NoShut.com

Three+ Things I learned at SANS 2010 Today

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:24:29 +0100

Three+ things I learned at SANS 2010 (Legal Track) today:
1. Appropriately vague or tentative language is not a bad thing in security policies. What is the risk of writing a �must� into a policy, not delivering on the promise, then having to testify about your lack of enforcement in court or answer to it in a public forum?

2. Any effort to provide due care is better than no effort at all (e.g. having a security policy vs. not having one due to lack of enforcement concerns). Negligence when common sense states that there was a easy solution is bad - especially to a judge or jury.

3. Disclaimers, Terms of Service, and things like login banners should be used whenever possible. Words are cheap, and can save your ass.

4. Handling a legal issue in the wrong way can turn into a PR nightmare. Decisions to take legal action should be ran through a PR filter to make sure it won�t stink when your opponents take their argument to the Internet.

Great class so far, loving the material and providing new perspectives.

Free iTunes Apps

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:37:42 +0100

Being the Thanksgiving/Black Friday I took a look for the currently discounted to free iTunes apps (apps that are discounted to zero, but didn't appear to be apps that just bounce up from paid to free all the time).

Here is the list I created tonight:

Current Free Apps:
Sip-N-Store
doubledrop
Lucha Libre Matchup
iSoroban
Creepytown
Perdiemcalc
TweetL
Squeezer
Super Shock Football
Burning Man 2008
Indian Snacks (veg)
Arcade Hockey
Flit
FAce It!
Vocaform
Wash Tub Bass
Galleryify!
Formalogy
Recipes with Conversions
Bug Eat Grass
UpNext 3D Cities
Ink
Christmas Fun Bells
Easy Sale Price Pro
Scare my Puppy - Dog Whistle
Dweebs
Flashlights
iCrossFingers
Blutalk - Bluetooth chat app
Snow Queen - comic book
Post - Twitter app
Pocket Paradise -- soundscape creator
Urinals: The Game
Hot Dog Down a Hallway
FlickTunes
AAA Watch
Baby Animals - A encyclopedia game
Pudge
Color Converter
iChing 2go
An Android's Odyssey
Tides of War
Rocket Bird
Coffee Order
Bubble Trouble
GoParking
DronEze
DodgeDot
Mood Mouse -- Remote control computer App
CA Sales Control
Escape I
Bugs Bubble
Besieged

GCI iPhone Data / MMS Settings

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:34:46 +0100

Here are the settings I have found to work on the iPhone 3GS on the GCI (www.gci.com) Alaska cellular network. Note that my phone is running 3.1.2 installed using a Pwnagetool firmware bundle and 5.11 baseband w/ the Blacksn0w patch to carrier unlock it.

Note that after setting the settings for MMS, you should reboot the phone, then test.

Settings > General > Cellular Data Network > MMS
APN: mms.gci
MMSC: http://mmsc.gci.csky.us:6672/
MMS Proxy: 209.4.229.92:9201

Cellular Data Settings (Same tab in preferences):
APN: web.gci

All other fields should be left blank. At this time 3G data should be disabled.

If you need tethering or other profiles they can be downloaded at:
http://help.benm.at/help.php

10 Months In � The Lasik Experience

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:38:58 +0100

Seeing clearly has changed my life. Reversed childhood trauma from being a geek, caused me to re-live my teenage life with all those girlfriends that I never had, it is the fountain of youth, a winning lottery ticket and the capability to live for all eternity, much like a vampire with a ready supply of victims.

Alright, maybe that is a bit of a exaggeration but the Lasik surgery was still excellent money spent.

The Good News:

-Vision is 20/20. My drivers license now has no restrictions.

-I�ve completely adjusted to not having glasses. No more reaching for them in the morning or feeling naked without them. About 3 months ago I donated all of my used pairs to charity (there are drop boxes in many prescription glasses stores).

-My Televisions/Computer Monitors are still noticeably larger than they were when I was wearing high-diopter glasses. Right now I can see a 46� LCD and it looks at least 5� bigger than it did before vision correction.

-My night vision is about equal to before. I traded big fuzz-ball headlights for slightly different looking snowflake-style headlights. I can see how people would report that their night vision worsened but in my case the degradation was about a equal trade to how it was before the procedure.

The Bad News:

-Occasional Dry Eye � I use drops every 1-2 weeks depending on the weather (read: humidity) and how much I ride my motorcycle or do other high airflow/low humidity activities such as fly on airplanes or drive with air conditioning on high. This isn�t much of a issue or concern, I just carry some instant tears somewhere in one of my bags when I travel or when riding. As of this writing it has been 2+ weeks since I used instant tears.

