ShmooCon 2012 in DC at the Washington Hilton

ShmooCon is the premiere East-coast annual hacker convention

This year’s bag.

Did you see this outside the lobby to the left Saturday afternoon?

A crane dropped what it was holding.

I procured a new laptop bag, sweet.

Espeically since this was the bag I was using.

ArcSight, nice, I’ve blogged about them before.

Attended some talks, the NFC one was interesting but over my head, and the HNN one was my favourite.

Not much to show you about the actual conference though – it’s impolite to wave your camera around recording things at such events. It’s nothing mysterious, just the nature of the industry.

Same at all the conferences, same as Defcon.

Which is why I’m extra proud of this video; I’m pretty sure I have one of the only videos in the world showing inside last year’s Defcon19.

Adding to that, you can imagine going online during these events, you best be prepared. This is ‘the best of the best’ gathered together. Which is why I didn’t let my laptop touch the hotel network and my MiFi went down.

There’s always someone better than you. And cleaning up after a compromise is never worth the couple days you missed internetting.

I can tell you though, about the couple that got engaged, congratulations you two!

And show you the cutest thing, look:

The bride-to-be had to pick her way inside to find the run, awww.

Then Saturday night it’s the annual party at ‘Heaven and Hell’.

Thanks for a great time, SchmooCon!

Great seeing your familiar face again, and great meeting your new one, TTYS

 

 

What the Florida Keys Looks Like

Neat filter on my photos, don’t you think.

I did it at the camera level with my PEN, it’s called “Pop Art”.

Florida has the best mini-putt courses.

The people who built the bridge to the Keys from the mainland, they lived on this little island in 1910.

The really really long bridge is here, the 7 Mile Bridge.

The one they blew up in the Shwartzenager movie , ‘True Lies’.

Manatees are the cutest.

Nickname: Sea Cow.  An un-official mascot of the Keys.  Everybody loves a Manatee.

It’s sad though, when you see them with chewed-up fins and gouges in their backs; they often swim too close too boats.  

It’s not their fault, they’re too dumb to know better.

It’s the kind of place you can still leave your doors unlocked.  

People don’t litter, people are friendly and funny, it’s safe, and all the nature is fiercely protected.

If you get to visit here, don’t be a d-bag.

Rode the Train Home & I Have Internet Again

Cool, eh?!

It’s the sleeping car alley on an Amtrack train (Amtrack in USA = VIA in CDN).  I gotta say it’s much cheaper down here though; $50 will get you quite far.

Here’s what you can do if there’s two of you:

  1. each buy a ticket
  2. one of you upgrades to a little room for $100
  3. invite the other to ride with them

It was a 10 hour journey.

That’s a very long time to sit still.

It’s amazing really, everything you need in a 3.5′ x 7′ foot room.

Not being sarcastic… there’s people in Japan who live full time in spaces half this size. With everything they own. They make me and my trunk look like pansies.

Japan is on my travel list oh we are so going.

 

Hi hi.

The dining car.

Like I told the guys, “I can’t believe you served me this on a train”.

This was warm.

While on the topic of food, my next new blog is almost ready to be launched, hopefully by the week’s end.

It’s just a little blog, but the name, I know, HA.

 

Lastly, I’m back online.

Going online at a security conference is always risky.  And I don’t know if you’ve ever rebuilt a computer after it’s been compromised, but the time that takes far out-weighs missing a couple days of internetting.  More about that later over at SmartenUpInternet.com.

This is how I’ve been connecting since I arrived January 1… it’s called a MiFi, get it?

It’s a personal internet connection.  We use our phones as HotSpots in Canada to connect.  I love this thing.  I’m using it to blog right now.

Nice to be back online! Nice to be in the same place for two weeks.

I’ll leave you with this photo ahahahahah so many easy jokes.

Have a great Monday and start to your week.