I've been getting into tobacco pipes lately. This is the super fun hobby that I need right now. I always need something to chill out with while Trump destroys the world. Back in the first term, it was watches and ultra running. Thankfully, I'm back to running after 3 years of shitty plantar fascia. I've got so many watches now, the only ones I really want anymore are out of my price range. So I needed a more affordable hobby. I'm still a cigar guy, but I feel like they are just a habit at thi

Well, like it or not, AI is here and it's changing our daily lives for better or (usually) worse.

There is something odd about this journal. And that is, who the fuck reads this? I don't write it for anybody but myself to read, years down the line. And I have become an increasingly reclusive, privacy-seeking individual. So why not just make this private, or write it in a Google Doc? I guess because something gets lost in the story telling if I don't at least pretend I'm writing it for a broader audience. So I guess, read this. Comment. Like and subscribe. I don't care, I don't read your c

It's taken me some time to adjust to the new digs, but I'm starting to get a feel for things. And that means I'm getting a little more serious about the change I want to bring to the org. Historically, when I get serious about something, I give it an operational name. This puts me in a tactical mindset. So now that we're over halfway through the year and bonus time will be coming up before we know it, I need to have something to show for myself.

INTRODUCING...

Once again, it has been way too long. I've been on Slashdot coming up on 20 years. I honestly can't believe it's still around. Which is why I export all of these journals to Google Docs and Calendar. Of course, who knows how long that'll last. When that time comes though, I'll just do a data export. Anyway.

I decided to Google my name. I mean, I've done it many times before, and I know what's out there. But after leaving most social media a few years ago, and really enjoying the new found privacy, I decided to do a complete privacy audit and see what someone, anyone out in the world could find about me if they so desired.

NOTE: Turning off comments on this because you people are fucking weird. Who honestly has time to read some random dude's journals? You should take a good long look in the mirror, much as I'll be doing in this post. If you've got time for this, you're not living up to your full potential. As I have said before, these are for me. Sure, I could do it privately, but as this is my oldest surviving journal, I like to keep it going. Read on if you want, but you really should be doing something else

I have always used my Slashdot Journal as a log for my various IT activities over the years. It allows me to look back at how I solved a particular problem at one point in time. No surprise that I routinely look back at my Security Initiative 2008 journal entry when trying to remember how to format and encrypt a drive. But it's looking a little tired at this point. Back then we were using Blowfish and ReiserFS. And we had to manually define mounts. Things have gotten easier with Ubuntu and en

Ahh, my Slashdot Journal. The thing I come back to every few years to look at how old I've gotten. At this point, my journal is old enough to drive a car. Gonna have to pull out some special shit on June 20th, 2024, which will mark the 20th anniversary of my first Journal entry. That's crazy. But it is a new day. A new month. A new year. And we have a new president. If I could have looked forward in time in 2016, I would have looked straight for this post. We did it! We're alive! Our democrac

Another year comes to a close. Maybe the weirdest year I've ever experienced, too.

Was 2016 the Worst Of All Time?

Eh, that's debatable. I like to think of it as a finale, in a trilogy. 2013 was the preview.

2013 was mired in 6 weddings I had to either be in or attend. I hate weddings like I hate country music, or having a doctor touch your balls during a physical. So that year was awful. Work wasn't particularly great, though I did get an award out of it.