My Cat is a Badass

We noticed our cat was walking and sitting a little funny the other day, and kept licking a spot on his chest. He had what looked like a puncture wound, so we took him to the vet to get him checked out. They couldn't really tell us what happened, but gave him an antibiotic shot and some pain meds for later.

Later, after bringing him back home from the vet, my wife texts me:

Rebecca Sanabria: Looks like a fight of some sort. Helena spotted a bunch of his fur in the front yard 3:45 PM

Me: I bet he kicked the other cat's ASS 3:54 PM

Me: Front yard forensics FTW! 3:54 PM

Rebecca Sanabria: Yeah. He's getting too old for that shit, though. 4:01 PM

Me: Bullshit. Milo is Colonel Fucking Tigh. 4:06 PM

Rebecca Sanabria: ....Who lost his eye.... 4:06 PM

Me: That will just make the other cats fear him more. They'll call him Scar. 4:07 PM

Rebecca Sanabria: Yar! 4:16 PM

Books on Lunches

Since my kids were little, they've loved books. To be honest, this was less of an option in our home and more of an eventuality. Since my kids have been going to school, I've been writing messages to them on their food containers. Partly, this is because I was required to put their name on all items, and I get bored. I was also inspired by my wife, who likes to write them notes.

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors, and I was thrilled when he started writing books for children, as he did so just as my children were old enough to read them. One of my favorites is the warm and mysterious Instructions.

I love to come up with puzzles, solve puzzles, and watch others try to solve puzzles. Instructions was already a mysterious book by nature, so I decided to begin writing bits of the book on my kids' lunch items. I was curious to see how long it would take for them to realize which book it was. Instructions is very distinctive, so of course, they realized on the first day. Despite having figured out the puzzle, they wanted me to continue, so I did.

We're up to the tenth page, and there is plenty of time left in the school year. Though I never intended to write this entire book a page at a time onto their lunch, I should have time to transcribe the remainder of the book on cheese sticks, sandwich containers and bottles. We might even have time to do another short book before summer comes.

Updating

I'm a big fan of streaming media, and subscribe to both Netflix and Hulu. Nearly every device we have in the house can stream Netflix videos now, and many can also stream Hulu.

However, I've noticed a recent phenomenon has been making it difficult to watch content when I want. The other day, I went to watch Netflix on my TV, which has a Netflix app built in. Instead, I get this:

Well, crap. How about my PS3 downstairs, connected to my projector?

Hmm... How about the XBox360?

Uhhh, no. I don't. I want to watch something right now. Forget it. I'll just watch on my laptop.

I give up. I'm reading a book.

Mobile App Notification Overload

This short post is to share a solution I've come up with to an overload of notifications and a relatively short supply of battery power.

I love apps, social media, reading updates and getting news. Managing all these on the latest generations of smartphones can be tricky though. It is easy, even with just a few apps installed, to become buried in updates and notifications, all vying for your attention. Clutter on your phone is only the beginning of the issues, however.

When you have a fancy Samsung Galaxy Nexus like mine, crashes and reboots could be an issue. All those notifications you might depend on are gone once the phone reboots. What if you choose to read your twitter updates, and then get interrupted by a phone call, or need to check a more important notification? Again, you've lost your reminder that you have new items to check. Then there is the quickly draining battery as five, ten or maybe twenty or more apps are using your 3G/4G connection to check for new updates.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues is just general stress and anxiety that can result from a growing list of items and many people's need to empty that list.

I thought, it would be ideal to consolidate all these updates into one list. One list that I could check at my leisure. As soon as I thought it, I realized the solution was right in front of me: email. For many of these notifications, I'm already receiving emails, duplicating the effort to notify me and grab my attention. Here's the solution I came up with that's worked well for two weeks so far:

Step 1: Turn on email notification for everything you want to be alerted to. For me, this included Facebook, Twitter DMs, Replies and Retweets, LinkedIn, text messaging (via Google Voice), calendar reminders (via Google Calendar), weather alerts, Google+, and many more. This mostly had to be done through the web interface for these services.

Step 2: Turn OFF device notifications for all the services listed in Step 1.

