The start of something magical

Reading through Sonny’s post shot me back into a time of awesomeness. Be sure to read his post on what we can learn from our past. People always ask me why I collect old computers and he does a great job of outlining why. Just because the technology isn’t modern doesn’t mean the underlying principles are not applicable to todays world. Be sure to stroll on over to Sonny’s blog to read more: ...

December 5, 2010 · 2 min · Nick

Have you been using my CAC?

For there record if you say "CAC Card" in my presence you will be "SOL Luck" talking again soon. If you are running Linux or Mac there is a good chance you haven’t been touching my CAC, otherwise known as Common Access Card. George Bush signed HSPD-12 way back in 2004 to mandate the usage of CAC and multifactor authentication on federal networks. The DoD giggled as it was already deploying limited installs at choice commands and was way ahead of the curve. The rest of the government and corporate entities are starting to roll-out the installs and a common theme I see is lack of heterogenous OS support. In this day and age your CIO/CTO/CISO must think beyond what the Microsoft sales lead tells them and think of the user base. Here is a big hint to save you from looking silly – You can’t say iOS/Android development is important to your divisions and then mandate they use Windows computers to comply with your SmartCard policy. I only mention that having sat in the room when the mobile development PM had to make his leadership aware they were basically shutting his group down. ...

December 4, 2010 · 4 min · Nick

No Shave November – Aftermath Report

Men in my Family either grow kickass beards or what amounts to patchy peach fuze. Having been military and in the corporate world my whole life I was unable to determine my future. With the departure from Boeing and some personal days to take care of, it was decided to join in on No Shave November. Becca was on board as she always liked me a little scruffy. I did what any man did to prepare for a beard…nothing…I have to admit it is tough work growing a beard. Between the scratching and avoiding the “about to go hunting” or “I drive a white van with no windows” look, I found myself questioning the task at hand. In the end it grew thick and manly. Had I dared to wear flannel, there is a good chance I would have been drafted into Smokey Bears forest protection team. ...

December 3, 2010 · 3 min · Nick

Left Boeing

This morning I gave my badge back to the Boeing FSO. Lots of smiles and hand shakes, but a sad day all the same. Leaving anything you have been with for 3 years is difficult. In the spirit of my fellow techs (see Ray Ozzie or Lars) I wanted to write a letter to the world. I think as geeks we equate our passion as art and wether or not the world agrees, code is a thing of beauty. Putting this to paper will help me evaluate this decision in the coming months to see if it really was a good one :) ...

December 2, 2010 · 5 min · Nick

How NOT to Dispose of a LoveSac

The LoveSac or Oscars Bed As a single bachelor living alone, I thought it prudent to purchase a 6′ LoveSac. Craigslist revealed a seller in the local area and using my buddy’s Blazer I headed out to get the thing. I am not sure people understand just how BIG a lovesac is. It took Bruce and I the better part of 30 minutes to get the thing from the Blazer into the house. All the while he is cracking jokes about touching my lovesac and how big it is. He is the older one for the record. ...

November 27, 2010 · 4 min · Nick