Since my last post, I've kegged the Oktoberfest and it's carbonating fine.
The Belgian though.. oh those Belgians.. sometimes they can be easy, and sometimes they can be a pain. It doesn't help that I tried to use the tripple/trippel method for the first time.
Last week I transferred it into another carboy to begin the 'third fermentation' cycle. On Tuesday, it was still under heavy krausen and bubbling away at the airlock.
Last night I transferred it to my big (6.5 gal) carboy once more to try to get it to settle out and to check the gravity.
This beer:
Original Gravity: 1.086
Gravity at secondary racking: 1.018
Gravity at tertiary racking: 1.011
Gravity at quadriary racking: 1.008 (!!)
At this point, this is a quadrippel ale, which is not what I intended, but clearly I over-sugared it.
I didn't really believe that quadriary gravity, so I took three readings and averaged. It's lost a lot of body.
As of this morning, the krausen had finally fallen and the beer is starting to look clear. Hopefully the mid-day warmth (I've moved it out of the cottage and into the laundry room, which will not stay as temp-stable) doesn't cause activity to resume.
Given the calculations, currently this is 10.31% ABV - one of the strongest (but not THE strongest) beers I've brewed.
I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm a little concerned that it's going to be thin and harsh.
Makes me consider blending...
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
state of the brew
I've been busy lately - work is scary as always, hardware issues from our supplier have made life more interesting than is tolerable, and the next generation machines that we're evaluating look promising, but since we're seeking quotes from all-new suppliers, it makes for an uncertain future.
However, that's of less importance than the current State of the Brew!
For the first time in a long time, I have a surplus of beer.
I've been brewing for a few good reasons:
A) I'm in the process of building a HERMs brewery, so I wanted to be rid of all my extract to make room for the all-grain future!
2) I'm planning an open house to celebrate the new place and thought it might as well be an Octoberfestish event.
***) I wanted to see if the back house got cool enough to brew a lager without using refrigeration (it does!)
0100) I have three kegs, and I recently bought a three way gas manifold - it doesn't make sense to have less ready when the equipment is there, does it?
So - I currently have three beers in various states:
1) Irish Red Ale - KEGGED!:
IBU: 39
Original gravity*: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV: 5.1%
This is my first attempt at a Killian's clone type of beer. It's a very drinkable beer, not too high in alcohol or hops, nice color, good clarity, but a little thin for my tastes. I'll leave it up to the Irish Ale enthusiasts to see how close I got to the style.
This was a partial extract brew on the stovetop - like just about everything else I've done over the past 6-7 years. I used all the same methods I've used over the years with this one (including the sink full of ice and a bucket method of cooling the wort prior to pitching.)
* The original gravity was artificially selected. Normally I'd mix and mash and record the final gravity instead of mashing and then mixing until I reached a particular number, but this particular batch had some problems..
For some reason, despite mashing at 150* for almost two hours, I still got starch when I tested for it, so I never fully converted the grain component. I even ramped up to 165* for about 15 mins to try to 'mash out' before adding the extract, but I still had some residual starch. I was worried that this would produce a cloudy, weak beer. That didn't happen, fortunately, but I did reserve some of the extra water, yielding a bit more than 4 gallons instead of the usual 5 to get an ABV over 5% (I know anything over 3.5% is safe, but I know I'll be keeping this around for a couple of months so I wanted to keep it above 5% for the sake of shelf stability.)
I've tasted it since then, and it's a fine beer. Not my best, and it's unlikely to win any contests, but I'll still be happy to drink it.
2) Oktoberfest style lager - in secondary
IBU: 24
Original gravity: 1.056
Gravity after primary fermentation: 1.013
Current ABV: 5.64%
This was the first beer to be put through my ice-fed recirculating wort chiller.
There are pictures HERE.
With an ABV this high and a german lager yeast working on it, I doubt there's very much fermentation still happening in this beer, but it's settling out and waiting to be kegged this weekend.
And finally..
3) Belgian style trippel - in secondary (will move to tertiary for third cycle ferment soon)
IBU: 24
Original gravity: 1.086 (!!)
Gravity after primary: 1.018
Current ABV: 9.0%
I plan to ferment this beer three times. I actually pitched a new strain of champagne yeast when I transferred to secondary. It's very possible that this yeast, along with the attenuation of my original strain of rocket-fuel inspiring yeast that I've been cultivating, that this could reach 11 or 12% ABV.
