Thoughts of the now

I’ll talk about the following today:

• Academic Honesty
• Snow Based Hysteria

Academic Honesty

Question of the day:

You’re given an assignment. You’ve got to write an ethics essay. You wrote one two years ago for another class. Is it academically honest to reuse the paper? Why/Why Not?

Snow Based Hysteria

Having spent nearly all of my life south of Mason-Dixon, there’s nothing quite like watching fellow southerners respond to snow. This tweet sums it up pretty well:

Why do you need flour? If the power DOES go out, what r u planning on doing w/ it?

In case you’ve never experienced southern snow based hysteria – it’s amazing. It’s anarchy. Everyone’s preparing for Armageddon. Yes, we had an ice storm last year – many lessons were learned… but I seriously doubt the forecast justifies the wave of shopping that happened a couple of weeks ago. Watch the forecasts, people. Snow Forecasted != snowmygod / New Ice Storm. The big ice storm was pretty easy to see coming, remember:

See that purple and blue stuff? That’s what you need to be freaking out about.

Today’s Thoughts and Links

Today’s post covers the following:

• Security
• iPads
• Finances

Enjoy.

Security

A lot of my time awake lately has been dealing with Information Security. Some ponderings:

Privacy 2.0. You’re only as secure as your friends allow you to be. [link]

Interesting and very scary thought. Especially with what I’m seeing with Google’s Social Search. This is fairly disturbing to me. Friends: Please let me know if you see anything from my account on this and I’ll work on getting it removed.

The more interesting part of this is the derivation attacks that can occur with something like Google Social Search or Facebook.  In the 2008 election, Sarah Palin’s email account was hacked. From a Wired article:

As detailed in the postings, the Palin hack didn’t require any real skill. Instead, the hacker simply reset Palin’s password using her birthdate, ZIP code and information about where she met her spouse — the security question on her Yahoo account, which was answered (Wasilla High) by a simple Google search.

With regards to secret question/secret answer and sharing of gobs of data, according to how “friendly” I am with someone on Facebook, this is worrisome.

• What was the first school you attended?
• What’s the name of your first manager?
• What’s your first born nephew’s name?

With a little bit of elbow grease, some reasonable attempts could be made on almost every one of these answers. The problem is that Social APIs enable programmatic gathering of this data and focused attempts. Solution: Put in complete BS for secret questions & social networking; hope that you remember the BS and still have friends.

iPads

Long time readers should know that I was a fan of the tablet form factor six years ago. Pics here. It’s nice in niche environments but doesn’t really fit into everyday use.  The major change is that they’re using a touchscreen UI. All of the other “innovations” are just normal evolutions of software / hardware that happen over time (e.g., screen resolution, usability, better software).

See, in order for a device to be worth something it has to add more value than cost. Not just a status symbol or a cult mentality, but actually make life better without breaking the bank. Just like the already existent Windows based tablet PCs, the iPad is not going to be a value added experience for most people.

Things that a iPad/Kindle/eReader will have to do to REALLY add value:

• Better search across your entire library
• Like SERIOUSLY better search
• Better tagging/categorization for library items
• No DRM
• Have a true disruption in America’s telecommunications infrastructure; Large ISPS, AT&T’s and even Verizon’s data rates and support are absolutely ludicrous for the services provided

For about a year, the iPad should bring some good competition to the tablet industry for user experience and price. That’s A Good Thing™.  After the first year, the industry’s competitive reaction will depend if they’re making money.

Finances

I wanted to get tax out of the way. What are the readers using for taxes? I’ve been a Turbo Tax customer for many many years, I was wondering if there were any better choices out there.

Quick Post

I’m in two classes this semester, Information Security and Project Management. Both courses are going pretty well so far, but I must say I am definitely ready to finish up grad school this summer!

We had engagement pictures taken this weekend. If you really want to see them, find a way to contact me and I can show them to you when I get them. We also got to see the McCallum family and their newest addition.

A while back I debated on a focus for the bofe blog. I even created another blog where I put my virtualization related postings.

But I’m a technical person, so you’ll probably see some tech focused entries here and there. It’s not the end of the world; I’ll try and make them applicable to most readers.

Twitter n Junk

Yes, I use Twitter.

To get your questions out of the way:

Why? People I consider interesting use it

Do they care? They don’t necessarily consider me interesting

So no reciprocity? It isn’t Facebook; doesn’t matter

What do they post? Quality links, near real time news…

If I’m at the point where I’m pulling out my hair at work, I’ll post for help. It’s been helpful many times… much more helpful than IRC.

And that’s the kicker. Twitter is more helpful than IRC for quick problems or problems that have already been solved. I think it’s because of the character limit; you’re forced to word problems and solutions in a condensed way.

Restoring from your Windows 7 Backups

Restoring falls into one of two categories:

1. File level
2. Image level

File Level Restores

File level restores are for those times where you accidentally delete/change a file and you’ve found out you need a previous version. Don’t worry: Windows 7 and something called Volume Shadow Service (VSS) have your back.

How to use file level restores:

If the file still exists, right click on it and go to the “Previous Versions” tab. Here’s what the “Previous Versions” tab looks like on a write up I’m doing for school about BlueCross BlueShield and information security:

Select the file you want and copy, open, or restore. Copying is probably your best bet. Restoration will overwrite it. Opening the file just reads it from your backup.

Image Level Restores

There are a few good articles online on this topic. If your system is gone you’ll need your trusty backup, but you’ll also need a system repair disc.  Here are two great articles describing the process with pretty screenshots:

1. Working with System Image Backups in Windows 7
2. Restoring Windows 7 from a Backup System Image

Windows 7 Backup

“Cloud” backup sites like mozy and carbonite are untrusted & overpriced piles of crap. There are too many layers of complexity in the process and too many places for it to fail.