Normally the dry eye manifests itself as slight discomfort in one or both of my eyes and some blurriness. If one of my eyes has been dry for several hours it won�t focus quite right until I give it a break or lube it.

-I can tell I�ll need reading glasses one day. Before the surgery I was starting to notice it was hard to read small fonts on high-resolution screens (dang all that getting old stuff). After the surgery it�s more noticeable. I�ll contemplate in the future whether to always buy the highest resolution screen possible on new laptops I purchase. Ctrl-+/Command-+ to enlarge fonts in browsers is a godsend.

-My eyes get tired easier than they used to. At a certain point of night I can keep going, but my eyeballs (normally just one of them unless I�m REALLY tired) starts to tell me to shut them for a bit by getting a bit uncomfortable. I can avoid this issue if I can find 10-15 minutes to close my eyes after work. Usually it�s about 10-11PM when they are telling me to go to bed or at least take a break.

The Verdict:

Still some of the best money I�ve spent. After posting the last Lasik post I started assembling a list of the best and worst things I�ve spent money on for another blog post, other than long-term investments such as retirement and buying a home it�s the top of the list of best money spent. In addition, all my childhood emotional scarring has been healed, and that is what really counts :^).

Lasik - 3 Month Check-Up

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:15:03 +0100

Went in for my three month check-up on Wednesday this week, Dr. said my eyes were looking good. As a whole I�m using my eye drops less and less, although I tend to still put drops in three times a day or so, usually when I wake up (flush them out), once often sometime during the day, usually right after work, then before I go to bed. I find that by doing it this way my eyes never get all gunked up.

I still turn off overhead lights while sitting in rooms alone or close blinds (still getting Hermit jokes at work :^)) to keep glare down, but I no longer am irritated by glare, it�s just more comfortable to work without the little glare that is left.

Car defrosters (or any vents that blow air directly onto your face) are perhaps the worst now, they will dry my eyes out really fast. I tend to use vent modes that put air as far away from my head as possible unless it is needed to defrost the main windshield or keep things from fogging up and in that case I�ll do what I can to prevent the air from hitting me in the face.

Eyesight is 20/20ish in one eye and 20/25ish in the other most of the time (seems to shift a bit depending on how moist they are), plenty acceptable. No need for additional correction at this time.

Still happy with the decision to have it done? Yup, still some of the best money I�ve spent. Next year�s event � immunotherapy for all the stuff I�m allergic to (17 of 39 things they tested me for I respond at a moderate or higher level) to try to numb up my allergies and make Alan dog friendly.

Alan Stuff to Acquire/Gift/Stuff List

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 10:03:08 +0100

Since it is that time of year when people start asking what you want for Xmas/Yule/Birthdays/Groundhog Day I am putting my list online. This is really just a extension of a list I maintain of "Stuff Alan Wants" so many of the items are far out of gift price range, but this is a easy way to keep the list up to date. At least this list doesn't include the Shelby Mustang with 600HP :^).

Motorized Bicycle Kit
--------------
Freeloader Solar Charger
--------------
Aluminum Hard-Side Wallet
--------------
Exposed Flip Clock
--------------
A T-Shirt that says "Paddle Faster, I hear Banjos".
--------------
Dead Space Xbox 360 Game
---------------
Settlers of Catan board game with any random expansions.
--------------
Any Carcassonne expansions I don't have.
--------------
Xbox Elite
--------------
Mac Mini
--------------
Cool or Nifty Watches
--------------
Sunglasses that won't look like garbage on me :^)
--------------
The 30% my 401k has lost during 2008..
---------------
Gift Cards from:
Wal-Mart
Fred Meyer
Bestbuy
Gamestop
Kit's Cameras
Gotschalks
Costco :^)
Amazon.com
Thinkgeek.com
-----------------
A set of good quality Binoculars
-----------------
Cool LED-based lights... Mathmos is one example of a manufacturer.
-----------------
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens - ~330
-----------
Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash� ~270
---------------
Chumby ~180
---------------
MyKey RFID Door Lock - ~350
------------------
Mathmos Light - ~90
----------------
Neat Receipts Scanner for Mac - ~180
---------------
Drobo 2nd Generation Storage Appliance ~400
--------------
Canon EF 28MM f/1.8 USM Lens ~400
--------------
Surveillence Camera Kit w/ network support - ~400 through ~800
Examples:
Costco Site 1
or
Costco Site 2

One Month Post Lasik

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:09:56 +0100

The summary: Still the best money I�ve ever spent. My life has changed significantly. Weird how little things make all the difference, plus, my TV and monitors all gained significant size now that I�m not looking at them through glasses (they look at least 20% bigger). I�m considering it a free size upgrade with my vision correction.

