[ale] Security Licensing, Languages, and that business thing we talked about

[Leam Hall]

Hey all,

Just for note, I've kept tumbling that business idea around in my head. 
For the past few years I've been studying business ideas and how to 
provide great service to customers, be they internal or external. Which 
is not to say I'm a great businessman, yet. But I think that's on the 
horizon.

When we talked about Security licensing, that was also part of my 
thinking. Really, there are two ways to look at certifications for 
business; as marketing ploys or marketing tools. As a ploy you say "We 
are all CISSP/GIAC/Security+ rated" but do your normal stuff. As a tool 
you say the same thing and demonstrate through your solutions and 
behavior that everything you do gets filtered through a security mindset.

That does not mean you exclude the self-taught. Heck, most of the better 
engineers I know learned on their own because they were hungry enough to 
want better. It's the CS grad who hasn't contributed to any Open Source 
projects that worries me more.

When we talked about languages, the same filter was guiding me. There 
are lots of great languages but for Systems Engineering on Linux, Python 
rules. It does everything at least decently and some things awesomely. 
What's a bonus is that the academics are leaving Java for Python so we 
have more ideas to toss into our kit.

I'm really looking for a job right now. Yet this idea will not die; I 
have been too frustrated by restrictions to fight the same fires over 
and over when really fixing the problem was within our reach.

If you're in the same boat, lemme know. I don't have all the answers 
yet. Shoot, I'm not sure I have more than 1-2% of them. But I know this 
is a great idea that can succeed.

Leam