Has it been almost two weeks? I have been so busy that I couldn't even find time for this favorite diversion.
The bulk of my non-work day had been consumed by my preparations for a new SANS course called Home Computer and Network Security. As a SANS board member I took up the call to teach a section as part of a limited national test - the course attempts to help small business and home computer users learn to use the Internet and maintain their computers and networks more safely. Unfortunately SANS marketing channels are not developed into this market so I had to spend many hours trying to get the word out: press releases; a nice interview in the local paper; communication with local networks like local ISSA group and colleges; and distributing a lot of flyers around town. SANS also prides itself on the wealth of knowledge it tries to impart so the 3 hour course consists of over 100 Powerpoint slides chocked full of information. As a presented I will not read the slide to the audience, I try to talk about the topic and prepare examples. Just working through the material for preparation required in excess of 20 hours (this perhaps cut most directly into my time for blogging). I gave the class a few nights ago and the response seemed very positive even though I ran over the three hours. The rating I received from attendees was uniformly high and the typical evaluation comment was that the material was excellent but the class needs to be longer.
There have been plenty of terrific articles I have wanted to blog about but I will only mention Fouad Ajami's incredible opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on September 28 called Heart Of Darkness. While normally we debate the US role and responsibility in combating terrorism, Dr. Ajami takes the Arab nation to task - both governments and the 'street', very seldom do we hear a discussion in our media about Arab culpability.
Of course being busy doesn't mean that I don't still try to balance work and family/pleasure. The family went out to see the movie "March of the Penguins" - something I highly recommend; Battlestar Galactica is now shipping on Blockbuster Online (I have been really looking forward to the whole first season after experiencing the mini-series - I am very pleased with how well the series is being developed.); also managed to get hooked on the highly panned FireFly series and looking forward to the new film Serenity; and we have been preparing to install our new Baby Magnum Corn Stove (just waiting on a back ordered piece of pipe).
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