Author Archives: arthur

About arthur

Arthur is the former CISO of a very large company, which he prefers not to identify here.

Book Review: Cloud Security Rules

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A while back, Kai Roer graciously sent me an electronic copy of the book Cloud Security Rules that he co-authored with an all-start cast including luminaries Wendy Nather and our very own New School’s Alex Hutton. All in all, it’s a solid read covering the gamut of topics from Risk and Compliance to technology versus the human factor and finishes nicely with a section on business models. A few chapters about more about security without being a particular focus on the cloud(tm), but that’s not particularly a problem.

My only real complaint about the book is that with so many authors, things don’t always flow as smoothly as they could when moving from chapter to chapter. This is however made up for by the general high quality of the work. In particular, un addition to the authors mentioned above, you’ll also want to make sure to read the sections by Lori MacVittie, Brian Honan and Kevin Riggins.

This book is targeted at decision makers, managers and othesr who need to understand cloud from business view, so if that’s you, I encourage you to read this book. Definitely worth the price.

Chocolate Waffles

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Too good not to share (inspired by: Chocolate-Hazelnut Waffles with Frangelico-Brown-Butter Syrup)

Ingredients :
6 oz. (1-1/3 cups) fresh ground whole-wheat flour
2 oz. (2/3 cup) natural cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup granulated palm sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

Directions:
Pre-heat waffle maker.

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl and mix thoroughly.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in the butter, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in the warm water until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold until just mixed. It should still have some lumps.

Cook in waffle maker and serve warm.

Friday Bread Baking

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A few folks have asked, so here’s my general bread recipe in bakers percentages. In bakers percentages everything is based on a ratio compared to the weight of the flour. The formula for my bread is:

100% Whole wheat flour (I’m a geek, I grind my own)
72% Water (or whey)
2% Salt
1% Yeast

So if I’m using 1000 grams of flour, I need 720 grams of liquid, 20 grams of salt and 10 grams of yeast.

Mix everything together in a bowl. I highly recommend putting the liquid in first; it makes it much easier to do the mixing. Knead the dough until it is elastic and the window pane test works. Cover and let rise until the dough doubles in volume.

Degas the dough, cut and preshape into rough loaves. Be very gentle here. Let rise again. Degas and shape into loaves. Let rise one more time. Preheat oven to between 400 and 450^F (lower temperature for larger loaves) with a cast iron skillet or metal pie plate on the floor of the oven. When the loaves are doubled in volume place them in the oven then pour a 1/4 cup of water into the cast iron skillet. Bake until the interior temperature of the bread is 195F or sounds hollow when you thump the bottom. This will take between 20 and 45 minutes depending on how large your loaves are.

What the FBI Was Doing on Beethoven’s Birthday

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This is unfair, but I can’t resist. Nine days before we found out again that PETN is hard to detonate, the FBI was keeping us safe:

FBI FINALLY MAKES AN ARREST OVER ‘WOLVERINE’ LEAK

The FBI has announced the capture of an individual connected with the leak of 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”

…

“Wolverine” has raked in nearly $375 million in worldwide gross since its release. How much money the leak cost Fox will never be settled for certain.

I’m glad we’re spending money on things to keep us safe.