Security Post

Today is the last day in the USA. This morning I started early for my ISSMP exam at the Javits Center. When I walked down the streets, everything was white from the snow. This is a very nice way to end my trip. The exam took me just over two hours, so I was well within the three hour limit. As usual with the ISC² exam, I don’t have a clue if I did ok because of the weird exams they present. But I guess I did well.

After the exam I walked all the way back to Times Square. After some final packing and a short walk to Rockefeller center we had to hop on the Supershuttle towards JFK Airport.

Bye bye New York…

I landed safely in New York last Sunday. I thought there would be monstrous delays because of the upcoming holidays, but I was lucky. There was less than half an hour delay before take-off! So after a medium long flight we landed at JFK. That’s when it became interesting. After a few minutes of taxiing we stopped in the middle of a busy road towards the terminal, the gate was still in use, so we had to wait a few minutes. Going back an forth a few times to let other airplanes through, we proceeded towards our gate in little steps. And finally after 45 minutes we were at the gate. I then had to wait for half an hour to get my luggage. So it wasn’t that bad at all.

It’s nice to be back in New York after all this traveling. The weird thing is although there is so much to choose from, it is hard to get some healthy and affordable food here. It thought I got used to it during my trip, but now I know it is harder here in NYC than elsewhere. But fortunately I know a few restaurants I can go to, and McCormicks is just 4 blocks down. I also found a deli with fresh fruit so I have some apples and stuff for healthy snacks during the day. Something else I noticed is the Starbucks here in NYC are more for the bigger crowds on the street. Most of the Starbucks around Times Square don’t have seating, so I walk a bit further to get my morning latte and read the newspaper.

My upcoming 2 weeks which are my last ones are going to be busy, but not for me I think. I tried to contact some people, but many are taking the whole week off because of Thanksgiving. So I will do some extra preparation on other things for when I get back home, and walk around the city and enjoy the buzz, and everything around Thanksgiving. Like the Thanksgiving parade which is organized by Macy’s.

Next week I will go to the ISSMP Review seminar in Vienna, VA at the ISC² headquarters. This is the management concentration for my CISSP certification. This will be my last trip within the US, because after that I will go back to New York to meet up with my girlfriend Mirjam. We will enjoy the last few days while I prepare for my ISSMP exam here in NYC on the day I fly back to The Netherlands.

Well it’s time to get some dinner, so I’m off to 32nd street to get some nice Korean food.

It has been a week since I came to Minneapolis, so it’s time for an update.

The first weekend in Minneapolis was almost shocking, I found big shops but there where only a few people walking around. It was really quiet on the streets, in the shops and in the restaurants. Starbucks here closes a 7pm! Minneapolis is a city that comes alive during the week. Especially around the Skyway, this is the best feature of Minneapolis so far. You can walk all around downtown without going out on the streets, very handy when it is very cold outside! Most of the bigger hotels, shops and centers are connected to the Skyway system.

I had some nice meetings with Travis from Orange Parachute, he introduced me to several other people like customers and colleagues. We started off having lunch at “Hell’s Kitchen“, where we discussed a lot of different business opportunities. We both have to look for some extra information on how to make this possible, but we now both have a good idea of the things we can work together on. I think we have some nice opportunities ahead of us.

That same evening Travis invited me to a Riesling tasting dinner at Sage with his wife. The people running this new wine bar are friends of Travis, and they needed some “testing”. We had a smashing dinner at this fine location, with even more amazing wines. They invited their wine specialist from Iowa to tell us about the wines we were tasting. Riesling wines are not new to me, but that’s because Germany is just a 2 hour drive from home.

The next evening Travis invited me to have dinner with some friends at Chino Latino, a nice and busy restaurant in uptown Minneapolis. They some great dishes all around the world, mostly dishes to “share”. So this results in a fusion type of food with the atmosphere of a dim-sum dinner. I didn’t expect it to be such a good match, but it was! And I’m sure I am not the only one, because it was a very busy place. After that we met up with some other friends and had some drinks downtown at a few bars.

