About Sam's Projects

Sam is involved in several projects at any given time.  Some of these projects are paid projects.  Others are open source efforts or pure research.  No matter the motive, each project is aimed at developing a better appreciation and understanding of technology.

SOSEN
In September 2009, Sam volunteered to join the SOSEN web administration team.  Sex Offender Solutions & Education Network (SOSEN) is a non-profit group organized to educate the public, the media, law-enforcement and legislators regarding the facts (based on current research) of sexual abuse.  As a member of the web development team, Sam is focused on site security and site architecture.

XSEO (Extreme SEO)
In 2007 Sam started to experiment with search engine optimization strategies to minimize the cost of improving his website's page rank. The result was an SEO mechanism that has evolved into a project called "Extreme SEO." The core of XSEO is a system of interdependent, geographically separated sites which leverage their combined power to benefit the participating parties. Currently XSEO is in development with a completed prototype in testing as of August 2009.

DeepRecon

In the summer of 2008, Sam started the DeepRecon project with two associates. In summer 2009, DeepRecon was completed. Using this system, it is possible for a technician to perform a quick and comprehensive network site survey. The DeepRecon system consists of a client application the technician installs to his/her laptop which probes a target network for configuration information, devices and other data needed to estimate IT projects. It then uploads this information to a centralized database through a webservice. While version 1.0 of the DeepRecon system can be defeated by security measures (such as VLANS) it is otherwise a comprehensive option that the sponsoring company now uses for enterprise-level site surveys and security audits.

About Sam's Blogs

Unlike most technical professionals, Sam has an in-depth understanding of government, history and politics. Visitors to this site will find a mix of the author's technical as well
as political activities, especially in his two blogs: StandUp! and SMB Network Security.

StandUp! is a blog about Texas Politics and Criminal Justice Issues.  This isn't just a re-hashing of old news, either.  This blog started with Sam's own history from 1994 to 2004 and has covered issues ranging from the constitutional questions surrounding retroactive laws to simpler items like trimming trees near Round Rock power lines.  The blog's title says it all, "StandUp!"  The author firmly believes that a democracy without public participation is self-defeating.  No hypocrit on this point, Sam has testified before the Texas Legislature on issues surrounding sex offender registration laws passed during the 1990's under false pre-text by lawmakers who saw the issue as an easy win for their political careers at a cost of millions of tax dollars.

SMB Network Security is a blog aimed at computer network security in small businesses.  The son of a small business owner, Sam has always loved working with entreprenuers.  Unfortunately as an IT consultant he has seen personally that most small businesses lack effective security around their computer networks.  In July 2009 he set out to conduct a research project to identify the nature, scope and severity of the issue and to write a short article on the subject.  That short article soon spanned 188 pages and was converted into the SMB Network Security blog.  It is a technical article aimed at both small business owners AND their IT consultants.  It addresses failures of the SMB business models and makes significant recommendations to fix the problems.

Two more blogs are in the planning stages.  Check back regularly for more informtion.