Ξ April 23rd, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
Well, I’m back to the old grind. My first day at “The Firm” was good. I’m really excited to be there. It’s a total culture shock and much different then my last position. There was a lot of good natured joking around and the personalities are a lot more laid back. That being said, theres also no shortage of heads down work to do. I spent the morning getting my computer and voice mail set up, and running over to the tech support group to get my hand initialized for the hand scan thats required to get in the door. The afternoon was spent writing code to communicate with HP’s Lights Out Service. No matter what state the computer is in, I can now restart them from another location. Just as if I’d been standing in front of them.
Today I’ll be working on monitoring tools. Mostly documenting the current system and preparing to move to a new system. This will take a while, but will give me a good over view on how things are done there.
Ξ April 23rd, 2008 | → Comments Off | ∇ Blog |
As promised .. I do owe Sandra a post:)
I ran into Sandra at my High School reunion last week. In high school, I may have mentioned the fact that I was a bit of a problem child *grin*. Things like homework were optional. I didn’t like to carry my books home with me like the other kids. Sandra was my polar oppisite in these respects. In a lot of ways she reminds me of my wife, Rosie. They were probably very similar to one another in HS. Sandra was very involved in school activities, got good grades, arrived to school early and handed in assingments on time. In another life, we probably would have never met. Since much of my life is owed to luck and fate, Sandra sat near me in homeroom. As a fellow who hardly made it through HS, I can safely say that Sandra may have been one of those factors that pushed me over the edge in the right direction. She certainly helped with homework and my spanish classes which perhaps gave me the most trouble in school. Perhaps even more then that, Sandra was a kind and considerate person. The girl in school that remembered everyones birthday. She’s the one that brought the cake or flowers or balloons. One of the nice people you meet in the course of life.
At any rate, I was happy to see her at my reunion. She and Rosie got along famously. They really do have a lot of things in common and I look forward to dragging Sandra out to dinner with us one evening soon.
Ξ April 18th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
Yup, its my birthday again. Time to sit and reflect on my life and take an honest look at myself, especially the last year. With my 20 year high school reunion thats just passed, I feel like the years are zipping by like mile markers on the highway, and me .. driving a car with no brakes. So, what’s happened to Biff since last year? Mostly good things. Sure my knees sound like someone snapping bubble wrap, but I generally have good health.
I’m a fairly driven person, and I’m usually not afraid to take chances. When I was younger I had grand plans and aspirations. I felt that I needed incredible degrees of success for happiness. I’ve never acchieved what I’d call “incredible wealth”, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that its not as important as I’d thought it was. Truthfully, I know some very wealthy people. They are generally the managing directors at some large financial institutions. They show up to work every morning the same way that I do. They work all day in the same office as I do, and then they go home in the evening, just as I do too. Perhaps they go home to bigger houses and drive more expensive cars, but generally speaking the “lifestyle” that they lead isn’t that much different them my own. My definition of success has thus changed. Success is no longer having the most toys, but the comfortability living within your own means affords.
Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddah came up with his philosophy around 586 BC
1.) All human life is suffering (dhukka ).
2.) All suffering is caused by human desire, particularly the desire that impermanent things be permanent.
3.) Human suffering can be ended by ending human desire.
4.) Desire can be ended by following the “Eightfold Noble Path”: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
This is the cornerstone to Budhism. It teaches the “Middle Way” or non-excessiveness. Non-excessiveness and trying to be a good person has made me rather happy. I’m not a budhist by any means, but I appreciate the philosophy.
Between now and my next birthday, my plans are to better balance my life by spending more time with family and friends. More weekend trips and vacations, and to get back to taking classes again. I’m happy when I’m in school.
As for celebrating this birthday .. Rosie and I went for massages last night. This evening we’re heading to The Airport Playhouse for a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show with some friends, and tomorrow, we’re going to the Roller Derby with some other friends and family. I’m completely stoked.
Anywho, let me get going. I have some coding to do.
Ξ April 13th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
there is a 101 year old marathon runner. He drinks and smokes. I guess he knows something I don’t. I couldn’t run a marathon at 37. And I don’t smoke either.