The next morning I felt very sick. I thought I had too much to drink, but I was shaking, freezing and was sweating. I couldn’t even keep one little sip of water inside. And wasn’t feeling too good since a few days, so I think the alcohol pushed me over the edge to catch the flu. So I spent one day above the toilet and in bed, and another day mostly in bed. So today I feel a whole lot better, but I’m still careful.

Tonight I am spending my last night in Minneapolis. So Travis invited me again to dinner with another friend he said I had to meet before leaving the city. So I am sure this will be a nice evening. I just have to be careful not to end up having the same conversation with the white guy and the glasses in the bathroom all over again.

Tomorrow I’m flying to New York City again. I am going to spend Thanksgiving in Manhattan. I heard some great stories about the Thanksgiving parade, and all the other festivities. More about that next week!

You can track my flight over here. Lift off is at 12:55PM CST (I guess that is 19:55 Rotterdam time)

Did you know…..?

• They have Popcorn stores, filled up with all different kinds of popcorn. And customers even stand in line for over an hour to get it.
• Waiters earn up to $3 an hour, just enough to pay for the taxes. So everything they earn is based on tips.
• Depending on the timing with holidays and conventions you have might suddenly have to pay $300 extra a night at a hotel
• Just one of the 30 different pillows I have slept on so far was good, but it wasn’t that good, because I forgot which hotel…
• Not even one of the 20 different types of toilet paper was as strong as the one I have at home, I hate to use that much paper!
• People are paid (almost nothing) to stand outside all day long with a sign “Sandwiches around the corner” or “Designer suites”, even when it freezes outside
• My nose is having trouble with the air conditioning. I have a continuous running nose, and it is hurting as if I’m doing coke or something (not that I known how that feels like, unless you are talking about Coke as in Coca Cola)
• I don’t miss my car. But the public transportation is real good in most cities here, and cabs are not that expensive
• I have never walked as much as here in the USA
• I haven’t lost any weight because of it
• I will try to keep on doing that when I get back in The Netherlands
• I don’t miss my water bed…yet
• I will really miss Starbucks when I get back to The Netherlands
• It is normal here to use your laptop in public at stores like Starbucks
• I have met more people with than without a Blackberry
• Ironically they call them CrackBerry themselves
• I would rather smash them flat as a pancake and call them FlatBerry
• It really is amazing to see those Blackberry screens light up a room like a Christmas tree while someone is trying to give an interesting keynote
• The best things I have spent money on so far are: My Boingo Wireless account, my $70 New York city tour, my Cole Haan shoes (I need new ones when I come home!), my iPhone and OSX Leopard
• The most useless things I spent money on so far are: An inverter to use electronic stuff over here, entrance to The Secureworld Expo in San Francisco, a cheap flight ticket (I had to pay extra to pay with my European credit card at the counter, for every piece of checked-in baggage, for not being able to check-in online, and for a baggage that was overweight just 2 lbs., and the most expensive airport transfer so far to use the cheap ticket)
• I have intensively used my: MacBook Pro (becoming a bigger Apple fan every day!), my iPod, my Cole Haan shoes I bought in NYC and my credit cards
• Even when you travel for 3 months it is useless to use frequent-flyer programs or hotel programs to “earn points”. You have to spend at least 6 months in the same hotel to get a free upgrade or night, the same for the airmiles.
• It is so easy to spend more time on finding a good and cheap hotel online it just cost you an extra night…. oops
• I should have read more books during my stay, but walking was a lot of fun!
• I have read some interesting magazines over here, too bad most of them are not available in Europe
• The newspaper here isn’t that interesting… The Dutch newspapers are filled with far more international information
• I am bummed to have missed the Nascar races or a baseball game
• I am glad I will be back with my family, girlfriend and friends in time for the holidays
• I have had enough restaurant food for a few months… I think
• Looking at the National restaurants, McCormicks is the best! I love fresh fish and daily menus!
• I will miss the good steaks they have here
• I miss a real Dutch pizza and Bram Ladage fries with mayonnaise
• This trip has brought me other things than I expected in the beginning
• This trip has not brought much of the things I expected in the beginning
• I have learned so much more interesting and more important things after all
• I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for a thing!
• My life is about way more than just Information Security
• There are too many people without a real vision or mission, and therefore lack the inspiration to enjoy their life and work
• I am not just talking about the more powerful and rich people, but about everybody!
• A waiter that earns $3 an hour can be so enthusiastic and have that kind of spirit I am talking about, they make over 10% off a multi million dollar revenue in a team with 50 people!
• Earns so much in tips because her customers are happy, she travels almost every month to a new location anywhere in the world
• The only one who is holding you back is….. you!
• Looking at my website statistics I found a lot of old friends are visiting me, no not just you
• I get some weird hits from several sites like: WeFeelFine.org and some other websites gathering statistics on weblogs like mine
• I get visitors from all over the world
• The top 3 countries for November so far are: The USA, The Netherlands and France
• But I also get visitors from Brasil, Seychelles, Israel, UK, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Japan and more…
• I am please to see over 50% of my visitors use Apple (but that includes myself), and 5% use Linux (good to see some die hards!)
• Ivo, don’t forget to upgrade Firefox when you are back at home
• The best cities are Chicago and New York (from a tourist perspective)
• The worst/most boring have been San Francisco, Minneapolis and Atlanta
• Ironically these are the cities that have contributed the most on my trip
• And therefore are number one on my list of cities I have learned in the most, or have met the best people
• This list will get longer later on… so check back again later!

I back in Chicago Downtown. A different hotel this time, The Four points Sheraton… a great hotel for a good price.

Before I booked my ticket to the US I thought about going to a real American sports event, like baseball or football. Unfortunately the baseball season has just ended, but the limo driver advised me to go to either a basketball game or a hockey game. So… why not both! I went to the basketball game on Friday and I’ll be going to the hockey game in a few hours. I thought about making a Podcast or Vodcast for my website, so I’ll be trying to make a Podcast about the Bulls game and the Blackhawks game later today or tomorrow. You can find them on the new video page.

During the day I tried to contact several people here in the States, mostly without luck so far. I have also put my possibilities on paper, well… in a MindMap.

Yet another week has passed. Since my arrival from Atlanta, I have started of in Downtown Chicago. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, a great, nice looking but very small hotel. I could only put my suitecase on the bed or on the floor, but I couldn’t open the door when it was on the floor. Oh well, the bed was great and I had a good night sleep.

By the end of the weekend I went north towards Lincolnshire. Here I attended the annual Midwest Information Security Forum, organized by The Institute for Applied Network Security. This is a forum more intended for end users, with just a few vendors on the second day. Consultants are a bit scarce here. This forum is a great networking event, I have met some interesting people. Because I enrolled just 2 days before the event, I did not have the time to look in to the agenda. So I was presented with a little more detail minded crowd than I expected. Although everybody dived in to the details of several presentations and discussions, I managed to get some good learnings out of it.

There were some presentations about Laws and regulation which gave a great insight on several recent cases from the court here in the US. The person who gave this presentation has some insights on the current international an European InfoSec issues and topics, so I am trying to get more information on this.

And also a great presentation by someone from Morgan Stanley. He gave a “Wallstreet background” on the current Information Security businesses and market. So I’ll be trying to meet up with him again later on to see if I can get some extra business ideas.

Before I went back to Downtown Chicago, I wanted to shoot some golfballs at the golf club connected to the Resort. But unfortunately they closed up the practicing range for the winter just a few days ago. And it has been too long ago to walk the complete course without practicing for a few years. So I went back to Chicago early… in a Limousine! I expected a normal airport transfer van, but because I was the only one the sent a car (limousine). So I had a relax drive back to Chicago, and the driver even dropped me off at my hotel although he should have dropped me off at the airport.

