Keeping records and journals for personal use

[Deb London]

I have a question for anyone that keeps a diary/journal/record/shoe box () with information about what you have seen and when. Do you keep it on your computer or do you keep a written version in a book or a folder?

I'd like people's opinions as I'd like to keep a record, but can't decide how to do this. I could just write a diary in a hard-backed notebook. But what makes me want to do this is finding a sticky note on my old computer desktop, with the species of insect that had visited a plant in my garden. It looked so neat. It would've been more useful if I'd added dates and details and pictures. Then I wondered if a written record would be more useful to me and my usual cack-handed approach to keeping data on computers safe.

[stigofthedump]

Hi Deb.
I keep field note books and written journals. The only computer records are spread sheets.

I find written notes much more emotional, I love reading back over them. I gave a field book to a nephew many years back. He has kept it and once told me he reads it sometimes when he feels a little down, made me very happy.


Happy new year


Vince

[artdemole]

If you keep record of data on computer then it is advisable to back up and copy data very REGULAR on cd/dvd as mistakes can be made when deleting/adding items.I did this when updating photos and lost older relations and trip to Holland.Can never be replaced.

[Deb London]

I actually lost data at work recently when doing a back-up and it still puzzles me how it happened, it happened in such a weird, roundabout way and I've had to ask for professional advice. I've also now learned to do two backups due to a mistake I made whilst copying between two drives that were displayed in such a way to make them look almost identical. And amounts of data just get bigger and bigger for various reasons and storage solutions have to be found. At home this can get expensive.

And yes, written records are much more personal and soulful.

I'd like to find a way of combining the two methods, but it's not always easy to find the time.

[artdemole]

Maybe you can write your notes by hand-Scan-Print off.Copies are then personalized but worth the time taken to do so.

[Deb London]

I'm starting to imagine an app for the iPad (which I don't have and never will, but I like to imagine my perfect technology sometimes):

You have a lined space and a blank space next to each other. You use a stylus to write on the lines. Comes out looking like ink. When you draw it comes out as pencil, but you can also switch to paint to add detail and true-to-life colour.

You can link to other sections of the journal, the internet or wherever. Add pictures from your camera. Change the appearance to make it look attractive. Office documents and all sorts of media applications can be added/embedded to/into the blank pages. You might want to plot the variation in numbers of sparrows visiting your garden each month. Or add videos of the birds that have started to use your new garden pond, or record the sound of the robin singing at night, etc.

You can able to print most of it for your records.

I'll call the app "Field Journal'.

[artdemole]

Have to copy-cut-paste instead.

[Blizzard]

I keep buying "special" notebooks to keep records of what I see. I write a few pages and then the notebook disappears only to be discovered a year later full of random notes, lists, phone numbers, measurements etc.

I've given up now as it's just not in my nature to be organised. My only records tend to be photographic and even thats a problem as I keep having to shift photos onto memory sticks as my laptop is full up .

[Kayleigh]

I have an external desktop hard drive all my records and pics go onto this for back up.

[Meta menardi]

I used to teach computerised book-keeping and I always said, use the computer to keep the records and help you analyse what you record, but you must print off everything you have. I would strongly advocate keeping computer records if you can find a format that suits you, but keep a print out. You can go through your records in front of the fire or wherever you want, and if you are set up with a good record system, analys what you have seen on computer as well when you want to. Given a choice of one format, paper. Given a best choice, computer and paper. Given no choice at all, I'll use a computer to analyse large amounts of data from many people, but then you need to print the results of the analysis.

I have gone centres with card records going back many years and extracted data to computerise it. I wouldn't like to have gone there to find 8" floppy disks, tha data would be lost.

Rant nearly over, but don't trust to computer storage only. And I have been using computers for 30 years!