… I’ll either be soaring overhead, or will have already arrived at my destination. My flight left OKC at 6am, headed for Chicago; after a couple of hours there, I’m headed to Baltimore, MD. After landing in Maryland I’ll be picking up a rental car and driving to my final, undisclosed destination.

According to one report, as many as 1/3 of Americans have a fear of flying — so while I’m in the minority, at least I’m in good company. Fortunately I’m not travelling alone; I’ve got my iPod, my Kindle, my laptop, my GameBoy Advance … oh, and some Xanax. Everything should go just fine, or not — I won’t care by that point (drooling, it’s the only way to fly). I spent most of the weekend with a headache, a stomach ache, and feeling tired. I never look forward to getting on a plane; I’m just looking forward to getting it over with.

Tuesday through Thursday I’ll be at a customer’s data center performing a series of security-related scans and tests. On Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll be performing a few scans to look for security holes and test the strength of the network. On Thursday, I’ll actually be trying to “break in” so-to-speak while performing penetration testing (“pen testing” — it’s shorter, and sounds less kinky). It’s a lot more controlled than it sounds. The last thing I or any pen tester wants to do is bring down a production system. Crashed systems = more paperwork.

Most of my testing will be done after working hours, which means I’ll have the day to explore and go sight seeing. I’m close enough to DC that I may try to hit some of the museums this time. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to DC. In fact, the last time I was in DC I was helping a government office apply Novell patches in preparation for the then impending Y2K disaster. The only other time I went to DC was with a school trip in seventh grade. Oh, and last year on my trip to Exton, PA I drove around the beltway. I don’t count that one.

Not much else to say. This week I’ll post what I can when I can.