PSU IST 454

My Pennsylvania State University Information Sciences & Technology 454 class team did a project for the Fall 2011 semester. We got a high mark for our research paper, presentation and the website we created to share our research on Cloud Computing Forensics. If you're interested, here is the link to the website:

https://cloudforensics.wordpress.com/

1,000 Mile Mark

Yesterday I hit the 1,000 mile mark! This number started back in July 2007 when I got my first Nano iPod to pair with my Nike+ running kit. Maybe I'll hit the purple level by 2012!



Woman in Technology

My friend, Sam, shared an article with me called "Woman in Technology." Here is the link. In the article Nicole Sullivan-Haas writes about women in male-dominated fields. I particularly liked that she pointed out how women are the assistants:

I mean, just take a look at the fastest growing careers for women. We are veterinary technicians not veterinarians, dental assistants not dentists, medical assistants not doctors. We like to believe we have evolved, but the data speaks to something else. 

I can definitely relate as I was the only female in my class at Purdue University (out of about 60 students). I wanted to share this especially as some folks have asked me about my being a woman in engineering lately.

100 Years Ago

I got this in an email recently. I found it interesting; hope you do, too.

The year is 1910 
One hundred years ago. 
What a difference a century makes! 
Here are some statistics for the Year 1910:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for this car was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year.
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .
Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard.'
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza 
2. Tuberculosis 
3. Diarrhea 
4. Heart disease 
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
Regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.'

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help. There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

Go Asst. Dean Sadowski!

While I was at Purdue for my undergraduate studies I had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with Asst. Dean Sadowski. She is a bright, friendly, motivating woman! We even had the pleasure of hearing her guest speak at one of the Women in Technology meetings.


Anyway, I came by the following in an email communication I receive from Purdue. The following is the article that can be found here. Go Mary Sadowski and go women!


Mary Sadowski, associate dean for undergraduate programs and learning in the College of Technology, was named the 2010 recipient of Purdue University’s Violet Haas Award.

Established in 1990, the award recognizes individuals, programs or departments at Purdue that have facilitated the advancement of women in hiring, promotion, education and salary, or have generally enhanced a positive professional climate for women at the university.

Sadowski began her career at Purdue as a graduate student in instructional research and design. Upon completion of her doctoral degree in 1984, she joined the Department of Computer Graphics and rose through the ranks from assistant professor to full professor. In 1999 she left Purdue to serve as a professor of information and management technology at Arizona State University. She returned to Purdue in 2003 and moved into her current position as associate dean in the College of Technology.

 
In her current role, Sadowski has implemented a college-wide process with checks and measures for faculty search committees to ensure that candidate pools are inclusive and representative. She also has worked to advance women in the greater Lafayette community through her involvement with the YWCA. Beginning as a domestic violence volunteer in 1989, she has held numerous leadership positions, including serving as president of the board of directors and president of the foundation board.

The award, sponsored by the Council on the Status of Women, is named for Haas, an electrical engineering professor from 1962-86 who was instrumental in the early development of the Purdue chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. Sadowski will have her name added to the Violet Haas Legacy Plaque outside Purdue Memorial Union, Room 108.

The Council on the Status of Women was formed in 1988-89 to create a voice for women at Purdue by studying existing university practices and procedures and women's professional concerns.

The group has been active in issues related to women at Purdue, such as advocating the development of a child-care facility and domestic partner benefits.

Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs

This was the March book club book, suggested by the other Amanda:

This book is a collection of 18 essays where each pop culture topic was hit on during the sleepy, unwinding moments before Chuck fell asleep. Interesting premise, I'd say. I hadn't read a collection of essays before, at least not willingly, so that caught my attention. I liked being able to jump around or skip an essay if it didn't really appeal.

