Anyhow, as funny as the Wikipedia page was the first two times I went to it, it was really getting annoying later in the day. It turns out that I use that site for reference several times a day.

Although normally it’s to find out things like what the highest charting songs (U.S.) were from “Huey Lewis and the News”.

I’ve read through three of the seven Harry Potter books now. My bud James says they actually get good from the fourth book forward. To be honest, if I don’t like the first three books, I can’t imagine staying at the show for the next four loooong books.

On a totally different note, I’ve learned more about iOS forensics in the last week than I knew as a whole beforehand. Some hints (if you follow the computer security scene).

• In order to get an image from a phone with a backup password, you kind of have to hack it (it’s probably a SOPA violation even mention this.)
• iPads without a password are a dream to work with
• The iPhone 4S seems to be the device to have right now if you don’t wish for people to be able to examine your stuff. I’m positive that this will change before too much longer.

I didn’t bother contacting my Congressman or Senator about the whole “you’re going to break the Internet” thing, because frankly they are probably too corrupt to even care. I’ll bet they also drive drunk, and pass school buses that are unloading children at nursery homes. While voting in session via text message from behind the wheel.

For the record, you shouldn’t let the length bother you. (That’s what she said! HAR!) I got through the book in just a few hours of reading, and found it to be pretty enjoyable. From what I remember of the movie, this was a far more quality use of my time.

To be fair, I’d paid about 60% attention to the first movie, about 50% attention to the second, and was totally baffled at the last movie. So even though I have a general idea of how everything shakes out for Harry, it’s still a good read.

One also should ignore all the websites out there that claim the series is akin to devil worship. Some people would prefer you read nothing at all. At least kids read this series and enjoy it, rather than just wasting time watching TV. It’s just good, escapist fun.

Maybe it’s just me, but I liked it better than The Hobbit, which I finally read last year for the first time. And I liked the Hobbit.

Although it didn’t have Fluffy the three-headed dog in it.

If you read the review right before this one, it’s also about a dog.

But I digress. Read this book if you haven’t already. Since it’s been out so long, you probably already have. That’s fine.

I’m catching up with you.

I don’t really want to give away any parts of the book for you, other than he has multiple lives (much like his feline cousins) so we will stick with the very general features of the story.

It’s told from a dog’s perspective, although it kind of has a 3/4 perspective so that you as a human can also pick up on things that blow by the dog that he just dismisses as babble. He also doesn’t much care for cats, although most of my dogs actually like my cat.

They probably would agree that they’re smarter than the cat though (which would probably be inaccurate.)

It’s mostly humorous, with some more dramatic and suspenseful portions. You could easily read the book in 2-3 sessions, and will definitely prove you to be human or not.

And it’s written by the “8 Simple Rules” guy. No, not the one that died, the other one. I haven’t read that book, so don’t hold it against me.

If you’re in the computer security field, this is a conference I’d recommend for a couple reasons:

1. It’s very inexpensive. If you only want to go for the seminars and not the boot camp, it’s cheaper yet.
2. You will see some wild stuff from the vendors hall that you may not even know exists (but you are looking for)
3. If you get really lucky, you may actually find a ski resort open on Thursday after everything is over.

One of the parts I enjoyed most was how down to earth the people at Paraben are. I spoke with both of the CEOs, they are very accessible, friendly people. All the staff I spoke to were very cool.

When I first saw Amber (one of the CEOs) she was working the desk getting people registered. I can’t imagine the CEO where I work at (well, anywhere I’ve worked at) getting in the trenches. You have to respect that. Her husband Greg also has perhaps the coolest job ever: futurist.

If half of what he says comes to pass we’re going to look at the current age like we currently look at steam-powered train engines. It’s going to be cool. At least for our grandchildren.

Park City is also a cool town, especially if you’re into art galleries. It’s also FAR more genteel than it used to be, according to people who are in the know (and who used to run around the town in their college days.)

They take their vandalism seriously in Park City.

I’m already psyched for next year, a rare feat for any conference. Until then, I guess I’ll practice drinking shots from a glass mounted on a ski.

Because they do that sort of thing in Utah.

Everyone has a story about where they were, what they were doing and the immediate panic that ensured.

Here’s my story:

I was in my office. I didn’t feel anything. Someone from the next building asked if a big truck was idling outside.

Then I got a text from my wife about the earthquake. So I hopped on to usgs.gov and sure enough we had one.

Oh, and one of the dogs was freaked out when I got home.

My life will never be the same.

I have no idea what this error means. Other than "bad."

Here’s the deal: she is going there to look at museums and drink in the culture on a school grant. The airfare is paid for, as is the hostel she’ll be staying in and museums she will visit. She really only has to worry about food that she will buy and gifts for everyone.

