I apologize up front, but this is more of a “what’s been going on from a personal perspective” post, than a “here’s my progress toward OSCP” post.
I did get to spend four days in training at work. The class covered Python 3, and I did learn a few things. I’m still not a fan of the formatting, but I’m less disgusted with the language than I was before the class. It has some features that are nice, and I’ll probably go back through Violent Python and translate it into python3 code, from scratch, this time, instead of trying to go back over what I stumbled through last time I did it. It’ll be good for me.
I also didn’t make any progress on PentesterLab PRO, this week. Our bank decided to decline the payment under the “fraud prevention” department. Normally, we get a call that we can say “this was legit, let it through,” which they did the first month. This time, they just flat out denied the payment. Between my wife and I, we spent a good chunk of the day trying to get them to approve the payment. The process was painful, and even then, the payment got denied a second time when processing tried to go through. We worked with the good folks at PentesterLab’s site, and they were easy to work with on determining an alternative payment method. We are very happy with the service, thus far.
When the weekend arrived, my wife and I sat down and scheduled out what all needed to get done. Household errands won out over any training, this time. Now that the payment issues are resolved, I’ll likely do some of the exercises during the week, this week, though.
So what did we get done? We addressed fixing/streamlining some household processes that help a family of 11 people get along. We also bought some plants to stick in the ground/in containers. The Chinese Artichokes didn’t make it over the winter, but both containers of Jerusalem Artichokes did. The container that had the Chinese ‘Chokes will be replanted with a Chocolate Mint, and a sprinkle of Marigold seeds. We have a Peppermint plant that seems to come back every year, even though the Lemon Balm seems to take over and choke out everything in its path, and it’s right next to the balm. I’m thinking of taking a snip snip cutting of that, shoving it three quarters into the ground, and seeing if it will root in the same container as the Chocolate Mint. I’m only considering it, though. If those two start competing, we’d much rather than the Chocolate Mint than the Peppermint.
We’ve also got two new high bush Blueberry bushes that will be planted this week, if not already done by the time this post goes live. There is a single Blueberry plant on the corner of the house that has managed to survive the 14+ years we’ve lived here, and while it isn’t thriving, the fact that it keeps coming back is encouraging.
We also picked up some everbearing Strawberries. These will go in the strawberry planter my wife got as a gift from my parents a couple of years ago. These are her Mother’s Day gift from the rest of us, this year. Yes, it’s a week early, but she doesn’t mind.
Later this week, we’ll order some “Raspberry Shortcake ™” Raspberries from an online nursery. The local shop had some a week or three back, but we didn’t buy them. I specifically wanted some this week, but they were out, and they don’t know when another shipment might arrive. I know another distributor that carries these, so we’re planning to purchase a couple of gallon sized orders, and they’ll go in a couple more plastic “whiskey half barrel” planters like the ones the Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes) are in.
This week has been better than last week was, with regards to the depression. The plant therapy helps. The hack therapy does, too, and I do intend to get through more of the Essentials Badge at PentesterLab this week. If they release the rest of the Unix Badge, I’ll also finish it out.
If I get feedback about not liking the plant talk, I’ll try to keep it on the other blog, and bring it back sooner, but I’d rather work with just UnixSecLab for now, and not deal with running two at once. If nobody complains, I may still drop an update here, every now and then about how the gardening is going.
Thanks for sticking with me, and I’m sorry this post was a bit light on technical stuff. Next week should be much better.