Untimely meditations
One man's thoughts, observations and rants
Welcome to the personal blog of Joop Beris. I blog about a wide variety of topics, ranging from atheism to information security and lots in between. I welcome feedback on my articles but there are some guidelines. Feel free to share articles you like by using the sharing buttons but please give me credit if you want to share something. Also, check out my privacy policy and other legalese.
Please note that the things I write here do not represent the views of anyone else but me. I do not represent an organization or a business and I have nothing to sell. My views do not necessarily coincide with or represent those of my employer. Just throwing that in there for legal reasons.
Below you’ll find the most recent things I’ve written. Feel free to check them out, leave a comment and share them with others who might be interested.
Latest posts
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Organizing and managing your photos
Do you remember what shoe boxes were for a long time ago? For those of you too young to remember, let me explain. Long after the shoes that had come in the box were thrown away, the box was kept for storing copies of printed photos. The idea was that those photos would eventually be…
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Faith is not a pathway to truth
When engaged in a discussion with religious people there often comes a point where your interlocutor says: “If you only had faith then you’d know my beliefs are true”. If they are Christian, they may quote Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Unfortunately for…
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How to be a freethinker
In 1637, René Descartes published his work Discourse on the Method. In this work, Descartes discusses philosophical skepticism, doubting everything until arriving at truth which he considers to be so self evident as to be beyond discussion. This tome is the source of what is perhaps the most famous philosophical statement ever made: “Cogito, ergo…
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I hate Microsoft Word
It’s true, I’m no fan of Microsoft. Perhaps it’s the tactics they use to do business. Certainly it’s the invasion of user privacy they perpetrate with Windows 10 and their Office products. It was their insistence that a server needs a graphical interface. It’s absolutely the multitude of vulnerabilities in their software. As a private…
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Nostril-cam
It’s an odd time, this corona pandemic. In developed nations such as the Netherlands, we are suddenly discovering that we didn’t need all those shiny office buildings after all. Thanks to our broadband internet infrastructure, we are videoconferencing the hell out of everything. Unfortunately, it also puts some annoying design decisions into the spotlight.
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10 ways management fails at cybersecurity
There are few things as important in cybersecurity as the involvement of upper management. If the C level executives aren’t involved or don’t see the point, no cybersecurity strategy will be successful. Here are 10 ways management fails at cybersecurity and what you as a security professional can do to address them.
Recent comments
I have a question. I believe life is valuable because you have a soul and are a unique person, precious.…
I used to believe in god until my life went downhill. Your reasons are actually good.
Joop, Hope you are well. It is amazing to me the gullibility of people. How can educated people believe in…
Those analogies don’t hold up, I’m afraid. Like marriage or choosing to have children. Or moving to someplace new because…
“What can be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence.”
Christopher Hitchens
Author and journalist
You seem to have multiple questions but let’s take them one at a time, shall we? I believe life is…