There was still krausen on top of the beer when I moved it to secondary. I left the krausen behind though in favor of the new yeast.
This one could be interesting, or it might just be a dried out husk of a beer that's become potent enough to power my car. We shall see..
However, that's of less importance than the current State of the Brew!
For the first time in a long time, I have a surplus of beer.
I've been brewing for a few good reasons:
A) I'm in the process of building a HERMs brewery, so I wanted to be rid of all my extract to make room for the all-grain future!
2) I'm planning an open house to celebrate the new place and thought it might as well be an Octoberfestish event.
***) I wanted to see if the back house got cool enough to brew a lager without using refrigeration (it does!)
0100) I have three kegs, and I recently bought a three way gas manifold - it doesn't make sense to have less ready when the equipment is there, does it?
So - I currently have three beers in various states:
1) Irish Red Ale - KEGGED!:
IBU: 39
Original gravity*: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV: 5.1%
This is my first attempt at a Killian's clone type of beer. It's a very drinkable beer, not too high in alcohol or hops, nice color, good clarity, but a little thin for my tastes. I'll leave it up to the Irish Ale enthusiasts to see how close I got to the style.
This was a partial extract brew on the stovetop - like just about everything else I've done over the past 6-7 years. I used all the same methods I've used over the years with this one (including the sink full of ice and a bucket method of cooling the wort prior to pitching.)
* The original gravity was artificially selected. Normally I'd mix and mash and record the final gravity instead of mashing and then mixing until I reached a particular number, but this particular batch had some problems..
For some reason, despite mashing at 150* for almost two hours, I still got starch when I tested for it, so I never fully converted the grain component. I even ramped up to 165* for about 15 mins to try to 'mash out' before adding the extract, but I still had some residual starch. I was worried that this would produce a cloudy, weak beer. That didn't happen, fortunately, but I did reserve some of the extra water, yielding a bit more than 4 gallons instead of the usual 5 to get an ABV over 5% (I know anything over 3.5% is safe, but I know I'll be keeping this around for a couple of months so I wanted to keep it above 5% for the sake of shelf stability.)
I've tasted it since then, and it's a fine beer. Not my best, and it's unlikely to win any contests, but I'll still be happy to drink it.
2) Oktoberfest style lager - in secondary
IBU: 24
Original gravity: 1.056
Gravity after primary fermentation: 1.013
Current ABV: 5.64%
This was the first beer to be put through my ice-fed recirculating wort chiller.
There are pictures HERE.
With an ABV this high and a german lager yeast working on it, I doubt there's very much fermentation still happening in this beer, but it's settling out and waiting to be kegged this weekend.
And finally..
3) Belgian style trippel - in secondary (will move to tertiary for third cycle ferment soon)
IBU: 24
Original gravity: 1.086 (!!)
Gravity after primary: 1.018
Current ABV: 9.0%
I plan to ferment this beer three times. I actually pitched a new strain of champagne yeast when I transferred to secondary. It's very possible that this yeast, along with the attenuation of my original strain of rocket-fuel inspiring yeast that I've been cultivating, that this could reach 11 or 12% ABV.
There was still krausen on top of the beer when I moved it to secondary. I left the krausen behind though in favor of the new yeast.
This one could be interesting, or it might just be a dried out husk of a beer that's become potent enough to power my car. We shall see..
Saturday, September 12, 2009
one ring - part two
So, in doing some investigation, it's clear that there are two ways that I can get my phone to give me the information that I need.
As always, one of these ways is more open to generalization and requires more effort - the other way is a quick hack that will probably work and will only work for this particular application.
As usual, I'm going to code both methods, starting with the hack.
So - the hack: I connect to WiFi networks in both my home and workplace automatically when my phone gets in range. Once this connection occurs, I'll set a bit on my home webserver that tells it what SSID I'm connected to, then I'll issue the appropriate GET and POST commands, and do some XML magic (which I haven't figured out yet) to tell Google Voice where I am, and have it ring the appropriate number.
Sounds easy - now I just need to learn PHP and Cocoa and Objective C.
The more complicated and more generalizable method will involve more HTTP server code to create an interface to geotag locations and have the phone let it know when I get within a certain distance of the them - either by automatically running as a background process - by pushing requests to the phone via APC, or by invoking it manually.. that part will be fun. :)
As always, one of these ways is more open to generalization and requires more effort - the other way is a quick hack that will probably work and will only work for this particular application.
