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Oct
17thNote to self : Scary choices pay off
Self-reflection is something I don’t do very often. I tend to focus on the next impossible goal and not look back. But, these last few weeks I spent a lot of my time looking back. I have been thinking about what a great run I have had so far here at EMC. If you would have gone back in time and told me (relevant post : Fear and Atmosphere) that I was going to do some of the things I did in the last 1 ¾ years I would have thought you were crazy. To be honest, when I first joined the vSpecialist team I was scared to death I would fail. I was so far outside my comfort zone going to work for a pre-sales organization with a major vendor that I didn’t have a really good idea what my job would be exactly and if I could do it. Fast forward to now and I am sitting here typing on my Mac and thinking of all the impact that the vSpecialist organization has enabled for me. I have been able to move the ball with vAppliance and Virtual Storage hackery. I made a rap video extolling the tenacity of my group (which was watched by the CEO). I spoke at my first conference session (VMworld). I was able to help do things at both EMCWorld conferences that were never done before (VPLEX demo /Labs). And I released a ton of free tools that helped enable my community. [...]
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Feb
22ndBeing a vSpec : One year under the beltToday is the one year anniversary of joining EMC as a vSpecialist. Kind of feels like I just got here and compared to some of the vets, I have. Still I think back to my first post on moving to the vendor side of things (Change is good : Fear & Atmosphere) and I am amazed at everything that has happened to me since then. As I pointed out back in that blog post. My goal was to surround myself by people that would challenge me in new areas. That has definitely been the case this year and is still a primary motivator for me. I can also say this job has used a broader set of my skills than any other. I decided to throw together a video of random pictures from the last year as a vSpecialist. Here is my year as a vSpec: My Year as a EMC vSpecialist from Nicholas Weaver on Vimeo. I am really looking forward to the rest of 2011 and where my career takes me at EMC. Guess that big step in February of 2010 ended up being a good one after all. .nick
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Sep
17thVMworld 2010 : It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad VMworld
What a week. I’ll remember VMworld 2010 as something that went by like a blur. I still think back and think to myself: “Did that really happen?” This post is a good two weeks after the end but I wanted to write about my experiences. This was definitely a strange mixture of hard work, fear, and fun. I think my experiences at VMworld are a testament to how IT is still a pretty fun gig even in this day and age. So of all the big things that went down at VMworld 2010, the vSpecialist’s Delight rap video was probably the most visible I was involved in. Fred Nix and I had been working for months on getting this little video done. It started as a different kind of video and because of legal, PR, and logistical hurdles; it morphed into the final product. This literally started as me pitching what I thought was both a crazy and impossible idea to Fred. Fred, being the crazy guy that he is, called me back a week later and told me: “Dude, it is on…” I still can’t believe all the things that fell into place. From the great talent at PatchWerk Studios to the special roles each of the team members involved in the video shoot performed. My VMworld started off the Friday before. I had to fly in and make a mad dash for the video rental office before they closed. I told the taxi driver I would give him [...]
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Aug
30thVMworld 2010 Rap : vSpecialist’s Delight
Both Fred Nix and I have been hinting about our *secret project* for weeks now. Well, I am excited to finally present you with the completed work. Without further ado, vSpecialist’s Delight This project was a ton of fun and a ton of work. I wanted to give a special thanks to Travers Nicholas, Paula Cuddy, John Avery, Ed Saipetch, Clint Kitson, Chris Birdwell, and Ryan Melton. I also want to thank Marlen and Curtis at PatchWerk Studios for helping us so much. But, most of all I want to thank Fred Nix for making this project a reality. He took an idea I shared with him over a beer and made it not only possible but absolutely amazing. Fred jumped legal, financial, logistical, and human barriers with patience and style. The guy is a rockstar and a good friend. *update* Here is a video from the premier at the vGeek party: .nick *update* Here are the lyrics for the song for those that asked: I’m with Chad’s Army on the virtual patrolGotta make sure that my cloud is goldAnalysts say we hit it onn the noseYou from the IT department, Im tha C.I.O.Adding Ram for your JAVA codeWe be celebrating the budget had enough doughCAP-EX, OP-EX is outa control..Tweetin’ banana bread because Wade said soWe got beef with security, they don’t use RSAThey don’t know ‘bout no S.L.A. SO!Tier-1 apps running on my assetsvSphere saves ‘em cash for tech refresh,We don’t know what you take us as,Or understand the [...]
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Jun
5thEMCWorld 2010 : A Week to Remember
Even though EMCWorld has been over for a few weeks I still wanted I get this post out telling my experience. I have been so busy that I just now got this finished. I have not had a very long career. In fact compared to most of the guys on the team I belong to, I am the newborn calf quivering on shaky legs. But, I can say that I have had a pretty exciting one so far. I have never been short on challenges and deadlines. And I have always been surrounded by incredibly skilled people (especially now). That said, without a doubt, EMCWorld 2010 was the pinnacle of my career so far. I really do not know how to recap everything. In some parts I am going to feel like I am bragging (which I hate to do). In others, that I am taking credit for what is essentially just good timing. But I feel this experience needs to be shared and I will try my best to keep it simple. This is longer than my normal posts so I ask your forgiveness ahead of time. Really, a combination of events built upon each other starting with VMware’s Tech Summit. I got invited by Chris Horn (a newly married guy now) a fellow vSpecialist to help him build the lab with Stephen Spellicy, Tee Glasgow, and Brian Lewis. The idea to use the Celerra VSA for this was not mine; but it was through this first exposure I [...]
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Jun
5thA little bit of good news : VMware vExpert
Man what a roller coaster ride my life has been this year: I started a new job with EMC on the vSpecialist team Released my major update to the vSphere Mini Monitor Created the Celerra VSA UBER edition (now version 2) Helped create the VMware TechSummit labs(VSA, lab automation) Helped create the keynote demo for the announcement of the VPlex at EMCWorld 2010 (vSphere Plugin, automation scripts, Teleportation GUI, performance tuning). I had just spent the last two days in Atlanta helping the rocking vSpecialist team redesign their lab network. This is the granddaddy of all the vSpecialist labs with tons of great demos we use frequently (live or recorded). They have grown so much they actually outgrew their original network design. I was on a plane about to take off back to Dallas when I pulled up my personal email on my iPad. In it I had an email from John Troyer informing me I had been made a vExpert for 2010. I just about leapt up in my cramped airline seat. This is an extreme honor as I hold so many of 2009 vExperts in such high regard. Still a little humbling to imagine myself as part of this group but, I take this as a sign that the direction I am going is a good one. And will use it as motivation to do more for the VMware Community. I wanted to give a big Thank You to John Troyer and his team for all the hard [...]
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