November 02, 2003
Weekend Events
The weekend has been a blast so far. Not even a dead car and missed date can keep me down.
Friday was, of course, the NSA meeting with James Carter (no, not that James Carter, though this one also has micromanagement down pat).
Our James Carter works on SELinux.
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| James gives us some old answers |
These kinds of lectures are always a bit embarassing to go to. For one, the lecture had no real content, just the overview fluff that you can read on the above-linked FAQ. Secondly, there were some really stupid questions asked by the audience. Oh, wait, did I say that? There's no such as a stupid question. But there is such a thing as retarded people that talk too much.
Anyway, after the SeLinux thing, I disassembled the front end of my car and determined that the inner CV Joint is rotted. This is really weird, as it's usually the outers that go first. It's going to be hard to find, NAPA doesn't even carry the outers, it turns out. I'm a bit bummed...I might have to take it someplace after all.
Since that was bad news, I decided to hit up the Symphony, sans Lauie. The car being broken turned out to not be a problem here, as the Civic Center is a 10-minute walk from my apartment!
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| Ah, the orhcestra |
There is something electrical about the moment that the concertmaster comes on stage and things wind up. No recording could quite grab that light-dimming string-singing horn-blowing moment.
After the concert it was more party-going with the Megan, Kate, and Beth gang. We dressed up, again, and went clubbing.
Saturday was schoolwork all morning. Yeah, that sucks. An afternoon bike ride, followed by a meeting with James to collect some CDs and a good cup of chai, followed by a film project...
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| The set of a porno |
Actually, Megan rented out a hotel suite to shoot the movie in. We were assigned to be extras in the "party scene." We were all having to act quite drunk; a feat seeing as how I'm still on the mend from all last week's partying.
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| The woman herself: Megan directing us to 'dance like you mean it' |
So far so good. The rest of the week will be bad, though...many many projects due again. On the sort of plus side, I won't have time to fix my car this week, so I won't be burning any more fossil fuels...
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Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
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Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
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The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009