Step 3: Some people may want to create some email rules, tagging or other system to categorize this new influx of emails, if the volume of messages is large, or interferes with normal email use. Perhaps just have one label/category for all notifications. Personally, I let them all pour into my inbox, and as soon as I've take action on an item, I delete the email.

Step 4: Enjoy longer battery life on your phone, and (mostly) one stream for all your notifications.

Example Scenario

Someone replies to a tweet I posted.

1. I read an email notification on my phone that I received a reply on Twitter, and I want to reply back.
2. I open my mobile Twitter client, reply back and close the Twitter client.
3. I delete the email.

Have you had similar issues? Have you come up with a different approach to handle this same situation? Let me know in the comments, I'd like to hear about how you handle it!

What the iPhone and Playstation have in Common

There's wrong, and then there's WRONG.

Note, I'm pulling a story out of ancient history for this post (ancient history = 6 years ago in this case). This is not hot off the presses, like some of the stories I post on my security blog. This one is all posterity.

There are industry analysts, and then there are writers that pretend to be. In case you are afraid you're confusing the two, here's an older example to help you spot the difference.

Apple should pull the plug on the iPhone <-- NOT an analyst.

Now, it is easy to point and laugh now that the iPhone is the best selling single model of smartphone on the planet, but consider what we knew then.

Don't Sell These, Apple! You'll be sorry!

Those of us that had closely watched Apple's rise from the ashes of the mid-nineties knew better. Mr. Dvorak should have also. Back when 3rd party licensing diluted the brand, and a lack of vision was dragging the company and its products into obscurity, the Newton and its' small but loyal following were the only ray of hope in those days.

Steve Jobs came back in 1997, and the company's transformation occurred almost overnight, in relative terms. By 2006, when this article was posted, Apple had already returned to profitability, and most importantly, had already stepped outside the personal computer. They had sold almost 100 million iPods by this point.

During the Chicago Bulls' 90's winning streak, did Phil put Jordan on the bench because he had a crazy plan or idea? Right.

Was it so hard to see in 2006 that the iPhone was a small step away from an iPod? Sure, the iPod hit the scene in the infancy of the portable music player industry, and Dvorak's argument is that the phone/smartphone markets were already crowded. His argument focuses on Apple's ability to make profit on hardware. The business model he (and others) failed to see had already succeeded in the video game console industry.

Gamble, or sure thing?
We know the truth now, but back then...

Starting with the Playstation 2 in 2000, Sony took a risk in selling advanced gaming hardware at a loss. In other words, it cost Sony more to build a PS2 than they sold it for. This was a calculated risk, based on the knowledge that licensing fees from game developers should help make up the difference, and that the market price of components would quickly drop over the next year or two. Sony again made this gamble with the PS3, with some estimates setting the manufacturing cost at over $1000 per unit that sold for $600 apiece. This was less of a gamble, as the PS2 was an enormous hit, and after 12 years, is still on the retail market. That's incredible staying power for an electronic device in this age. The truth of the matter is that, if the product is successful, profit will be made on software and hardware for the majority of the device's lifecycle. Sony has been making profits on every PS2 and PS3 made for years now. Apple makes hundreds of dollars on every iPhone sold, on top of 30% of every app sold.

Apple was making the same "gamble". It wasn't a gamble though - Apple already knew it had a healthy fire burning, and the iPhone was a near-guarantee to stoke the blaze higher than ever before. At the time of Dvorak's article, it wasn't yet clear that Apple was banking on the iPhone's App Store (again, software, not hardware) being the big money maker. What we did know at this time was that Apple could do no wrong. Their product ideas, with the exception of the cube, had all been successful, and their one non-PC gamble was the most successful of all. There was every reason to expect another non-PC revolution with the iPhone. With the media player market already in the bag, Apple knew what they were doing, knew how to make a mobile device, and knew how to sell it.

And they did. Sorry, John.

UPDATE: A pre-iPhone release Bloomberg story has been making the rounds. Its author comes to similar conclusions to Dvorak's, though for different reasons.