As usual, I'm going to code both methods, starting with the hack.
So - the hack: I connect to WiFi networks in both my home and workplace automatically when my phone gets in range. Once this connection occurs, I'll set a bit on my home webserver that tells it what SSID I'm connected to, then I'll issue the appropriate GET and POST commands, and do some XML magic (which I haven't figured out yet) to tell Google Voice where I am, and have it ring the appropriate number.
Sounds easy - now I just need to learn PHP and Cocoa and Objective C.
The more complicated and more generalizable method will involve more HTTP server code to create an interface to geotag locations and have the phone let it know when I get within a certain distance of the them - either by automatically running as a background process - by pushing requests to the phone via APC, or by invoking it manually.. that part will be fun. :)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
one ring to rule them all!
Unfortunately, no, I don't mean the One Ring.
I'm talking about Google Voice. I have a GV number and it's great! I can give out one phone number and receive calls on whatever phone I happen to be nearest, but to do so requires either a bit of monkeying with a webUI, or knowing what days and times I'll be at certain locations.
Seems a bit, well, low tech to me.
I have an iPhone that is pretty much with me all the time, but my cell reception is terrible in my house. I could still use my SIP account and my WiFi to make/take calls on my iPhone, but mostly I just use my landline. It would be nifty if GV knew I was at home (I know, a little creepy too, but bear with me) and automagically routed calls my way.
Such a thing is possible, I'm sure, but it'll require some code, and a few hacks that are likely to be specific to my GV account - unless there is a GV API that I'm unaware of.
This blog doesn't get a lot of readers, but if you happen to know, drop me a line, I'll send some interesting code your way when I get it working.
FWIW, I've already found some bits here: http://posttopic.com/topic/google-voice-add-on-development - but that's not really suitable to my needs. It still might help you if you're trying to do something similar, but different.
I'm talking about Google Voice. I have a GV number and it's great! I can give out one phone number and receive calls on whatever phone I happen to be nearest, but to do so requires either a bit of monkeying with a webUI, or knowing what days and times I'll be at certain locations.
Seems a bit, well, low tech to me.
I have an iPhone that is pretty much with me all the time, but my cell reception is terrible in my house. I could still use my SIP account and my WiFi to make/take calls on my iPhone, but mostly I just use my landline. It would be nifty if GV knew I was at home (I know, a little creepy too, but bear with me) and automagically routed calls my way.
Such a thing is possible, I'm sure, but it'll require some code, and a few hacks that are likely to be specific to my GV account - unless there is a GV API that I'm unaware of.
This blog doesn't get a lot of readers, but if you happen to know, drop me a line, I'll send some interesting code your way when I get it working.
FWIW, I've already found some bits here: http://posttopic.com/topic/
Friday, August 28, 2009
brewing again
Okay - so I've moved to a new place.
I have a yard, which means I have some outdoor space to do constructive and destructive things.
It's time to get serious about brewing. Really serious.
Over the course of the past 7 years (gees, has it been that long?) I've been content with stovetop partial mash brewing. My fitful attempts at full mash brewing have been less than adequate. Hell - even in my most recent partial mash brew I achieved less than total conversion of the grain component. I had no extra extract to throw in, so I had to adjust the gravity by adding less than the total 5 gallons of water that my recipe originally called for... tragic, but probably better than risking a really weak beer. As it is, this is an Irish red ale, which will be considerably lower gravity than the Belgian style ales that I've been brewing most recently.
Assuming I get close to perfect attenuation for the yeast strain I got (which isn't guaranteed - I didn't cultivate this strain) I'll end up with an ABV around 5.2%. Good enough for beer, but nowhere near the 9-15% that I've been cooking up with the past few batches.
But beer isn't all about the alcohol..
So - I'm designing a HERMS (Heat Exchanged Recirculating Mash System) - but find myself wondering if I should be investing in a brewery, or just get a burner and do some 10 gallon full mash brews in the yard first and invest in a kegerator instead..
I have a yard, which means I have some outdoor space to do constructive and destructive things.
It's time to get serious about brewing. Really serious.
