Older blog entries for Jewelsthorn (starting at number 15)

LPI Determined to finish this marketing plan by end of day tommorrow...

Had some good convos with Brian Beck of Bradford Learning, Gale Berkowitz of SAGE Certification, Don Corbet, the new Prez of EvolSolve, and Stacy G, an independent consultant re: partnering.

must... get... back... to.... bizplan....

LPI Prospected IT Contractor Mag and identified three potential leads for test prep vendors who may be interested in LPI. Cold Called each of them and tried to do a little biz dev.

Worked on development of the Test Preparation Channel program, and I think it's doable. Spent some time with a book publisher, discussing the program and it was very well recieved. Then I called a self directed exam preparation product vendor and they were very excited about the possibility of working with us.

Answered several general info questions while Wilma is on vacation.

Level 2 is LIVE and we already have two candidates scheduled for the beta exam. It is exciting to see the program grow and expand, and to be an active participant in the development of professional Linux certification. I work with some of the best, brightest people on earth, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to share in their success.

Talked with a Technical Recruiter and began considering the last component of the bizplan.... the Alumni Program... Hope to have it done by Friday, and I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

LI Spent some time on the phone with maddog today, going over program issues and concerns.

I couldn't resist... I certified myself at Journeyer level, and Advogato upgraded me... Now I feel a sense of responsibility to really do something useful!

Phone: Been a busy day on the phone. Lots of show follow up stuff after last week at LinuxWorld.

LPI Internal stuff - several folks called to vent about issues they are facing in doing their work. We are all just here to make a contribution, so it seems that by working together it can all be for the good of our industry. I am constantly reminded that communication is the key. Thankfully, I think I work with some terrific people who are willing to make the effort to communicate and work through problems. It's good to be a part of such a good group of people.

SAGE stuff - looks very good to build a win-win for systems administrators by making LPI the Linux portion of the sage cert. Had a great call with their consultant, who wants to help build a training channel program too. Should be interesting to see how far into bed we get.

Marketing Plan - I swear, as soon as I get past one hurdle, another shows up. It's all good,but I think Chuck is going to give up on me soon if I don't submit something soon. Now I'm working on an education/channel development program and I just don't have the background I need so I'm calling a few friends for help. Chuck, I swear I am working on it, and all I can say is, when it's done, it should be good!!!

Sent messages to hiring organizations recruiting for Linux technical folks, telling them to consider LPI certification when hiring.

Completed a task for CSM. Had to create it from scratch as a result of my husband downloading the Sircam virus last month. That sucked.

LI Dean Taylor of PartnerAxis is a dynamo with lots of great ideas. His contribution is valuable, and I look forward to seeing him make a huge difference as we move forward with various projects.

Submitted proposal for giving a talk at LinuxWorld in NYC 2002.

Spent much of my day attending to a funeral for my recently deceased uncle Chuck. He was a good person, and I have images of him in many situations that seem to have imprinted upon my brain in my youth, despite the fact that I haven't seen him in 10 years. It is also interesting that I saw quite a number of "family" members who I haven't seen in 20+ years, even though they live only <70 miles away. It is tough to keep track of everyone, but I'm probably worse than most.

Worked a little more on that Marketing plan. It's starting to have a cohesive feel to it, but I really wanted to be done before leaving for SF, and I'm just not sure that's going to happen.

Been working with a Level 2 beta proctor site, and it's looking very good. Hope to have an announcement about it in the next week or two, and it would be great if that were part of our kickoff of the beta 2 exam! It's such a fantastic program, particularly for areas of the world where the US dollar is too strong and there have not previously been any ways around the $100 test fees. I hope more groups come together to make the test available during this program.

Lots to do tommorrow, so I should get some sleep.

Moved more stuff into my "new" office this morning. It's been fun doing it all myself, if challenging. Trying to figure out how to scoot a 6' bookshelf up one set of stairs, load it into my van, then unload and get down another set of stairs without damage is interesting at least!

Ordered the "What is Linux" literature for the Linux International Information booth next week at LinuxWorld. The booth volunteer schedule is all but done, with the biggest challenge being Tuesday. Hopefully that will work out, after all the messages I sent to the member lists.

Linux International is hosting a "What is Linux International?" BOF at LinuxWorld, which will be held Tuesday from 6-7:30. Since maddog won't yet be in town, I get to be the presenter, I spent time today working on getting some information together for attendees.

Still plugging along with the LPI marketing plan. Spent too much time on the LI BOF to make much progress on LPI today. I'd hoped to finish that before I leave for SF, and also get the LPI test candidate survey review done... Never enough time in a day!

Phone stuff: resolved several issues with the Linux track at Comdex and started working on the booth duty roster for LinuxWorld. Scheduled several meetings at LinuxWorld, and set up some basic preparation stuff. Working at a limp due to moving the office and transitioning laptops all at once. I think I could have planned things a little better if I'd known that I was going to have to move my office at the same time as my old laptop was petering out. Guess it's never convenient when these things happen.

Still working on the LPI Marketing plan. Coriolis came on as a contributor sponsor for LPI today. We are pleased to have them participating and look forward to working with them to build awareness of their contribution to the work of LPI and Linux in general. Working on getting Tucows on board next. Sending them monthly emails, and calling every so often in hopes that they'll realize how valuable LPI is.

Requested an invoice for a new LI member organization. As a long time developer product vendor, it's great to see them coming on board with Linux.

