Well, it's that time again! "Back to school?" you ask. Well, sort of. It's Ohio LinuxFest 2010. (September 10th-12th)
Ohio LinuxFest (OLF) is the premier Free and Open Source Software conference in the Mid-West. Hosted at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in downtown Columbus, OH, OLF is a gathering of professional system administrators, pod-casters, developers, enthusiasts, and everything in between.
This will be my fourth OLF in a row, and it is the 8th event overall. From my experience and descriptions of other attendees, OLF gets bigger and better every year. My first year, 2007, I didn't know what to expect. I was a little overwhelmed at all the people and topics. I spent most of my time running from talk to talk. With each subsequent year I have learned the value of networking with other attendees and the sponsoring vendors. I've attended conferences put on by HUGE corporations, and OLF is second to none!
In 2008, Ohio LinuxFest University (OLFU) was launched; this is where the school part fits. OLFU is a full-day professional training track on Friday with topics ranging from preparing for the LPI certification to intense system administration tasks. I've participated the last two years it was offered and am already registered again this year.
I think that the greatest testament to the value of OLF and OLFU is that my company has sponsored my professional package (OLF and OLFU) for the last three years. This may seem like a small investment, after all it's just a few hundred dollars for the registration and hotel costs; however, my company does not sell nor support Free and Open Source Software. They send me because of the value what I learn and the contacts I make at this premier event.
Over the last few years I have experienced the value of the amazing array of individuals who attend this event. In 2009, I had the pleasure of talking with Shawn Powers and John "Maddog" Hall from LinuxJournal and Peter Salus of Unix history fame. I spoke with Steven Prichard and Donald Corbet about the LPI certification. Who are they... well, they're respectively author and reviewer of O'Riley's "LPI Linux Certification In A Nutshell" book. I can't adequately describe how incredibly approachable and glad to share knowledge these individuals are; you'll just have to experience it yourself. As an example of the personality of these fellow geeks, here's a fun video from Shawn Powers and his daughter advertising the 2009 OLF.
I encourage all of you reading this to attend OLF if you have the opportunity. It is WELL WORTH the time investment. If you are an IT professional, the professional package has paid off for me every year. The event itself is on Saturday and is free to the public. Friday's festivities include OLFU, Early Penguins and a FOSS Medical Track. I also see an entry has been added for UbuCon! You can register for the package that fits you here.
No matter what level of access (enthusiast, supporter, or professional) you desire, I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU to register at OhioLinux.org now! This pre-registration help them plan for the number of people attending. If you show up last-minute that's ok too; just make sure you swing by the registration table and check in with the volunteers. I hope to see you there!
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As a side note, this year's OLF happens to be a special event for my family. See, this year OLF happens to fall on my anniversary weekend. Yeah, sort of like the Geek Super Bowl getting in the way. So, what's a geek like me to do? Fortunately, I've got a FANTASTIC wife that will be attending the event with me!
This will actually be our second OLF together. We first attended the 2008 OLF. She didn't attend too many of the talks with me. She was pregnant at the time, so her priority was chocolate and cheeseburgers (perhaps together). We did attend the after-parties (which are quite epic) together, and as much as I like DualCoreMusic that scene wasn't for us. Fortunately, the Greater Columbus Convention Center is located in the Arena District, so we were surrounded by fantastic restaurants... and boy did we take advantage of them. Also, the official hotel for the event, The Drury, is a great facility with all the amenities including free drinks and snacks. The Drury is the hotel for this year's event too, so book your room now!
So, what's the moral to this part of the story? BRING YOUR SPOUSE! You'll have a wonderful time!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Muscles I Didn't Know I Had
So, I took a canoing trip with my wife and some friends last weekend. Nothing crazy, just a 10 mile trip down a lazy river... which turned out to be an incredibly congested lazy river.
The plan for this trip was that we would lash our canoes together to form a flotilla. This flotilla would be armed with a series of water cannons for the express purpose of laying siege to anyone who looked at us funny. Normally, this might seem like an evil purpose, but know that it was nearly 100 degrees with high humidity. So, in actuality, we were providing a vital public service.
Once we were putting the canoes into the river we quickly saw that we were not going to be alone on this trip. It seems like everyone decided to canoe that day. This required an alteration to our plan. Originally we were going to go with a four canoe flotilla... instead, we went with three and a single destroyer boat to quickly move between the crowd.... my wife and I went for the destroyer role.
The trip was fun and rather uneventful for us. It was amazing how many people managed to sink a canoe in three feet of water, but I digress. Our plan of drenching people with gallons of water went well, and my wife an I had a blast paddling circles around people soaking them from all angles. The remorse of the days events hit hard though.
