Found by way of ReadWriteWeb/Cloud… need I say more?
“Blah blah cloud” indeed!
Author Archives: Dan York
My 3 Words for 2011
In keeping with what I started last year, I thought I would again share my “3 words” for this year… these aren’t goals, per se, but rather three words that I see as guiding my activities for this year. Here they are for 2011:
CONTENT
Last year one of my words was “WRITE”, and my objective was to increase the amount of writing I was doing across my various blogs. I did that in 2010… writing across my various blogs at a higher level than in previous years. This year, though, I want to do more… and not just writing online articles. I want to get more of my photography online. I want to create more videos in my YouTube account. There are a couple of audio podcasts I’d like to create. I’ve got a number of plans already underway… you’ll see more of that coming out in the days and weeks ahead…
PORTFOLIO
One of the challenges I have with all that content creation is that it is now occurring across a range of different sites. I list some of them on my danyork.com/blogs.html page, and the “One Day of Content Creation” events that I did in July and December show the type of posts I publish. I also have a couple of other sites lurking out there and I’ve spun up a few new ones recently. While I purposely have been creating very focused sites, I want to tie them together a bit more. I’ve been aggregating most of the content in my Friendfeed account, but lets face it, Friendfeed: 1) isn’t under my control; 2) isn’t heavily used any more; and 3) may not be around for the long term. So on one level I want to aggregate my content (or links to my content) in a central place that I can point people to… and I also want to link some of the sites a bit more together for encouraging cross-site visiting. (This latter item may come if I can finally make the move in 2011 to ditch TypePad and move all my sites over to the WordPress base I’m building.)
There is admittedly a second level to the word “portfolio”. Given the public profile I have, particularly in the speaking space, I have needed for some time to have a better “home page” that explains what I do and what I can offer people / conferences / businesses, etc., again in particular with regard to speaking. Launching a redesigned danyork.com in 2010 was a start, but I need to do more.
LIFESTYLE
Finally, in 2010 one of my words was “HEALTH” and I did make that a priority… losing 45 pounds and turning (to my utter amazement and amusement) into a runner. In 2011 I want to take it further… it’s been 6 months and daily exercise has become part of my routine… I want it to be hard-coded into my lifestyle, i.e. it’s not just a passing fad but something that becomes part and parcel of what I do and who I am. On the running front, I want to run some races and see that I can keep it up, even through our winter. Beyond running, though, I want to get back into some of the other outdoor activities that used to be more part of my life… and that’s all just a question of priorities.
Beyond the exercise, there are some other lifestyle changes I want to make, just to have an all around healthier life. More to say on that in the future.
What about you? What are you planning to do differently in 2011?
Photo Set: Autumn 2010 in New Hampshire
For those of you who have not had a chance to experience the autumn foliage up in our part of the world, I uploaded this photo set to Flickr for you to get a glimpse of what we see:
This particular set was mostly taken on a drive along Route 101 near Dublin, NH, back in early October 2010.
I have more photos I took this fall that I need to upload, too… it is truly a glorious time to be living here in New Hampshire!
Giving Thanks – And Celebrating the Great American Pause Button
Flickr credit: D Sharon Pruitt
For those of us in the United States, today is our “Thanksgiving” – and it is among my favorite days of the year. Perhaps most because it is the one holiday that has thus far remained unsullied by our over-consumeristic society. (Which then makes up for that fact with the day after.)
Outside of the service industries (and some retail), almost all businesses are shut down.
Work… stops.
School… stops.
Activities in the community… stop.
The craziness of everyday life gets put on hold. There is a Great American Pause Button that gets pressed – and just for a moment – we all collectively stop what we do normally and, usually, gather together as families or groups of friends.
That isn’t to say there isn’t another kind of craziness at play on the actual day. Anyone who has hosted a gathering or driven long hours to one knows that. And certainly all our families aren’t the peaceful romantic visions of Norman Rockwell yesteryear… and certainly there are many without families or homes for whom the day is a trying time.
But… just for a moment… we take a collective time-out.
And that in and of itself is a thing worth celebrating. A time to pause. A time for some to reflect. To celebrate. To play games. To watch games or movies together. To embrace the warmth of friends or family.
To simply… be.
It is a wonderful aspect of the day.
