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Welcome to another SpiceQuest!

In this series, we call out current holidays and give you the chance to earn the monthly SpiceQuest badge!

(Each task can be done at any time. They don’t have to be completed on a certain holiday.)

This month we are celebrating the following holidays:

1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness month, which is one of those consistently high priorities in the IT world. Good thing to celebrate, and also hopefully something to try not to stress over too much.

Related Task: what one thing do you wish the general public knew about cybersecurity?

Alternatively, if you don’t really want to think about cybersecurity right now, October 3rd is Techies Day, encouraging young people to join the technology job ranks. What one piece of advice would you give to a young person dreaming of a career in tech?

2. World Space Week

World Space Week is October 4th through 10th, and this year’s theme is “Space and Sustainability.” It is a week to celebrate science and technology, and it honors the dates of the first human-made earth satellite and the signing of a famous treaty about space. Read more HERE .

Related Task: tell us why you are interested in the study of space… future colonization? the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe?

Alternatively, if you aren’t really into space today, October 4th is also Taco Day. Tell us about your favorite kind of taco.

3. Inbox Zero Day

Inbox Zero Day is celebrated on October 6th, and is a holiday designed to help people learn how to avoid becoming overwhelmed with the incoming barrage of emails. It is a day to learn new inbox strategies like filtering, sorting, and unsubscribing.

Related Task: what advice do you give to your users when they have too much email? What strategies do you put in place for your inbox?

Alternatively, if you don’t want to celebrate email, or you already know you can’t get down to zero, you could celebrate Badger Day instead and submit a badger pic. In fact, if you send in a pic of yourself with any sort of badger, real or fictional, there IS a badge for that. (No photoshopping though.)

4. International Day For Failure

International Day for Failure is October 13th. I know, I know, I can already hear some of you saying “why celebrate failure?” That is a great question, thanks for asking. It’s actually a pretty cool holiday. There are a lot of us with a fear of failure out there, and that results in a lot of people who are scared to take risks and try new things, like starting a business or moving to a new place, etc. This holiday is about recognizing that failure is part of the growth process, and a normal thing that might happen a lot before we achieve ultimate success. So, today let’s remember that failure is okay. We just need to get up, tweak the plan, and try again and we’ll eventually get there. … I mean, as long as we aren’t trying to take over the world or something, like Brain (Pinky and the Brain). In that case, maybe try something new, or start small and just try to take over a small country first. :slight_smile:

Related Task: tell us something positive that failure has taught you.

Alternatively, if failure is too depressing and you just don’t want to talk about it, then today is also Face Your Fears day. Tell us about a fear you have overcome, one that you need to face, or you know… one that you have no intention of facing ever, if you prefer. :slight_smile:

5. Frankenstein Friday

Frankenstein Friday is always on the last friday of October… this year that is the 28th. It is a day to celebrate the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, which was first written as a ghost story, and is often considered to be the first true science fiction story because of the sciency way Frankenstein goes about experimenting and then creating his monster. Also, if you want to celebrate the general mad scientist vibe further, vote in our poll below. :slight_smile:

Related Task: if you were a brilliant, but possibly crazy, scientist, what amazing/insane invention would you work on?

Alternatively, if you don’t find Frankenstein Friday very fun, then another near holiday is on the 29th: Internet Day. You can just tell us something you like about the internet.

Remember to post proof of your completion of each of the quest challenges in the comments below, so that we can post a nice October SpiceQuest badge for you when the SpiceQuest is over. All entries must be posted by October 31, 2022.

Note: As always, all entries are expected to be safe for work.

Feeling nostalgic? Look back on old SpiceQuests HERE .

