Today is System Administrator Appreciation Day

Rai    Society     event, holiday, System Administrator Appreciation Day

July 31, 2009 (Last Friday Of July)
10th Annual System Administrator Appreciation Day

A sysadmin unpacked the server for this website from its box, installed an operating system, patched it for security, made sure the power and air conditioning was working in the server room, monitored it for stability, set up the software, and kept backups in case anything went wrong. All to serve this webpage.

A sysadmin installed the routers, laid the cables, configured the networks, set up the firewalls, and watched and guided the traffic for each hop of the network that runs over copper, fiber optic glass, and even the air itself to bring the Internet to your computer. All to make sure the webpage found its way from the server to your computer.

A sysadmin makes sure your network connection is safe, secure, open, and working. A sysadmin makes sure your computer is working in a healthy way on a healthy network. A sysadmin takes backups to guard against disaster both human and otherwise, holds the gates against security threats and crackers, and keeps the printers going no matter how many copies of the tax code someone from Accounting prints out.

A sysadmin worries about spam, viruses, spyware, but also power outages, fires and floods.

When the email server goes down at 2 AM on a Sunday, your sysadmin is paged, wakes up, and goes to work.

A sysadmin is a professional, who plans, worries, hacks, fixes, pushes, advocates, protects and creates good computer networks, to get you your data, to help you do work — to bring the potential of computing ever closer to reality.

So if you can read this, thank your sysadmin — and know he or she is only one of dozens or possibly hundreds whose work brings you the email from your aunt on the West Coast, the instant message from your son at college, the free phone call from the friend in Australia, and this webpage.

Show your appreciation

Friday, July 31, 2009, is the 10th annual System Administrator Appreciation Day. On this special international day, give your System Administrator something that shows that you truly appreciate their hard work and dedication. (All day Friday, 24 hours, your local timezone).

Let’s face it, System Administrators get no respect 364 days a year. This is the day that all fellow System Administrators across the globe, will be showered with expensive sports cars and large piles of cash in appreciation of their diligent work. But seriously, we are asking for a nice token gift and some public acknowledgement. It’s the least you could do.

Consider all the daunting tasks and long hours (weekends too.) Let’s be honest, sometimes we don’t know our System Administrators as well as they know us. Remember this is one day to recognize your System Administrator for their workplace contributions and to promote professional excellence. Thank them for all the things they do for you and your business.

We are overworked and most of the time, underpaid. Our only drive is our passion. Cheers to all System Administrators all over the world!

Merry Christmas!

Rai    PinoyTux     card, cheers, christmas, christmas tree, gifts, greeting card, holiday, image

*This holiday cheer greeting image was made using GIMP, an open-source image manipulation program.

Ohnoes! My Christmas Wishlist!

Rai    Others     christmas, gift, holiday, ideas, presents, wish list

Okay, for the first time in my life, I am going to create a list of what I want for Christmas. I have never created one, and I am not so very good at asking people for anything either. When someone asks me what I want for Christmas, I always tell them “kahit ano” (means “anything” in English). Here goes my list what I want to see in my Christmas stocking:

15. Harry Potter Book Set (Books 1-7)
14. Pancake House’s Spaghetti and Steak Recipe
13. Tabi socks
12. RHCE stuff (shirt, jacket, sticker, mug or whatever)
11. Someone who wants to do my laundry for a day
10. One freezer full of Nestle Yogurt Ice Cream (Strawberry, please!)
9. Starbucks Mug and Tumbler, one for each
8. One sack of kittie litter for my obnoxious cat who always pee on the door
7. Someone who wants to pay my water bill for December at his/her own expense (I forgot to pay my water bill )
6. A penguin plush doll
5. Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden Manga Set (not necessarily translated to English)
4. A dinner date with an American boss from my workplace (no hints!)
3. One month pass in any Fitness First gym within Metro Manila
2. Nikon D60 camera, with or without extra accessories
1. Tickets for a one-week trip for 2 to any Disneyland Park

There you go. It’s not a very long list but it is what I conjure up for now. Maybe I’ll add more.

Merry Christmas!

Geek’s Guide to Gift Giving

Rai    Linux     christmas, computer, geek, gifts, holiday, old, vintage

Christmas is getting near and giving gifts is an activity that is inevitable during the holiday seasons. One must go through the rite of passage by rushing to the mall and beating the holiday panic which includes annoying people, crying children and the Christmas traffic.

But since the thing called the Internet is already here, no need to leave your house. Or your chair for that matter. Christmas gifts ideas are one Google away but if you want a very unique geeky gift, vintage is the way to go.

Website The Collectors Weekly has the list of vintage computer equipment that you can get your little hands on. Most stuff are on eBay so you won’t have any problems ordering one.

One example: Remember how a computer looks like in 1980’s? Here’s to refresh your memory:

This is a 1980 Casio Personal Computer FA-10 being sold at eBay. Great addition to your arsenal of geeky treasure.

I am planning of giving away 1.44 MB Floppy disks to friends. They are vintage, are they not?