I have been busy working on a project that has taken up a lot of my time in the past few weeks, the LOPSA-NJ Professional IT Community Conference 2010.

Back at LISA ‘09 in Baltimore, I had a sit down with one of the other NJ System Administrators and we discussed what was the problem with the system administrators group that we belonged to an how to help fix it.  The problem we saw that the League of Professional System Administrators (LOPSA) had was getting there name out and getting new members.  So out of this conversation over a few beers as well as pulling in another fellow NJ SA we came up with the LOPSA-NJ Professional IT Community Conference 2010 (PICC ‘10) to be held in New Brunswick, NJ on May 7th and 8th. 

We came back from Baltimore and jumped right in by finding a location and picking a date and forming the committee to work on getting the conference off the ground.  We have gotten 2 sponsors so far, 10 trainers and training classes, 3 keynote speakers and are now working on getting the Invited Talks and submitted papers together.

The training classes range from how to write better documentation, how to better manage your time, disk virtualization, automation with Perl as well as a class on automation with Powershell, as well as IT Policy writing and the tools to move from being a junior system administer to a senior administrator and more. 

The 3 keynotes we have scheduled are David N. Blank-Edelman on Friday night giving his "Through the Lens Geekly: How SysAdmins are Portrayed in Pop Culture?", Tom Limoncelli on Saturday morning and Eden Haber closing out the conference on Saturday afternoon with his “System Administrators in the Wild, What We’ve Learned from Watching You!” talk. 

The conference schedule is made up of 8 Training class on Friday and 2 on Saturday.  On Friday night will be the Conference Dinner and then the opening keynote followed by a movie. We haven’t gotten the movie figured out yet.  Saturday will also have the invited talks and submitted papers as well as a room set up for unconference topics.

Saturday will start with another keynote and then followed by the papers, invited talks and unconference tracks.  It’s shaping up to be a great conference.  We are hoping to get at least 150 local system administrators to attend.  If you are a NJ/PA/NY System Administrator and are interested then check out the website http://www.picconf.org and save the dates May 7th – 8th 2010.  Oh yea registration for PICC ‘10 opened up yesterday so to register go here.

As I sit in my living room watching the Powder Puff Girls Christmas special with my 16 year old daughter I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas.  I hope that you all have a great day and that you all get what you ask for and get to spend time with the ones you love.

With only 2 shopping days left in this holiday season, I thought I would give you a few more ideas for my Christmas list.  All of this can be found in the Lawrence, NJ Area so you all can go out and pick it up.  If there is a (wb) at the end of the description then I wrote it.

DVDs

1. The Blues Brothers – B&N – $11.46 -  This is my all time favorite movie.  I remember going to see this at the now closed Eric Penn Jersey theater and laughing so loud.  The band is made up of classic musicians.  If you have never seen this movie take the time to get it. (wb)
2. Pink Floyd: The Wall a.k.a. The Wall (the movie) – B&N – $14.39 – Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall” was released 30 years ago and was an album that I own both on vinyl that I played all the time after it was released and on CD.  The movie was release in 1982 and stared Bob Geldof, we use to watch this movie a lot during high school at my house.  I went a few time to see it at the Midnight Movies at the theater at the Arnot Mall. (wb)

Books

3.  Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller – B&N - $29.25 – In Ad Hoc at Home…a cookbook inspired by the menu of his casual restaurant Ad Hoc in Yountville…he showcases more than 200 recipes for family-style meals. This is Keller at his most playful, serving up such truck-stop classics as Potato Hash with Bacon and Melted Onions and grilled-cheese sandwiches, and heartier fare including beef Stroganoff and roasted spring leg of lamb. In fun, full-color photographs, the great chef gives step-by-step lessons in kitchen basics… here is Keller teaching how to perfectly shape a basic hamburger, truss a chicken, or dress a salad. Best of all, where Keller’s previous best-selling cookbooks were for the ambitious advanced cook, Ad Hoc at Home is filled with quicker and easier recipes that will be embraced by both kitchen novices and more experienced cooks who want the ultimate recipes for American comfort-food classics.
4. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking – B&N – $16.37 -  There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread to fill a kitchen with warmth, eager appetites, and endless praise for the baker who took on such a time-consuming task. Now, you can fill your kitchen with the irresistible aromas of a French bakery every day with just five minutes of active preparation time, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will show you how.
   
5. Bread Bible – B&N – $25.20 – The title says is all.  After reading this in Barnes & Nobles a few times it’s a book I know that I need in my kitchen.  I have been wanting to start making bread like I use to with my grandfather, but i also want to learn the science behind the bread making.  (wb)




Electronics

6. Acer Aspire One AOD250-1842 – P.C. Richards & Son – $329.97 – Just 1" thin and under 3 lb., the 10.1" Aspire One D250 is sleek, slim and attractive. Robust features combined with its compact size make this netbook the ultimate take-me-with-you partner.

   The 10.1" LED-backlit display presents you with bright, clear images for an enjoyable viewing experience, while a small-yet-powerful processor and ample hard drive deliver the pleasure of full-size notebook performance without the bulk and weight.

So that’s it for the my quick list for you.  Hope you all have a great Holiday and Happy New Year.

Ok boys and girls, mom and dad here is a list of some things that would make me happy to get at Christmas….and for those who missed getting me a birthday present (and you know who you are) I’ll take anything on the list. Check with my wife first to see what’s already been purchased.

