Southern Road Trip (interview #3)

Rob Rosenberger, Vmyths co-founder
Tuesday, 27 January 2004 DAVE ATTELL HOSTS "Insomniac," one of the best travel shows on TV today. It airs on the Comedy Central cable network. It's definitely not your ordinary travel show. The comedian recently shot a special episode ... where he filled a car with gas and went on a quick "one-tank tour" of the south.

These audio interviews will record what "cyber-terrorism" means to Joe SixPack. We'll hear from people at gun stores, truck stops, adult novelty shops, waffle houses, you name it!

By sheer coincidence, I'll sleep in a string of southern motels for the next few months. So I decided to swipe Atell's comedy idea. Vmyths will run a special audio series called "Southern Road Trip." I'll drop in on various establishments and do unscripted computer security interviews. But there's a catch. I'll gladly interview anyone but the experts. It's time to learn what computer security and "cyber-terrorism" mean to the average Joe SixPack. And we'll have real fun with these audio interviews. We'll hear from people at gun stores, truck stops, adult novelty shops (!), waffle houses, you name it...
I DROVE AROUND tonight in search of interesting places when I noticed "Flanigan's Pub" across the street from Gunter Air Force Station in Alabama. I popped in to ask the owner if I could record her thoughts on computer security. Naturally, I offered to buy drinks for some of the people at the bar. The owner understood my desire to laugh it up but (like many people) she had a fear of public speaking. She turned me over to Sandy, a bartender with great flair. I opened a tab and we began the interview. A few minutes later, two women at the bar started to inject commentary! I moved over to talk with them while Sandy filled some drink orders. These two women acted sober and they sounded coherent — and they were upset with me. For one thing, they figured I just wanted to make fun of "rednecks." For another thing, they wanted to know if I was really doing a college psychology experiment.

I found common sense in a bar in the deep south. Why can't I find it in the computer security industrial complex?

These two women refused to take me at face value! They demanded to research my credentials. No joke: I gave them my driver's license just to prove my identity. They took down my information and they swore they'd Google for me. ("Two women at a bar wrote down Rob's name & phone number?" Yes, and my wife knows all about it...) If you read Vmyths on a regular basis, then you know security experts spout myths & legends. You know many experts will take almost anything at face value. It sounds unbelievable to say "the computer security industry offers a course on how to take things at face value," yet it's absolutely true. But when I walked into a bar tonight in the deep south, Joe SixPack demanded to investigate my credentials. Why can't we find this level of common sense in the computer security world? Will the reporters who cover this industry ever rise up to the level of an Alabama bar patron?

THIS 3-MINUTE ADDENDUM begins long after my original interview bombed. The patrons made it clear they'll talk to me about computer security "next Tuesday" if my credentials check out. Believe it, folks. I found common sense in a bar in the deep south. Why can't I find it in the computer security industrial complex?

Two bar patrons made it clear they'll talk to me about computer security "next Tuesday" if my credentials check out.

Our longtime readers know I've griped for years about the "inverse problem of accuracy." The more Vmyths strives for accuracy, the more we get critiqued for minor things. On the other hand, fearmongers can get away with all sorts of wild claims because they don't strive for accuracy. A dichotomy forms because fearmongers seek the shallow masses, whereas Vmyths seeks the enlightened minority. I found two people with common sense ... in a bar in the deep south. I'd like to thank Flanigan's Pub for letting me bring the "Southern Road Trip" to their establishment. If you ever drive by Gunter Air Force Station, stop in and let 'em know Vmyths sent you. Now go listen to the addendum!

[continued in interview #4 at the
Hank Williams museum in Montgomery, AL]