I think a lot of corporate executives are not enjoying the scalability and offerings of existing IT Security products whether they be hardware or software based. I think some companies will greatly reduce their IT Security funding from their overall IT budget based on concern that IT Security companies are not offering the most effective tools.

Currently there are a dozen viruses and other threats which have been out for months and software giants such as Symantec and McAffee cannot develop responses that are effective to these threats. I just read SC Magazine's most recent issue and it is funny that the quote what they consider to be IT Security professionals and yet these individuals they quote mostly provide statements that are inconsistent with current technology.

One professional went as far as to say that Java Script based threats is a new and emerging threat which is just unreasonable since people have been developing Java Script based exploits for years now and it is nothing new at all.

One of the major issues that the tech industry is facing is that more and more companies are hiring under qualified individuals to manage their IT divisions. Just because a person has a degree does not mean he or she is more qualified than a person who just has experience and or certifications.

I know a number of people who have yet to get a four year degree but I know their knowledge far exceeds that of most top IT professionals holding corporate positions. The large majority of IT Security threats are developed by individuals who have no college background most are young teenagers who are self-taught so do not believe for a second that a individual with a college degree is always the best solution when it comes to preventing such threats.

Sometimes companies really need to think outside of the box and hire individuals just based on their actual skills and not a piece of paper (diploma).

Well Tuesday morning at around 7:01AM I departed from the Crescent City Harbor aboard the Sandy M a 34 foot commercial fishing vessel that is based out of Morro Bay. The night before I had been hired on as a deckhand by the skipper (Brian) to work with his other crew member Dave who was the block guy.

My job was essentially to assist in retrieving crab pots from the sea and unloading crab from them directly into the boats tank and then re-baiting and setting those same pots back out in the ocean in new locations. Overall I probably lifted well over a 59 crab pots which I then stacked on the back of the boat until we relocated and then set them (threw them) back in the ocean. I also unloaded around 600 plus pounds of crab and we did travel at least a hundred nautical miles over the day.

The sea was relatively calm for the size of vessel I was in but in any case we had the best safety equipment available and if we had trouble at sea I had no doubt in my mind we would be able to manage until the Coast Guard came to get us. I did not get sick at all but then again I have been out sports fishing on the sea and the motion sickness has only hit me once in my entire life.

My sea legs held out and I was able to move all over the boat and over obstacles such as boxes, crates and houses and crab pots while the boat was constantly moving and rocking without once stumbling or slipping.

Funny enough I actually preferred the cold of the sea over the heat.... at one point it got so hot I had to take off a layer or two to cool down. Then when we returned to the harbor we pulled up to a fisheries dock first and unloaded our crab to the dock they lower a crane down and we fill up a steel bucket which they then weight each huge bucket load and then they tally up our catch and give a invoice.

Anyways the trip was a good experience I just need to find work on a bigger boat so I can earn what I think is more fair of wages.

Well Thursday night I began throwing up and having other weird issues with my body and I knew after the third or fourth time I threw up that whatever I had was pretty serious because more fluids were coming up then could possibly be held in my stomach region. It was late at night and I did not want to disturb anyone so I toughed it out.

Early Friday morning I headed to Eureka, CA for a medical appointment and I was incoherent and undergoing extreme nausea and pain. At my medical appointment my heart rate was in the 70's and as we headed back to Crescent City, CA I began having extreme upper abdomen pain which I thought was my lungs hurting due to dehydration.

Upon arrival back in Crescent City, CA I was taken to Urgent Care and immediately on arrival was rushed to their triage center at which point they determined it was best to have me rushed via ambulance to the Emergency Room. They put me on oxygen and administered medication as I waited for the ambulance. I was placed in the ambulance and they administered Nitroglycerin via a spray based delivery system.

The nitroglycerin gave me one hell of a headache I felt like someone hit me in the head with a hammer. Upon arrival at the hospital I was triaged again and placed in a room and immediately labs of blood were taken. My assigned nurse wanted a urine sample but I told her I had no fluids and she said they were running a IV of fluids and medications and that if I could not urinate she could administer a catheter into my penis and I immediately made it clear nothing was going in my penis.

Anyways after I had 1000ml of fluids given to me I eventually urinated and after all labs were complete they determined I had "gastroenteritis"and a very bad case at that. gastroenteritis causes the deaths of 5 to 7 million people every year and these figures include modern parts of the world. The lab results point towards the "Astrovirus" causing my gastroenteritis and mind you it is very rare that Astrovirus infects humans and when it does its generally more dangerous then the Rotavirus.

Anyways, I was discharged from the Emergency Room after almost 4 hours in an actual treatment setting and I was told not to consume any solids and to primarily only drink Gatorade and clear fluids for the time being.

Well I did quite the battery of testing today.... I took some CollegeBoard Test's at my campus today and I scored very high which allows me to pretty much bypass a lot of stuff I never wanted to take.