And as I reflect on the MANY things for which I am thankful, I do want to thank all of you who are reading this piece. Thank you for reading my writing over the past 10 years that I’ve been writing online… thank you for commenting… for asking questions… for challenging me… for linking to my posts… for pointing me to new ideas… thank you. You have enriched my life – and that means a great deal for me.
Whatever your traditions are on this day… or if it is just a “regular” day for you… I wish you the best of days!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pictures (Headshots)
For conference sites, brochures, etc., I prefer to use one of these photos. Click on each photo to see it alone in a window.
100 pixels – square (with and without shadow)
200 pixels – square (with and without shadow)
438 pixels – square
Large Size – 1200×1650 pixels – rectangular
Bio
As I am frequently asked for a “bio” for speaking at conferences, I have included several variations here. Please contact me if you need another variation (for instance, edited for word count).
Dan York, CISSP, is a passionate advocate for the open Internet focused on helping people understand the changes going on all around us within communication technology and practices. Dan currently serves the Internet Society as the Senior Content Strategist focused on the Deploy360 Programme – creating, curating and promoting online content that helps service providers, companies and individuals more quickly deploy Internet technologies such as IPv6 and DNSSEC. Separately, Dan is also the Chairman of the global Voice Over IP Security Alliance (VOIPSA). Dan is also active within the real-time communications area of the IETF.
Since the mid-1980’s Dan has been working with online communication technologies and helping businesses and organizations understand how to use and participate in those new media. An author of multiple books on networking, security, IPv6 and Linux, Dan is a dynamic and engaging speaker who frequently presents at industry conferences and events and has been blogging and writing online for over 12 years. His most recent books are “Migrating Applications to IPv6” and “The Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks”. Previously Dan worked for Voxeo Corporation heading up the company’s communication through both traditional and new/social media. Prior to that, Dan served in the Office of the CTO for both Voxeo and before that Mitel focused on analyzing/evaluating emerging technology, participating in industry standards bodies and addressing VoIP security issues.
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Dan speaks English and German and when not in front of the keyboard can usually be found engaging in outdoor activities or participating in the sport of curling, an addiction he picked up during 5 years of living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. More information about Dan can be found at danyork.com.
(version used at CircleID)
Dan York focuses on explaining the changes going on all around us within communication technology and practices. An author of multiple books on networking, security, IPv6 and Linux, Dan frequently frequently presents at industry conferences and events and has blogging and writing online for over 11 years. Today Dan serves the Internet Society as the Senior Content Strategist focused on the Deploy360 Programme, seeking to help service provides, companies and individuals more quickly deploy Internet technologies such as IPv6 and DNSSEC. Separately, Dan is also the Chairman of the global Voice Over IP Security Alliance (VOIPSA).
Previously Dan worked for Voxeo Corporation heading up the company’s communication through both traditional and new/social media. Prior to that, Dan served in the Office of the CTO for both Voxeo and before that Mitel focused on analyzing/evaluating emerging technology, participating in industry standards bodies and addressing VoIP security issues. Since the mid-1980’s Dan has been working with online communication technologies and helping businesses and organizations understand how to use and participate in those new media. . His most recent books are Migrating Applications to IPv6 and The Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks. His most relevant writing to CircleID readers can be found at DisruptiveTelephony.com More information about Dan can be found at danyork.com and danyork.me
(security-focused version)
Dan York, CISSP, is the Senior Content Strategist at the Internet Society focused on the Deploy360 Programme – creating, curating and promoting online content that helps service providers, companies and individuals more quickly deploy Internet technologies such as IPv6 and DNSSEC. Beyond his role with the Internet Society, Dan is today the Chair of the VOIP Security Alliance (VOIPSA) and the author of the book “Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks”. From 2005 to 2008 he was also the producer of the weekly “Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast”. Previously Dan worked for Voxeo Corporation heading up the company’s communication through both traditional and new/social media. Prior to that, Dan served in the Office of the CTO for both Voxeo and before that Mitel focused on analyzing/evaluating emerging technology, participating in industry standards bodies and addressing VoIP security issues. Since the mid-1980’s Dan has been working with online communication technologies and helping businesses and organizations understand how to use and participate in those new media. Dan frequently presents at conferences, has authored multiple books and writes extensively online at sites such as www.voipsa.org/blog and Voxeo’s weblogs at blogs.voxeo.com
(security-focused version – VOIPSA first – with links)
Dan York, CISSP, is the Chair of the VOIP Security Alliance (VOIPSA), the author of the book “Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks” and was previously the producer and co-host of the weekly “Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast“. Dan is employed as the Senior Content Strategist for the Internet Society Deploy360 Programme, creating, curating and promoting online content that helps service providers, companies and individuals more quickly deploy Internet technologies such as IPv6 and DNSSEC. Since the mid-1980’s Dan has been working with online communication technologies and helping businesses and organizations understand how to use and participate in those new media. Dan frequently presents at conferences, has authored multiple books and writes extensively online at sites such as www.voipsa.org/blog, Disruptive Telephony and Disruptive Conversations.