That night around 2AM I woke to an awful feeling. Was it my conscience tormented by the drenching we gave to those poor river folk? Nope, cramps and significant joint pain. Seems my arms and shoulders weren't used to the rowing action. Here I was thinking that my amazing typing skills had prepared me for this physical exertion; I was wrong.
After a few hours of stretching and hydrating I was able to get the pain to subside enough that I could go back to sleep, but it took a few days for the effects to wear off completely. So, what can be learned here?
Interestingly enough, this is a lesson I've learned before. The context was a little different, but the lesson was the same. See, I work for a company that services the SMB space with computer and networking needs. I really grew up in this organization and learned quite a bit through working in hundreds of different networks, each with their own requirements and quirks.
My role stared in an entry level call center position and moved through basic field service work and eventually put me in the lead network infrastructure and security role. It is in this role that I got comfortable. It's not that I was lazy; I feel I have a pretty solid work ethic, and I believe my boss would echo that sentiment. The issue was that I stopped pushing myself.
A few years down the road, my organization branched out into a new arena for us, remote monitoring. With that new product line came a new role. This role would be a consulting role that would advise clients in the monitoring program. It was new and exciting, so I jumped at the chance. I dove in with all the enthusiasm of running a destroyer canoe around a battlefield drenching poor unsuspecting kayakers. Not long into this new role though, I found that I was using new and heretofore unexercised muscles. I quickly found that I needed time to ramp up... I might even, gulp, need help. Fortunately, I have some fantastic co-workers and a consultant that assisted me in laying out the role more efficiently and devising a plan around communication responsibility. That's not to say things are perfect, but the regiment is now defined.
Right around the time of this experience I listened to an episode of the GRM n00bs podcast (http://www.grmn00bs.com/2009/12/16/podcast-episode-9-when-they-were-n00bs-with-rob-fullermubix) where Rob "Mubix" Fuller (http://twitter.com/mubix)was interviewed. In that interview he talked about a time when he was training for a physical evaluation. He said he was never one of the fastest runners; though, there was nothing that physically kept him from excelling. During that training, one of his senior officers noticed his comfort in completing within the deadline and told him that he should adopt a different view. See the people he was running with were holding him back from how well he could do. As long as he was willing to just be where he was, he would never find out how far he could go. His new goal was to be to run past each of the people in front of him and as he passed he would tell them to run faster. In essence, he needed to step up and lead so that all would become better, not just be happy with success.
I've since adopted this mentality in my work. I'm not satisfied to get though the day successfully. It's time to drive toward excellence, not just success. Where will this lead me? I honestly don't know, but I'm sure not willing to settle for simple success any longer. It's time to stretch the muscles and discover new ones. It's time to uncover the new arenas of knowledge and understanding that I lack. Most of all, it's time to get the whole team running faster.
#################
PS:
Some of you may be asking yourself... does this mean that you're going to apply this to your physical fitness to?
Here's my answer. Begrudgingly, yes. I feel that there is no way that I can operate at my peak level professionally without my physical body matching. So, in the spirit of accountability, I need your help. Tweet me @charon79m with ideas on getting in shape with limited time.
The plan for this trip was that we would lash our canoes together to form a flotilla. This flotilla would be armed with a series of water cannons for the express purpose of laying siege to anyone who looked at us funny. Normally, this might seem like an evil purpose, but know that it was nearly 100 degrees with high humidity. So, in actuality, we were providing a vital public service.
Once we were putting the canoes into the river we quickly saw that we were not going to be alone on this trip. It seems like everyone decided to canoe that day. This required an alteration to our plan. Originally we were going to go with a four canoe flotilla... instead, we went with three and a single destroyer boat to quickly move between the crowd.... my wife and I went for the destroyer role.
The trip was fun and rather uneventful for us. It was amazing how many people managed to sink a canoe in three feet of water, but I digress. Our plan of drenching people with gallons of water went well, and my wife an I had a blast paddling circles around people soaking them from all angles. The remorse of the days events hit hard though.
That night around 2AM I woke to an awful feeling. Was it my conscience tormented by the drenching we gave to those poor river folk? Nope, cramps and significant joint pain. Seems my arms and shoulders weren't used to the rowing action. Here I was thinking that my amazing typing skills had prepared me for this physical exertion; I was wrong.
After a few hours of stretching and hydrating I was able to get the pain to subside enough that I could go back to sleep, but it took a few days for the effects to wear off completely. So, what can be learned here?
