Week (All About Me)

[varjohaltia]

I spent Sunday through early today in Orlando attending Cisco Live! (formerly known as Networkers), a networking-oriented training event. It was, as usual very good -- the people holding classes are the engineers making the products or sitting on the standards boards, so they really know what's going on and can give good information about what the future directions of various technologies are. Very work-oriented, very boring, very useful. While in Orlando this time, instead of Las Vegas or a similar locale, it still annoys me to no end when people assume that a trip like this is some kind of vacation. The typical day consists of wakeup at 6 am, breakfast on site at 7 am, class start at 8 am and then classes and presentations until as late as 9 pm at night. Lunch is served between classes on site, dinner consists of buffet tables in the vendor showcase, so there's not even escaping the environment for food. Sleep deprivation for the win!

I did also take my CCNA certification exam, since the last one had lapsed (quite a while ago), and appear to have passed, which is nice. I really would not have had any excuse not to pass and should look at the more serious certifications soon. I was fairly impressed by the exam, though. Apparently there are any number of classes that will get you through it without really imparting a useful knowledge of networking, but to me it seemed to be quite thorough and a good measure of the "basic" understanding of networking in the real world.

One aspect of Networkers is the customer appreciation event, which is a party -- albeit one spent among engineers talking shop. This year was at Universal Studios, where, for various reasons, I ended up riding "The Mummy." As many of you know, I usually stay away from rides since I'm quite susceptible to motion sickness. The Mummy confirmed two things -- I love roller coasters and I shall not ride roller coasters. It was short enough that I didn't really get too bothered for the duration, but two hours later, to quote Moe, "Dude! You're still green!"

Afterwards I lingered in Orlando for a (too short) while to visit with moonwolf and company. Cory guided us to a Colombian restaurant, Oh Que Bueno, which was a treat, the cuisine being surprisingly different from other Latin American dishes I've had. The fig/caramel/cheese dessert in particular was memorable.

Comments

[roguer.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you had...fun? In a geeky sort of way? :)

-Roguer

[varjohaltia.livejournal.com]

It was a rewarding trip. I learned a lot, was reminded why networking can be cool, got the certification, saw cool people, didn't have to deal with too much of work nonsense (although having a cell phone and phone meant that I never really stopped working. That, and working on a research project on the side.) How's stuff up there in the frozen north?

[roguer.livejournal.com]

Hot as hell. I wouldn't be so bold as to presume that it's actually hotter here than in Tampa, but it's an absolute disaster every time I enter my car; I can feel my uniform trying to escape from my insto-sweat. Other than that...busy.

The certification is definitely a good thing. Now if you'll just get off your butt and get some more! ;)

-Roguer

[playfuleye.livejournal.com]

Yay figs!

[varjohaltia.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

Networkers

[(Anonymous)]

I was considering going to Orlando. Sounds like you got a lot out of it. I'll definitely be there next year on your reccomendation. Im not sure if they mentioned it at the show, but Cisco launched their LearnNet site. Pretty good blog reads and exam resources and stuff.

Cisco Learning network (https://cisco.hosted.jivesoftware.com/index.jspa?ciscoHome=true?utm_source=blog+commenting&utm_medium=media&utm_content=Google&utm_campaign=Domestic)

Re: Networkers

[varjohaltia.livejournal.com]

Next year will be back to Vegas, I think. The content is the same, but food should be better. Definitely stay at an official hotel, the free shuttle service is really hard to do without.

Cisco is trying to do a lot of stuff with community-oriented sites and collaborative environments, but they have so many disparate sites going on that it's hard to keep track. Thanks for the link!

[choco-weasel.livejournal.com]

Roller coaster motion sickness story:
For my high school "Grad Night" we were at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. I usually adore roller coasters, but the lines were significantly shorter due to the smaller population in the park. This meant that our roller coasters per hour mileage was waaaay up. Halfway through the night, I finally got sick and had to have a half hour sit down on a bench.
The ride that finall got me?
The Flying Unicorn (a kiddie ride tucked behind the much more ominous Dueling Dragons).

[varjohaltia.livejournal.com]

Disney teacups. I get sick just looking at it. Literally.

[choco-weasel.livejournal.com]

I know of plenty of people who can't handle the teacups. All that spinning would do anybody in.
Oh, the other one that gets me are those boat type rides where the boat acts as a giant pendulum and eventually flips over. Bleeegh.