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My Musical Use Cases

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My recommendations are mostly instrumental because I find vocals often interrupt my train of thought. Every now and then, though, there are words that act as spells in a way, and they help me to focus my mind on the task at hand.

So, my list:

For the Attack:

“Tune Down” by Chris Joss… this is a slow, methodical piece that I first saw on “Better Call Saul” as Mike Ehrmentraut set up surveillance of a target house. This is the kind of music that goes with cracking safes, passing information with sleight of hand, and other devious things. Chris Joss’ catalog has lots of songs in this category that really help me cook up plots and plans. In the same vein, I’d also recommend…

“Danger Musicians at Work” by Syd Dale… it sounds like an action theme from the 60s because it IS an action theme from the 60s! Syd Dale was one of a few composers who worked with the BBC to create stock programme music. You can find his work in compilations, along with other gems that make you sound like a cool spy or cunning criminal. Now, if you want something heavy, might I recommend…

“King of the Road” by Fu Manchu… the lead track from their Hell on Wheels album. It has a great beat, drives forward like a massive engine with very little soloing to distract you from its ultimate delivery. Stoner/desert rock is great in this regard, as it lets a body think as the music plays.

For the Defense:

“Hang Up Your Hang Ups” by Herbie Hancock… this is music for street cops in NYC in 1975. It’s music for tracking down and catching up with hustlers, jive turkeys, and crooks in general. You want the big funky horns to keep up your spirits and the driving guitar and percussion to keep you methodical and meticulous. You’re looking for clues, so you need the right tunes to get your head in the right space. Which reminds me of…

“Strong Arm of the Law” by Saxon… for the headbangers out there. You know you want to shout out to the red team, “STOP! GET OUT! We are the strong arm of the laaaaaaaaaw!” Yeah, bust those punks! Now, if you don’t want to go metal, there’s always…

“Relevee” by Delia Rodriguez and Gavin Russom… Very electronic, very trance, very good for moving through the matrix and busting Mr. Anderson. I swear, this song gives me the ability to connect to the network through my keyboard and I get gigabit speeds to my mind…

For Vendor-Induced Rage:

“Policia” by Sepultura… nothing like Brazilian punk-metal for getting your voice up, ready to tear into the salesweasel that sold you a product that is failing miserably as it falls far short of its marketing-fueled hype. Sepultura’s “Crucificados Pelo Sistema” is another great growler of a tune. Now, if you prefer something more industrial, might I show you to…

“Attak Reload” by KMFDM… yeah, this one’s angry… opens with “We’re gonna make you sorry / For every word you say” and goes from there. You may have to work with that vendor’s product, but it doesn’t mean you have to *like* it. If you need something softer than the above two, perhaps you might try…

“Chale Chalo” by AR Rahman, from the Lagaan soundtrack… this one is about channeling anger into victory. If you’ve ever seen Lagaan, you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t seen Lagaan, you should. On the surface, it’s about a British officer that is trying to triple the tax on an Indian village, but it’s really about trying to cancel a contract with a vendor or risk having to break the budget on a professional services contract. Seriously, watch it that way if you can’t get into it with the standard plot.

For Building Systems:

“Master of the Universe” by Hawkwind… get the live version from the Space Ritual album and spin it on constant repeat. Like stoner/desert rock, Hawkwind’s pioneering space rock epic drives the mind forward with the music creating a space where the brain can work magic in summoning up demons to bend to your will. I find this music particularly helpful when creating and troubleshooting VPN issues, along with PKI work. If Lemmy’s bass playing isn’t your thing, then let’s listen to…

Goa Trance (multiple artists, tracks come and go, can’t recommend one track in particular)… Sparse instrumentation, constant beats, phased transitions, this is the dark chocolate of electronic music, and it’s stayed true to its core competency since it first emerged about 20 years ago. It’s also great stuff for taking on mountain roads, just sayin’. But if you want something analogue, there’s…

“Machine Ma Bwindea” by Ekambi Brilliant… You can find this guy along with some other great funk musicians on the Africa Seven page at Bandcamp. If you like this one, be sure to also check out Tala AM and Sookie, two other great African bands. This one’s a lyrical piece, but because I don’t speak a word of Congolese, they don’t distract me. And that chorus is just so fun to sing along with!

