CMS Rock Star

I was browsing the Internet, looking for a variety of information about websites.  There is a lot to learn about creating and hosting a website.  One of the interesting things about the Internet is that it acts like a living organism; it is constantly adapting, changing, and evolving!  Someone is always developing a new technological breakthrough that makes the Internet even more dynamic! 

I found some informative articles like tips for choosing a domain and a webhost rating resource for determining which webhosting service is the best value at the webhostingrating.com website.  If you are looking for a new webhost service, check out their reviews.  Their list of the “top ten” best websites at the moment only has four web hosting services  listed, so those four must really be good!

The Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) has a department called Information Systems and Internet Security (ISIS) Lab.  This Lab concentrates on the newest areas of information security.  Currently they are focusing on digital forensics, computer and network security, digital watermarking, steganography, and hardware for secure systems. 

The ISIS Lab is holding their fifth annual Cyber Security Awareness Week from now until October 14.  A very large part of the week is an information security competition run by students.  The competition will culminate with an awards ceremony and presentations by industry leaders.  The competition is open to students around the country, not just limited to NYU-Poly.  Interested students can register for the competition at isis.poly.edu/csaw/.

Cash prizes will be given to the winners of the competition.  There are seven categories of competition, and each category will have their own prizes.  The categories are Security Quiz, Research Poster, Forensics, AppSec Capture the Flag, Essay Contest, Security Awareness Posters, and Underhanded Hardware.

First prize is $500.  Second prize is $250, and third prize is $100.   There will also be door prizes, bonus prizes and raffles for high school and undergraduate participants.  A travel scholarship will be awarded to qualified finalists to attend the awards ceremony in New York City.

Over the past year I have looked for a different job by interviewing at about seven different companies.  I’d love to get better pay and benefits than what I am getting now.  Don’t get me wrong, I have a good job, but in today’s market, you always have to keep an ear to the ground to better yourself!  I just participated in a survey from the Development Dimensions International human resources consulting firm about my job interview experiences.  They are interested in hearing from people who have either been interviewed for a job, or have been interviewers.  As incentive to take the survey, participants are given the chance to win an Apple iPod touch (or $300).  If you would like to participate, and have a chance to win an Ipod, Click here to take the survey

I was reading an article in a local newspaper about how many public transportation methods are upgrading their services to attract more riders. The article was talking about how bus stations are equipping themselves with Wi-Fi, and making their buses more comfortable to ride in. One of the things they are doing with the new buses is putting more soundproofing in the floors. That should help! I think it would be great if the long distance buses and trains offered Wi-Fi on the bus and/or train!

I have an aunt who lives in another state further south. (I just realized how silly that sounds, almost everyone lives further south than we do!) Anyway, she and her husband have had perfect credit all of their lives. Last fall her husband was in a bad car accident that was not his fault, and he has been unable to work for the past ten months. The doctors say that he may never be able to work again. He did not have any kind of disability insurance other than his standard automobile insurance policy (which doesn’t want to pay anything because the accident was not his fault!) The lady who caused the accident does not have enough insurance to cover even 25% of his medical bills! Thank goodness my aunt’s medical insurance has been covering most of his medical expenses so far, but the co-payments on the pain medications have been quite exorbitant! I never realized just how expensive pain medications could be! No wonder I keep hearing about drug stores being held up for pain medications!

Anyway, because he has been unable to work they have not been able to keep up on their mortgage payments and the mortgage company is not granting them any slack at all. My aunt is working three jobs, but is not making enough money to pay all of the bills.  They asked for a special hardship forbearance and the mortgage company refused. Long story short they are losing their house and their credit is ruined.  Their credit card companies are cancelling their cards because they have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.

This sad story has been a huge “awakening” to me about just how rotten life can be to good people who never did anyone any harm and have only been generous and gracious and hard working their entire lives.  They are going to have to look into getting some loans for people with bad credit to help them get through the next few years.  They are going to need some financial help to find a new place to live, and the only way they are going to get it is through a company that extends credit to people with poor credit.  What is really sad about this is that people with poor credit usually have to pay higher interest rates and higher fees, which makes their lives even more difficult!