2008-2009: Keith Gilbert

The Countdown Begins...

Hello everyone! In one week, the current Norwich University senior class will officially graduate. At that time, I'll become a senior and will have one year left until my graduation from college. Looking back, much of my time here has gone by very quickly, but at least I know that I will have made an impact on campus while I am here. While finals started today, my first final is tomorrow at 8:00a.m. I'm not looking forward to it because of the time, but I'm not worried about the content. After that, I've got a final at 6:30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and another 8:00am final on Thursday. I'm pretty sure that my Abnormal Psych and Network Security finals will be the most difficult, but I'm still relatively sure I can maintain my grades. Operating Systems and Forensic Psych shouldn't be an issue. My Information Assurance and Software Engineering finals were in class/papers/projects so those are already finished. Regardless, the majority of my next few days will be spent studying, but it's definitely worth it.

A lot has gone on in the past month here at school and I've been keeping busy as always. Junior Ring Weekend went great and I was super excited to get my ring. It definitely looks a lot nicer than my old high school ring and I'm glad that I'm finally able to wear it! We also inducted our newest members in to Upsilon Pi Epsilon for this semester. On a personal note, I've got my housing all squared away for next year and I'm looking forward to it. My Fiance will be graduating and as a result, may not be in Northfield next year. I'll be living with a couple of friends in a house here in town so it should be a good time. I also had the opportunity to begin serving on the committee for the Todd Lecture Series. The committee helps select distinguished speakers to invite to speak here. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to the speaker this year, but I'm definitely looking forward to next year's events.

On my last post, I received a great comment from nufan and I'd like to take the time to address that now. The first question referred to cyber-attacks on the U.S. electric grid, and whether or not I'm ready to graduate. Quite frankly, yes. Events such as these are precisely the reason I chose to enter this major. While I'd be happy with any job after graduation, I really would prefer to work with the government. I feel as though it would be much more fulfilling work. The second question was to name one novel and one film that have left great impressions with me. First, I don't read much fiction. Most of my reading (which I admit that I should do more of) is related to technology. That being said, I'd say one of my favorite books so far is The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb. I'm not exactly sure why, but I know it has to do with the ultimate theme of the book. Basically, that we can't predict the unpredictable, and doing so actually tends to make things worse. Another point that I really liked was that it's not the unknowns that are really threatening, but the unknown unknowns are. It just seemed to fit in with some of my thinking. As far as a movie goes, it was a much harder decision because my tastes tend to change depending on my mood or current events. At this moment, I really liked Yes, Man for a comedy and Seven Pounds for a drama. Both of the movies have some interesting psychological perspectives. Finally, a question about misconceptions relating to NU students was asked. I honestly don't know. Anyone I've talked to usually have questions, but they've always been formed more generally. I suppose an overall misconception could be that the corps and civilians are segregated strongly. I would argue that it may have been like that previously, but it's not the case now, and the general acceptance of that gets better every year.

Finally, I'm currently waiting for a couple of publications to come out this month. I was chosen to be one of the four students in a new admissions brochure for NU. It's supposed to be out this month and it should detail my involvement here at school. Additionally, I had the opportunity to be part of a group test in SC Magazine and to write the opening article for that test. It's supposed to be in the May issue and should be out soon. This is most likely going to be my last substantive post of the year (unless I receive more questions, which I'll always answer). However, I'll be sure to post an update as soon as I find out when the brochure and article are released. As always, feel free to post/send questions or comments!

Thanks again for reading!

-Keith

Top three concerts i'd like to attend this summer:
1.) Dream Theater Progressive Nation Tour - Buying tickets ASAP
2.) Warped Tour - Need someone to go with
3.) Mayhem Festival - Have Tickets

Junior Ring Comes Next Week!!

Hello Everyone!

A lot has happened here at Norwich since my last post. One of the most notable was the Colby Military Writers Symposium, which took place last week. The symposium highlights and honors exemplary works with a military basis. It gives students a chance to meet the authors and to hear their stories. It's a great success every year, and this year was no exception. The stories are truly amazing and it's something that every student should attend each year, regardless of lifestyle.

Another big event that took place this past weekend was the West Point Combat Classic Paintball Game. I have to say straight up that it was TONS of fun. There were roughly 400-500 participants and it lasted all day Saturday and half a day on Sunday. I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and the way my gun performed. We left enough of an impression that we got invited to the Invasion of Normandy game this summer and I hope that I can make it. That event is supposed to have at least 3,000 participants. At the very least, I look forward to attending West Point's games again next year. There were a few people that got injured because of the terrain that we were playing on, but other than that all went well. Between the drive there and playing both days it definitely made for a tiring weekend, but it was well worth it!