Ξ April 13th, 2008 | → 4 Comments | ∇ Blog |
Well, the night finally came and went. Its hard to believe twenty years have passed since I graduated from high school. It all happened so quickly. I’ve heard my parents tell me how fast time flies but now I’m seeing it first hand. My buddy Mike came in from Nantucket. We met up earlier in the day and he, Rosie and myself went bowling with his kids near my house. The bowling ally (Strike) sucks, Rosie and I vow to never go back there every time we leave, but every few months we end up going back. God the service there bites. I digress. The real purpose was for Mike and I to catch up, which we did.
The reunion itself was held at the school. When I walked in, all kinds of memories came flooding back. I really enjoyed high school, at least for the social aspects. From the TV Shows I see today, they always portray high school cliques as these nasty little groups of people that don’t allow outsiders in. Perhaps my high school experience was unique, but I don’t really remember that. Sure our school had its cliques, but the cliques at my high school always intermingled. You could always sit down with anyone for lunch. Everyone knew everyone else. I don’t ever remember feeling like an outsider. We were also known as a party school. Perhaps that had something to do with it. We all seemed to share a common pursuit.
It was nice to see my old friends and some of the girls I crushed on *blush*. Aside from a few people that haven’t changed in appearance one bit (fuckers), the rest of us mortals seem to be aging well. My vote for best gig goes to another friend Mike, who after retiring from the Police Dept, became a Private investigator. It brings to mind Jim Rockford and other PI’s from TV. Its very cloak & dagger to a guy like me who goes to work in an office. I’ve been very 9-5ish for a good part of my life and have always wondered about gigs like this. I think its because it seems so different from what I do. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy my work but there are certainly times where I’ve wondered what it would be like to do something else. Little kids never grow up saying “man, I want to be a systems engineer”. I’ve grown up watching The Rockford Files, Magnum PI and Simon and Simon. For a guy like me that jumps on the LIRR with his coffee and spy/detective novel every morning (I’m currently engaged in “Simple Genius” by David Baldacci about two PI’s investigating a murder in Va.) .. stake outs and investigative sluthing seems a lot more exciting then “tweeking those last 50 lines of code“. If anyone happens to need his services, let me know. I grabbed his card. Runner up goes to a fellow who works as a cop in South Harlem. I’m sure there is no shortage of excitement in his job either.
There’s definitely a theme here. *sigh*.
I was surprised to see that so many of us were just starting families or were just talking about it. I figured I’d be on the bottom of that curve, but apparently not. I’m not sure what else to say about my reunion. It was incredible seeing everyone again, and I really enjoyed myself. I’m also glad to know that everyone is doing well in life. It’s a special group of people who shared an experience with me for four years. The whole evening and even today thus far has been somewhat surreal.
Special mention also goes to my wife Rosie who was a real trooper last night. She came along and also had a good time despite not knowing anyone aside from Mike beforehand. I’m glad she came because she’s such a big part of my life.
I may write a bit more about it later on. But for now, I’m going to wake up Rosie and see what she wants to do for breakfast.
Ξ April 9th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
I keep mentioning this book. It’s a really great book, and I happened to find a campy dramatization on youtube about the book with the actual characters playing themselves.
Cliff is a strange cat. He’s bright though.
For those that like old school computing, check out the data center of the late 1980’s. I love that stuff.
