I still have three different ways to store a running list: * big ass text file * wiki page * cheap pocket notebook

All are useful. The text file was fine when I carried my Zaurus or Palm around, but data-entry was slow & I switched to the notebook. I use it when I need to add something & am not at a computer.

I normally run SSH & can therefore often access the text file remotely. I don’t like the idea of keeping it on a USB keydrive, but some people do.

The wiki is there for things I might need some accountability for & commitments I make for others.

Now, more on the big text file…

I still sometimes use a pseudo-wiki markup, which gives it some kind of structure (with headings and such). I have a large space after the bottom organized line so I can easily drop unsorted stuff. Sometimes I just “echo ‘thing to remember’ >> big.txt. I also have a bash alias so I only have to type “b thing to remember’. This means I don’t have to open up vim. vim’s ‘dd’ makes it easy to cut a line & insert it elsewhere to cleanup the file a little bit.

Another handy organization technique in vim is to use code-folding on your sections/subsections.

If I need to find something, I will normally just use grep on the textfile. But vim’s search capabilities are also nice.

I don’t keep multiple revisions of this running textfile. Other things which need multiple revisions are in their own text files & this is why I use grep: I search through all text files in a directory & can use it recursively if I need to. subversion or other real version control software is really ideal for versioning the text.