Penny Arcade's Tycho had a nice little post today that I wanted to save for my own posterity. The wording couldn't be better in juxtaposing conversations of God and conversations among geeks about platforms. The topic below was in relation to the "Macs vs PC" geek conundrum.

"If you want to coexist with different breeds of geeks, you need to adopt a value-neutral approach to the platforms. So, while there are many conversations one can have regarding different computing methods, I typically do not choose to have them. Gabriel and I no longer discuss God for the same reason - people express themselves via means as divergent as spirituality and operating systems, so as soon as the topic starts to get interesting it invariably becomes personal. Obviously, that has a tendency to occlude rational dialogue. There might have been a point where I had a surplus of energy to invest in philosophical cul-de-sacs. I no longer remember it. "

I will add that I like those discussions...as they can be humorous in poking light-hearted fun at someone, but also having them now and then keeps the blood flowing, the thoughts moving, and the mind open. However, I totally agree with what is stated above, as invariably things become personal on both sides. I make it a point not to discuss four things, especially at work: money, politics, abortion, religion. However, there are rare exceptions where a person (especially at work) is highly tolerant, open-minded, respected, and respectful and a discussion can delve into one of those topics with neither party coming out the worse for it.

CNN.com has a "complete election coverage" header near the top of their web site now. It's March. The election is in November. Great, just what I need to see every day for the next 8 months...

I wonder if this drama of the election will count as "reality" television...

I feel like being geeky today, so I shall.

Outlook has a "new" critical flaw where specially designed emails and websites can basically hijack Outlook. Even if this flaw weren't so critical, Office 2002 (XP)'s Service Pack 3 was just released yesterday anyway...even more reason to head to www.microsoft.com/office and get the updates. :) Thankfully, I don't use Outlook at home...

A company called Symbiot just released their new product which is designed to counter-attack against DDoS attacks (a special type of hacking attack designed to overwhelm and thus shut down systems and sites). Sadly, this is a terrible idea on all levels...not only are DDoS attacks almost always originating from faked sources, those sources may either not exist or belong to innocent parties. Counter-attacking a fake source can bring about legal consequences, or hell, even further exacerbate the DDoS effects. Not to mention the ethics of counter-hacking (if you ran into my car on the road, do I get the right to run into your car?).

It would be interesting, though, to see if a DDoS can be launched against a Symbiot-protected company, which triggers a counter-attack aimed at a predetermined "faked" site like Microsoft.com. What if you could harvest these companies that have Symbiot running, and effectively wield them as tools when you so desire? It's like old Cold War stories (or even stories from the Matrix or Terminator...) where one group attacks another group, and the attacked group retaliates against the wrong party...

Terrible, terrible idea...although I have no problems gathering information against attackers, I would never condone my company actively attacking an attacker. The efforts and money can better be spent mitigating risks and shoring up defenses and monitoring.

I picked up three journals today.

This first is a small leather-bound journal, black, with a single long strap to wrap around, and a flap to cover the front. It bends and it has ultra soft leather...very nice...reminds me of the grail diary in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

The second is a slightly larger hardcover book with a rough leather covering. I like leather, as not only does it have a slightly unique texture and character, but it's so much more durable...leather grows with age and use, and becomes that much more special and unique as it absorbs experiences...coffee cups, rain, use, the way its held...etc.

The third is a book I wasn't going to get, but I knew I would never find another one. It's a hardcover with about 50 silver studs on the front and back, black binding, and a pattern of deep grooves in the spine. Lots of pages filled with what can be described as college-rule lines (I hate having nice journals with 15 lines per page..ugh), and really has a nice feel to opening it and paging through. The silver studs add so much though...it almost feels medieval, somewhat devilish, somewhat taboo...it's great!

Not sure what I'll use them for, but one is for work, one will be for general writing, and one will be a note-taking book for computer/networking stuff...commands, websites, tidbits, notes, passwords, and other miscellaneous things I glean from papers, websites, books, and experience...it'll start out as my "hacking" journal...so often I fill up little pieces of post-it notes as I scribble a new tool or finally get just the right configuration on something, only to know I'll forget it in 2 months anyway...too often I'll have a book, reading along, and have a need to write down something otherwise it'll be lost and forgotten as I move on past it.