Here is the full list of essays (from Wikipedia) (the ones in bold are my favorites):

• 1. This Is Emo: Klosterman recounts "fake love" we are conditioned to pursue, and the false, unbalanced nature of When Harry Met Sally.
• 2. Billy Sim: Klosterman describes his experience with the reality-mimicking videogame The Simsand how The Sims illustrates that "even eternally free people are enslaved by the process of living."
• 3. What Happens When People Stop Being Polite: The impacts of MTV's The Real World and how it led to the development of one-dimensional personalities.
• 4. Every Dog Must Have His Every Day, Every Drunk Must Have His Drink: An ode to Billy Joel, particularly the universality of his album Glass Houses.
• 5. Appetite for Replication: Klosterman interviews and spends a few days with the members of aGuns N' Roses tribute band, "Paradise City," and outlines the significance of tribute bands.
• 6. Ten Seconds to Love: An analysis of how American culture is upset with the unrealistic images of success it has created, as stemming from a discussion of the Pamela-Tommy sex tape.
• 7. George Will vs. Nick Hornby: A rant against soccer (particularly among youth), claiming it supports outcast culture.
• 8. 33: Klosterman explains how the 1980's rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics symbolizes all rivalries in life, including politics, religion, and race.
• 9. Porn: An explanation of how the Internet has proliferated the porn industry, as per the need of the presence of the amateur and celebrity in our lives.
• 10. The Lady or the Tiger: A brief history of the cereal industry, and how Kelloggs was begun as a religious company, but now is a microcosm for coolness. The "cocoa puffs" in the title comes from this essay.
• 11. Being Zack Morris: An analysis of Saved by the Bell and how "important things are inevitably cliché."
• 12. Sulking with Lisa Loeb on the Ice Planet Hoth: Why Star Wars is so overrated, and how it has come to represent basic morality.
• 13. The Awe-Inspiring Beauty of Tom Cruise's Shattered, Troll-like Face: A discussion of the question "What is reality?" as answered by movies such as Vanilla Sky, The Matrix, Memento, andWaking Life.
• 14. Toby over Moby: How the Dixie Chicks are the new Van Halen, as they are one of the only pop bands with musical quality, and how Van Halen's teenage boys have been replaced by the Dixie Chicks' teenage girls. Also how music taste is used to gauge coolness, and those who ignorantly say they like all kinds "except country" only say so to appear cool.
• 15. This is Zodiac Speaking: A description of three people Klosterman has interviewed who have known or met serial killers, and an exploration of "What does it mean to know a serial killer?"
• 16. All I Know Is What I Read in the Papers: Most of the media's bias is accidental, and stories are mainly developed by circumstance and by the interviewee who calls the journalist back first. Also how sports reporters hate sports, and how newspapers are designed for those who cannot read.
• 17. I, Rock Chump: Klosterman narrates his visit to the 2002 Pop Music Studies Conference by the Experience Music Project, and how it was largely an experience without rock and roll.
• 18. How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found: A commentary on the Left Behind Series and the lifestyle of Evangelical Christians. The chapter title refers to the book How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Doug Richmond.

I'm not going to discuss each of my favorite essays, but I will say this: if you like reading Bill Bryson, I recommend this book. Chuck has that same conversational tone and approach in his writing. On the flip side, if you liked this book, I recommend reading Bill Bryson (conversational tone stories about his travels; I read the book he wrote about his time in Australia).

My all time favorite part of the book was the interlude with the 23 questions he asks people in order to determine if he can really love them. How interesting a method to determine if you can love someone! Here is a sample question:

Question 18: You have won a prize. The prize has two options, and you can choose either (but not both). The first option is a year in Europe with a monthly stipend of $2K. The second option is ten minutes on the moon. Which option do you select?

That gives you an idea of the sort of questions Chuck asks. Some of them I had quick answers to; others I had to think about; still others I'm undecided about. For Question 18, however, I'd take the first option to see Europe! Visiting the moon would be out of this world (ha, get it?), but for ten minutes? Nah, I'd rather 524,160 minutes in Europe with a total of $24K to spend while there. I've always wanted to go to Europe. I've never had that same desire to visit the moon. I enjoy gazing at the moon in the night sky. I'd enjoy gazing at the moon in the night sky from Europe, too.

Wikipedia Article
Official Publisher Page

-Amanda

Ender's Game

One of my best college friends, Jordan, recommended this book to me. After reading the story and getting to know Ender, the main character, I could see why Jordan enjoyed the book so much: he and Ender think JUST ALIKE! It was almost creepy as I found myself constantly thinking of how much the two are the same. That was probably what I liked most about the read; it was a way to get to know Jordan that much more.

