Reflection, nostalgia, looking back.
I recall a memory from long ago. I was travelling around New Zealand and I had made some friends, some fellow travellers. We were in a big town somewhere, a park, laying down on the grass staring up at the sky looking at the clouds. We discussed our travels, where we had been and where we were going. We discussed our futures our dreams.
Looking back you remember the dreams you had and compare them to the life you lead. Each decision takes you in a different direction. No matter how small the decision. Your life is what you make it to be.
Regrets are pointless. You can’t change the decisions you’ve already made and how you have lead your life so far. If your dreams didn’t come true then that’s ok. Make new ones. Each new day that you wake up to is full of endless possibilities. When you get older each day where you wake up is a good day. Enjoy it. Make new dreams.
Two people on a date
I’ve been out walking and found a bar that looks inviting. I order a coffee and sit by a window and unpack my gadgets with the intention of getting stuck into some writing. I take a sip of my overpriced beverage knowing what I actually paid for is a place to work for the next thirty or so minutes. The coffee being the price of admission.
I gaze at the other patrons. On the nearest table is a couple clearly out on a date. I’m not sure if it’s going well though as they are both holding their phones in front of them smiling at whatever it is they are reading or typing.
Their food arrives and they eat in silence then resume their phone use. Maybe they are not on a date but are married, or long term partners? Either way I’m bemused by the lack of conversation. They could be saving money by eating at home or in a fast food restaurant. This place isn’t exactly cheap. Yet they are willing to pay to go out somewhere expensive only to sit opposite each other staring into their mobile phones.
I continue with my writing and when I next look up their table is empty. The two possible lovers having moved on. Maybe their phone batteries died and they are now holding hands enjoying the moment as they wander the streets. Or maybe they’ve gone to find their chargers.
Clive the barman
I have this memory from my first holiday abroad. An island off the coast of Spain. On the beach was a tiki bar. A round bar with stools on the outside and Clive the barman on the inside making whatever drink you wanted.
I often think back to that bar thinking if I could just retire to a tropical island I’ll spend all my time at the tiki bar staring out at the cool blue water, over the perfect white sands, feeling the cool breeze while watching customer after customer ordering drinks with all colours of the rainbow, mini umbrellas and fruit being served by Clive the barman.
The price of admission
I was reading an interview one time, with I think Tim Ferriss, and the topic was expensive dining experiences. The gist of the conversation was that he was happy to pay for an expensive drink and food if it guaranteed exclusivity or privacy. The theory was that the higher prices would keep out the general public and therefore the drink and location could be enjoyed in relative peace at a premium price.
I’ve been thinking about this recently. Prices are generally high for everything these days, but there are a few places that seem to charge way more over the average. Discounting those that are obviously fleecing or are in a premium area of real estate and have to cover higher business rates, there are a few places that offer exclusivity and privacy if you are prepared to pay a higher premium for drinks, food, or whatever else it is that they are selling.
In return for a quiet space with ambience (and wifi) I find myself willing to pay the extra as a form of price of admission. Are you?
Owning something expensive
When owning something expensive the expense is not just associated with the purchase price. The cost of use also needs to be taken into consideration.
I learned this the hard way in my youth when purchasing a second-hand sports car. I could just about afford the car and could only see how much fun it would be to drive it and how cool I would look. (The latter turned out not to be true).
The car was indeed fun to drive but when parts failed they were expensive to replace, servicing was costly, and it didn’t do great on fuel, so trips to the fuelling station were frequent.
It was fun while it lasted but when considering owning something expensive, whatever it is, consider the cost of ownership and not just the purchase price.
Passing through cold space
I had a weird thought.
I was thinking about absolute versus relative locations and fixed points and how we are all essentially travelling through space on a giant rotating ball. With each rotation our physical bodies are passing through fixed points in space previously unoccupied. Somewhere right now in deep space is a fixed point that contains nothing but extreme cold, waiting for you to physically pass through on a future rotation, occupying it for a brief moment.
Each day we are passing through cold space.
There’s can and should
There’s can and should.
You can drink as much as you want, but you probably should drink, and eat, healthy.