Who are your favorite fictional mad scientists?
  • Brain
  • Carl A. Rotwang
  • Davros
  • Dexter
  • Dr. Alexander Isaacs
  • Dr. Arnim Zola
  • Dr. Bunsen Honeydew
  • Dr. Clayton Forrester
  • Dr. Emmett Brown
  • Dr. Evil
  • Dr. Faustus
  • Dr. Frank N. Furter
  • Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
  • Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
  • Dr. Henry Jekyll
  • Dr. Henry Wu
  • Dr. Herbert West
  • Dr. Horrible
  • Dr. Jack Griffin
  • Dr. Julius No
  • Dr. Moreau
  • Dr. Otto Octavius
  • Dr. Robert Bruce Banner
  • Dr. Strangelove
  • Dr. Victor Frankenstein
  • Mojo Jojo
  • Norman Osborn
  • Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
  • Professor James Moriarty
  • Professor John Nerdelbaum Frink, Jr
  • Rick Sanchez
  • Seth Brundle
  • Sheldon J. Plankton
  • Syndrome
  • Other, tell us below
0 voters
60 Spice ups
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An impressive list to be sure, my favorite villain though would have to be “The Ultramind”, the greatest evil genius in the history of evil geniuses. Hailing from an 80s radio sketch show called “Frantic Times”, the Ultramind gained his genius after a shipment of fish fell on his head and he had to eat his way out, and as fish is brain food, his brain grew incredibly large. One of his great demonstrations of his mental powers was that he could parallel park a Chrysler Imperial. Radio rules because it requires you to use your imagination, and implausible does not always translate well to visual media, amply demonstrated when “Frantic Times” moved to TV and became “4 on the Floor” which lasted one season.

3 Spice ups
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  1. Stop reusing passwords!

  2. All about that SETI.

  3. Filters, rules and labels/folders. Gotta keep organized.

  4. You can always learn something from your failures.

  5. Teleportation!

4 Spice ups
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  1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The bottom of your keyboard is not secure.

  1. World Space Week

Statistically speaking, it is inconceivable that based on the number of stars, galaxies and planets that random chance created one habitable in the universe and actually put life there. There are intelligent beings out there and that they have not contacted us speaks volumes for their intelligence.

  1. Inbox Zero Day

Delete, delete and delete. Get yourself off meaningless notifications. Do not give your email address to everyone who asks for it.

  1. International Day For Failure

An attempted repair on my wife’s car taught me to leave transmissions to the experts.

  1. Frankenstein Friday

The best part of the internet is the wealth of troubleshooting you find on just about everything in your everyday life. Yes some is insanely dangerous and stupid but leaning from others mistakes can save a lot of time and money.

4 Spice ups
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I will go off the radar, and say Grandpa Munster from the Munster’s original series. More mainstream - Dr. Who, Rodney McKay, Q (STNG)

5 Spice ups
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  1. Advice to young people: Try everything. Networking/Linux/Windows/cloud/data center/coding, try it all to find what you like and don’t like.
  2. Favorite taco: Spiced ground beef, or carne asada.
  3. Email strategy: Implement retention at the organization level to avoid user mailbox bloat.
  4. Failure positive: To fail is to learn, to be challenged and focus on what needs to happen to succeed. You only truly fail when you give up.
  5. Amazing invention: Teleportation. I’d like to see the world on the weekends and stop commuting in a car to work.
3 Spice ups
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  1. Never use the same P@ssW0rd
  2. Some1 mentioned it already, and i remembered i used my computer in the SETI(you could let them borrow your resources for calculations)
  3. Rules and flags (if you use a mail program) / labels in gmail
  4. Even if You fail, You learn something, just dont give up.
  5. Perpetum mobile because no1 build it yet.
4 Spice ups
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1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Related Task: what one thing do you wish the general public knew about cybersecurity?

A bit of common sense, a lot of scams/phishing etc are quite easy to spot if you look at it objectively.

2. World Space Week

Related Task: tell us why you are interested in the study of space… future colonization? the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe?

We aren’t alone in the universe, that much is almost certain. I’ve always had a fascination for the extra-terrestrial. If I had my time again, I’d love to work in this field.

3. Inbox Zero Day

Related Task: what advice do you give to your users when they have too much email? What strategies do you put in place for your inbox?

CTRL-A, Delete. I barely use my email account, all our jobs are in person/logged on helpdesk.

4. International Day For Failure

Related Task: tell us something positive that failure has taught you.

That failure is a normal part of life. The challenge is how you face it/beat it.

5. Frankenstein Friday

Related Task: if you were a brilliant, but possibly crazy, scientist, what amazing/insane invention would you work on?

Battery-powered cars. Oh, wait

3 Spice ups
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Alternatively, if you don’t want to celebrate email, or you already know you can’t get down to zero, you could celebrate Badger Day instead and submit a badger pic. In fact, if you send in a pic of yourself with any sort of badger, real or fictional, there IS a badge for that. (No photoshopping though.)

It’s nice to see the badger badge being offered again, one of the better profile awards out there.

