Selling Disaster Recovery Planning and Information Security to Managers

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One of the most difficult aspects for IT professionals is gaining support for IT spending. Executives are skeptical about IT solutions and are very reluctant to release any funds.

This article will focus on the difficulty encountered when trying to sell information security projects and Disaster Recovery Plan projects to business managers or financial officers.

Why is it that so many managers view IT as an additional component of their business operations?

I can suggest a few possible reasons:

  • Bad experiences in the past
  • IT is viewed as a liability instead of an asset
  • Lack of knowledge, complexity, technical language, all intimidate people from becoming IT fluent and aware
  • Inability to perceive the Return On Investment  of any IT-related project
  • Misconceptions about the reality of their current IT situation and state of the organisation
  • Lack of planning. No IT strategy, No roadmap
  • Business plan does not factor in any IT elements or spending

The reality is this. There are two ways to spend money on IT.

  1. You can undertake planned spending OR
  2. You can undertake un-planned spending.

Do you want to allocate $0 to an IT budget forecast and pay as you go along?

Sure, make inaccurate predictions for the next fiscal year that look impressive and then bleed funds from the company’s bank account during the year as incident behind incident occurs.

At the start of the year, your predictions look healthy. The balance sheet is in your favour and you have the extra money to buy more assets. During the year, IT costs go from $0 to $10 000 – sometimes overnight – to cater for your unprecedented incidents or minor disruptions. At the end of the year, 5 disruptions later and $20 000 afterward…you’ve moved from point A to? Continue reading →

Introduction to Traditional Wet-shaving

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I was lucky to stumble across a Youtube video in 2007 about shaving the old fashion way with a badger hair brush and barber’s soap. Thanks to the Mantic59 Youtube channel and blog, many men around the world now enjoy a satisfying shave every morning.

I will use this post to introduce the basic equipment needed for a good shave. Here is the list:

  • Badger hair shaving brush (synthetic or bristle brushes may also work)
  • Shaving soap or cream (Nothing out of an air-compressed can)
  • 1 double edged shaving handle (also known as, safety razor)
  • 1 double edged razor blade
  • 1 non-alcoholic after shave or skin moisterizer
  • Hot water, cold water
  • Towels (optional)
  • 1 bowl, 1 mug and a sink

 

People Networking

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You always hear about the importance of networking as if it were a must do task in order to find success in your professional career. This idea can seem as intimidating as blind dating but it’s not too hard to do.

The other day I realised that out of the seven jobs I have attained in my life only one of them was achieved without networking. I don’t think this reflects badly on nepotism but demonstrates the relevance of networking and establishing relationships with people from all walks of life.

Not all networking needs to be related to careers and ambitious people. You can establish meaningful relationships with people without ever calculating the benefit you can obtain. The jobs I have done in the past came through people I knew directly but every person was known through a different aspect of my life. Continue reading →

Pasta with red sauce again

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Mostaccioli with beef and tomato sauce

Here is another variation of a red pasta sauce. This time I replaced the white wine with red and boiled the pasta with bay leaves. Another treat in this dish was sun-dried tomatoes as well as fresh ones. I cut the vegetables in bigger pieces. I sliced the onions and fresh tomatoes instead of dicing them and the sun-dried tomatoes were cut into thin long strips. Dried basil leaves were once again used. Dried oregano, cracked pepper and salt are the usual suspects. One cup of water to add volume to the sauce, I then reduced the contents over time to increase the intensity of the flavours.

Once the pasta boiled, I emptied the water, placed them back in, splashed some oil and added half the contents of the sauce pot. Cooking the pasta in the sauce again ensured the meal was served at a higher temperature.

Some instantly grated fresh Parmesan cheese was also a treat for this serving.

Ingredients:

  • 250g Minced meat, low fat
  • 3 sliced tomatoes with skin
  • 4 sun-dried tomatoes cut in strips
  • 50ml tomato paste
  • onions cut into thick slices
  • Dried basil, oregano, cracked pepper, salt
  • olive iol
  • 1 cup of water
  • red wine (100ml)

Death Penalty, Abortion and Euthanasia

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Death Penalty

I’ll agree, there are some nasty and mentally ill people on this planet however, killing people as a form of punishment is not a healthy way to teach a society. The state killing people, teaches others that killing is acceptable and appropriate. In summary, it provokes violence. We use the term civilised as a positive adjective. Let us move forward as a human race, leaving behind violent and barbaric customs.

Abortion

It’s the woman’s body, a baby is her commitment for the next 18 years. A woman might have been raped, a woman’s life may be at risk due to the pregnancy, the baby may be born with serious health problems. Whatever the case may be, a woman should have the right to choose what action to take before the baby is born. Continue reading →