Interestingly enough, this is a lesson I've learned before. The context was a little different, but the lesson was the same. See, I work for a company that services the SMB space with computer and networking needs. I really grew up in this organization and learned quite a bit through working in hundreds of different networks, each with their own requirements and quirks.
My role stared in an entry level call center position and moved through basic field service work and eventually put me in the lead network infrastructure and security role. It is in this role that I got comfortable. It's not that I was lazy; I feel I have a pretty solid work ethic, and I believe my boss would echo that sentiment. The issue was that I stopped pushing myself.
A few years down the road, my organization branched out into a new arena for us, remote monitoring. With that new product line came a new role. This role would be a consulting role that would advise clients in the monitoring program. It was new and exciting, so I jumped at the chance. I dove in with all the enthusiasm of running a destroyer canoe around a battlefield drenching poor unsuspecting kayakers. Not long into this new role though, I found that I was using new and heretofore unexercised muscles. I quickly found that I needed time to ramp up... I might even, gulp, need help. Fortunately, I have some fantastic co-workers and a consultant that assisted me in laying out the role more efficiently and devising a plan around communication responsibility. That's not to say things are perfect, but the regiment is now defined.
Right around the time of this experience I listened to an episode of the GRM n00bs podcast (http://www.grmn00bs.com/2009/12/16/podcast-episode-9-when-they-were-n00bs-with-rob-fullermubix) where Rob "Mubix" Fuller (http://twitter.com/mubix)was interviewed. In that interview he talked about a time when he was training for a physical evaluation. He said he was never one of the fastest runners; though, there was nothing that physically kept him from excelling. During that training, one of his senior officers noticed his comfort in completing within the deadline and told him that he should adopt a different view. See the people he was running with were holding him back from how well he could do. As long as he was willing to just be where he was, he would never find out how far he could go. His new goal was to be to run past each of the people in front of him and as he passed he would tell them to run faster. In essence, he needed to step up and lead so that all would become better, not just be happy with success.
I've since adopted this mentality in my work. I'm not satisfied to get though the day successfully. It's time to drive toward excellence, not just success. Where will this lead me? I honestly don't know, but I'm sure not willing to settle for simple success any longer. It's time to stretch the muscles and discover new ones. It's time to uncover the new arenas of knowledge and understanding that I lack. Most of all, it's time to get the whole team running faster.
#################
PS:
Some of you may be asking yourself... does this mean that you're going to apply this to your physical fitness to?
Here's my answer. Begrudgingly, yes. I feel that there is no way that I can operate at my peak level professionally without my physical body matching. So, in the spirit of accountability, I need your help. Tweet me @charon79m with ideas on getting in shape with limited time.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Fun with Asterisk (* and I ain't talkin' sports records)
Recently a friend of mine, Rob "Nosbig" mentioned me in his blog entry "My Live With Asterisk". So I figured I'd give you my perspective and experience.
I'm not new to VoIP, but I am new to rolling my own, so to speak. I've been using a Linksys SPA900 IP-PBX, SPA400, and SPA942 phones. You might ask why I've got such a home setup... well it has everything to do with a funky firmware on the SPA400 and a company that wasn't willing to wait for a more stable version... but I digress.
Here's my setup; be warned, it's UGLY. My voice connection comes into my home via a VoIP provider that does not permit me to "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD). Because of this, I take the FXS on the back of my SIP provider's device and plug it into the FXO on the SPA400. When a call comes in and rings the SPA400, it hit's the SPA9000 which in turn has a ring-all group that rings the SPA942s in my house.
This setup has worked pretty well but I really don't like a few things. First, I don't like that when a call rings all the phones and you pick it up, all the other phones now have a "missed call." Second, I'm limited on features. I'd really like to have some sort of find-me feature where my home PBX rings my cell if I'm not at home. Lastly, I HATE the SIP to Analog to SIP conversion. The call quality is amazingly good... but on principal I'm disgusted.
So, how do I fix this? Well, I set aside some time with my good friend Nosbig and we talk Asterisk. Now, what's Asterisk you ask... Well, it's an IP PBX. It's the swiss army knife of Telephony. It's an enterprise class telephone system that is FREE!
Rob filled me in on the advances of the FreePBX interface, and it sounded like something that I could get into. I showed up at his house with two P4 boxes, a handful of SPA942s, and associated peripherals.
I tossed the freshly burnt disk into the CD-Rom and booted into a simple install. Yep, it's the ol' RedHat'ish install. It agrevates me that it doesn't let me setup any user other than root, rename the machine, or set the IP address... all this must be done after the install.
