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"Sysadmin of the Year" Winners Announced 206

Posted by kdawson from the kudos-for-ubergeeks dept.
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.
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"Sysadmin of the Year" Winners Announced More

"Sysadmin of the Year" Winners Announced

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  • Rewards? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Non-CleverNickName ( 1027234 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:08PM (#17102618)
    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?

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Brill ( 691333 )
      pocket protectors. dozens of 'em.

      • Re:Rewards? (Score:4, Funny)

        by roseblood ( 631824 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:39PM (#17103086)
        He is expected to perform greater miracles in the future! afterall the sysadmin of the year should be able to fix anything!

        "The computer doesn't work, fix it asshole, its your fault, you're the computer guy!"

        "My password was 'iloveu' and now all my stuffs are gone, put them back you asshole!"

        "I cant login to my account, I don't remember the password, fix it asshole!"

        "The computer deleted my emails, put them back you asshole, now!!!"

        You should be able to handle all four of these user requests at the same time, and resolve them all yesterday. If you don't people will wonder why they are paying extra to have the sys admin of the year, and will fire you and replace you with some one else at a lower payscale.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by SoapDish ( 971052 )
      No, but the Honorable Mentions get a case of Bawls Soda.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by thisIsNotMyName ( 1019074 )
      Actually, the Grand Prize was apparently "Washington D.C."

    • Re:Rewards? (Score:5, Funny)

      by crazdgamer ( 846581 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @04:05PM (#17104356) Journal
      So does the winner recieve all of the Xena and Star Trek: Voyager season DVDs...
      Why would the winner want to receive something he already has?

    • Re:Rewards? (Score:4, Funny)

      by speculatrix ( 678524 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @04:13PM (#17104468)
      a lifetime supply of all-you-can-eat Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - about two month's worth!

  • OSTG? (Score:5, Funny)

    by JustASlashDotGuy ( 905444 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:08PM (#17102624)

    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!

  • Cocoon-like reward? (Score:5, Funny)

    by xxxJonBoyxxx ( 565205 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:09PM (#17102646)
    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


    Oh, c'mon. I think we all know what his "Cocoon-like" reward was.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by tarason ( 720261 )
      Hey, don't mock - I own a yarn store ; where family members work - I started computers as a VMS System Manager (REAL Computing bigot) and later 15 years as a consultant (VMS (while it lasted) /Unix/ NT) - I don't knit, But I do the web site.

  • Proving once and for all... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Old VMS Junkie ( 739626 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:11PM (#17102668)
    ... that there's a place in the universe for dorky looking white guys.

  • Those Darn flames. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:11PM (#17102680)
    " 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.

  • sysadmins (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The medieval equivalent of a stable boy

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by elcid73 ( 599126 )
      There were sysadmins in medieval days?

      They must have been protecting *from* burning during raids, not protecting RAIDs from burning.

  • for the love of all that is holy... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:11PM (#17102686)
    no bathing suit contest segment, PLEASE!
  • They could have hired a real photographer to shoot the winners, the winner's picture looks like it's been taken at a party a saturday night around 3:30am with a point-and-shoot digital camera.
  • For one thing, there was no swimsuit competition -- although if there had been, winner Michael Beck says he would have worn "orange and black surf shorts."
    1. Wear swimwear for all support calls
    2. Effort expended/income ratio adjusts favourably
    3. PROFIT!

  • From a sysadmin (Score:2, Insightful)

    by DaMattster ( 977781 )
    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.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by nEoN nOoDlE ( 27594 )
      I'd say ALL sysadmins are heros because they need to put up with a stupid userbase and inept managers

      And with that kind of thinking, that's why most of the users think the system admin is a jackass.

    • Re:From a sysadmin (Score:4, Insightful)

      by NineNine ( 235196 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @03:43PM (#17104040)
      Uh, everybody has parts of their job that they don't like. That doesn't make you a hero. It makes you an employee. Get over yourself.
    • >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.

