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Will Chatham Posts

O, Death

As I recently passed the half-century mark in my life, I find myself contemplating some things now, more than I ever did before.

  • How long it takes muscle strains to heal vs how long it did 30 years ago
  • The strange new places hair grows on, and in, my body
  • The annual upkeep of my physical form and how intimately my doctor is getting to know me
  • Does my doctor go home at night and think about these things as he tries to go to sleep, or discuss them with his wife over drinks on the porch?

The strangest contemplation of them all is dying. Death. It gets closer each day, sure, but it’s more of an interesting proposition than something I find myself dreading or fearing. I don’t know for certain what it will bring, if anything. No one does. Many people think they do, but they don’t.

Not that I am eager to find out, but it’s interesting to think about all the ways we humans have created to avoid it, prevent it, reckon with it, and make ourselves think that there we are certain about what happens when it arrives.

I’m not afraid of being dead, as I’ve been dead before, and I’ll be dead again. Being dead didn’t seem so bad from what I can recall. No, what I’m afraid of is transitioning back to death in a terrible way, such as in a plane crash or slowly and painfully, from stomach cancer. That kind of fear is more a part of being alive than it is a fear of death.

– Me

I saw something online sometime back, and I saved it. Finding it again led me to write this blog post. I’d like to offer it up here, as it makes a lot of sense to me. It’s a eulogy from a physicist. This resonates because it is the most true and accurate thing we can possibly know about death, without conjecture, superstition, or guessing:

“You want a physicist to speak at your funeral. You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your sobbing mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every BTU of heat, every wave of every particle that was her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got.

And at one point you’d hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell her that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. And as your widow rocks in the arms of a loving family, may the physicist let her know that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle detectors that are her eyes, that those photons created within her constellations of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever.

And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of our own lives.

And you’ll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is sound and that they’ll be comforted to know your energy’s still around. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you’re just less orderly. Amen.”

Arron Freeman

If anyone know of any physicists for hire to perform eulogies around the time I die, please hire them! They’d be well worth the money.

In the words of Kilgore Trout, ting-a-ling!

The Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) Exam

The Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) exam is known for being one of the most challenging certification exams in the cybersecurity field. It’s a hands-on test of your ability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in a live, virtual environment.

The exam is not for the faint of heart. It requires a significant amount of time and effort to prepare, and even experienced security professionals may find it difficult to pass. In fact, the pass rate for the OSCP exam is typically less than 50%.

So, what makes the OSCP exam so challenging? For starters, it’s an extremely hands-on exam. Rather than simply testing your knowledge of security concepts, it requires you to actually demonstrate your skills by completing a series of real-world challenges. This means you need to have a strong foundation in security principles and a practical understanding of how to identify and exploit vulnerabilities.

In addition, the exam is time-limited. You have just 24 hours to complete the challenges and submit your results. This means you need to be able to work quickly and efficiently under pressure.

So, how can you prepare for the OSCP exam and improve your chances of passing? Here are a few tips:

  1. Take the OSCP training course. The OSCP exam is designed to test the skills and knowledge you gain from the Offensive Security Penetration Testing with Kali Linux (PwK) course. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the tools and techniques used by professional penetration testers, and is an essential foundation for anyone looking to take the OSCP exam.
  2. Practice, practice, practice. The best way to prepare for the OSCP exam is to get hands-on experience with the tools and techniques you’ll be tested on. This means setting up your own lab environment and practicing your skills on a regular basis.
  3. Work through the lab challenges. The OSCP exam includes a series of lab challenges that test your ability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in a live, virtual environment. Completing these challenges will give you a good idea of the types of tasks you’ll be expected to perform during the exam, and can help you develop the skills and confidence you need to succeed.
  4. Get support from the community. The OSCP exam can be a daunting and isolating experience, but you don’t have to go it alone. There are many online communities and forums where you can connect with other OSCP exam takers and get support, advice, and encouragement.

Overall, the OSCP exam is a challenging but rewarding experience. By preparing thoroughly and staying focused, you can increase your chances of success and earn one of the most respected certifications in the cybersecurity field.

—–

This entire blog post was created by artificial intelligence. Text by ChatGPT. Photo by Midjourney.

What if Leia and Han had a Daughter Instead?

It’s no secret that Princess Leia and Han Solo are two of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars franchise. Their epic love story and dynamic personalities have captivated audiences for decades, and their iconic on-screen chemistry has made them one of the most iconic couples in movie history.

But what if, instead of having a son, Han and Leia had a daughter? How would that have changed the course of the Star Wars story?

One possible scenario is that Han and Leia’s daughter would have inherited her parents’ strong-willed and independent spirit. She may have followed in her father’s footsteps and become a skilled pilot, taking on dangerous missions for the Rebel Alliance like her father did. She may have also inherited her mother’s diplomatic skills and become a respected leader among the rebels.

Another possibility is that Han and Leia’s daughter would have been raised by her mother on Alderaan, where she would have been trained in the ways of the Force like her uncle, Luke Skywalker. She may have become a powerful Jedi Knight, using her abilities to help the Rebel Alliance in their fight against the Empire.

Alternatively, Han and Leia’s daughter may have been raised by her father on the Millennium Falcon, traveling the galaxy and getting into all sorts of adventures. She may have formed a tight bond with her father’s co-pilot, Chewbacca, and together they could have become a formidable team, taking on any challenge that came their way.

Regardless of how Han and Leia’s daughter would have been raised, it’s clear that she would have been a formidable and unique character in the Star Wars universe. She may have faced many challenges and obstacles, but with the strength and determination of her parents, she would have surely become a powerful and inspiring hero.


This entire blog post was created by artificial intelligence.

Ska City promo reel

Check out this promo we had made. The footage is from our show at Highland Brewing a few weeks ago. Thanks to Bob Peck at Mountainwater Films for putting this together!

Check out the Ska City website for all the latest news and upcoming gigs. I hope to see you soon!

Self Hosting – Cloudron

I have been using Cloudron recently, and after initially trying it out a couple years ago, I found it to be a really easy, awesome way to create my own, personal, cloud, keeping the peering eyes of big-tech out of my life.

So far I have been using Cloudron to manage my OnlyOffice office instance (better than MS Office or Google Docs) and my instance of Nextcloud, a Google Drive-like file storage and sharing center. They integrate with each other to create your own, secure, private office suite with file storage.

The best part is that you can do all this simply from the DigitalOcean Marketplace – a one-click shop for easy installation of everything. All you need is a domain name to point at it.

Once you have it installed, you can set it and forget it, as Cloudron will keep itself updated, patched, and secure.

Cloudron Coupon Code

It isn’t cheap to run Cloudron, but it lets you host 2 app without a subscriotion. I have yet to find a working Cloudron coupon code out there, but there are Cloudron referral codes such as my own (https://cloudron.io/?refcode=901142a319d1498b) which earn the referee a small discount. Once you have your own Cloudron account set up, you can use your own referral code and encourage others to use.

So that is me encouraging you to use my referrer code 😀