CS 526 - Information Security

I've read a number of quotes, articles, and papers produced by Dr. Gene Spafford over the years, and they almost always have left me amused if not more informed. So, I was pretty excited to finally enroll in one of his courses. Spaf is a very well-known security researcher, the founder of CERIAS, and regularly interacts with members of the federal government. More about Spaf can be found here.

Regardless, in standard Spaf tradition, this course was no disappointment. The lectures were entertaining and relatively useful, the homework was fairly light, and the project was actually fun. We were given a good amount of flexibility in choosing our project, and you can see the fruits of my labor here. All in all it was an excellent time.

"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it."

RCAC - HUBzero

Having not done anything too drastic, I have yet to be fired from my full time job here at the university. As time progresses I've taken over more responsibilities and am now intimately involved with our core infrastructure (for better or worse).

Progress on my research is slower than desired, but I have reached a few major milestones. In particular, task migration now works. I'd say more, but then someone reading this might actually understand what I am doing. We wouldn't want that now, would we.

"FLT 200" - Flight

Always striving for a continually interesting life, around August of 2009 I began working on my private pilot's license. On February 13, 2010 I achieved my goal. That's right, the next time you look up and see a single engine airplane overhead (or crashing into the ground) it might just be me behind the yoke!

Special thanks to my excellent instructor, Matt Dickinson!