Over the course of the past 7 years (gees, has it been that long?) I've been content with stovetop partial mash brewing. My fitful attempts at full mash brewing have been less than adequate. Hell - even in my most recent partial mash brew I achieved less than total conversion of the grain component. I had no extra extract to throw in, so I had to adjust the gravity by adding less than the total 5 gallons of water that my recipe originally called for... tragic, but probably better than risking a really weak beer. As it is, this is an Irish red ale, which will be considerably lower gravity than the Belgian style ales that I've been brewing most recently.
Assuming I get close to perfect attenuation for the yeast strain I got (which isn't guaranteed - I didn't cultivate this strain) I'll end up with an ABV around 5.2%. Good enough for beer, but nowhere near the 9-15% that I've been cooking up with the past few batches.
But beer isn't all about the alcohol..
So - I'm designing a HERMS (Heat Exchanged Recirculating Mash System) - but find myself wondering if I should be investing in a brewery, or just get a burner and do some 10 gallon full mash brews in the yard first and invest in a kegerator instead..
Sunday, January 4, 2009
practicalbeer.com
One of my other domain names forwards here now. I intended to do something different with practicalbeer.com at one point, but I've not got around to it, and I intend to blog about beer a lot more this year, so this seemed like as good a place to start as any.
I've got ingredients on order for 10 gallons of Belgian Dubble Dubbel, minus the Belgian candy, which it seems they don't supply any more at 7 Bridges, at least not through the website, so I'm going to make it myself this time. That should be interesting, and another thing to blog about!!
This time, I'll take pictures.
I've got ingredients on order for 10 gallons of Belgian Dubble Dubbel, minus the Belgian candy, which it seems they don't supply any more at 7 Bridges, at least not through the website, so I'm going to make it myself this time. That should be interesting, and another thing to blog about!!
This time, I'll take pictures.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
strong in you, Thanatos is
Sigmund Freud was a pathological wacko. He was also an unmitigated genius. Finding which bits of his theories were genius and which were insane is a difficult exercise for experts, which I am not. Therefore, this is a pop-psychology opinion of mine and nothing more, but I think that Thanatos has ruled my life for far, far too long, and it's time for Eros to take hold.
How do I accomplish this?
I don't know. But discovery is a journey, not a destination.
How do I accomplish this?
I don't know. But discovery is a journey, not a destination.
Monday, November 3, 2008
bye bye AdSense
I was horrified to find out that there was a big Yes on Prop 8 banner on my blog. Turns out someone is paying google to put that on blogs with AdSense enabled. So.. I could configure AdSense to filter this from my blog, but since I get no money from them anyway, I just removed it.
Bye bye AdSense.
If you'd like to know how I really feel - go here or here or here.
Bye bye AdSense.
If you'd like to know how I really feel - go here or here or here.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
no sleep for you!
For once, I'm not talking about my own lack of sleep. I'm talking about my iPhone...
I am in the process of writing a native jabber client for the iPhone. I use jabber for work, and it's about the only thing that keeps me from using the iPhone instead of my MacBook Pro for walkaround communications.
It turns out the the iPhone SDK is pretty darned good. It didn't take a great deal of effort to get it installed, provision my iPhone as a development device, and load working code onto my own phone. But there is a problem.
The SDK doesn't allow me to background tasks.
This means that I can only use my iPhone as a jabber client if I'm actively using the client software. If the phone goes to sleep, or I get an SMS message, or a phone call, the jabber client turns off.
I find this limitation annoying, and it's probably the reason no one else has developed a native IM client to date.
I am in the process of writing a native jabber client for the iPhone. I use jabber for work, and it's about the only thing that keeps me from using the iPhone instead of my MacBook Pro for walkaround communications.
It turns out the the iPhone SDK is pretty darned good. It didn't take a great deal of effort to get it installed, provision my iPhone as a development device, and load working code onto my own phone. But there is a problem.
The SDK doesn't allow me to background tasks.
This means that I can only use my iPhone as a jabber client if I'm actively using the client software. If the phone goes to sleep, or I get an SMS message, or a phone call, the jabber client turns off.
I find this limitation annoying, and it's probably the reason no one else has developed a native IM client to date.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
developing for the iPhone
It's been awhile since I've written anything complicated. The last bit of real programming I did was to write a test tool for exercising windows applications through Win32 API calls rather than normal screen positioning and click events.. it was a pretty slick piece of work, but there are 3rd party apps available now that are much better than what I wrote, and I've finally reached the point in my career where it is generally more cost effective to buy rather than write.