It’s been a while since my last post, so here we go…

My first thoughts were to go to Washington DC, but looking at the prices and possibilities I decided not to go. Off course it is the political capital of the USA, but I need some thing extra other then that to spend that kind of money on a trip.

In Atlanta, I enjoyed the skyline from the Westin Plaza from the 59th floor… incredible! Unfortunately the weather wasn’t that good all the time, so I was almost shocked to see a dark gray wall when I woke up the second morning. And after a short moment I noticed it was just the clouds. It is so weird, because it is just like you don’t have any windows in your room. During the weekend I paid a visit to “The new world of Coca Cola”, and the Georgia aquarium. The two biggest attractions here in Atlanta. It was nice to see what impact such a commercial business can have, and the different ways in which they managed to accomplish that. You can see some pictures in the gallery.

Later on in the week I joined a training session from the Franklin Covey Institute. Most people know them from Stephen R. Covey’s book the “7 habits of highly effective people”, a bestseller in the business category books. The Franklin Covey Institute has been giving the 7 habits training throughout the whole world for years.
Just over a year ago, the follow up “The 8th Habit” was presented. And less then 4 months ago, the Franklin Covey Institute introduced a training based on this book: “Leadership: Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results”. During this training you work through many tools and tips to improve your leadership skills, which are based on the 4 leadership imperatives: Inspire trust, Clarify Purpose, Align Systems and Unleash Talent. So it is not a spiritual training as many of you may think, but there are some great techniques, frameworks and ideas to lift your leadership skills. I can recommend this training to everyone who is familiar with the 7 Habits, or who has a leadership position. I am sure this training has a pretty high Net Promoter Score (NPS ). For those who do not know what this is, you should take your time and read “The Ultimate Question” by Fred Reichheld. And I especially want to thank Ruth Williams for some greatly inspiring days.

Walking through Atlanta (downtown) was nice, the people are great, the parks are great, the streets are clean. The only downside is, everything closes early. No Starbucks coffee after dinner because they close at 7pm, almost no nightlife, and so on.

Last Friday I flew to Chicago with Delta Airlines, I’ll give you an update on that shortly.

Today is my last day in Miami. I ended my trip in Miami at the Seaview Hotel in Bal Harbour, a great hotel for a great price. The only downside is, it is very quiet here now. No Starbucks, not many dining options, just very expensive shops across the street in the Bal Harbour shopping center. The hotel is nearly empty, the season here starts in November, then the hotel will be filled with shareholders and guests.

I met some interesting people here, there are two dutch girls working here for a school training period. And although they had to work, I had the change to talk to them a bit afterwards. So we exchanged stories about all the differences we noticed between the USA and The Netherlands… the food, the working environment, the people, and much more. So it was very nice to compare my thoughts with those of other dutch people here.
I also had a change to talk to several other people, like business owners and a retired US ambassador for the European Union. Some great stories about an American couple traveling around Europe, and see those differences from a different perspective.

If I had the money and the time to stay here the rest of November, I think I could have met some interesting people with amazing stories. Mainly the shareholders have some great stories to tell. But there is still much to see around the country. So I am leaving this afternoon to Atlanta (GA), to stay in the Westin Plaza Hotel for a couple of nights.

Hopefully the image will update along the flight. If not, you can track my flight here.

After a long flight from San Francisco airport I arrived in Miami. The weather here in the States changed almost everywhere the last few days, with mostly temperatures around 50 to 60 degrees (10-15 degrees Celsius). But here in Miami, it is still warm (75-85/F - 23-30/C), although there is a very strong wind and a few showers.

Here in Miami everything is about seeing and being seen. Everywhere on the streets are expensive cars, but on the other side there are Lamborghini’s parked all over the place with big signs in them: “Rent me!”. But even if you don’t own one, driving one isn’t cheap either I think. I thought I had a pretty expensive hotel, but all the others around my hotel cost between $400 and $800 a night for the smallest room.

