Day-15/secure online communication-apps-cats

The Take Back The Tech folks have a neat set of Portable apps to make your on-line activities safer and more fun. Given that many women (and men) around the world can only access computers and the internet via cyber cafes, safe and secure computing is a must. In the not- so- recent past (heck, some of us actually used punch cards), if we wanted to move from computer to computer. we would use large/small diskettes to transfer data (who has a disk drive any more, much less zip or jaz disks), and now we can use USB memory keys (including very tiny ones) or even external hard drives with 160 gb or more are the size of an index card and about 1/2 in or 1.27 cm thick. All this mobility means more chances for viruses and spyware to migrate around and with us as we move from computer, in particular, in countries such as Bangladesh, which has very poor anti-virus software, especially the self-updating kind. Hence give Take Back the Tech portable apps-toolkit a try you will need a memory key or flash driver with 1gb free space and/or a portable hard drive.

as to the cats (kittens-half sib blue point balinese):

insecure kittens who want to hide from computer, webcam (aug 07):

left: durga right: mahdu

secure--take back the tech cats---
appraise how they change the computer settings, walk on the keyboard & delete kbw's operating system files, dec 07

left: durga right: madhu

Monday 10 dec 07, Human Rights Day

on a more peaceful visual note

The good news is that my slightly older kitten Durga has continued to recover and every morning-night chases her younger brother, Madhu, around the house. Here they are trying to sleep it off (Durga-l, Madhu-r). Maybe she's still observing her puja.

Durga Returns Home!

Last week, I took Durga (the older Balinese kitten) in for a spay and hernia repair. The vet found unexpected congenital problems, which she fixed, but didn't think Durga would survive post-op. To everyone's surprise, Durga did survive and three days later drank water, started eating on day four and today on day six, I brought her back home. She's glad to be home and see her little brother Madhu (who was very lonely, but enjoyed the one-one attention). He's been checking and cleaning her and vice a versa.

Her vet, Dr. Kirkpatrick, called Durga, "miracle kitten" and I am also very grateful to Dr. K at the Kitty Klinic for her miracle-making surgery and post-op care. Of course, shakti Durga showed every one.

Madhu (left) checks out Durga's stitches













Madhu cleans while Durga sleeps.....



Thanks to everyone for their concern and healing thoughts during this time! Back to other works and topics soon, including continued monitoring of Bangladesh internet, Eid Shopping, and garment worker woes. An early Eid Mubarak to Nari Jibon office and Bangladeshi-Muslim friends.

of kittens, day job, and flood distractions

Around the time that I began this blog, I started teaching again my graduate level qualitative methods-- and the very capable bloggers at the Nari Jibon english blog wrote on several of my topics: floods, flower girls from Gulshan circle (who adopted me) and the blogging staff introduced themselves.

That same week, I adopted two new blue point Balinese kittens--Durga--a 10 week old female and Madhu Malak--a 9 week old male. They share a father, but have different mothers. They are my first new kittens since the mid 1980s and previously I brought one kitten into a household with older cats. I have not had cats since around 2001.



At first they hid in the back washroom (Madhu on left; Durga on the right).

Two kittens at the same time have provided considerable distractions now that they have taken over the house. They have grown into their names somewhat...Madhu is sweet but dushto (naughty) and Durga has asserted herself in food, couch, play, and petting time.

They also like to race around the house, furniture, my feet, papers, computers, and lap with their assorted play activities. Durga on top; Madhu going up.



They have even learned to help with computer work as well. They like to play on the Nakshi Katha. They haven't learned how to blog yet. Nor have I told them how Bangladeshi berali have to go find their food.





Some times if I am lucky, they sleep for a while!


So for those who have wondered where my blog posts have gone--distracted by kittens, teaching, and working on some data on women workers that I collected after the 2004 floods, which have ominous parallels to 2007 floods and lack of relief.

During this same time, Bangladesh experienced three days of riots-curfews, suspension of mobile networks (!) and cut internet submarine cable lines that kept Nari Jibon students and staff away for several days, but they soon came back through heavy rains for their studies albeit with slower computer connections. Despite these obstacles they maintained their connections with the rest of the world.

Most media and the world have forgotten the survivors of the July-August floods that covered 40% of Bangladesh. A second set of floods are coming from melting glaciers in Himalayas and heavy monsoon rains. In upcoming posts, I will discuss the disparate effects of floods and disasters on Bangladeshi women in rural and urban areas but especially, women garment workers in Dhaka whose employers expect them to come to work by any means, even expensive boat conveyance. Given recent press on the paucity of October orders for garment factories, women and their families who depend on garment work may be in for some tough times in the near future.

I've just been reminded by the kittens who are climbing on the computer and me that they need their evening food. Pore kotha bolbo! (will talk later!)