Let me ask you a few questions:

• Do you protect your data at home with passwords, encryption, etc?
• Do you use different passwords for different sites?
• Are you seen as the computer expert in your household?

Yes?

Then let me ask you one more question:

• How would your loved ones get to the important and necessary data if you suddenly die?

I know. That sounds brutal. But allow me to explain. (more…)

I’ve long been an advocate of people not needing ‘formal qualifications’ to get into the computer industry. And by formal I mean university degrees or 48 GCSE’s (or whatever your age 16 school exams are called).

However, that’s a subject matter for another time and another post. What one can’t avoid, so it seems, is the need to have a technical certification. Companies seem to turn a blind eye to experience and especially recruiting agencies. I know for a fact that certain agencies in the UK use an automated scanner looking for keywords for certain roles – so your CV arrives and is never seen by a human until after it’s been vetted by a machine. This is life now and so if you’re wanting to get into the network field, then as  bare minimum you’d need to start with a Cisco Certified Network Associate (or CCNA) certification.

This one exam (or two depending on route taken) certification is seen as the ultimate (more…)

What has life taught you?

I find at the very young age of 46 that I’m not as young as I once was but I’m not referring to physical age here but rather the fact that me being the age I am has made me understand / realise / learn things that otherwise would never have been. Confused, well let me launch right in and see if I can untangle that … and so without further ado let me bring you “stuff life has taught me” …

• Your self belief is stronger than anyone or anything else.
  Let’s face it. If you have an idea for extra money or some hair brained scheme (more…)

On Saturday my brother in law and sister (Paul & Anne) arrive in the UK then on Sunday he enters hospital in prepartion for a 10hr operation on Tuesday.

He has “pseudomyxoma peritonei” (link) which is so rare (I’m told) that he is the first where he lives to get it / suffer it? Treatment has been going well but all along they’ve needed to consult with specialists, mostly in America.

Anyway, the long and short is that he has responded well to treatment to date and the operation is to de-mucus him, remove what is left of the tumour(s) and other organs. One of the side effects of the cancer is that it coats the internal organs with a mucus which if not removed can cause complications down the road. If you follow the link above Paul will be undergoing the “Sugarbaker technique” which includes removal of sections of his bowel, his spleen and gall bladder as well as removal of the mucus. As well as all this he will be undergoing a form or chemotherapy during the operation.

Paul describes it as akin to taking a bag of vegetables out of his insides, removing the skins and then replacing as much as possible.

Anyway, the reason for my post is to ask for your prayers.

Specifically:

• that the surgery goes well
• that the after effects are minimal
• that he is one of the 7 in 10 who respond well to surgery
• that his recovery is speedy and subsequent return home.
• for my sister, Anne, who will be in the UK throughout to support him
• for their son, Max, who has been left back home
• for myself who will spend the day with my sister during the operation.

From the very bottom of my heart, thank you.

Michael Gelb is the author of a book called “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” and in it he expands on the ‘seven steps to genius every day‘ …

Now, I haven’t read the book yet but I’ve seen the seven steps listed and they’ve fascinated me enough to want to share them with you all. These principles need, so says Gelb, to be followed for success. Whether it be a new language, training to be a chef or just wanting to improve yourself in your current job.

Anyway, the seven steps are:

1. Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life.
2. Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.
3. Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience.
4. Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
5. Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination (“whole-brain thinking”).
6. Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
7. Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; “systems thinking.”

I don’t know about you but these steps fascinate me and I will be getting a copy of the book when time allows. I understand that the book have some of da Vinci’s illustrations as well and the book references its principles to da Vinci’s accomplishments.