Fortunately food isn’t too expensive here, you can have dinner in one of the small restaurants on Lincoln Road for about $25 - $35 including a drink and tip. And finally not too many Sushi restaurants, but variety all over. The dishes are so filled up, I could eat for three nights from one plate. But I don’t have a microwave of refrigerator in my room, so no doggy bag for me.

Miami is one of the cities where you can clearly see what matters most to almost all of the people here… money. But on the other hand, it is also a big trouble maker here in Miami. Many people have to sell their house for low prices, or even worse they get evicted because they can not make the payments. Because of this, real estate is booming business over here.

The people I talk to, tell me starting businesses here in Miami have a pretty high success rate.
But I can’t find any hard evidence on this yet, because all the numbers are dominated by Florida’s rich import and export businesses. Many billions of dollars pass through Florida every year. Although Miami doesn’t seem to be a real business city (asides the importing and exporting) there are a few big companies with their roots in Miami, the most internationally known is Burger King.
Others are more nationally known.

After many miles walking down the streets and the beach, I decided I am going to take a look around Washington next. But after some advice from Gilles and my mother not to wander outside the center of Washington DC, I took a look at some hotels near the Whitehouse. Shockingly enough, room prices are quite high. So I think I’ll switch to a cheaper hotel here in Miami first, and do some more detailed planning before I go there.

I’m am also planning to do an ISO27001 bootcamp like training. Orange Parachute gives several training courses, like “ISO 27001 Lead Auditor”, “ISO 27001 Implementer”, and “HISP” (Holistic Information Security Practitioner) training. This will likely be around the first two weeks of November at the main office in Minneapolis. And a second thing I am thinking about is the ISSMP review seminar. Most of you guys know I got my CISSP certification after a grueling six hours exam a few months back, and the ISSMP is the Management concentration for this certification. Fortunately this exam will only take 3 hours. There is also an exam scheduled for this certification the day I go back to The Netherlands.

Being on the road this much is catching up with me now. Calling companies, searching the internet for places to sleep and eat, planning my trip, keeping in touch with loved ones at home, it is quite some work. I didn’t even take the time to read the morning newspaper during the first month, and nether did I manage to read more than 30 pages in my first book. So I decided to slow things down a bit, worry less about all the e-mails, hotel bookings and things like that. It took some time to think about all those things, and put them in the right order like Stephen Covey explains in his book “7 habits of highly effective people”… what is important, and what is urgent.

So now I read the newspaper every morning, and keep up with the current news topics around here. I even managed to read another 30 pages in my book “Strategy Safari”, a book I also bought for my brother last Christmas… good stuff! Ok, 30 pages still isn’t much, but at least I’m not rushing it and stay relaxed. I’ll read some more the next few days.

During these day’s I also took the time to think about some conversations I had a few weeks back with some people at the MISTI convention. Mainly the ones with the people from Orange Parachute and Christopher Grillo. Especially Christopher managed to let me look at the managerial and personal skills from a different perspective. So I have read some interesting papers he sent me, and tried to convert them into my own views to get a better perspective of my own current status. The next step is to put these on paper and refine them.

Next to all this, I tried to get in touch with some other companies. Unfortunately they are hard to get in touch with. If you are a client, you can talk to the sales people (that’s not me), if you are interested in a job, please have a look on the website (but they don’t respond because I’m from The Netherlands), and if you are at the door, the guard doesn’t know who to call because I don’t have a appointment. So I also posted my resume on some websites like Monsterboard and Yahoo, but so far without any worthy reply.
And Orange Parachute has yet to reply on the first interview we had almost 3 weeks ago, which took almost 2 weeks to set up. So I’ll have to be patient some more

For those who allready know I am in Miami… I’ll try to write another update tonight or tomorrow. For those who didn’t know… I am in Miami South Beach