Once thins were rolling, we had some issues getting calls going. We ended up having to load some Asterisk modules by hand, chan_sip and func_dialplan... not sure if this was an artifact of updating and not reloading or what. Once we did that all was well. We were dialing around in well under an hr.
Once I cut my teeth on the basics, I took my new toy home and really had some phone. I created a trunk to my SPA9000 allowing me to 4-digit dial all the other phones in my house. I also created a trunk to my SPA400 permitting me to dial to the outside world. In less than half a day I had a fully functional phone system, and I hardly even knew what I was doing.
With some more playing I just kept getting more and more impressed. Quickly I began to see options. I setup my VPN connection on my laptop and a SIP client and boom... extension to may SIP client. Hmm... Droid? Yep, there's an app. Type type RING! SIP phone goodness on my Droid! Oh, this is going to be fun!
So, what's the point of this post? Geeky stuff can be FUN! That's the beauty of Free and Open Source Software. You can have all the fun of REALLY EXPENSIVE toys w/out needing to spend a dime. That being said, if you want to use this in an enterprise setting, it's ready to roll and there are wonderful geeks out there like Nosbig to support you with it. So, if you are looking for some fun with phones in your home, check out Asterisk. If you're looking for an incredibly capable phone system for your company, CHECK OUT ASTERISK.
Thanks for the mention, Rob. Also, if you're looking for more info on home network setup, look back here shortly. I'll be doing a few posts on the upgrades I've got going on here. More Asterisk, Firewall Replacement, NAS, and much much more!
I'm not new to VoIP, but I am new to rolling my own, so to speak. I've been using a Linksys SPA900 IP-PBX, SPA400, and SPA942 phones. You might ask why I've got such a home setup... well it has everything to do with a funky firmware on the SPA400 and a company that wasn't willing to wait for a more stable version... but I digress.
Here's my setup; be warned, it's UGLY. My voice connection comes into my home via a VoIP provider that does not permit me to "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD). Because of this, I take the FXS on the back of my SIP provider's device and plug it into the FXO on the SPA400. When a call comes in and rings the SPA400, it hit's the SPA9000 which in turn has a ring-all group that rings the SPA942s in my house.
This setup has worked pretty well but I really don't like a few things. First, I don't like that when a call rings all the phones and you pick it up, all the other phones now have a "missed call." Second, I'm limited on features. I'd really like to have some sort of find-me feature where my home PBX rings my cell if I'm not at home. Lastly, I HATE the SIP to Analog to SIP conversion. The call quality is amazingly good... but on principal I'm disgusted.
So, how do I fix this? Well, I set aside some time with my good friend Nosbig and we talk Asterisk. Now, what's Asterisk you ask... Well, it's an IP PBX. It's the swiss army knife of Telephony. It's an enterprise class telephone system that is FREE!
Rob filled me in on the advances of the FreePBX interface, and it sounded like something that I could get into. I showed up at his house with two P4 boxes, a handful of SPA942s, and associated peripherals.
I tossed the freshly burnt disk into the CD-Rom and booted into a simple install. Yep, it's the ol' RedHat'ish install. It agrevates me that it doesn't let me setup any user other than root, rename the machine, or set the IP address... all this must be done after the install.
Once thins were rolling, we had some issues getting calls going. We ended up having to load some Asterisk modules by hand, chan_sip and func_dialplan... not sure if this was an artifact of updating and not reloading or what. Once we did that all was well. We were dialing around in well under an hr.
Once I cut my teeth on the basics, I took my new toy home and really had some phone. I created a trunk to my SPA9000 allowing me to 4-digit dial all the other phones in my house. I also created a trunk to my SPA400 permitting me to dial to the outside world. In less than half a day I had a fully functional phone system, and I hardly even knew what I was doing.
With some more playing I just kept getting more and more impressed. Quickly I began to see options. I setup my VPN connection on my laptop and a SIP client and boom... extension to may SIP client. Hmm... Droid? Yep, there's an app. Type type RING! SIP phone goodness on my Droid! Oh, this is going to be fun!
So, what's the point of this post? Geeky stuff can be FUN! That's the beauty of Free and Open Source Software. You can have all the fun of REALLY EXPENSIVE toys w/out needing to spend a dime. That being said, if you want to use this in an enterprise setting, it's ready to roll and there are wonderful geeks out there like Nosbig to support you with it. So, if you are looking for some fun with phones in your home, check out Asterisk. If you're looking for an incredibly capable phone system for your company, CHECK OUT ASTERISK.
