Jackbox Party Pack 3

October 31, 2016 by Adam in Family

The Jackbox games have been a go-to for our family for a couple years now.  We tend to play games like Drawful and Quiplash.  Today I picked up the latest in the serious.  It came with Quiplash 2, which was basically the same as Quiplash but with slight improvements.

The best new game was Tee K.O., which is a quirky t-shirt drawing game.  We all collaborated on different aspects of each t-shirt and then they did battle against each other (with everyone voting for the best each round).  This was tonight's winner - it was Joanna's shirt though the artwork was mine.  Here are the rest.

Finally Calming Down

October 30, 2016 by Adam in Family

Life's been a little exciting lately.  We had a security incident at work - my first week on call as a security engineer.  The next couple days were a blur, but I think most of the excitement is over.  I can't really talk about it, but I did have a few sleepless nights.  I'm looking forward going going back to my more typical security work.

Joanna and I went out Friday night to the gluten-free place next to Roosevelt where Duncan had an Activity Night.  The cider was good and it was nice to unwind after work's insanity.

We're halfway through the weekend - yesterday was a blur of kids going to birthday parties, soccer games, and Joanna driving to Corvallis for a paid gig.  I wrestled with my web server and drive kids around.  I did managed to hang out with Sam a little, who was looking a little forlorn until Isa arrived for pizza and Adam Ruins Everything.  Afterward we all played Drawful 2.

I'm hoping to get Sam's application to the U of O moving along, as deadlines are coming up.  Hopefully Isa can use her wiles on Sam.  I'm enlisting all the help I can get.  I'd also like to get everyone outside, maybe to roam around Hendrick's Park with the leaves all turning color.  Emma and I walked around the block last night, which was quite pleasant.

Tomorrow I dress up as Mr Robot and head off to work.  The worst part is not shaving for three days to get the appropriate levels of stubble.

Halloween Prep Weekend

October 24, 2016 by Adam in Family

It was generally a good weekend, if somewhat low key.  Most everyone was at least a little sick, primarily Sam and Berry towards the end.  Sam and Isa hung out Saturday, emerging to eat pizza and watch Adam Ruins Everything, along with playing Drawful.  We took everyone else out to Lonepine Farms to ride the tractor out to the pumpkin patch.  I made a little pumpkin television, complete with a slot for me to put my old cell phone into.

Joanna drove Berry around to soccer games and apparently had a good ukulele session at church on Sunday.  Her writing projects continue and she spent a good chunk of time proofreading away.

The kids' grades arrived and were generally good.  Emma got all A's and A+'s.  Sam got one B.  Duncan got a C in science due to some missing work.  Otherwise it looks like we'll keep them.

I nearly transferred over the web site to the new version, but there were some issues and I decided to just switch back.  I'm getting pretty ready to be done, though.

I'm starting to get used to the world of viruses and worms at work.  I'm on call for the first time this week and the incidents kept pouring in.  None of them were really security issues, though - they were all weird things that had little to do with security work.  I did manage to get a bunch of devices kicked off the network today.  I'm slowly making things better, one worm at a time.

Mocha Friday

October 21, 2016 by Adam in Family

It's another day where I'm excited to go to work.  I found some cool new tools yesterday and I can't wait to dig into them.  Poor Joanna is lamenting that I don't send my usual morning emails - I'll start digging into an issue and before I know it it's time to hit the gym.

All the kids and Joanna seem to be doing well, which makes it easy to be generally cheerful.  Sam did his English class switcharoo, dropping AP Comp for his science fiction class next term.  Emma is doing an art project for Speak, which is a both funny and painful book about sexual assault.  I read half of it last night as it was so compelling.  Berry and Duncan continue to be sweet and funny, and it's fun watching their banter with Emma around the dinner table.

Berry has a couple soccer games this weekend.  I need to take Sam to the bank, and help him fill out his senior project paperwork.  I keep finding little things to fix for the new web site, but maybe that'll be ready soon.  I might even play some video games, though I find it takes a back seat to family and projects more and more these days.

Halfway to the Weekend

October 19, 2016 by Adam in Family

I continue to putter with the new web site, polishing and fixing things.  I'd still like to do some more work before I make the big switch.

Work continues to be interesting.  I'm coming to the realization that we've got to automate and integrate a lot of our security tools in order to really get some value out of them.  I have years of work ahead of me.

The kids all seem generally cheerful.  Sam's dropping his AP comp class after this term and taking a science fiction class instead, which I suspect he'll really enjoy.  I helped Duncan keep on task with homework yesterday - the lure of YouTube is strong for that boy.  Berry is spending her afternoons playing soccer in the rain and her evenings wearing bear footie pajamas.  Emma and I have exchanged funny texts, but she seems to be doing well.

Joanna is sore from two days of soccer games.  I've been rubbing her feet when she returns home.

Three Day Weekend

October 17, 2016 by Adam in Family

It was  a great weekend.

I took Friday off to hang out with the kids, and that night Joanna and I went to my 20 year anniversary at work event.  Some of it was a little dull, with Rich Wood fortunately keeping me company with work talk.  I enjoyed taking Joanna out to a work event like old times, and there were a few people who had been at PeaceHealth for over 45 years that were really impressive.  My favorite was the ex food services woman who survived WWII, emigrated to Eugene, and if patients complained about the food, she'd suggest it was better than the food in Siberia.