1 Month Check-Up Exam:
20/20ish. Right eye is a little weaker than the left, but my brain is now doing a much better job of �stitching� the images from my eyes together so that I don�t notice the blur line in my vision and lack of extreme focus in one eye unless I look for it. The last week I haven�t found myself shutting my right eye while looking at things I need to focus on. The doctor said everything looked healthy, next check-up is at 3 months. Mental note � my doctors office has better snacks on Thursday and Friday (surgery day and post-surgery day :P).

Eye health observations:
1. Vision is great most of the day. My eyes still wear out much sooner than they used to when I wore glasses (usually by 6-8PM I need to close my eyes for 10-20 minutes), but my endurance is still improving gradually. Combined vision is around 20/20. I now force myself to read from 1.5+ feet away, occasionally I�ll find myself holding a book like 8� from my face to read and will notice only when my eyes start hurting from trying to focus that close up (prior to the surgery I could only focus from 0-6 inches or so from my eyes).

2. I�m using eyedrops 1-3 times a day right now. The higher the humidity in the places I�m hanging out in the less I need to use them. I�ve been running a humidifier or boiling water the majority of the time when I�m home to keep the humidity up in my house. Note that it is now Alaska in the winter, so I�m lucky to get my house to 35-40%. Only a month ago it was closer to 60% I could sustain.

3. Overhead light glare is still nasty. I keep my office lights off most of the time at work and turn off most overhead lights in the house if I�m just hanging out. My doctor said it would be 3-6 months before that problem would be gone.

4. Night vision isn�t bad, no worse than with contacts, I would say it�s a very similar experience for me. Headlights have big halos but nothing unmanageable.

5. I don�t worry about my eyes anymore, I don�t rub them other than very gently (I don�t know that that will ever change) and use drops to rinse out eyelashes, dust, etc. but it�s clear I no longer need to be overly concerned about watching out to touch them.

6. I wash my face 3-4 times a day, every day. This keeps me from getting stinging in my eyes due to concentrated tear salt over the day.

7. Sunglasses everywhere! I keep sunglasses with me almost all the time. Anytime I�m outdoors during the day or sunset/dusk I�m usually wearing them. This relates to the glare issue above.

Not bad for someone going from 8.5-9.5 diopters in correction to no correction at all.

Alan's Political Meandering over the Presidential Race

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:43:33 +0100

(This is from a email I sent earlier) For those of you who haven't seen The Economist endorsed Obama (I saw this initially on twitter from Josh). Link

I'm a bit shocked to see the Economist endorsing Obama outright, but as a true on-the-fence voter (less so once Palin was nominated as VP candidate - bad choice IMO - I thought she was a great governor, but not qualified to run the country) I had many of the same concerns regarding both candidates that they brought up.

I've spent several hours watching debates, reading about the candidates, comparing their views (sites like procon.org, etc.) and trying to get a good feel but after reading The Economist article I know I'm not alone. I want McCain's experience but could live without the recent overt pandering to the religious right - such as during one of the debates where he not only brought up Abortion, but then pounded it into the ground as something he was firm on. It appeared to me he was trying to rally the religious base, which turned me off since I always saw John McCain as a person of reason, not of party lines.

If the John McCain of the past was running he would have had my vote, but the John McCain currently running feels fake. He's less John McCain and more "I mean change.. as long as it's the party line". Between this, and the Palin choice I think he's compromised too far on his positions and gone from being someone different and refreshing to the same old republican stooge. Early on I saw him getting squishy on his approach and hoped he would do the right things once in office, but now I don't think I can take that chance with his recent messaging.

As for Obama I want to support "Hope" and "Change" but at the same time he doesn't seem to stand on solid ground or want to make commitments regarding what Hope/Change entails when he must take action once in office. Too much feeling, not enough direct statement about what he's going to do. I don't like candidates that will not take positions and Obama hedges too much when answering questions. The biggest one for me is balancing the federal budget. The government will need to continue to pour money into the economy for the next few years to get everything stable but a President Obama should be able to say that by the time he leaves office he will have worked within the government to balance the budget. The biggest issue I see is that many of his views feel good on the surface, but come with very steep price tags with no statement about how he is going to fund them. He states that we need to use a scalpel when determining what costs to eliminate vs. an axe and won't commit to cutting the deficit. How the heck is he going to fund the hundreds of billions in programs he is proposing without taking the money from somewhere else? I dunno, and I suspect that at this point neither does he. Combine this view with having the house/senate be Democrat and you could break the federal piggy bank, nationalize/regulate a ton more services and take away your guns all in the same term.