Yes, Ireland is expensive. Especially parking in Dublin (grumble grumble).

But she’s 21. She may actually never get a chance to return to Ireland. She may come back to the US, graduate college, find a job, get married, have kids and then wonder where the years have gone. This isn’t really the time for her to worry about a few bucks (or Euro) in a checking account. It’s not the time to worry about running up the credit card.

Yeah, 21 is really young. But time goes fast, so grab it while you can.

There’s enough time to worry about the other crap later.

1. I like these people.
2. They live in an interesting town.
3. It allows me to clear my head from the normal static of work and stresses of everyday life.

This time I got to meet up with someone who I’ve not seen in many, many years. In the time before we drifted apart we went from being best buds to a much more strained relationship. The way everything went down always weighed rather heavily on me. I’m a peaceful guy, and generally like to keep friends since it’s already difficult enough to find good people for the job.

We met, and talked for a couple hours. He too was always bothered by the way things went south with our friendship. It surprised me that he felt that he had failed me with some advice he needed to give, but could never find the words to do so. But the truth is that he hadn’t failed in any way.

Sometimes there is advice that needs to be given, but it is really up to the person receiving the advice to act upon it. At the time, I probably would have not listened to the advice even if it had been given. That isn’t a failure on him.

We discussed how things had changed for both of us over the years, and how we’d both tried to chase down other roommates that lived with us who have scattered over time. Most of the guys have been off our collective radar for almost 20 years.

One died not long after we all went our separate directions.

There are still things I’d like to discuss with all these guys. Obviously, it’s much too late for one. Another has a name that is so common all searches just result in chaff. I’ve emailed a third but gotten no response, possibly because his wife has intercepted the email and never told him about it.

When my friend and I ended our meeting, we both knew that we were good. Those years can never be made up, but at least we both know that we are indeed friends freed from external forces. We will meet up again, but not often since we are on opposite sides of the country.

I guess if you’re reading this I hope to help you think. If you’re young, be aware of things that can cause you to not speak to someone for years. Avoid those things if these people are important to you. Don’t lose decades.

If you’re a little older; and are bothered that a friendship or whatever that went to crap, if you know how to contact the other person (online or whatever) then do it. If the other person brushes you off, then whatever. Maybe try again in a couple years. Or maybe it was just meant to not be.

It just would have been a bummer my friend and I never decided to burn an evening just to talk, and to just make sure we both understood each other.

/lecture

Unfortunately, I was not at my desk when this wonderful gem happened. The video in the link is 12 minutes long, but it is gold.

It seems Matthew Bartlett felt the need to share his opinions on the Justice System or baby killers or maybe even seals (the furry things, not the Navy guys) by flipping off the court. To a video camera. That had him clearly in frame.

His excuse was basically “I’m sorry.” Not even Casey is dumb enough to try that one!

The judge tore him a new one for almost 10 minutes, then summarily sentenced him to six days in jail.

Matthew Bartlett (I feel his name should be recognized, that’s why I keep repeating it) works at TGIFridays. You may want to take this into consideration if your plans for the next week include this restaurant, because I think he’s going to have a few days off.

Now, we don’t know if Matthew Bartlett is a good server or not. I can only assume his is, and probably would much rather flip you off from the kitchen than spit in your food. Because spitting in your food would be nasty, and Matthew Bartlett is all class.

Now I do wonder if Matthew Bartlett has ever wrapped his dead baby in duct tape and thrown her in a swamp? That might be a question asked at his appeal for contempt of court.

A little advice if you want to voice an opinion: use a little-read blog and don’t be like Matthew Bartlett. Because more people have now heard of him than me, but I’m not in prison missing my shift at TGIFridays.

My yard is getting totally torn apart due to a patio getting put into the back yard at the wife’s request.  While I actually got her to hire someone as opposed to us digging up the yard ourselves, the dogs are either eating mud or embedding it in their paws.  This is another reason to have only indoor pets, like cats.  Or fish.

Our last vacation got us back into the mountain biking thing. And it also showed how pathetically out of shape we’ve let ourselves become. We have to get back in shape, since skiing is only about five months away.

So now we’re looking at satellite maps of the local area scouting out biking trails.  We have some good prospects if we’re not babies about that whole “trespassing” thing. I say trespassing is kind of like a tree falling in the woods. If the landowner doesn’t confront you with a shotgun, it never happened.

Since we’re preparing for the second vacation, we have a dog sitter again. He kind of knows what he is up against, but I’ll have to teach him the “proper” way to clean dog feet. The “proper” way is the way that doesn’t make my wife mad, of course. Even though we’ll be away from the house, I have a feeling she’ll be able to sense if the dogs are tracking mud all over the kitchen.

Wives are like that.