Just a guy in Vermont trying to connect all the dots...
Dan York
Author's posts
Apr 07
46 Years of RFCs (Celebrating The Anniversary of RFC 1)
By way of a tweet from @IETF this morning, it was fun to note that it was 46 years ago today, on April 7, 1969, when the very first "Request for Comments" or "RFC" was issued by Steve Crocker. RFC 1 defined the "IMP software" used in the communication between hosts on the ARPAnet and makes for interesting reading today. Steve was in those days a graduate student at UCLA and 46 years later now serves as the Chairman of the Board of ICANN. Back in 1999, Steve offered some reflections in RFC 2555 on 30 years (at that time) of RFCs that included this bit about how it began:
Dan York
Apr 06
The Hobson & Holtz Report – Podcast #802: April 6, 2015
Thanks to Ragan Communications for their almost 8 years of sponsoring FIR; Gini Dietrich is guest co-host with Shel on the May 4 show while Neville is in Boston;
Quick News:
Collaborate/London intranet workshop from Igloo Software on April 16, alarming declines in social media among Inc 500, good advice in BBC’s updated social media guidelines, companies just aren’t listening to what reporters want from their online newsrooms; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop.
News That Fits:
Does it make sense to do online Q&As on Reddit, Twitter, etc?; Michael Netzley’s Asia Report: Gushcloud controversy and smear campaigns conducted by blogging cartels; would you use Periscope for employee communication as one CEO did?; listener comments in the FIR Podcast Community on Google+ and via email; The Economist study identifies Gen-narrators who could be effective brand advocates; Dan York’s Tech Report: Turkey blocks social networks, Flickr and the public domain, NASA space image library, and more; Igloo Software promo; the past week on the FIR Podcast Network; with social still treated as an ‘afterthought’ by PR agencies, we offer some advice;
Music from Adri-Ann Ralph; and more.
For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report for April 6, 2015: An 87-minute podcast recorded live from Concord, California, USA, and Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Links to websites, blog posts and other content we discuss in the show are posted as Delicious bookmarks to facilitate your connection with the discussions and sharing of that content.
So, until Monday April 13…
The post The Hobson & Holtz Report – Podcast #802: April 6, 2015 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
Apr 06
FIR #802 – 4/6/15 – For Immediate Release
Ragan Communications ends FIR sponsorship; Gini Dietrich to guest co-host on May 4; Quick News: Collaborate London intranet workshop from Igloo Software, alarming social media declines among Inc. 500, BBC's updated social media guidelines, what reporters want from online newsrooms; Media Monitoring Minute from CustomScoop, News That Fits: when not to do online question-and-answer sessions, Michael Netzley's Asia Report, Periscope for internal communication, listener comments, study IDs Gen-narrators as potential brand advocates, Dan York's Tech Report, the last week on the FIR Podcast Network, Igloo Software promo, PR still sees social media as an afterthought; music from Adri-Ann Ralph; and more.
Apr 05
The Tension Between Consumption and Creation of Content (a.k.a. spending time reading Facebook doesn’t help with writing)
Meanwhile, the total number of words I'd written was...
zero.
There is this fundamental tension between consuming content and creating content.
It has nothing directly to do with the Internet, of course. Long before the Internet it was easy to be distracted from writing by TV, radio, books... or just conversations with friends and family, or projects around the house or office.
Distractions have always been numerous... the Internet just does what it does best by removing the middlemen and making it even easier to be distracted.
My friend Donna Papacosta once posted an image on Facebook that I printed out and taped up on my window frame right at eye level that said simply this:
Writing is
3% talent
and
97% not getting distracted
by the Internet
I see that every day when I sit in my home office, with the ever-present reminder that the key word is:
FOCUS
and the need to do that.
Two years ago I wrote a post that took the rather draconian line of "Every Minute You Spend Consuming Content Is A Minute You Are Not Creating Content".
