IT Insights Blog — certification

If the IT landscape were a forest, and tech companies were the individual trees, then you wouldn't have a very pretty picture. It's commonly estimated that nine out of 10 startup companies fail across all business realms, and startups are a huge presence in IT. The IT forest would be a peculiar one, with many impressively large and noticeably thriving trees, but many more fallen, rotting, burned out, or otherwise devastated saplings.

There's a contest of sorts currently underway in which cities large and small, scattered across the United States from sea to shining sea, are desperately seeking to outdo each other in courting the favor of one of America's most dynamic companies. Everything e-tailer Amazon, which has numerous other ventures under its corporate umbrella, will soon choose from among its many suitors a city or county to serve as the site of its second U.S. headquarters.

Glenn Cunningham was just 8 years old, and his brother Floyd, 13, when they were caught in an explosion at their Kansas schoolhouse. Floyd was killed and Glenn’s lower body horribly burned. He lost all the flesh on his knees and shins, as well as all the toes on his left foot, and his transverse arch was almost entirely gone. The doctors, concerned with spreading infections, advised amputation of both legs.

This story begins earlier this year when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, behind closed doors, either did or did not call his boss, President Donald J. Trump, a "moron." Tillerson is alleged to have disparaged the president in a meeting with national security personnel at the Pentagon in July. Since the incident was first reported by NBC News on Oct. 4, Tillerson has reiterated his support for Trump without precisely denying that he ever used the M-word.

They say that it's not polite to ask people pointed questions about how much money they earn, or what they do to earn it. So for a couple of weeks every autumn, the team at Certification Magazine might as well be running around yelling in people's face, tipping over potted flowers, throwing raw eggs at the walls, and generally doing just about everything you can think of that uncouth rascals with no upbringing or manners like to get up to.