Oracle install

I've been attempting to install Oracle 11g as well as the Oracle Application Server. The oracle database install is easy...however--getting an Apache server up and running to do appropriate reporting...not so easy.

If anyone knows where to track down an easy installation guide (not the gigantic and largely useless Oracle "help files") I'd be interested in taking a look.

Back in the saddle

It really has been 2 and a half months since my last post. Wow. A ton of things happened.

Most noteworthy (for me) was turning 30. I wrote a poem:

Observations through the years (30)

Turning 30 has its perks,
Especially being able to avoid the jerks.
I get to drink and enjoy my life,
As they say, have fun--be merry, you know...avoid strife.

The days get longer,
due to work demands.
The nights get shorter--
due to work demands.
The sleep gets restless--
and lower adrenal glands.

We fly forward,
by looking back.
Understanding our errors
and how we react.

As 30 comes to bear,
I think of times gone past,
How I molded the minds
of the young, the passionate, the fun, the wild, and the crass.

As 30 has come...I think of change and hope and steadfast dreams.
They cause me to reflect--
Will we win the fight?
Will we lose our way?
Will we follow our definition of right?


Will I find a smile at the end of the day?


Are the things that matter,
The things we hold dear?
Who are the friends.
That remind me that they are near?

Can a person grow,
without another?
We learn things that we know--
Based on eachother.

I grow older - I grow fonder - I grow stronger - I grow wiser - Personally, I grow.

Now I'm thirty...
Thank you all--
New friends--
OLD friends--
fast friends--
good friends--

Let's raise our glass,
Celebrate what has passed.
Forge ahead...
and find tomorrow--slightly hungover in bed.


I also have been working out again. I'm making my way towards getting back in shape to run a few track meets next year. I feel like I have a few more months before I am ready for track workouts as I'm only down to a 6:18 mile and I can only run about 3.6 miles in a half hour. But--I'm doing good.

I also created a twitter account. I don't post to twitter enough either...however--I did just up my mobile text plan to 1500 texts/month...so I may start twittering about the more interesting things that I've been doing with work.

I am continuing my research on my book--and the writing is going painfully slow. But, I do have high hopes to get it done and get it out to the world. The slowness is mostly related to me deciding to start dating. I'm on a quest to find that woman that will allow me to sweep her of her feet and will simultaneously challenge me and allow me to grow. I'm not quite there yet. At times I get impatient when I find a beautiful woman that fits the bill and pull a "Jon Favreau" from Swingers move and blow it. The stories aren't completely false regarding smart men not having a clue about women. At least for me.

Eh...so...I'll try to actually start posting again. As this is more of a digital chronicle of events in my life...rather than a medium where I attempt to market things or ideas.

Future Tech research

I figured since I mostly just write links in a word doc and then email them to myself I could potentially be forward-thinking enough to just post the information for the masses.

Perhaps someone that reads the blog can write in their two cents regarding a topic of research/debate/interest.

Quantum computing:
http://www.futureforall.org/computers/quantumcomputers.htm

Technological singularity:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_Singularity

Optical computing:
http://www.futureforall.org/computers/opticalcomputers.htm

DNA computing:
http://www.futureforall.org/computers/dnacomputers.htm

Future of computing:
http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/futurecomputing/index.html

Future of computer interaction:
www.predictivepixel.com
www.io2technology.com
http://www.physorg.com/news147454178.html
http://www.readius.com/
www.smarttech.com

Singularity sites:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0134.html?printable=1
http://www.accelerationwatch.com/
http://singularityhub.com/
http://singularityhub.com/category/computing/
http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/

Carnegie Mellon research:
http://www.cylab.cmu.edu/
http://www.cylab.cmu.edu/research/projects/current_projects/machine_learning.html
http://www.cylab.cmu.edu/research/projects/current_projects/audio_captchas.html
http://www.cylab.cmu.edu/research/projects/current_projects/effective_trust.html



Network World Research
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/dir/2009/060109id1.html?page=1

Grid Computing
http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/aries/

Networks and Mobile Systems:
http://nms.csail.mit.edu/

Various Research groups:
http://www.csail.mit.edu/node/3

University of Oregon - Eugene (Dr. Li's Network Security Research topics)
http://netsec.cs.uoregon.edu/research/idsave.shtml
http://netsec.cs.uoregon.edu/research/wormdefense.shtml
http://netsec.cs.uoregon.edu/research/rf.shtml
http://netsec.cs.uoregon.edu/research/mssl.shtml

Darpa Research Projects:
http://www.darpa.mil/#tech
http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/programs/ct/ct.asp
http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/programs/hpcs/hpcs.asp
http://www.darpa.mil/ipto/programs/ld/ld.asp
http://www.darpa.mil/sto/strategic/dtn.html
http://www.darpa.mil/sto/strategic/coronet.html
http://www.darpa.mil/sto/strategic/snm.html

Palo Alto Research Center
http://www.parc.com/work/focus-area/security-and-privacy/

Digital Dilemma

It's been far to long since I've posted a blog. Unfortunately, I have this feeling that it won't be a overly frequent occurance. However, I am fully immersed in technology. So immersed that I feel like writing an "Ode to Tech"

Digital Dilemma

Where art thou, HDMI?
I sometimes sometimes feel my fingers cross
and process things like the square root of pi. <---yea...not a strong start...sorry.