Thanks for the mention, Rob. Also, if you're looking for more info on home network setup, look back here shortly. I'll be doing a few posts on the upgrades I've got going on here. More Asterisk, Firewall Replacement, NAS, and much much more!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Local Food When You Can - And IT Too!
So today I had the pleasure of making pancakes with my family. It's a bit of a monthly, or so, weekend tradition with us. My eldest, Amilia and I mix up the batter, she used to love to crack the eggs but has gotten in her head that the evil germs will get her if she gets egg on her now (long story there...). Regardless, it's a fun time.
The first pancake never quite turns out. Either the temperature isn't quite right or the batter. Amilia, Bella (our dog), and I share the first one. We comment on how we might adjust things... Bella always says she needs just one more bite to have creative input. It's quite a good time.
Well, you might be saying now, "Why are we talking pancakes on a tech blog?" Good question, and the answer will probably confuse you a little at first.
See, this set of pancakes was a little different than usual. This week my wife and Amilia made a quick trip to a local store, The Blueberry Patch. As you might have guessed from the name, they sell blueberries, and now's the time to pick'em. There's nothing quite like fresh blueberries; you just can't get that at a chain store. Oh, and my wife and daughters picked them by hand themselves too.
The dynamic of a local company is that if you end up not liking what they sold you, you're likely to tell others of the quality of what you got, and that will have a direct impact on their bottom line. That's why it's best to deal with local providers, and IT is like that too.
Find a local provider with a great reputation' someone that can cover the basics. Lean on that organization to refer you to specialists when in need; DON'T ask them to be the one-stop-shop, it's just not realistic. Interview possible providers and ask for references! Also, expect to be interviewed too. Any good IT provider will be careful of the accounts that they bring on as well. Hey, if they can't make money servicing your account, they won't be in business long.
Be leery of the one guy shops... Yes, you'll get a great price and probably decent service, but that guy's got to take a vacation once in a while... and what happens when he lands just one more account than he can properly service? Would you buy your blueberries out of the trunk of a car? Then why buy your IT that way?
There are many great options in almost any market. Ask around and you're sure to uncover great providers... and remember, interview!
The first pancake never quite turns out. Either the temperature isn't quite right or the batter. Amilia, Bella (our dog), and I share the first one. We comment on how we might adjust things... Bella always says she needs just one more bite to have creative input. It's quite a good time.
Well, you might be saying now, "Why are we talking pancakes on a tech blog?" Good question, and the answer will probably confuse you a little at first.
See, this set of pancakes was a little different than usual. This week my wife and Amilia made a quick trip to a local store, The Blueberry Patch. As you might have guessed from the name, they sell blueberries, and now's the time to pick'em. There's nothing quite like fresh blueberries; you just can't get that at a chain store. Oh, and my wife and daughters picked them by hand themselves too.
The dynamic of a local company is that if you end up not liking what they sold you, you're likely to tell others of the quality of what you got, and that will have a direct impact on their bottom line. That's why it's best to deal with local providers, and IT is like that too.
Find a local provider with a great reputation' someone that can cover the basics. Lean on that organization to refer you to specialists when in need; DON'T ask them to be the one-stop-shop, it's just not realistic. Interview possible providers and ask for references! Also, expect to be interviewed too. Any good IT provider will be careful of the accounts that they bring on as well. Hey, if they can't make money servicing your account, they won't be in business long.
Be leery of the one guy shops... Yes, you'll get a great price and probably decent service, but that guy's got to take a vacation once in a while... and what happens when he lands just one more account than he can properly service? Would you buy your blueberries out of the trunk of a car? Then why buy your IT that way?
There are many great options in almost any market. Ask around and you're sure to uncover great providers... and remember, interview!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Gurus of Tech! - AKA - My Oddball Brothers
Well, if you've been following my tweets at all... and all of you are right? (@charon79m) You know that I've been spending the early part of this week at a conference in Louisville, Ky.
Contrary to what you might be thinking, this is NOT the type of conference where I find myself in common company. This conference is for Church Tech, ie. Sound, Lighting, Camera, Creative Directing, CG, Motion Graphics, etc. These are the guys (and gals) that make sure that the the production that happens around the service goes smooth. These are the guys wearing the black shirts running around that you really don't know who they are. Yep, that crew.
I must say, although I'm out of my element, I've never felt more welcomed and involved at any other conference than I do here. This conference is filled with talented individuals all figuring out how to put on professional looking productions on a tight, if not non-existent, budget with a volunteer team.
Let me tell you, what these guys can do with some can lights and gaffer's tape boggles the mind!!! I'm partially kidding here, many of these guys play with geeky toys that would make the most well budgeted IT team jealous... but the ingenuity they display is breathtaking.
What I've found most amazing is that they are a truly interesting breed, unlike any other. They are very creative and artistic individuals, but they're not stuck in a totally creative mindset. At one point in one of the events, the entire crowd cried out in horror. It was a painful scream... almost like they were watching a loved one being tortured! As it turns out, this isn't far from the truth. See, one of the MCs was preparing for a "Tech Olympic" event where members of the audience would compete to see who could perfectly wrap an audio cable fastest. What was his crime? He was doing the ol' wrapping a cable around your arm trick. Yep, the punishment for his crime, death by stoning! OK, not that bad, but he was definitely getting some stern looks and scoffs even though it was just part of the show! It was like when someone calls your sister ugly, it doesn't matter if it's true that guy's getting corrected... know what I mean?
Yeah, it's that alien of an environment... but it's very welcoming. Like most of us IT guys, these individuals are fighting for a small piece of the budgetary pie. They have to walk that fine line of letting their equipment properly depreciate, then age, then atrophy, then be held together with tuck tape before they can even think about asking for a replacement. They work long hours, and when their job is done well you don't even know that they exist. They have a very thankless job where one little mess-up can have far reaching consequences. Sound familiar... sound like this person could be your cublicle neighbor? Well, let me say that I now consider them my brothers.
I have learned so much wisdom in this short conference:
"I want to be exhausted when I'm done so I know that I gave it my all."
Rob Thomas (Ignighter Media) @robwthomas
"Do you push the envelope enough to make a bold mistake?"
John Weygant
"Accidents are going to happen, carelessness is unacceptable!"
Tim Ancovac (probably spelled this name wrong, sorry!)
"I'm the whitest black guy you'll ever know!"
George (last name unknown) Poor guy got drug up on stage w/ a friend, Jose, to wrap about Gurus Of Tech.
There are many others, but I think you get the picture. This conference is filled with my bothers. They're artistic and not quite like me, but we certainly share a similar DNA. Thanks for making me feel welcome at this conference. I hope to some day be able to repay the hospitality and knowledge that each of you has shared with me.
Two things I'd like you to take from this post:
1: Appreciate that an amazingly huge amount of well coordinated hard work went into providing you a visually and audibly appealing worship service. Don't get caught up on the glitter, that's not what they want the focus to be on... let yourself be lost in the message and your emotions to flow and react. A truly authentic worship is about the best thanks you can give this group of people.
2: If what I've posted above sounds interesting to you or you think it might interest someone in your church, point them to http://www.gurusoftech.com for future events, the @gurusoftech on twitter, and the AMAZING group of people in the Church Tech Director Roundtable (http://www.ctdrt.com/).
Contrary to what you might be thinking, this is NOT the type of conference where I find myself in common company. This conference is for Church Tech, ie. Sound, Lighting, Camera, Creative Directing, CG, Motion Graphics, etc. These are the guys (and gals) that make sure that the the production that happens around the service goes smooth. These are the guys wearing the black shirts running around that you really don't know who they are. Yep, that crew.
I must say, although I'm out of my element, I've never felt more welcomed and involved at any other conference than I do here. This conference is filled with talented individuals all figuring out how to put on professional looking productions on a tight, if not non-existent, budget with a volunteer team.
Let me tell you, what these guys can do with some can lights and gaffer's tape boggles the mind!!! I'm partially kidding here, many of these guys play with geeky toys that would make the most well budgeted IT team jealous... but the ingenuity they display is breathtaking.
What I've found most amazing is that they are a truly interesting breed, unlike any other. They are very creative and artistic individuals, but they're not stuck in a totally creative mindset. At one point in one of the events, the entire crowd cried out in horror. It was a painful scream... almost like they were watching a loved one being tortured! As it turns out, this isn't far from the truth. See, one of the MCs was preparing for a "Tech Olympic" event where members of the audience would compete to see who could perfectly wrap an audio cable fastest. What was his crime? He was doing the ol' wrapping a cable around your arm trick. Yep, the punishment for his crime, death by stoning! OK, not that bad, but he was definitely getting some stern looks and scoffs even though it was just part of the show! It was like when someone calls your sister ugly, it doesn't matter if it's true that guy's getting corrected... know what I mean?