That might be a topic for another article.. the progression of software aquiry practice along the career path of the technologist.
Anyway, I've had the iPhone 3G for a bit now, and the only thing that I find it lacking (other than cut & paste...) is a native jabber client.
My workplace uses jabber for internal communications. The jabber server is local to our LAN and inaccessible to the outside world. This is good practice for security. None of our data leak out accidentally this way. However, it means that I can't use a webapp for IM to get to my internal jabber server without some tricky tunneling, and those types of tunnels kinda defeat the purpose of securing the jabber box in the first place.
So, I decided I'd have to write something myself again.
The iPhone developer program is really pretty slick. There are hours of video intros and the tools look pretty easy to use. I suppose I'll see how easy in the coming weeks as I try to get this thing off the ground.
That might be a topic for another article.. the progression of software aquiry practice along the career path of the technologist.
Anyway, I've had the iPhone 3G for a bit now, and the only thing that I find it lacking (other than cut & paste...) is a native jabber client.
My workplace uses jabber for internal communications. The jabber server is local to our LAN and inaccessible to the outside world. This is good practice for security. None of our data leak out accidentally this way. However, it means that I can't use a webapp for IM to get to my internal jabber server without some tricky tunneling, and those types of tunnels kinda defeat the purpose of securing the jabber box in the first place.
So, I decided I'd have to write something myself again.
The iPhone developer program is really pretty slick. There are hours of video intros and the tools look pretty easy to use. I suppose I'll see how easy in the coming weeks as I try to get this thing off the ground.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
is your happiness threshold fixed?
I'm too busy to breathe lately, but I read a disturbing lead to a story off Google News last night while logging in to EVE to change skills being trained.
It seems someone just completed a study that says each individual has a certain default happiness level that doesn't change throughout his life. You can do some things to temporarily go above or below it, but in general it remains fixed for life.
Depressing, isn't it?
It seems someone just completed a study that says each individual has a certain default happiness level that doesn't change throughout his life. You can do some things to temporarily go above or below it, but in general it remains fixed for life.
Depressing, isn't it?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
the importance of importance
I love to employ cyclical redundancy for effect. You have the redundant, wait for the cyclical..
While I've recently been hurled into a position of authority over not one, but TWO distinct groups of engineers, I've come to the grim determination that I'm not important enough to be important yet. This isn't the first time, or even the more interesting time this has happened, but it is _a_ time, and it will serve to illustrate my grievance as well as any other.
- late edit..
This is a post that I started months ago and never finished. It's been turned on its head a bit since then, but the gist remains. Reshaping your image from within a framework of familiarity is difficult at best. I'm making daily progress, but it's a long road. I had no idea how firmly entrenched I was.
While I've recently been hurled into a position of authority over not one, but TWO distinct groups of engineers, I've come to the grim determination that I'm not important enough to be important yet. This isn't the first time, or even the more interesting time this has happened, but it is _a_ time, and it will serve to illustrate my grievance as well as any other.
- late edit..
This is a post that I started months ago and never finished. It's been turned on its head a bit since then, but the gist remains. Reshaping your image from within a framework of familiarity is difficult at best. I'm making daily progress, but it's a long road. I had no idea how firmly entrenched I was.
Friday, June 20, 2008
is piracy dead?
Of course not, but the rules of engagement have definitely changed a bit.
There are tons of EVE piracy related blogs out there. Hell, I even started one myself, though I'm nowhere near able to yarr effectively alone. If you read any of them, you've probably noticed the same thing that I have over the course of the past two weeks.
They've gone awfully quiet...
Factional Warfare in EVE has brought hordes of empire and 0.0 pilots into low-sec. You'd think that the pirates would be salivating at this, and initially, I'm sure they were. However, pirates are opportunists and danger freaks. They like to live on the edge, but at the same time, they try to stack the deck in their own favor whenever they can. It's a whole different ballgame when you are flashy red to everyone in the sector and there are 25 people in local instead of 5.
Gangs and proper fleets are invading these spaces and when they run out of enemy faction ships to blow up, they tend to go marauding. Anyone flashy red gets popped.
End result. I can go into low-sec again.
Also end result (and not quite so good for me) my horribly expensive shuttles aren't selling anymore since the pirates aren't hanging out in the red pockets waiting for people anymore.
I might have to find a more lucrative sideline. Perhaps I'll start selling 'second-best' named gear in contested systems..
