Teraknor

This is a 'more or less' copy of a blog entry i have recently posted on the Cisco Academy CCNA security community. A big thank you to Greg J, who in response to my last blog post has shared this very useful application ... http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/ . After using this i would say, you all must consider using this in class as an interesting object lesson in encryption, security and how data can be abused. My iPhone 4 was purchased last october, yet i can see some tracking from my older iPhone 3, based on when/where i have travelled since last summer. As you can all see, i have been around: No surprises here, i know that i have been to the UK (home), Hungary, Trinidad and Cyprus. If we take a look at the UK, we can see: No surprises here either, i have been busy in this time, with London, Milton Keynes, Home and Birmingham the principal hits. For good measure, i live in the southern part of the UK, lets take a closer look:...

Coming back home tonight an email came through to my mobile which left me in stitches of laughter. Someone, nameless (for now) asked me last week if they could come and see me as they needed to pick brains. So they send email with free dates, I create meeting appointment for empty slot that works for me (and them). Get email today telling me I missed my chance, their diary has filled up, one must get in quick. So, if they want a date, now not free until June, I find myself unusually busy ;-)

.. especially when I spot it ;-)

... I do think that for some in education there is a serious disconnect from reality. I find that its more common is  those who have never had to lead teams of educators having to deal with challenges, or face students in class when they are presented with the opportunity to be unchuffed. More often they don’t realise how dependent they are on the support of their ‘casual academic workforce’, often marking exams, verifying standards or dealing with customers. My flabber becomes very gasted when these disconnected souls, working in national arenas make decisions that will only serve to annoy the  supportive experts they have. Often these heroic souls don’t expect large financial rewards, but do become a little miffed when what little they are being remunerated with, is removed based on a change in policy/practice/direction. So, one gets to solve the problem, isnt that nice ...

As senior verifier soul, when you create a process that ensures that some centres will not pass the gatekeeper. You will endure some complaints, these are normally par for the course, often ego’s, principle and practice prevents centres and their internal verifiers from taking it lying down. No problem with that, would probably do the same. But, what tickles me pink is when based on some assumption, or claim to some mysterious soul who told them at a training/communication event at some mysterious time, N years ago that there is a mysterious rule in place that would have excused them from ‘failing’ the gatekeeper process. I must admit, the interpretation of the rules and the excuse “someone in the exam body told me” is become a little tiresome. My instinctive side has formed two independent views: The fear that there are idiots in the awarding body who know not the simplest of their own rules, which is probable The amusement that those who fail, w...