I managed to accomplish a bunch of projects.  The website redesign is almost finished and working pretty well.  I fixed the treadmill, creating a bracket for a key component out of a building set Sam got when he was a kid - I've used them in 5-10 different projects over the years.  We had some roof damage in the living room during the storm - that got jury rigged with nails and spackle.  I replaced some of the living room lights with LEDs.  I built a Kali Linux USB key and dug out an old laptop so I can do some forensics on an infected computer at work.  I was searching for programming terms so much that Google popped up a weird game-like challenge that I think leads to a suggestion I apply for a job there.

The kids were generally pretty awesome.  Sam hung out with Isa most of the time, though I spent some time watching him do Isaac runs.  I took Emma and Berry to the bookstore where they returned with goodies - Emma bought Outsiders after reading it at school.  Both girls drew and painted and sewed their way through various projects.  Duncan had Flynn over and was generally cheerful.

Joanna had her book signing event on Saturday during the storm and had a remarkable number of people attend.  Berry really stole the show, answering questions and reading from her book.  It was all a good time.



Now I'm off to work, officially fully transferred to the security team.  I'm excited to set up honeypots, do some forensics on an infected device, and talk about biomedical devices.

Free Money!

October 13, 2016 by Adam in Family

I had fun last night going through the State of Oregon unclaimed property site, finding hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars for various friends and family.  There are similar sites for each state - most are for very low dollar amounts, but some might be worth pursuing.

This week has flown by.  Work continues to be a blur, jumping from one crisis to the next.  It's a weird, slow-motion sort of thing - gathering evidence and trying to decide if what I see is normal.  Facinating work, though.

Duncan doesn't have school today, though I forgot and made him breakfast anyway.  Everyone else is off school tomorrow, though I'm hoping to bring Sam to work with me for his senior project.  Emma is going to a friend's birthday party.  Joanna and I are going out to dinner as part of my twenty years at PeaceHealth.  Hope it's fun.

Monday

October 12, 2016 by Adam in Family

Another Monday comes to a close.

I continue to enjoy my job.  It's a mix of detective and therapist.  I find myself both freaking out and reassuring people.  The hardest part so far is trying to decide if something is an issue or not.  I pour over logs, looking for patterns, playing cat and mouse with mysterious foes.  It's fascinating.

I had a good chat with Sam, sorting out some school stuff he's working out.  I think he's going to drop his AP English comp class that ended up not being fun and switch to another English class.  I think we also got his senior project sorted out.  The plan is to bring him to work this Friday to study my cool hacking skills.

Joanna's off for a second night at her soccer games.  She returned sweaty and sore yesterday, so I'm proud of her for going at it once again. The little kids are doing well - they continue to seem grown up and responsible.  Berry in particular has been sweet these days.

Still working on the new web site - I've got a few bells and whistles to add, but I'm slowly getting there.  I need to rebuild my web site too.  Even though I'm not doing development at work, my home projects keep me on my toes.

Sunny Sunday.

October 09, 2016 by Adam in Family

We're back to a more typical fall day after a rather dreary week. 

Saturday began with the usual massive breakfast - dutch babies, bacon, veggie sausages, french pressed coffee, and eggs for Sam.  We slathered on yoghurt and fruit and covered them with syrup.  Though it's a lot of work, it's still one of my favorite parts about the weekend.

I took Berry and Emma downtown, first to the art store to replace the sketch books that Emma keeps filling up with beautiful sketches.  I foresee Copic markers for future gifts.  Next was Saint Vinnie's to shop for items for Emma's 80's Halloween costume.  We got a lacy white jacket with shoulder pads that fit the bill, along with a white belt.  Berry really wanted a white fur coat, but sadly had no money.  I assuaged all hurt feelings by taking them to Full City Coffee to spend an old gift certificate from Yayoe.  It was tasty and invigorating.

With Emma off to Corvallis for the afternoon, Sam downstairs in the basement playing video games, Duncan at a friend's house, and Joanna taking Berry to a soccer game, I had an afternoon free.  While much of it was spent folding clothes, I did manage to play a little more Witcher 3 DLC and put up antique looking LED lights in the garage.  Now it's both energy efficient and fashionable.

As for today, Sam wants to play video games with me, which I'm using as an excuse for father-son bonding.  Berry and Emma are huddled in the bathroom putting on 80's makeup.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Genetic Mocha Friday

October 07, 2016 by Adam in Family

I'm having way too much fun in my job, which unfortunately means I'm neglecting posting more than usual.

Hackin' Monday

October 04, 2016 by Adam in Family

I disassembled some weird old computer thingie, digging out the infected hard drive to take an image and do some analysis.  I go to work excited and have to pull myself away as I just want to do one more scan of something weird.  I'm really happy with the switch.

We had a good weekend, overall.  Nothing too exciting.  Joanna and I had a fun date Friday in the Whit.  We passed someone in a truck wearing an evil clown mask.  After picking up some burgers from a street vendor next to the tattoo parlor playing Latino music, we drank cider at the brewery and ended up at Vanilla Jill's.  There we ate ice cream and watched some funky electronica by a guy with pink hair and a trippy screensaver-like-thing projected on a back wall.  It was an experience.

The rest of the weekend was full of soccer games, house projects, laundry, pizza, Adam Ruins Everything, and hanging out with kids.  Isa came over and we managed an epic Drawful and Quiplash session.  Sam spent Saturday morning at the SATs. Sunday night we had family dinner with mom, Bob, Yayoe, John, Jenny, and Jordan.  It was a good time.