Information Technology

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Hope to see you all there!

I've heard the mind mapping term tossed about here and there for years, but I never really understood how it differed from plain old brainstorming from the days of yore. I felt my storming mind needed a little orderly mapping, and below I outline how that process unfolded.

As a followup to its highly successful training programs, LOPSA is partnering with the Southern California Linux Expo (SCaLE) for the second year in a row.

So, a while ago I managed to lose the list of news feeds I tracked. As my life finally started winding down to a mellow level of chaos, I recently started playing catchup. The result is that I've been reading either overlooked, forgotten, or simply neglected feeds and posts around the blogosphere.

I am teaching four classes at SysAdmin Days in Phoenix, AZ, which is November 6 and 7, 2006. If you are anywhere near there, please take a serious look at the program offered. There are some top notch instructors, so it's a fantastic price.

I posted the following to LOPSAÂ at http://lopsa.org/node/816:

 In my efforts to generate an SA skills matrix, I've discovered that we haven't managed to quantify what we do in categories in a clear and consistent manner. Therefore, I'm calling on other SAs to help me build this list. The results of my efforts will be returned to the community, as well, so let's all put a little in and get a lot out!

I am looking to build a system of evaluating my new team's set of skills and experiences. To start, I am looking to create a spreadsheet style matrix to get something prototyped quickly. So far I haven't found much online as a base to work from.

Of the few readers I have out there, does anyone have some suggestions or have already built a matrix for Unix SAs that I could look at?

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The BBC News reports that IBM is building a new supercomputer, nicknamedRoadrunner, for the U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Clearly I'm behind on my BBC newsfeed reading, but I found this gem from September 6, 2006. The article is about a group that has recreated the Bletchley Park code breaking operation from World War II.

Knowing our code making and breaking history helps us understand the work we do today.

The Washington Post published an article about how the HP Board of Directors used an outside agency to obtain phone records of board members and journalists. This is a fine example of how social engineering is still one of the most effective and dangerous methods of breaking someone's security.