Toxoplasmosis leads to bad behavior. In fact, it makes us behave in a manner that is contrary to our own self preservation instinct. According to the research I have been doing after reading about it in The Economist a few weeks ago, I am wondering if it is central to the continued success of vendors with crappy storage solutions…
Let me wax philosophical…er…biological, for a second.
The protozoan parasite behind Toxoplasmosis has an interesting life cycle. Cats who have it release it in their Kitty Litter (hope I don’t need to be more specific). It is then picked up by rats and mice where it causes them to go a little nuts and seek out the signature (urine) of predatory cats in the hopes of being eaten, thus enabling the infection of more animals. No kidding. The infected rodents actually dance around the cats teasing them to attack and ingest them — because the parasite wants to be transferred to the cat!
This nasty bug is also transferable to humans (another reason I haven’t replaced my two cats, Hocus and Pocus, after they went to animal heaven a couple of years ago). Interestingly, infections correlate positively with automobile accidents, with scientists suggesting that toxoplasmotic humans have reduced coordination and are much more likely to be involved in auto accidents.
Anyway, you can probably Google the Economist piece to learn more, or go read the Wiki on it if interested.
I have been very interested in this science tidbit of late as I seek to unlock the secret of why we continue to buy storage gear that costs too much and does not deliver what we need…or does so poorly. Is irrational decision-making about storage possibly a marker for a toxoplasmotic infection. If you feel yourself drawn to a storage array from EMC, or NetApp, or XYZ vendor, despite the fact that you know it to be inappropriate to your needs or beyond your budget, go to your doctor and have him or her screen you for the parasite.
Oh, and get rid of your cat, too.
Happy Friday.
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Now I want to dance around my storage salesrep and taunt them! I often want to tell them they can bite me, but perhaps that’s not quite the same situation as the mice.
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