Hacked

In my professional career I have had systems I worked with compromised several times. Unfortunately its much harder to defend than attack. Today I uncovered a rouge program on one of the work servers. Tomorrow I will be doing some analysis of when where and how it happened.

One Day Like This

I haven't posted for a while, I would like to say these is an earth shatteringly important or interesting reason for my blogs stagnation. The real reason is lack of interesting diversions. There was Fayes birthday last Wednesday, which was a nice evening.
Yesterday was the most interesting day in a long time though. It was the first time in a little while that I have felt really alive. Kasia came up from York, I picked her up from Stockport Station and we headed into Manchester. Our firs destination was the Chinese Arts centre. Kaisa had seen it on a website and was exited to see it. As it turned out it is quiet a small gallery only one exhibition was open. A display of people and their drugs. It was interesting but only too a short time to peruse.

The shop seemed bigger than the actual gallery, but the teas were great and the nik naks lovely. As it only took 30 minutes to go round I suggested we visited Urbis, I had never been there before so it was a new experience for us both. We looked at the Emory Douglas and the art of revolutions. As minister for culture in the Black Panther Party he was involved in the chain reaction the empowered Africa Americans to the point where American now has a black president. It was chilling to see how only just over a generation ago blacks were lynched with impunity.

The other exhibition at Urbis was titled Reality Hack: Hidden Manchester. It was a series of photographs by experimental photographer, Andrew Paul Brooks. He has managed to capture scenes from Urban explorers, and from alternative rooftop views. My favourites were of the eerie underground shelters and the picture from the town composing the Angels with the modern cityscape.

After our art tours we went to see my house. I think she appreciated the progress but was a little shocked at how much there was left to do. We ate fish and chips and cuddled on the sofas. After which then headed out to the Trafford centre.

I wanted to get some new jeans but after trying on a few pairs I realised that I have put on quiet a lot of weight in the last 6 months. Working on the house has meant I haven't been working out at the gym. I am going to have to do a lot of running and exercise once the house is finished. I bought the Elbow album "The Seldom Seen Kid" to listen to on the drive to York. I am really enjoying it, I must admit its a grower the first time Martina played it to me I really did not think it was my kind of thing.

We visited the new bit of the Trafford centre which has home furnishings, but didn't end up buying anything.

I spent the night in York, we were both really tired after the driving and visiting but it was a really great day. I was very glad to do something none work and one house, they are really pretty much dominating my life at the moment.

State of the house

Things moved on pretty well this weekend. Bruce helped me tidy up the network cables and I managed to lay the remaining part of the upstairs ring mains. The face plates arn't on but they can wait until the rooms are decorated.
The kitchen is painted, and the lights gone back up.

Martina came round to help on Friday, she put another coat of paint on the kitchen and utility cupboard while I carried on with the wiring. In the evening we went out for a curry and to watch the wrestler. I enjoyed the wrestler though it is a fairly depressing film and it dragged a little at the start.

The upstairs wiring is nearly done, the wiring for the ring, TV, and network are all in place. I still have to do the lights upstairs, replacing the old stranded core with twin and earth. The stranded cables don't currently have an earth.
The lounge is prepared and my dad is soon going to start wallpapering.

Eleanor Rigby

I went for lunch at the Cheadle Royal, it was ok but the service was appalling, took forever to get served and when the food arrived they guy asked if we wanted any sauces we did but he disappeared never to return. Walking back there was a single solitary Swam preening herself on an embankment in the middle of the road. It seemed slightly surreal somehow to have this bird there not caring about the traffic or us walking back to the office. Sometimes I wish I had no cares or worries.

We play endlessly

I bearly made it to work this morning, though not for the normal reason of hangover of lakc of sleep. I had to brave the worst snow in 18 years on the way in to work. Normally this would not be a problem, as my daily commute is only a few miles. Yesterday I travelled to York to visit Kasia so this meant I had to scrape 4 inches of snow off the car. Then drive down a rather snowy M1, across the blizzards over the Pennines on the M62, finally braving the M60. I left at 6.30 and arrived at 9.15, it usually takes one and a half hours!
It had been a very nice evening with Kasia. We went for a walk round York, which was very pretty in the winter air and moonlight. Then we eat pizza listening to music, my free Independent Sigur Ros CD and her 80's French pop, it was very relaxing.

Relaxation was something I badly needed having spent the last few days decorating. Specifically repainting my kitchen. It turned out that the stains on the ceilings cannot be stopped! The marks have come through a layer of plaster, a coat of PVA glue, and two coats of kitchen paint! I found a stain blocking paint at B&Q which I applied to the ceiling. Being oil based and full of VOC's it stunk like heck. The stain blocker was also white so in between coats I had to squint to see where I had painted breathing in these fumes I felt pretty high by the time I was finished.

Warwick Avenue

Painting lots of painting, my hands are covered with the damn stuff despite baths and frequent hand washes. The scary thing is the amount left to do, the kitchen is half finished that leaves, living room, hall stairs and landing, the bedrooms not to mention the bathroom.
Quite apart from the painting I still have wiring to finish, wall paper to hang and all the floor boards lifted for the wiring need to go back; which going to be like a giant jigsaw as I forgot to mark where they came from.
I do start to feel like its coming together though, I shouldn't have to rip anything else major out and things are going back in, perhaps only a few more months and I will be living there.
Last night I met up with Martina, she had a problem with her laptop which I fixed then we started watching the first series of Mad Men. It is a really cool show about 1950s American Advertising men, when men were men and women did what they were told. She made cheese biscuits as compensation for my laptop fixing though actually there wasn't much to fix not like my colleague who had over 28 viruses! I am not normally a fan of cheese biscuits but these were rather tasty.