I wrote this verse for a friend who asked me about what intelligence-driven forensic analysis really means for the industry… ;)
’tis but part of what, given chance
handing security a glance, a peek
to where intentions meet — of
attackers and their wicked drives;
but for all that of which derives
no such thing secure may enclose
the network into peaceful pose.
If you want more of this please leave a comment. I’d be happy to bring a little more poetry to the topic.
So there I was, finishing up another man page for my little C code glue library ‘peak’, thinking of how neat writing man pages can be. Along the way, I have picked up a few interesting concepts and insights that can really help with code quality (and the man pages therein). Here they are.
‘O my loved guide, who more than seven times
Security hast rendered me, and drawn
From peril deep, whereto I stood exposed,
Desert me not,’ I cried, ‘in this extreme.
And, if our onward going be denied,
Together trace we back our steps with speed.’My liege, who thither had conducted me,
Replied: ‘Fear not: for of our passage none
Hath power to disappoint us, by such high
Authority permitted. But do thou
Expect me here; meanwhile, thy wearied spirit
Comfort, and feed with kindly hope, assured
I will not leave thee in this lower world.’
The words we say, the times they may
Eat up their essence each night and day;
And we are left with no more than
Hopes and dreams, which are too plain,
Not strong enough. Not grown up,
I’m told to be; lest following me
Into darkness with light infused:
‘Hear us calling! We are your muses!’
Surrender me, oh entity,
Up or below, or sympathy;
I can’t do, can’t you see,
What you ask of the world and me.
My friend in need, the way is steep,
Treading further, hollow beats
Of music far, yet familiar:
The song of mind, life’s formula.
In the last chapter of his book ‘Flow’, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi presents the mesmerised reader with three sides of the word meaning: purpose, resolution, and, ultimately, harmony.
In this sense the answer to the old riddle “What is the meaning of life?” turns out to be astonishingly simple. The meaning of life is meaning: whatever it is, wherever it comes from, a unified purpose is what gives meaning to life.
A community should be judged good not because it is technologically advanced, or swimming in material riches; it is good if it offers people a chance to enjoy as many aspects of their lives as possible, while allowing them to develop their potential in the pursuit of ever greater challenges. Similarly the value of a school does not depend on its prestige, or its ability to train students to face up to the necessities of life, but rather on the degree of enjoyment of lifelong learning it can transmit. A good factory is not necessarily the one that makes the most money, but the one that is most responsible for improving the quality of life for its workers and its customers. And the true function of politics is not to make people more affluent, safe, or powerful, but to let as many as possible enjoy an increasingly complex existence.
Some of these laws have (at times) severely disrupted operation in the companies I worked for, and I guess they are hard (if not impossible) to cherish. My favorite is number 2. Why do so little managers understand this simple concept?
- Today’s problems come from yesterday’s “solutions.”
- The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back.
- Behaviour grows better before it grows worse.
- The easy way out usually leads back in.