The story Card paints is wild, though. In the future child geniuses are bred to lead the military. There's a GREAT twist at the end of the book, which I didn't quite see coming, so that was fun. The characters are developed to maturity, and it was fun to read about the battles at Ender's school. I, myself, could identify with Ender in several ways. He is more mature that others his own age; story of my life.

Good book. Recommended to techies and military junkies who don't mind reading a children's book.

Wikipedia Article

Cheers,

Amanda

Random Stuff as of Late

I'm almost done with my first quilt. I have yet to baste the fabric, sew the perimeter, and actually quilt the blanket. I'm going to do a how-to blog on the project when I'm finished. I'm excited to take the blanket downtown to Lake Eola to use it for a nice, Sunday afternoon picnic. UPDATE: finished sewing around the perimeter. Time for the quilting!!!! Finishing this project tonight!

I've joined some book clubs. Penny, one of my bosses at work, invited me to join her book club's next meeting where we'll discuss The Beach House by Jane Green. I expect my copy of the book in the mail early next week. I also joined the Orlando Chick-Lit Book Club through MeetUp.com. On top of normal book club activities, the OCLBC also catches movies made from novels. I'm hoping to also read My Sister's Keeper within the next few weeks, too, so I can join the other members at the movie. I expect my copy of that book early next week, too. In the mean time between American Psycho and one of the books I've just ordered, I'm reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It's only a couple hundred pages, and I've heard only good things about the story.

I'm out of contacts. The eye office where I usually buy my contacts is out of stock; has been all week. I've been wearing my glasses around the clock, and haven't ran all week because I don't want to run without contacts && with glasses. (The && is a little programming joke, hehe.)

Work is going along VERY well! In the last week I've become quite engaged with my sub-system on the program. It's been a little overwhelming, but I'm excited to take on additional responsibility. So, I'm happy to report that all is well in the job department. Also, my LM softball team is ranked number one! Next game will be the finals, I do believe. My LM sand volleyball team isn't doing so hot, but that's okay. I enjoy my teammates' company; they're good people.

With a group of fellow LM folks, last night I went out to a really great Spanish Tapas bar downtown called Ceviche. Delicious, fantastic atmosphere, friendly staff. I loved it. We were there for about 3 hours! There were bread slices and a really tasty "pesto" sauce with lots of cilantro for appetizers. I ordered a Poema white Spanish wine that had some citrus hints. Then I fell in love with the white Sangria! Oh, man, I was very impressed with the white Sangria! I ordered pan con tomate and ceviche de salmon. The pan con tomate was okay, but the salmon ceviche was delicious! Spicy, with a citrus/ginger kick. Mmm! Jeremy, Ryan, Eric, Kevin and I all had a very nice time. Eric had a great order of steak tapas and spicy, cheese potatoes, AND creme brulee! That will be my next order at Ceviche exactly! After dinner Josh and Jared visited from Melbourne. We were celebrating for Jared's 23rd birthday! We went to Wall Street and ended the night at The Lodge. After the bar scene Josh headed home, and Jared and I chilled to some RadioHead. It was a really fantastic evening.


Josh, myself & Jared at Wall Street

Today Jared and I slept in, picked up my car from downtown, had some tasty B-Dubs (nostalgia), then baked in the sun for a few hours at my pool. We both got some nice color this afternoon. We showered up, and caught a showing of Year One. We agreed that the flick was okay, some funny parts, but overall Jack Black and Michael Cera can be a little over the top. It was worth seeing once, I suppose. Not something I'll probably watch again, though. After the movie Jared and I went to Steak N Shake for some grub, then he headed home. It was nice to have him visit. = ) Hopefully I'll make it over to Melbourne in the next couple weekends. I miss Andy and Jo Ann and the beach.

My friend Kubacki just purchased a very nice motorcycle! Andy is building a house in Melbourne, and Jeremy & Eric are moving into Tortuga next month. I'm very happy for my friends. = )

Oh, I picked up some items at Bath & Body Works the other day. They had a Buy 3, Get 3 deal going on, and, as I was in need of new lotion and new perfume, I took advantage of the sale. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the B&BW here in Florida (at least at the malls I've been to down here so far) carry my favorite scent!!! Dancing Waters!!! It was a very happy moment. They say that scent is the strongest sense tied to memory, and, for me, this particular scent is associated with so many wonderful memories... I also bought another favorite scent: Sweet Pea. Mmm, they smell so nice!

