Unfortunately, although I use PGP on all my emails, it is not much good unless my correspondents also use PGP.  The reason is simple – if you don’t have PGP, you don’t have the capability to interpret the signature file, meaning the file is just so much extra junk.  Also, if you and I both have PGP, emails between us can be encrypted, making them unreadable by third parties.

However, just having the PGP program doesn’t mean that you can prove that the message came from me.  Anyone in the world can create a PGP key file with my name and email address attached – that doesn’t make it me.  You need to prove that the key is also mine.  There is a system called the Web of Trust, which ensures that, even if you have never met a user, there is probably a link between you and them, which can be used to prove the identity of both parties.

The web of trust needs physical links between people, meaning that you need to physically meet and verify users.  This is the hard part, and the part that I am looking for help with.  Although I am located in Victoria, BC (and will gladly exchange keys with anyone in the area), I am also a member of the Canadian navy.  This means that I tend to travel quite a bit.  As I reach other countries, I intend to trade keys with local PGP users, if at all possible.  Unfortunately, OPSEC prohibits me from posting my travel schedule anywhere public, which means that I can’t announce when I will be in a different location.

If I will be at a location for any extended time, I will announce it on my PGP page; however, most of my visits will be only one or two days, so there won’t be much use of the page updates in most cases.  However, I will also announce on my blog when I have arrived in a new location, along with a reminder of my key-signing availability.

If you don’t use PGP, make it one of your New-year resolutions to start.  If you do use it, use the new year to expand your key signatures.

Happy New Year.

A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.

Nobody is born perfect.  We all need to be shaped to change from the helpless creature that is first held in his mother’s arms to the mature adult that we become.  Along the way, our values and beliefs are formed.

Anybody who has waltzed through life without any difficulties will grow up but not mature.  Having never faced adversity, they would not know how to deal with adversity; instead, their base instincts will kick in – run, hide, look for protection.

It is our trials and tribulations that define who we are.  Just as a rock sitting permanently on a shelf will never become a jewel, a person sitting permanently on the couch will never mature.  We must gain experience in order to grow, and this experience comes through our trials and difficulties.

The scalded dog fears cold water.

I don’t recommend burning Fido to test the truth of this one.  The dog will associate any water with the water that hurt him; if it was a human-applied scald, then he will fear any human-borne water, whatever the temperature.

Similarly, if all the attention one receives is negative, one will begin to fear attention.  If every time you see John you experience pain, you will associate John with pain.  Whether it is caused directly by John or not, you will fear him, and avoid him as a Pavlovian response.

Remember this in your own behavior.  Do you want to be the scalding water that causes pain and distrust?  Or the aloe that soothes the pain?

A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child.

Long before I became a father, I was working with children, and was always amazed at the number of challenges they faced.  How many people, when they see a child, didn’t think of a small person, but of a small thing, a nuisance, a problem.

It’s been said enough to be a cliché, but children don’t just represent our future; they are our future.  By helping a child, you have invested in that future.  It may not even be a grand gesture, but every small amount helps.

When you see a child struggling with adversity, help them.  Don’t do everything for them, as that denies them the learning experience that will help them to grow; but if you can help a child with the hard parts, and let them stretch a bit at a time, they will grow.  And if you do well, they will grow well.

The child you help need not be your own, nor need they be someone you know.  But if you are a father (mothers, too, but this is Father’s day), remember to start at home, raising your own children properly and helping them through their growth.  Then spread out from there.

Happy father’s day.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

When looking for a goal, many people look as big as possible.  They want to be famous, make a lasting effect on the world.

Very people look within the boundaries of their own neighborhood, house, or even body.

Even if you still want to improve the world, start with small steps.  The smallest step – yet the largest mental challenge – is to start with yourself.  You are part of the world, so improving yourself is improving the world.

That isn’t to say that you should be satisfied once you have improved.  Continuous self-improvement is the next step, where you become a better person today than you were yesterday.  Next, you can work on a larger boundary, and slowly but steadily grow.

You can always conquer the world tomorrow.

Because we focused on the snake, we missed the scorpion.

Dangers come in many forms; some obvious, others not so much.  And not only dangers; opportunities, as well, may be missed as you focus on one task.

This is easier for an organization to handle than for an individual, as the organization can assign some people to focus on one task while others watch for incoming dangers and opportunities.

Yet even the individual is able to balance himself.  While you are attending to a task, keep a weather eye out for other issues.  Take the time to take a break from your task, and use part of that time to look for other problems.

Don’t get stung by that scorpion.

So you have some enemies … Good, that means you stood up for something!

It is impossible to make it through life without upsetting people.  Sometimes, being on Alice’s good side means being on Bob’s bad side.  Additionally, you will have opinions and views that differ from those around you.

The stronger the opinions you and others hold, the stronger the disagreement will become.  Stronger disagreements may become emnity.

If you hold your opinions, views, and causes strong, and defend them against opposition, you will come into opposition.  If you hold strong to these beliefs in the face of adversity, you may gain an enemy.

Then you have to choose.  Which is more important to you – your cause or the person’s friendship?  If you stand up for your belief, you may gain that person as an enemy.

So welcome those enemies – they are proof that you did well.

The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.

This is appropriate to me, as I am a member of the military, currently undergoing training.  However, this sentiment is not only limited to military applications.

I have heard this quote many times in my line of work, starting in basic training, and before every major training exercise.  Every time someone complains about how hard we’re working, this quote (or a variation thereof) is brought out.

It is also applicable to civilians.  You can’t learn when the shit hits the fan; that is when you use what you have learned.

We spend a lot of time pretending to be in combat.  We are often pushed beyond the point that the ship would sink, in order to ensure that we can work with limited resources and under great stress.

If you are a member of a team, you don’t wait until you’re against an opponent before you begin to practice.  Your business doesn’t wait until a trade show to learn their product.  Products aren’t made at the store.

The “sweating in peace” to which Pandit refers is all the preparation and training you do on a day-to-day basis.  The “bleeding in war” is when your training is needed, the competition or trade show, when your product is put along with the competition in the store aisles.

The more you prepare in advance, the less you stress when it counts.

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone complain about slow progress; or ask what’s the point of doing something that has no apparent, immediate effect.

Change and progress take time.  People often forget this, and give up if there is no immediate result.  Of course, this reduces progress from “slow” to “zero”.  Again, something that often isn’t taken into consideration.

Next time your project or task seems to have no effect, ask yourself: Is this truly without effect?  Or is it just moving slower than I can see?  Only after full consideration should you cease your efforts.

When you are tempted to give up, instead redouble your efforts.

Nobody will think you’re somebody if you don’t think so yourself

Recognition of yourself and your qualities begins with yourself.  If you don’t see your qualities, how can you expect anybody else to?

This doesn’t mean that you need to point out everything good about yourself.  Just know that those qualities are there.  The confidence boost will be amazing; people will notice the confidence, which will silently draw their attention to your positive attributes.

Likewise, self-knowledge of your negative attributes (don’t deny that you have them – everybody does) is the first step towards correcting them.  People often say that admission is the first step towards correction, but before admission must come recognition.

Nosce te ipsum.