For that Plane Trip:

“Gimme a Sign” by Nigel Hall… heck, get the whole album and treat yourself to an authentic musician who knows how to interpret a song, whether or not he wrote it. You want something that has a good beat to it, so you can follow along in case you’re like me and can’t wear headphones for long periods of time and those plane noises get into the mix. If you don’t want funk, then there’s always…

“Jet Airliner” by Steve Miller… a good, familiar song is great on a plane because the mind already knows where to fill in the notes and tones that get blocked by plane sounds. And, hey, this one’s topical! I like it because it’s a song about being on the road and enduring those times when we can’t be exactly where we want to be. But if you want to be more adventurous than classic rock, how about…

“Kerosene Dreams” by Drive by Wire… my hat goes off to this Dutch foursome with a great female vocalist. It’s a band in the stoner/desert vein of music, so it also does well for other tasks. But if you think the bands these days can’t rock like they used to, then you need to head to Bandcamp and check out bands like Drive by Wire and their fellows. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

When You Have to Write Reports or Documentation:

I like to every now and then start off with a random prison work song. In the Southern USA, prisoners were segregated by race and then made to go work at clearing land, breaking up rocks for a road, or other intensive manual labor. The black work groups would make up songs to work to. In the songs, they could vary the speed so as to help out workers that were having trouble keeping up with the initial pace of the song. Look a few up on YouTube and find your favorite for that hard task that you just have to do. I suggest “Hammer Ring” or “Grizzly Bear” as good starting points. Now, for the more conventional tunes…

“Deacon Blues” by Steely Dan… this band always helps my writing flow. I can put on just about any of their albums and get into a writing mood, but Aja and Gaucho do the best job. Writing is a contemplative thing for me, so I need something not so hard or intense as what I may have suggested previously. Which brings me to…

“Spaceman” by Journey… before Steve Perry was brought in, Journey was a great rock band that delivered some beautiful instrumental-heavy tunes on their first three albums. This one is from their third album, Next. If you think they sold out on Escape, you should go back to the albums without Perry for a much less commercial set of truly deep cuts. If you want an even deeper cut, then there’s…

“Joy” by John McLaughlin and Shakti… it’s a fast instrumental with John McLaughlin doing some amazing acoustic guitar work. You’ll have to listen to all 18:12 of it, but it’s an incredible piece that is well off the beaten path, musically speaking.

When You Have to Build a Slide Deck:

“Lost Highway” by Wo Fat… some heavy blues-metal from my home town of Dallas. While I have to think to do documentation, I have to argue with my “productivity suite” when I build a presentation deck. Friggin’ text boxes! Yeah, I need something that shouts and growls along with me as I suffer through marketing-mandated branded color schemes, and this tune is one of the best for it. The whole album is great, in case I slip and just let things keep playing. Speaking of anger management tunes, I also got…

“Fast Love” by Honeymoon Disease… Swedish bands have a way of always finding a pop sensibility to slip into whatever music they’re doing, and I love what Honeymoon Disease can do with 70s-vintage hard rock. Think Heart meets ABBA for a short visit and then heads over to Motorhead for drinks and that’s this band. Great for me against the machine. I’ll complete my trio of rebellion with…

“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath… the riff at the beginning says it all and I’m ready to tackle the stupid image that pasted into my presentation all wrong.

After Dealing with Another Stupid User Trick:

“Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)” by The Isley Brothers… the first line is, “Time is truly wasted…” and that’s how I feel after I get off a call where we spent hours going in circles because someone lied, didn’t know what they were doing, or simply refused to reboot the system. I had to turn off security protections “just for troubleshooting” and they didn’t do a damn thing to get that root cause… “Time is truly wasted… you got to fight the powers that be…”

“Volver Volver” by Vicente Fernandez… a song of love, lost love, and a burning desire to return, even though you know it only means pain and loss when you get back to your desire. That’s this mariachi epic, and it’s how I feel as I go back over and over to do the same troubleshooting on the same system that can’t be patched because of crappy production code. I know the Spanish, so it works for me. But if you need something in Russian, there’s…

“Вот и Все Дела! (Now That’s All!)” by Валерий Александрович Кипелов (Valery Kipelov)… a song of love, lost love, and good riddance. The chorus ends with lines that translate, “I’ll go the left, you go to the right, that’s the end of it!” Great guitar solo from Сергей Константинович Маврин (Sergei Mavrin), formerly of Aria. Trust me, it’s worth putting the lyrics into Google Translate and singing along with them. By the end of the song, I’ve finished the documentation to close the case and that’s the end of it!

