USB flash will go through Xrays just fine.
CD's don't get damaged due to the EM in a microwave, they get damages because the shiny layer will conduct and then arcs and sparcs. You can see the same effect with tinfoil.

anything I'm going to keep I print a label and stick it on. I figure that gives it an extra layer of protection too, but don't ever try to remove a label from one <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I have read that the adhesive used by regular labels (like for envelopes and manila folders) can eat through the thin plastic tops of cheaper CD's and damaged the shiny layer over time, similar to the damage of using regular permanent markers.

A label can also unbalance the CD when it spins. I've heard CD's with labels that didn't "sound right" spinning in the drive, although I did get the data off just fine.

In addition to ironraven's suggestion, I have a set of Imation alcohol pens made for writing on CD's. It comes in a set of red, blue, and green pens. I think it was from CompUSA and cheap.

USB Flash drives are fantastic little devices.
But as with everything you can and do get problems.
So far I have had the plastic break that held my 128Mb drive to the keyring. I have bent my 256Mb drive in half. and at work I have had a 256Mb drive die and not be recognised in any computer.
I was one of the tech's that supported a 600+ computer educational network, and I have seen quite a few problems there. Mostly it is users who dont use the Windows "Unplug or Eject Hardware" and just pull them out. This can corrupt data, loose files or corrupt the format on the drive. Sometimes you can reformat them and they will work again, sometimes bin them.
There are some brands I will not use now because of the problems I've seen with them, but I have found the majority to be very reliable.
I carry a 512Mb drive all the time, and I would highly recomend them.

But as always dont rely on only one backup. Add them with CD's or another form of backup.

Ouch! As a bit of a computer geek, that's painful. It's like saying, "My dentist doesn't prepare his patients for tooth extraction. Mostly he just pulls them out." <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, pulling out your USB without ejecting--big no-no. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

PS After a quick shower, I realized there are two meanings to my joke--dentist doesn't give anasthetic, or dentist doesn't give patient any notification that he's going to pull a tooth. Both are painful. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, you are getting an induction effect from the microwaves. Same principle as powering an electic fence by dropping a coil of wire under a high tension line. Technically it is an electromagnetic effect.

Sharpie has recently come out with a version for CD/DVD use. They are the double end fine/ultra fine version.

I went into the local Best Buy a while back all set to buy a spindle that had 50 mini CD-R's. Then I came to realize that they didn't sell cases for them! The guy I asked said that I could put them in a regular cd case, and I said, "Yes, but that defeats the purpose of a smaller storage space!"

My data backup:

2 #2 pencils, erasers, scrap paper if I can find it, pocket knife to sharpen, and 10 (hopefully 10 after the sharpening) fingers to count on. I can make it to 20 with minor difficulty, and over that, I'll be arrested.

Peanut

When I was reading a computer magazine at the dentist this weekend, I ran across another option for a USB flash drive. Edge makes the DiskGO! line of storage products, including a USB wrist watch. Available in 256, 512 mb, and 1Gb capacities. The 1Gb is only $79. Check it out here .

It has a little USB dongle that stores flush with the band when not in use. When you need it, pull out the dongle and hook it up to your computer's USB port. It appears as a removable drive. And the whole thing is water resistant to 100m to boot.

The main drawback for me is that it uses USB 1.1, which is signficantly slower than USB 2.0, so if you're routinely transferring large amounts of data over, it could take a while. However, if you're just storing infrequently changing files for an emergency, speed is not a big issue.

Other than that, seems like a great EDC option for data storage. Kind of James Bond-ish, actually. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />