Political discourse

I Don’t Care About Your Bra Color, Where You Put Your Purse Or Where You’re Going for 15 Months

by Bill Brenner January 17, 2012 Communication Skills

I’m all for raising awareness. Cancer. Mental Illness. People understand little about these and other maladies. But telling us your bra color isn’t going to help. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen these awareness campaigns where women throw some cryptic message on their Facebook pages. One time it was listing a color. Another time it was where they put their purse. The message would be something suggestive like this: “I like it on…  [Read More]

SOPA Shelved, But Fight Not Over

by Bill Brenner January 16, 2012 Political discourse

You might remember my warning about SOPA and the Protect IP ACT, legislation that as written would lead to massive censorship on the Internet. Today there’s some good news. Mood music: It appears SOPA is headed for the shelf due to the rising tide of opposition. Details on the site where I do my day job, CSOonline. I also wrote a post warning people that this isn’t over by a long shot. We’re working on…  [Read More]

Never Have I Cared So Little About The N.H. Primary

by Bill Brenner January 10, 2012 Political discourse

I used to be a political junkie, getting my fix under the delusion that the fate of the world rested on the outcome on an election. I was particularly obsessed about the N.H. primary. Mood music: With the 2012 N.H. primary taking place today, I must confess: Never have I cared so little or felt so unrepresented. But this isn’t a post about gloom and doom or the fall of America. It’s simply about the…  [Read More]

Regarding Mike Dahn And The BSides Controversy

by Bill Brenner December 23, 2011 Communication Skills

This is really an issue for my security blog, but this week’s blow-up over alleged mismanagement of Security B-Sides connects with me on a personal level best expressed here. Mood music: A couple days ago, a Security Errata article appeared detailing financial mismanagement of the Security B-Sides events. It singled out Mike Dahn, one of BSides’ founders, for mismanaging things and lying about it. Dahn published a response in his blog yesterday. I’ll let the…  [Read More]

THE OCD DIARIES, Two Years Later

by Bill Brenner December 7, 2011 Addiction

Two years ago today, in a moment of Christmas-induced depression, I started this blog. I meant for it to be a place where I could go and spill out the insanity in my head so I could carry on with life. In short order, it snowballed into much more than that. Mood music: http://youtu.be/IKpEoRlcHfA About a year into my recovery from serious mental illness and addiction — the most uncool, unglamorous addiction at that — I started…  [Read More]

Pepperspray, Waffle Makers And Other Black Friday Stupidity

by Bill Brenner November 26, 2011 Communication Skills

This post is all about the folks who make it hard for me to keep my faith in humanity. Consider it a momentary indulgence where I give thanks that for all my screw ups, I don’t behave like this. I spend a lot of time in this blog looking at the brighter side of human nature — examples of people rising above the odds and living to the fullest despite the hand they’ve been dealt….  [Read More]

Thankful Friday

by Bill Brenner November 25, 2011 Faith

I have much to be thankful for this morning after Thanksgiving. A list: Mood music: –Erin’s Uncle David, for letting me take his vintage car for a spin around the block. —Erin, Sean and Duncan, simply for being who they are. –My sister Stacey, husband Sean and niece and nephew Lilly and Chase, for inviting us into their home for an excellent Thanksgiving dinner. –My brother Brian, for cooking. –My kid sister Shira, for her…  [Read More]

Here’s To The Forgiving Souls

by Bill Brenner November 22, 2011 Communication Skills

A friend of mine was taken aback yesterday when I used a text she sent me in a post. I thought it would be OK because I was keeping her identity a secret. But in hindsight, I should have asked first. That’s the challenge with a blog like this. I need to take things right to the danger line to make points I feel need making. But sometimes I step over that line. I’ve worked…  [Read More]

A Lesson From Gabby Giffords

by Bill Brenner November 18, 2011 Coping tools

I recently watched Diane Sawyer’s interview with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly. To say I was moved would be an understatement. Hers is the story of a spirited fight back from near death. If you ever get the feeling you can’t do something or overcome big challenges, you should watch this. It will show you that nothing is too big to overcome. http://youtu.be/VOZgta88L5A

We Can’t Allow The US Stop Online Piracy Act To Become Law

by Bill Brenner November 17, 2011 Political discourse

I don’t like using this blog to make political stands. But one look at the legislative swill known as the PROTECT IP Act in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and I knew I had to speak up. Mood music: I laid out the security risks in my Salted Hash security blog on CSOonline.com. But this is about a lot more than Internet security. Mashable posted an infographic that describes the…  [Read More]

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