And what’s Halloween without a ghost story? A high-tech ghost story, even.
If you don’t care for fiction, there’s always true horror of my real life.
live DNSSEC talk
On August 10, at 12:30PM EDT, I’ll be doing a talk on “DNSSEC in 55 Minutes” for the Metro Detroit Linux Users Group. I do this sort of thing all the time, but this time will be a little different.
The talk will go out live via Google Hangouts on Air. You’ll be able to see it via my Google Plus account. I haven’t done this before, but I believe you’ll be able to ask questions in a chat window. And it will be archived on YouTube for public viewing.
As it’s a Linux user group meeting, I will of course wear my Absolut OpenBSD shirt. (I really need to get a matching Absolut FreeBSD shirt one day.)
I sound like a real dork: BSDTalk 228
Want to hear my voice? Interested in Absolute OpenBSD or DNSSEC Mastery?
Go check out BSDTalk 228, starring yours truly.
Visiting an OpenBSD hackathon.
I took Bill Allaire’s copy of Absolute OpenBSD to Toronto to get it signed. If you wonder what that’s like, check out my article over on undeadly.org.
Why no tech posts from me for a while now? I’m moving a bunch of virtual machines from ESX to SolusVM. As some of these VMs are several years old, I’m taking the opportunity to make new OS installs and get them into my Ansible setup. It’s a lot of work, but it’s not blog-worthy.
When I do something interesting, you’ll be the first to know. Well, no, maybe the sixth or seventh. But still, pretty early on.
Books at BSDCan
I’m sure everyone who reads this blog knows I’ll be at BSDCan tonight through early Sunday morning. I will also have books for sale, however.
Cash only.
If you buy a book, I’ll throw in a free Tilted Windmill Press T-shirt while supplies last. Because why not.
I’ll also be giving away some books as review copies. If you want a review copy of Absolute OpenBSD, you’ll need to give me your email address. I’ll be handing it off to the NSP publicity department. Sorry to be a pain on that, but I have to pay for any Absolute OpenBSDs that aren’t review copies. (Or I can ship them back to the publisher, but that’s just a waste.) I’m more flexible with review copies of self-published books.
Penguicon Schedule
Someone pointed out that it would be nice to know when I’ll be doing what at Penguicon. So, here’s my schedule.
Friday, 26 April:
6PM-7PM opening ceremonies
7PM-8PM Guest of Honor Social Hour
9PM-10PM OpenBSD (kind of obligatory)
Saturday, 27 April:
10AM-noon: liquid nitrogen ice cream, my own flavor
5PM-6PM: Technology Publishing in 2013
Sunday 28 April:
3PM-4PM: closing ceremonies
Other than that, I’m basically free. You can find me elsewhere, as I’ll be playing free range author, but you can definitely intercept me at these times.
At Penguicon this weekend
I’m a guest of honor at Penguicon this weekend. I’ll be doing a one-hour talk on technology publishing in 2013. I’ll also be inventing an ice cream flavor.
Other guests include author Jim C Hines, chef and author Jeff Potter, Arduino and Raspberry pi guru & author Maik Schmidt, hackerspace advocate and censorship activist Nick Farr, plus author and filmmaker Jason Denzel.
Whenever I go to this type of con, I usually take in a few panels, see some cool demos, and spend a good chunk of time hanging out in the bar or lobby, wondering who all these people are. If you’re in the Detroit area, come by and say hello.
I will also have hard copies of Absolute OpenBSD for sale at $50 each. Amazon doesn’t have them yet. No Starch doesn’t have them yet. But I have them. Cash and PayPal accepted — I had hoped to take credit cards, but the PayPal credit card app doesn’t like my knockoff Android tablet. But by showing up, you can get the book you’ve been demanding for four years now.
And now that I’m a guest, maybe the cool kids will let me hang with them. But probably not.
Misc: Books, and April Fool’s
Absolute OpenBSD is at the printer. I can do nothing more on this book. For better or worse, the book is complete. I’m resisting the urge to scream “I can do it better! Give me the book back, I will rewrite it until it doesn’t suck!”
I got copyedits back on DNSSEC Mastery. Hopefully, the ebook will be available on the weekend, with print next month.
On an unrelated note
April 1st is a tedious day, with all the efforts to be funny drifting around the Internet. Unless, of course, you’re the one pulling the gag, in which case it’s freaking hilarious. I don’t pull pranks, of course.
Unless they’re really, REALLY good. So I’d like to present a flash from the past here, and point you at FretBSD.
And, of course, there’s always the Great Committer. You know, I haven’t spoken with John Baldwin much since that post. Odd, really…
Upcoming Appearances
For those who want the dubious pleasure of encountering me in meatspace:
I am a guest at Penguicon April 26-28, 2013, in Pontiac, MI, USA.
I am teaching at BSDCan, May 15-18, 2013, in Ottawa, Ontario, CA.
I expect to have copies of Absolute OpenBSD at both events. (Penguicon might be pushing it, but I’m hopeful.) I’ll sell them in person for $50USD. This is a little more expensive than buying them online, but you get hand delivery and possibly even a handshake depending on how many people have been poking at me in the recent past. Also, I hate carrying change.
Why do I sell books, instead of giving them away to all the fans who take the trouble to come see me? One, because I have to pay for them. Two, because mortgage.
2013 Projects and 2012 Errata
When you set goals for a year, you need to tell people about them. The potential embarrassment of having to admit failure helps you complete the goals. With that in mind, here are my goals for 2013:
1) I will do three short technology books through my private label (aka “self-publish”). The first, on DNSSec, is underway. Some text exists, and I’m making copious use of scratch paper and whiteboards to figure out how to explain KSKs, ZSK, and the signature and key lifecycle in a coherent manner. (If you happen to have a good resource for this, please feel free to point me at it in the comments.)
2) I will write & self-publish one novel. If I write nothing but nonfiction, my brain freezes up and the tech books become unreadable. If I’m going to write fiction anyway, I might as well release it. Attempting to traditionally publish a novel takes more time and energy than writing a book and will probably fail, so I prefer to spend that T&E writing. The odds of the book succeeding are negligible either way, so I’d prefer to do so in the least expensive manner.
3) If I accomplish both of these early enough, I will continue writing. I will indulge myself in trying something that’s “just crazy enough to work,” like, say, “dc(1) Mastery” or “netstat Mastery.”
Now here’s a leftover from 2012:
Richard Bejtlich has reviewed hundreds and hundreds of technology books over the last ten years. For a time, he was one of Amazon’s Top 100 reviewers. Each year he posts a list of the best books he’s read, and gives one book the “Best Book Bejtlich Read” (BBBR) award. The award and $5 will get me a nice gelato.
I’ve been on the top 10 list before, in 2007, for Absolute FreeBSD, and 2006 for PGP & GPG.
2012’s BBBR went to (drumroll): SSH Mastery.
This comes with some caveats, mind you. Bejtlich read and reviewed only one tech book in 2012, and this is his final BBBR award. I had no competition. But I’m okay with that.
Bejtlich no longer reviews tech books, which I personally find disappointing. (I mean, how can I not like reviews that start start off with The master writes again? That’s the sort of thing I bookmark for those nights I get really depressed and start contemplating a shot of whiskey and a small handgun.)
Life changes, however, and he’s working in other areas now, so: Richard, so long, and thanks for all the fish. I’m still putting that last quote on the cover of the DNSSec book, though.