Living Proof that 40-year-old Fat Men Can Get Up and Run!
Credit: Lori York
A week ago I ran my first public “5K” race. Well… it turned out the organizers goofed a bit and it was only 2.5 miles (instead of 3.1), but still, it was the first race I ever ran knowing the results would be posted on the Internet for all to see.
This morning I ran 4.2 miles over a local route I like to run. I ran 4 miles two days ago… 3.5 two days prior to that… and on and on…
Not bad for a 43-year-old guy who, only six months ago…
… couldn’t run down to the end of our street without huffing and puffing and feeling like I was going to die!
I didn’t set off with the goal of being a “runner”. In fact, I’ve pretty much avoided running for most of my life. Historically I always had this bit of a smug attitude:
I’d consider running/jogging if I ever saw a runner smiling!
And so I would bike, hike, kayak/canoe, walk, ski and do many other forms of exercise… but never run or jog.
What happened to change me?
Back in the Spring I took a look at my physical health and realized I needed to make a change (which is a story for another time). As part of that, I wanted to introduce regular exercise into my daily routine. Sure, I hike and kayak and ski… but all of those are things you do occasionally… maybe once a week… maybe once a month… maybe once a season (kayaking this year for me, unfortunately). I needed to do something that I could do regularly.
At the end of May, on Memorial Day Weekend, to be precise, my wife and I kicked off a plan to go for a walk every day. With two young children in the house, we started a process where we’d take turns on weekdays… one of us would go first, then the other, leaving someone at home at all times for the morning routine with the kids. On the weekends, we tried to go on walks as a family… and generally, we stuck with it and walked most days except for those where it was pouring rain.
Over time, the walk started evolving a bit as I (and my wife) started incorporating a small bit of running. It was VERY incremental. I like to walk/run in a beautiful local cemetery that has a couple of miles of roads in it. At first my goal was to run from the entrance to a flagpole in a flat area… then from the entrance to this beautiful chapel up on a hill… then from from the entrance to the chapel and back… then to include the second attached cemetery (in parts)… then to run a continuous loop through both cemeteries and back to the street… and then to run the loop through both cemeteries twice… and now most recently my goal is to run all the side paths to come up with an even longer route inside the cemeteries…
Credit: Tri-state Racing
And so it continues… running every other day… and walking on the off days. Sometimes I might take a day off on the weekend (or walk twice) if I know my “every other day” routine is going to work better on certain days of a week… and admittedly, I don’t run or walk when it’s pouring rain out there… but I’ve been keeping at it… every… other… day…
It helps, naturally, that I have someone with whom to engage in light-hearted competition. My wife was the first to run 5K (3.1 miles) back in the summer… and she just raised the bar this past week to hit the 4-mile mark. I raised that a bit this morning… one of us will hit 4.5 miles soon… There are days when I don’t want to go and do it, but the motivation of having someone else around helps.
Facebook, surprisingly, has also been a great motivator. A number of friends have been runners for a while – and a number of others are, like me, working on incorporating regular exercise into their lives. It has been motivating to see their runs and comments… and the comments from others on my runs have been motivating to me. Numerous folks have told me that my posting about runs has inspired them to get out there – which is a large part of why I continue posting there.
In any event… if you’ve thought about introducing regular exercise into your life, I’m living proof that it is possible to go from not being able to run down your street to being able to run a then-inconceivable distance of 4 miles!
You can do it!
How far am I going with running? I don’t know… my first goal was to run a 5K and now I’m thinking that 5 miles is a good target. I don’t see longer runs fitting into our lifestyle… but who knows… in the end it is all about priorities.
P.S. And, hey, along the way I’ve lost about 45 pounds so far… so I’m no longer the fat guy I used to be! (But exercise was not the only change I made… more on that in another story.)
