Diary of a Network Geek

Or, Hoffman’s Home for Wayward Boys, The Revenge of the Wayward Boys.
So, now, for a short time only, I have a second roommate. A friend of Doc’s who’s been “asked to leave” his house by his wife. Yes, for those of you paying attention, there is a theme here at Hoffman’s Home for Wayward Boys. Trouble with the wife seems to be the first step to the path that leads everyone through my home this year. Hopefully, that will change one day soon. As much as I like helping guys out, I’d much rather that their lives were rolling along smoothly enough that they were coming to “visit” because I’m just so cool. Well, I’ll settle for available right now. The dog and her unconditional love may have something to do with it, too. She’s real popular these days and getting spoiled with all the attention. I’m just thankful that I have the room to let people crash at my place while they get things straightened out, though, it looks like I’ll have to get some more keys made if this keeps up.

It’s funny, but I tried to explain why I do things like this to Doc last night and I don’t thing he got it. See, I owe my ex-wife a debt I can never repay. About four years ago, she kicked me out of the house for a bit which sent me down a path that really helped me straighten out my life a lot. Sadly, along the way, one of the things that needed straightening was our relationship and the only way for that to work out was for her to either do some spiritual work herself or, well, the way things ended up. I know I’m far, far better off without her, but, still, I’m keenly aware that I wouldn’t be who I am today if not for her and that relationship. Of course, since she has a personality like a wounded rattlesnake, there’s not much point trying to pay her back for anything I percieve she did for me. And, really, anything she did for me was incidental to her getting what she wanted. But, still… Still, it’s a reminder, like I got via e-mail, that something good can come from even a situation as bad as that one one was. And, I find the need to pass that kind of growth opportunity along, so I find myself doing things like opening my home to guys who are where I was a couple of years ago. Honestly, it’s not much, but it’s all I can do. And, it’s a small price to pay for the life I have today.

Have you ever had to learn on the fly?
Well, most of us geeks have, at one time or another. In my case, it was basic Cisco router administration while under fire. No, not literally under fire, just in a tight spot with tons of pressure to get things done quickly and right the first time. Back then, it was pretty easy to get an entry-level Cisco certification, but they made that harder right about the time I tried to get it. Which, honestly, is besides the point. I didn’t really need a Cisco cert to get stuff done. All I really needed was some basic commands. Well, now, we’re all in luck. Thanks to TechRepublic, you can get through some basic Cisco admin tasks with little or no help. Just hit Cisco Administration 101, and they’ll walk you through the basics of setting up a router. And, by basics, I mean setting the Admin password, too, not just configuring the interfaces. Basic configuration includes basic security!
Anyway, it’s a start and enough to get you through a tight spot.