I've begun the purging of data, after a prudent backup of course. I've find I'm a bit nostalgic about a lot of things on my site. I don't know why, but I want to keep them up, even if I don't really want anyone besides myself to really check them out and think they represent me anymore. I've had to battle that urge with each thing removed, asking myself, "Do I really want this up here? Is it just for me, or do I want other people to see it?" I've also entered a part of my life and our lives as a whole for the Internet where I don't really care if I present my soul to the world on a web page. If someone wants to get to know me, they need to do it in real time. Besides, while I've directed new friends to my site where they have gained insight into me and complimented the site, I've yet to get someone brand new wandering in and using it as the springboard.

I've also had to question the purpose of the site. I could put everything into a blog, but how does a blog present things for years? It won't stay up on the main page, and not many people in their right mind will browse someone's archives. Which is why static content portraying my interests is still the best bet...but how often do interests remain static? I guess I need to mix the two a bit and see what comes out...

So, rambling aside, I've cut out my music section. It was badly in need of updating and I don't plan to update it. Anything new can go here. I've greatly limited my writings section due to the old content in there. I have no real reason to present some of that crap anymore. One paper remains only as a reminder to myself to re-read it. I'm contemplating removing the rest. I've removed the academe and projects parts. The projects were old web-based projects from 5 years ago, and quite frankly, are a little embarassing now. The academe was simply a little blog spur about my schooling. It was not needed and any news there can go in my blog. Anything else about my education can go in a resume. I cut out my old list of favorite books because it was old. I don't think I've ever had someone contact e via AIM or ICQ through this site, so I removed those pieces of information as well; email is sufficient. I snipped my list of favorite performers as well since it, too, was outdated. Oddly, my favorite movies and move lists are fairly up-to-date. I should work a new blog on just those...

Whew, so that was a quite purge of some data and content on this site, basically a trimming of the old branches and leaves. Another couple rounds of this and I should be good. =)

My how the time flies, even when you're not particularly having fun. As much as I keep this blog up in spurts, I am becoming increasingly aware of the dated content in other parts of this site. Seriously, other than the blog and the movies (oh god, I'm starting to call it a blog, I definitely need a change!), the rest of the content here is nearly 6 years old! I definitely need to do a content overhaul before I switch up the backend. Besides, content is easier than backend tinkering.

Now that I should have some more time on my hands, I am looking at possibly upgrading my site a bit. I seem to alternate between back-end updates and front-end design updates, and I'm overdue for both. However, I still like the site design, so I think it is time to jump into a back-end upgrade.

I am looking at blog systems that I can install. Currently I run on Apache with PHP4 (it might be 3!) with Movable Type 1.4 using flat files instead of a database backend on a very stable Windows 2000 Pro box. Movable Type fit my bill exactly, back in the day, but then quickly went commercial and I'm not really willing to pay for something like this. I also have Perl installed, and am willing to update all of these components (I would prefer to keep Windows 2000 though, simply because it is stable, I can get it free, and I'm intimately familiar with it).

My requirements/wishlist, for my own edification:
- easy posting from anywhere (u/p login)
- optional comments...bonus: toggle comments per entry as opposed to per site
- MSDE/SQL 2000 (preferably MSDE) backend with little administration needed
- php-based, but something that requires very little tinkering and coding other than templates/layouts
- the ability to make everything very minimized/minimalistic, from archives, comments, to posts, and the whole blog itself

One thing that is a bit flexible for this version of Movable Type was not just having multiple blogs, but to be able to use them creatively. For instance, my movie list on the right is actually another blog embedded into this page.

I also have a private page where I host all my geekier things. This is almost like a knowledgebase for myself. I am currently running Blosxom which I really love for its simplicity, but I think I am ready to move to a wiki or knowledgebase system.

- easy posting and updating of posts/topics
- good support for wiki-style knowledgebase stuff
- comments system or possible collaboration
- MSDE / SQL 2000 (preferably MSDE) back-end

This upgrade may not happen for a long time simply due to other things going on, and I plan on evaluating some solutions over time, so that I can get the most out of a wiki or blog system. I also now have spare systems to test things on, which will be ideal.

Last night was a pretty depressing, yet liberating night. The World of Warcraft guild that I have been part of for the past 8 months (and some of the guys for the past 14 months) disbanded last night amid a growing sense of unease and discontent over the past couple months. We had killed 3 bosses in Naxxaramas, regularly killed the Twin Emps in AQ40, and routinely finished BWL in 3 hours or less.

While it will be tough to say goodbye to having 4+ hour raids 5 out of 7 nights a week, and experiencing the challenge of the content, the company of fun peope, and the exhilaration of new kills and new gear, I look forward to this newfound freedom I will experience in my nights. I will be able to not be tied so much to participating in playing the game (way too much) and when I do play, I can spend my time with the people who matter most. I can sit back, experience the play, have fun with close friends, and otherwise move on from life in a hardcore WoW raiding guild. This is a good thing, but it is always a bit QQ to walk away from a group of people whom I've talked to on Vent and in game nearly every night for such a long period of time. The best way to illustrate the focus I've put into WoW in the past 10 months is that I figure out what day it is based on which raid we did (or didn't do) the night previous and the night coming up...If we raided AQ40 last night for most of the afternoon and evening, then that was Sunday and today is Monday...

