ISBC reminders and updates

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Since things are gearing up for our first (Twitter/G+) discussion tomorrow, I thought that I would make another post about what’s going on in the wonderful world of the InfoSec Book Club.

  • I started to write up questions for discussion tomorrow, but it felt too much like I was preparing essay questions. So instead of posting discussion questions, I’ll start with a question at 10:30 AM (EST) and then will move the discussion along throughout the day. If that doesn’t work out well, then we will try the discussion questions with next month’s book.
  • As far as I know, we are still on for the Google+ hangout with Kent Nabors and Jayson E. Street to discuss the book this Saturday at 8PM (EST)
  • Speaking of next month’s book! Just wanted to remind you all that we are still set to read Kevin Mitnick’s Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker next month (which starts on Wednesday).
  • March’s book was supposed to be Silence on the Wire: A Field Guide to Passive Reconnaissance and Indirect Attacks, but after consideration and a lot of input, it will be switching places with September’s book (Metasploit: The Penetration Tester’s Guide).

I think that is it and I look forward to the discussion tomorrow morning and the G+ hangout on Saturday!

ISBC Giveaway

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Since this is the first month of the InfoSec Book Club, I thought that I would do something fun with it and offer a little giveaway. The prizes aren’t “super amazing”, but are fun and have something to do with the book as well as one of the authors (you’ll see what I mean below). The first person to email me the correct answers (verified by Jayson E. Street) wins the prizes.

All three answers can be found in the story portion of the book and you can email me your answers at: magen@tottenkoph.com

The questions from Jayson are:

1. How many Scooby Doo references are in the book & on what page numbers?

2. Who had the “Pulp Fiction” avatar?

3. One of the characters name was taken from an email used to propagate a virus who is it?

The prizes are a USB pen (like the one used in the book, except it has a laser pointer in it) and your choice of: 36 pack of Pepsi, 36 pack of Diet Pepsi, or a Pepsi-Cola wall-mounted bottle opener.

UPDATE:I also wanted to let you all know that Heidi has told me recently that she spoke with Syngress and No Starch Press and it has been arranged to have some copies of the books from those vendors at Shmoocon.

Health update and weekly meal plan

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It has been about a week (technically a week and two days) since I started to get back on Weight Watchers. Last week I was unable to go to the gym (the apartment complex has a little gym with weights, treadmills, etc.) because I stuck inside the house and the gym is still being renovated. Yesterday was when I was scheduled to weigh in and I had lost 3 pounds. Not much-I know-but considering I lost that as a result of just eating better (still cheated on Saturday when we went over to Kita’s for game night, but that’s totally my bad) and being more careful with portion sizes. So I remain kind of optimistic. I’m still doing yoga in the mornings and starting this weekend, a friend of mine and I are set to go on a hiking/nature trail once a week. I really do need to get better about getting my blood drawn/tested (late last month was the first time I have done it since surgery), but overall things are good on the health front.

And as far as next week’s meal plan:

Su: Roasted chicken legs, rice and broccoli (~9 points; instead of 5 spice like she used, we are going with a lemon and herb roasted chicken)
M: Sweet and sour chicken with 1/2 cup of rice (6 points)
Tu: Sausage-stuffed shells with side salad (11 points)
W: Crock pot creole chicken (5 points a serving)
Th: Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli (7 points)
F: Orange-glazed chicken with 1/2 cup of rice
Sa: Chili (unknown; will update with points)
Breakfast: home-made granola bars with pecans and chocolate (4 points a bar)

Stuff of the month

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One of the good things about being forced to stay home because of the snow is that I got to read and watch some stuff that I may not have otherwise made the time to read/watch. Now the trick is to keep up the habit of reading even though I can go off and do other things. I also got a new phone the weekend before the snowstorm so my old phone is now serving as an mp3 player (since the iPod decided that it doesn’t want to hold a charge anymore and I really don’t want to buy another). Which is great not only because I don’t have to pay for another device, but I got to listen to some music that I had forgotten about while deciding what to transfer.

