I have a bad habit.
It started in the 1990’s and I haven’t been able to kick it. Also, I don’t really want to kick it because my habit has given me a career, and in some circles, there are people who think I am super smart because they have the impression that I know and remember everything.
The truth is, my memory is terrible, but I keep things that I know will be needed later in a reliable place – pretty simple, right? That place where I keep all my knowledge is not a top-secret safety deposit box, it’s not a binder full of paper on my desk, and it’s certainly not my brain. That safe place is a database. Actually, it’s many databases.
You see, my habit is that I keep databases for the smallest, simplest things.
- What started simply as a way to keep track of the books I own turned into an ongoing way to track every book I’ve read since 1998, when I read them, how long it took me to read them, how I rated them.
- What started as a way to book our camping trips…