That is, of course, very true. But there is the reality that sometimes we NEED to consume content. Sometimes it is because we are researching something we want to write about. Sometimes it is just simply that we want to relax... that we need to give our minds a break.
I've come to appreciate over many years that there is strong value in stepping away from the creation of content to give yourself a break... and often when you then return to the creating you return refreshed and renewed. Reading a good book or seeing a movie or reading good articles online can often lead to new lines of writing or thinking. There is value in staying up with what friends are doing - and sharing what you are doing.
The trick is trying to find the balance. There is a natural tension between time spent on consumption vs creation. Too much consumption leaves little time for creation. Too much creation can leave you without the benefits of some consumption.
Somewhere in between lies the point we need to achieve.
I don't have the answer... each day I'm trying to find that balance. Some nights like tonight I don't do so well... other days I do.
Focus.
Balance.
If you found this post interesting or useful, please consider either:
- following me on Twitter;
- adding me to a circle on Google+;
- following me on Ello;
- subscribing to my email newsletter; or
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Apr 01
RFC 7511 – Scenic Routing for IPv6
Carrying on a grand old April 1 tradition, the IETF today released RFC 7511, Scenic Routing for IPv6. Given the amount of attention in the industry to environmentally-friendly “Green IT”, this RFC aims to help all the poor IPv6 packets that are trapped inside of wires and cables… and instead gives those packets some fresh air!
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7511
Yes, indeed, this new RFC 7511 recommends that packets travel using the RFC 1149 method: “A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers“. Either that or over wireless networks… some way that those poor, deprived packets can see some sunlight! 
I did enjoy the little dig at IPv4:
As of the widely known acceptance of the current version of the
Internet Protocol (IPv6), this document only focuses on version 6 and
ignores communication still based on Vintage IP.
Anyway… in the spirit of the day, you may enjoy RFC 7511.
We’ll be back at you tomorrow, when people may actually take things we write more seriously!
Happy April Fools Day!
Mar 31
New DNSSEC Deployment Map Available In Global Internet Maps
Our DNSSEC Deployment Maps are now also available as part of a larger set of Global Internet Maps produced as part of our annual Global Internet Report. My colleague Michael Kende wrote about these new maps earlier this month and explained a bit about them. This new DNSSEC deployment map is rather fun in that it is interactive and you can zoom around and hover over any country to see what stage the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is at. This map is based off of the 5 stages of DNSSEC deployment that we track as part of the weekly DNSSEC deployment maps we generate. (Click/tap the image to go to the site.)
One note of caution – these Global Internet Maps are only updated periodically and so that DNSSEC deployment map will not necessarily be as up-to-date with ccTLDs as the weekly DNSSEC Deployment Maps. The best place to get the most current maps is the archive of the dnssec-maps mailing list. New maps get generated every Monday morning.
However, the Global Internet Map is current now (March 2015) with regard to ccTLDs – and it’s a very nice view of where we need to have more ccTLDs signed with DNSSEC. Please do enjoy using it – while you are there, please do explore all the other maps that are made available. These kind of visualizations are great to see!
The post New DNSSEC Deployment Map Available In Global Internet Maps appeared first on Internet Society.
Mar 31
New DNSSEC Deployment Map Available In Global Internet Maps
Our DNSSEC Deployment Maps are now also available as part of a larger set of Global Internet Maps produced as part of our annual Global Internet Report. My colleague Michael Kende wrote about these new maps earlier this month and explained a bit about them. This new DNSSEC deployment map is rather fun in that it is interactive and you can zoom around and hover over any country to see what stage the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is at. This map is based off of the 5 stages of DNSSEC deployment that we track as part of the weekly DNSSEC deployment maps we generate. (Click/tap the image to go to the site.)
One note of caution – these Global Internet Maps are only updated periodically and so that DNSSEC deployment map will not necessarily be as up-to-date with ccTLDs as the weekly DNSSEC Deployment Maps. The best place to get the most current maps is the archive of the dnssec-maps mailing list. New maps get generated every Monday morning.