I peruse gaming sites regularly, and it saddens me to see one of the most hallowed and beloved codes from my childhood remembered incorrectly. The old Konami code that worked on games like Contra was Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A B A Start (or Select Start for two players). Far too often I see it quoted with just one "B A" set. I can still sing-song this code for pete's sake...

Now, that said, I do believe there is a version of this code, without that extra "B A" set for some later Konami games, but that's Konami's mistake, not mine. *stomp* :)

At first there was innocence, ignorance of the needs of security in networks during the days of the open networks, where network downtime and intrusions were borne more by discovery and accidents. Then there came playfulness, where security was beginning and attackers made more curious, playful attacks, toying with users or just crashing systems to see the effect.

Then came adulthood, maturity. Now, attackers are not necessarily interested in downtime or playing around. They have an agenda and they have profitable goals. Suddenly, we have maliciousness...

I have a more private site that I keep as my own private little portal to security news, virus information, resources, tools, links, papers, and on and on. Every now and then I add a few sites to my links and remove a few defunct sites.

But every now and then while browsing news, I read on some site that "so and so" has more information, or "from the site of such and such." And I end up following 5 links deep to 5 different sites all reporting on the same news tidbit. Then I realize what has happened and I say to myself, "wow, there's a ton of blogs and news sites for tech news and opinions" (as I type one out here myself!). I wonder how cut-throat some of these link-relationships get? I've seen blog wars where someone feels they didn't get credited or where people of differing views post in their blogs their reactions and then wield their viewers and commentors like some botnet to swoop on the other and comment-spam them, escalating the all-out blogosphere war. Ugh.

It is sobering the effect of the web as a way to express oneself, to self-publish, to create, to share, and share with. Even the most stubborn hermit still has that need to share his or her thoughts with at least one other receptive person, and the web is such an easy outlet to masses. There are times when I feel like heading out to the mountains, just me, nature, spirituality...and an Internet connection. :)

I used to run online gaming league/tournament/community sites, and I know the amount of effort and dedication it takes to keep something popular on the web. It was tough 5 years ago when I finally "retired" from that, and I can't imagine how much tougher it is now, especially when you're not just offering up something unique and fun like digg.com. Then try to find all the digg copiers or slashdot wannabes or every other blog out there that tries to act very self-important and get fans and followers. People like me who add that blog to their short (but growing) list of weekly visits. I can't imagine how tough it might be to always put up meaningful content, opinions, and original substance on a technical blog or tech site...especially for me, someone who does not yet have something unique or original to share (someday, I think so).

But then I look back and see why I post here or even on my personal site. It is much the same way I might keep a journal (girls call it a diary, journal is more manly) next to my nightstand or in my backpack. It is a way to document my thoughts, and also comment on and document news stories. When 9/11 occurred and every blog in existence posted comments, it was not all because they wanted to be part of the news megasphere or get readers or even self-publish. That was an important event in their lives, more than worthy of being in the journal...only today's journals are more able to be public and commented on. I definitely need to lighten up on my lashback of the blog effect on the web.

At any rate, there are blogs and tech news sites all over. There are weekends where I grab something warm to drink, and spend the morning or evening following the blog links. It is much like roaming down an unknown state park path, taking in the sites. Click a link, check that person out, look at his or her link list, pick another that looks interesting, and just roam randomly. Sometimes I pick people from Iowa, sometimes security/hackers (I love wandering into the sites of people whose names I might recognize from the scene, but who have grown up or moved on and their site remains as it was 5 years prior...), sometimes just random people with cool site designs or ways of writing. Sometimes I am looking for new people to add to my bookmarks, sometimes just checking out site designs for inspiration, sometimes just bored.

I wish I could keep up with such a huge community, but there are not many jobs that pay for that kind of a hobby, and in all honesty, I wore out my "online life-living" back in high school and college with IRC, IM, forums, gaming, and other things not worth mentioning, and it really never got me all that far anyway. As it is, I am one of those people who just looks for useful and meaningful blogs and sites to bookmark on my private page, to visit again over the months and perhaps even pipe in and comment to the author, perhaps making a friend or colleague in the process. It is always a sad event when one of my links gets removed, either from lack of updates or lack of updates that are useful to me as either I or they have moved on to other topics or phases of life.

For those that know what it means, I'm feeling just a bit QQ today. :)

So, I started a new "blog" about a week or two ago and started populating it with content and musings. The blog (I still hate that term, but it's familiarity has forced me to start using it) was supposed to allow me a creative and technical outlet for some things in my head, dealing largely with security and technical sysadmin stuff. Basically I didn't want to clutter up this page with lots and lots of technical jargon.

The more I think about it though, the more reason I have to not only redesign my site, but to also put that content here. In the past, I have shared most everything on this site, technical, non-technical, writings, personal life, etc. I really don't have a good reason to separate it now, and the postings here have obviously been a bit lacking.

In the end, all of this technical "junk" is part of me and my life right now, and is dominating my thoughs and experiences. And it is that kind of stuff that belongs here on this page.

My biggest reason for posting that technical stuff was to get into the community of security professionals and networkers a bit more, but honestly, they can come here if they want and if I have something to offer, but until I have something relaly focused to offer that can be spun off here and isolated, moving it all here is the best alternative.

So...there may be a bunch of long posts coming here...just bear with me as I populate the posts...