Logitech Portable Webcam C905 – Amazon.com – $59.94 /w Rebate – Make high-clarity video calls home with the best travel webcam for road warriors. The travel-size 2 MP Portable Webcam C905 goes where lesser mobile webcams don’t–smooth, razor-sharp full-screen video. High-precision Carl Zeiss optics, ultra-smooth AutoFocus, and light-correcting RightLight2 Technology work together to make your video calls look so real, it’s like being in the room with your spouse and kids back home. Enjoy crystal-clear conversations with a built-in premium microphone that suppresses background noise like airport chatter. Logitech even includes a protective travel case and new Logitech Vid–the fast, free, easy, one-click-to-call video calling software.

PowerShot SD1200 IS Light Gray – Best Buy – $149.99 – When a camera puts a smile on your face the moment you hold it, imagine how great you’ll feel when you see your first pictures! The PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital ELPH has everything going for it – exuberant color, the sculptured style of Canon’s famed ELPH series – and the innovative know-how that takes you to a whole new level of picture-taking accomplishment. Fun, smart and a style that follows you everywhere.

Eye-Fi Explore Video – Best Buy – $99.99 – Easily upload your favorite videos and photos wirelessly to your computer with this 4GB Secure Digital card. Share your memories online even when your computer is turned off.

Grateful Dead Scrapbook : The Long, Strange Trip in Stories, Photos, and Memorabilia – Barnes & Noble – $32.00 -Grateful Dead fans are legendary for their Dead-ication to the band and its enduring legacy of freewheeling musical exploration. The Grateful Dead Scrapbook collects rare removable memorabilia and evocative images culled from the Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, including never-before-published photos, flyers, fan letters, and other ephemera.

Grateful Dead 2010 Wall Calendar – Dead.net – $13.00 – Yep, we checked. Still 365 days. Take it one day at time with this groovy 2010 wall calendar.

WACOM Bamboo Pen – newegg.com – 64.99 – Bamboo Pen gives you everything you need to enjoy pen input. Start using the pen to edit, mark up documents or collaborate with others. Doodle, sketch and personalize your materials. Or use the pen with the included Corel® Painter® Essentials to paint and make digital art. The ergonomically-designed pen fits comfortably in your hand, and the tablet’s textured work surface makes you feel like you’re working with a pen on paper.

Koutech IO-HU1300 13-Port USB 2.0 External Hub – newegg.org – $39.99 -
You’ll never think 13 is an unlucky number again after you plug in Kuotech’s 13 port USB hub. This high speed hub supports USB 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 devices. There is a power adapter to supply extra power for bus powered devices.

It all started on Wednesday night at my Aunt Bea’s house with my Aunt Bea and Clora, my parents and Avery while we waited for Fran and Family to arrive from Michigan.  The food of the night was going to be Blue Fish that I got from my co worker Tim Szwedo caught on one of his fishing trips.  My dad had marinated the fish for a bit and then grilled them on the grill.  Fran and family arrived right at 6:30 in time to sit down and eat.  We sat around for a bit and talked and laughed.  Avery and I headed out around 8:30 to hit Acme and then to crash out a bit for a bit.

Thanksgiving started for me at around 8:30 in the morning while I got the smoker ready for the big bird cook.  I actually used The Minion Method for the Charcoal burn.  Using this method kept the temp at a constant of 250 degrees for the whole 5 hour cook.  The turkey had been marinating in a red wine marinade sine Monday.  It came out of the marinade a nice dark purple color.  After the smoker had leveled out to a steady temp the Turkey was put on the grate at 9:00am.  I then moved back inside to start work on the Rye Bread Stuffing.  This turned out to be a great stuffing.  After getting that in the oven, it was time to start on another new recipe for Smoked Sausage Jambalaya another recipe that was a hit for dinner.  While working on all of these new recipes I had a pot of Cranberry BBQ Sauce cooking up, which was talked about a lot last year and was requested to be made again.  Other then making gravy and un canning the canned jelled cranberry sauce onto a plate I was really done cooking by 1:30.  My cousin Tim and family showed up around 1:45 and then it was a constant flow of family arriving till about 2:15.  I took the turkey off the smoker at about 2:15 and let it rest till about 2:45 and handed it over to my dad to carve while I got the rest of the food on to the table.   We finally sat down by 3:00 and the food was passed till about 4:30 as well as the great conversation.  The turkey was perfect and moist and had a great smoke ring around it.  The last person left around 8:00 and I was finally able to sit down and relax and to start thinking about Christmas dinner.

Friday was a day of working at some side jobs and going into work for a bit……but dinner was a treat, we did another pizza off at my Aunt Bea’s house, but with a twist…we did white pies only.  We got pies from Top Road Tavern & Pizza, Fedelos Family Pizzeria, Abruzzi Pizza & Cafe, Kings Pizzarama, Palermo’s III(Ewing), Limoncello’s Pizza.  The winner for the second year in a row for the Bilancio Pizza Off was Palermo’s, it now holds the title in both the Tomato Pie division and now the White Pie Division.  It was a fun night just hanging out talking to everyone. Dean brought some beer he had just bottled that day.  It had a great taste but it will be better after it sits for a few weeks in the bottles.  It was an early night because I ate so much pizza that it just made me tired.

Saturday morning started with me heading to my Aunt Bea’s to hang out with my Uncle Fran for a bit, so since I go there early enough I got a home cooked breakfast which was nice.  We all headed our separate ways for a bit to meet back at the house for dinner.  Which consisted of leftovers brought over from my house from Thanksgiving as well ham from Bath Packing.  Dinner was great and of course the conversation was good to.

It was great seeing my uncle Fran and family since it’s rare that we see them much since they are up in Michigan..tried to talk them into coming back for Christmas but since the snow will be flying by then I doubt we will see them till the La Vigna Picnic in July.

Well time to go and see about Christmas dinner now….

To see all the photos from the weekend head over to here.