Category: Gripes

  • Oh the Spam I Receive

    I’m pretty sure we have all become numb to the unsolicited bulk email (aka Spam) we receive. Well, I should qualify that. There are a few dumbasses out there that still click links, still think Microsoft is giving away 400 million dollars, or that some Prince in Uzbeki-beki-stan wants to leave their fortune to a…

  • Your Favorite ‘News’ Site is Likely Just A Shitty Blog

    Ten years ago, your favorite tech-centric site was an online news portal. Meaning, it was run by, edited by, and written by news professionals. Old school journalists and editors, brought up through the system we all know and expect. At some point, that changed for the (much) worse, and very few realize it. If you…

  • You posted the business hours, not me…

    Safeway (@safeway), my local grocery store. A few blocks from home, where I go several times a week. Also the home of my pharmacy, where I spend an inordinate amount of money, including almost $1100.00 yesterday. That is not a typo. Tonight, I get there at 11:47 and find the door closed, even though they…

  • Twitter, the Ultimate Better Business Bureau

    Over the last year, I have learned that Twitter has become the ultimate medium for getting a company’s attention. When you complain about a company and include their @ name, the potential for a lot of people to see it is there. As such, companies have quickly figured out to be very responsive, and very…

  • Invariably, All Good Software Shall Pass

    Countless times, we see software that has promise go away. We get hooked on a new app or new software package, it gets better, we sing its praise. Ultimately, and invariably, at some point the developers take a sharp turn away from sanity. I haven’t upgraded to the latest major version of iTunes because of…

  • Book Review: Kusters Yakuza

    I don’t review books that often, especially not recently. While I read my share, they usually end up as side discussions with friends or a quick comment on Facebook. One topic that has always fascinated me is the Yakuza. I’ve read a variety of books on the subject over the years, including Confessions of a…

  • Why I Don’t Attend the RSA Conference

    For years now, I am asked if I will be at the RSA Conference (RSAC). Invariably, I answer no because I will not subject myself to it, or support the conference in any way. The short answer as to why, is that it is basically the “Comdex” of InfoSec. Overly large, full of flash, and…

  • Subway, the Missing Inch, and Karma

    In case you hadn’t heard, Subway is embroiled in a lawsuit over them serving up 11″ sandwiches, while advertising them to be 12″. While it doesn’t sound like much, those missing inches add up over time. There is also the whole truth in advertising issue. I’ve been going to Subway for a long, long time.…

  • A Curmudgeonly Reply to an Anti-Curmudgeon Rant (in two parts)

    [This was originally published on attrition.org and then republished on Bill Brenner’s blog with permission.] Fri May 27 04:29:16 CDT 2011 Bill Brenner wrote an article titled “Take the word curmudgeon and shove it” in which he makes relatively sweeping statements about the “people in security [that] call themselves curmudgeon”. As one of the long-time security curmudgeons, I…

  • Six Presets and an Itchy Trigger Finger

    Hey radio broadcasters, here is a concise list of things that will make me immediately and instinctively change to another preset radio station: A commercial with an 800 number. Because i know they will repeat it at least three times, and that fast repetition is annoying. Dead air for more than 3 or 4 seconds.…