The Final Stretch
An apt title for today’s entry since last night ended my Yoga for Runners class and this morning I officially entered the hardest three weeks of marathon training. I know the drill. No more lollygagging. Time to focus on quality miles ahead and actually stick to the schedule. Even if this race is just for the “fun” of the run, there comes a point in the practice that self-doubt soars and muscles mimic that rising tension. Strained relationships come even closer to snapping. Eating habits shift. Sleep either comes more easily, or it doesn’t come at all. And every slight twinge is treated as major cause for concern -- and whining. Tonight, I will let go on the trails within Balboa Park and actually do all the core exercises instead of taking my time and miscounting crunches as usual. When it gets tough, I’ll attempt the ‘Darth Vader breath’ I learned last night in yoga. Used primarily to achieve focus and balance, it sounds like a long hiss on the exhale.
I’m also starting to immerse myself in spyware for an upcoming user-based online news series. It’s rolled into a survey that’s yet to yield firm results and a deadline that can’t be moved. It’s amazing what I’ve seen over the last few years and just how bad it’s gotten since kids turned to the dark side and began demanding payment from mobsters for their play. Spyware used to be annoying. Think pop-ups and junk e-mail. Now, it’s dangerous. Think keyloggers and identity theft. With many affordable antispyware solutions still falling short on results, vigilantism is on the rise. Last week I read about yet another site that will launch a denial-of-service attack against phish sites, which typically don’t stay up more than a few days. [The IT community has this thing for substituting f words for ph ones -- just for phun.] For those who don’t know, common phish scams appear in your mailbox as notices from PayPal, eBay or a bank and direct you to a Web site that looks legit but is actually bogus. The link may install spyware/keystroke loggers to gain access to your information or, if you fill out the forms with your financial data, you do all the dirty work for someone to commit fraud. And every time people become aware of new scams, the bad guys switch tactics. Now, more fake sites look like requests for employee records from your human resource department. Think about it: an e-mail from HR arrives asking you to change your password or update your employment records. How many people will question the attachment or link embedded in the message???
It’s all a little too overwhelming at the moment. Sort of like my upcoming marathon training.
Hhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiisssssssss.
I’m also starting to immerse myself in spyware for an upcoming user-based online news series. It’s rolled into a survey that’s yet to yield firm results and a deadline that can’t be moved. It’s amazing what I’ve seen over the last few years and just how bad it’s gotten since kids turned to the dark side and began demanding payment from mobsters for their play. Spyware used to be annoying. Think pop-ups and junk e-mail. Now, it’s dangerous. Think keyloggers and identity theft. With many affordable antispyware solutions still falling short on results, vigilantism is on the rise. Last week I read about yet another site that will launch a denial-of-service attack against phish sites, which typically don’t stay up more than a few days. [The IT community has this thing for substituting f words for ph ones -- just for phun.] For those who don’t know, common phish scams appear in your mailbox as notices from PayPal, eBay or a bank and direct you to a Web site that looks legit but is actually bogus. The link may install spyware/keystroke loggers to gain access to your information or, if you fill out the forms with your financial data, you do all the dirty work for someone to commit fraud. And every time people become aware of new scams, the bad guys switch tactics. Now, more fake sites look like requests for employee records from your human resource department. Think about it: an e-mail from HR arrives asking you to change your password or update your employment records. How many people will question the attachment or link embedded in the message???
It’s all a little too overwhelming at the moment. Sort of like my upcoming marathon training.
Hhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiisssssssss.
