Category: Thoughts
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Why We Must Militarize the Police
… and how they aren’t yet. Like many of you, I have been scrolling through my social media feeds and watching what’s going on in protests all across our country. I have been aghast in horror at brutal injustice, shocking abuse, and unchecked violence. I have been soothed by positive messages of caring and love.…
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Encryption is a Weapon
Defend it with all your might! On May 18th, Attorney General William Barr held a news conference confirming that a Saudi Air Force officer responsible for the December 6th shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola was linked to Al-Qaeda. The shooter, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, managed to kill three sailors and wound ten other personnel before he was killed…
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Observations: Sea Stories
Admiral William McRaven (Ret) shares some insightful lessons learned from his wild life. Admiral William McRaven (Ret) is one of the most fascinating modern-day military leaders. A career Navy SEAL officer, he commanded numerous elite units and performed key roles in critical missions all around the world. Most notoriously, he oversaw the daring Operation NEPTUNE…
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Security and the Art of Motorcycle Safety
Sometimes we learn important lessons from unexpected places. In 2008, I rashly decided to purchase my first motorcycle. Okay, I’ll admit it; it wasn’t really a motorcycle. It was a 49cc motor scooter. As fuel rose over $3 per gallon and I was looking to add a second vehicle to our young family, a four-stroke Honda Ruckus…
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Look for the Helpers
An important lesson on life and resiliency from Fred Rogers. Thanks to Mister Rogers, every time I watch the news, I get a sense of hope for humanity. No matter how awful the tragedy or how terrible the losses, I have pride for our species and take comfort in our future. This is not an…
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Observations: The Checklist Manifesto
Even experts skip or forget important steps. I recently finished reading Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto and thoroughly enjoyed it. Having worked professionally in a field where checklists are a fundamental concept, it was good to have it validated by someone outside of my expertise. He starts by assuming that there are two general types of errors:…
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The Board of Directors
Spirituality and resilience isn’t always about your church. This concept is from the U.S. Air Force’s “Comprehensive Airmen Fitness” resiliency program. My examples and uses are my own. When we come to hard decisions in life, everyone has a variety of techniques to deal with them. One of the most common is to talk to…
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The Legend of Good Security
In addition to good passwords and multi-factor authentication, a robust legend should be a cornerstone of your security practices. In many previous articles, I’ve written about the importance of choosing good passwords and never reusing them. Additionally, adding some form of multi-factor authentication is essential; this adds a token, certificate, or even a temporary number generated by a mobile device to the…
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Observations: David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell explores the David and Goliath trope, revealing that maybe we’ve been learning the wrong lesson. Most of us in Western culture have heard the story of David and Goliath since our early childhoods. It has arisen as a common trope to describe an underdog rising up and obliterating their opponent – and all expectations. Malcolm…
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Hasan Elahi and Your Privacy
Can some of your security measures actually make you more vulnerable? Hasan Elahi is a Professor and Director and the George Mason University School of Art and a fascinating artist in his own right. I’ll forgive you for not knowing who he is; I only learned about him and his art (which “examines issues of…
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Superstars versus Rockstars
Fostering both professional growth and personal growth to build a balanced team. If you’ve read my Top 5: Leadership Books, you already know that my number one is Kim Scott’s Radical Candor. Her overarching thesis is that for and your team to succeed professionally, you must care about each other personally. Doing so allows for a substantially more productive feedback cycle,…
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Recording Your Own Classes (on a Mac)
How do we improve our team from home? Record your own classes! On occasion, I have recorded my own classes for my teammates on effective communication. I had a lot of fun learning how to do it and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to do with a modern laptop in your home.…