There are tons of EVE piracy related blogs out there. Hell, I even started one myself, though I'm nowhere near able to yarr effectively alone. If you read any of them, you've probably noticed the same thing that I have over the course of the past two weeks.
They've gone awfully quiet...
Factional Warfare in EVE has brought hordes of empire and 0.0 pilots into low-sec. You'd think that the pirates would be salivating at this, and initially, I'm sure they were. However, pirates are opportunists and danger freaks. They like to live on the edge, but at the same time, they try to stack the deck in their own favor whenever they can. It's a whole different ballgame when you are flashy red to everyone in the sector and there are 25 people in local instead of 5.
Gangs and proper fleets are invading these spaces and when they run out of enemy faction ships to blow up, they tend to go marauding. Anyone flashy red gets popped.
End result. I can go into low-sec again.
Also end result (and not quite so good for me) my horribly expensive shuttles aren't selling anymore since the pirates aren't hanging out in the red pockets waiting for people anymore.
I might have to find a more lucrative sideline. Perhaps I'll start selling 'second-best' named gear in contested systems..
Thursday, June 5, 2008
nobody tells me nothing!
Sometimes I wonder if the reason why Marshal Ney was so stupendously ineffective at Waterloo despite having a brilliant, almost meteoric career of successes prior to that might be because he didn't have the right piece of information in time for it to make a difference.
Now, I don't intend to compare myself with Michel Ney. Any successes I have had pale by comparison and my decisions are nowhere near the same caliber. No one will ever die as a result of a bad decision of mine. Yet, I think I must know something of how he felt.
If I'd had all of the information I needed, I'd not be digging myself, my team, and my project out of the mud right now.
Worse, it's not as if I made a bad assumption. I was misled.
This company sucks.
Now, I don't intend to compare myself with Michel Ney. Any successes I have had pale by comparison and my decisions are nowhere near the same caliber. No one will ever die as a result of a bad decision of mine. Yet, I think I must know something of how he felt.
If I'd had all of the information I needed, I'd not be digging myself, my team, and my project out of the mud right now.
Worse, it's not as if I made a bad assumption. I was misled.
This company sucks.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
accept security warnings
The company that I work for is stupid.
I make no secret that I work for a network security company. I won't state the name of the company, because if I do, then I'm required to follow the company's 'blogging policy' or I could be terminated. Normally, the process leading up to termination would involve a nice beefy severance package, which I'd happily take at this moment, but if I violate this particular edict, I can be terminated without any such package offer, which would.. well.. suck.
Anyway, I digress.
This is a NETWORK SECURITY company. We ought to, oh.. I don't know.. give a rat's ass about security? But no.. Today I get in the mail a nifty little card that provides instructions and reminders for how to the use meeting tools that I've been using for about a year now. Handy little card.. it has a number of steps on how to set-up/join a conference online.
Step number 4: 'Accept Security Warnings'
Not.. 'you will see this certificate displayed', or 'you will see X signed ActiveX control ask for permission to do Y', or even 'a security popup may appear with X text, please accept to continue'. No.. just a blanket 'Accept Security Warnings'.
Now, if I was a more devious bastard than I am, I might use this information, along with the links provided and some clever scripting, to harvest authentication tokens of people in my company. Generally the folks that would be setting up online meetings are interesting people to get passwords from. Usually these would be either mid-level managers or assistants to execs.. What could I do with these tokens?
Well.. I could fire people, give myself a bonus, if not a raise... Yes, there is a required approval chain for these things to happen, but if I got auth tokens from everyone who sets up a meeting, how long do you think it would take me to get the tokens for everyone in the auth chain? The system would then automagically do its dirty work and remove my rivals as well as make me rich.
I SO should have been a criminal rather than an engineer.
I make no secret that I work for a network security company. I won't state the name of the company, because if I do, then I'm required to follow the company's 'blogging policy' or I could be terminated. Normally, the process leading up to termination would involve a nice beefy severance package, which I'd happily take at this moment, but if I violate this particular edict, I can be terminated without any such package offer, which would.. well.. suck.
Anyway, I digress.
This is a NETWORK SECURITY company. We ought to, oh.. I don't know.. give a rat's ass about security? But no.. Today I get in the mail a nifty little card that provides instructions and reminders for how to the use meeting tools that I've been using for about a year now. Handy little card.. it has a number of steps on how to set-up/join a conference online.
