Greg Folkert tries stuff here and elsewhere

What fun things I get to play with now-a-day: Keep *REALLY* old hardware running (some of the first VA-Linux machines sold), cleaning up five years worth of messes that predecessors left around after a machine re-deploy, calling Colo-support for remote hands on real problems, networking audits with pictures... among other things.

What fun things I get to play with *SOON*: Migration of most SaaS stuff to a neat Grid based system product AppLogic from a company called 3tera and maybe CloudWare integration in a year or so, mainly using it for scaling of a front-end.

Things I do:   Researching · Mentoring · Implementation · Systems Design · Problem Prevention

Skills I have:   Apache · Enterprise Hardware · GroupWise · NetWare · Novell Directory Services (eDIR) · Office Applications (Word, Excel, OpenOffice.org, etc) · Samba · TCP/IP · Troubleshooting systems · UNIX - AIX, HPUX, OSF1, Tru64 · Linux · *BSDs · Windows

Some say I should just start a blog and start writing. I have done this with my rhetorical prose already. I disagree, but then, that is what I do, disagree.

Others have told me for a long while, that I have a niche in running Debian's SID/unstable distro, that I should write about my daily experiences of running "bleeding edge" Debian. Debian SID isn't always bleeding edge, but sometimes it does hemorrhage.

Even still, others think I have a great mind for fixing things. I should open a store front and advertise locally. Hmmm, that's a thought, spend tons of money to open a brick and mortar. Then just as I get a few repeat customers, close up because making $2000/month while spending $5000/month, just doesn't seem to work. More on this at a later date on "on my blog."

Then again, since I have a profound knack to be able to "do" most things in life and since I basically subscribe to Robert Heinlein's view of specialization:

Specialization is for Insects
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein

People tell me to start doing "niche things". Yeah, they might have a point. Some of those niche things suggested have been: designing and forging knives, rebuilding/detailing/designing engines, digitally restoring color photos, writing technical pubs for "real" people, raising awareness of digital realm problems. There is a whole list of things, some have merit, some don't.

Recently, life has thrown me a wicked curve ball, forcing me to really truly evaluate my "chosen career path." This may mean I just opt-out of IT for good. For many years, I was forever catching up to what everyone (read as employers) wanted for skill-sets. This has now turned a 180° on me. Now I get the occasional "You don't have what we are looking for, have a nice day." spiel, but in fact mostly now it is "You are very over-qualified, have a nice day." from prospective employers. I have also "scared off a few" during interviews, while testing my "impressive" (their words not mine) knowledge and skills. Sometimes, my knowledge and skillset "comes off" as a bit aggressive or overt, this is something, I am working on this part. I unfortuneately have a deep voice and am a relatively "big" man, people become intimidated as soon as they hear me and see me, without a second thought, I am off the short-short list.

Overall though, money is tight, bills are paid, family life is good and the wife is doing well in her endeavours. I just feel like life is steaming on by, though I keep myself up and running everyday.