Perhaps since the laptop isn't the zippiest thing, it might be worth protecting the documents rather than the laptop.
You could try storing them on a flash drive. Keep it close to you on your key chain and if you want to go the extra mile you can encrypt it or get a "secure" dirve rather than encrypting the netbook's drive. Then you don't have to do anything to the laptop and you get the added bonus of being able to use your files on anyone's computer.
I'm assuming, just like the folks who suggest renting it out, that you're not going to visit much, if any.
If this is the case, then don't just turn off the water and drain the pipes (which is a trivial task), turn off the heat, the electricity, the water heater, your broadband, and everything else that wastes energy while your not around.
It's really not a big deal to do all of these things. If you feel personally unable to do them, I'm absolutely certain you can find a friend who will help or at the worst hire a handyman to show you how to winterize your home for 10% of the cost of your heating & electricity bills for the time that you're gone.
99% of the things we own are designed to travel across the country, summer or winter, north or south, in the back of a non-climate controlled tractor-trailer. If they can handle that, they can handle sitting in your home when it freezes. Just remember to clean out the fridge!
If you just can't bear to be a really good global citizen, at least shut off the water heater, fridge, drain the pipes, and turn the thermostat down as low as it will go. Please! I do this much every time I leave for more than a week!
If you do these things, you don't have to worry about much of anything going wrong besides the house burning down for some strange reason or getting broken into. There's nothing you can do about either of those scenarios from a long ways away anyway...
I can't speak to specifics, but my company just let two major cell phone providers install repeaters in our complex...which is essentially a bunker. I don't have a phone with either company, but those that do went from no signal to full.
If you're in the area I highly reccomended a guided tour of the Gargoyles including a slide show of the some of the more famous ones (including Darth) and a guided walk around the cathedral with a gargoyle expert who will point them out to you, check the shedule. If you think the fact that Darth is up there is cool, you'll be impressed by who else has been immortalized, not to mention the craftsmanship that goes into one of these!
If you can't make one of the special tours, the cathedral also does regular tours during most daylight hours and the guides (docents) are likely to be able to point you in the right direction.
I've taken the Gargoyle tour, a family member is one of the experts, and it really is interesting, even to the laymen just looking for something to do! Enjoy!
I live in Jersey and one of the State Reps who was behind this bill came on NPR. He's not the idiot alot of you make him out to be. The idea behind the bill is alot like CA Emmission Requirements. Sure, you can get higher poluting cars elsewhere but by forcing companies to do something if they want to sell in a state, alot of companies will do the math and see that it's cheaper to just do the R and D the state wants than to lose the ability to sell in that state and give the marketshare to whatever company does do the R and D. Even if you think it's a misguided attempt to save lives...what did you do to save lives this year? At least somebodys trying.
Secondly, it's not that crazy a request. Electronicaly controlled firearms are already starting to appear for sale to the general public. For example: EtronX It's a hunting rifle that has no moving parts (except for the bolt that you operate manually to chamber each round). It triggers the primer with an electrical impulse and it has a small key that you fit into the but of the gun to "arm" it. The whole thing runs on a standard nine volt battery and a LED tells you when it's time to change it...
All the state senators are asking is that the gun compaines look at leveraging technology like this into more dangerious handguns and whoever does it first gets to have a market advantage when the law goes into effect. It's a law that actually rewards innovation...someting I think we'd like to see more of!
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Perhaps since the laptop isn't the zippiest thing, it might be worth protecting the documents rather than the laptop. You could try storing them on a flash drive. Keep it close to you on your key chain and if you want to go the extra mile you can encrypt it or get a "secure" dirve rather than encrypting the netbook's drive. Then you don't have to do anything to the laptop and you get the added bonus of being able to use your files on anyone's computer.
I'm assuming, just like the folks who suggest renting it out, that you're not going to visit much, if any. If this is the case, then don't just turn off the water and drain the pipes (which is a trivial task), turn off the heat, the electricity, the water heater, your broadband, and everything else that wastes energy while your not around. It's really not a big deal to do all of these things. If you feel personally unable to do them, I'm absolutely certain you can find a friend who will help or at the worst hire a handyman to show you how to winterize your home for 10% of the cost of your heating & electricity bills for the time that you're gone. 99% of the things we own are designed to travel across the country, summer or winter, north or south, in the back of a non-climate controlled tractor-trailer. If they can handle that, they can handle sitting in your home when it freezes. Just remember to clean out the fridge! If you just can't bear to be a really good global citizen, at least shut off the water heater, fridge, drain the pipes, and turn the thermostat down as low as it will go. Please! I do this much every time I leave for more than a week! If you do these things, you don't have to worry about much of anything going wrong besides the house burning down for some strange reason or getting broken into. There's nothing you can do about either of those scenarios from a long ways away anyway...
I can't speak to specifics, but my company just let two major cell phone providers install repeaters in our complex...which is essentially a bunker. I don't have a phone with either company, but those that do went from no signal to full.
If you're in the area I highly reccomended a guided tour of the Gargoyles including a slide show of the some of the more famous ones (including Darth) and a guided walk around the cathedral with a gargoyle expert who will point them out to you, check the shedule. If you think the fact that Darth is up there is cool, you'll be impressed by who else has been immortalized, not to mention the craftsmanship that goes into one of these!
If you can't make one of the special tours, the cathedral also does regular tours during most daylight hours and the guides (docents) are likely to be able to point you in the right direction.
I've taken the Gargoyle tour, a family member is one of the experts, and it really is interesting, even to the laymen just looking for something to do! Enjoy!
I live in Jersey and one of the State Reps who was behind this bill came on NPR. He's not the idiot alot of you make him out to be. The idea behind the bill is alot like CA Emmission Requirements. Sure, you can get higher poluting cars elsewhere but by forcing companies to do something if they want to sell in a state, alot of companies will do the math and see that it's cheaper to just do the R and D the state wants than to lose the ability to sell in that state and give the marketshare to whatever company does do the R and D. Even if you think it's a misguided attempt to save lives...what did you do to save lives this year? At least somebodys trying.
Secondly, it's not that crazy a request. Electronicaly controlled firearms are already starting to appear for sale to the general public. For example: EtronX It's a hunting rifle that has no moving parts (except for the bolt that you operate manually to chamber each round). It triggers the primer with an electrical impulse and it has a small key that you fit into the but of the gun to "arm" it. The whole thing runs on a standard nine volt battery and a LED tells you when it's time to change it...
All the state senators are asking is that the gun compaines look at leveraging technology like this into more dangerious handguns and whoever does it first gets to have a market advantage when the law goes into effect. It's a law that actually rewards innovation...someting I think we'd like to see more of!