As far as school goes, all of my classes are still going well. We're in to the last month of classes and now's about the time that the work usually starts getting tough. Papers will begin to come due and those are always the projects that I dread. However, I feel like I'll still be able to finish out the semester on a strong note. We registered for classes this week and next semester will be another 19 credit semester for me. I know now that I won't have any problem fulfilling the requirements for my minor in Forensic Psychology, and I'll have some other spots that I'll have to fill next spring as well.

The the title of this post may suggest, Junior Ring Weekend is also getting very close! I've been really excited to get my ring ever since I tried it on a couple months ago. Next week will also be our last meeting for the Civilian Junior Ring Committee so that will free up some more time for me after that.

Well, I've got a couple other things to take care of before bed so that's going to be all for now. I wanted to thank those that have been commenting once again. If anyone has any questions I can help with feel free to comment or email me at kgilbert at student dot norwich dot edu (replace the 'at' and 'dot' with @ and .)!

-Keith

3 classes I'm most looking forward to next semester:
1.) Biopsychology
2.) Data Communications and Networking
3.) Contemporary Issues in CSIA

March? Midterms done? Where did February go?

Hello! I know it's been a long while since I've last posted (the whole of February), but things around Norwich have been super busy lately. As a result, I've got plenty to talk about! Fortunately, the Twitter feed on my blog has enabled me post quick updates on a regular basis. Some of you may recall these some of these topics being mentioned in my updates.

I'll start with one of the more exciting things that's happened in the past month. Last week we were able to try on our Junior Rings! While the tradition of the Junior ring has not been around as long for the civilians as it has for the Corps, it's still an exciting event. Since I'm on the Civilian Junior Ring Committee as well, I get the opportunity to assist in planning out our dinner and ceremony. My ring looks great and I can't wait to get in in April. At this point, it makes the ring I got in high school look like a toy.

So far this semester, the work on the Honor Committee has been rather slow as well (knock on wood). We've been pleasantly surprised that we've only had a few cases so far, and we're all hoping that the trend continues. It would be nice to know that our work is having a positive impact on the student body, and that perhaps many of the students are taking the NU Rules & Regulations more seriously. The paintball club is still alive and well this semester as well. Due to the new leadership this year, it's keeping a solid base of participants, unlike the previous years. With the snow around here, we haven't been able to play any local games, but the club did attend one large regional game. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to that one, but it seems like everyone had a great time. We're in the works of getting equipment to play indoors, and some other equipment to help get the outdoor play going as soon as possible as well.

As for the more scholarly activities, there has been a little less going on this semester as well. We had been practicing and meeting throughout February to attend the Northeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition at Rochester Institute of Technology again this year (For more info: Click Here). Much to our disappointment,  the school was not able to arrange transportation for us in time, and therefore, we could not attend. As for other competitions, another group of us are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the 2009 DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge packet (For more info: Click Here). We signed up a few weeks ago and the packets are due to arrive this week. We've been told that the format of the challenge has been modified this year so I'm excited to see exactly how, and what that means for the challenge itself.

 I also received a question about the snow that we get here, in relation to travel, on my last post. Specifically, I deal with the snow through the use of an all wheel drive car. While not completely necessary, it makes traveling that much easier when there is new snow falling. It can potentially make the difference between not being able to go anywhere, and taking a car full of people somewhere because they can't drive (of course, that doesn't mean you aren't required to be careful). Since I've grown up in a climate with snowy winters, I don't mind driving when the roads aren't great. As long as I leave early then I know it'll be fine. I did get stuck a couple of times on campus last year (most of which were my fault), which is why i usually carry a shovel in my car for the winter as well. I thought it was amusing that snowshoes were mentioned in the comment as well. I actually got a pair for Valentine's day this year and have been using them quite a bit. I find it very relaxing to set out in to the woods without a destination and just walk around for a couple hours. Last time I went out with a friend, we saw nine deer too!

As the title of the post may suggest, midterm grades were reported last week. I was originally dreading that step because I thought a couple of my classes weren't going as well as I would have liked. However, I did suprisingly well on a few of the tests I had last week and was pleasantly surprised to find out my grades on Friday. I was originally expecting a couple of B's, but it turns out that I haven't earned anything lower than one A- so far. Hopefully the rest of the semester finishes out that strong!

Finally, I'd like to finish with a request. If any of my readers have any suggestions for my lists (Last 5 listened, Last 5 chapters, etc), then I would be greatful to hear them! I think it would be great if I could do something different every post, based on a reader suggestion. If anyone has anything, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Thanks again to all for reading! Have a great week, and be sure to check back for updates on the Twitter feed (or create an account and follow me on Twitter!)!