Travel Notes: Of Birds and Teeth

One of my favorite things about travelling is walking in an unfamiliar place. I think it is the best way to really get a feel for a place. The sights, sounds and smells just can't be experienced the same way from a car.

Today, I'm engaging in a ritual that I only get to enjoy twice a year. I have an appointment with my dentist.

Twice a year, I drive all the way out to Fountain City to get my teeth cleaned. In Knoxville with the generous number of dentists per square mile we have, driving 30 or 40 minutes just for a cleaning is a bit much, so I created a little ritual to make it worth my while.

I show up to get my teeth cleaned by my dental hygienist (who happens to be a dead ringer for Kristen Bell) shortly before lunch. My dentist's office happens to be located right on the edge of what most people call "the duck pond", though it is formally called "Fountain City Lake". If I have no cavities, or other issues, I schedule my next appointment, head outside and walk past my car. A single block of businesses separate the duck pond from the public library and Fountain City Park. After short stroll, I arrive at the Creamery Park Grille.

I have lunch and an ice cream to go. By the time I wander around the duck pond, dodge some hungry geese and arrive back at my car, my ice cream is gone and I'm relaxed, happy and ready to head back to work. You chose a good location for your office, Dr. Sterling.

Even if you don't need your teeth cleaned, it is a great place to take a walk, get some ice cream or let the kids blow off some energy in the park.

P.S. The birds bite.

A New Age of Business and Manufacturing

We're entering an age where anyone with a good idea and some marketing savvy can their product made and business off the ground nearly overnight. Kickstarter, for one, has helped some amazing products go from idea to reality in under a year.

The common problem I've been seeing is not been exposure for these new companies and products, it has been scaling to meet the demand. Interest in a new product or company can go from zero to pandemonium in a matter of days or even hours. In the last week, alone I've seen this happen twice.

Raspberry Pi, is a small DIY computer similar to Arduino, but designed and marketed toward a different user base. Instead of interest building gradually like the Arduino, it exploded as soon as a finished product was announced, due to incredibly affordable pricing. At $35, everyone wants a piece of the action.

Dollar Shave Club recently announced their new monthly shaving supply service, complete with a funny video designed to go viral.

The problem is, I'm interested in both, but I can't get either. The initial lot of a few thousand Raspberry Pi boards sold out in a few hours, and the Dollar Shave Club video's "viralness" has guaranteed an unusable website for now, maybe even for a few more days. It is unfortunate to succeed so completely in generating interest and sales, but then be unable to fulfill them.

I'm no expert in sales and marketing, but I'm sure there is a sizable chunk of spontaneous purchases lost forever when the product isn't available for purchase at the height of its viral popularity. I suspect that a large number of sales of these products depend on the fact that it is popular. Half the reason people are buying is for the right to say "I was one of the first", or "I've been a _____ user since day one". There is definitely a perception of cool when you are the first person you know with the new gadget or service everyone is talking about.

From what I've seen, the ability to rapidly scale upwards is available, but business need to take advantage of it. For manufacturing, companies turn to China to do anything quickly. That's why the Raspberry Pi isn't made anywhere else. For services that rely on a website to do business, there are hosting services that will allow you to ramp up resources dynamically as you need them, and only pay for what you use.

In other words, small startups can plan for success without spending a ton of money up front.

I've made myself some reminders to check out Raspberry Pi and Dollar Shave Club again when they might be available, but I'm not sure I'll still want them then. By then, some new hot ideas might have my attention instead.

Training for a winter 5k

Assuming "training" means going out and running a random distance at a random time. This was the first time I've run in a while, but I'm feeling the pressure from a 5k I've signed up for on December 10th. It is a charity 5k (as most are) to boot, so I don't feel I can squirm out of this one and feel good about it.

I read the non-fiction running book Born to Run a few months ago, and was finally fully convinced of what I've suspected for years. Slapping the ground with running shoes is bad for me.

I got hooked on Vibram's Five Fingers "shoes" three or four years ago, but wasn't convinced I could run in them. I told myself I was too heavy, and needed to lose 20 pounds before I could start running in them. I was afraid of injuries. So, despite wearing my Five Fingers while working in the yard, to the airport and even in the ocean, I still favored my conventional running shoes whenever I'd go out for a run, or to do a 5k.

