Archive for Administravia
Author: Dave Lewis
May 8, 2008 at 6:56 pm · Filed under Administravia
It’s been a long haul working in critical infrastructure. There were times were the boredom and politics were overwhelming but, I know that I was able to make a difference.
Now, I’m moving on to new adventures. I think I’m going to keep the new job under wraps for now. Some of you know where I’m off to and that’s fine. I’m just going to avoid talking about it here. This site isn’t about my day job.
I have been running the site for over 10 years now. First as a .com and for most of the time as a .org domain. I have a chronic addiction to sarcasm and occasionally I enjoy throwing out arguments to stir it up. A lot of you noticed that this week.
Heh.
This site is an outlet for me as well as brother Myrcurial. For me I use it as a way to stay current. I have really enjoyed growing this site, especially over the last 2 years. And you, the readers/commenters, have really made that an enjoyable experience.
Yes, even the “cyberdouchery”.
Thanks everyone. I hope that our fearless co-writer Myrcurial will pitch in more over the summer. A project that I have been involved in will take a lot of time in a month or so as it comes to fruition.
So, we’ll see how it all plays out. I’m feeling awfully reflective as I prepare for the last day at work.
Odd.
I’m not sad to go.
It’s just long overdue.
Author: Dave Lewis
April 30, 2008 at 11:29 am · Filed under Administravia
Well, after six years working in the critical infrastructure vertical I have decided to move on. I tendered my resignation yesterday and will be moving on the new adventures in a few weeks. I’ll let slip my new day job at that time. It has been an interesting ride to say the least. There have been high points such as my appearance on the front cover of “Information Security” magazine.
And there were low points as recently as two weeks ago. All in all it has been a helluva ride and I made a lot of great friends along the way.
So, now I will have to write my “tell all” book about the true state of critical infrastructure security in North America.
Wait for it…
Hear that thud? I just gave some DHS folks a stroke.
I’m kidding of course. No book on that subject.
This site will go on. Thanks to all of our readership.
Author: Dave Lewis
April 25, 2008 at 10:49 am · Filed under Administravia, Off Topic
Well, we’re no Led Zeppelin, Tragically Hip or Peter Gabriel. That being said it should a great time tonight when the band that I play bass for, “The Shiitake Project” takes the stage at Clinton’s in Toronto.
We are raising money for prostate cancer research. The show gets rolling around 9 pm.
Have a great weekend all!
[UPDATE]: We blew the roof off for a full house! That and we raised over $1000 for prostate cancer research! Thanks to all who attended.
Author: Dave Lewis
April 7, 2008 at 3:18 pm · Filed under Administravia
I was checking out my stats for todays readers when I noticed an inordinate spike in traffic from the site Network World. Being the typical curious sort I cruised on over to see what was the hub bub.
Well, damn.
Jon Brodkin has a piece on “20 useful IT security Web sites” and Liquidmatrix is on his list (slide 12)!
I would just like to say thanks to Jon for making my day. This will just encourage me to write more.
Be sure to check out the full piece as well as the other sites he mentioned over on Network World.
Article Link
Author: Dave Lewis
March 26, 2008 at 6:59 am · Filed under Administravia, DR/BCP
Well, yesterday was certainly an adventure. Our main database cluster for Liquidmatrix went down hard.
From our support crew:
We’re currently experiencing problems with the cluster affecting web, database and mail services. The file server is being worked on, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience
Since then it has been resolved. Back up after a 5 hour outage. Ugh.
So, there it is in a nutshell. Thanks for everyone who wrote in. Thank (insert deity) for good backups. We are still here and the support folks have us back up and running!
Author: Dave Lewis
March 3, 2008 at 8:59 am · Filed under Administravia, Dumbass
Saturday morning on our way home from the grocery store my beloved Mazda 3 met with its end on the QEW. A jackass going way too fast slammed into the back of us and rammed our car into a minivan in front of us. The 3 became an accordion and the airbags deployed. Did that suck. That’s a smell I can safely do without ever encountering again. My wife was taken to the hospital but, she was discharged an hour and half later with a clean bill of health, thankfully. I’m sore as hell but, I’m in my normal foul mood. So, things are looking up. The assclown was charged and now we wait to see if the 3 will live again. Although I’m not optimistic.
The part that simply amazed me came after the accident. Once the dust settled, literally, I got out of the car. I heard car horns and I assumed it was one of the other cars with the horn stuck…but, no. There I stood next to my car on the shoulder and there behind me in the lane was a guy who had just finished or was starting his shift at the local Ford plant (he was wearing Ford coveralls beneath his brown coat, gray beard and sunglasses). I thought I was hallucinating for a moment as I was sure he was giving me the finger. I looked again and sure enough…he was. I looked down to see a tire from one of the other vehicles was in the road blocking him.
(rant begin)
Heaven for fend. I, and the other accident victims, had the unmitigated gaul to block this Ford employee as he tried to get on with his day. I kicked the tire out of the road and gave him a verbal opinion of his family tree. He continued to flip me off. The other drivers saw this and were absolutely floored. I never held an opinion about Ford cars in my life one way or the other. But, I can say here and now that due to his absolute disregard for anyone else (the accident had just occurred) that I will NEVER OWN A FORD. And anyone who talks to me about buying one…I will give them a link to this article.
(rant end)
Insert levity; Two bottles of milk lost their lives in the accident.
I hope everyone else had a better weekend.
Tags: Bad Luck, Car Crash, Bad Drivers
Author: Dave Lewis
February 25, 2008 at 9:34 am · Filed under Administravia
After having spent the week in Los Angeles on forensics training I’m pleased to be back in the frozen tundra that is Toronto. Normally anyone would be happy to be somewhere warm. However, for little ole me it was a long week. I was fighting the flu and it was cold and raining all week. I know, I know…woe is you. Ah well, suffice as to say I’m back and will be reapplying myself to writing this week.
I should note some housekeeping. You may have noticed that there is now moderation enabled on comments. For that, you can thank a troll from Idaho Power and one from Morgan Stanley’s London office. I’ve been a little slow on approving comments as I’ve been on travel. That should clear up now. I encourage folks to leave comments as we have seen in a exchange between Myrcurial and Ralph Langer. Just don’t be a dick.
Tags: Leaving Comments, Comments
Author: Dave Lewis
January 17, 2008 at 9:46 pm · Filed under Administravia
I like to see who is stopping by. On an average day several hundred folks read Liquidmatrix. Sometimes I have to sit back in my chair and pause when I read the traffic logs for the site however. Every once and while these folks stop by for a visit.
Can be unnerving at times.
Tags: CIA, Web Logs, Web Traffic, Traffic Analysis
Author: Dave Lewis
January 1, 2008 at 12:01 am · Filed under Administravia
Wow, we made it. 10 years on the interweb. Originally as a .com site until we got our name boosted but, that’s another story down by the riverbank. So, Liquidmatrix Security Digest has made it to a decade and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks to all of our readers and subscribers. You make this adventure worth it. And thanks to Storm and Myrcurial for constantly pushing me to keep writing.
On tap for the coming year we will be covering the RSA Security conference (press pass in hand) in April. Black Hat and Defcon in the summer and Sector.ca 2008 this fall to name a few. I have been invited back to help with the set up and execution of Sector.ca and I’m very happy about that. I’ll be covering it as pseudo press as well with disclaimers o’plenty. It adds a welcome new dimension to my CV. Which I may or may not be sending out in a few months as I figure out my next career move.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
And a hangover laugh after the jump.
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