What I’m listening to: The Automatic Automatic: Not Accepted Anywhere

What I’ve been reading: Dissecting the Hack: The F0rb1dd3n Network (Jayson E. Street, Brian Baskin, Kent Nabors); The Light Fantastic and Sourcery (Terry Pratchett)

 

What we (bf+I) are watching [American TV]: Castle season 4; Fringe season 4; Damages season 4; 30 Rock season 6; Archer season 3

What we are watching [anime]: The same anime night line-up as last month (only change is that Fate/Zero is on hiatus for a season I believe). We have also watched When They Cry-Higurashi* (Higurashi no Naku Koroni), it’s sequel Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai*. And we just started watching Toaru Kagaku no Railgun (pretty fun spinoff from the Index series).

*Don’t watch this with children or if you scare easily. Don’t let the really cute drawing style fool you.**
**No, seriously. This stuff is kind of messed up, y’all.

Finally making an update this week…

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I don’t know if I have ever been snowed-in at home before (I vaguely recalling it snowing when we lived in Fort Campbell, KY). But I pray for my mom’s sake that we weren’t. Because holy crap am I bored. And restless. Both of which are terrible things and usually how I ended up in trouble when I was younger. I’m also feeling lazy/unmotivated when it comes to doing anything creative. But I’m making myself do stuff anyways.

I have an idea for a second entry for the sprite stitch challenge (the exquisite corpse challenge is supposed to span over two months, so there really isn’t any reason why I shouldn’t be doing two entries). Based on the clue that I was given, I was thinking of having the second entry be of the black mage trying to attack a chocobo with other chocobos behind the mage, unaware. I’m unsure how it will turn out, but I guess I will see later today when I try to make the pattern.

On the diet front, it has been 5 days since I started the diet and have been good about staying on it. I have to fight the urge to hop on the scale every day to see if I have made any progress, which I know isn’t really going to help me any or is a good thing to do. I have been slacking a little bit on drinking water at home, but have increased the amount of green and white teas that I drink. I’ve also been craving chocolate. Badly. Like I would gladly sell off the bf for a king-sized bar of quality dark chocolate. But I haven’t. I’ve been doing pretty good at fighting that craving (we’ll ignore the fact there is no chocolate in the house and we can’t go anywhere because the roads are covered in ice and the bf’s car has crappy tires).

I’ve been unable to start going back to the apartment complex’s gym like I had planned to start doing this week (not just because of the snow, but they are doing some upgrading to the equipment that they have). I have, however, been doing yoga every morning in the living room before logging in to work. It has helped to keep my back from hurting since I’ve been in a weird, hunched-over position to work on the laptop from my coffee table. I’ve also noticed that I have been sleeping better since starting to do this daily again.

I also finally finished this month’s ISBC book and am working with Jayson on a giveaway when I post up this month’s discussion topics. I feel kind of bad about having the twitter/G+ discussions this month since a lot of people will be at Shmoo, but I figure that they can participate in the convo from their phones in between talks and can join us on the G+ Hangout at 8PM EST on Saturday if they are able to.

Meal plan for the week of 1/22

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There isn’t really a lot to update y’all on as far as the diet goes. I’ve been sticking to it so far (it’s only day 2, though) and haven’t had the feeling like I will have to gnaw off my arm to feel satiated. Also, I haven’t been able to go to the gym like I had planned to start doing because it has decided to snow and we don’t really want to leave the house. Also, those bars that I linked to last week? Not a huge fan.

So, with all of that said, here is next week’s meal plan with point values…

M-Herb-crusted tilapia, broccoli and 1/2 cup of rice (10 points)
Tu-Honey-mustard pork chops with broccoli and corn on the cob (5 points)
W-Pan seared steak with mushroom ravioli (10 points; I try to keep the point-age down, but it’s my birthday dammit.)
Th-Coconut green curry chicken with 1/2 cup of rice (7 points)
F-Chicken enchilada soup (5 points)
Sa-Being taken out for a birthday dinner. First time eating out since diet started; it will be interesting to see how this goes…

Breakfast for the week: chocolate chip scones (4 points)
Snacks: raisins, carrots

 

Starting on WW again and meal plan for the week of 1/15

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I took the first step in trying to get my weight/eating habits back on track (not just on track, but down to normal, healthy levels) last night. I went and I found all of my old WW stuff that I had saved (I had a bunch of links) as well as found some new recipe sites. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Weight Watcher’s program, you are given a certain amount of points that tells you how much you’re allowed to eat every day (every food item is assigned a point value and there are a lot of free point calculators out there on the webosphere nowadays). So a good chunk of my night was trying to find the formula for determining how many points a day I get (32. Which is crazy high in my opinion, but there you go).