Yeah, it's that alien of an environment... but it's very welcoming. Like most of us IT guys, these individuals are fighting for a small piece of the budgetary pie. They have to walk that fine line of letting their equipment properly depreciate, then age, then atrophy, then be held together with tuck tape before they can even think about asking for a replacement. They work long hours, and when their job is done well you don't even know that they exist. They have a very thankless job where one little mess-up can have far reaching consequences. Sound familiar... sound like this person could be your cublicle neighbor? Well, let me say that I now consider them my brothers.
I have learned so much wisdom in this short conference:
"I want to be exhausted when I'm done so I know that I gave it my all."
Rob Thomas (Ignighter Media) @robwthomas
"Do you push the envelope enough to make a bold mistake?"
John Weygant
"Accidents are going to happen, carelessness is unacceptable!"
Tim Ancovac (probably spelled this name wrong, sorry!)
"I'm the whitest black guy you'll ever know!"
George (last name unknown) Poor guy got drug up on stage w/ a friend, Jose, to wrap about Gurus Of Tech.
There are many others, but I think you get the picture. This conference is filled with my bothers. They're artistic and not quite like me, but we certainly share a similar DNA. Thanks for making me feel welcome at this conference. I hope to some day be able to repay the hospitality and knowledge that each of you has shared with me.
Two things I'd like you to take from this post:
1: Appreciate that an amazingly huge amount of well coordinated hard work went into providing you a visually and audibly appealing worship service. Don't get caught up on the glitter, that's not what they want the focus to be on... let yourself be lost in the message and your emotions to flow and react. A truly authentic worship is about the best thanks you can give this group of people.
2: If what I've posted above sounds interesting to you or you think it might interest someone in your church, point them to http://www.gurusoftech.com for future events, the @gurusoftech on twitter, and the AMAZING group of people in the Church Tech Director Roundtable (http://www.ctdrt.com/).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sharepoint, the other pig of a M$ product
OK, you might as well know now. I'm a Free and Open Source Software bigot. There, I've said it, so nobody can label me in the future, I've taken care of that.
Well, earlier this week I had the pleasure of troubleshooting my first SharePoint issue. This is a 2007 installation, so forgive me that it's not up the the most recent product.
My issue was this, I needed to upload about a dozen files to our internal Sharepoint site so others could access them. They were some training videos I created (yes, with FOSS). The version I created in Ogg video format uploaded without issue; however, I started to run into issues when I tired to upload the larger mpeg1 versions. Oddly, I did not receive any specific error message pointing me in any direction. Well, after some quick tests, I found that there was a file size issue around 30MB... anything larger was not permitted.
Hmmm... well, a quick google and bingo. Hop into the central administration console, configure the virtual server, check the general settings, and bingo set the upload size limit. Good ol' point and click M$ administration. But, what's this? It's set to 50 MB and I'm having an issue at 30. Well, we'll take it to something more respectable like 200 and give it a shot anyway. Nope, wrong answer. Hmmm...
Google!?!? Oh, Google!!! Well, look at this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925083
Yep, looks like I have to config it in two places... and WHAT'S THIS!?!? A text editor?
Well, after following the KB and hitting the "recycle" button on each site things appear to be working.
OK, last step! For those who want to use the smaller OGV files, I'll upload the codec install packs for 32 and 64-bit platforms. Hmm... fail again!?!?! They're small files; what's the deal? Oh, they end in .EXE. Yep, that's got to be it. Zip them up and upload, golden. Wow, great security there M$.
So, morals of the story time:
1: Even though it's all M$, it's no necessarily well integrated.
2: When you really want to get things done, go to the text editor.
3: When in doubt, zip it.
4: Google, you're theMan gender indeterminate site of knowledgeable goodness.
Well, earlier this week I had the pleasure of troubleshooting my first SharePoint issue. This is a 2007 installation, so forgive me that it's not up the the most recent product.
My issue was this, I needed to upload about a dozen files to our internal Sharepoint site so others could access them. They were some training videos I created (yes, with FOSS). The version I created in Ogg video format uploaded without issue; however, I started to run into issues when I tired to upload the larger mpeg1 versions. Oddly, I did not receive any specific error message pointing me in any direction. Well, after some quick tests, I found that there was a file size issue around 30MB... anything larger was not permitted.
Hmmm... well, a quick google and bingo. Hop into the central administration console, configure the virtual server, check the general settings, and bingo set the upload size limit. Good ol' point and click M$ administration. But, what's this? It's set to 50 MB and I'm having an issue at 30. Well, we'll take it to something more respectable like 200 and give it a shot anyway. Nope, wrong answer. Hmmm...
