Rachel Wente-Chaney
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rachelwente.com
Rachel Wente-Chaney
@rachelwente.com
320 followers 130 following 570 posts
Skeptic. CIO. Central Oregon.

Interested in the security, access, mobility, usability, and history of information.

https://rachelwente.com
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rachelwente.com
Agree. The survivor remembrances carry an extra weight somehow.

Last year, I was finally able to find a used copy of Gitta Sereny’s The German Trauma.

It is a remarkable study. Adding a few pages here, related to your comment. I’ll bring it to you next time you’re out this way. (Or me back east.)
The cover of the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny. A photo of page 139 in the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny. A photo of page 263 in the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny. A photo of page 28 in the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny.
December 29, 2025 at 7:43 AM
rachelwente.com
AI reminders this evening on distinction between language and understanding.

1. Raye’s adorable post with her grandma, that “AI” gets so wrong.

2. Annual Christmas “Desk Set” viewing. I cackle by the time Hepburn gets to “Basil Underwood must die.”

Desk Set, especially, is extra relevant rn.
A screenshot from the artist Raye’s Instagram showing a post with her and her grandma dancing to the song “Where is my husband ?” I added a yellow arrow and disguise emoji pointing to the AI “see more” which incorrectly summarizes “funny family reactions to husband's return.” A screenshot of the Instagram AI explanation of Raye’s post from the first photo. Full text of the explanation: funny family reactions to husband's return The user's query is likely referring to a heartwarming or humorous family reunion scenario, possibly inspired by a popular social media trend or a specific video featuring a husband's return home. Funny family reactions to a husband's return can be priceless. Here are some possible scenarios: • The kids' excited screams and jumping up and down when they see their dad walk through the door. • The wife's sassy or surprised reaction when her husband unexpectedly appears in the kitchen or living room. • The family's comedic arguments or teasing that ensue when the husband returns home with gifts or treats. • The kids' pretend indifference or cool demeanor, which often turns into uncontrollable excitement when they see their dad. These moments are often captured in videos and shared on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, bringing joy and laughter to viewers. Katharine Hepburn sitting at a desk with a rotary-dial phone at her ear, with closed captions of “Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight” She was reciting the poem “Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight.” A still from the 1957 movie Desk Set of Spencer Tracy’s character saying “THE HUMAN ELEMENT--ENTIRELY UNPREDICTABLE” after having to shut down the large research computer built to replace some human work overheats at a few simple human queries.
December 26, 2025 at 7:03 AM
rachelwente.com
Thought of you when I saw this.
Screenshot of a social media post by @KeenanWomack that reads: Thanksgiving conversation topics - Israel Palestine - The election - Gender - reproductive rights - Texas/A&M game (risky)
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 AM
rachelwente.com
Photo of a young man in a dapper outfit, wearing a fedora hat, and holding an umbrella, standing near police leaning against their car at The Louvre.
November 11, 2025 at 11:50 PM
rachelwente.com
I got the chance this week to listen to and reconnect with my primary cybersecurity role model, @tarah.org. Tarah, your incisive and holistic views on risk continue to be a model for us all. And the delivery was perfect. Grateful for your continued work and leadership in this tiring domain.
Tarah Wheeler speaking on the stage. Tarah, me, and a colleague standing in front of the stage with the event banner for Oregon Public Sector Cybersecurity Summit in the background.
September 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
rachelwente.com
two young goats in green pasture two chickens in a coop
September 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM
rachelwente.com
Normally St Jude. And…I’ve recently been subbing in Ruth and Keanu, for reasons. (With apologies for the sacrilege.)
August 30, 2025 at 7:34 AM
rachelwente.com
And I asked Socrates and Phaedrus and Plato and King Thamus, who concurred (a bit ahead of Sagan).

“…you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom…”

[slides from a keynote earlier this year with @sdlangford.bsky.social]
A presentation slide that contains this quote: "For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise." A presentation slide with the source of the prior slide’s quote: Socrates ...on the myth of the creation of writing recorded in Plato's dialogue Phaedrus 14 370 BCE
July 19, 2025 at 6:47 AM
rachelwente.com
Weird moment. I’m clearing out old screenshots from my photos this evening and this was from March 17, 2020! It must have been posted at the other place. (Embarrassed to say I don’t remember sketching it. 🙃)

Another five years in a blink.
A photo and drawing of a haiku about spring (sunshine and mud).
March 24, 2025 at 7:02 AM
rachelwente.com
We did! And a few years of good edcamping and conference encounters/snack breaking that followed.
A chalkboard with twitter handles from the Independent Schools Edcamp, March 2012
March 18, 2025 at 2:34 AM
rachelwente.com
From a keynote colleague and I delivered last week. Same day, 2400 yrs later. 🥸

Short version (full quote on slides, w/lead-in):

