Until my trip to Breckenridge, I had no idea I was working with so many ski people. Ever since we got back, people have been stopping by my office to share ski stories. I wish I had taken some pictures to share with everyone, but I don’t like carrying a camera with me on the slopes, and after the skiing I just don’t think about pictures.

Jeff is from Boston, so all his ski experience has been on east coast mountains. He spent the holiday weekend with family in Killington. Of course, the northeast has had a BUNCH of snow this year, so conditions were great. Jeff and his partner love Vermont, and there are plenty of top notch ski resorts up there.

Jeff and his partner ended up buying new gear for the trip. They are especially happy with their new North Face Jackets. Lucky guys! For people serious about staying warm, North Face is the way to go here in Nashville. I notice those jackets on guys at the hockey games and all about town while I’m out shopping.

Buster is packing it in for the night
and not in the mood for “Peek-a-Boo.”

Now that the kids are in Vancouver with their dad, I decided to move things around in the house. I made one of their bedrooms into a home office, with a futon on the far wall that can be used as a guest bed.

The other bedroom was such a toddler-oriented room, that I sold the furniture on Craigslist and fixing it up is my next home improvement project. I want to keep it a room for kids, but on a more mature level.

I’ve been hunting the local furniture stores for ideas, but haven’t found what I want yet. I know that light colored wood is not in style right now, but that’s what I like and I’m determined to find the style I want and the quality I want. And I want it at a fair price.

Selena told me about some online sources, so I’m off to surf the internet looking for bedroom furniture. If I find what I want and the weather is nice this weekend, I might head out to Lowe’s and get a new light fixture and curtain rods, and then I’ll have to find two days when I can paint.

There was a hound dog laying in the yard and an old geezer in overalls was sitting on the porch.
”Excuse me, sir, but does your dog bite?” a tourist asked.
The old man looked up over his newspaper and replied, ”Nope.”
The tourist stepped out of his car, the dog began snarling and growling, and then attacked both his arms and legs. As the tourist flailed around in the dust, he yelled, ”I thought you said your dog didn’t bite!”
The old man muttered, ”That ain’t my dog.”

My earliest memory of computers was back in the 1980’s my brother had an audio cassette player hooked up to a box with a green monochrome monitor. My parents had to put in a second phone so that the line wasn’t always busy when friends and family would try to call, because my brother would be on the internet. I think we had one of the very first AOL accounts. It was all very exciting.

It is strange to see how much the modern office has evolved and become dependent on computers. I’ve been very lucky in that my first job was with a computer company, and every job since then has been with a big enough company that we always had a geek squad in the IT department available to us if we ever had any computer problems. Most of the time I would figure out what was wrong with my computer on my own. It is amazing how turning it off and counting to 10 and then turning it back can be a good thing – for both the computer and your own stress levels. LOL

But now with networks all over the place, fixing your own computer can be hard, if not impossible. Dropped connections, adminstrator privileges, system crashes – all make for problems that only a trained expert can handle. And after a point, tending to my own job and not fixing my computer has become more important to fulfilling my position’s responsibilities.

I feel sorry for the small business owner that is trying to start a new business on a shoe string or just trying to keep his/her head above water running their business and then they have a problem pop up with their computer. It can make the whole day’s productivity grind to a halt while they try to trouble shoot their system and then find someone to help them get it fixed.

Gene told me about a new online PC repair service that he has used out in California. Since it is internet based, it doesn’t matter where you are or where your computers are located if you need help with computer repairs. I’m going to bookmark their website so if I have a problem at home (and can’t reach Gene) at least I can get help from a trusted source.

Crash really likes the chicken treats we give him for being a good boy.

The best thing about my California “experience” last year is that I made friends with a couple of tekkies, Gene and Fredrik. We used to carpool, and an hour in the car together twice a day can build a strong bond among people. We still email, text and chat every week.

Gene was telling me about an exciting new software tool for netflow analysis. He emailed this press release so I could find out more about what he was telling me:

Packet Analytics Launches Net/FSE, Free Downloadable Network Forensic Search Engine

Browser-Based Workflow Solution Provides Security Analysts with Real-Time Forensic and Analysis of Terabytes of NetFlow Data

Santa Fe, N.M. – January 22, 2008 – Packet Analytics, a network security tools company today launched Net/FSE, the Network Forensic Search Engine. Net/FSE is the first commercial search engine for enterprise network data to focus on security incident response by harnessing the power of NetFlow data. It is designed to exploit the forensic potential of NetFlow data to dig deep into network alerts.

