An insecure state of affairs

Ok. I admit I love meeting the new folks. And 3.5 weeks (straight) as a road warrior has taken a bit out of me. I switched over to a cross country backpack instead of a rolling duffel bag. It's great for rougher terrain... And my body is paying ;-)

So back to the real world.

I was contracted to do all sorts of different classes from Northern CA to the Baja Border. And being a professional, I delivered what I was contracted to do.

Notice I didn't say this is what the students actually wanted.

They all wanted Security.

Notice I didn't say they wanted Security+.

As a trainer who has been around the block a time or three, I know how to handle this. Race like a bat out of hell through the contracted course then create custom training for each students experience level based on what they really wanted.

Here is the funny part. Not one person wanted to know how to do bad things. They all wanted to be able to identify how to know when bad things are happening to them, and they cannot even tell. Well I made a quick flash movie showing how the typical bad guy works now. Forget script kiddies. These guys are pro's. I showed them the hiding in plain sight communications systems. A couple of those revealing clues brought rapid classroom attention and glowing heads.

After the feeling of utter despair had sunk in, I showed them free work from the US Govt. that will cover your (ass)ets really well, if you use them.

So my real point in this entry is its time for the IT training industry to get off its certification status smug feeling and start showing people what they really want. They want reasonable security, not impossible to get or outdated certifications.

So yeah. It was a rough almost 4 weeks. And the warm handshakes and hugs I got from the folks telling me I showed them what to show their employees and their children made the current feeling of rode hard, put away wet... All worth while.

Seasons Greetings,

Tcat

Hey Amigo! Want a Taco? An HP Pavillion?

Ok. It's obvious this week, I'm late.

I was on the Greyhound @ 30K Ft (Southwest Airlines) heading to San Diego for the next week's gig. I didn't let any moss grow under my feet getting to Mexico. Its a favorite (food) place of mine for decades.

Before you get the impression I'm Jet Setting about the planet... I spent $2.50 USD for the bus and trolley, door to door from landing @ San Diego to walking into Mexico. I was planning on spending almost $8. USD to take the 90 minute 1st class bus south however a dude from New Jersey who knows his way around Tijuana I meet on the bus from the airport suggests I follow him for a few minutes around TJ. My first reaction is to blow him off. I've seen enough of TJ to know it just rip-off tourist city. And not keeping an open mind is being dead, just waiting to be buried. So I say: Great and thanks.

Damn. I thought I knew TJ.

It turns out I only knew what I saw. The hotel he showed me (bottom line $32) had a bed close to Hilton comfort. Internet cafes are pretty much on every block. Average is 20 stations with lease retire about 3 years old. Rate? About 10 NM (About a dollar) for 30 minutes; 50% more for a full hour.

I settle on Harry's favorite (because its 20 meters from the motel) with Armando Meza's place on 8th, just east of Revolution (Main St and tourist central). I like the fully private booths and headsets with microphone so Skype is an option to my personal extranet.

Checking out prices, Baja has all the goodies of the good old USA. That includes speaking and writing English. This is good because Geek is my first language, English my second. I haven't had time to fit in a third, like Spanish or German.

Oh yeah. MasterCard and Visa are welcome along with the cash of many countries. I feel like Hong Kong has camped south of Los Angeles. The only difference I see between Fry's or CompUSA and TJ is they dance like wolves to fill an order rather than pull it out of the back room. And... For Sure! They keep you happy while some poor soul is humping butt to get you your product from some secret location. The US mass marketers could learn a thing or three from this "backyards" part of the planet.

So my geek tastes are pleasantly surprised and fulfilled.

Going 9 meters south of my 24 hour "casa", I found a cart that only offers oysters, clams and soda. I asked about the oysters (in English since I cannot say this in Spanish). I'm offered a dozen for $4.50 USD. OK. I'm expecting some death on a half-shell since I can spend that for *one* oyster at Shuckers in Seattle (my home town).

Since my TJ shock has been positive, I take a risk. I ordered six, and got back to the motel casa and watch (in English) the Sunday edition of the Wall Street Journal and wait to get sick. I figure the oysters we're so tasty and cheap --- something had to be wrong.

Two hours gone by and I'm --- hungry for more. I get another dozen. A local, who can speak Spanish and English did strike up a chat with my "cart" about things in Spanish. The gringo (me) enters the chat because the local tells me the owner was happy I found her place so cool that I came back the same day.