After that, I sat down and completely re-did my meal plan for next week (which is usually done on Tuesdays and then we scour the sales ads on Wednesdays when they come out). The meal plans start on Sunday and go through Saturday; grocery shopping is done every Saturday morning.

So, with all of that said, I figured that it would be easier to post the meal plans (with point values/links/recipes) weekly instead of monthly (since last month showed that it can become a pretty big pain). Sunday is the day where I’m allowing myself a little more freedom with dinners/breakfast so that way it is easier to stick to while I’m starting to get back in the swing of the WW diet. This week’s meal plan includes:

Su-Pesto chicken, peas and cheese tortellini: 15 points
M-BLT salad: 9 points
Tu-Sweet and sour chicken with rice: 7 points
W-Chicken rollatini with spinach alla Parmigana: 4 points. With a side Greek salad: 8 points
Th-Yakiniku don with rice: 9 points a serving
F-Salmon with a ginger, honey, and soy sauce glaze: 7 points. Served with 1/2 cup of rice and broccoli (2 points)
Sa- Stuffed pepper soup: 5 pts/serving
Breakfast for the week- oatmeal bars with blueberries and bananas: 4 points/serving
Snacks-fruit smoothie (recipe given to me by Killface):3 points/serving ; hard-boiled egg: 2 points an egg

 

Looking backward and forward

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Saying/doing something like “I want to be happy” is a lot more complicated than I originally thought. So I decided to spend some time browsing old pictures and tried to remember what my state of mind was like when that picture was taken. It has helped me realize that I’m not as happy as I was 5+ years ago and I want to figure out why (it is also an excuse to share some old pictures).


Me (left) with my little sister (right)-summer of 2004 I think

For a few summers, my family and I would go to BonAire and scuba dive. This picture was taken during my last summer before graduation and I was having a blast. The world was my oyster and all that other nonsense…During this time:

  • I was hella tan then. But I’m ok with not being tan anymore. It’s a pain in the butt to keep up and it’s really easy to get embarrassing tan lines. That and I think I look better pale.
  • I was at my (then) all-time high weight (25 lbs lighter than I currently am). I had just started Weight Watchers and was walking 1 mile every day. No soda and no candy. Occasionally eating out.
  • I had just started to let my hair grow (when this picture was taken, it was nearing my shoulders) after I made the mistake of deciding to cut it off (something I would do again a few years later and regret even more).
  • I whitened my teeth regularly (now they’re this awkward yellow from all the coffee I drink)

Me circa 2005

This was taken the year that I graduated from high school. I was super excited about everything (just figured out that I wanted to pursue a career in InfoSec) and:

  • Reached my all-time low weight (75 lbs less than what I currently weigh)
  • Acne treatment and teeth whitening were really paying off
  • I got my hair lightened regularly and have decided to let it keep growing
  • Made time to read as often as I possibly could
  • Was going out and doing stuff (visiting friends, going to concerts, meeting people and being active)
  • Still on weight watchers, jogging 2-3 miles a day and starting to do yoga every morning.
  • Spending a lot of free time with my friends and (especially) with my goddaughter (I’m ashamed to admit I don’t do either anymore, really…)

Me at DerbyCon 10/2010

Somewhere between then and now, I have gained 95 pounds (have lost 20 since August), bite my nails, stopped getting my hair done/exercising/teeth whitening regularly and just kind of let myself get distracted from what I want and who I want to be and end up with pictures where I’m forcing myself to smile instead of just being happy all of the time. I’m not saying that now I’m a sad sack, I’m not just as happy as I was. Yes, a lot of stuff and experiences have happened between then and now that I wouldn’t change, but I have let myself venture off the path that was working so well for me. I want to be that happier person, who doesn’t have to fake smiles and who actually wants to have her picture taken (instead of insisting on being the one who hides behind the camera) because I’m embarrassed.

