William's Thoughts and Ideas

After six months and a ton of e-mail it’s over

After six months of planning and tons of e-mail the Professional IT Community Conference 2010 is done. We had over 80 registrants and everyone seemed to enjoy the conference. Now that the it’s over I took a long look at my e-mail and realized that I had over 250 e-mails in my inbox. As the planning of the conference moved forward I was real good at labeling and filing all conference e-mails, but in the first few weeks I wasn’t that good at it and a bunch of the first ones sat at the bottom of the pile. So this morning I decided to start organizing and replying to and trashing all the email in my inbox. After two hours of this I am down to two e-mails in my inbox… Yea me.

As I make the final payments to my people and hotel and get things finished for this years conference, I am going to take about two months off before starting the planning of next years conference. I am looking for a conference chair to take over the running of the 2011 conference so I can focus on the back end planning (dealing with AH, the hotel, LOPSA board) and the training track for next year.

This conference couldn’t have come together without the great group of volunteers who came together and worked hard to make this a local and community building conference that was a great success. I couldn’t have done it without you so thank you for all you guys did.

Getting a NJ System Administrator conference up and running

I have been busy working on a project that has taken up a lot of my time in the past few weeks, the LOPSA-NJ Professional IT Community Conference 2010.

Back at LISA ‘09 in Baltimore, I had a sit down with one of the other NJ System Administrators and we discussed what was the problem with the system administrators group that we belonged to an how to help fix it. The problem we saw that the League of Professional System Administrators (LOPSA) had was getting there name out and getting new members. So out of this conversation over a few beers as well as pulling in another fellow NJ SA we came up with the LOPSA-NJ Professional IT Community Conference 2010 (PICC ‘10) to be held in New Brunswick, NJ on May 7th and 8th.

We came back from Baltimore and jumped right in by finding a location and picking a date and forming the committee to work on getting the conference off the ground. We have gotten 2 sponsors so far, 10 trainers and training classes, 3 keynote speakers and are now working on getting the Invited Talks and submitted papers together.

The training classes range from how to write better documentation, how to better manage your time, disk virtualization, automation with Perl as well as a class on automation with Powershell, as well as IT Policy writing and the tools to move from being a junior system administer to a senior administrator and more.

The 3 keynotes we have scheduled are David N. Blank-Edelman on Friday night giving his "Through the Lens Geekly: How SysAdmins are Portrayed in Pop Culture?", Tom Limoncelli on Saturday morning and Eden Haber closing out the conference on Saturday afternoon with his “System Administrators in the Wild, What We’ve Learned from Watching You!” talk.

The conference schedule is made up of 8 Training class on Friday and 2 on Saturday. On Friday night will be the Conference Dinner and then the opening keynote followed by a movie. We haven’t gotten the movie figured out yet. Saturday will also have the invited talks and submitted papers as well as a room set up for unconference topics.

Saturday will start with another keynote and then followed by the papers, invited talks and unconference tracks. It’s shaping up to be a great conference. We are hoping to get at least 150 local system administrators to attend. If you are a NJ/PA/NY System Administrator and are interested then check out the website http://www.picconf.org and save the dates May 7th – 8th 2010. Oh yea registration for PICC ‘10 opened up yesterday so to register go here.

Merry Christmas

As I sit in my living room watching the Powder Puff Girls Christmas special with my 16 year old daughter I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope that you all have a great day and that you all get what you ask for and get to spend time with the ones you love.

2009 Christmas List Part 2 – The Last Minute Gift Ideas for William

With only 2 shopping days left in this holiday season, I thought I would give you a few more ideas for my Christmas list. All of this can be found in the Lawrence, NJ Area so you all can go out and pick it up. If there is a (wb) at the end of the description then I wrote it.

DVDs

The Blues Brothers – B&N – $11.46 - This is my all time favorite movie. I remember going to see this at the now closed Eric Penn Jersey theater and laughing so loud. The band is made up of classic musicians. If you have never seen this movie take the time to get it. (wb)
Pink Floyd: The Wall a.k.a. The Wall (the movie) – B&N – $14.39 – Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall” was released 30 years ago and was an album that I own both on vinyl that I played all the time after it was released and on CD. The movie was release in 1982 and stared Bob Geldof, we use to watch this movie a lot during high school at my house. I went a few time to see it at the Midnight Movies at the theater at the Arnot Mall. (wb)