Step number 4: 'Accept Security Warnings'
Not.. 'you will see this certificate displayed', or 'you will see X signed ActiveX control ask for permission to do Y', or even 'a security popup may appear with X text, please accept to continue'. No.. just a blanket 'Accept Security Warnings'.
Now, if I was a more devious bastard than I am, I might use this information, along with the links provided and some clever scripting, to harvest authentication tokens of people in my company. Generally the folks that would be setting up online meetings are interesting people to get passwords from. Usually these would be either mid-level managers or assistants to execs.. What could I do with these tokens?
Well.. I could fire people, give myself a bonus, if not a raise... Yes, there is a required approval chain for these things to happen, but if I got auth tokens from everyone who sets up a meeting, how long do you think it would take me to get the tokens for everyone in the auth chain? The system would then automagically do its dirty work and remove my rivals as well as make me rich.
I SO should have been a criminal rather than an engineer.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
free money!
One of the perks of my new position is the ability to originate bonuses for people, even people that don't work directly for me.
So, I did. I just flooded (well, tinkled in) the wallets of a bunch of deserving people, about half of whom don't work for me.
Yay! Free money!
Too bad I can't give myself a bonus..
So, I did. I just flooded (well, tinkled in) the wallets of a bunch of deserving people, about half of whom don't work for me.
Yay! Free money!
Too bad I can't give myself a bonus..
Monday, May 19, 2008
inertia
Physics gives us the concept of inertia, and in physics, inertia is a powerful thing, but I think that as a metaphor, inertia might be the most powerful force in the universe.
I'm fighting against more than 30 years of inertia every day now. Well, not every day... some days it's just too hard, but I really am trying.
Part of that inertia is a tendency to 'let myself off the hook.' This sounds pretty terrible, and it is. It's oddly something that I STRONGLY do not identify with my own self-image, but it's something I do fairly frequently, it would seem.
--late edit
This is an interesting post.. I started this almost six months ago. And I didn't publish it.. Thus, perpetuating the problem I was identifying. Man.. I have some serious damage control to do.
I'm fighting against more than 30 years of inertia every day now. Well, not every day... some days it's just too hard, but I really am trying.
Part of that inertia is a tendency to 'let myself off the hook.' This sounds pretty terrible, and it is. It's oddly something that I STRONGLY do not identify with my own self-image, but it's something I do fairly frequently, it would seem.
--late edit
This is an interesting post.. I started this almost six months ago. And I didn't publish it.. Thus, perpetuating the problem I was identifying. Man.. I have some serious damage control to do.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
the fifth Cylon
It's got to be Ellen Tigh - Saul's (the XO of Gallactica) wife.
In the first season, she was mysteriously 'discovered' alive on a ship in the colonial fleet as a 'Jane Doe' and then brought aboard Gallactica and reunited with Saul. Everyone thought she was a Cylon then.. of course, her being dead again makes it difficult. We've never seen any clones of the the 4 new Cylons that we know of, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.
It does seem like she's been dead for a long time to be just now showing up, but there definitely WAS a Resurrection Ship in range when Saul killed her for being a Cylon double-agent, even if she was doing it to protect Saul at the expense of the Revolution on New Caprica.
A good case can also be (and has often been) made for Kara Thrace, what with her disappearing for months and not remembering any of it, but since the non-lobotomized Raiders seem to be able to recognize at least Anders and probably the other 5, and they don't seem to be too squeamish about trying to kill Kara, I think that's probably unlikely.
My money is on Ellen. Literally.
In the first season, she was mysteriously 'discovered' alive on a ship in the colonial fleet as a 'Jane Doe' and then brought aboard Gallactica and reunited with Saul. Everyone thought she was a Cylon then.. of course, her being dead again makes it difficult. We've never seen any clones of the the 4 new Cylons that we know of, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.
It does seem like she's been dead for a long time to be just now showing up, but there definitely WAS a Resurrection Ship in range when Saul killed her for being a Cylon double-agent, even if she was doing it to protect Saul at the expense of the Revolution on New Caprica.
A good case can also be (and has often been) made for Kara Thrace, what with her disappearing for months and not remembering any of it, but since the non-lobotomized Raiders seem to be able to recognize at least Anders and probably the other 5, and they don't seem to be too squeamish about trying to kill Kara, I think that's probably unlikely.
My money is on Ellen. Literally.
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