I can’t stress the importance of backups and TESTING your backups.

You’ve got a couple of options:

1. Invest some time & money into backups
2. Don’t back anything up
3. Don’t put digitize anything that you really care about

Step 1: Install Windows 7, preferably a version with BitLocker capabilities.  (Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions have BitLocker)

Step 2: Get another hard drive.

How big of a drive do you need? It depends. I’m using about 280 GB of space on my two drives, but my backup takes 130GB. I am sure this will grow over time. Most users will not need anything more than a 320GB Western Digital Passport. ($80 from Newegg.com)

There are other options that are much cheaper. One is setting up drive enclosures and using normal hard drives, another is using network attached storage. The setup is up to you, but it doesn’t get much simpler than plugging in a Western Digital Passport.

Step 3: Configure Windows Backup and Restore

• Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
• Type the word “Backup” into the search bar.
• Select “Backup and Restore” and press enter
• Back up your system image and important folders (like your “Libraries” folder, anything else you value)
• Schedule the backup for a time that you are not at your computer, but you are sure it is turned on. The most common conflict is with a Windows Update configuration. If Windows Update is installing an update or rebooting your system, Windows Backup will not work. Use common sense here.
• Watch the Action Center – it will inform you when your backups fail. If your backup fails, you can’t restore. That’s a bad thing.

Step 4 (optional): Encrypt your backups

If someone steals your drive your data can be accessed by the thief. Encryption in Windows 7 is simple. Go to My Computer and right click “Turn on BitLocker”. Pick a good key; keep it in yet another location that is protected in case you forget your key. Turning on BitLocker takes a long time (7.5 hours for me on a beast of a PC) so be patient.

After BitLocker is turned on, right click the drive again and select “Manage BitLocker”. You want to “turn on automatic unlocking on this for this drive on this computer”. This means you don’t have to re-enter your key.

What this plan doesn’t protect against: fires and other home-destroying events.  If your data is important enough to you, use this process manually to a drive that you want to place in a fire proof safe or a safe deposit box.

Next post: How to do a restore.

Oversubscribed

KC Lemson (The User Experience Manager for Microsoft Exchange) said this:

Frustrated since I only have room for 4 of these in my life: Work, Family, A Clean Home, Gaming, Sleep, Exercise.

My list is Work, Family, A Clean Apartment, School, Sleep, Exercise.

What’s your list?

My goal for the semester: do well in classes, but don’t be so competitive. Do well at work, but don’t work too hard. Overall, just try and do less.

I forgot to mention it on here, but I’m now serving as a Faculty Advisor for the fraternity I was  a part of during college.  The guys are great – and it keeps me a little in touch with something I miss very much: music.

Worst Part of the Winter

The worst part of the winter isn’t incessant Christmas music,

it isn’t the salt on the roads making cars filthy,

it isn’t the end of NFL football,

it isn’t even the horrendous cold.

It’s this: if I want to go out and have a drink (or associate with anyone who wants to have a drink) in this town, I have to shower before I go to bed. I also have to wash all of my clothes (including the winter gear) before the using it again.

Smokers: Please pick a more considerate hobby.

Phoenix Rising

The blog is back.

Things that have happened since I posted last:

• I got engaged
• I posted a 2009 Year In Review
• I finished another semester of graduate school (4.0)

Other Blog Breaks: Feb2002-June2002, July2002-November2002, December2002-April2003.

The motivation to restart the blog was by a friend of mine, Tim.  I made a bet, he’s kept his end of the deal… so I have to keep my end of the deal.

Here comes the posts…

Not Just a List… My Top 10 Songs of 2009

Nickel Creek is one of my favorite bands. I have a smart playlist on iTunes set up for them, automatically shuffling and repeating.

Each one of these songs links to TinySong, powered by GrooveShark.

1. Nickel Creek – When You Come Back Down
2. Nickel Creek – Reasons Why
3. Nickel Creek – When In Rome

4. Nickel Creek – Smoothie Song

5. Phish – Fly Famous Mockingbird

I can’t say I’ve been a Phish fan for decades. This song serves as a good introduction into the Phish Universe. Yes, there’s an entire universe. The band has an unmatched range with composition, improvisation and live shows.

6. Nickel Creek – Can’t Complain
7. Nickel Creek – Somebody More Like You

This song is one of the ones that really got me into Nickel Creek. The band has some local ties (Chris Thile lived in Murray and attended Murray State in the 90s) but they also produce some really cool moments.

I remember first listening to this song on my stereo with the bass turned up and nearly falling over when this part came on:

The light solos that decrescendo are a very nice touch.

8. Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
9. Nickel Creek – This Side

This song speaks for itself. There’s a little bit of everything: wild picking, homage to Jungle Boogie and some awesome lyrics.

As the last song on this list, I’d be remiss to not include the cover of Radiohead’s Morning Bell done by Nickel Creek singer Chris Thile:

10. Tool – Jambi

After the voice box guitar solo, this song goes from amazing to plain ridiculous!

Try to keep up with the pattern in this part:

From a Tool Tab site:

Crazy part. Learn the pattern from the start and its a piece of cake.

The band says it wasn’t morse code.

SUBJECT: 3:40 OF JAMBI

Q: “On listening to Jambi, I was perplexed with the counting of the (sort of) transitional part of the song that occurs at 3:40. After mapping out the rhythm and trying to make sense of it, I noticed that it writes out ‘3, 2, 1′ twice in Morse code. Is this just a coincidence, or a sweet find by me?”

A: The whole “Morse code” thing before the album was released was a certain time signature used in “Jambi.” I hope this helps.