Back From Southern California

Jesus.

I don't take the Man's name lightly but I've never been through anything like I've been through over the last week.

I arrived in Southern California to attend a training class on an access control platform. I've worked on various card access systems before, but nothing like this one.

Everything you need to know about this thing, all the modules, software, programming, nomenclature, jargon, lab time was crammed into one freaking week. Immediately followed by a pass / no-pass exam for certification. Yes, the class ran up until noon on Friday, and it was immediately followed by the exam.

If you do not have certification you can't work on this stuff. Well, you can, but it's like buying a new Bugatti Veyron and taking it apart in your garage. Then calling Bugatti and expecting their factory tech support to walk you through putting it back together. The guys here ask for your cert number as soon as you call, if you don't have one, adios Paco.

This stuff is in use by the Feds and some serious international businesses. If you screw up, you can really cause a lot of headaches for people.

Now imagine being sick through the whole damn thing. I'm not talking about having the sniffles. In retrospect, I was probably stupid not to have gone to the ER while I was down there. (yes, I was that sick. The instructor confided after the test that he was surprised I did as well as I did on the exam) I'm probably stupid for not going to see a doctor now, but what the hell for? I'm damn near over the thing.

Anyway, I'm still healing and I won't be posting much for probably the next week. All I want to do is sleep.

If your curious about what I was trained on: C.Cure 800/8000 While you're there check out the iStarEX controller. Supports FIPS 140.2 "dark mode" right out of the box. If you're wondering what that means, it means you can't see any network traffic from these controllers. They're invisible to packet sniffers.