Ransomware: one minute after – are you ready?

By Tom Mueller It’s a busy workday – a normal workday – with lots to do and deadlines approaching, and in the midst of this your computer stops working. You want to save the document you’re working on, but it’s no use. You’ve lost it. Then a new page appears on your display. It’s a

India, get a room!

It is monsoon season in India as I exit the airport terminal building for a 7-day visit. I’ve just arrived in Mumbai and I’m getting a good feel for what monsoon season feels like. It’s wet. I guess that goes without saying, but I never realized how wet it can be until spending a week

A musical interlude spanning 26 years

I was bicycling near the parliament building in Baku, Azerbaijan when I rounded a turn and came upon a military checkpoint staffed by Azerbaijani soldiers with automatic weapons.  I quickly turned around and started peddling away. As I did so, I heard shouts from the soldiers and caught hand signals indicating that I should stop

On walkabout in Senegal

Dakar, Senegal – It’s nighttme when I arrive here, and the ride from the airport to the city is along a dark and dusty road. Dust hangs heavy in the headlights of oncoming vehicles and the occasional street light, a reminder that the great Sahara Desert lingers nearby. Winds from the east pick up its

Was I sleeping, or was that just a dream?

Last night was my first night back at home after a week in the UK, where the time is six hours ahead of my home time zone in Houston. That time difference can really mess with your head – and your body – as you try to assimilate back into your home time zone and

London’s amazing graffiti art tunnel

On a recent visit to London, I went on walkabout one morning in search of coffee and adventure. I headed in a new direction on this Saturday morning, and as luck would have it, I found both coffee and adventure! I was staying in the County Hall area of the city, not far from the

Weekend adventure – exploring rural England on a motorcycle

I love exploring new places and new countries, especially when I can do so on a motorcycle. I recently spent a weekend exploring rural England on a bike and had a blast. I was fortunate because the ride was a last-minute decision, but with some research I was able to pull it together. I found

How far will you go for that perfect cup of coffee?

Have you noticed that more and more products these days seems to be available in new and more enticing flavors? I first noticed it years ago with Schnapps – peach and peppermint flavors have long been available – then with vodkas, and a friend in England tells me flavored gins are now a thing. And,

Please empty your hotel safe before clearing immigration…

By Tom Mueller BAKU, Azerbaijan – I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat down near my departure gate at the Baku airport, happy to be heading home after almost two weeks on the road. It had been a good trip, a productive trip, providing crisis response and media training for the communications and leadership teams