      That's the sysadmin attitude we have all come to know and love! It's nonsense like this that makes some sysadmins as popular and respected as an inflamed hemorrhoid. Sysadmins are the guys who are supposed to *SUPPORT* the users. Yes, some users are probably are stupid - about computers. That's why you have a sysadmin. The users are
      • Yes, some users are probably are stupid - about computers. That's why you have a sysadmin.

        Depends. When the job description specifically says, "experience with Windows and Office", and some moron newhire doesn't know how to use a mouse, much less Excel, they can expect a little derision.

  • Something smells crispy... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:20PM (#17102798)
    ... 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.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by ToxikFetus ( 925966 )
      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.
      You obviously don't read enough Dilbert.
    • Probably, but those tapes are useless if you don't have the apparatus to recover the data on them. There's something to be said for defending your hard work from fire - literally - if it comes down to it.
    • 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.
      Man, those lawsuits everywhere. You must be American, right?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 0racle ( 667029 )
      I've worked at places that by policy put the value of the hardware and the attempt to be always available above the safety of their staff. So the company may prefer to have their sysadmin die rather then their systems be destroyed.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by _Swank ( 118097 )
      Isn't the right question why does this guy even get first place "Sysadmin of the Year" when the incident in question happened 2 years ago? At least he didn't win the grand prize...

    • Number one cause of IT worker injury/death... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by SuperBanana ( 662181 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @04:02PM (#17104310)

      ...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...

    • You know, the thing you have extinguishers around the office to deal with? And that you train with once a year to deal with? You call the fire department if the building is going to go up or if there is a danger to human life. If some idiot drops his cigarette on a plush seat causing a minor blaze you freaking deal with it yourself. I know, I know, the typical sysadmin is at risk from dying from the physical activity. Find the copy girl then, she's man enough to handle the job.
      • That's assuming you're not living in state that requires people to smoke 15 feet from the door (California, baby!). Short of a server blowing up or a manager going postal, there's very little risk of a fire and most workplace safety is getting to a spot in the parking lot.

  • Knit picking (Score:3, Informative)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:21PM (#17102810) Homepage Journal
    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...
    Hah! As a somewhat avid knitter, I wish more men would work in yarn stores, as there are only so many sweet old ladies I can handle in a single shopping expedition. I say "somewhat avid," as the one thing that stops me from knitting a lot more is the fact that I can't type or play video games while doing it.

    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. [b2d4.com]

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Kazrael ( 918535 )
      Your mancard has been deleted from the system. Have a nice day.
    • Nuts on you! I went to that site and thought they offered knitting patterns! ... me, I prefer to crochet the fibonacci sequence and stuff. If I think this looks too boring, my next project will involve pi.
      • Anyone who can knit Fibonacci and Pi (*nerd kowtow*) shouldn't have any problem hacking retro-gaming pixels into any pattern.
        • I say Fibonacci and Pi, I mean 'rows relating to the numbers'. This pair of gloves here uses the Fibonacci sequence, for example: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/42623357/ [deviantart.com]

          'Pi' in a scarf would basically just be unary representations of the numbers: Three rows of black, one row of color, four rows of black, one of color, five black, nine color...

          It'd look pretty random when I'd finish, sure, but it'd still have pi in it. Still, switching rows up is a far cry from being able to knit pixelated pictures, es
          • Hooray indeed! You do very nice work, and I may have to steal that pi scarf idea someday.

            Switching up rows isn't actually all that far a cry from pixelated pictures, it's just one of the two skills needed. You could hunt down a tutorial for knitting vertical stripes that works for you, and get comfortable doing that. Any color-switching (aka "intarsia") knits, no matter how complex, boil down to just a combination of horizontal and vertical color changes. Once you have those two skills down, you can cr
            • The gloves aren't mine, I'm in the midst of making a similar pair though. :-p I can't knit with needles. I just linked you to hers as an example.
    • My girlfriend has declared that the Pong scarf is her favorite out of the ones for sale.

      I don't really do scarves (the only one that I use is a midnight blue fleece one and it has to be really cold before I pull it out), but I thought the project was pretty cool. She, on the other hand, has the doctor who scarf. It has to be something like 6-8' long and she has jokingly worn it around the house like a dress before.

