Bern‘s old town (Switzerland)
Photo from the Kornhaus Bridge with a view of Bern's old town.
Villa Manodori Balsamic Vinegar is the Ferrari of vinegars
TL;DR: top-notch. A must-have for those who love quality and flavor.
Villa Manodori Balsamic Vinegar, crafted by chef Massimo Bottura, is made from top-quality grapes and aged in wooden barrels. It's a thick, flavorful vinegar that enhances salads, marinades, and desserts. Perfect for those who value quality and taste.
Villa Manodori Baldamico Vinegar
Problems with Fully Unwinding
I’m I often can’t properly unwind anymore. It’s almost like I have to ‘focus’ on relaxing – as crazy as that sounds.
I haven’t been diagnosed with ADHD, but short breaks don’t help much either. I get more easily irritated and more often have the fear of missing out (FOMO).
I guess some of you know it too: you start a game, but after 30 minutes, you feel like doing something else. Then you put on a movie or a show, but that doesn’t hold your attention for long either. So you end up jumping from one source of entertainment to the next. It works fine in an encapsulated environments like in the cinema, but less so on the couch. Even on short vacation, I find it hard to unwind – always online, always new ideas, always undone work in my head.
Once, I tried to relax on the beach, but instead of enjoying the waves, I kept wondering how many emails I had. Or the time I went hiking and couldn’t stop thinking I was missing the perfect Instagram post.
Maybe these are the ‘side effects’ of our fast-paced, stressful, and information-overloaded world. It’s really a shame.
HQ Tourism: Five Hours of Travel for Vacation Feels at Lake Constance
Today, I embarked on a grand adventure to our headquarters in Arbon. With the sun shining brightly, it felt like I was on a beach vacation at Lake Constance. The scenery was so beautiful, I half-expected to see dolphins flipping around in the water.
The only downside? It took me five hours to get there and back. By the time I arrived, I felt like I'd traveled through all of Switzerland, stopping at every cheese factory along the way.
Area41 in Zürich Day 1
The first day of Area41 is over, and it had its fair share of interesting security talks. Of course, as with any conference, the real action was in the networking—meeting people and catching up with colleagues. It was a good time.
We started with a keynote from Paula Januszkiewicz, Founder & CEO of CQURE, on "Hacker's Perspective on New Risks: Revising the Cybersecurity Priorities for 2024." It was engaging, full of demos, which is a bit unorthodox for a keynote, but it kept things lively.
Elliot Ward's talk, "Action Anomalies: A Hacker's Guide to GitHub Actions," gave us a rundown of GitHub Actions and highlighted the security areas to be cautious about. Worth noting for anyone using GitHub.
"Insert Coin: Hacking Arcades for Fun" by Ignacio Navarro took a different direction than I anticipated. Instead of old arcade machines, it focused on some pretty shabby arcade management software with questionable security.
Michael Oelke's "Call on Me, Unify! - Hacking Desktop Phones" was technically intriguing, offering a deep dive into the vulnerabilities of desktop phones.
I'm curious to see what Day 2 has in store. Let’s see what happens next.
Final Day of the Area41 Security Conference in Zurich
The second day of AREA41 had a lineup of talks that were right up my alley, focusing heavily on cloud security. Here’s a rundown of the sessions I attended, each packed with insights, tips, and a touch of humor.
Kicking off the morning, Daniel Drack served us a harsh reality check on cloud-native software supply chain security with his talk, "Cloud-Native Software Supply Chain Security: The Hard Truth." If you thought the cloud was a fluffy, safe place, think again. Drack exposed the underlying vulnerabilities that can turn your cloud into a stormy nightmare. This talk was more practical with a DevSecOps point of view rather than from a security engineer.
Following Drack, Oleksandr Kazymyrov brought a pragmatic perspective on balancing efficiency and security in cloud-based endpoint management. His talk, "Balancing Efficiency and Security: Unveiling the Risks in Cloud-Based Endpoint Management," highlighted that it's like trying to walk a tightrope in a hurricane. You need finesse, strategy, and maybe a bit of luck.