-Keith

Best 3 restaurants in the area:

1.) Texas Roadhouse - Williston - Relatively new, but great food (Mmm... Ribs) and decent prices!
2.) Finkerman's BBQ - Montpelier (Now Closed) - If it wasn't closed, it would be number one!I loved the pulled pork here, and was one of many sad to see it go.
3.) Sarducci's - Montpelier - Wonderful Italian food!

Weekends are Required

Hello everyone! When I sat down to type this post today I realized that it had been much longer than I thought since my last post. It has been a rather busy two weeks for me, but the Twitter feature has been added back to my blog (as I'm sure some noticed), so I've at least been able to keep up with that. I will say that having the ability to post to Twitter quickly from my phone or desktop makes it rather convenient. Additionally, things should calm down a little bit because I'm now done working at the internship that I've had since last June. It was a great job that gave me some great experience, but I wanted to make sure that I'd still be able to focus on, and keep up with, my schoolwork this semester. Classes have gone well so far, but we're just getting out of all the introductory information, so I should find out how the rest of the semester will go pretty soon.

One event that we had on campus in the last few days worth mentioning is the 2nd Annual CSI Symposium. Several prominent forensic professionals visit campus and give presentations on their work. It's a wonderful multidisciplinary event that draws quite a bit of student attention. We're quite lucky to get the speakers that we do, and the presentations have proven to be very interesting. If anyone's interested, more information about the event can be found by clicking here.

We've also gotten a healthy dose of new snow! I think we've gotten 14-16 inches or so in the past week, with most of it falling in one storm. That afternoon I went over to a friends house and we decided to hook up a rope to the back of his small ATV. We took turns riding on a sled behind the ATV as we got towed up and down his street before it was plowed. It was definitely a fun way to spend a short afternoon off from school and work.

Another article was posted this past week about the Digital Forensics Challenge that I've posted about before. Unfortunately, I had to drop out last semester due to a lack of time, but the team that picked up the reigns did a great job. This year's article can be found here. If anyone's interested in reading the article about the previous year's competition (which I was able to participate in), it can be found here.

On a final note for this week, I now realize how much I take my debit card for granted. Some people may have heard (or been effected by) the recent Heartland data breach. Information about the breach can be found here Unfortunately, my debit card was compromised in this breach. As a result, I've discovered how hard it is to find stores that will accept out of state checks. In order to get gas, I have to write a check at another store, for more than my purchase, because none of the gas stations around here will accept out of state checks. Additionally, I'm now quite aware of the inconvenience that checks really did present to people before debit cards. I've never really had to write out checks (other than for bills) or carry around cash, because virtually every store accepts cards. This is just one instance in which I've discovered I take technology for granted. Once I get a card back, I know that won't be the case.

Well, it's about time I start working on some of my homework today so I don't have a too much to do tomorrow. That's all for now! Thanks again for reading and feel free to leave comments/questions, they're always welcome!

-Keith

Last 5 Chapters Read
1.) Ch. 1 "The Spirit of Forensic Discovery" - Forensic Discovery, Farmer & Venema
2.) Ch. 2 "Time Machines" - Forensic Discovery, Farmer & Venema
3.) Ch. 3 "Investigative Psychology" - Intro. to Forensic Psychology, Bartol & Bartol
4.) Ch. 3 "Processes" - Operating Systems Concepts, Silberschatz
5.) Ch. 2 "Casual Factors and Viewpoints" - Abnormal Psychology, Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley

Another New Beginning

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the lack of posting in the past couple of weeks but I've been rather busy with work, the start of school, among other various things. I'm afraid this post won't be very long because I've still got some homework to finish up tonight.

As you probably know, our spring semester started this past Monday, and so I've now experienced all of my classes for this semester at least once. From my initial impressions, this will most likely be my most difficult semester to date, if not of my undergraduate career. It will definitely be a very busy semester to say the least. However, all of my professors seem decent (with a few minor nuances) at this point, so I don't think that will be a problem. I do hope that my Operating Systems class is able to move to a different classroom, as roughly 6-7 kids have to stand during class because there isn't enough seating. I was unlucky enough to be one of those today, and it's definitely not fun. I think the greatest part about this semester is that I don't have any "filler" classes. All of my classes are directly related to my major, or my minor.

On another note, this week has been cold compared to the previous weeks, and the next few days are forecast to be brutally cold. Daily highs just a tad over zero, and nightly lows in the -30s aren't exactly my cup of tea. However, I guess if I like snow, I have to deal with the weather that comes along with it.