I search for answers that solve
the problems tech brings
like how to intelligently derive
intrusion detection types of things.

I wax and wane
just like the moon.
I think my work is sometimes in vain,
Did I contact the Carnegie Mellon CyberLab too soon?

Whats the new protocol
solving the problems we face?
Why its intelligent tracking!
all at a digital pace.

One and zero
Make up my octets
Do I find the human computer interaction methods
Full of endless loops and regrets?

To solve the future issues--
and stay ahead of the pack...?
Where do we find ourselves heading?
Are we on the right track?

Is it the net...
Is it the man...
Personal opinions aside...
I say lets just enjoy the ride!


We need a strong dose of thinktank, government, industry, academia. So, with that said, how is this possible? How can we collaborate? Is it a technology that creates a technological breakthrough? Is it a singular mind working on a solution? Is it a group of people that sit in a room and don't give up until the problem gets solved? Well--I think it is a bit of all those things. The promise is that technology can help facilite productivity and increased productivity creates an environment where new ideas can be captured and cultivated.

Current research has been revolving around some very interesting topics that have been identified at University of Oregon. Like intelligent routing and validation of data transmission through the net. There's some other fascinating topics being researched at the Carnegie Mellon Cyber Research Lab. There also appears to be some very interesting research happening at Stanford and MIT. As usual. During this stand-up of the Chief Technology Office for the Air Force Network Integration Center I feel like I'm in a PhD program. I read a couple of white papers every day...which I need to get better at docummenting and indexing. Our entire group does really. I hate creating processes that create more work...rather than less...but sometimes it is a necessary evil for long-term results.

Oh well. I'm off to see a man about a dog. (going to grab a beer or two)

Change and Configuration Management

Well, I'm finishing up my 2nd month with Booz Allen Hamilton and things are still coming at me fast and furiously. But, I do think that my friends and professors were right--consulting is the right industry for me. My brain likes the information overload and collaboration across the country to identify solutions.

My first month I was able to meet with a General in the Air Force, a Principal of Booz Allen, and helped shape some of the basic and "super high-level" processes that may shape the future-state of the Chief Technology Office at one of the Agencies in the USAF. Pretty cool stuff in month one.

Month two had me learning more about X.509 standards for the Public Key Infrastructure used to certify users for secure networks. If you're interested in getting more information or direction on X.509 standards I can definitely point you at some RFCs and other documents that will help explain what OIDs are and their general numbering convention. I've also been trying to identify an education model that will support not only educating the members of the Chief Technology Office--but also the agency it supports and the greater CTO community in the AF. Additionally, I've been configuring an Apache HTTP server (with Virtual Hosts and SSL) to employ a Subversion, Tortoise SVN, and ViewVC suite of products to create a software configuration management process in a Testing and Interoperability Facility. But, this is just a small piece to the overarching change management process that has to manage the hardware, data, and additional assets.

So, process, policy, and governance. Lots of fun stuff...and pretty cool to be working on so quickly at a company. I see big things happening in this company.

If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, please post them and I will make certain to respond shortly. I know I'm behind on my postings for the Harvard Business Review cases...but work has me pulling a number of late night researching efforts to meet client deadlines and expectations. Sorry. I'll try harder.

overdue posting (much like overdue books)

I've been extremely lax in my posting of late. This is due to the new job down in St. Louis. My brain has been mush for weeks....I swear...if I don't read 100+ pages of academic white papers on X.509 standards (I've got more links and white papers than I even want to think about...seriously...PhD thesis material here), or CTOs, or IT Governance, or Configuration Management, or emerging technologies....it because I'm in meetings getting the knowledge shoved into my brain through folks that are brought in to train us on Service-Oriented Architecture.

So, I still have January and February's Harvard Business Review cases to read...and post. When I do that I think my postings may change to discussing the Chief Technology Officer and their semi-defined role in an organization.

If you have any insights as to what you feel a Chief Technology Officer does...or if you are one....shoot me a comment and connect up with me on my LinkedIn profile.

Answers to PMP questions

I apologize to the couple of guys that asked for answers. I've been busy packing and preparing for a move to the St. Louis area for a new job.

I don't have a ton of time to write out the explanations why the answers are as such...so if you have specific questions, please just write a comment and I will try to get them answered in a timely manner in a follow-up comment.

Answers:
1. B
2. A
3. C
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. C
8. D
9. B
10. C
11. A
12. D
13. C
14. C
15. C
16. C
17. C
18. B
19. D
20. B
21. C
22. A
23. B
24. C
25. C
26. C
27. C
28. D
29. D
30. B
31. A
32. A
33. B
34. B

Ok...so I think these are the answers to the set of questions I asked. Based upon my memory I think that the questions I asked were from the Scope Management section.

I still need to post the HBR case studies for February and March of 2009. I do apologize...I've been very busy getting prepped for my move and saying goodbye to friends. I've also been working on my iPhone application...it is still in the planning stage...yep...I'm behind schedule. But, we're not really done scoping the project...so I can't really say I'm behind schedule yet. It feels that way though.

My next post will be as a member of the Booz Allen Hamilton team. I will likely NEVER post about work. Definitely not about anything about what is happening behind the closed curtain. But, working there may help me focus my thoughs on Project Management and help me along the way for my upcoming book. :)