Today is the twelfth birthday of this notebook.
Following the convention I have established each January, this is a brief reflective post before the year proper begins.
Twelve years
The discipline continues. Twelve years of weekly writing. The cumulative archive is substantial; the underlying habit is deeper than I had imagined; the cumulative trajectory continues.
The cumulative markers as of year-end:
Approximately 550 posts across all categories.
A book, Evolution of DDoS, now over two years in the field.
Hedgehog Security operationally established through the past nine months.
A correspondence network that continues to grow.
A career trajectory that has continued evolving — from DEC technical work to current independent practice. Each transition has expanded the cumulative variety; the cumulative experience supports specific subsequent decisions.
What is changing this year
Three specific things visible at year-start.
Continued Hedgehog growth. Specific subsequent decisions about scaling, specialisation, and direction will be made through 2010. The cumulative pattern through year one informs the year-two trajectory.
Continued threat-landscape evolution. Specific subsequent Conficker variants, specific subsequent breach disclosures, specific subsequent political-cyber events. The trajectory continues.
Continued Windows 7 enterprise deployment. Specific subsequent migration acceleration through 2010 will be operationally significant.
Continued cumulative writing discipline. The notebook continues regardless of operational shifts.
What is the same
The weekly cadence. The British English. The internal links. The calibrated humility discipline.
The quiet enjoyment of starting the year at the keyboard with a fresh notebook page open and a kettle on. After twelve years, this remains genuinely rewarding.
What I want to do this year
Five specific things, marked as predictions to score at year-end.
Continue the weekly cadence. 95%. The discipline is now part of how I think.
Grow Hedgehog client base substantially. 75%. The cumulative referral patterns support continued growth.
Speak at Infosec Europe 2010. 80%. Cumulative practitioner profile and book engagement support specific subsequent invitation.
Attend at least four conferences. 80%.
Substantial subsequent writing project. 55%. Specific cumulative subsequent project to be defined.
A small note on operational rhythm
The cumulative trajectory through the past several years has been operationally substantial. The burnout discipline continues to apply.
For anyone reading this who is in the field: take care of yourselves through the year.
A reflection on twelve years
When I started in 1998 the cumulative trajectory through 2010 was unimaginable. Specific subsequent decisions across years have continued producing cumulative outcomes that current expectations cannot capture.
For practitioners considering similar discipline: the cumulative compounding continues to surprise.
Truly closing
Twelve years on. Fourteen years from when I started a Slackware box that became the foundation of all this work. Fifteen years out of school. The trajectory continues; the cumulative archive grows; the discipline continues.
Thank you for reading. Happy 2010. See you next week.