This month: one smug story, and one foolish.
Early October saw our system crash big time. It began as the occasional kernel panic and having to restart, but soon escalated into a full system closure, where the office suddenly became free of gamma rays and the like (a rare and strangely beautiful sensation). Now, you can imagine the havoc that can ensue: your entire system goes down one day and needs serious hardware repair which renders the machines fairly useless for the next three … it’s time-consuming and inconvenient, to say the least.
However, I am pleased to say that we really do practice what we preach, and we make very regular system back ups, so we were barely affected by the fault [it turned out to be a video card problem which failed to allow the main server to start up]. So, don’t forget: do those back-ups REGULARLY and don’t wait for a situation like ours to bite you in the proverbial before you act.
So … the foolish story. Well, I personally had my mobile phone stolen, from the security area at Bristol International Airport (yes, the irony has not escaped me). No matter how distracted you are putting your belt and boots back on, make sure you have taken all valuables off the belt and back on your person before you do anything else and certainly before you proceed to departures. Or, like me, you could have a nice little string of international premium-rate phone calls to add to your next bill – awaiting your return, and costing some £3-400.
My only cause to smile: the fact that the handset was old and only half-charged and the camera no longer worked, so once used I dare say the mobile ended its days in a bin somewhere exotic. Incredibly, I was due to invest in a new phone this week, so I consider myself prompted to do so.
As my father would say, some lessons are free in life, and some a little pricier.
Entry: Traci Rochester