  • What a Grand Prize (Score:5, Funny)

    by zentinal ( 602572 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:22PM (#17102826) Homepage
    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.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by J.R. Random ( 801334 )
      Heck, just replace the President and Vice President with an abacus and there will be a marked improvement in performance. When was the last time an abacus started a war just for fun?
    • I hate to break it to you but Washington DC was sold off a long time ago.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by roystgnr ( 4015 )
      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.

      Don't you know the first thing about sci-fi? As soon as you give too much power to artificial constructs, one of them is bound to go on the fritz and start killing people. It's not just HAL-9000 or the Cylons; the theme goes as far back as Frankenstein's monster.

      Hell, just look at the Vice President - all we gave him was a cybernetic he

  • A game of inches... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jj00 ( 599158 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:22PM (#17102830)
    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.

    • Scenario 4 (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Vellmont ( 569020 )
      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.

      • 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.

        From TFA:

        We had less than 4 minutes to evacuate the building. Everyone grabbed their desktops and exited as quickly as they could.

        Grabbed their DESKTOPS?? Doesn't exactly sound as if their asses were a-flame, at any rate.

    • According to the text for him he basically saved the company's ass. It sounds like they would've been out of business if it wasn't for him. I hope they gave him some serious (monetary) appreciation.
    • Scenario 3:
      Man backs up RAID server to remote location and evacuates building before it collapses.
      Reward: Lives fruitful life with wife and kids IN TOTAL ANONYMITY.

      C'mon, even sysadmins like to be heroes. Imagine the BABES!

  • Kinda makes me wonder... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:22PM (#17102832)
    How many of the companies these men work for would backstab them in a second if it meant higher profits?
  • Are you trying to say that sysadmins aren't judged by their looks, or that they aren't good looking? Oh... both. OK, well, back to the cave!
  • I read the winners and you have to kiss a lot of asses to get recommendations like that.

    Where's the old BOFH spirit, people?

    The profession is doomed.

  • Yams (Score:4, Funny)

    by StarvingSE ( 875139 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:31PM (#17102970)
    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.

  • Wow, that prize takes some beating. (Score:3, Funny)

    by cliveholloway ( 132299 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:32PM (#17102986) Homepage Journal
    "Grandprize: Washington DC".

    I thought DC was owned by the lobbyists? How did they negotiate that?!?

  • Even more difficult (Score:4, Funny)

    by Quila ( 201335 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:38PM (#17103062)
    ny 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...'"

    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.
    • That's not that difficult, really. My ex was a model and I was occasionally backstage. All it takes is decent self control.

      Most of the models there liked me because I was cool about all of it, and because I can actually have a conversation (you'd be amazed at how many of them were just doing it to work their way through school).

      I still joke about body tape and butt glue.
    • I have a friend who used to do IT for a major ad firm. Seems ad firms attract a lot of good looking woman. He took a lot of cold showers.

  • No picture of the Hot Sysadmin? (Score:5, Funny)

    by zcubed ( 916242 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @02:48PM (#17103210)

    Sysadmins are famous for coming in all sorts of packages, but Dawn stands out in that you'd never guess she spent all her working hours tippy-tapping as a senior system administrator and technical lead. She's model gorgeous--tall-ish and slim with strawberry blonde hair and, of course, the requisite sysadmin pale skin.
    But they have a picture of the idiot that risked his life for a damn server!
  • The word "no" and phrase "I can't" are not in his vocabulary.

    But the word "no" and phrase "I won't" are in his vocabulary. :)
  • Hell, I have two clients who's messaging is based on Domino Notes!

    I haven't gone insane and killed anyone yet, so where is MY damn award?

  • Dangit! (Score:3, Funny)

    by nortcele ( 186941 ) on Monday December 04, 2006 @05:24PM (#17105430) Homepage
    Never even got nominated. Next year I'll demand the users nominate me, or I'll erase their files.
  • So who else here is disappointed that the "Tall, thin, strawberry blonde" geekgrrl didn't have a picture?

    More importantly, who's currently stalking her on Google Maps? I'm stuck at work and don't have time, but boy am I curious if the rumours are true... somebody rustle me up a link! :)

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