Since the Indianapolis Mini 500 Half-Marathon I've not had any race to train for, so I've slacked off a bit, but I did recently stumble upon the following recap of my running in 2008. Nike+ is so cool.



If you don't "get" Twitter, but you at least appreciate geeky humor, you should like the following trending topic copy/paste of "robot pick-up lines." My favorite is #18.

1. zax0rz: is that a stick of RAM in your pocket or are you happy to see me? http://tcrn.ch/3EL #robotpickuplines less than 5 seconds ago from web
2. jakelleywrotty: Let me show you my hard drive #robotpickuplines less than 10 seconds ago from web
3. sliceouttaluck: #robotpickuplines Want to come up to my 127.0.0.1 for some coffee? less than 20 seconds ago from web
4. fadilnet: A male robot must obey the orders given to it by a fembot except where such orders would conflict with the mombot. #robotpickuplines less than 20 seconds ago from web
5. ifilmtheclouds: Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF, all my base are belong to you. -- Oldie, but goodie. #robotpickuplines less than 20 seconds ago from web
6. SteveGreenwald: #robotpickuplines Is that a deterministic finite automaton or are you just glad to see me? less than 20 seconds ago from web
7. Tukitavi: "You've got mail!" (? I dunno, I thought I'd try. ) #robotpickuplines less than 20 seconds ago from web
8. dinkydudette: RT @JazzyFee: #robotpickuplines "Do you have Intel inside? No? Would you like to?" (HA HA!!) less than 20 seconds ago from web
9. GematriaSL: I'm more than a simulation. #robotpickuplines less than 20 seconds ago from web
10. bogeydog: #robotpickuplines Wanna 3-way with a Roomba? half a minute ago from web
11. sandbar17: rt @stephaniehobson Is your processor over heated? Because you've been running in my mind all day. #robotpickuplines <--LOL! half a minute ago from web
12. Lizeelou2: Are you a socket cause I really need to charge my battery. #robotpickuplines half a minute ago from web
13. billtoth: nice boot sector, wanna fuck? #robotpickuplines half a minute ago from web
14. emilyooo: #robotpickuplines Part 2 M: Are you sure? Maybe I should sneak a peak at your access panel. half a minute ago from Tweetie
15. BrokenSword: RT @MickSturbs: #robotpickuplines 'I suppose Hex is out of the question?' OMG Groan!!!! half a minute ago from TweetDeck
16. trupoet: Nice Rackmount! #robotpickuplines half a minute ago from TweetDeck
17. salottimc: Make sure your ports are open. #robotpickuplines half a minute ago from web
18. DreamingFox: RT @BadAstronomer "Your lips say 0 but your eyes say 1." #robotpickuplines half a minute ago from TwitterFox
19. Thebigdoerehab: #robotpickuplines I'm a scorpio, I enjoy sailing, and I don't have any passwords but hope to one day. half a minute ago from web
20. spkr4thedead51: #robotpickuplines Hey, do you like to roleplay? I'll be a traveling salesman and I'll figure out the fastest way to get to your bed half a minute ago from TweetDeck

That's all for now.

Amanda

Technology Articles

(Click the images to view the articles/websites.)



Tagging can be the super-organizers dream tool. Apple application developer, Gravity Applications, recently launched a tagging software, Tags, that allows Mac users to tag all their files, including emails, bookmarks, pictures and files. The tags allow users to assign keywords for files, grouping many different files that have something in common. The tagging feature also allows you to apply many different types of tags to a single file or apply the same tag to multiple files, giving the user a little more flexibility than just the file/folder system. The software costs $29 but you can set up a 30-day free trial to see if the application works for you.



There is a growing belief among engineers and security experts that Internet security and privacy have become so maddeningly elusive that the only way to fix the problem is to start over.



For the first time since the dot-com bust, there is a jump in the number of undergraduate computer-science majors. New enrollment in North American computer science and engineering programs rose 8% during the 2007-08 school year from the year before.



Unused PCs — computers that are powered on but not in use — are expected to emit approximately 20 million tons of CO2 this year, roughly equivalent to the impact of 4 million cars, according to report by 1E and the Alliance to Save Energy.