Stay home and don't give...

I've been wondering why I haven't been as dedicated a blogger as I should be and I have come to the conclusion that the entire premise for my blogging was flawed from the get go. I was blogging not for myself but for some imagined audience out there.

Well that audience hasn't materialized but more importantly I don't care anymore. I'm blogging now for myself just for the knowledge that my thoughts have been in some way added to the zeitgeist of the Internet. I am still committed as ever to helping people secure information.

Through my writing and experiences this year I have come to the conclusion that information is more important than the systems that process it. This is not to say that those systems are irrelevant as the symbiosis that is in play can not be ignored.

It is critical that we refocus on the information (data) in our lives. Where that information rests, when it is in motion, and what controls are in place to manage that information. I can put my dog in front of a door with my laptop running without a password and a open file with all my passwords on the screen.

But just as if a tree fell on a Mime the question comes down to "Does anyone care?".
I see every day, and sadly too often from people who should know better, that we just don't see shades of gray, we are those shades.

I've said before how human beings want simple easy answers because we are all essentially 8 years old and want to feel protected. The truth I have accepted is that we will never be 8 years old again and we will always be vulnerable. There will never be simple answers to questions of the control of information. So please stop being FRACKING fixated on the shinny box and look at the contents (data) in the box for FRAKS SAKE!!! Then look at the boxes around your shinny box and ask yourself if your shinny box fits inside any of the other shinny boxes and go from there!

So as we close out 2007 I would like to fire off a few parting shots.

The first is a request...

Please don't do your holiday shopping at work. I can't believe that you have the balls let alone the time to sit there and pretend to work when you are on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Victoria Secret when you should be getting what ever it is your being paid to do done!

For that matter don't shop! Drag your lazy family (or your own @ss) down to a local reputable charity and give your time. Forget money, though I am sure that the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or other worthy charity would happily take your money, as time is often more important than any amount of money you can give.

I'll go on record as saying I hate what Christmas is today in North America. (Remember Christmas is not observed the same way in different parts of the world so I am not opposed to Christmas just the way it is observed.)

So stay home spending time with your family and don't give to your family but to your fellow human who doesn't have a warm place to stay.