Hard to believe the author of this is in his mid twenties. Then again, maybe that’s the perfect perspective before we all end up sucking up and selling out.

“Connections are empowering – they give you power of having a voice as an individual, the power of being able to raise issues, start discussions, and rock the status quo of your industry.  Connections allow you to shape and reshape your field from the ground up and bring forth positive change in the world around you. 

Counter to what you hear from most people, change in an industry is a good thing and is what moves things forward.

Digital mediums of expression allow you the freedom to create a following and carve out a name for yourself in your industry.  In time, if you work hard enough and share your expertise and results publicly you will get noticed.  Let your successes work for you.

Here are a few steps to take to build a name for yourself in your industry and build your personal brand (these are your action items):

Build a network for yourself using a digital communications tool such as a personal, professional blog.

Contribute content to your network frequently to establish a voice and build authority for yourself.  Write passionately and on what you know. Be genuine and take time to personally help others –this is actually one of the most rewarding aspects.

Supplement your personal network by becoming active in services like LinkedIn, Twitter, FriendFeed, etc where you can contribute to the discussion and have a voice.

Do some PR for yourself:  write by-lined articles to trade publications in your field, offer yourself up to reporters as someone to be quoted for articles, contribute to other people’s blogs.

Document all your projects in a private portfolio but ask permission to share them with the world too.  You’d be surprised how open people are to sharing successes on projects you created for them.  Rising waters lift all boats.

Go to industry events, conferences, trade shows, etc.  Speak or present at them if you can.

Be relentless, passionate and never settle for mediocrity in anything.  Never do something or commit to a project you don’t believe in.  Voice your opinions from the start if you think something will be a failure.

Conclusion

In a changing world, staying at the edge, being ultra-connected and carving out your personal brand is incredibly powerful and liberating. 

Building career security, not job security and showcasing your results/expertise is not only empowering, but it’s really a lot of fun.  You will connect with other like-minded, passionate people and help each other with projects, help each other spread ideas and make change in our world. 

It’s the difference between being average and being remarkable.

When people ask me why I take safety as seriously as I do, it’s because simple mistakes kill plenty of good people. Aviation is full of those lessons.

Nineteen years later. If that tragic day never occurred this year Aircrewman Owens, dead at nineteen before he could legally drink in his own country, would have lived twice as long as he did.

Rick Tafoya, Brian Cerino. In the next two years you two would have been twice as old as when you died.

I know Rick and I would be hanging out today – two California boys getting gray hair and talking about the stuff we used to do, maybe watching Eric Sass’ boys playing Little League. We knew each other from Pensacola, maybe also from barracks time in San Diego during the core training for SERE.

Duncan, Cerino’s roommate in Tennessee and my good friend here during training twenty years ago never seemed to be the same afterwards.

Maybe none of us were ever the same. Simple mistakes kill good people and they give out awards for those of us who get OCD about preventing the mistakes that kill and call it a safety program.

Miss you guys. You’re gone but never forgotten.

The Final Patrol by David (Devo) Devarney

Schedule checked
Another all-nighter, dawn patrol
Last beer drunk, hit the rack
Waken, first day of spring
Crew rest, waken again
Grab bag, boots tied
Last pat on the head
Last embrace
Lips touch
Love you, see ‘ya in the morning
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Main gate, ID card flashed
Attend brief, get tapes
Check books, read MAFs
APU started, preflight begins
Buoys loaded, plane fueled
Last geedunk run
Last smoke
Planeside brief, props turning
Chocks pulled
Thumbs up
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Taxi
SET 5, set
Approach end
SET POWER
Brakes released
ON THE ROLL
7000……….…6000….5000…4000
REFUSAL, ROTATE, airborne
GEAR UP
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Left turn, intersect
Woodside VOR
SET 4, set
SET 3, kilo alfa
SET 2, break out the cards
Dinners cooking
DESCENT CHECKLIST
Check in, WE GOT IT
THANKS GUYS, SAFE FLIGHT
On stay
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Spit buoys, BUOYS SWEET
Patience, gain contact
Track, BELOW 1000
LPAs ON, SET 1
SIM ATTACK
DOORS OPEN
STANDBY MAD
MAD…MAD…MAD
WEAPON AWAY, SUS AWAY
Continue tracking
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Relief checks in
TACAN lock, got visual
Swapping altitude
Closing…closing
C O L L I S I O N, F I R E B A L L
E X P L O S I O N
W A T E R I M P A C T
Cold…..dark
Silent
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Wreckage floats, slicks shimmer
No survivors
TAFOYA – CAVUOTO – SMITH
DYER – HEIKKINEN – MCNERNEY
HOGUE – DABBS – CERINO
OWENS – SPOSATO – TISDALE
NEMECEK – CARMODY – HAMILTON
METCALF – REDMOND – WILLIAMSON
CHAIKIN – COX – SHIELDS
BECKNER-¨ GERMEAU – FARQUAHAR
DAVIS – HALL – RICE
Husbands and daddies…..lost
Sons and loved ones….….lost
Friends and shipmates…..lost
Gone…………..…….Forever
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Chaplains visit
Friends console…hug…support
Services, present colors
Reddened eyes
Tears spilt
Sobs choked
Hands held
Backs rubbed
Eulogies and epitaphs
Folded flags
Bowed heads
Supreme sacrifice
Grateful nation
TAPS, guns and bells echo
Flags wave, tears stream
º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º
Searching for answers
Wondering, wondering
Empty beds
Days turn to weeks
Weeks turn to months
Months turn to years
Years pass on
The first decade has arrived
Tears still wet
Memories not faded
Friendships not forgotten
Love never lost
Still on the flight schedule
Still flying, still on-station
Still wearing their Wings of Gold