Where do the days go???

Spent about 3 hours today proofing the LPI Level 2 test for grammatical errors. I'm not smart enough to know what half of the test is about, let alone answer any of the questions. However, I'm pretty good at making sure sentences begin and end properly, so it was nice to make a contribution.

Looks like I'll be attending the SAGE Certification Governance Committee pow wow in October. That should be fun and leave my brain tired. I gave them some marketing suggestions and helped with identifying some key channel partners for the deployment of the exams.

In my Linux International role, I spent some time with Bob Hirschfeld of Tech TV today, helping him identify some key Linux people in the Bay area. He's planning to do interviews in the next couple of days and then air the piece Friday. I hope chrisd is ready, because I strongly encouraged them to call...

Lots more to do, not the least of which is to return some calls, but it feels good to be working on tieing up loose ends.

Cleaning, arranging, and cleaning. Nothing exciting to report, except that I can now see my desk enough to connect and type this note. Now that I have the desk, I get to move all my office stuff here over the weekend!

15 Aug 2001 (updated 16 Aug 2001 at 01:54 UTC) »
Moving

This week marks the beginning of my big office move, and I truly dislike moving. I suppose that might be evidenced by the fact that I'm living in the same house where I've lived for 14 years.

New Project

This week I began working with the SAGE Certification Policy Committee, and am pleased to provide whatever value I can to a standardized systems administration cert program covering all operating systems. It looks like a great group of people and a worthwhile project.

LPI

I'm thrilled to death that Don Corbet has agreed to serve as Editorial QA Coordinator for LPI. He brings a great deal of enthusiasm and varied background in media to the LPI organization, and is responsible for recruiting authors, creating standards for submissions, and identifying international media for placement of articles, audio programs, and websites. We are thrilled to have him on board and welcome his expertise.

LI

I'm putting the LinuxWorld booth schedule together, so if you have an interest in volunteering time, contact me immediately. Volunteers are scheduled in two-hour blocks throughout the event.

Now, where did I put my phone charger???

9 Aug 2001 (updated 24 Aug 2001 at 13:49 UTC) »

With the LPI Level 2 beta tests looming on the very near horizon, I've been working diligently to get the word out. If I haven't reached you yet, take a look at http://news.lpi.org/stories.php? story=01/08/03/5311805

There have been many questions asked of me about the Level 2 beta test, so I've been compiling a Q&A of sorts. Lets see if I can put it all here in an organized way....

Who is the LPI Level 2 beta test candidate? A qualified Level 2 beta test candidate is one who: - Is a professional Linux Systems Administrator - Has about 3-4 years of UNIX/Linux sysadmin experience - Has successfully passed both of the LPIC-1 tests optional to take the test, but mandatory to recieve certification as LPIC-2)

How many tests will be available in the beta period? VUE testing centers around the world will offer a single, extended exam which will be divided into two exams upon final publishing. This allows us to keep costs as low as possible in beta deployment while offering you the opportunity to take the test in one sitting, with only one fee of $84 due to VUE testing centers. Plese note that there will be two tests once the final exams are published in November, so this offer is limited to the beta period ONLY.

When is the Beta period? The beta period will begin September 4 and run thru early October. Unlike the Level 1 beta period, there is a very limited period of time available for the Level 2 beta.

When will the final tests be published? The LPI Level 2 tests will be published November 1, 2001.

Where can I take the LPI Level 2 beta test? There are testing centers all over the world which will offer the LPI Beta exam during the beta period. To find a testing center near you, visit www.vue.com/lpi

Do I have to be an LPIC-1 alumni to take the Level 2 test? Nope. Anyone can take it. We would appreciate it if during the beta period, only qualified candidates (indicated above) took the exam. However, it is important to keep in mind that to get LPIC-2 certification, you must also have LPIC-1 certification. You can pass the LPIC-2 tests first and then go back and do LPIC-1, but we will hold your LPIC-2 certification papers until you have successfully passed level 1.

Is there a group rate for the Level 2 beta exam? Not exactly, but we think we have an even better option. If you can get a group of 20 or more qualified test candidates together, we might just bring the LPI Beta exam to you anywhere in the world and make the fee only $15/test for pre-registered exam candidates. We call this our on- site proctored beta program.

What's the catch for the on site proctored beta program? Well, we need someone to pay for travel to get the LPI staff person to the site. We also need to ensure that it's worth our time and effort, so we will require 20 or more pre-registered (read pre-paid) test candidates show up. If you aren't pre-registered, we'll make you pay $30 to take the test.

What if I want to start studying now? Good idea. LPI isn't known for having easy tests, so if you want to start brushing up on the exams, check out http://www.lpi.org/p-L2-obj- pre.html

If I pass the Level 2 beta and fail to pass either (or both) Level 1 exams, am I certified? No. According to the LPI Progression policy, LPIC Certification is cumulative. If you pass a Level 2 exam without completing Level 1 certification, we will hold your Level 2 result until you have certified at LPIC1 first.

6 older entries...

New Advogato Features

New HTML Parser: The long-awaited libxml2 based HTML parser code is live. It needs further work but already handles most markup better than the original parser.

Keep up with the latest Advogato features by reading the Advogato status blog.

If you're a C programmer with some spare time, take a look at the mod_virgule project page and help us with one of the tasks on the ToDo list!