Google!?!? Oh, Google!!! Well, look at this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925083
Yep, looks like I have to config it in two places... and WHAT'S THIS!?!? A text editor?
Well, after following the KB and hitting the "recycle" button on each site things appear to be working.
OK, last step! For those who want to use the smaller OGV files, I'll upload the codec install packs for 32 and 64-bit platforms. Hmm... fail again!?!?! They're small files; what's the deal? Oh, they end in .EXE. Yep, that's got to be it. Zip them up and upload, golden. Wow, great security there M$.
So, morals of the story time:
1: Even though it's all M$, it's no necessarily well integrated.
2: When you really want to get things done, go to the text editor.
3: When in doubt, zip it.
4: Google, you're the
Lession #1: KniselyKnows that time flies!
Really... over a month? It's been that long??!!!
Yes, I hear you my throngs of fans waiting on my every word. I've let you down. In my defense, I never said I was going to be all that good at blogging. Hey, I'm just starting out!
The joys of parenthood, summer sun, agony of work, and a myriad of other things have distracted me from the very important task of sharing my technical insight, however myopic, with the world. Here's a shot at sharing where my mind has been recently.
I recall a lesson shared by Admiral Jim Stockdale regarding what it took to survive an incredibly challenging time, in his case being tortured as a POW. He said that you should not be an optimist, setting arbitrary time lines of hope. He said that when those goals come and go it can crush your spirit. Instead, embrace your current situation in all the reality of it... even those dark scary things. Once you have that reality, look for the little wins to let you get though the day. It's those little wins that will keep your spirit up helping you to press on.
Now, I'm not equating my situation with that of Admiral Stockdale, but I don't want to allow myself to get all rosy glasses either. Here's the connection:
I recently attended a conference where I received a vendor branded snuggie (http://yfrog.com/izrmmj). That in itself would have been worth the trip, but it was great sitting with others discussing strategy in our market. It is interesting being the equivalent of a late teenager in this market. I see how we're still making some stupid choices, but we're also able to share our wisdom with the adolescents in the market too. It was great fun, and I feel like my organization can really come of age soon. Like all that graduate into adulthood, I'm sure that harsh realities are around the corner too, and it's in this where Stockdale's message echoes in my mind.
My organization has been going though a lot of turmoil lately. From trying to re-invent ourselves, to having a half dozen leadership changes over 5 years... it's been tough, and there's one thing that I can say with almost complete certainty: We have not yet completely surveyed our situation. Those dark scary things, while known to exist have not been clearly studied and understood.
We all know that we have deficiencies, but it's not until we explore those deficiencies that we truly understand the depth and impact. With the most recent shakeup today, I'm hopeful that we are started on that path.
Yes, I hear you my throngs of fans waiting on my every word. I've let you down. In my defense, I never said I was going to be all that good at blogging. Hey, I'm just starting out!
The joys of parenthood, summer sun, agony of work, and a myriad of other things have distracted me from the very important task of sharing my technical insight, however myopic, with the world. Here's a shot at sharing where my mind has been recently.
I recall a lesson shared by Admiral Jim Stockdale regarding what it took to survive an incredibly challenging time, in his case being tortured as a POW. He said that you should not be an optimist, setting arbitrary time lines of hope. He said that when those goals come and go it can crush your spirit. Instead, embrace your current situation in all the reality of it... even those dark scary things. Once you have that reality, look for the little wins to let you get though the day. It's those little wins that will keep your spirit up helping you to press on.
Now, I'm not equating my situation with that of Admiral Stockdale, but I don't want to allow myself to get all rosy glasses either. Here's the connection:
I recently attended a conference where I received a vendor branded snuggie (http://yfrog.com/izrmmj). That in itself would have been worth the trip, but it was great sitting with others discussing strategy in our market. It is interesting being the equivalent of a late teenager in this market. I see how we're still making some stupid choices, but we're also able to share our wisdom with the adolescents in the market too. It was great fun, and I feel like my organization can really come of age soon. Like all that graduate into adulthood, I'm sure that harsh realities are around the corner too, and it's in this where Stockdale's message echoes in my mind.
My organization has been going though a lot of turmoil lately. From trying to re-invent ourselves, to having a half dozen leadership changes over 5 years... it's been tough, and there's one thing that I can say with almost complete certainty: We have not yet completely surveyed our situation. Those dark scary things, while known to exist have not been clearly studied and understood.
We all know that we have deficiencies, but it's not until we explore those deficiencies that we truly understand the depth and impact. With the most recent shakeup today, I'm hopeful that we are started on that path.
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