—–

My Personal Heroes Pt 1

My Personal Heroes Pt 2

So Others May Live | Memorial Day 2008

As some of you have already realized, I’m acting as a Contributing Writer for Securing Our eCity and ESET’s Threat Blog. Most topics are about cybersecurity awareness.

Online Safety

Please Rob Me: Blippy

New Facebook Privacy Controls Arrive on Wednesday

Banking Fraud? Tell me and tell me quick!

Best Facebook Security Setting Infographic: NYTimes

Apple may or may not equal security 

Cybercrime & Cyberwarfare

Carr’s Four Cyber Trends That Must Be Reversed Now

Cyber-crimefighters pwn Carders.cc

Bricking your cell phone: Mayhem on a Massive Scale 

DoD Cyber Command is officially online

Cybercrime: Illegal Seizure Applicable or Not?

Continued Malware Hijinks with Mass Webserver Compromises

Malware Injection Campaign: A Retaliation?

Geek with an edge: Gordon Snow, Asst. Dir. FBI Cyber Division

Antivirus Industry Interests

Library of Congress Acquires Entire Twitter Archive

Laughs: Redefining “Security Researcher”

Cybercrime Legislation Analysis

Debate Heating Up: Cybersecurity Act of 2010 S. 773

Andy Brewer passed away three years ago. I just wanted to put this up here in case anyone wanted to share sea stories about Andy so I can put them up on the main site. Leave a reply with your memories.

I got enough time recently to put an email I received up as a memorial page on the site.Two of Andy’s shipmates in that picture, Dewey Thompson and Keith Poole, were instructors of mine as I went through VS-41. [note: site url is unavailable, hence the repost here]

As a personal note, I met Andy at the 2004 decom ceremony. He may have passed on as a civilian, but he will always be an AW, and his legacy lives on.

Ironically, I first met Andy just a week prior to my son being born in 2004 and they share the same name – Andrew Charles.

Quoted from Knoxville News Sentinel:

Charles A. (Andy) Brewer

BREWER, CHARLES A. (ANDY) – age 43, of Holtsville, California, passed away Sunday, March 25, 2007. He served in the United States Navy 10 years and most recently with Homeland Security as a U.S. Customs Officer.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m all in favor of this concept: 

An electronic portfolio, also known as an e-portfolio or digital portfolio, is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web (also called Webfolio). Such electronic evidence may include inputted text, electronic files, images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks.

E-portfolios are both demonstrations of the user’s abilities and platforms for self-expression, and, if they are online, they can be maintained dynamically over time.

An e-portfolio can be seen as a type of learning record that provides actual evidence of achievement.

What I’ve learned is that more and more the changes of software particularly browser technology can make these obsolete over time. It actually becomes easier to keep a checklist of change management. I have four samples up at any given time – some have been up since 2003.

Interesting note: I met a new neighbor last weekend who needs a Federal contract fulfilled with a relevant accounting training I touched on seven years ago.

Flash and PDF seem to be the containers of choice. They’re always displayable regardless of which browsing technology is used – they all support the industry standard.

Charles Jeter’s ePortfolio links:

Tutorial – Completing Government Cost Accounting System Employee Timesheets (Adobe / Macromedia / Captivate / eHelp RoboDemo 2003)

Help File – Codo Software’s Laser Squad:Nemesis Tactics Guide (RoboHelp X5 FlashHelp, 2002 – 2003)

Rapid eLearning – Collaborative Blogging Overview (Articulate Studio 2009 with elements designed using GlobFX Swiff Chart Pro and Adobe Captivate, 2008)

Effective Curriculum Development – Securing Our eCity (multiple technology for Instructor Led Training, 2009 – 2010, shows results)

Corporate Blogwriting – Blogging in April on the ESET Threatblog (Microsoft Windows Live Writer / WordPress, 2010)

The following is a summary of my posts for April on ESET’s ThreatBlog. The hot topic was cyberwarfare however Facebook and personal privacy received quite a bit of attention, as well as FBI related analysis. If you’re interested you can subscribe to ESET’s Threatblog RSS feed.

