Network Protection is not an easy task. Constantly, there is news about some type of data breach or some problem somewhere because of computers. There are numerous approaches to take to ensure that your computer networks stay operational and protected from harm. I am happy to report that I learned one of the most important lessons about Computer Network Protection when I was a young child in Kindergarten.
The Lesson is from Matthew chapter 7 and the reason I remember it so vividly is because I was also taught a song to go with this story. (Little did I know at the time it would be a critical for my work 30 years later.)
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the wise man’s house stood firm.
One of our key data closets is in a building that is being remodeled and it is currently without a roof so we have gotten creative with protecting it. In addition to the plastic drop cloths attached to a make shift wall of old 2X4’s from what used to be the walls, we used sawdust to build a dam around the base. We didn’t build the dam though until it began to rain and the building began to turn into a swimming pool and the water started rising up around our closet. The key part to this song was and the floods came up. We had thought ahead for covering the equipment but we didn’t plan on the building filling with water. So as the rain came down we worked to push it out until we could build a protective dam for when the floods came up.
We only lost one power over Ethernet adapter from the rain, it was mounted to the only existing wall and the rain dripped down the back and electricity and water don’t get along very well. I guess there must be a second verse to that song about the rains coming down and the floods coming up that I never learned.
Last Saturday we went on a day trip and on the way back stopped at a restaurant to eat lunch. This is our first dining out experience since we have lived in Cameroon. We arrived at the restaurant at 1:30 p.m. First our drink order was taken and someone at the restaurant ran into the local commerce area and bought what everyone ordered (soft drinks and bottled water). We were served our beverages and then it was time to order. We were asked if we would like chicken or fish served with fried plantains. Everyone placed their order and again it was time to go buy the ingredients for the meal. We were told that many restaurants can’t afford to buy things to have on hand so it is bought and prepared by order. We were all getting hungry and the boys were getting restless waiting. Our family style lunch was finally ready at 3:45 p.m. We ate some chicken with red sauce on it, fried plantains and fish (the fish is cooked and served whole) David even was daring enough to eat the fish eyes, considered to be quite a treat.
Toilets are different from place to place and the availability changes. In the US toilets are available pretty much wherever you go – stores, restaurants, convenience stores, states build them along the Interstate as rest areas and even port-a-potties. Where we were in France, the availability was much different, very few places had them for the public to use and when you found them sometimes they were paperless, most were toilet seatless and the way to flush was different than we were used to. Well Cameroon has presented new challenges. I think there is 1 place in Yaoundé that has a public restroom and we are told you must take your own paper. Saturday we had an orientation day trip to a pottery place about 2 hours away. We stopped an hour into the trip to use a paid public toilet. After you pay, women are given 1 square of toilet paper and sent to the restroom. The toilets don’t have a flushing mechanism just a bucket with water to pour down the toilet to get rid of the waste. No sinks, so take your own hand sanitizer. While we were at the pottery place nature called DeAnna. She was able to experience yet another different toilet – the squatty potty. This is a little walled room with concrete sloping towards the middle and there was a metal pot lid. You lift the lid and find a whole to squat over. Of course, no sinks, no paper, no frills here. On the way back we stopped to eat at a restaurant (this experience will be another blog tomorrow), but again needing to use the toilet we found ourselves faced with another way to go. A toilet without a flushing mechanism and a sink without running water, instead a bucket with some water to wash your hands in. So there you have it a day full of different toilets.
D squared + J squared = Anderson 