Defense PKI Conference

Trying something new here.

Since I also have a link to my blog on my LinkedIn profile I thought I should throw in the occasional work related post.

This week I am in beautiful Miami at the DOD IPM (Identity Protection and Management) Conference. So far it has been a great couple of days. There is always the fact that I get to see old friends from all over the world, industry partners who I have not seen in a while and colleagues that I have worked with in the Defense community. Many of these conversations have been interesting and allow me to see how the work that I do links in to real life needs and can be leveraged to protect US warfighters as well as ensuring industry can deliver service to the US Defense Department.

Some of the recent sessions I have sat in on (and participated in) have been in regards to providing digital identities on smart cards for non-Federal entities. The intent is to ensure that these credentials can be trusted by Federal agencies if there is a need. The interesting element is that once again it seems the technology is the small part of the equation and that the policies and practices around issuance and use will be the more challenging pieces. It is good to be in on these discussions though since it is a topic that provides great personal interest.

Of course my evenings have not been full of meetings and I have had an opportunity to get out and enjoy Miami. Myself and Peter ran down to Lincoln Road for dinner last night. While walking to the restaurant I looked up and saw this beautiful crescent moon over the palm trees - reminded me of the South Carolina license plates. The picture does not do it justice though.

So one more day of sessions and meetings - and I expect it to be a busy one. Then back to DC.

.... cu

Loudoun County Residents - be warned

We have all heard the news about deer ticks and Lyme disease and if you are like me you have generally ignored it. OK - maybe when the kids come in you take a quick look to see if they have any ticks on them but that is usually if they have been out wandering around the neighbourhood, near the green spaces and tall grass. Well I was pretty much the same but now I will start thinking twice before I go out near any tall grass - and that second thought will be - PUT ON DEET!

As my doctor was referring me to an orthopedist for my leg she decided to be safe and just do some quick bloodwork. Well I am glad she did. It turns out that I had contracted Lyme disease. I am not sure if it is a remnant from hiking in Shenandoah last fall or if I picked it up this spring while out riding. This time of year it can even harder to see the ticks as they are nymphs and VERY small as you can see in the pic on the left.

So my doctor gave me the "here is what to do" speech to avoid further issues:

• Wear socks and long pants when outside
• When not wearing long pants and socks ensure you are using DEET on exposed skin
• Do a check when you get home from being out in susceptible areas. Preferably, do this before getting inside
  
• If a tick is found make sure to remove careful as not to crush them. Once removed ensure to watch the area for any signs of swelling or a bull's eye rash.
• If any symptoms, rash, aching in the joints (believe me when it gets bad you will know - it is PAINFUL), general tiredness (I think this is from your body dealing with the pain) - then get to the Doctor for a check. Antibiotics will cure things pretty quickly.

I know I will still be spending as much time as I can outside and I hope you do too. Enjoy - and be safe.

.... cu

No racing for a while .....

Well it looks like my first impression was right. Last September when I ran down Old Rag and hurt my leg I was pretty sure it was a small fracture. When the doctor looked at the x-rays back in October they said they could not see anything so I took it easy - well easy for me.

A few weeks back my leg was still bothering me so I went back to the doctor and she did a few tests to see if it was something else - Lyme disease, deep leg thrombosis etc - but it all came back clean. After the Cherry Blossom my leg was still hurting so I booked in to see an orthopedist who I went to yesterday. As soon as he touched my leg I cursed at him. So off for more x-rays.

As soon as the nurse pulled them up on the screen I could even see it - a two inch crack traveling up my bone. The good news was that it was already healing. The bad news was he told me no running for 6 weeks until I see him again. He did say I could ride as long as I was gentle on the leg. He debated the need for a boot for my foot which I managed to talk him out of for now but he did say if I did not behave then in 6 weeks I would be wearing one and the last thing I want is a boot on during the summer - so I will be behaving.

Yet another first - my first fracture of a leg bone :-)

... cu (just not on the race course)

The girls are back .....

Tika texted me a little while ago to let me know that they are driving around the beltway on their way from BWI.

Good to have them home safe and sound.

UPDATE: 4:00 PM

Tika was asleep when I got there, Sam was tired but awake. They got home just before 11:30. Lots of stories about places they visited and things they saw. Sam showed me here medals - VERY cool as you can see. Tika eventually woke up long enough to look at her Easter basket that I had for her and to show me her medals. They were both very excited about their trip and a big thank you to the Barnes' for looking after them in Vegas.

Easter ....

Myself and Kris had a nice Easter Sunday while her sisters were in Vegas.

