Cruising at 30k feet

So this is my first blog post since finishing my Masters program when I actually have time to stop and think...about what I think...rather than what the professor needs to hear to give me a good grade. Not that my emerging tech blog was that but certainly a lot of the other writing I was doing was and to be honest, I did not spend much time on the blogs....just enough time to realize that hey, I rather like rambling on about my thoughts on things and certainly not something I get to do in my writing for work.
I plan to have a couple blogs actually. This one where I get a bit more into things from my perspective and not always about tech and then one I will start in the coming weeks on the CERT/CC page but that will have a tech and the politics around cyber security as my main focus. So stand by for more on that.
I am sitting here, on a plane, thinking how freaking cool it is that I can write a blog, stay up on Twitter, and send work emails all while I am trapped in this small confined space for four hours. I did not feel like craining my neck and squinting to try to see the blurry screen hanging from the ceiling three rows up from me so I decided to throw on some tunes at full volume and start typing. I do think the technological advances that have been made to allow us to stay connected in flight are amazing....now if they can just come to the realization that me reading my ebook on my iPad or playing some Angry Birds and rocking out to Linkin Park so I cannot hear the screaming child behind me is not going to take down the plane or prevent us from taking off...baby steps I guess.
So, as I turned off all my electronic devices (flight sttendant kindly reminding us mere mortals what an electronic device is....really...something with an on/off switch...if it has a battery? I mean come on), I pull out the old fashion method of reading...yes, actual paper (my hands covered with the paper cuts to prove how I have fallen out of practice in handling those dangerous weapons). At least I had the forethought to bring something to read.
At this point in a flight, I pull out the rags to find out what is going on in the lives of all my favorite stars' lives - I mean how many babies is Angelina going to have? Are Jen and Brad getting back together? Is Lindsey Lohan in jail, rehab, or fighting with her girlfriend again? You know, the important stuff. This time though, I pull out the DHS "Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future". WHAT?!? Who am I? What has school done to me? I am supposed to be on vacation but I am just compelled to read it! I have to know what the roadmap for the way forward is...the gears in my head start churning....how can I help make this happen? What is my role in the success of this?
So many questions to ask and answer but all I know is I want to be a part of it because I am on a plane, tweeting, working, and blogging. That means I am connected which means I am also vulnerable. There are bad guys out there that want to take advantage of our advancement...I want to do what I can to stop them so that the next time I fly, maybe I can avoid all these damn paper cuts.
Check out the Blueprint at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nppd/blueprint-for-a-secure-cyber-future.pdf.