The problem was, after pounding the pavement (quite literally) for two miles or so, one foot would fall asleep. Another quarter mile, and both feet would be completely numb from the shock of slamming into the pavement. I mentioned this to my father, and he revealed to me that he had the same problem before giving up on running because of persistent knee issues. It was more obvious than ever to me that I either had to lose the running shoes, or make some drastic changes to my running style. Past efforts to do the latter have all been pointless in my case.

Backing up a bit, Five Finger shoes appeal heavily to geeks like me for two reasons. First, they buck conventional wisdom, both in looks and function. Second, the solution to "shoe problems" they offer is well reasoned, backed by scientific data and dead simple. About four years ago, I first saw them on my sister-in-law's feet at the beach, and didn't think much of them, beyond the fact that they looked odd. About six months later, I stumbled upon them again, but mentioned in the context of running injuries. It was argued that barefoot running was what our legs were designed for, and these "gloves" for our feet Vibram was making allowed us to run with the confidence of foot protection in urban and trail environments.

For several years, I was convinced that barefoot, or as close to it as possible while keeping the foot safe, was the solution, but feared my foot couldn't handle my weight in a run. After reading Born to Run, I lost the fear, and decided to try it. Even if I only ran very short distances to start out, I was determined to ditch the running shoes and not look back.

Here I am. I just ran two miles with my Five Fingers. I barely broke a sweat. No strain in my knees, no stress or numb sensations in my feet. Most of my muscles from the knees down will be sore tomorrow, but that's okay. They've got some catching up to do.

This Month's Projects

I'm working on a few projects this month, trying to focus on teaching myself some more programming. Once I'm a bit deeper into them, I'll post with more information, but for now, I can say:

• One will be a Java class that does some subnet math.
• The other will be a bit of Python that processes a special type of Twitter account :)

--Adrian

Kids and the Internet

I've decided to start teaching my son (7) how to use a computer and the Internet, to an extent. I've seen how not to do this firsthand and heard plenty more horror stories. There are some things on the Internet you cannot unsee - especially when you're seven.

Additionally, I've been talking to some of my daughter's teachers about designing a "kid friendly/proof" computer for use in the classroom. Being a computer guy, I set to design the simplest possible solution that would work with the least amount of maintenance. Though I use Windows XP (with user permissions heavily locked down) and Google Chrome, this approach will work with any platform, as the only software needed is available on most major platforms.

I use a twofold approach:

1. I filter all content with a web proxy. BlueCoat's K9 what I use, as it is free for home use. I start out by configuring K9 to block everything (commonly known in the security industry as whitelisting). I then allow the bare minimum that I want my kids to have access to, one URL at a time. Right now, I have only Google Maps, Wikipedia, Nineplanets.org, Fraboom and Hasbro.com whitelisted. I also highly recommend turning off the "barking" feature in K9 every time a page is blocked, as it will eventually drive you mad.
2. I monitor the kids whenever they're accessing the Internet with the computer. Wikipedia is a great reference resource, but it covers ALL knowledge, including many subjects children are not ready for yet.

Right now, my kids just use the Internet when they want to find out more about a subject (Wikipedia, Nineplanets), play (Hasbro, Fraboom), or learn more about geography (Google Maps). With this design, I can expand later as I need to.

It can be tricky to get some sites working 100%, as they pull content and data from multiple domains in the background (Google Maps requires around 10 domains to be whitelisted). If anyone is interested in getting the K9 filter from me, let me know in the comments, and I'll post it.

Handy Blackberry Apps

I’ve been meaning for a while to share some Blackberry Apps I’ve found useful. I’d also like to hear about any you find useful also!

Google Voice (http://www.google.com/mobile) – Lets you call people with your Google number set as the number they see. The nicest feature though is FREE SMS messaging!

Google Sync (http://www.google.com/mobile) – Lets you sync your Google calendar and contacts with Outlook.

Google Maps and Search (http://www.google.com/mobile) – Allows you to search based on your GPS location, and obviously, Maps helps you get where you want to go, though it is still occasionally inaccurate.

