From: Harris, Joe F (Joe_Harris@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Date: Thu May 02 2002 - 00:09:35 GMT-3
So I've been reading all of the Howard bashing emails that have been flying
around lately and it has got me wondering, Has the quality of the lab
candidates gotten this pathetic that they have had to resort to blasting and
flaming other respectable people in order to make up for their own
shortcomings? Having been a member of this list for over 4 years, I can
remember a time on this list when people would have welcomed someone like
Howard to the group with open arms.
>From what I am able gather many of you have a hard time listening and/or
learning from Howard because he hasn't taken the CCIE Lab. Understandable, I
can see where many of you would like help or what appears to be the answer
in many cases, from someone "who has been there." Well let's look at the
facts. Apparently most of the people here consider Howard to be of the
"academic" engineering community and not of the "hands-on professional"
community. However what many of you fail to understand is that damn near
every technology you configure on a router/switch/firewall/ was invented or
written from someone in the "academic" engineering community, otherwise
known as scientists or mathematicians. Howard might not have "sat" the CCIE
lab but that does not mean he doesn't know what the hell he is talking
about. If you people think that once you achieve a four digit (soon to be
five) number with four letters preceding those numbers, you are the greatest
thing networking has seen, you've got a lot more learning to do (more on
this in a bit). So I'm wondering if Edsger Dijkstra were to join the list if
you people would give him as such a hard time as you have given Howard. I
mean Edsger only invented the SPF algorithm (one of his many accomplishments
and inventions) and he doesn't have a CCIE, never even "sat" the lab and I
seem to remember them calling him Doctor, not CCIE. However I am certain
that Edsger has forgotten more about the SPF algorithm than the combined
knowledge of this group will ever learn. Any of you geniuses ever heard of
Rijndael? The block cipher, designed by Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen for
AES (FIPS-197). That's right, the symmetric encryption algorithm soon to
replace DES. I seem to remember that neither of these utterly brilliant
people has ever "sat" the CCIE lab, but in the near future if you would like
configure encryption on your Cisco router in the CCIE lab, you will once
again be configuring a technology that is based a cipher that was written
not by a CCIE, but by a mathematician. Any of you ever heard of this guy,
Vinton G. Cerf? If so, I'm wondering if ole' Vint were to join this list
would he receive the same reception that Howard has received. For crying out
loud, ole' Vinton only pioneered the Internet, took a break for a while and
decided to work at Worldcom and then begin...no not begin, but again pioneer
something new, the InterPlanetary Internet Communication Project, and
someone please correct me if I am wrong but I don't seem remember what
Vint's CCIE number was? Since not a single damn one of these people hold a
CCIE certification does that discredit their work? Believe me, there are
thousands of names that could be listed that don't hold a CCIE and are
considered to be experts, not CCIExpert, but industry experts and noble
prize winners. Ever had a CCIE win a Noble prize, HELL NO!!! I think it
might benefit many of you to read this article:
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/784/packet/netizens.html. Howard, how many
Netizens are CCIE's? These some-bitches have pinky-toes smarter than any 50
CCIE's combined. Do you people not respect them also?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not discrediting the value of the CCIE
certification, hell I have two myself, but I think many of you are greatly
misunderstanding the value of "experience" vs. "academic knowledge." You
can know every single command available in the Cisco IOS, CatOS, PIX
operating system, ACS Server, VPN concentrator, ect. and have 15 years of
Cisco experience, But if you do not know what the hell the command actually
does and what it affects it has, what value does your experience truly have.
See you don't keep score (nor will you be recognized) by the number of years
experience you have in the field, nor what certifications you have
accumulated, or how many degrees you have achieved, I myself (as well as
many of my colleagues) will respect you for what you have contributed to
your field of study.
See I have also noticed that many of you discredit Howard's emails because
he answers your questions with a theoretical answer and doesn't give you the
"command-based answer" that you are wanting, so you just assume that Howard
is full of sh#t. Well let me assure you that each email Howard answers has
the answer contained within his reply only you people are too stupid to
figure it out and want the answer spoon-feed to you. Howard, if I may give a
word of non-condescending advice to you, we have a saying down here in South
Texas and it goes something like this: You can lead a horse to water, but
you can't make him drink...When the rest of this group figures out the
meaning of that message then maybe, just maybe, you will begin to not only
comprehend what the information that Howard provides but also respect the
work he has done and continues to do.
Howard keep up the great emails, work and contributions. There is very big
difference between you answering someone's questions and them comprehending
the answer that was provided to the question that was asked.
-Joe Harris
CCIE# 6200
CSS1, CISSP
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