One thing that has been appealing for me is that Obama has people coming out of the woodwork to support him. With a average contribution of <$100 that is saying something about who and how many people believe in Obama, including according to the polls I have seen the rest of the world. Having a president people and other nations believe in isn't such a bad thing.

So it's a choice for me - vote for someone that I'm hoping will turn back into someone I feel I can trust once he's in office, or get on the Hope and Change bandwagon and see if someone with relatively little experience will grow into a president we can be proud of.

I guess I miss the "Straight talk express" and due to it's absence I'm thinking Obama will get my vote.. -Alan

Post-Lasik Weeks 2-3

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:36:21 +0100

Overall my vision is excellent. Clarity is good and now my dry eye only seems to happen if I spend time in big box stores or staring at things like computer monitors for more than half an hour at a time. I no longer need to be super gentle with my eyes, I now function as I did pre-lasik but try not to rub them very hard or often.

I�ve reached the point where having good vision is natural, although I still reach for my glasses in the morning often. My brain still interprets the correction as some sort of corrective lenses so I find myself wanting to keep old glasses and the like although there isn�t a chance of me ever needing that strong of prescription again (combined correction of 8.5-9.5 diopters in each eye).

Some observations from my Lasik experience:
1. Fix for stinging eyeballs after the last 3-4 days - I found that I was being so careful with my eyes that they were becoming saturated with salt. Start washing your face with your eyes closed (just splash water on your face gently) a few times a day after the first 3 or 4 days or if you get serious stinging that doesn�t seem to be cured by drops.

2. Wear your protective eyewear at night after the first week, I went about 10 days before I broke my glasses but it was clear that it helped keep me from rubbing them. I�ve caught myself a few times since I stopped wearing them.

3. If you are uncomfortable just hanging out in your home boost the humidity a bit. I boil water and run a humidifier regularly. It tends to make my eyes much more comfortable.

To summarize my Lasik experience so far:
The best money I�ve ever spent. Period. Even if it cost twice as much, the best money ever spent, although at double I wouldn�t have ever of spent it to find out. My life has changed - in the shower I now see where the shampoo bottle is, when I get up I can see things on the floor to see if I�m going to trip, I can now look across the room at the cable box for the time when I wake up at night, things more than 4� from my face are in focus (now things 4� from my face are out of focus, takes about 6� to be in focus). For someone who spent their life with terrible vision the quality of life gained is huge.

I placed my head against my camera�s viewfinder today and realized �hey, now I don�t bump my glasses against my camera when looking into the viewfinder�� it�s the little things that make all the difference.

Post-Lasik Days 5-8

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:59:12 +0100

Each day my vision is getting a bit more robust/endurance is better My clarity is good but I�m still getting a lot of halo effects around lights and my sensitivity to glare is huge. Any overhead lights in a room will eventually stress my eyes so even around the house and in my office I am wearing slightly tinted safety glasses, so far I�ve mostly been compared to Elvis or a nightclub attendee :^). The best set I�ve found for around the house use that cut the glare and even out light sources a bit are these: Lowe's Safety Glasses

When I�m outdoors for any length of time during the day I switch to fully tinted wrap-around sunglasses and am now wearing a hat quite a bit of the time, which do the trick.

After about 30-60 minutes of driving I am getting severe pain in my right eye and it starts watering like crazy, when I was at the doctors office he said that was probably due to bruising and muscle/tendon issues. At night it takes a much shorter period than during the day. I've posted a picture Dave took of my eyeball the other day while fooling around if you want to see how much damage was still apparent a week after the procedure: Alan Eyeball

As long as I don�t stare at anything for any length of time, wear glare-reducing glasses, limit my driving and lube my eyes 4-6 times a day I�m in good shape. I could be considered fully functional at this point for daily activities. I think within another 1-2 weeks I�ll be at 100% at this rate.

I am still wearing my red baron/snoopy glasses at night, mostly to keep the moisture close to my eyeballs and keep me from rubbing them. If anything this entire lasik exercise has caused me to dramatically change how I treat my eyes (no more rubbing, etc.).

Am I still happy with my Lasik? Yup, even at retail cost it is still some of the best money spent during my adult life.