“you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom…when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."
A slide from a recent keynote: How many of us are old enough.... to remember when spellcheck was cheating? when Googling was cheating? when Texas Instuments calculators were cheating? when a word processor was cheating? when a slide rule was cheating? A slide from a recent keynote that reads: How many of us are old enough.... to remember when writing was cheating? A slide from a recent keynote that reads: "For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise." A slide from a recent keynote that reads: Socrates ...on the myth of the creation of writing recorded in Plato's dialogue Phaedrus 14 370 BCE
March 17, 2025 at 5:53 AM
rachelwente.com
A bit cranky having to toggle off Siri learning on 50+ apps on each device after this week’s 18.3 update. Would love to learn it’s not necessary when I’ve toggled off at global #AppleIntelligence layer, but it seems to be unclear atm, so proceeding with caution.
Screenshot of Apple Messages app permissions after iOS 18.3 update, with “Learn from this App” toggled on by default. Screenshot of Apple Health app permissions after iOS 18.3 update, with “Learn from this App” toggled on by default.
February 9, 2025 at 10:45 PM
rachelwente.com
Played often growing up and still do! It’s a holiday break tradition (played a lot the past couple weeks at a handful of homes). One of the best games; always laughing and cussing.
Three people at a table playing the card game Mille Bornes
January 6, 2025 at 6:55 AM
rachelwente.com
Rough estimate is I’ve driven this pass a thousand times the past 20 years, many during winter. And days like this still take my breath away.

#MtHood

(If our Oregon snowpack the past week is any indication, La Niña is arriving.)
January 3, 2025 at 3:23 AM
rachelwente.com
There are indeed. 🙃

Hamburger menu (upper left)
> Settings
> Muted words and tags
(screenshot example)

You can expand terms beyond sample if it doesn’t catch enough.

There are also lists you can create, but most are public and you will have the world’s cat lovers after you if they find it. 😉

+
A screen shot of the Bluesky app settings panel for muted words and tags.
January 3, 2025 at 2:42 AM
rachelwente.com
My colleague, friend, and fellow CIO @iwolff.bsky.social woke up retired this morning! Cheers to you on a meaningful, collaborative, successful career. It’s been an honor to work alongside you for almost two decades now. All the best on your next chapter.
Two people, Don and me, sitting at a table with soldering tools, making interactive, light-up name badges for a tech conference.
January 2, 2025 at 2:21 AM
rachelwente.com
Returning from Christmas markets trip.

Photos of Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) discovered on this year’s walks.

Sweet young Waltraud, may she especially rest in peace. The stones for babies are gutting.

(I read more this morning about Aktion T4, Nazi involuntary euthanasia campaign.)
A photo of a brass block set into a stone walkway in Esslingen, Germany. It has an inscription on it in German. The toes of my shoes are in the lower left corner. The stone reads, in English translation: Here lies Waltraud Buck, Born: 1939 Admitted: 1940 To: Heil-und-Pflegeanstalt near Wiesloch facility Murdered: 1941 A photo of two brass blocks set into a stone walkway in Frankfurt, Germany. They each have an inscription in German. The toes of my shoes are in the lower left corner. The stone on the left reads, in English translation: Here lived Franziska Appel Born: 1884 Deported: 1942 To: Lublin Region Murdered The stone on the right reads, in English translation: Here lived Herta Appel Born: 1919 Deported: 1942 To: Lublin Region Murdered
December 15, 2024 at 7:48 PM
rachelwente.com
Nomnom. Cute lil Enzo and Izz. 💕

I know I don’t exactly count, but…. Here! 👋
A small golden lab (dog) sitting near a set of flower planters. Two dogs, a chocolate lab and a golden doodle, sitting together on a porch, both wearing holiday bandannas.
December 7, 2024 at 11:06 PM
rachelwente.com
Like the cute phone in this October’s CISA Secure Our World videos. :)

(Hard not to feel attachment to these extensions of our world connections, à la @case.bsky.social cyborg anthropology.)

Video: youtu.be/zCcX6aSXcLI?...
A screenshot of an an​thro​po​mor​phized phone, walking on a forest path with bees, in an animated security video from CISA for 2024.
December 7, 2024 at 10:34 AM
rachelwente.com
Similar fav (graffiti is mine):
A weathered wooden sign, decorated with the phrase: As a parent, you often realize… This IS my circus. Those ARE my monkeys.
December 4, 2024 at 10:06 AM
rachelwente.com
The prettiest city. #sweethomechicago
A view of the Chicago river at night, with multiple bridges and skyscrapers along it. A few buildings have green and red lights and decorations for the holiday season.
December 1, 2024 at 6:07 AM
rachelwente.com
Dateline Chicago: Turkey survived the L crossing for yet another year. Happy thanks giving.
November 28, 2024 at 6:16 PM
rachelwente.com
🎸
Rockers Lenny Kravitz and Slash playing guitars together on a concert stage.
November 26, 2024 at 4:37 PM
rachelwente.com
@cblouke.bsky.social makes it best. All thanks to you, Julie!

Annual photo share and party planning kickoff (though earlier than usual):
A group of friends holding glasses of Eisenhower egg nog in a cheers towards the camera.
November 19, 2024 at 3:09 AM
rachelwente.com
Agree. Eager to read the book.

Case in point. The AR at San Diego Museum of Art is pretty fantastic.

—Jules Tavernier, "Kilauea Caldera, Sandwich Islands (Hawai'i),"
1886.
November 17, 2024 at 9:16 AM