8 Resolutions for 2008

The first ever New Years Resolution was supposedly made in 153 BC by the

mythical King Janus of early Rome. Janus had two faces, one on the front of his

head and one on the back. He could thus look both backward and forward at the

same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at

the old year and forward to the new.

The first New Year Resolution that Janus supposedly made was that he would

focus more on the year ahead, than on the year gone by. But like most new year

resolutions, Janus probably didnt fulfill it, since he couldnt keep the eyes

at the back of his head closed forever.

In any case, the ancient Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New

Years Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune.

Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the image of Janus became more common New

Years gifts.

So much for legend. As we start a brand new year, I thought it would be an

opportune time to lay down 8 New Year Resolutionsthat spell Fortunes for

2008:

Raju Chellam

• Firewall: I will henceforth remember to turn off my PDAs and notebooks
  
  Wi-Fi adapter when Im on the road or not using Wi-Fi. This move will not
  
  allow my PDA or notebook to connect to a malicious hotspot and risk get
  
  hijacked or hacked into, which has happened to me before. Moreover, it will
  
  also extend my laptops battery life.
• Organize: I will organize all my data files into logical folders, both on
  
  my notebook PC as well as on the server. As of now, I have a huge number of
  
  data files and downloaded attachments staring at me on the desktopand dozens
  
  of junk files in my Temporary folder.
• Redundancy: I will ensure that I back up all my data and programs
  
  regularly, both at home and in the office. I will attempt to have at least
  
  100% redundancy. Since the cost of external hard disk drives has fallen
  
  drastically, I will resolve to have 200% redundancy of my critical data, which
  
  I will back up at least once every week.
• Tuneup: I will make it a point to tuneup my personal and professional
  
  notebooks by running Adaware to check for any spyware every morning when I log
  
  on to my account, emptying my browser cache every time I have accessed my bank
  
  account, running DiskClean every night before logging off, and Defragmenting
  
  my files every weekend.
• Update: I will not only turn on the automatic update feature on Windows
  
  and Office, but will also run live updates every morning to download the
  
  latest virus signatures. I will update my spam filter. Every weekend I will
  
  update the whitelist and blacklist websites that my browser can or cannot
  
  accept, and read all security updates that are flagged to me.
• Network: I will never assume that I am alone on my computer network,
  
  either on Wi-Fi or LAN or WAN. Experience tells me that there are smarter guys
  
  than me who can crack my Wi-Fi encryption, my WEP encryption, and even my MAC
  
  address.
• Encrypt: I will use a data encryption program to send secure emails to
  
  anyone working in a bank, or government, or a corporation, or anybody where a
  
  data breach could implicate me.
• Share: Finally, I will attempt to share more of my wealth, good fortune
  
  and benevolence bestowed by fate, with those whore less fortunate than me. I
  
  will paste Mahatma Gandhis Seven Sins on my desktop where I can see it every
  
  day: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without
  
  character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship
  
  without sacrifice. And politics without principle.

And on that spiritual note, heres wishing all DQ readers a safe, secure,

sparkling, sunny and successful 2008.