kicked ms’ 70-282 exam right square in the butt this afternoon.
which means that i, and by extension my company, am now a small business specialist. or will be…once my score posts.
so, in the immortal words of the vilest of villains from my childhood, count malachi…
let the pigeons loose!
|| posted by happyfunboy under it pro, nostalgia, thumbs up || comments (0) || ||
let’s hear it for arfa, the 9 year old pakistani girl who just became an mcp.
say or think what you want about ms’ certification program, it’s a pretty awesome accomplishment for her, and she deserves (and has gotten) some props for it.
just think what an asset she could be to her community, or school.
now, would anyone really hire her for an enterprise level job? even if you could set aside child labor laws..the answer would still be no. little thing called growing up still needs to happen.
but there’s plenty of time for her to become an adult and join the joyous world of work.
my point is that she found something she was interested in, set a goal, and did the work to reach that goal. why in the world would anyone in their right mind want to do anything but encourage this child to keep setting goals and achieving them? are people really that bitter, petty & jealous?
i personally know very knowledgeable folks who have been professionally employed in the it field for more than 20 years who would rather gouge their own eyes out and eat them like gumdrops than study and take an exam from any vendor. the first thing out of their mouths is “well, passing those tests don’t really mean anything.”
to which i say…yes, it does. it means that you’ve approached a vendor’s product from the vendor’s designated perspective, and satisfied that vendor you are someone who can present themselves as understanding their product.
now, is having only one vendor’s perspective a dangerous thing?
you bet your aunt fanny it is.
here’s one of my favorite tech mnemonics (for remembering the 7 layer osi model):
as brad hamilton would say (if he’d been a tech intern, rather than working in food service):
if you want to blame anyone or anything for the problem of “paper” techs, blame the sloppy hiring decisions during 90’s tech boom. our industry is still shaking out the numbskulls.
remembering some of the folks i’ve come into contact with over my 10 years in it…the maturity level of a 9 year old would have been a huge improvement for a good number of them.
wonder if arfa’s fielding offers. we could use a decent frontline tech.
|| posted by happyfunboy under it pro, mothership, opinion, rant, shoutout, thumbs up || comments (0) || ||
the diva’s blog reminded me of something today, and that is…
my next computer will be running windows xp media center edition 2005.
why, you ask?
because i have a replaytv,and it kicks major butt. as such, pvr functions are very big around our house.
if the replay misses a recording (like, during extended power or cable service outages) folks in my house are very unhappy. so, having an mce simply as a backup if the replay goes up in smoke is reason enough for me.
still, the new machine has to have a dual-core processor.
i’m vacillating between either an hp and a winbook unit.
i’d already have bought the winbook (the 30″ lcd/tv is very compelling), except it has a pentium 4, not a pentium d.
btw: i suppose i’ll pick one of these up too when it arrives.
|| posted by happyfunboy under hardware, media || comments (0) || ||
i’m a big fan of a little thing called ownership. not just for myself, but for folks in general. and by folks, i mean everybody. as much ownership as possible.
the main reason for this is a simple idea:
ownership begets both pride and responsibility, which together beget value
and that is because ownership involves more than monetary investment. truly owning something involves mental and emotional investment as well. otherwise, you just don’t care enough about whatever that something is, and therefore you don’t value it.
nowhere is this more evident than in my chosen profession. as a technology consultant, i see firsthand how the lack of a sense of ownership in data systems can affect a small business. time and time again, i see new clients and prospects who feel nearly helpless, to the point that they think they have no control over systems that they have bought and paid for.
9 times out of 10, i can trace it back to consultants or vendors who, consciously or not, make small biz owners feel like a spectator when it comes to their systems. insanely crazy stuff like…consultants refusing to give up administrative passwords upon request, or who half-implement systems, then take the money and run.
the sheer disrespect in that kind of behavior stuns me, and i…for one…am fed up with having to combat the bad reputation crappy tech folks give the rest of us.
as a gift to small biz owners everywhere, your friendly neighborhood happyfunboy offers a few simple truths that, if you keep them in mind, might help you take back the power:
and finally, my personal favorite:
that’s not to say that we consultants don’t need to have our act together. but it doesn’t take some grandiose mission statement or declaration. personally, i think any consultant who follows 2 simple operating principles will never lack for good clients who trust and value their work:
clients who are comfortable with their systems, and feel that they are in control of what is happening to those systems, even if it is someone else who actually does the work (diligent consultants like us), are not only much more satisfied clients, but they are also much more likely to think strategically about their systems.
and why is that, you may ask?
because their true ownership of their systems means they value those systems.
and, by extension, the trusted advisor (again, diligent consultants like us) who got them there.
note: today’s treatise inspired by ms. stanton’s recent blog posting
|| posted by happyfunboy under it pro, opinion || comments (0) || ||
never have been. but i’m all over the mini cooper s. i could drop an insane amount of cheese on a fully decked mini, and not think twice about it.
their website smokes, and fully grooves with the whole mini kind of vibe. c’mon…you can build your own mini robot. how freakin bad-a** is that?
btw: by fully decked, i’m talking all the jcw enhancements, and every carbon-fiber mesh trim available. i think i’ve got a saved ragtop config hovering at a hair over $46K (base msrp is only $24.9K). i’ve aptly named it red hot spender.
|| posted by happyfunboy under more cowbell, robot, thumbs up || comments (0) || ||
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