EveryTrail (http://www.everytrail.com/bbapps) – Tracks your location while you drive, run, bike, ride a horse, whatever. It will record your entire trip, including altitude changes, average speed, total distance covered, etc... You can also upload the trip to the EveryTrail website, Facebook and other social media sites from your phone, and can replay the trip later on the website.

DriveSafely (http://www.drivesafe.ly/download/) – Text-to-speech for emails and SMS. Just remember to turn it off after you get out of the car, or it may start loudly reciting the email your wife just sent you while you are in the middle of a meeting.

Pandora (http://www.pandora.com/blackberry) – Is awesome. If you don’t know what Pandora is, you don’t need this app.

WorldMate Live (http://www.worldmate.com/blackberry/) – The app is a bit of a beast, but it is very handy if you travel a lot. You just forward your itinerary email (most websites, like Orbitz, and travel agents will email you an itinerary) to trips@worldmate.com, and voila, you have all your hotel and airline ticket/confirmation numbers on your phone. It will also remind you when trips/flights are approaching. You can manually add items and book flights/hotels with it also. Oh, it will also tell you what the weather is at your destination. Did I mention the app is a beast? And there are more features in the paid version!

Urbanspoon (http://www.urbanspoon.com/blackberry) – A kind of restaurant slot machine. Tell it what kind of food you want, or how much you want to spend, and it will find you a restaurant based on your current GPS location.

UberTwitter (http://www.ubertwitter.com/bb/download.php) – This is my favorite Twitter app for Blackberry (so far, there are some other good ones in the works).

FourSquare (http://foursquare.com/blackberry/beta) – I’ve fallen out of the habit of using it, because I’m usually too busy when I’m travelling to mess with it, but it could certainly be fun at tech/security events. Some places will give you discounts for being “the mayor” as well.

Flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Brown.

I popped into a Kayak Coffee just to see how decent coffee chains are is in the midwest (not bad, BTW). While waiting for my order, an eccentrically dressed older lady chats me up, and tells me I look like Sylvester Stallone. She asks if I'm Greek or Italian (I've had this conversation a few times before), and I point her in the right direction. She goes on giving complements, we speak a bit in spanish, and my order comes up. I mention I'm in town on a business trip, and I'm about to end the conversation and leave. She pounces (metaphorically) and tries to hock her CD, which I totally overlooked. 

She wants $15 for a burned CD with the title and artist scribbled with a sharpie? Pleeeeease. The CD labels her as a Jazz, Gospel, and "Chanter". I'm curious, so I pull out a twenty and hand it to her, expecting a five in exchange. Instead, her face lights up, and she exclaims her thanks, and announces that she can now have dinner tonight. Now I know I've been swindled. I trudge out to the car with my honey latte, and pop the CD into the dash of my rental. It has one looooooong track. She sings acapella throughout this solitary track. It is obviously the voice of the woman I spoke to in the coffee shop, Ms. Barbara Brown. She has a strong, clear singing voice, though it is the voice of an amateur, perhaps a lifelong church-goer and choir singer. The quality of the recording is surprisingly good. 

After listening to a few minutes of the CD, I'm not sure whether she's a bit crazy or not. She sings in the same key throughout, but there are no real lyrics. She simply repeats the same, chanting, melodic exercise, using a variety of religious words in different languages. She may be equal parts crazy, and skilled swindler.

Maybe the kids will like it. Perhaps I can upload it if anyone wants to hear what I got myself into. You leave me with odd mementos, St. Louis.

<SIGH> Back to work.

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

Just heard something I haven't heard in a restaurant in a long time...

"Smoking, or Non?"

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

Checking bags in Cleveland

I tried to take my larger bag through security, intending to check it
at the gate (and therefore not paying the fee). They looked at the bag
and started shaking their heads. "They let me check it at the gate in
Knoxville", I said, a bit defensive. They laughed and said, "we follow
the RULES here" before sending me back to the airline counters to
check my bag and pay my $30.

True story.

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

Bye Tennessee, see you Friday. Don't have too much fun when I'm gone.