However, the Global Internet Map is current now (March 2015) with regard to ccTLDs – and it’s a very nice view of where we need to have more ccTLDs signed with DNSSEC. Please do enjoy using it – while you are there, please do explore all the other maps that are made available. These kind of visualizations are great to see!
Mar 31
Never Give Up
Never. Give. Up.
I was vividly reminded of that lesson last night in the championship game of the Men's Curling League at the Petersham Curling Club where I play. Our team, which had played extremely well together all year, had made it through the playoffs to be in the final championship game against another excellent team.
This was it. The end of the long curling season and a chance to have our names inscribed on the league trophy at the club.
After 5 of the 8 ends (think "innings" in baseball or "periods" in hockey), both teams were tied. Then the other team scored 2 points in the 6th end. Then they stole 1 point in the 7th. So we were going into the final 8th end three points down with a score of 7-4.
We thought we were doomed. It was highly unlikely that there was any way out. Scoring 3 points to tie was going to be extremely difficult based on how well the other team was playing.
In my mind, I had mostly given up.
But part of why I enjoy the sport of curling is the degree of skill it takes... but also the unpredictability of what can happen. A piece of lint on the ice could cause a rock to go off in an unplanned direction. A change in humidity can make the ice slower or faster than it was just a few minutes ago. The skip can call the sweepers on too early or too late and have the rock end differently than planned. The person throwing the rock can throw it wrong... missing the line he/she is supposed to hit or throwing it too hard or too light.
So many variables.
The 8th end began as you would expect. The other team fired their first rock through the rings... just got it out of there. They were up by 3 points - all they wanted to do was knock rocks out and make sure we couldn't score any points.
But then things happened. We made some good shots. They missed a couple of shots. We missed some shots. They made some good shots... the game went on.
But in the end we came down to the final stone of the opposing skip with 4 of our stones sitting in the rings. You can see a photo above that I took of the way it was set up. Our skip had his final stone to throw, too, but we expected the opposing skip to simply come down and sit on our rock that was in the blue "four-foot" ring. Either that or hit our rock out and roll over behind the other rocks where it would have been extremely difficult to get to his rock. It was a comparatively "easy" shot and the opposing skip had made shots like this all the time.
Looking at it I thought we were done.
But... the other skip's final stone was too light! Even with the frantic sweeping of the team the rock didn't make it down to the rings and instead hit the rocks in the front.
Unbelievably... we had just scored 4 points to win!!!
Our skip didn't even have to throw his final rock.
We sat there with our mouths open... uncomprehending at first.
And THEN we celebrated!
Never. Give. Up!
An audio commentary is also available:
Mar 30
TDYR 236 – Winning A Curling Championship
TDYR 236 - Winning A Curling Championship by Dan York
Mar 30
The Hobson & Holtz Report – Podcast #801: March 30, 2015
A new podcast, Wag the Dog FM, from Philippe Borremans; FIR Interview coming: a second conversation with Millennials at Syracuse University London Campus;
Quick News: Brands flock to Periscope, being seen as innovative boosts a company’s bottom line says Ketchum survey, Slack is killing IRC, all 650 Members of Parliament in the UK will receive an iPad Air 2 after the May election; Ragan promo;
News That Fits: New apps – including Periscope, Meerkat and NewsByMe – could boost citizen journalism; Dan York’s Tech Report: Periscope and live streaming, Dave Winer’s MyWord, Facebook; drilling a social media crisis with Polpeo; the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop; listener comments in audio and in the FIR Podcast Community on Google+; wearable tech will shift from novelty to norm in the next five years; the past week on the FIR Podcast Network; Igloo Software promo; summary of what we learned from Facebook’s F8;
Music from Moon Taxi; and more.
So, until Monday April 6…
The post The Hobson & Holtz Report – Podcast #801: March 30, 2015 appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
