No man is an Island…..

We have all heard the sayings: No man is an Island. There’s no I in team. And all of the other teamwork and group motivators all of our lives. Really up to this point, I have always just thought of these as good ol sayings. But when you look at our lives, our culture, our history, our creation, God created us as social creatures. In the beginning, God made only one person and then said it is not good for man to be alone, so he created woman. God wants us to be social, not just social media social, but living breathing social interaction. If you look at society today we will have 200,000 friends on Facebook, but are rarely seen in public. Everybody needs someone; Adam and Eve, Mary and Joseph, Batman and Robin, Batman and Alfred, Sid and Nancy, Kermit and Ms. Piggy…

The Blues Brothers     The A-TeamThe Road WarriorsKermit and Ms PiggyBatman and Robin

What really got me going on this was the sermon at church this weekend. Our pastor was talking about our natural need to be linked to others, and the friends that we have. We need to really look at our “friends” and see which ones will still be there when we are truly down and out. We have all had the friends that are around when times are good, but as soon as things get the slightest bit rocky they are no where to be found. Your true friends are the ones that are: Yelling hey guys watch us; smacking you in the back of the head stopping you from doing something stupid; right there for you whenever you need them with the right words to say or just to listen to your rants. Then main example that our pastor used this weekend was the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14. Having someone three that has your back no matter what is happening, no matter how crazy your idea is, they will follow you because you have that kind of relationship.

Another example to think of are the cliques and sub-cultures of our society. People will unintentionally start movements with their actions, and others will just follow along. Some even try so hard to be different that they loose themselves in their own group, and then become the norm. Again it is how we are hard wired, we need companionship.

Let me leave you with one last story…. My 4 year old has gold fish. This is our 3rd or 4th round with fish, but this time she is really into it, and apparently we got a couple good ones. One of the fish then had to take a ride to the ocean. The fish that was still in the tank became really slow and lethargic, before it had been always on the move and making sure the other one was eating even though it appeared to be sick. We told our daughter that the other fish had died but we would get another so that “fishy friend” would have another friend to swim with. Had I not seen this with my own eyes,I would thinkI was lying to you, 5 minutes after the new fish got into the tank, this was a different fish. He was zipping around the tank, going nuts, the same as it had been just a few days before. He had a new friend to be with, his life was back in balance.

So my challenge to you, is to think about your “friends” and see if you maybe need to trim off some dead weight, or if you need to work on your relationships and be a better true friend, to your true friends.

by corymcglone

Today’s Geek Post… Bring your own device: Love it or hate it, its coming.

In today’s IT world, we are surround by all of these buzz words; BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), Cloud, Virtualization, Telepresence, and the list goes on and on. With the push by so many in the workforce now being accustomed to instant-on, instant-gratification, instant-noodles they are looking to use what they want when they want it. I’m not going to lie, my laptop stays on my desk unless I’m going out for a survey or to do some CLI programming. I do all my remote work from my iPad. I have always on connectivity with my mobile hotspot, I have 2 cell phones, and an iPad, I don’t really need to carry around another 6+ pound device. If I could have my multiple displays connected to my iPad, I would use it at my main device. That being said I do have my laptop setup with a few remote access clients so that I can get to if from multiple ways and use it from my iPad, make calls from my iPad, and anything else that I need to do.

This brings us to the true push for virtual desktops and anywhere computing. This technology isn’t new, the interfaces are but not the underlying concept. I want to get to a Windows system that is on the other side of the country from my desk here in KY, what would I have used a few years ago…. RDP, netmeeting, gotomypc, or even VNC. Now we have teamviewer, logmein, and a plethora of other remote access tools that get you right into your system or the system you need in a matter of seconds. This honestly is putting an end to the “corporate standard” for hardware in the workplace. I know people that have worked at other companies that IT has said “here is a stipend buy whatever you want.” In some cases this isn’t even really necessary anymore; for example, including my work laptop, I have 3 laptops and one old tank of a desktop. Most people that use a laptop at work have some sort of computer at home. In surveys and in one that I did myself on linkedin, the most popular thing that people say makes them happier on the job, is the ability to work from home. Give people that opportunity, have accountibilty guidelines, and see the morale and productivity benefits.

With all of today’s technology, we can be in a meeting across the country while sitting on a couch, or even at a Starbucks, and have it seem as though we are right there in the room. I can do router and switch configs in California from my iPhone sitting in line at McDonalds. So why can’t we design true border less networks so that if I leave my desk no one ever really knows it.

The answer is, we can. As IT admins we have a lot to do to get there, but day in and day out we make this a reality.

Keep watching for more updates, I plan to make a multi post guide book on BYOD and wifi networks here in the coming weeks.

by corymcglone