You can watch as much TV as you want, in theory. But you should probably go outside more and enjoy the world and all it has to offer.
Can and should. The freedom to choose what you do. It’s both liberating and a curse. The state of your health and life in general can be broken down into lots and lots of tiny decisions adding up.
You can do whatever you want, but should you?
Speed reading
I have this rule with books; If it’s boring and doesn’t entertain, inform, or grip you in the first 5 chapters or around 30 pages, bin it. That is to say don’t continue reading just for the sake of it. Just because your favourite aunt bought it for your birthday or your sister bought it for you for Christmas. Sell it, donate it to charity, or re-gift it to someone you think is more likely to appreciate it.
That was my rule.
I’ve slightly modified this rule for where the book contains content or information that you need to know, or you have been asked to read it for work, a book club, or another reason whereby you will be asked questions later. In this scenario I speed-read it.
Speed-reading is an artform in itself and each individual undertakes it differently. For me it depends on whether the book is fiction or non-fiction.
For fiction I kind of stare at the page unfocused picking out key-words and following the gist of the story. I look for any change in pace or emphasis on something important in the text. I take around 5-seconds a page this way, taking longer when I find something worth reading. I can guarantee that after some considerable practice I can finish most fiction books in an hour or two max.
For non-fiction I’ll read the back-cover, the inside jackets, and scan the table of contents. Then I’ll flick through each page only stopping if anything of interest catches my eye. I’ll have already noted sections or pages that I want to take a little more time with from reading the TOC. This way I’ll have gotten what I wanted from the book.
Not every book should be read from cover-to-cover. True, you may have your favourites, well worn copies that you’ve read many times. But you will encounter tomes that are just dull, badly written, with no life in them. And the older you are the less time you are willing to waste on bad prose. In fact feel free to speed-read these posts or skip them all together. I’m not writing them to make money. I’m writing them for me. But they may contain some nuggets of wisdom, so feel free to practice your speed-reading.
Telemetry data
Have you monitored the data flowing in and out of your home network? You can use tools such as port scanners and packet sniffers to see just how noisy the devices are in your home. Whether your printer is calling home to see if there are any firmware updates or your set-top TV boxes are receiving scheduling updates you may be surprised just how much traffic is flowing in and out of your home network without any of your knowledge.
One such type of data that has interested me recently is telemetry data. This is data that operating systems and devices send back to their manufacturer to help them improve their products.
Let’s take Microsoft Windows as an example. It has four levels of telemetry data:
Security to help keep their OS secure.
Basic for everyday use.
Enhanced for how you are using the OS.
Full for collecting as much info as possible.
The worrying thing is they don’t go into much detail about what exactly they are collecting and how this may affect your privacy.
Searching online we learn that the telemetry data should include:
Device specifications and health
App usage and performance
Error reports and crash dumps
Feedback and ratings
Browser history and search queries
Location and activity history
Advertising ID and interests
This data could be used to help them improve their software, but it could also be used to profile you. What software you use, what devices you have, when you are online and from what location, what you are viewing and buying online. All valuable information. To someone.
So are you happy for your devices to send telemetry data?
Thoughts on Infostealers
I’ve been thinking about infostealers. Why? Well I’ve been doing a few ethical hacking challenges recently and when you find an exploit like an LFI, directory traversal, XSS, or some other method of obtaining data from a target you tend to build a playbook of places to look for data. I have a list of configuration file locations based on the target OS, and what appears to be installed (thanks to nmap and whatever the LFI can return).
Infostealers work in a similar way. They are essentially software programs designed to look for patterns: file name extensions such as PDF DOC DOCX etc, files containing bank details (X-digit strings), email addresses, contact books, login credentials, browser history. You get the idea. Depending on the infostealers purpose it will be programmed to look for patterns on each target. Once installed they begin scanning, looking for possible matches. They collate this data then covertly send it back to whomever set the infostealer in motion.
Treat infostealers like any other malicious software: employ a good antimalware strategy. Use a firewall, install good antivirus and antimalware software and keep your sensitive data protected with encryption and 2FA. Keep regular backups and monitor your accounts.
Protect your data.