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So yesterday I came home to CT, it was mostly because I had to have a dental appointment on Monday (filling :( not fun). So I was home for mothers day, which was a good unplanned extra. My parents showed me a couple of pictures of our dog where my dad is enjoying an adult beverage, he set the glass down, and then the dog (Sam) put his head in the glass and started licking the leftovers. I posted the images below.
So this week, the plan is hopefully visit my Godmother, and some of my high school friends. It should be fun. At the end of the week I'll be going back to Burlington probably for the rest of the summer and the school year.
As a side note, I started watching a show called "The Riches" starring British comedian Eddie Izzard. If you have not seen one of his stand up shows, you're sincerely missing something. He dresses as a transvestite on his shows which adds another interesting, and hilarious element. The Riches follows Eddie Izzard's character and his family which are a band of gypsey's that pretend to be a rich family living in an upper class neighborhood. It's a touching and at times hilarious show that I'm glad I started watching. It airs on the FX Network.
So that's about it for me at the moment, I'll keep in touch if anything interesting happens this week.
Cheers!
Me
Ok, so my title is that of a Mamas and the Papas song (anyone other than me know who this group is?). But the title is so appropriate. SUMMER'S HERE! I got done with exams about two weeks ago (which was awesome). So this begs the question: "What am I doing this summer?" Well, this summer I plan on working at the Admission Office as a tour guide, and working as a Summer RA, in the central campus summer Hall, which this year is McDonald Hall. Other than that, many of my friends will be staying in apartments up here this summer so I'll most likely be hanging out with them as soon as their leases start.
That's the thing I like about the summer, all work, and then all play (after work of course). Today, I went for a bike ride on the Burlington Bike Trail, I have some shots of the lake and the area attached to this post, so please feel free to take a look.
That should be it for today! I'll keep everyone updated as time goes on.
Cheers!
Me
So right now I'm sitting right before my last class of the week...well, semester. I'm really happy that the semester is over, but I have to look at all the final projects that I need to complete and then comparing that to available time...It's kind of stressful. That coupled with the fact that I have a BBQ that I planned with two of my friends for our Res Halls AND working Accepted Students Day. It's going to be a crazy weekend, but exams should go by easily for me, and then I start living in the summer hall before I know it. I can't believe that next semester I'm going to be a senior.
Tomorrow (Friday) is going to be Spring Meltdown, that's basically a big party (alcohol free) on campus. Last year there was a mechanical bull, and other inflatable play things that allow you to relieve some stress before exams. This year I can't go because it will take place at 4:30 at which time I am going to be shopping with Dave for our BBQ, but I'll be there in spirit. This again is to illustrate how incredibly busy I am this week and next week.
That's it for now, I'll have more as time goes!
Cheers!
MSK
So I can't go into detail about what exactly was covered at the conference because I basically promised that not to post specifics into a blog. At any rate, what I did learn was the amount of opportunities that will open up to me because I will have an official degree in the field. Many of the professionals in digital forensics have stumbled into the field from other professions and have many different degrees in different areas. I can't wait to see what will be offered.
After the conference we went to eat at Legal Seafood, which in short was totally awesome! I really think that I want to live in Boston after I graduate. It's such a cool city, if not Boston, then San Francisco, Portland Oregon, or Seattle. But we'll see what the future holds.
That's it for now!
Cheers!
MSK
So what's going on this week: This Thursday, I'll be attending the HTCIA Conference in Boston, MA here's the URL: http://www.htcia.org/
This conference is basically computer forensic heaven. From what I've read and heard, software vendors will be present, as well as potential future employers. I'll be graduating next year so it's good that I'm looking at all these opportunities that come my way. I'd be willing to go anywhere in the country. I of course should show preferences to states that don't have snow, after going through this last Vermont winter, I'm kind of sick of New England for a little while.
So I'll try to take some pictures at the conference, granted I'm allowed to take pictures without having to sign my life away. Other than that, there's nothing else to report other than the fact that there are about 12 class days before finals, so I'm kind of stressing over that. But those usually go over pretty well, and then it's summer on campus year two!
Thats it for now I suppose!
Cheers!
Me
So April is here, and apparently so has the weather. Currently it is about 60 degrees in Burlington, and rain showers are expected. I'm just happy it's rain, I'm starting to get sick of seeing white all over the place.
So the semester is winding down, which means exams are going to happen within the next three weeks which means classes end after two weeks, which is insane! I can't believe I'm already almost done with my junior year of college. Senior year is going to fly by.
I again will be living up here this summer, which is something I encourage every student to do, which is spend at least one summer here. As students, we are here during mostly the cold dead months, what about when it is bright and beautiful. Not to mention, there's so much more to do downtown during the summer, it's INSANE! Plus you also make more friends if you live on campus and are taking classes. Last year when I did this, I was a summer RA, and I'm really close friends with a group of my summer residents from last year. I hope to find the same thing this year.
