Smells Like Teen Spirit
13. August 2010 by Revelator.
More bad news fellow OPSECers…It’s time to face facts here and realize that we are not cool. Not even a little bit. Us OPSECers are just not as cool as the other groups. The Jocks give us wedgies. The Preps shun us the way they shun beggars. The Hipsters don’t even know we exist and The Stoners really just couldn’t care. The Goths distain us much like they distain well…everything else. We actually depress The Emo’s - and that’s saying a lot. Band geeks look down their horns at us and somehow even the poor kids feel pity for us. I haven’t completed my research on this but I’m pretty sure The Skaters, The Gangsters, The Plastics, The Burnouts, The Scenesters, The Drifters, hell - even The Wannabe’s all hate us. I suspect even the Chess Club geeks and the math dweebs would not let us hang out with them at lunch.
So where does that leave us? Where it always has…filling the role of outcast. If you have been in OPSEC for more than three months then you should have at least some inkling about how people have treated us as a group lo these many years.
“Hi folks, I’m your OPSEC Manager and I’m here to give you your annual OPSEC briefing” is generally not followed by cheers, clapping or the wave. Nope; generally it’s rolled eyes and low (mostly) groans. It’s always fun too when being introduced to someone and they casually ask what you do for a living and you say quite proudly - “I’m an OPSEC Manager.” Don’t you hate that glazed look on their face as they try to think of something kind to say instead of what they are thinking which is most likely something like - “What the &%#$ is an opeck manager?” And if you are foolish enough to try to explain exactly what an OPSEC Manager does you can look forward to a simple - “That sounds interesting. Excuse me, I have to uh, you know, uh…go…over, uh there, for a moment.”
Every time MSN pumps out another “Top Ten Jobs” list I eagerly look to see if OPSEC is there and for some unknown reason it never is. I wonder if the fact that hardly anyone in the world knows that we exist is one of the reasons. Or maybe it’s that OPSEC jobs are roughly 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000013% of the total job market - and I ain’t kidding. Cool huh?
Actually not so cool. We’re not gonna get rich doing this and we’re not gonna get much publicity or notoriety as OPSECers which begs the question: Just why the hell are we doing this? I can’t speak for every OPSECer out there but I do it cuz I believe in this thing we call OPSEC. I truly believe that OPSEC can make a difference - that OPSEC can and does save lives. If I didn’t believe that then I couldn’t keep doing it.
It ain’t about being cool or being in the right clique - for me it’s about going home at the end of the day and being proud of what I do and what I’ve done.
To continue the high school theme; 12 years ago OPSEC asked me to the Sadie Hawkins Dance and while we broke up once or twice we’re still going steady. Matter of fact we’re planning a little getaway to DC in September…
Keep the Faith!
Revelator
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
The Sky Is Crying
9. August 2010 by Revelator.
The International Space Station. Hubble. The space shuttle. Astronauts, taikonauts, and cosmonauts. They fly overhead more often than you think. All you need to know is when to look. “Satellite Flybys” turns your Android phone into an indispensable, field-tested satellite watching tool. It tells you when spacecraft are about to appear (with a countdown clock!) and which direction you should face. It also cuts through much confusion. There are tens of thousands of spacecraft and pieces of debris in Earth orbit. “Satellite flybys” tells you only about the most interesting and newsworthy objects. Satellite selections are made by Dr. Tony Phillips of spaceweather.com and the list of tracked objects is updated and changed as things happen in the night sky.
1. A one week look-ahead schedule of flybys.
2. Uses GPS to find your location. Or you can enter it manually.
3. Flyby alarms. You can set an alarm to let you know when a flyby is about to happen.
4. A flyby countdown clock. This really fun feature helps you know *exactly* when to look.
5. Pictures and detailed information on each tracked object.
6. Satellite list updated and maintained by experts.
Note: requires Android 1.6 or higher.
Note: For some reason AndroidZoom keeps reporting that the app is free. The price is $2.99.
Ain’t technology great? Actually this might be one of those times when technology is actually great. Can you see any uses for this handy, dandy app? I took my cool phone swimming with me at my birthday party so I can’t download this app to see which satalittes it may be tracking but I think that might be some pretty interesting information.
I’m not gonna get deep into the implications of such a device - I just wanted to put it out there for you just so you know.
Keep the Faith!
Revelator
The Sky Is Crying - Stevie Ray Vaughn