Books

Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller – B&N - $29.25 – In Ad Hoc at Home…a cookbook inspired by the menu of his casual restaurant Ad Hoc in Yountville…he showcases more than 200 recipes for family-style meals. This is Keller at his most playful, serving up such truck-stop classics as Potato Hash with Bacon and Melted Onions and grilled-cheese sandwiches, and heartier fare including beef Stroganoff and roasted spring leg of lamb. In fun, full-color photographs, the great chef gives step-by-step lessons in kitchen basics… here is Keller teaching how to perfectly shape a basic hamburger, truss a chicken, or dress a salad. Best of all, where Keller’s previous best-selling cookbooks were for the ambitious advanced cook, Ad Hoc at Home is filled with quicker and easier recipes that will be embraced by both kitchen novices and more experienced cooks who want the ultimate recipes for American comfort-food classics.
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking – B&N – $16.37 - There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to fill a kitchen with warmth, eager appetites, and endless praise for the baker who took on such a time-consuming task. Now, you can fill your kitchen with the irresistible aromas of a French bakery every day with just five minutes of active preparation time, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you how.
Bread Bible – B&N – $25.20 – The title says is all. After reading this in Barnes & Nobles a few times it’s a book I know that I need in my kitchen. I have been wanting to start making bread like I use to with my grandfather, but i also want to learn the science behind the bread making. (wb)

Electronics

Acer Aspire One AOD250-1842 – P.C. Richards & Son – $329.97 – Just 1" thin and under 3 lb., the 10.1" Aspire One D250 is sleek, slim and attractive. Robust features combined with its compact size make this netbook the ultimate take-me-with-you partner.

The 10.1" LED-backlit display presents you with bright, clear images for an enjoyable viewing experience, while a small-yet-powerful processor and ample hard drive deliver the pleasure of full-size notebook performance without the bulk and weight.

So that’s it for the my quick list for you. Hope you all have a great Holiday and Happy New Year.

2009 Christmas List

Ok boys and girls, mom and dad here is a list of some things that would make me happy to get at Christmas….and for those who missed getting me a birthday present (and you know who you are) I’ll take anything on the list. Check with my wife first to see what’s already been purchased.

Logitech Portable Webcam C905 – Amazon.com – $59.94 /w Rebate – Make high-clarity video calls home with the best travel webcam for road warriors. The travel-size 2 MP Portable Webcam C905 goes where lesser mobile webcams don’t–smooth, razor-sharp full-screen video. High-precision Carl Zeiss optics, ultra-smooth AutoFocus, and light-correcting RightLight2 Technology work together to make your video calls look so real, it’s like being in the room with your spouse and kids back home. Enjoy crystal-clear conversations with a built-in premium microphone that suppresses background noise like airport chatter. Logitech even includes a protective travel case and new Logitech Vid–the fast, free, easy, one-click-to-call video calling software.

PowerShot SD1200 IS Light Gray – Best Buy – $149.99 – When a camera puts a smile on your face the moment you hold it, imagine how great you’ll feel when you see your first pictures! The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH has everything going for it – exuberant color, the sculptured style of Canon’s famed ELPH series – and the innovative know-how that takes you to a whole new level of picture-taking accomplishment. Fun, smart and a style that follows you everywhere.

Eye-Fi Explore Video – Best Buy – $99.99 – Easily upload your favorite videos and photos wirelessly to your computer with this 4GB Secure Digital card. Share your memories online even when your computer is turned off.

Grateful Dead Scrapbook : The Long, Strange Trip in Stories, Photos, and Memorabilia – Barnes & Noble – $32.00 -Grateful Dead fans are legendary for their Dead-ication to the band and its enduring legacy of freewheeling musical exploration. The Grateful Dead Scrapbook collects rare removable memorabilia and evocative images culled from the Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, including never-before-published photos, flyers, fan letters, and other ephemera.

Grateful Dead 2010 Wall Calendar – Dead.net – $13.00 – Yep, we checked. Still 365 days. Take it one day at time with this groovy 2010 wall calendar.

WACOM Bamboo Pen – newegg.com – 64.99 – Bamboo Pen gives you everything you need to enjoy pen input. Start using the pen to edit, mark up documents or collaborate with others. Doodle, sketch and personalize your materials. Or use the pen with the included Corel® Painter® Essentials to paint and make digital art. The ergonomically-designed pen fits comfortably in your hand, and the tablet’s textured work surface makes you feel like you’re working with a pen on paper.

Koutech IO-HU1300 13-Port USB 2.0 External Hub – newegg.org – $39.99 -
You’ll never think 13 is an unlucky number again after you plug in Kuotech’s 13 port USB hub. This high speed hub supports USB 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 devices. There is a power adapter to supply extra power for bus powered devices.