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So You've Lost a $38 Billion File

Posted by Zonk on from the makes-you-feel-better-about-yourself dept.

smooth wombat writes "Imagine you're reformatting a hard drive so you can do a clean install but then realize that you have also reformatted the back up hard drive. No problem. You reach for your back up tapes only to find out that the information on the tapes is unreadable. Now imagine the information that is lost was worth $38 billion. This scenario is apparently what happened in July to the Alaska Department of Revenue. From the article: 'Nine months worth of information concerning the yearly payout from the Alaska Permanent Fund was gone: some 800,000 electronic images that had been painstakingly scanned into the system months earlier, the 2006 paper applications that people had either mailed in or filed over the counter, and supporting documentation such as birth certificates and proof of residence.' Using the 300 cardboard boxes containing all the information, staff worked overtime for several months to rescan everything at an additional cost of $200,000."

4 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Time for... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seppuku?

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    1. Re:Time for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I once deleted a file worth $38 billion. I was afraid my boss was going to fire me, but he shook my hand and laughed "Fire you?!! We just invested $38 billion in your education! We can't fire you after that kind of investment." And true enough, I never deleted a file worth that much again.

  2. I'll do it! by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Funny

    So the information is still available in 300 boxes and it would cost about $200,000 to scan and recreate the $38 billion file again?
    I'll do it for $1 billion.

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  3. Re:$38 Billion is a big incentive for fraud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear deeply respected and trusted Sir,

      I trust by the grace of almighty god you are in good health this fine and beautiful day. I was a data entry clerk for the Alaska Department of Revenue, Prior to being fired, I secured access to a hidden fund worth $38,000,000,000 (THIRTY-EIGHT BILLION DOLLARS).

      If I ever tried to utilise this fund in my name, the funds would risk being confiscated by the government, so I would like you assistance to find a trustworth foreign assistant who can invest these funds.

      This proposal is 100% risk free, and I can offer you a 10% fee for your help.....