Some Things Friday for September 5, 2008

I have been wondering since it happened what would have motivated the person who hacked my blog a couple of weeks ago. It was just kind of a nuisance rather than a complete ruination, but just the same, I wanted to get an idea of what kind of person does this sort of thing. So, I decided to do a little research and I found a lot of information about what hackers do and how they do it, but very little about why they do it.

The psychology of a hacker has been studied and written about extensively by almost exclusively one person, Marc Rogers, Ph.D. at Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS). Wading through Dr. Rogers' research papers, reports, articles and references, it boils down to this:

My hacker is likely to be male, Caucasian, somewhere between the ages of 12 and 19, from a middle class but dysfunctional family. Although usually extremely bright, he has poor social skills and poor school performance, but excels in computer technology. He’s an obsessive loner with an inferiority complex. He relates better to computers than humans and spends hours and/or days glued to a computer. Dr. Rogers characterizes the type of hacker that invaded my site as a "cyberpunk" who is socially inept, burdened with unresolved anger and aggression that he takes into cyberspace.

That sounds like a lot of kids I know and that's just sad and scary.

Some Things I Love:

1. After a very long and tedious 13-hour drive, arriving home just as the big storm starts. Whew!

2. Sleeping in my own bed.

3. This time between the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The weather is just a tad cooler, but still warm. The grass, trees, herbs, vines and roses are still green and lush. I have the windows and back door open today. At just after noon, the temperature outside is about 72 degrees, but was about 65 degrees when I got up this morning. A nice respite from the summer heat and humidity.

4. I know I shouldn't, but I love our Extra-bitchin'. That's what we call our Ford Expedition. I didn't think of it. The husband of a coworker in Truckee came up with the nickname. I liked it and when we bought ours about 3 years ago, I unabashedly stole it (sorry, Kerry). We bought the SUV initially to pull the camp trailer to destinations near and far, but even after we sold the trailer last year, we kept the Extra-bitchin' and when we travel, that is what we drive. The rest of the time, it's parked in the driveway at the side of the house, lonely and forlorn (sigh), and I drive something more economical.

5. Over the Labor Day weekend, we were able to spend time with my nephew, Jon, and his family. My granddaughter, Hagan, and Jon's daughter, Abigail, bonded quickly and really enjoyed each others company. As for me... Geez, there are some days when I so deeply wish I had done some things in my life so differently because I miss my family so much....






Some Things I Hate:

1. When Tom puts clothes and towels together in the washer, then the dryer. All those little towel lint pills have to be picked off the clothes. Grrrr.

2. Instant coffee. Not even in a coffee emergency would I drink that stuff!

3. The holidays are just around the corner. No matter what I do or what I say or how much I try not to allow it to happen, the day before Thanksgiving my depression will set in and won't leave until January 1st. The older I get, the harder it is to cope with it. I can look forward to lots of long, hot showers and copious amounts of good coffee. That's about the only thing that really gets me through it.

4. How much I miss our farm.

5. That I STILL have not started back on my Couch-2-5K program.

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Why people (including me) buy condiments or sauces or other crap in the grocery store that is not on our grocery list, take it home, put it away in the pantry, only to have it finally re-emerge 2 years and 11 months later when we come across this wonderful dish that looked so good, we just had to try it, and discover it is passed it's expiration date. $6.59 down the tubes.

2. I read this morning that actor Seth Rogan has admitted that he loves pornography and watches tons of it. Okay, moms, would you trust your daughters with this guy?

3. Why I am looking forward to this weekend. I mean, I didn't even have a whole week of work or projects. Monday was a holiday and we were still in Savannah. We drove home all day Tuesday. Laundry and catch up took up all day Wednesday and Thursday and I already can't wait for the weekend. Maybe that's why I just want both of us to retire. I want a bunch of weekends just strung together.

4. People who still smoke after losing someone close to them from lung cancer. Or people who still smoke after almost dying themselves from a smoke related disease. I do understand the addiction factor, but ... well, maybe I don't really understand after all.

5. Why I still bother to try to figure stuff out.