Cyberwarfare series:

From Megatons to Megapings: Cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare and Music: It’s All Tempo

Cybercrime and Cyberwarfare: Warnings Unheeded?

Kinetic Warfare vs. Cyberwarfare

Social Networking / Personal Privacy series:

Top Four Privacy Hacks/Tips/Trends Of The Week

Please do not change your password – The Boston Globe

Community Driven Privacy and Facebook: PC / Mac / iPhone Dependent?

FBI Cyber Division Warns About Social Networking

Privacy: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Privacy: Lawsuit Alleges School Used Webcams to Lurk in Students’ Homes

Malware Sector Trends Reporting:

PDFs Exploitable?!? I’m shocked…

Facebook Newbie | Good Practices

SMishing or IMEI Phishing?

European Cybercriminal Gangs Target Middle America SMBs

Apple may or may not equal security

Legal / Criminal Minds:

Senate Bill 773: What it means for Cyber Security and Cybercrime

Spam, Bad Guys, and the Russian FSB

HR 4061: What Three Bucks buys you…

Insider Threat: Malware on your ATM

Is Net Neutrality a legit beef against Senate Bill 773?

FBI Cyber Division Describes Criminal Specialization

Geek with an edge: Gordon Snow, Asst. Dir. FBI Cyber Division

Update: links were broken, now they’re fixed!

1. Disturbing new statistics show that one in three women is unemployed.
2. Disturbing new statistics show that one in three black men is unemployed.
3. Disturbing new statistics show that one in three Hispanics is unemployed.

Is there any sincere doubt that any of these headlines would not result in a million man march, an amendment to the Constitution, or result in California media outlets leading their broadcasts and newspaper front pages with the story?

None of these are true.

• The disturbing new statistic shows that one in three Veterans is unemployed.

I’m shocked and sickened that across the board in America, in all industries, we are not hiring people who not only have led people, they’ve led people in the most life and death circumstances possible.

From Army Times.com this week:

Disturbing new statistics from the Labor Department show that one in three veterans under age 24 is unemployed — and that the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has jumped to 14.7 percent, half again as high as the national employment rate of 9.7 percent.

The March unemployment rate of 30.2 percent for veterans aged 18 to 24 is a big jump from February’s figure of 21.7 percent, although it may be partly the result of a small sample used by the Labor Department in determining unemployment, said Justin Brown, a labor expert for Veterans of Foreign Wars.

No wonder the ‘Greatest Generation’ never talked about their portion of WWII. They’d never get hired.

As far as training, documentation and the ability for project management – hire a vet and you won’t be disappointed. Imagine what your skills would be like if you had spent four to six years constantly rewriting manuals and accomplishing the impossible.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nothing like a little earthquake lasting about 90 seconds to shake up your Easter with the kids. My boys got the chance to experience their first earthquake and didn’t stress it.

Probably helped that we were outside and didn’t have stuff falling down on them. So it sort of didn’t kill our mood.

Some news: KPBS says…

The magnitude 7.2 quake was centered near Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California. The USGS reports it’s the largest earthquake to shake the region in 18 years.

There have been three large aftershocks so far, including one that registered a 5.5 magnitude, and other smaller temblors, USGS said.

We’ll see how things turn out tomorrow. The kicker is what the unseen damage has been – elevators, infrastructure, and so on.

Agile Methodology and New Product Development: Taking a new product idea and turning it into a delivered product is quite challenging and it has lots of unknowns to deal with. Using agile methodology for these projects is desirable but very challenging due to a number of risk factors. Most common risks that are likely to impact a new product development using agile methodology are:

1. Changing core requirements

2. Unknown technical challenges that have not been verified with a prototype

3. Incomplete system architecture

4. Lack of framework for continuous integration

Developer Advisory Services for ISVs : Agile Methodology and New Product Development: Four Key Issues

There’s also Jesse Ezell’s Silverlight thread of research…

Cluetrain Manifesto Taken to the Streets

Check out SeeClickFix, a collaborative Google Maps-based application which takes city reporting to the next level. I see this working its way into the threads of user support just like Twitter has recently, just replace ‘user’ with ‘citizen’. Consumer complaints given transparency to all levels – KISS rule in place.

Simple, easy, point click and type your quick response. In fact, they now have a widget that takes the map embedding part of the problem and makes it easier for Web 2.0 users:

SeeClickFix.com encourages the posting of SeeClickFix maps on blogs and websites.

Great collaboration tool. I’m curious as to what corporate uses this might bring. And here’s a sneak-peak at a new feature on seeclickfix: http://www.seeclickfix.com/feeds.

What types of applications could this work well to address, or what do you see that you would have to counter?