Happy New Year!

I am going to interrupt my long hiatus of posting by a few pictures from my trip out to the Sierras in California.I’ve been staying in near the Kirkwood ski resort both working on building my quads of steel tele-mark skiing and hiking up the countless peaks in the area. The weather here has been unseasonably warm, with little to no snow outside of what’s man-made (which is a pity for skiing), but hiking in a tee-shirt in the crisp air and bright sun is unbeatable.

Peace and chow,

Jacob

As I sit at my computer on this cold Vermont day, looking at the frost slowly melted by the Sun’s first rays, I began to think back over this long hiatus of not blogging, and how I had returned from Iceland safely, traveled to Canada to camp to lead a 10th grade school trip and made a number of weekend get-a-ways, from Montreal to New York to see Phantom of the Opera, to Seneca Lake for some lakeside fun.

Travels aside, I have been keeping busy, after returning from Iceland, I started working as a Research Engineer for a small cyber-security company which has kept be busy with hard challenges and learning almost constantly. I have also been working to finish my Masters degree from Clarkson, taking two classes this semester: COSI and an Independent Study with Tino about Darknets and their detection. For my COSI project, I’m working on creating a custom Ubuntu distribution that is more security-aware than the vanilla install (more on that later). I have also been getting into mountain biking since the purchase of my Gary Fisher, tearing up single track trails and biking through puddles and mud. Chelsea and I attempted to run the Quebec City marathon, but in the almost 90F weather, we decided after 20 miles to try again when it is cooler. While that was certainly a disappointment, 20 miles is still an accomplishment to be proud of, and it makes the marathon distance far less daunting.

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather and getting outside on these nice fall days,

Peace and chow,

Ranok

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here, and to my devout readers I apoligize. As many of you know, this has been my last semester of my undergraduate studies, so I have been very busy over the past few months. This post will hopefully act as a dump of what I’ve been up to and what I will be doing until my next post.

Things I did:

• Developed a method for calling parts of functions to minimize/obfuscate programs
• Worked with Ryan on OSP to get a web based cluster management system integrated into the cluster administration page
• Played with return-to-libc attacks and got them working on the latest version of Ubuntu Linux

Things on the horizon:

• Working full-time for AIS
• Traveling to Iceland for 3 weeks
• Working on a computer security textbook
• Running a marathon in August

It is very weird to me to think that today is the last day of classes for me as a traditional full-time student. I’ve been going to school since I was 5 and it is very weird to think that come August I will not be returning to the classroom as my primary past-time. I am excited to travel and get away from the normal swing of things for a while to reflect on the new changes in my life, and excited to begin working, especially due to the extra leisure time after work.

Peace and chow,

Ranok

Many of you know that over this winter break from school, I traveled with my family to Aruba, a small island off the coast of Venezuela. I thought I’d write a brief report on my time there, and give some pointers for others who might head there at some point. Aruba is a nation part of the Dutch commonwealth, and thus the official language is Dutch, however most everyone speaks English (on top of Papimento and Spanish). The Aruban government has made it very enticing for Americans to travel there, everywhere I saw, the US dollar was accepted side-by-side with the Aruban Florens.
My trip was a bit on the short side (only five nights) so I mostly explored the area closest to our apartment at The Boardwalk, which is at the north-west end of the island. We booked our stay there, and as part of a package deal, windsurfing lessons and rental. The beach where the Vela windsurfing school was is just a short walk from the Boardwalk and along that beach are all sorts of other resorts and activities from sunset cruises to jet-ski rentals. Aruba is an excellent location for windsurfing due to its consistent winds of about 20 knots, year-round nice weather (mid 80s) and reefs extending out from the beach allow you to walk back if you’re a beginner. While most of my stay was dedicating to windsurfing, I did spend a half-day on a Landrover tour of the island, which brought us to a few areas off the beaten track which exhibit a far more rugged side of Aruba. The natural pool is very enjoyable, and the view is excellent. Additionally, the coral caves are a very different type of cave from the traditional, and are very neat to explore.

Recommended:

• The Iguana Cantina – This Mexican cantina was very tasty, so good in fact that we returned a second time. I had the red snapper, which was an entire snapper fried, providing an excellent presentation. Between 5-7PM is happy hour, which means 50% off margaritas, sangrias and beers.
• Gelato from Cafe Amici – There is a huge selection of flavors, and the gelato is very tasty, an excellent way to end the day.
• Vela Sports windsurfing – The lessons and equipment I got from them was very helpful, and I was able to progress from the beginner lesson my first day to water starts and harnesses at the end of my stay.

Recommended with Reservations:

• Moby Dick Seafood Restaurant – While the food here was very good, the service was terrible, and the portions left you looking for a second dinner, even though the prices were high.
• ABC Island Tours – While the tour was a lot of fun, and I got to see parts of the island that were not very accessible, the tour did not go to all of the advertised locations, leaving much to be desired. I suggest verifying with the tour company prior to booking the stops.

I hope this provides some helpful information for those looking for an escape from the cold. If you have any further questions feel free to comment and I’ll do my best to reply.

Peace and chow,

Ranok

P.S. An obligatory photo of my windsurfing:

Now that I’ve had a chance to settle into my new apartment above Misty Hollow on Market Street, and I have all the needed utilities, I thoughts I take a break and reflect on my first two weeks of my senior year. My schedule this semester has me in class for 11 hours Monday and Wednesday, and practically without class the other week days (I do have class every few Saturdays). This schedule is requiring some work to get used to, either I’m feeling rushed to make it to my next class and keep everything straight (philosophy to statistics) or I’m wondering what to do with all my spare time. I have however found a few things to keep myself occupied on my off days, I’m working for Clarkson as a campus photographer, shooting lots around the area for brochures, the website or mailings. This is a great way for me to practice and improve my photography skills and work with a professional! I will update my Flickr when I have some great shots, so keep checking it out! Of course I’m also still the co-director of COSI, which has a large amount of interest this year, and I’m hoping for good things to turn up. naturally I’m still working on my baby, OSP (a post on that soon). Lastly, I’ve joined the Potsdam Rescue Squad, and am enrolled in the NY state EMT course, which I am enjoying, and excited to become a more useful member as my knowledge grows.

Well, I think that about covers all in my life for the time being.

Peace and chow,

Ranok