2 Spice ups
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The one thing i learnt from @rhummel ​

“Failure may cost your company money. But never sack someone for that, if you do, you will have just given another company experience worth the same amount as the value of the failure.”

Such a brilliant way to think and very true.

8 Spice ups
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  1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Email is not encrypted. Stop emailing passwords.

  1. World Space Week

I like stargazing. Seeing the photos from Hubble and Webb telescopes, I am inspired by what God is capable of creating.

  1. Inbox Zero Day

I show users how to categorize email in sub-folders. I also have been known to dial up the spam filter to help reduce the email flow.

  1. International Day For Failure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0bsKc4tiuY - because not all things that fail are failures.

  1. Frankenstein Friday

The Internet is a great way to lose oneself in research. I do miss a good card catalog and library, though.

4 Spice ups
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1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Related Task: what one thing do you wish the general public knew about cybersecurity?

Biometrics are not a valid authentication method - they should only be used for identification. Biometrics should only be used as any alternative to usernames, not as an alternative to passwords.

2. World Space Week

Related Task: tell us why you are interested in the study of space… future colonization? the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe?

The universe is full of beauty … a small amount of which has been photographically captured by the HST (and maybr JWST).

3. Inbox Zero Day

Related Task: what advice do you give to your users when they have too much email? What strategies do you put in place for your inbox?

Alternatively, if you don’t want to celebrate email, or you already know you can’t get down to zero, you could celebrate Badger Day instead and submit a badger pic. In fact, if you send in a pic of yourself with any sort of badger, real or fictional, there IS a badge for that. (No photoshopping though.)

I don’t feel like talking about my appalling success in zeroing my main inboxes, and I already have the badgers badge, so I’ll just put this here …

4. International Day For Failure

Related Task: tell us something positive that failure has taught you.

In the words of Adam Savage, “Failure is always an option!”

As the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, well … so much for sky-diving!” Oops! I mean “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again.” - It’s not about how many times you fall down, it’s about how many times you get back up again. You never truely fail until you give up.

5. Frankenstein Friday

Related Task: if you were a brilliant, but possibly crazy, scientist, what amazing/insane invention would you work on?

Umm … a “zero-gravity” bed - a bed where no (apparent) pressure gets put on any part of your body, thereby reducing discomfort, and eliminating bed sores for the bed-ridden.

Thank you, thank you … I’ll await my Nobel Peace Prize for improving sleep, reducing stress, and making a leap towards global peace!

4 Spice ups
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1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The biggest companies that you trust with your information the most have probably had the most leaks.

2. World Space Week

I’m less interested in what we can go to, and more in what we could bring back. For all we know, there is a rock out in space that releases the opposite of pollution and cleans the atmosphere.

3. Inbox Zero Day

There is a huge amount of power in ignoring a problem until you no longer consider it a problem.

4. International Day For Failure

We have a lot of positive failures in my line of work. I’m in charge of a team who securely erase old hardware for various companies, and sometimes with really obscure kit, there’s nothing more satisfying than finding erasure is impossible and you can finally fail the unit and not waste more time on it.

5. Frankenstein Friday

Not exactly insane, but more too depressing and harmful to do. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of a group of children being raised from birth by mutes. Still given food and shelter, still played with and loved, but never spoken to. Just to study what pseudo-language they develop among themselves. Someone did a similar experiment a couple of centuries ago, with the belief that they would end up speaking the divine language the angels used, but they did a crap job of actually keeping notes of what the children ended up saying.

3 Spice ups
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Ummm… sorry to disagree with you, @chivo243 ​, but I’m going to say that none of those “mainstream” 3 are mad scientists.

  • The Doctor may describe himself as “a madman in a box”, and he may have extensive scientific knowledge, but he’s not a scientist … so he can’t be a mad scientist.
  • Dr. Rodney McKay is a scientist, and a self-proclaimed genius (and he is/was a genius … but don’t tell him I said so, his head is big enough already), but he’s not a mad scientist in the deranged sense … though he did get upset at times.
  • Q, any of the Q, but most notably the one played by John de Lancie, may or may not be insane, but I don’t think any of the members of the Q Continuum were scientists, and definitely not Picard and Janeway’s “favourite” Q. Therefore, again, not a mad scientist.
3 Spice ups
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Amen!