My break went well and I'm glad the semester is under way. Once I get in to the swing of things everything should settle down a bit (I hope). I'm also beginning the process of applying for the information assurance scholarship again, so we'll see if there's any more luck in that this year. At this point I'm hoping that I could potentially get at least one year of my schooling paid for. We'll see I suppose.

Now it's time to get back to my reading! Until next time,

-Keith

For this semester, I'm switching back to my "recently listened" list. However, I may switch it up once in a while.

Last 5 Played
"Don't Trust Me" - 3OH!3
"I'm Not Your Boyfriend Baby - 3OH!3
"We Global" - DJ Khaled
"The Back Harlow Road" - 36 Crazyfists
"Misery Business" - Paramore

The End is Great!!!

Hello All! While I'm recovering from getting my wisdom teeth out, I figured it would be a great time to get an update in to the blog.

First thing's first; you may have noticed an addition to my blog in the top right corner. The new Twitter updates section has been added in order to give a more "real-time" update system. It's easier to post to for quick updates, and may ensure that I don't forget anything that comes up quickly. I won't likely be posting actual comments on what I'm doing or where I am, but it will provide me with a method of posting quick notes or thoughts. (UPDATE: Due to some brief issues, this feature had to be temporarily removed. It will be back up and running as soon as we get some quirks worked out. Thanks for your patience!)

I'm also pleased to announce that I've started the acceptance process for my Internship offer next summer. I'm really excited, and glad to find out this far ahead of time so that I can be sure to get everything situated in time.

Also, you may have noticed from the twitter updates that I'm now home in Maine for break. The trip home was rather interesting and it always seems as though I pick the snowy days to travel home. Last year I drove home in a snowstorm, and this year I did again. It extended my trip from 4.5 hours to 6 hours so I was tired of driving by the time I got home. I know we're due for some more snow here over the next couple of days so I just hope the day I head back to Vermont is snowing again!

Here are some pictures from the trip here:

Just as a note, all of the pictures were taken at low speeds. I wasn't going to take any chances with the poor driving conditions :-)

I've got my grades for this semester already as well and it was another A semester. I wasn't really expecting anything less since I only had four classes (regardless of the fact that I was working). I'm estimating that next semester will be the hardest that I've had so far. I'll still have my workstudy job, and 6 classes, but it should be fun. I'm really looking forward to all of my classes and I should learn a lot.

Well, I've got to get some laundry done and keep icing my face so I guess that's all for now. I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

-Keith

Random Thought:

If Mars has an earthquake, is it called a marsquake?

Snow = Yay!!

Well, I've now been completely done with classes for a few days and I think all went well. I can't wait until grades are posted, and I've got to start ordering my books for next semester. Hopefully it doesn't cost me too much, but that's why I order them online.

On another note, I got an email last Friday with the news that I got one of the internships I applied for! I'm really excited and it will definitely be a career furthering move. While I've got this good news, and probably a few other things to talk about, I thought this would be a good week for me to post some pictures for my post.

These are to celebrate the snow that we have (even after 2 periods of rain)!!

 

I should be able to post another couple times throughout break, but in case I don't get to for a week or so, I wish everyone a great Holiday Season!!!

-Keith

Random Computer Quote

"Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow." -Unknown

Almost the end!!

Well, quite a bit of stuff has gone on this past week so I thought that tonight would be a good opportunity to recap some of it. First off, I ordered my Junior ring this week! A lot of people ask about the rings, being a civilian, versus the Corps and their ring traditions. I believe I was told that this was about the fourteenth year that the civilians had a ring option, so I think it's pretty standardized. I'm excited to get mine and a little bummed out that we have to wait until April to be honest, but I know it'll be worth it!

On another note, two of my finals are now done! I've got one take-home final and one in class final left so I'm really excited! The ones I took this week were Information Assurance and Software Engineering. I felt as though they went well so I don't have any worries about those classes. The take-home final I have is for Criminal Justice Ethics and that should be relatively easy as well. My last final, next Tuesday, is in my Intro Forensics class. Since it's cumulative, half of the final is based on previously learned information and the other half will be new information. Since I've done well on my previous two exams in that class, I'm fairly sure that the final will go just as well. My partner and I finished our paper up for Forensics last week and the presentations started this week. We're set to present first on Monday so I hope that goes good as well!

