a problem with the boot tracks of my hard drive, or in case I need to
install a Microsoft utility that is on the disk but not on the hard drive.
(I keep the original disk on the bookshelf in my office as a backup to
my backup.)
My personal emergency kit, storing files that I’d like to have with me for
convenience but are not worthy of occupying permanent space on my
hard drive. These include PDF files of instruction manuals for my laptop,
my digital camera, and other devices I carry; Adobe Acrobat Reader is
already installed on my laptop. Also on the disk is a folder of drivers for
various add-ons to my machine, including a connection between the
laptop and my cell phone and the latest download of updates to my pro-
fessional DSLR camera.To those emergency disks I sometimes add a third:
A copy of all of the files of whatever major project I am currently work-
ing on, plus a copy of the data file from Palm Desktop, which holds my
working calendar (going back several years and forward as far as I have
entered data) and my list of contacts. Although I’ve copied each of these
sets of files onto the laptop as the final step before I close my computer
kit bag, I also bring the electronic equivalent of a “hard copy” of the mate-
rial with me in case of a true catastrophe — the loss or theft of my laptop
or its failure — that forces me to do my work on a borrowed (or new)
machine.When you live as much of your life on the road and do as much of your work
on a laptop as I do, it’s perfectly reasonable to operate in a combined belt-
and-suspenders mode. Neither rain, nor snow, nor any other contingency is
going to keep me from my appointed rounds if I can possibly help it.
Chapter 22: Ten of My Favorite Things 333