A browser-based workflow tool for security analysts, Net/FSE employs proprietary search technology licensed exclusively from Los Alamos National Laboratory where it was developed and battle tested for five years. Net/FSE allows network security analysts to respond rapidly to network alerts and anomalies by analyzing terabytes of NetFlow router data in real-time through a highly scalable search engine. A commonly overlooked network data resource because of its voluminous nature and predominate use in IT engineering operations, NetFlow data can be a powerful source of forensic information for security analysis.

“We purchased and deployed Net/FSE at Los Alamos National Bank to give us visibility into our NetFlow router data in addition to our other network data,” said David McCullough, Chief Technical Officer for Los Alamos National Bank. “Before Net/FSE when we needed to perform a network security investigation it was taking us as much as day to answer one investigative question. Now, we’re able to answer that same question in a matter of minutes.”

“Our research consistently indicates that flow data, including NetFlow, will be increasingly leveraged to improve network security and operations,” said Derek E. Brink, vice president and research director for IT Security, Aberdeen Group. “Overall, organizations surveyed indicate about 90% year-over-year growth in deployment of solutions that leverage network flow data, based on planned use in the next 12 months versus current use.”

Typically, when a network security alert is generated in an enterprise firewall, intrusion detection system or security information management system the security analysts do not have access to the necessary context that allows them to definitively and effectively respond to the event. Net/FSE allows analysts to collect and quickly search all of their NetFlow and other network data to determine the impact of the alert and effectively respond.

“Security breaches can happen to any company. It’s not a matter of if, but when they will occur,” said Andy Alsop, CEO of Packet Analytics. “Net/FSE was built by security analysts for security analysts so that enterprises have access to advanced search capabilities over terabytes of NetFlow router data. Our product will save analysts a significant amount of time in their routine alert investigations, making them more efficient and dramatically decreasing response time.”

Net/FSE requires little or no administration and can be quickly installed by the customer on commodity servers running a Linux operating system. Deployed as a browser-based solution, analysts can search through terabytes of data from anywhere on the network.

Net/FSE is available as a free download with full functionality at www.packetanalytics.com.

About Packet Analytics

Packet Analytics provides tools and solutions to enterprises that dramatically increase the security of their network operations by mitigating the effects of security breaches. The company’s Network Forensic Search Engine or Net/FSE is the first commercial security search engine for NetFlow log data and is based on technology licensed exclusively from Los Alamos National Laboratory. Using proprietary distributed search algorithms, Net/FSE dramatically reduces exposure to significant business risk by enabling security specialists to quickly identify the extent of a security breach. The company is based in Santa Fe, N.M. Visit www.packetanalytics.com for more information.

I admit I’m a throwback to the good old days of vinyl records. When I discovered music in my tweens, I spent all the allowance I could spare on music. Usually I bought LPs – the albums, instead of cassettes. My folks had an awesome stereo components system and we had music playing more than the TV.

So now I have about 8 milkcrates with my old LPs stored in them. The milkcrates are starting to look way too “college dorm” for someone my age. Finding bookshelves deep enough for the 12″ albums is very hard in today’s furniture stores. I’ve been seriously thinking about converting my favorite albums into CDs and just giving the actual albums to my sister. She has a huge house and a lot more room to store things like that than I do, plus she’s a “collector.”

Sorry to admit that I don’t even have a working turntable anymore. My parents would be shocked – that is practically a sin. The turntable that I do have is stuck on the top shelf in a closet and does not have a stylus. I don’t know where to find a stylus and I don’t have any of the rest fo the components anymore, so it is useless right now.

BUT – I’ve heard about a turntable that has a USB connection so you can operate it from your PC in addition to the RCA cables that let you plug it into a traditional stereo component system. How cool is THAT?

If I buy a USB Turntableand a stack of blank CDs, I can listen to my old favorite tunes and start archiving them a few albums each night. What a great project for the winter months when I’m stuck in the house night after night! I would love to put on the Doors “Soft Parade” right now!

Ready for some happy tunes this morning. I’m sick of cold, grey days. I want to have some fun!

I know, it’s a good time for Bonepony! I challenge anyone to listen to Bonepony and sit still. You can’t do it!