Sunday started early and it's time to get a nap before my teaching gig in San Diego this week. Been there before. Good place. (New Horizons in north San Diego). I'll cut them a deal, if I can come back at least once a month. It’s a good training center, well run. - And I could get wrap almost 4 days around a week’s class to learn more about TJ and their yummy food.

Based on the data I collected this weekend, don't be surprised if I have an entry that says something to the effect of: Good Riddance! and greetings to President Fox and the citizens of Mexico. 2-3 days for a broadband connection install in a 200-500 USD a month Casa? Let me think. Ok, done thinking: potentially Paradise, here I come.

I'm forgoing the frog of the week to get some sleep to be 100% for my class this week. If I'm a little late next week --- like this... you know where I am. It's OK to be very jealous.

Tcat

Great Certifications Are Small

Save a Frog! Join the ETA-I.ORG

http://snipurl.com/SaveAFrog

My quest to get affordable certification tests has met with some natural resistance. I’m getting a number of comments that while the ETA-I.ORG looks great, Human Resource departments (those who do the hiring) don’t know about CST (pdf) or CNST (pdf) much less it’s Certified Web Specialist (CWS) or IT Fiber programs.

Fair enough.

And repeating what was so popular to say in the 1970’s: and still valid today: “If you are not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem”. HR will not know what CST or CNST is until we either take the test or roll our A+* or Network+* to ETA-I (and put that on our CV/Resume). and/or ETA-I will be more widespread and well-known.

And my point for this entry is not about ETA-I or CompTIA.

Recently I rejoined a small (yet elite) group. It got me thinking about something I read in 1975 from Robert J. Ringer book Looking out for #1.which was re-issued in 1985 and available at Amazon.com for way under $10. USD.

In this engaging read when the author was at one of his deepest (and not-happy) moments in life, a truism hit him. Now I’m not going to ruin the story for you by repeating it here. And the point was: What are you offering the planet that you cannot get from 999 other people?

I read that in 1975 and it really hit home. It has helped define who I am.

So let’s bring that back to training and certification. I’m really happy to have rejoined the Network Professional Association and enlisted as a Certified Network Professional.

Let me say up front, joining the NPA and getting your CNP is not cheap. I dropped $400 USD. This is the same amount of money Microsoft charges for being an MCT. While the MCT is not exactly a commodity, being a CNP gets a “what’s that?” Nothing the OCR scanners looking at CV/Resumes are going to pick up (today). Personally, I don’t care if nobody knows what a CNP is. I’m getting my $400 USD dollars worth, many times over.

So the logical question becomes “Why would I drop $400 USD?”

The answer is:
It is in your best interests.

Rational:
Assuming you can afford $400 USD; look at what you get each month:

Members get a whole lot of “free” stuff from corporate sponsors. I remember this from when I was a member and Chapter President of Seattle, WA –USA in the 1990’s. Yes, being an NPA member wasn’t cheap. What I got mailed to me each month was an incredible stack of software that was licensed to my test lab. Stuff that otherwise would have cost me thousands of dollars a year, or gone without. So when I heard that the NPA was making a push in this century, it was a no-brainer to get back in the fold.

Call it enlightened self-interest (as R.J. Ringer would have said). Sure the corporate sponsors are getting mindshare. The NPA is getting members. We get stuff we couldn’t afford to play with otherwise. A Win/Win/Win.

Because I have been around since 8KB was the total RAM on a mainframe, I have a “few” acronyms behind my name. Generally I don’t list them unless it is relevant to a class I’m teaching or a book I’m working on.

So when I go teach Network+ in CA next week, I’ll write:

CNP/CNST/CTT/Network+.

All but CTT are directly related to networking. And I’ve been a CTT for just shy of 10 years so you might want to know I known something about training. I’m sure as hell not going to tell them I got a perfect score on the LANtastic certification test. Who would care about LANtastic today? It’s about relevance, not intimidation.

Why put CNP and CNST on the board for a Network+ class? It’s to show them the greatness in small certifications. I could put MCSE too. And what would be the point? It’s not something that is exactly difficult to find a MCSE. So remembering what I learned from Ringer 30 years ago: I’ll take the odd certification as enlightened self interest.

(* ™ or ® of CompTIA.org)

Welcome to my blog

Why this blog site?

Well because we are getting nailed with excessive test fees and poor questions.

Just complaining isn't an answer. As it used to be popular to say:
"If you are not part of the solution, you're part of the problem."

So here is a starting point.

Tcat
http://snipurl.com/SaveAFrog