Kris wanted to head down to Old Town Alexandria and go to the Torpedo Factory to see some of the artists at work. I suggested a picnic and she thought that it would be a great idea. We stopped into Whole Foods and picked up some stuff and headed to Old Town. We found a nice place in a park by the Potomac and ate. Kris particularly enjoyed the Lemon Charlotte dessert (as you can see from the picture). After we ate we headed over to the Torpedo Factory where we found out that it was closed for Easter Sunday. So we walked around Old Town and visited a couple of small shops and saw some beautiful flowers. Afterwords we headed back home and Kris enjoyed her Easter basket from her Dad and one from the Easter Bunny from Tennessee.

All in all it was a great Easter and to find out that the girls did so well in Vegas was a major bonus.

Results from Vegas

The big news is Tika won GOLD in weapons.

She called yesterday to tell me all about it. She said finals was held in a single ring on a stage with all the lights on her. Behind her a big screen showed her competitive information. She said once she saw the setup she was VERY nervous. Nervous or not she pulled out the win and came home with the gold.

Tika also competed in Kata (placed 5th), Ippon Sparring (she won her first match and ended up placing 4th) and then Team Kata. For Team Kata they ended up tying with another team so they had to go again with a different Kata. Well it turns out that they did not have a second team Kata ready so they all agreed to use Bassai Dai which is one they all had done well in individually but never did as a team. She said they did well but again tied so they gave both teams 4th.

Sam also did well. She placed 3rd in weapons. She also competed in sparring and Kata and then Team Kata (which they took 3rd in). So Sam will come home with two medals.

Of course I am VERY proud of them once again. They will be enjoying Vegas today and then heading back on the red-eye tonight. I will post pictures as soon as I get them.

.... cu

Tika, Sam and VEGAS!

The girls have landed in Vegas. They are there for a couple of days for the Ozawa Cup which is being held at the Las Vegas Hilton. The tournament has people from 20 countries including Japan, Canada and countries from across Europe and Asia.

They were very excited to be heading to Vegas. They had plans to do a bit of sight seeing today before the tournament begins tomorrow. I know Sam was anxious about getting to see the white tigers. I will keep you up to date with any results that I get in before their return.

Have a GREAT weekend and a Happy Easter

.... cu

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

What a gorgeous day for a run. I got up in time to make it down to the National Mall by a little after 7. The race was starting at 7:40. I got all my stuff straightened out, dropped off my gear bag and had a small snack and a bottle of water before the race started. It was in the low to mid-40's waiting on 15th next to the Washington Monument but as you can see in the pics it was a beautiful morning. The race was well organized and even with the thousands of people running (the results show almost 14,900) it started on time.

The course is a nice course. It starts next to the Washington Monument - runs down Independence to Memorial Bridge, across and back on the bridge, up Rock Creek by the Kennedy Center and then heads back Rock Creek, down Ohio, back on Independence and then all the way down to Hains Point before returning to the Monument. There are great views of the memorials, the river and of course the cherry trees. There were lots of people cheering on the sidelines and lots of volunteer support (Thanks to the volunteers). I was a bit worried coming into the race as I had not trained a lot. My vision when I first signed up was a 90 minute race. As it got closer and I was not running a lot I started to think - "OK - maybe a 100 minute race would be ok". In the end I guess I was motivated by all the wonderful people racing and cheering and I finished in 88:09 (5249 of 14893). I was very happy with that result.

I talked to Margaret at work about the race, her and her husband ran it as well, and it was hard to determine if we would do it again simply because it was such a perfect race day that it would be hard to match. I will see what next year brings. In the meantime I am motivated to keep running and racing. What can I say - "It's FUN"

..... cu

A great weekend ... for me and the girls

Sam and Tika had another NKF tournament this past weekend. They drove down to Richmond for the tournament on Sunday. The competed in weapons, Kata and sparring. Both Sam and Tika won their divisions in Kata bringing home trophies that Sam described as "almost as big as me". Sam also placed second in sparring and Tika placed third in her division in sparring. They both were happy with their Kata performances and only mildly disappointed with some of the refereeing during sparring. Next up for them is a trip to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks for a weekend tournament.

While the girls were in Richmond I was in Victoria, BC. We flew out to Seattle on Friday and then drove to Victoria for the weekend. Found a GREAT hotel called the Magnolia which was near the inner harbor and some great restaurants. I managed to get a nice run in Saturday AM - running around the harbor to Esquimault. Sunday we drove back to Seattle, staying in one of the classic old hotels in downtown Seattle. I have had lots of time to get out and run as well as walk around to see the sites in downtown Seattle (pic on the left is looking out over the water from near Pike's Place) - an afternoon at REI and another at Pike's Place Market where I managed to find some cool stuff for the girls (pic on the right was taking in one of the market buildings). I found a couple of hole-in-the-wall places to eat, getting some great smoked meat and fantastic homemade sausage. Even though it has been a bit cool it has been a great few days. Heading back to DC tomorrow to get ready for the Cherry Blossom race on Sunday.

I will post some pics over the next few days

.... cu