For Relaxation and General Unwinding:

“Every Picture Tells a Story” by Rod Stewart… a great song for exhaling, and the drum break after the first stanza is priceless. After that, it’s time for…

“Ooh La La” by The Faces… this track features Ron Wood on vocals, and even though they’re rough sounds, they’re perfectly suited to the song. You may have heard it in recent commercials or at the end of the Wes Anderson film, Rushmore. It’s another song for sitting back and closing your eyes for a short while. Then, we have…

“Fire and Water” by Free… so sue me, all the tracks from this section come from early 70s British rock, but they all are my go-tos for letting go. Paul Rogers’ vocal and Paul Kossoff’s guitar work take me away and send me sailing, I like it. But, OK, if you want something different, I’ll stay in the same time period and give you something American…

“Post Toastee” by Tommy Bolin… it’s always the right time for this song. I never, ever skip over it when it comes up on my shuffle. It’s so fun and friendly and comfortable, I don’t want it to end, but I understand as it fades away. So, yes, include this one on the mellow playlist. If you need something from this century and *not* a rock song, then I’ll add in…

“Manbai” by Natacha Atlas… Atlas’ vocals are enrapturing on this very chill, liquid drum ‘n’ bass track, masterfully mixed by Nitin Sawhney from Transglobal Underground. So what if it’s in Arabic? It’s great for relaxing, and you said you wanted something different, didn’t you? 🙂

Security for All Sizes: How Big Are Your Vendors?

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There are some amazing ideas out there in vendorland, but not all ideas are backed by the same kinds of companies. This impacts how those ideas, those vendor products, will fare in your environment.

Of course, I’m going to sort vendors into three size categories: small, medium, and large. How they intersect with customers that are small, medium, and large will also come into play. Here goes!

Small vendor, small customer: Small customers tend to also mean “small budgets”, so they’ll go with a small vendor if it looks like it can *almost* deliver the performance of a more expensive product from a bigger vendor. If it can match the big guy or beat it, even better. Price is king in the initial purchase decision. After that, there’s a good chance that the small company gets some excellent tech support – it’s likely that the entire development team is also taking turns fielding support calls. Now, there may be features that never get implemented and the product may never stretch to cover additional areas or integrate with other products, but in a best case, it’ll be a stout little mountain pony that gets the job done.

Small vendor, medium customer: Maybe someone heard good things about the small vendor and wanted to try it out in a bigger environment. Here, there’s an expectation that it will play well with other apps and systems. While the small customer may have re-done some things about its environment to accommodate its budget-friendly solution, the medium sized customer will not have that much flexibility, as it’s likely other systems are dependent upon things staying exactly as they are for them to function. If that vendor’s product can’t fit into the bigger environment, it’s out. There’s also the consideration of scalability. Is there a management dashboard for the product? Does it integrate with syslog? What are the upper limits of the vendor’s software and/or hardware? How many widgets are needed to make all this work, and will all those widgets work with each other?

Small vendor, large customer: Is this vendor on the list of approved vendors? If not, will it still be around after that process is completed? For the large customer, the vendor has to be something that looks to be capable of being around for the long run. Large customers don’t like having to buy a different solution in the middle of a system lifecycle because the vendor went out of business. Can the vendor provide follow-the-sun coverage? Can the vendor produce features that are required for specific customer environments? How big is that dev team, anyway? The product may be amazing and best in its class, but if it can’t scale its internal resources to meet the demands of the large customer, it’s not even a consideration as they choose products.

Medium vendor, small customer: This vendor may still be budget-friendly, but it’s unlikely that any special requests from the small company are going to be incorporated by the vendor unless other companies are asking for them. It’s also likely that the small company may have enough for the initial purchase, but might decide to not renew support until there’s a major outage – meaning that small company may be using an unpatched version of that gear because it is forced to accept the risk due to budget concerns.

Medium vendor, medium customer: The vendor is no longer small, but an up-and-coming firm that’s maybe ready for prime time. If so, maybe it “dropped its pants” in purchase negotiations in order to break into a larger tier of customers. Your firm, possibly with a handful of other firms, is commanding all the attention of this vendor – until it can land a larger customer. The good news is that it may very well answer all your questions about integration and interoperability. The bad news is that it may possibly be peaking out at this point and won’t be able to mature its product properly to keep up with your business.

Medium vendor, large customer: This can happen from time to time… and it’s usually to get leverage on a larger vendor during contract renewal negotiations. If it performs well enough to not only beat the big guys at their own game, but also well enough to justify a purchasing decision that can ruin the discounts the firm may be getting on other gear from that bigger vendor, then it’s a keeper. If that happens, the medium vendor may be poised to get a lot bigger, but it will also be pounded with requests from that large customer to develop features that take it beyond being a cool tool and into becoming an enterprise solution. This might break the medium vendor if it can’t keep up with the demands from its biggest customer – as those demands may well mean leaving behind the founders of the company and their culture.

