of my data from my primary workstation and then moves it to my storage server. I burn incremental backups on to DVD every night and make full backups of all my data onto DVD once a month. I even have copies of my data stored off site. My SQL server creates backups every hour and I move a copy of the day’s backup onto a different server. I have scheduled hourly backups of my Internet Explorer Favorites. I burn archive copies of my data every couple of months onto DVD and store these in a special archive location. I often make copies of my data and move them onto my boy’s computers. 

Unfortunately, all my efforts are not enough. Yeah right! How many people do you know who are obsessive enough to do what I do? Despite all my efforts I overlooked the one thing that puts all my backups in jeopardy. I haven’t been CHECKING MY BACKUPS!!!!

Last night I was reminded that all the backups in the world are useless unless they are checked to see if they are indeed GOOD BACKUPS. I had a problem with a project I have been working on for the past few months and after trying to fix it for several hours; I decided that it would save time to simply restore from a backup. My heart almost stopped when I learned that my backup had the same problem and so did my archives. I didn’t have anything to fall back on. Fortunately, my panic didn’t totally affect my thinking because I did figure out a resolution (MANY HOURS LATER) but I have learned from this lesson after dodging this bullet.

Two recent books: Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug and Think by Michael R. LeGault offer a different perspective on our modern culture. In Think, LeGault claims that our culture of image and instant gratification, fed by reality shows computer games, has rendered curiosity of the mind and spirit all but dead. He asserts that now is the time to think and that we need smart teachers, students and leaders (and so many other people) who are willing to think to save our society.

In Don’t Make Me Think, Krug accepts this sober reality that we are a society that does not think and instead of offering suggestions on improving society he is purely practical and suggests that when we design web pages we have to take into account that our user does not think.