  1. International Day For Failure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0bsKc4tiuY - because not all things that fail are failures.

Linking a Simone Giertz video should be an immediate 10 spice ups! She is gold!

@tereciaburgess5729

1 Spice up
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  1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month
    Responsibility for cybersecurity belongs to ALL users. I just dealt with a ticket this morning where someone responded to an email from external that had four red flags on it.

  2. World Space Week
    Any kind of taco is a good taco.

  3. Inbox Zero Day
    I take some time at least once a week to move emails that I’ve dealt with into sub folders (if I haven’t already). All that remains in my inbox are items that require attention.

  4. International Day For Failure
    You don’t learn much from success, but you’ll always remember what NOT to do after a failure.

  5. Frankenstein Friday
    You can find a lot of comradery on the Internet where you can not only offer advice, but find advice for a problem you are working on.

3 Spice ups
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  1. Much to many people’s dismay SETI@home went into Hibernation 3/4/2020…

Cybersecurity Awareness Month:

THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK!

Related Task:

THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK!

World Space Week:

“A universe that is unknowable is no fit place for a thinking being. The ideal universe for us is one very much like the universe we inhabit.” – Carl Sagan

Inbox Zero Day:

I got my inbox down to 15 once.

International Day For Failure:

Years ago, I bricked a Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switch doing a firmware upgrade. I recovered, but I removed from upgrade duty for a while.

Frankenstein Friday

‘What do we want? TIME TRAVEL! When do we want it? It’s irrelevant!”

Young Dr. Frankenstein, “It’s Pronounced Frankensteen”

Dr. Frank-N-Furter, “I’m just a sweet transvestite, from Transexual, TRANSYLVNIA!”

@kevinmcox

2 Spice ups
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My favorite Spice Badge and Month! Octobers are awesome. Is it because my Birthday is this month? hmmmmmm coincidence? lol
On to the challenge!

  1. Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Related Task: what one thing do you wish the general public knew about cybersecurity?

I wish they knew that if they didn’t ask for a text, phone call or email then 99.99% it’s not legit.

  1. World Space Week

Related Task: tell us why you are interested in the study of space… future colonization? the search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe?

I think challenging the human race is important. What can we learn, what can we do? How far can we travel? Within all moral and ethical guidelines of course.

  1. Inbox Zero Day

Related Task: what advice do you give to your users when they have too much email? What strategies do you put in place for your inbox?

Use rules. Move to various folders and then in one fail swoop you can purge. I have this awesome rule for my work email. All external email goes to one folder. I do a quick check for something that might be legit and purge the rest.

  1. International Day For Failure

Related Task: tell us something positive that failure has taught you.

I failed by telling my previous employer where I was going to go work. The positive is that I’ll never do that again. Never tell anyone you work with where you might be working after you leave. Never trust employers to do the right thing. I might be jaded but they really don’t care about you. You are simply a number to them. How much do they pay you and can they pay someone cheaper for what you do. /rant over :slight_smile:

  1. Frankenstein Friday

Related Task: if you were a brilliant, but possibly crazy, scientist, what amazing/insane invention would you work on?

I am going to go with The Matrix. How they were able to download abilities. Ride a chopper, fly a helicopter, learn a language, etc etc.

That would be very cool.

Thanks for always coming up with cool subjects for these Monthly Challenges. @suzanne-spiceworks ​

3 Spice ups
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Thanks for thinking they are cool. :slight_smile:

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  1. I wish common sense didn’t seem to be a superpower when it comes to IT. I still get people saying they want to just use password as their passwords (used on multiple sites, of course) with no 2FA.

  2. I think what got me interested in space is the movie Apollo 13 coming out at the perfect time when I was growing up. I still remember a lot of that movie word for word. Makes me happy that my daughter is also interested in space, but where I wanted to go to the moon, she wants Mars.

  3. Just give up, it never ends. There have been days where I would have to spend the whole day filing the emails away.

  4. See number 3. In seriousness, my friend’s failure to check that he turned the correct circuit off before doing electrical work taught me to always double check so you don’t get shot across the room.

  5. A cure for the common stupid (see answer 1).

For the scientists, I would like to add the following since you have Doc Brown on there. Dr. Abraham Erskine, yes he made Captain America, but his serum also made Red Skull. Tony Stark could also be considered a “mad scientist” in my opinion when he is self destructive.

3 Spice ups