Himanshu Anand gave us a sobering summary of public cloud attacks with "Public Cloud Public Attacks: A Summary of Attacks Seen by CloudIntel." If you ever doubted the creativity of cybercriminals, Anand’s talk would set you straight. CloudIntel’s insights made it clear: vigilance is key. By the way, he spends $500 per month from his own pocket on the project. Maybe a sponsor can be found.
After a much-needed lunch break, Gergana Karadzhova-Dangela returned us to the fray in the afternoon with practical advice on incident response documentation in her talk, "Actionable Incident Response Documentation: When The Ink Meets The Road." Her mantra? Documentation should be actionable, not just ink on paper. Because when a breach happens, you don’t want to be caught with your docs down. This session on incident response documentation was surprisingly engaging and crucial, leaving me with plenty to ponder.
There was also a funny lock-picking challenge.
Overall, final day (two) was packed with cloud-centric wisdom and a dose of humor. I can recommend AREA41 for everyone that is interested in security and/or networking.
My highlight over the two days was the barbecue on the first evening.
All drinks (with or without alcohol), food, and the barbecue was included in the ticket price of $299.
Vegas Bound: The High-Flying Adventure Begins
And so the journey begins. Flight LX8002 to Vegas. The seat assignment worked out after all. I even managed to snag an upgrade at a fair price. Those upsellers at the counter are relentless, aren't they?
Eleven hours of flying. Not exactly my favorite pastime. At least I only got four hours of sleep last night. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch some Z's on the plane.
Here's to in-flight naps and Vegas dreams
Finally in Las Vegas After 11.5 Hours in 40°C Heat
After 11 hours and 30 minutes of flying and stepping into the 40°C Las Vegas heat, I finally arrived. The flight was great, courtesy of Edelweiss's stellar service. The only hiccup? The landing was a bit like hitting a speed bump at full throttle.
First Stop: The Venetian Hotel
Upon arrival, I beelined to the Venetian Hotel, with my room in the Palazzo. Check-in was smooth, except they promised to text me when the room was ready. Spoiler alert: that text never came. After two hours of twiddling my thumbs, I went back to the reception, and voilà, room keys in hand.
Thankfully, Markus got his room in the Venetian immediately, so I could stash my luggage in his room while I sorted things out.
The First Day's Dilemma: To Sleep or Not to Sleep
The real challenge on the first day is figuring out when to sleep. I left at 10 AM Swiss time and landed at 1 PM Vegas time (a 9-hour difference). Jet lag is real, folks.
First Meal: In-N-Out Burger
To kick things off, I headed straight to In-N-Out Burger for a Double Cheese. Always a winner. Though I have a soft spot for Shake Shack in Vegas too, it's a bit of a trek from the hotel. Still, I'll make the pilgrimage.
Evening at The Linq
In the evening, I hit the bar at The Linq and met up with Oli from Cribl and Mika. As always, it was an absolute hoot. We then moved on for some finger food with Florian (Flo), and Jaco.
Nightcap: Gilley's Saloon, Dance Hall & Bar-B-Que
We capped off the night with a visit to Gilley's Saloon, Dance Hall & Bar-B-Que for a well-deserved “after-work” beer. By 11 PM, it was time to hit the sack.
A Wild Sunday in Vegas: Cribl EMEA Event Highlights and More!
Sunday in Vegas wrapped up with the Cribl EMEA event at Ole Red. The rooftop party was a blast, featuring a live DJ, drinks, finger food, and a crowd full of interesting people.
The view of the Bellagio fountain show was amazing. By 7:30 PM local time, the heat had finally let up. The cooling mist machines certainly helped too.
I received a printed book from Cribl. Really cool. To be honest, I didn’t do much to earn it, but thanks to Oli for that! (selfie photo).
I’m still battling jet lag. So, I went to bed early—before midnight. But of course, I was up again by 3 AM. Not ideal.
Today, Monday, continues with CriblCon, starting at 9 AM local time. Then, I’ve got a few meetings with clients and a visit to The Sphere planned.
One shouldn’t complain when hotel and flight is covered by the company and a lot of entertainment is covered by vendors. But wow, the prices in Vegas are sky-high. There are quite a few personal expenses too.
