I’ve always enjoyed coffee, although I haven’t consistently drunk it over the years. I used to drink masses of coffee between the age of 13 and 15, but then I switched over to tea, and I tended to only go through fairly short coffee phases.

Coffee in the UK has a big competitor; Tea. When King Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza in the 1660’s, the princess brought the habit of drinking tea to the court, who would have imagined that it would become so strongly adopted by the British culture.

Tea in Canada is not nearly so popular and instead there is a strong appreciation for coffee.  French and British expeditions began exploring North America in the late 15th century, so maybe they simply missed out on the tea drinking fad, or perhaps they refused to adopt it as a sort of protest to their British ancestry.  Either way, the support for coffee over tea has resulted in a much richer diversity of quality coffee drinks than I ever experienced back in the UK.

I have noticed a few Starbucks in the UK have started offering coffee’s with various syrups and flavours added in, but over all most places just offer either instant junk, an americano, a latte, or a cappuccino. Here however there is a huge range of either hot or iced cappuccinos, latte’s, mocha’s with berries, cream, syrups, nuts, and all sorts of flavours.

For the next six months I’m going to really enjoy drinking all these different coffee drinks, and I’m really gonna miss them when I get to China, which is another tea drinking country.

The photo below is of a caramel almond latte that I am drinking while writing this.  One of the most delicious coffee’s I’ve had so far.

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I’ve been living in Leicester for almost 3 years now. It’s been great! People I’ve met, friendships fostered, course complete, exploring the arts and discovering more of the wonders in life, have contributed to a great chapter in my life, certainly a time to look back on and smile.

I’ve been making a point of savouring every moment with my friends here before I leave for Canada and then, indefinitely China. Baha’u’llah said:

“Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. ”
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 260)

Everyone has their own treasures, their own gems which I’m going to miss, but life goes on and it gladdens me to see everyone moving forward in life.

Some are working, some are moving, some are staying put, committed to nurturing the local community, some are continuing to hone their skills, and some are searching for their path to tread.

I’ve always wanted to travel, travel far that is. I’ve seen a fair bit of Europe (although there is still plenty left to explore) but I’ve been yearning for a long time to see more of the world. To explore new countries, climb new summits, meet new people and become acquainted with their cultures and be of service in their Baha’i communities. It’s time to chase my dreams.

“I live my life a quarter mile at a time. ”
(Vin Diesel – The Fast and the Furious)

I couldn’t resist quoting Mr Diesel, I feel much the same, never really knowing what’s going to happen next. I just try to make the best of it and live one step at a time, trusting in Baha’u’llah (but tying my camel albeit somewhat loosely), and seizing what opportunities I want that come my way.  I like it this way, it’s unpredictable and exciting.

At the moment I’ve been asked to house sit for a lovely sounding lady, and she as a cat! I really miss having a cat, I can’t wait!  I’ve also been presented with the chance of a job at Starbucks in Vernon, the city in Canada I’m going to move to.  I really like the idea of working in a cafe, and Starbucks is awesome.  I wouldn’t say its a life job, but it would certainly be a fun way to keep me alive, go on small trips and save up funds for further adventures in China.  I feel so blessed.  I’ll need to say lots of prayers for thanks.

There’s been so much running through my head to blog about but its 4 am and time to wrap this up.  I went hiking and camping in the Lake District with Paul last week, which is where I am in the picture up top.  More photo’s will be viewable in my photo’s page very shortly.

Time for some rest methinks.

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Thanks to Emily for sharing this quotation on her blog.  I find it so inspiring I thought I would share it on my blog also.

So without further ado, here it is:

You must manifest complete love and affection toward all mankind. Do not exalt yourselves above others, but consider all as your equals, recognizing them as the servants of one God. Know that God is compassionate toward all; therefore, love all from the depths of your hearts, prefer all religionists before yourselves, be filled with love for every race, and be kind toward the people of all nationalities. Never speak disparagingly of others, but praise without distinction. Pollute not your tongues by speaking evil of another. Recognize your enemies as friends, and consider those who wish you evil as the wishers of good. You must not see evil as evil and then compromise with your opinion, for to treat in a smooth, kindly way one whom you consider evil or an enemy is hypocrisy, and this is not worthy or allowable. You must consider your enemies as your friends, look upon your evil-wishers as your well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Act in such a way that your heart may be free from hatred. Let not your heart be offended with anyone. If some one commits an error and wrong toward you, you must instantly forgive him. Do not complain of others. Refrain from reprimanding them, and if you wish to give admonition or advice, let it be offered in such a way that it will not burden the bearer. Turn all your thoughts toward bringing joy to hearts. Beware! Beware! lest ye offend any heart. Assist the world of humanity as much as possible. Be the source of consolation to every sad one, assist every weak one, be helpful to every indigent one, care for every sick one, be the cause of glorification to every lowly one, and shelter those who are overshadowed by fear.

In brief, let each one of you be as a lamp shining forth with the light of the virtues of the world of humanity. Be trustworthy, sincere, affectionate and replete with chastity. Be illumined, be spiritual, be divine, be glorious, be quickened of God, be a Bahá’í.

(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 452)

Quotes from Abdu’l-Baha fill me with such joy, and inspire me to try and do what little I can to live life in such a beautiful way.

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So there I was, sitting on my sofa, surfing the internet, thinking about my life, and what to do with it, thinking about what to pursue and what to strive for excellence in, when I discovered the Ethical Hacker Network.  And more importantly, I discovered some top notch career advice from Don himself, the founder of the Ethical Hacker Network.

He delivered this presentation at a conference in Chicago, and although it’s really career advice for people who are thinking about a career in ethical hacking, there’s an awful lot in there which struck me as good advice for anyone about to embark on a career or who wants to recreate their career.

I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about these things in the slightest.  So less talk from me, go check it out!

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Kiamo’s Security VLOG from Kian Mehrabi on Vimeo.

Edit:  Embed is now working correctly.  yay!

Unfortunatly it’s not embedding properly.  Gotta go to work now so I’ll try and sort it out later.  However You can watch it at vimeo in HD with no problems by clicking on the above link.

Purpose: Explaining computer security threats to users that dont consider themselves hackers or even to be very proficiant with computers.

Inspiration: After writing an article on my blog last night about the Torpig Botnet, I was thinking a lot about the importance of having a culture in which people use there computers securely, with an approach just as second nature as most of us have with regards to physical security, such as locking our doors when we go out.

Good habbits and practices are essential to responsible computer use, but I also think it is a great help if users understand the techniques that black hat hackers use to attack victims.  This begins to develop a good intuition, and builds awareness of things that could be a threat.

If anyone wants to ask questions or comment, please do so on my site, rather than on facebook or vimeo.

Filed under: security by kiamo
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