I can only agree and I think this is a good advice in general. Never leave your money at exchanges. We have seen Mt. Gox, now BTC-e, although both circumstances seem different (Mt. Gox was a scam, BTC-e was likely taken down). But when your money is gone, you don't care much why right? Always stay as much on the safe side as possible. By that I mean risks are part of cryptocurrencies but unnessesary risks can be easily avoided.
RE: If you were not aware in 4 days you can have 14%+ more of BTC for free.