Large vendor, small customer: What I said for the medium vendor/small customer applies here as well, with even more emphasis on the small customer’s lack of voice and likelihood of coasting along with unpatched gear. The big vendor always has a bigger customer, and that’s the one that’s going to dictate how development team hours are allocated.

Large vendor, medium customer: Nobody ever got fired for buying the large vendor, but they do cost a lot for support, don’t they? Is this where, in order to have the features and power of the large vendor’s gear that the medium company has to contemplate outsourcing in order to keep a handle on costs? It doesn’t matter if it was a small company that got big or a big company that stayed big – the costs will increase. At the same time, your firm may as well be a small firm as regards its ability to leverage new features. So, yes, it does everything you might need it to do now, but that may well be that.

Large vendor, large customer: Here’s where the large vendor meets its match in terms of demands for scalability and support and new features. The challenge to the large vendor is whether or not it’s able to move quickly enough to deliver to those demands. It’s a large firm, itself, and can’t move as quickly as it used to do. It’s also got so many customers that it’s inevitable that when it releases a new feature, it’s bound to break something, somewhere. Maybe that medium-sized vendor can deliver a solution that won’t break things for its largest customer, but there are no sure things if your firm is one of a vendor’s largest customers. Test carefully and upgrader beware…

So, just as most of you suspected, those great little apps you see in the tiny booths on the fringes of the security conferences may stay in those tiny booths or eventually vanish. It breaks my heart, but I’ve even seen some firms that had medium-sized booths fade from the scene. They might keep a small and dedicated group of customers, but they’re also victims of how those customers themselves might fade away. Once a company can rise above the churn of the violent waters where small and medium sized companies swim, it risks becoming a dinosaur that can’t adapt itself to changing long-term trends. Just let someone who did IT from 20+ years ago get to talking about Banyan Vines, OS/2, Sun Microsystems, Digital, and Novell, and you’ll realize that no firm is so big that it can’t crumble away.

At least with the bigger companies, you have a better shot at getting a complete product lifecycle before they totally fade from the scene…

Getting Good Information About the Recent Pandemic

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Is it safe to use ibuprofen to treat a fever? Is it safe to use marijuana during this outbreak? These are just some of the questions going around and we should all know how to find answers for them. There’s conflicting information from various sources, so we all have to learn how to hit multiple sources to see what’s going on. Right now, studies are going to be limited due to the recent nature of the outbreak. That being said, health professionals globally are going to share ideas with each other and some of that chatter may spill over into the media reports – and not all reporters know how to report science.

What we *do* know is that anything that stresses the lungs will leave a person more susceptible to damage from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. Right there are two good keywords to use in searches. Everyone’s calling it “coronavirus” in the popular media, while scientific communities are using SARS-CoV-2 to identify the virus and COVID-19 to identify the disease. Using those keywords gives a better shot at getting quality results.

Next, when we see the site providing the information, examine the website itself to evaluate its accuracy of information. Local news stations, those are good for reporting things like what’s open and what’s closed and how many people locally are in the hospital, but not much more. National news outlets will have a higher degree of accuracy, but can still get a few things wrong. Websites with a strong political bias may be victim to Russian trolling – yes, the Russians are taking rumors and amplifying them on various websites that are much more political than they are scientific – so disregard those entirely as providers of scientific information. Entirely. Their information may actually prove harmful, which is why I say to disregard them entirely.

Websites affiliated with medical institutions, particularly medical research, will have the best quality information. Learn how to read their information carefully and patiently, as the more technical sites will use specialized terms and expressions to convey meanings. The specialized definitions themselves are not hard to learn – but they must be learned, so part of your reading of specialized articles will involve looking up words you don’t quite understand. Once you get the meanings, though, you’re able to better understand the next article.

As regards ibuprofen, the WHO has walked back an earlier statement cautioning against using that drug as a fever suppressant. That’s another thing to mind – conditions can change, so we need to be ready to change with them.

For marijuana use, the cautions are as regards to impact on the respiratory system and any activity that involves communal sharing of drugs or their delivery apparatus.

What about other questions? I just apply the above methodology to get the answers. In particular, I use those keywords SARS-CoV-19 and COVID-19 to deliver better results in my searches.