I am also now registered for my new SAT's and also I am going to most likely CLEP some courses but other than that I am currently and actively enrolled in 12.50 Units of courses which makes me a full time student but I am also going to add a few more courses after I am able to figure some other things out.

My hardest course is going to be my Biology course because I'm taking it during the Winter Term which is only three weeks long instead of a normal semester so it will be highly fast paced with no room for error or slacking. I look forward to getting back into the full swing mix of going to college and being able to mingle with my fellow student body and perhaps arrange some study groups on a weekly basis at my house.



So sometime this week I will swing back by and finish the last portion of my AP testing mind you I was at the campus from 2:30pm thru 4:25pm filing paperwork and discussing options and my scores with my counselor and signing a educational plan and then I also spent time in the testing lab doing my testing on the CB Test Proctoring System. I also need to go to the campus bookstore and purchase more textbooks which is dandy.

My day thus far has been uneventful as I have been dealing with college and other stuff that I had let accumulate when I was sidetracking. I was able to speak with Mickey and Sheldon at the college today and we had a brief chat about our college student club and the possibility of returning to our regular schedule paintballing sessions as soon as final week is over.

I really am looking forward to going to a four year and to enjoy the excellent experiences that come along with that although I have not yet decided if I am going to go straight to that after I finish up here or whether I will take a break as to my academics. I have a lot of things to consider right now and I am taking a whole lot into consideration so as to make a sound and reasonable decision as to how to proceed effectively in my goals.

Physical Plans:

Well as apart of my new routine I am going to start working out doing cardio exercise in the morning which will consist of burpees, jumping jacks, squats, arm rotations and in place jogging. This routine is the standard atypical workout of a prisoner in the United States. It is not intended to make you "buff" or massive when it comes to muscles but instead it is developed specifically for the sole purpose of rapid weight loss and overall body muscle growth. This workout will build up a person's "wind" which in a prison setting means more stamina and the ability to fight for long periods of time in order to protect yourself and your people.

I am familiar with this workout as when I was in Minnesota I was for a period of time following this routine and it is highly effective and in fact some specialized military units actually now have adapted the burpee into their PT routine.

I will do 35 "3 count" burpees each morning after I wake up and before I eat anything and I will then do 100 jumping jacks and 75 squats and 60 arm rotations in each direction and then I will finish of with 15 minutes of shadow boxing.

In compliment to this new workout routine I will not be counting calories or any of that but instead will reduce my solids intake to 125ml per meal which will primarily consist of meats and vegetables and I will cut alcohol completely out of my diet and will also reduce my intake of dairy products.

In the afternoons I will use our weder weights and will 10-20 squats with 90 pounds and will do arm curls with 45 pounds in each arm and will finish each night by a 1-2 mile walk at a brisk pace.

This will be my routine for the next few weeks and I will adjust it as necessary to fine tune and meet my goals. My overall goal is reduction of abdominal fat and increase in upper body muscle tissue

Spiritual Plans:

I know not many of my readers much care about this but I will just say that I am going to increase my participation in religious activity in my community by attending a night service during the weekdays and I also am going to perhaps start going to both Sunday services at my church. I also will increase my individual spiritual discussions with my friend Josh who is a youth pastor and with our senior pastor to help fine tune my overall plans and for general advice.

Academic Plans:
I am going to look into CLEP'ing some of my courses and challenging other courses and I plan to take one class during the winter term. As for the Spring 2008 semester I am in a dilemma as far as that goes because I plan to move elsewhere in the end of February or Early March and I do not want any "W's" on my transcript so at this time I am going to delay registration for that semester.

Employment Plans:
I am not looking to find work locally in a long term capacity due to my ultimate goal of relocating although I will do some work freelance and contract as available but I prefer to just wait until I relocate. I however have been looking at availability of IT Engineering, Systems Administration and IT Managerial positions in the Hillsboro, OR area.

Housing Plans:
I have been actively researching a variety of options through various mediums I plan to live in Oregon in the Salem or Portland area as my work will been in that general region and my family will be nearby. I have looked at a few different gated communities that I am interested in living in but I am also considering possibility of a private residence. I would rent/lease until I was certain I found a locale that I could enjoy at which point I will then begin looking to purchase a house via mortgage fixed rate 30 year.

Relationship Plans:
One person has my heart and I'm giving that person every opportunity to keep my heart but I will not settle for less this time and I will not put up with infidelity. Even though I am in a unspecified relationship status kind of pseudo-single I am remaining honest and loyal about my interactions and I have made promises as to what I will and will not do and I will stick to them.



Summary:
I have a lot of things to handle over the next few months but it is nothing I cannot handle.... When you go from managing thousands of clients and a task group of employees for a corporation and then coming home and dealing with the difficulties of life in the city and all the things I have dealt with this little bit I have on my mind right now if hardly significant. Most people are not strong enough in will and constitution to handle what I have handled over the last four and a half years.

Once I get the majority of these things settled I will be able to focus on enjoying the things I enjoy and having the life I want.