Left Flank

Really, I've had computer problems! Again!

About a week ago, my Firefox 2 browser started acted peculiarly. So, I actually flirted with Flock, which has advanced through a few more upgrades since I last encountered it. I gave Flock a decent courtship, but I missed Firefox. I have finally now corrected whatever went haywire, and all is well again.

Classes at Dong-A University also started two weeks ago, and it took a few days to adjust to that. I have a heavier teaching schedule compared to the last four years, including 3 classes marked as OT.

Finally, my own graduate classes start tomorrow. I've been excited before, but this is the last term. I honestly expect good things to come, even considering the past Internet problems. I'm taking IR 6601, Research Methods, in which I hope I can complete a project on the relationship between environmental catastrophes and civil war. Also, I'm taking IR 6633, Developed and Developing Nations. I'm excited because we're reading Immanuel Wallerstein, and discussing world-systems analysis. One of the IR traits I've picked up since my undergrad days was a a predilection for systemic perspectives over cultural and social ones. It's all very fitting, linking undergraduate IR to graduate IR.

So, my book reading will bloat considerably over periodicals. Fortunately, my PDA is well-stocked with e-books, so I still read most of my "pleasurable" reading on buses and subways to and from work, and between classes.

I have a feeling this term will affect this blog immeasurably.

I'm continually flabbergasted by expatriates and non-foreign publications assenting uncritically to the twaddle, that ROK has fast internet service, or is "connected", etc. I've often had problems with my broadband service, although my service representative eventually corrects them, usually by changing modems. Recently, I lost access to my graduate school.

I quote from a network administrator's email at Troy:

A block for network space 121.128.0.1 - 121.191.255.254 was implemented by the University on 21 January 2008, due to a security violation as described in the University Security Policy.  After attempting to contact administrators at (ISP), and not receiving any responses within the required time frame, we implemented a block for their network space that I have listed above.  These attacks occurred on 16 January 2008.  Also, in the last 24 hours there have been 2628 attempts to bypass security measures from the above listed network.

Obviously, this block was not conducive to online study or registration. My ISP again changed my modem, and my IP address, and access was restored. In the process of trying to restore access, I had sent both Troy and my ISP each others' contact information. I hoped this whole security block situation would be rectified. Today, unfortunately, I received the bad news.

Absolutely no response of the delivery receipt or response to the issue cited.

As I mentioned previously, your interaction as a customer is the sole reason they assisted you.  We manage a research facility for cybercrime, and, statistically speaking, less than 5% of these issues are resolved in the international arena.  Initially, we believed that a language barrier may have been an issue, so, we submitted the problem tickets in the native language.  The response rate did not increase as a result.

For what it's worth, we submit the blocked networks and activity to an array of monitoring services - the networks were already listed on SPAM and PHISHING lists.

I appreciate your continued persistence and willingness to assist with a resolution.

Hopefully, I can finish my studies before the next incident.