Since I am plugging security-related stuff today:

“Join Mike Nash, Microsoft's senior executive in charge of security, for his monthly security update. This month, learn more about Authentication, Authorization and Access Management. Mike's guests will talk about the Microsoft Identity and Access Management Series and Public Key Infrastructure and how each can be used in corporate environments to enhance security and reduce costs. In addition, Mike will report on the latest details of what Microsoft is doing across the company to improve security through guidance, tools, training and technology.”

Signup: Register Online
Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Time: 8:30AM-9:30AM Pacific Time (GMT-8, US & Canada)

Microsoft's new TechNet Radio audio show is an informative way to learn about IT. Their first bradcast is called “IT Security at Microsoft,” and it covers a lot of ground. Worth the listen!

• Windows Media Stream version
• Download the .wma and listen on your audio device
• Show transcript

Learning about how other companies deal with network and information security, especially big ones like Microsoft, is a valuable exercise in developing your own IT security strategy. Microsoft has over 300,000 network devices, and more than 50,000 employees. They are pretty free-form in terms of allowing their employees to install software as needed, run beta and “dogfood” software in production, and have some interesting ways of dealing with the environment. Microsoft's similar to where I work in terms of culture and whatnot. I've had the opportunity to visit Redmend and to talk with people there on a regualr basis, but even so this broadcast was useful and made me think.

Well, ok, I don't actually hate them... Heck I live in a town called “Deer Island,” so I guess I can't really hate them... But the one last year that jumped in front of me, the one I drove around just barely, the one where I was on a motorcycle, and it was dark, and the ditch I drove into in order to avoid the deer, well, it had a big fallen tree branch in it, and I never knew you could total a motocycle just from the cost of the broken plastic...

Yeah, well anyhow deer are ok with me unless they're in the middle of the freakin' road in the woods at night. Then they just suck.

But anyhow, none of this matters, especially since I got right back on that horse again this year (or more specifically I got back on all 203.5 of them).

My real point is, I laughed out loud while reading a pretty funny blog entry. And I thought I'd share the laughter. The link was gleaned from several other blogs I read. Enjoy.

Not like anyone actually wants or cares to hear about my pain, but not much else happening right now, and this is (after all) my blog.

So, this would be the one where I talk about my subsiding back pain and start to think about blogging with audio: You know, I was really excited about getting the audioblog.com stuff set up (and I still am excited), but I find myself getting a little self-conscious about posting my voice on my blog for some reason. Have been thinking about how to use this capability - have a few ideas, but will probably think of more....

"Never again," cried the man, "never again will we wake up in the morning and think Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Does it really, cosmically speaking, matter if I don't get up and go to work? For today we will finally learn once and for all the plain and simple answer to all these nagging little problems of Life, the Universe and Everything!"

The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is coming soon to a theater near you! Heck yeah!

“Exactly!”   - Deep Thought

Thanks to Travis for the link :)