Sumo Pirate can’t handle the vacuuming

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I want to post something deep and wonderful and philosophical, but my mind isn’t really working right now.

Last night, the upstairs neighbor (dubbed “Sumo Pirate” almost a year ago) decided that he wanted to vacuum at 10 last night. Normally, I’d have no problem with it. You go and get your dirt busting on. But not when I have to wake up early the following morning. Or when it takes you over an hour to vacuum your less than 800 square foot apartment because you have to stop and take intermittent “breathers” (seriously. He’d vacuum–stomping around and ramming his vacuum into things along the way–and then stop for 5 minutes or so and then start up again). I was threatening to go up and talk with him, but the boyfriend assured me that “he has to stop soon, right? I mean, he doesn’t have that much floor to vacuum” so  I didn’t (that and he promised to report it to the office, which he did). And as a result of him vacuuming, moving furniture and yelling at his (roommate?) to get him a towel from the bathroom, I didn’t get much sleep.

That is why I have been kind of a grouchy pants all day. And is also the reason why I will be spending the rest of the evening drinking tea and hiding under the electric blanket, giggling as I reverse pick-pocket people with grenades in Fallout 3.

 

In which I rant…

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I kind of started ranting on one of my cousin’s Facebook posts… This doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but I still get embarrassed when I get all soap box-y on her or others. There are just a few things that really, really frustrate me and the article that she posted kind of poked at it. Mostly it is because I’ve been thinking a lot, recently, about what I want and how I can make myself be/feel happy and at peace. And how sometimes what I want/need is in direct conflict with what society and (some of) my peers tell me I need…

The article in and of itself is pretty harmless, but it touches on something that has always bugged me: self- or society-imposed deadlines that have to be met in order for us to consider ourselves really (happy/successful/etc.). And it’s absolute crap. One of the big ones is getting married and having kids by the time you’re 25. Back at home, that’s totally the norm. If you’re not married or have little kidlets by then, then you must obviously be hurting because you’re life isn’t 100% fulfilled. And for a while, I really did think that way and was getting depressed and dreading the fact that I turn 25 in less than a month (at the time, now we’re at 16 days and counting) and don’t have a husband or pod-ling. Until I stopped to think about it.

Do I want kid(s) right now? No. Not really. I don’t have the money to afford one and I’m quite honestly not at a place where I think I can give another (tiny) human the attention, love, etc. that it needs and deserves (hell, I honestly can’t even take care of a cactus…). Would I want one in the future? Yeah, I think. But only if I know that I could take care of it and give it the same chances/opportunities that I was able to have (and more) than I did when I grew up. That’d be only fair. But that’s at least 5 years in the future. And there’s nothing wrong with that (Let me get your pre-knotted panties untwisted for you: if you got knocked up and can take care of your kid or if you’re trying to have kids, that’s fine. I’m not condemning you in the least). Just stop making me feel like I’m less of an “adult” or that I’m somehow depraved because I decided that I don’t want to have kids (now and possibly in the future).

Another thing is that people need to stop jabbing me (physically or metaphorically, either way it’s annoying) about getting married. The boyfriend and I are happy with our current situation. Are boyfriend and I happy? Yes. Do we want to get married some day? I don’t know, maybe. Right now, we are still in the pretty early stages of a relationship and the only thing that would change if we were to get married is our tax status and my last name. Neither of those seem like really compelling reasons for matrimony. And, quite honestly, the only reason I’ve entertained the thoughts of marriage in the past is because I thought it was something I am supposed to do.

I honestly did not mean to have this turn into a rant. I know many wonderful people who got married and/or had kids at a “young age” (my mom was pregnant with my sister at my age, if I recall correctly). But when I have a conversation with someone from my past and the first thing is “So, are you married yet?” or “How many kids do you have now?”, I feel like I have to come prepared with an excuse. And I honestly feel like that is bs.

I’m (almost) 25. My ring finger and my womb are both empty. And I’m ok with that.