Moving to Wordpress

Since blogger has announced that they will shut down the FTP publishing service from March 26, I can no longer use their service for my blog so I am planning to move to "Wordpress". This is my last post on blogger!

My Photo Blog is Up!

Finally my Photoblog is up and running. It's been more than a year since I started thinking of running my personal photo blog but I could not find the right software and besides my website did not support MySQL before which for many open content management applications is a requirement. Anyway its available at "http://www.itbuzzer.net/photoblog"
Thanks to Yashar Amirabedin for introducing me "Pixelpost".

New ideas shine!

These days great ideas are coming to my mind to make the things around my work better, and bring back fun!

Picasa Face Recognition Feature

I am a fan of digital photography and my favorite photo management software has been Picasa for a long time. Google has recently released the latest version which is 3.5 and it means new improvements and new features are offered. Among all of them the new "Named Tags" feature is the greatest! What it does is:
First:
Once installed, it will start scanning all your photos for "face detection" and this might take a very very long time! for me it took about 24 hours as I have an archive of 20GB pictures! The result of this is a large collection of face thumbnails it has detected in all your photos.
Second:
Now its your turn to tell the software "who" is every thumbnail by naming them.
Third:
Picasa will categorize your pictures by person but you will notice a "Question Mark" on some of your pictures which means Picasa has categorized that picture but it is not sure whether he is the right person! So this is the tuning part which we are teaching Picasa about its face recognition skills!
For those with a large collection it will take a pretty much time to fix everything!

Picasa download page: http://picasa.google.com/

CAT-5

Humor from packetlife.net:

The things we do and the things we like to do!

There are "things we do" and things "we like to do"!
For "things we do" we have always time but for things "we like to do" we never find the time!!! Sounds ridiculous but this is how it works for us!

Sacrifices must be made!

In the last three or four weeks bad things happened to me all at the same time which resulted in some conflicts at work loosing my passion towards my work environment. In this fight someone close to me which I have trust in him and I believe he has the the best intention for my career development, raised a fundamental question and that was were I wanted to be in 10 years? Having a normal life, a car, a home or being someone that affects the world around him?
I was angry at the time and I didn't answer him but to be honest with myself, I like to be the one that affects the world around him!
To be that, a lot of sacrifices must be made!!!

Long Time, No Post!!!

It's been a long time since my last post! Its not that I have no time to write but the reason is that I am touching too many technologies at the same time each day and the atmosphere of my job has been changed. Instead of acting as an implementer I am there to lead things and if there is a tie on the way I am supposed to break it! This means that I am not supposed the get that mush deep into technology than before but I have the understand the underlying concepts and architecture. Dealing with non-tech matters like dealing with difficult people is another painful task!
So, I am not sitting in my cubicle and spend time studying, researching and implementing new stuff!
I am either on the phone or on the run! People approach me for their problems so every time someone approaches me it means trouble! It would be naive to think that someone calls me to say hello!
After all I love the job because I have to deal with a variety of technologies and there is always something to learn.

The Mac World is Embracing Me!

I am getting crazy about MAC OS X! A company "MacBook Air" was given to me last Wednesday and my manager gave a quick tour on how MAC works and I spent two days on it to find and setup all the stuff I need to handle my daily tasks. Now I am seriously thinking of getting an iMac for home and I can not stop thinking of it!!!

Problems Cheer Me Up!!!

I love troubleshooting and fixing complex problems or those problems others couldn't fix! I tend to chase problems and when I find the source of the problem and the fix I feel like a tank full of fuel! Everytime it feels like it is the happiest moment I have ever had in my life!
What a boring life it would be, if there were no problems to fix!

Aimlessness is a vice

"Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment... Aimlessness is a vice ... They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins (though by a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe. "

As a Man Thinketh, James Allen

Project Management and Leadership

I have always had a special interest in management topics specially Project Management. TechRepublic is one of the greatest sources available for IT Project Managers. It is not intended to be for professional project managers but helps IT specialist to improve their project management skills and visions. Here is a quick topic I found interesting on their latest newsletter:

Exhibit leadership on challenging projects

Started CCSP Path with SNPA

After a relatively long time I took the 642-522 exam known as "Securing Networks with PIX and ASA - SNPA" today and passed smoothly. I could achieve this by studying Cisco Press SNPA official certification study guide and hands on experience on cisco PIX devices.
SND is the next stop...

When Things are Predictable!

When all services run as expected for a while and all implementations go as the documentations said, I get really bored! I like things acting different and unexpected. I love it, and I am sure Many Sys/Net Admins love it too ;-)

I am an Encouraging Director!

I found Personal DNA on jalal's blog! very interesting personnal assessment questionnaire.I am an Encouraging Director!
Give it a try!

Time to jump into Linux World!

Linux was always something luxury to me; something I liked to spend more time on it and couldn't find that free time! Besides, Linux is not something you can Install and then start playing with it to sort it out unless you understand its soul.
Anyway, the time to start working on Linux has come for me and since SMTP is my favorite protocol I have started working on Postfix.

I hate it!

I hate it when I have so much stuff to write about but I have no time to do so!

MCP Magazine Filtered!

This very very very ridiculous! Neda Rayaneh, a major Iranian ISP has filter access to MCP Magazine (www.mcpmag.com)!!!
Update: I have checked it with other service providers and seems as if MCP Magazine is blocked as part of a government policy!

Jumping into 802.11 Networking

I am not writing very much anymore as I am involved in something new that makes me spend a lot of time studying and learning but this won't take long and I will start writing on regular basis in near future. Still Microsoft Exchange is part of the responsibility which makes me feel very satisfied in my new job. Past experiences and new learnings :)

Being a Microsoft Exchange Fan!

I didn't mean to write on exchange server when I first started this blog but it turns out most posts are Exchange related now! I have become a Microsoft Exchange Server fan and dealing with this lovely and challenging beast cheers me up!

Passed CCNA 640-801

After months of study I could Pass CCNA 640-801 exam today.
55 questions including 2 simulations and many Switching, OSPF, RIP and Frame-relay scenarios. Cisco assumes candidates can handle subnetting on the fly and almost in every question candidates will face some sort of subnetting calculation without being directly questioned about it.

To Have Succeeded

To laugh often and much
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived
This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

From Personal Success Pocketbook by: Paul Hayden

My Digital Camera Choice : Canon PowerShot A75

Finally, after months of research on digital cameras I made my decision and got a Canon PowerShot A75. Before coming to this decision I changed my mind from brands to brands and models to models, from PowerShot to CyberShot and from canon A70 to G5 and back to A75! I read hundreds of Amazon and Cnet customer reviews, emailed lots of friends asking about their digital camera and checked different sample images and videos and at last PowerShot A75 was my choice.
Here are my first shots:
Iran/Tehran : Legrand on the tower!
Macro Sample
North Tehran 1
North Tehran 2

Got Invited to ORKUT

Thanks to Jalal I have been invited to Orkut! To explain it very simple, orkut is a Friendship networking mechanism, once you get in which is not possible unless someone invites you to join, you can find your old friends, make new friends and share your ideas and knowledge in your favorite communities. here is how it workes :
you get invited and join orkut.com, you find one of your old friends which you have lost connection with, you might find more old friends through your friend's friends list and each one of those new found friends might help you to find new friends and so it goes on...
I hope you got it!!!