Paul McCormack’s Web Site

E-mail is great, but it has many problems. Did you know that it is very easy to send messages that appear to be from other people? Spammers do this all the time in an effort to encourage you to open their mail. The big problem with e-mail is the absolute lack of security.

There are two parts to security - authentication and encryption:

Authentication is checking that the message is really from the person that it claims to be from. Was is really your bank that sent you that message about your account being suspended?

Encryption is scrambling the message contents so that it cannot be read in transit. This is often compared to the postcard vs. sealed envelope for mail.

The problem with securing e-mail is that it relies on both parties having the desire and the software in order to participate. I cannot simply send an encrypted e-mail to my accountant if she does not have compatible software - and I would need her credentials (public key) in advance. Read more…

Finally, after many months of tiring work, the nursery is complete and ready for the little one to arrive. We completed the painting last weekend and added the finishing touches on Sunday. We didn’t finish until late on Sunday night, so we’re pretty broken today, but the euphoria of completing it is keeping us going!

Not being satisfied with just a lick of paint, I started by ripping out and rebuilding the window frame. The old window sill was badly warped and anything placed on it would simply slide off!

After that, I ripped up the carpet and pulled off the skirting boards so that I could lay a new laminate floor. I then realised that the wardrobe frame was not fitted very well, so proceeded to rebuild that and re-wire the electric socket on the landing to hide the wire on the inside of the wardrobe.

There was a fair bit of damage from my enthusiasm with the crowbar (that’s a crowbie to Aussies) so I had to patch up the walls before we could even think about painting. Debs had seen a photo of a striped wall in a magazine, so the trusty laser level came in very useful marking up the wall.

Photos of the end result are on the Humblebee web site here.

Debs went bargain hunting on Monday and bought the final items that we needed. Just little things like the car seat, rocking cradle and baby bath! She bagged some great bargains, so we’re all set for the arrival. The due date is 3rd July, but Deborah has been suffering with a painful unstable pelvis which may get worse as the baby grows to full term, so she may be induced up to two weeks early to ease the pain.

You can be sure that any news will be published here as soon as possible, so stay tuned!