Bill Brenner

The Feel-Good Complex: A Chronicle of Bad Choices

by Bill Brenner July 20, 2015 Addiction

With all the death and drama in my life recently, I tell people that I regret quitting drinking a few years ago. Few things appeal to me more right now than the sweet buzz a bottle of wine would give me. I have no intention of falling off the wagon. I know where it would take me. But the fact is that I’m desperate to feel good lately. For now, I cling tightly to my vapor pipe….  [Read More]

An Open Letter to Berkeley Breathed

by Bill Brenner July 15, 2015 Lighthearted

Dear Mr. Breathed, I’m thrilled — thrilled! — that you’re bringing back “Bloom County.” I grew up reading your deliciously demented take on life in the 1980s. As a metalhead, my favorite story line was Billy and the Boingers. I loved that Steve Dallas casually decided that forming and managing a band with Opus and Bill the Cat would be more lucrative than defending serial killers. Mood music: When air traffic controllers went on strike and Ronald…  [Read More]

My Kill Switch

by Bill Brenner July 14, 2015 Mental health

For someone accustomed to rising at 4 a.m. on a typical day, getting up at 7 a.m. is a lot like sleeping in. Lately, though, I’ve outdone myself in spades. Some days, I can’t seem to get out of bed before 9 or 10.  I’ve been napping a lot, too. Not just cat naps, but three-hour stretches of being out cold. Mood music: This is what I call my kill switch. During tough times, my body…  [Read More]

It’s Not What You Do for a Living, It’s How You Carry It Forward

by Bill Brenner July 13, 2015 Social Networking

Every job, no matter how lowly it seems, is an opportunity to learn something that’ll come in handy later in life. The other day I was helping someone who wants to pursue a career in information security. He wasn’t sure if he should list some of his past jobs in his profiles because they don’t have anything to do with his preferred industry. I urged him to include everything. Mood music: He’s currently a barista at…  [Read More]

OCD: A Researcher’s Best Friend

by Bill Brenner July 8, 2015 Compulsive behaviors

For all its insidious characteristics, OCD has it’s pluses. For me, one advantage is that when I grow obsessed about something, I research it to the ends of the Earth. Mood music: There’s the musical obsession: I’m currently locked on to all things related to Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. An obsession with the likes of Van Halen, Ozzy, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and more led me to devour every book and album having…  [Read More]

Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys

by Bill Brenner July 7, 2015 Music therapy

Being a metalhead, one would expect me to hate a group like The Beach Boys, yet I’ve played them nonstop for a month now. Mood music: I started taking an interest after seeing a preview for the film Love and Mercy, in which actors Paul Dano and John Cusack play Brian Wilson during two stages of his life — the 1960s and the 1980s. I started playing the whole Beach Boys catalog, particularly the album Pet Sounds, widely…  [Read More]

Thank You All

by Bill Brenner July 1, 2015 Dealing with life

My family is overwhelmed and grateful for the massive outpouring of support and kind words in the wake of Dad’s death. I’ve heard from so many of you on my Facebook timeline, in private messages on Twitter and by phone. Mood music: I’ve written a lot about these final weeks with my father. I hope readers have taken it in the spirit I meant to get across — that while grief and loss is hard, there’s…  [Read More]

Dad Was a Survivor

by Bill Brenner June 29, 2015 Family

Note: This is not Dad’s official obituary — just my tribute to him. Thursday we gathered by Dad’s bedside to say goodbye. He lived for three more days. That was Dad. He was a survivor, tougher than leather and stubborn to the last. Around 3 this afternoon, his journey finally ended. Mood music: The last two months with him were a gift. By the end, nothing was left unsaid. He knew how I felt about him and I knew…  [Read More]

Thanks for Everything, Aunt Marlene

by Bill Brenner June 23, 2015 Family

Marlene Brenner died yesterday at the age of 68. She was my aunt — my father’s younger sister — and I owe her a lot. Mood music: Aunt Marlene was a constant presence in my childhood. With my siblings and grandmother, we’d go on trips to the White Mountains and lakes of New Hampshire. Many a family meal was had at her house in the Point of Pines, Revere, which was a quick walk from…  [Read More]

On Skipping Security Cons

by Bill Brenner June 15, 2015 Infosec

On Twitter last month, friend and fellow infosec professional Marcus Carey suggested industry peers place too much importance on conferences: There is no way these people that speak & appear at every conference should be taken as serious practitioners of their craft. — Marcus J. Carey (@marcusjcarey) May 15, 2015 One can take the tweet several ways. Mood music: Some might say he’s criticizing conference organizers for roping in people who spend all their time…  [Read More]

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