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"Sysadmin of the Year" Winners Announced
lisah writes "Ten winners of this year's 'Sysadmin of the Year' contest have been announced and, while Robin 'Roblimo' Miller says it's not quite like winning the Miss America contest, being selected from approximately 2,500 entrants is nothing to sneeze at. This year's first place winner battled an office fire to save a RAID backup server, while another IT manager won an honorable mention for his dedicated work at a yarn store. From the article, '[The nominating entry said:] Any man who would take on a position at a yarn store, much less a technological position while surrounded by a dozen women, ages 55+ deserves some kind of reward...'" Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by OSTG.
So does the winner recieve all of the Xena and Star Trek: Voyager season DVDs, as well as a lifetime supply of Hot Pockets and Pop Tarts?
This is my signature. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Linux.com and Slashdot are both owned by OSTG.
I dunno who OSTG is, but they must be pretty awesome. They pwned Slashdot and Linux.com!
Oh, c'mon. I think we all know what his "Cocoon-like" reward was.
... that there's a place in the universe for dorky looking white guys.
" From the article, '[The nominating entry said:] Any man who would take on a position at a yarn store, much less a technological position while surrounded by a dozen women, ages 55+ deserves some kind of reward...'""
It could have been worse. The yarn store could have burst into flames.
The medieval equivalent of a stable boy
no bathing suit contest segment, PLEASE!
What do you want me to do, clap? I'd say ALL sysadmins are heros because they need to put up with a stupid userbase and inept managers that see their bottom line only.
... battled an office fire to save a RAID backup server ...
Of course, the sysadmin did have a complete backup set of tapes stored offsite? I would think that company could afford to let the hardware go up in smoke instead of facing a possible lawsuit if the sysadmin died on the job.
Speaking of video games, anyone who thinks knitting is all girly flowers and things hasn't seen the cool retro-gaming knits at Bits 2 Die 4.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
The winner got "Washington DC"? The whole thing? Man, I knew OSTG had major league pull, but that's amazing! ;-)
Note to Michael Beck - Now that you own Washington DC, please replace Congress, the Supreme Court and the President with a few Beowulf clusters. We should see a marked improvement in performance.
It's a thin line between winner and (ultimate) loser:
Scenario 1:
Man risks life to save RAID server, and lives.
Reward: System admin of year, free t-shirt, maybe a free watch from company at holiday party.
Scenario 2:
Man risks life to save RAID server, dies in process.
Reward: Gets mentioned in every system admin journal of something you should not do.
Scenario 3:
Man backs up RAID server to remote location and evacuates building before it collapses.
Reward: Lives fruitful life with wife and kids.
I know that Hindsight is 20/20, but it had to be said.
How many of the companies these men work for would backstab them in a second if it meant higher profits?
Why, I take very good care of my users. In fact, I wouldn't have a job without them, right? I mean, I support the computers they use, and without them the computers wouldn't NEED any support. In fact, I just had a brand new backup system installed in our halon-protected server room. It's there to ensure that any data they find valuable will always be available. Go ahead, step in and take a look for yourself. It's right there in the back row, about halfway down.
No, really, I insist. Have a look.
Fill in your four or five-letter word of wisdom here _ _ _ _ _.
Man has several minutes to evacuate the building as the fire is in another unit. Man casually grabs RAID server because off-site backups are a week old. (We really have no idea if there were off-site backups or not).
It's easy to imagine the panic scenario where the guy is risking his life for some dumb data, but the article doesn't really make it sound like that at all.
AccountKiller
I read through the entire blurb and half the comments until I realize the guy works at a "yarn" store and not a "yam" store. I was trying to wrap my mind around the business logic of selling nothing but yams.
I got nothin'
"Grandprize: Washington DC".
I thought DC was owned by the lobbyists? How did they negotiate that?!?
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
Perhaps that's because so many of them are BOHF, power freaks who treat "their" users like crap.
Actually, livestock would be more appropriate. After all, users have some value at contract time.
That's not so hard. Try being doing the same at a modeling agency or such, and actually be able to concentrate on your work while surrounded by a dozen hot babes.
OTOH, that would be its own reward.
Too bad it was clearly written by those 55+ year old women you think it discriminates against.
Or perhaps you say it discriminates against men who want to work at a yarn store with women twice their age?
That's a quote from Janice Yamamoto, The woman who nominated him. ...Just so you know.
The Statue of Liberty is America's lawn jockey.
I'm disgusted that such opinions are casually treated as acceptable in this day and age.
Well since it was written by 55+ year old women I'd give them some slack as they grew up in a different age and time.
'Reboot and try again' is often valid advice when dealing with technology that routinely fouls up its memory state so as to become unusable. If it's not said to the men, perhaps it should be. What do they get told, "It's broken, you're screwed!"?
It just so happens that that place for them is in a back room, away from all customers.
...is people going into rooms with fires to rescue equipment or backups. People just don't realize how poisonous/noxious the fumes are from burning electronics; they think they can hold their breath, except they get a small whiff of the fumes up their nose, or need to take another breath because of exertion (that box of tapes wasn't as easy to find as they thought)- cough, suck in a nice big breath of poisonous smoke, and collapse a few seconds later. Poisonous fumes stick around even after a fire is out. Wait for the fire department to come and declare the room and building SAFE. If you need something specific, ask the dude with the SCBA pack to go and get it for you; if there's no serious danger to them, they'll probably oblige.
The infamous Blue Book warns clearly and repeatedly that backups should NEVER be stored in the same room because of these dangers. Employees/managers feel too tempted to do shit exactly like what "Sean Thomas" did.
If there is a fire, GET THE FUCK OUT. Period. Companies have insurance and should have off-site backups for this kind of stuff, and it's not your fault if they don't. It's also much better to be alive and living off unemployment or looking for a new job, than in the ER with no job...or dead.
Side note: is it just me, or was this "competition" just a stupid submitting of resumes with "nominations", and "be a good little worker bee" crap? "Michael Beck is a young go getter. The word "no" and phrase "I can't" are not in his vocabulary." Gimme a break...
Please help metamoderate.
Yeah, off-site backups would have been nice. Have you ever read Dilbert? Sometimes the voice of reason gets bludgeoned to death by the pointy-haired boss - or in this case a couple of them who just happen to have empty pockets (couldn't even find lint in there) and even emptier brains.
Your setup is in a company who understands the need to backup. His does not. Sysadmins work with what they are given. When you do not control the purse strings, then your hands are tied.
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Religion and politics, without the flame. godgab.org
Never even got nominated. Next year I'll demand the users nominate me, or I'll erase their files.