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

My Son's Reading Obsession

I'm working in my home office, and my son wanders in. He mumbles to himself as he looks through the large built-in bookcase for something to read. "Hmm, Dinosaurs, no... Introduction to Physics... OK", I hear him say, as he wanders off with Introduction to Physics in his hands. Now, if he understands any of it by the time I finish working for the day, I'll REALLY be impressed.

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

At the 2010 Chinese New Year Celebration

Helena wan't feeling well, so it is just me and Enzo.

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

Listening to my old band's latest CD

Weird to listen to, as it has been a long time since I played with
them. I bring the bass on 4 songs, if I remember correctly.
www.myspace.com/johnadamthomasandthelonely45

Posted via email from Adrian's posterous

Antivirus has failed for long enough!

I just read on a LinkedIn discussion, about how Kaspersky created some fake executable files, and then created REAL detections for them. Within ten days, 14 other AV vendors had blindly added detection for these files as well!

I've been a strong anti-AV advocate for as long as I've been using computers. In corporate environments, I feel it is a necessary evil, as you have little control over what risks individual users might take. On personal machines, however, I've always felt that AV is more of a disruption than the potential risk of getting a virus. What do I hate so much about AV software?

• It Doesn't Work - I've set up my friends and family with a variety of AV software over the years, and they still get infected.
• Performance - Depending on whether you have an AV client with a small footprint, like the new Panda Cloud AV software (which I recommend if you are looking for a good free AV client), or a full big-vendor suite, there will be a performance cost. It doesn't seem to be much with the smaller clients, but I've seen the larger ones make a computer completely unusable.
• Add-Ons - Speaking of big AV suites, some of these come with an unbelievable amount of crap that you neither asked for, or needed. They even have the gall to include software that "improves your PC's performance". You could be installing VPN, Backup, Tune-up, Email proxy/scanning, web proxy/scanning, web filter, firewall, encryption, file shredding, and who knows what other software, when all you wanted was anti-virus. I've seen systems with 30+ active processes belonging to the anti-virus vendor suite.

I am the "Virus Sanitation Engineer" for my family and friends. Do I put AV software on their machines? Absolutely. Do they still get infected with malware anyway? Absolutely. I think that a few precautions can make AV software largely unnecessary.

• Use a Web-Based Email Client - Not only do all web-based email clients scan attachments and emails for malicious files or content, but most malicious content sent via email will not execute when opened in a browser.
  
• Delete or Ignore Anything you Don't Explicitly Trust - I know you're curious, but really, don't click it. Don't open it. Just delete it. If you are really that curious, take precautions before checking it out.
  
• GMail - GMail also has a nice feature that can help protect you: Weary of that Powerpoint presentation or Excel attachment that has been forwarded to you from people you don't know? Open it in Google Docs. Any malicious office macros embedded in the document won't run.
  
• Don't Use Internet Explorer - There may be a day when it is safe to use, but we're not there yet. Until then, use Firefox with the NoScript add-on installed (best scenario), or Chrome. Or Safari. Or Opera. Just not IE. The last TEN infections I cleaned up for friends and family computers were all due to Internet Explorer use.
  
  Though it isn't a 100% guarantee you will never get infected, these four simple suggestions have worked extraordinarily well for me, and my wife (who was already doing what I suggest here before I even met her!).
  
  As for the enterprise, I'm hoping whitelisting and other technologies that work on a principle of trust, rather than maintaining a database of known malicious software, will eventually be able to replace antivirus software.
  
  

Penny Arcade Censored

Penny Arcade has long been one of my favorite comics. In fact, I'm shocked to notice that I've now been reading Penny Arcade for more than seven years! Anyway, I've printed out some of my favorite comics to use as bookmarks over the years.

Tonight, my son (a voracious reader) noticed I was using a comic as a bookmark and took interest in it. Many Penny Arcade strips are not for children, and perhaps not even for the weak-hearted. I tried taking the, "oh you wouldn't get the humor, you'd have to understand x and y for it to be funny" route. He was not discouraged, and continued trying to sneek peeks at it.

This particular strip just had some bad language in it, and I thought he might actually be old enough to get the humor, so I decided to make a quick sanitized version.