That's about it for now!
Cheers!
MSK
On Monday I registered for my classes for the fall. The process itself is pretty easy. You log onto your account, and then select classes that you want ahead of time. You save them as your preferred classes and then when your registration window opens, you furiously click the submit button hopefully before the dozens, or hundreds, of people that have similar times to you are doing the exact same thing. It's almost a sport. I'm glad I don't gamble because instead of being a poor college student, I'd be a dirt poor college student.
I'm just glad I only need to do this one more time for next spring and I don't have to worry about it again. That's it for now!
Cheers!
MSK
Hi All!
So as some of you know, my job as an RA requires me to create programs. Most of these are partly from my interests that usually are in some degree obscure. Last night I had a program in my hall called Mug painting. The idea behind it is purely simple: Paint a mug. Very little program, and incredibly relaxing for me!! Because now there are only about 30 days of classes left and I want to keep things as simple as possible.
Here are a couple of pictures of mugs that were painted! Enjoy!
One of my residents and her mug!
Some of the mugs made
A Cooler shot of the same thing.
The blue Chinese Characters stand for Tea and Cup so....Teacup (at least I hope) If anyone can read mandarin please confirm what I wrote down so I don't feel like a fool.
Have a good week!
Cheers!
MSK
So when I look back at my college experience thus far, I really remember all the classes I currently despise, or the one's that I've despised in the past. When you're sitting in a class and thinking: Why am I learning this? It doesn't dawn on you until after when you pull something out of your head and then it hits like: "So I did take something out of that class."
So why am I bringing that up? Well last semester, my best friend Dave was cruising a forum on the website www.computerforensicsworld.com. One the forum there was a topic of education, there was person who posted that was asking basically where should they go for that education. The next post was from someone who had previously attended Champlain for a short while and for some reason dropped out. The second poster was bashing Champlain, and essentially telling the first person not to attend Champlain. So Dave and I signed up on the forum so we could put in our two cents and defend the college. We did an amazing job defending an institution that we believe in. Here's the link: forum
I felt like my experience as a student allowed me to approach this person and find a reason that he disliked our college as much as he did. This would be apparent through the exchange. Also: You might noticed that I used the user's last name in my post. That's because Dave and I did a little research on the user and found out where he worked, what position he was in, and his personal contact information, all from plain old internet hunting.
Here's something fun: Try throwing your name into google and see if anything pops up related to you. I know I'm on google in an article for completing an orienteering course, there might be a couple other things, but it's a fun thing to do. It's amazing what you can find.
Cheers!
MSK
So I just realized this and I never really talked about my major and what I can possibly do when I graduate. I was contacted by one of my readers Matthew Schanke. He had a couple of questions based on my major. He originally noticed a post that I made on a website called: www.computerforensicsworld.com and posed some questions regarding what the major is like.
Here are Matt's questions:
What kind of computer forensic / security jobs you feel you're capable of applying for after taking many of the classes?
If you have done the job searches, did you think you matched any of the security jobs pretty well?
Have you taken any certifications since taking any of the classes?
Jobs that I would be able to take at this stage of the game would be more of an internship. Then after I graduate, I might end up in a position ranging from 30k to perhaps 50k per year. This definitely varies depending on where I go. This field relies heavily on experience, and how knowledgeable one is when it comes to this.
At this point in time I feel like I will match a good deal of my searches since I am aiming at entry level positions. Some of the more advanced positions require knowledge of networking programs, which also really depends on what sector you decide to go in. In our major, it is recommended to have an internship, but it is not required because we are able to take various IT related jobs in the area.
As for certifications: Certs cost a good amount of money when you take the classes. My friend Dave took the CCE which stands for "Certified Computer Examiner" Basically it's a boot camp where you attend a class for 6 hours every day during a week, then you take a written exam, then you have to complete 3 data acquisition projects which includes the recovery of data and then writing up a complete report. That boot camp cost $2800 and then to take the test that was about another $300. I would have taken this certification had it not been for the money, Dave put it on his student loans, but I wasn't too keen on that (I already owe enough). But I will keep my eyes open for more possibilities.
The thing that I have to remind myself when it comes to my field is that, my education does not stop at Champlain.I'm going to constantly have to reapply for my licenses and certifications because as we all know, this field is rapidly expanding, and sometimes it is tough to keep up. There are new ways that criminals can hide information. The nice thing about being in a work field that allows me to make a great sum of money is that it would be easy to swallow to drop about 3 grand on a certification.
Another great resource for folks if you're deciding on this major is http://digitalforensics.champlain.edu/gck/ It belongs to Gary Kessler, the program director for C&DF Majors. Please take a look at that for more information. Also take a look at the site for CCE: http://www.isfce.com/
I hope this answers some questions!
Cheers!
MSK
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