P.P.S. I still haven’t seen many runners smiling! 🙂
The Chariot Jogging Stroller That Saved My Daughter’s Life
This Wednesday, October 6, started out as a regular day for my wife. As she has hundreds of times before, she went for a morning walk on the streets of Keene, NH. Since the forecast called for rain, she decided not to pull our 17-month-old daughter around in her plastic red wagon but instead push her in our Chariot Cougar jogging stroller.
She could not have known how right that decision was.
Toward the end of her walk, with our daughter napping in the stroller, my wife started to cross an intersection in a crosswalk. She saw a car coming from the opposite direction and expected that, as usual, it would stop at the stop sign and wait for her to finish crossing. To her amazement the car did not come to a complete stop but rather slowed down and then turned left across the intersection and accelerated directly into my wife and our daughter!
The driver struck my wife in the legs and she sailed across the hood of the car and landed on the street. The car struck the wheel of the stroller and sent it flipping over three times. A neighbor came running out and dialed 911 when she saw the stroller flipping through the air.
Miraculously, our daughter was unhurt!
Both were checked at the scene by the ambulance crew and later at a doctor’s office. My wife had x-rays and did not break anything – but is quite sore and stiff and will be for days. Amazingly, our daughter seems perfectly fine.
All we can do now is be incredibly thankful – and praise the construction of the Chariot stroller. Being designed to be a bike trailer, it has a rigid aluminum frame all around the seating area and solid straps for the passenger. We’ve had this particular Chariot for about 8 years now. We bought it up in Ottawa for our first daughter and have used it as a bike trailer, jogger and even skied with it a few times (there’s a conversion kit).
It is not cheap. But it’s been solid, reliable, very easy to push, and in this case… live-saving.
The wheel on this one is broken and we’re not sure whether to trust a stroller that’s been in an accident, so we’ve already ordered a new one. I think it’s safe to say we will only be using that one for walks around the area.
If you found this post interesting or useful, please consider either:
Next “Crow’s Nest” email newsletter going out this week – are you subscribed?
This week I plan to put out my next issue of “A View From The Crow’s Nest” – have you subscribed?
Some of the topics I’ve covered or linked to in past issues:
- Google’s Font API, web typography
- How the FaceTime protocol really works
- HTML 5 and how you can prepare for it
- The connection between landlines and our identity
- Google Wave (before it waved goodbye)
- Digital photography, DSLRs and sites to help
- Google Analytics, SEO, etc.
I’ve got some more links lined up about typography, Facebook, web design, communication technology, hacker-centric culture… and much more!
If you’d like to join in the journey, just fill out the form. It’s free… and I promise not to spam you.
Recently someone asked me if I would be making AVFTCN available on the web so they could read it there versus email. Right now… no, I’m not. Maybe I will some day, but for right now it’s only an email conversation.
Thanks for all the great comments I received after the last issue from current subscribers… it’s great to know people are finding it a valuable resource!
Speaking on UC Security at SpeechTEK in NYC, Aug 2-4
My next travel for speaking is to the SpeechTEK conference in New York, August 2-4. I’ll be there as part of the Voxeo presence staffing our booth, attending sessions, etc. I’ll be speaking on Monday, August 2nd, at 4:15pm in a session entitled “Security: Keep Your Data and Software Safe“.
I am admittedly a bit amused by the description the SpeechTEK folks wrote for the panel:
As applications move into the multichannel and interconnected world, what are the security concerns you need to consider? Aaron Fisher enumerates the best practices for information security with speech applications and the benefits of tuning in a secure environment. Dan York, author of the bestselling book The Seven Deadliest Unified Communication Attacks, will discuss the major risk areas of unified communications, what steps you can take to mitigate/reduce those risks, a checklist of questions to consider in your implementation, and a look at the future in an increasingly interconnected and converged network.
I’d certainly love Seven Deadliest Unified Communications Attacks to be “a bestselling book” … and perhaps it will be at some point… but I also do realize it is targeted at a rather niche audience.
In any case, I certainly do appreciate their promotion of the book and I’m looking forward to speaking at and attending the event. If you are going to be down there, or want more info, you can visit the Voxeo event page for contact info and a discount code. I expect I’ll be uploading my slides to my Slideshare account after the conference is over.