My last major event this week was actually very exciting. I got a call on Friday from my employer and was SUPER excited to find out that I'll be getting a Christmas bonus!! I think that the current economic climate, and the fact that I'm an intern, probably make this rather rare and it makes me feel as though I definitely made an impact at my internship. It definitely came at a good time considering that I just finished all of my Christmas shopping! As a college student, any extra help one gets is definitely appreciated (not that it wouldn't be otherwise..)!

On the internship note, I'm still waiting to hear about the positions I applied for to work next summer. If all goes well, I'm supposed to hear by the end of this week at the latest, so we shall see how that turns out. I'm still hoping all is well and the suspense is growing by the day! However, I know it's not unusual for these kinds of things to be late in notifications and such, but the sooner the better. Once I find out, if I'm lucky, I'll have to start making arrangements for living somewhere else for the summer, flights, etc., which is why I'd just like to find out either way.

Well, that's about all for now. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated with the remainder of my semester, and definitely as soon as I find out about my internship! I hope everyone has a great week!

-Keith

Random Computer Quote
"There are 10 types of people in the World; those who understand binary, and those who don't"
-Unknown

Back to Work!!

Hello everyone! I hope the holiday went well for all and that everyone has recovered from eating too much turkey. Vacation has come to an end and I've gotten ready for classes tomorrow. My partner and I have finished our Intro. Forensics paper, which is due tomorrow. I've got a quick lab report to type, and then I'm done for a little while! We shouldn't be getting too much work this week because classes are almost done. All of my finals are in class or take-home so my last day of classes is Tuesday the 9th. All of my classes have gone excellent this semester and I'm not too worried about any of my finals. It seems as though this semester has flown by, but I'm sure that's because I've been so busy.

I know I mentioned the UPE ceremony last post, but I just thought of another point. If any of my readers are former graduates of the Computer Science or Computer Security majors, and would like to be considered for induction, we can induct former graduates and honorary members. If there is any interest please feel free to contact me. I can't guarantee anything, but I would gladly put anyone's name in for consideration by the officers.

My Thanksgiving break went well, but I'm a little glad that hunting season is over. Those 4a.m. mornings were starting to affect me more than I would have liked. I was also able to get all of my Christmas shopping done while I was home so I don't have to worry about any of it when I get back for Christmas break. While I probably spent a little more than I should have, I know I saved quite a bit as well. For the first year, I was able to take advantage of some Black Friday deals. I was also shocked when I heard about the deaths on Black Friday this year. The two people shot at a Toys R Us in California isn't as shocking due to the rumors of gang-related activity. However, I found the death in New York at a Wal-Mart completely rediculous. I find it quite concerning that people are desperate enough for the "deals" going on that day that they will break through glass doors and run people over! The fact that nobody stopped and tried to help the man that was being trampled is somewhat suprising. However, having taken social psychology, it could be expected knowing that the more people that are around, the less likely it is for any person to stop and help. I suppose some of the events could also be chalked up to the "mob mentality." Regardless, I find the events, as I'm sure many others do as well, to be completely rediculous. While Wal-Mart has defended its security measures, I can't help but think that it must have been lacking. All of the stores I visited, and waited in line for, were super strict about letting people in, keeping people in lines, and making sure people were walking and not running.

Now that I'm done ranting about that... I've got a few other things to get finished up tonight so that's all for now! Thanks again to everyone that reads!

-Keith

Random Computer Quote:
"Computer interfaces and user interfaces are as different as night and 1."
-Unknown

Home at Last!!

Hello!I hope everyone's weekend went well. I'm nice and comfy at home in Maine and I'm excited to start hunting nice and early tomorrow morning. When I left Northfield yesterday, we had about an inch of snow on the ground so it was a good farewell. The trip went relatively well, but I lost about 15 minutes in Vermont because traffic was stopped due to an accident. I snowed until I got by Mt. Washington and then after that the grounds were clear and the flurries had stopped. Many of the lakes and rivers were iced over, or at least had significant ice in them on the way as well. I'm hoping that the ground is still covered when I get back, maybe with a few inches!!

Also, we're now officialy the Beta Vermont Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon! My role as Upsilon, is the society president. The first induction ceremony went well on Friday and I'm excited to see something I started that will stay at Norwich long after I leave.

I'm also still waiting to hear back about the internship I applied for, and I think it should be some time this week that I hear about it. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, there isn't much else I can do at this point. Other than that, I've got my part of my Intro. Forensics paper to write and that's about it. I'll be able to relax this break and hunting will be fun as well.

There isn't much other news at this point. If I don't happen to post again before Thanksgiving, I hope all of my readers have a great holiday!

-Keith

Random Computer Quote
"Science is to computer science as hydrodynamics is to plumbing."
-Unknown