This week, it’s RH 300 – an intensive, fast track session of book learning about all things Red Hat system administration, followed by two pressure-filled, frantic tests. If I pass both those, I’ll be an RHCE¹ I’ve always thought that testing one’s knowledge is a good vehicle for indicating areas where one needs improvement; I only hope I need improvement in < 30% of the areas, so I can pass the test.

I’ve always said that having a certification doesn’t automatically make one a better admin, nor does the lack of a certification make one a clueless dolt. Having said that, I want the certification. Badly.

-k-

After 7+ years¹ at the same jobsite, I report to a brand new contract on Monday.

I’m still with the same company; that’s a Good Thing™. I work for a small company; I like small companies – every one I’ve worked for has treated me like family, my propensities for sometimes acting like Crazy Uncle Oscar to the contrary notwithstanding.

Contracting is a good life, overall. I’ve always fancied myself somewhat adept at customer care. The customer is not, however, always right², and the last gig rapidly turned into a spinning fireball of short-sightedness, bureaucracy, and meaningless red tape³. When you have to check your brains at the door upon reporting for work, it’s time to look elsewhere. And I had looked. In NoVA, sysadmin jobs abound, but I’m a bit picky. I was looking for a “blank sheet” position, one where I could help stand up a new datacanter, lead a Solaris-to-Red Hat migration, something like that. There were a few near misses in locating such a situation; I’d accepted one such offer, only to have funding fall through.

So, perhaps now, I find myself in what could be the best of all possible worlds. I remain with my current company, but on a new contract with a different customer, and an opportunity to learn additional things⁴. And, though butterflies are invading my stomach as I type this, the decision tree came down to answering Do the chances of my being happier with a new customer outweigh those of the current customer ceasing to suck? The answer to that is a no-brainer’s no-brainer.

Onward!

-k-

Some practical poetry from the late, great John Stewart:

But you can’t look back
When you’re moving on
But you can’t look back
Buddy you got to go and sing your song

Where did they go
All the good times I used to know?
Long time ago I loved a woman
I loved a woman, never let her know

But you can’t look back
When you’re moving on
But you can’t look back
Buddy you got to go and sing your song

Stumble and fall
I’m not the man that I was at all
Words on the wall, I do believe
I do believe I might have blown it all

But you can’t look back
When you’re moving on
But you can’t look back
Buddy you got to go and sing your song

Movin’ on, singin’ my song. Meditate on those.
Clarification of all the above to follow shortly..

-k-

A very special Kansas Day today. It’s Kansas’ sesquicentennial; 150 years of statehood.

Think about it; 150 years. Think of 150 years worth of plowing, planting, harvesting. Think of 150 years of neighbor helping neigbbor. Think of 150 years of ice cream socials, church potluck suppers, county fairs, and parades. Think of 600 changes of seasons, from the verdant fields of spring, to the amber waves of grain and blistering hot days of summer(it ripens the wheat; don’t complain – much), to the crisp days of autumn, wherein pheasants are hunted, and footballs fill the air in high school football fields across the state, to the sometimes brutal days of winter, where high winds and heavy snows block the roads, and locals’ attention turns to the basketball courts.

Speaking of basketball courts, the KU-KState basketball game is tonight. Couldn’t be a more fitting way to celebrate.

Rock Chalk!

-k-

First, a little practical poetry from Mr Tom T. Hall:

I love winners when they cry, losers when they try, music when it’s good, and life

Dedicated to the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, on their victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

An undefeated team, playing on New Year’s Day, the way it’s been for years. And, I daresay, postgame grace that you won’t see exhibited after the BCS Championship Game¹.

Well done, Frogs!

-k-

This caught my eye; it’s on the Washington Post front page: Capitol evacuated after brief threat.

The article describes an errant plane in the Capitol’s airspace:

The U.S. Capitol complex was evacuated Saturday afternoon when an aircraft entered restricted space, prompting a 30-minute shutdown of the Senate and House buildings.

They caught their man; all hands safe.

It then occurred to me that the Capitol is far more a threat without the presence of a single aircraft. The heightened threat alert times would be those when Congress is actually in session, last for days, not minutes, and end only when someone moves to adjourn.

-k-

A chart to get you started; it was true in 2010, it is now unfortunately, the Rules of the Sky:

People who Touch Your Junk

H/T: Radley Balko.

-k-

We have to document the Reason for the Season.

-k-

I usually post lyrics to classic carols, or the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Luke.

xkcd offers the following

I won’t mention the other holiday magic that occurs here; the transformation over heat of the humble ingredients flour and oil into a wonderful roux, which forms the base of our andouille and chicken gumbo, which we’re looking forward to a couple hours hence.

Merry Christmas!

-k-