The Cukoos Egg part 1 of 6
The Cukoos Egg part 2 of 6
The Cukoos Egg part 3 of 6
The Cukoos Egg part 4 of 6
The Cukoos Egg part 5 of 6
The Cukoos Egg part 6 of 6
Bonus Clip
Clifford Stoll: 18 minutes with an agile mind
Ξ April 9th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
Sometimes I write posts because I kind of hope particular people find them. In this case, Vince Flynn. I read a lot, I love reading Vince Flynn Books (check out the books at the last site). Vince has great character development, and is a terrific story line. Great if you like political thrillers. So, yeah, I could write Vince a letter, but that would involve writing the letter, stuffing it into an envelope, finding a stamp, then walking down the street to mail it. I’ve decided to employ the powers of the web and see if Vince stumbles upon BiffSocko.com. So,
Vince,
Great books, I love the characters, but here’s a suggestion. How about the development of the character Marcus Dummond. I mean, this guys is a super hacker for Christ sake. I mean, think of the possibilities. For example:
The New E-spionage Threat A BusinessWeek probe of rising attacks on America’s most sensitive computer networks uncovers startling security gaps
Air Force’s D.I.Y. Satellite Hackers
Air Force Academy Captures NSA Cyber Defense Competition Honors
Air Force to create Cyber Command
Anyway Vince, if you happen to come across this page, check out The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by a guy named Cliff Stoll
Ξ April 9th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
If I were a Muppet, I’d be Sam The Eagle. You can learn more about him here
Ξ April 8th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
After spending so much time working with recruiters, I’ve decided to add a new page to this site dedicated to some of the better recruiters I’ve worked with. This is a list of guys I’ve had some positive experiences with. Currently only three of them are listed, but I’ll be adding more as I sort out my INBOX. Here’s the link:BiffSocko Approved Recruiters.
A few people have asked me about what I’ll be doing at “The Firm” (I love that .. it sounds so official). The functional title is Senior Systems Engineer. It also comes with a snazzy corporate title that Mom can tell her friends :). They have projects that range from implementing Switched Fabric Networks to rolling out more time servers to keep transactions in sync. It’s a really cool gig if you like playing with the latest technologies. “The Firm” is highly interested in just building the fastest computing environment around. They have data centers all over the world and trade on numerous exchanges. The Systems Engineering group keeps it all running.
I took my drug test yesterday, and they are running my security check now. I’ve had a number of security checks over the last few years. Each of the banks I’ve worked for as a consultant does them and I’ve never had a problem. Still .. nobody likes waiting for the results of a test.
Rosie and I have a potential buyer for our abode. She’s coming up on Thursday evening to check out the place and we’ve been trying to clean up before she gets here. With Rosie and I both in school and working, and since we’re in the middle of doing some renovations, we’ve had the tendency to get somewhat cluttered here. Part of the process is just getting rid of stuff we no longer need. Rosie is much better at this then I am. I can be considered a bit fo a pack rat, while she’s happy to toss anything thats not needed. We tend to donate as much as we can to charities. It gives us tax write offs and a warm fuzzy feeling for helping people out. We’ve just donated a TON of stuff to charity including a few computer monitors, a thinkpad laptop, various computer parts, a Sparc 5 and a Sparc 10 that I found up in the attic. I’m going to miss those Sun Workstations. At one time they were the envy of a bunch of my friends. Now they’ve showed up on http://www.obsolyte.com/. They were super for developing code on. *sigh*. I have such a hard time parting with old computers. Rosie is the voice of reason in these matters.
My High School reunion is coming up on Saturday. I’m excited. My friend Mike is coming in on Saturday Morning from Nantucket and we’ll be spending the day together. I haven’t seen Mike in a little less then 20 years. It’ll be great to see him. We’d been out of contact for many years until I tracked his phone number down from a Christmas card that he’d sent my parents. It’ll be good to see Mike as well as a few other people whom I hope show up as well.
All righty, I have to get back to work. There’s a ton of stuff to do around here.
Ξ April 1st, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
Well that didn’t last long. I start the new gig in two weeks, right about the same time that work will be completed on the telecom project. One small twist however .. its not a consulting gig. I’ve decided to settle down. Yup, I’ve made a commitment.
The gig is with a big hedge fund. The role itself is probably much more suitable for me then the last one. It’s a UNIX (mostly Linux) shop, and instead of being a Software Developer, I’ll be a Systems Engineer who writes code. There’s a difference. Software Developers are concerned with producing software to accomplish a task .. Systems Engineers are concerned with building or maintaining something, and if coding to accomplish this task is necessary, then it gets done, but the overall health and performance of the systems are the primary objective.
The culture of the place is quite a bit different then my last gig. I can’t verbalize it just yet, but when the words come to me, I’ll be sure to write em’ in here.
Anyway, the deal is complete. I fully expect to be there for a long time. I’ll refer to the new gig as “The Firm” for the purpose of the blog.
