Happily Ever 3X09_3X10

Random update night

I started writing on RSA Conference and the fairly useless event it seems to have become. I ended up just posting random updates to some other posts.

• Can't turn Finger off now
• Advanced Persistent Whodunit
• The new hawtness (or three blurps)
• Big game hunting and tea

And if you want to know what's going on at RSA then just pay attention to the #BSides. This trend to have an anti-conference in parallel is something you've just gotta love. -Pk

Extreme RVing to the Volcano

OK.. I honestly don't know what makes me chuckle curiously longer; Extreme RVing or Volcano Surfing?

When I saw a Unimog in real life that was rather, umm, entertaining. I spent a few summers driving Hummers and I thought that was a bit much. When I saw an active Volcano I considered BBQ but not boarding. -Pk

[ I'm in the process of rebuilding a laptop and a storage array after a minor battery fire event. I'm a little steamed which made me think of a Volcano which made me think of how to drive to one and yyeeaahh.. -Pk ]

What did I tell you?

Now the Press is all over the French-Russian throwback connection. And dollars-to-donuts it won't matter because the rest of the world is still impotent (even more-so now) to do anything about it. On top of it France will be buying Soyuz rockets and support. And Russia is playing some energy sector re-privatization with a French assist.

In parallel the Russian consolidation of the Former Soviet space continues with Kazakhstan.

The year of the Tiger? Nope.. it's the year of the Bear. Again. -Pk

O'Reilly just rocked your world

O'Reilly is one of my favorite publishers for their innovation and support of the open source and security communities. And their principled stance on eBooks, while keeping them off the Kindle, is good seasoning by me too.

And now they've brought continuous publishing to fruition through their Live Editions.

I'll say it again... Amazon and Skiff need to get together with O'Reilly and bring an era of eBook peace and harmony to the world. Cue music, lights, fog machines, and clouds. Cheers, -Pk

Militainment

Foreign Policy is right on my heals with "Meet the Sims... and Shoot Them"..

It's alright, I'll forgive P.W. Singer this time (only).

"The real danger of militainment, though, might be in how it risks changing the perceptions of war. "You lose an avatar; just reboot the game," is how Ken Robinson, the Special Forces veteran who produced Army 360, put it in Training & Simulation Journal. "In real life, you lose your guy; you've lost your guy. And then you've got to bury him, and then you've got to call his wife.""

So head on over and give it a complete read. It's a nice small supplement to my blog post *grin*. -Pk

Big game hunting and tea

• Some old colleagues of mine have a domesticated White Rhino that they deal with on a regular basis. Odd for Security guys, right? Well, they're looking for Big Game control and safety and that got me thinking about a Westley Richards 470 Nitro Express, Federal Ammunition, Trijicon AccuPoint scope, SCI, and Cabela's.
• I'm going to live in a log home one day. Preferably a day really soon. And while the wood and rustic appeal is obvious to me I didn't ever think I'd be considering concrete logs. No, you didn't read that wrong.
• I've taken a solid beating this past year and coaching has been suggested a few times. My immediate thought was all the Anthony Robbins stuff I used to see and hear. Which reminds me of the telemarketer that kept calling trying to sell me a Tony Robbins package to some resort in Fiji he runs. Anyway, Feroce was recommended so I may look into it. Some of y'all know me, tell me if I've lost my remaining marble.
• Lately I've been bombarded by Vegetarians and Vegans. I guess my Juvo consumption has started giving off some sort of vegetable energy. So I'm going to get the meanest formula from Protein Factory to undo the damage.
• Some people pursue advanced degrees in Physics. Some in Theology. Why not bend both around the axle and go for Witchcraft at Sacred Mists? They have a quaint little online shoppe too.
• AND A CALM NOT YELLING IN CAPS LOCK REMINDER TO PARTICIPATE IN FINDING ADA!!!

And I for one am glad the Winter Olympics are over. Ice boxing and curling aren't my cup'o'tea. Speaking of tea I think it's time for some. -Pk

[ UPDATE 03032010: It's that time of year and hunting is on my mind even thought I don't expect to do any soon. However, here are some other vendor recommendations for y'all.. Envelope makes the best soft-cases for rifles and shotguns hands-down, MILITEC-1 lubricants need to be considered (for firearms *cough*), Limbsaver makes a great shirt for serious recoil management, EAR makes solid static and dynamic hearing protection products, HEYM makes much more affordable big-bore solutions, and Red-I makes the best laser bore sighting tool on the market. Yes, I'm opinionated but I'm not wrong. Often. At least 50% of the time. Except with my wife. Yeah.. -Pk ]

Armchair General

I first looked at Kuma\War a few years ago and thought it was an interesting and motivating idea. Kuma\War's hook is that is uses real modern-day news and field reports for missions. Recently I spent some time with a soldier who had returned from his second tour in Iraq and was hoping to be deployed to Afghanistan. He was telling me about this game that "really brought back memories and motivated me to get back early with my brothers" that his sister had introduced him to. He spent a solid hour spilling about emotions and game-play and actual events he experienced. Eventually he told me it was indeed Kuma\War that he had been playing.

I'm not a gamer in the least but Kuma\War and Age of Conan have me debating whether I should be. And in terms of Kuma\War I've already been a fan of reading and solving situations out of Armchair General. However, this chance encounter with this soldier (who I will call "Billy") got me thinking about other issues along the lines of "On Combat" and "On Killing". Billy was really showing signs of anguish, he was crying, he was laughing, he was vibrating with an energy I can't even describe.

I understand gaming as a recruitment tool and Kuma\War isn't alone in that category. It's the effects this has during downtime and in the field that make me curious. Billy clearly wasn't unwinding and even attempting a normal life during his leave. And he even mentioned how he would love to be part of a mission that was featured in the game. Is that what you want a soldier thinking about going into battle? Or an Officer thinking about planning operations? For a few minutes after Billy was done speaking I couldn't respond as those potential situations played out in my head. It wasn't pretty. -Pk

[ I don't like using multiple categories for some reason but this post really needed it. -Pk ]

[ UPDATE 02282010: In terms of "should be" I meant I'd really like to play those games. -Pk ]

WTB dual-SIM BlackBerry

As dual-SIM phones creep onto the market I'm really hoping to see a native BlackBerry that supports dual-SIMs. And a single carrier willing to provide both domestic and international numbers. Namely I'd love to see Verizon and Vodafone partner to provide the US/UK jet-set crowd with a phone that supports having both a US and UK number natively and functioning simultaneously.

In the meantime what is the state-of-art dual-SIM phone today? And does anybody know of a carrier that offers consolidated US/UK numbers managed under the same plan and bill? T-Mobile was my best hope and they basically said their US and UK divisions don't even talk to each other. Reassuring. -Pk

Leather and Stoneware

I'm really particular about my drinking vessels. I have favorites, I hand-wash them.. gently. I coddle them and I put them in the same place at the same angle everyday after use. Yes, I'm obsessive about my drinking vessels. I need exactly two at all times. One for tea/coffee/cocoa and one for everything else.

Enter Ralph Nuara and Chris Hardwick...

Nuara makes big beefy solid beautiful stoneware that I'm convinced Indiana Jones would fight to get to. Hardwick makes throwback leather vessels that allow me to speak in medieval tongues. And I'm a big fan of handmade everything so Etsy and Zibbet shops get what scraps of money I have. -Pk

Dnscat keeping me company

When my spirits are down nothing quite perks me up like a neat new tool. And today *sniffle* I needed the boost granted me by Dnscat. Ron, I owe you a beer and a chest bump *tap tap*. -Pk