Sanitation in the Developed World

More computer problems. Do they ever cease?! It seems that the IT department at work detected a computer virus on our floor and asked everyone to back-up their files and scan their hard drives. I had cause for worry because it was only then that I realized the temporary PC I'd been using for the past week or so never had the security software re-installed. Luckily, the results after loading the proper programs were negative, but another person in our department found 24 corrupt files and had to "evacuate" her desk while a tech guy cleaned it up.

I suppose if one were to compare the problems of the advanced nations with those of developing status, this is the developed world's version of contaminated potable water or a breach in landfill sanitary safety standards; it's just that the office version is made up of virtual worms, network clashes, and the dreaded blue screen coup d'état.

Speaking of developing world sanitary issues, this whole virus ordeal managed to make quite a mess of a report I was working on for an African development project. This morning I received a 30-page report in Japanese about the poor aquifer quality in rural Senegal, south of The Gambia (remember Roots?), with a request to have it translated into English by Thursday. On top of that, I have been asked to e-mail what I finish each day so it can be forwarded to a translator in Dakar who will add all the necessary diacritics and ligatures and whatever else necessary to turn it into French!!
To finish in time, I need to complete 6 pages per day (taking graphs and tables into account) but, thanks to the interruptions today, and the simple fact that at the beginning of the day, I knew very little about Senegal (I mean, everyone knew about the recent elections, right?... right?!), not to mention "boreholes"! By quitting time, I had a grand total of... well, 2 pages. Ack!

So I hope things proceed a bit more smoothly tomorrow, especially since I've already been forewarned of another 30 page document marked for editing headed towards my inbox, also slated for a Thursday completion date. DOUBLE WHAMMY!
So in an ironic twist, the protection from E. coli in groundwater aquifers in West Africa could rest on the protection given by Norton AntiVirus software on my taskbar. And for goodness sake, I hope they are able to take their time sifting through the final results of this 4-day tri-lingual foray!