From Food & Wine:

On the genius of The Cure's Robert Smith

"Disintegration is one of my favorite albums. Young people listening to this podcast right now, are like, 'What the f--- are they talking about?' It's the 'Friday I'm in Love' guys. Check it out. 'Just Like Heaven' is a perfect pop song. It is like carbon on the periodic table of perfectly executed, joyous, catchiest, most perfect things. 'Pictures of You' is probably one of the most tragic pop songs ever written, and it's perfect. 'A Forest' — I remember when Nouvelle Vague covered that, and I was just like, 'Oh my gosh.' I don't know why The Cure doesn't get more recognition for how important they were.

To go from punk into New Wave, into — I think at any moment if Robert Smith wanted to, he could be like, 'I can write the poppiest song of all time.' Like Kurt Cobain, where it's just, 'I can do this all day long. But I'm going to put sandpaper in it and make your brain turn upside down.' But then you're like, 'What just happened to me?'"

Can you put me in contact with the "tech team" of a political campaign?

I am offering my "time management for sysadmins" training pro-bono to any Dem or anti-Trump digital team, sysadmins, devops team, SRE, etc. Contact me via LinkedIn, DM me on Twitter or email me if you know my email address.

My coworker Josh Duffney launches his self-published book on Ansible today!

Congrats and I wish great success!

Crawl, walk, run, sprint your way through learning Ansible with "Become Ansible"! Visit his website becomeansible.com

Come one, come all! nycdevops does its first virtual meetup! All are invited!

• Speaker: Adarsh Shah
• Topic: "Continuous Delivery for Machine Learning"
• Time: Thursday, September 17, 2020, 5-630 PM
• Link: https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/272914068/

Hope to see you there!

This month's nycdevops meetup speaker is Nathen Harvey of Google, who will give a talk titled "Introduction to Site Reliability Engineering".

The talk starts at 5pm sharp! (NY is in US/Eastern)

Please RSVP! See you there!

https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/272956481/

(This is a virtual meetup. Everyone around the world is invited!)

November's nycdevops meetup speaker is John Allspaw, who will give a talk titled "Findings From the Field: 2 Years of Learning From Incidents".

The talk starts at 5pm sharp! (NY is in US/Eastern)

Please RSVP! See you there!

https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/273826675/

(This is a virtual meetup. Everyone in the world is invited!)

Don't forget!

November's nycdevops meetup speaker is John Allspaw, who will give a talk titled "Findings From the Field: 2 Years of Learning From Incidents".

The talk starts at 5pm sharp! (NY is in US/Eastern)

Please RSVP! See you there!

https://www.meetup.com/nycdevops/events/273826675/

(This is a virtual meetup. Everyone in the world is invited!)

This isn't directly sysadmin-related, but it made me think of how a really good outage retrospective can teach others how to prevent problems in the future.

"On the 15th anniversary of the incident, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is announcing a forthcoming interactive training application based on one of the worst industrial disasters in recent U.S. history--the March 23, 2005, explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, which killed 15 workers, injured 180 others, and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. This updated animation will be included in the training, which will focus on OSHA's Process Safety Management standard. Look for it soon at CSB.gov."

Content warning: Death

https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2021/07/22/stack-overflow-for-teams-a-centralized-knowledge-sharing-and-collaboration-platform-with-tom-limoncelli/

If you've ever googled a CS or programming question, you likely found an answer (or many) on Stack Overflow. Founded in 2008 and named after a common computing error, Stack Overflow empowers the world to develop technology through collective knowledge. More than 100 million people visit Stack Overflow every month making it one of the 50 most-visited websites in the world. Stack Overflow's products include its market-leading knowledge sharing and collaboration platform, Stack Overflow for Teams, in addition to Stack Overflow Reach & Relevance, which is focused on advertising.

Stack Overflow for Teams is a knowledge sharing and collaboration solution that developers and managers already know and trust. It's for companies who need to increase productivity, decrease cycle times, accelerate time to market, and protect institutional knowledge. In this episode we talk with Tom Limoncelli, a manager at Stack Overflow, author, and tech advocate.

Listen to the podcast by clicking here!

Twenty years ago the first edition of The Practice of System and Network Administration shipped! Since then there has been a 2nd and 3rd edition (2006 and 2014), plus a sequel book The Practice of Cloud System Administration, and many printings. (see the timeline here)

When we started the project we had no idea if it would be a success. There was a real chance it could be a flop. Many people told us that our proposal was illogical: How could you have a book about system administration that is vendor agnostic and talks about process and people instead of specific tools and operating systems? Well, to be honest, we took a deep breath and started writing anyway. It took 2+ years but in Sept/Oct 2001 the book finally shipped!

Instead of a flop, the reaction we got was very positive! It has sold tens of thousands of copies. Many universities have used the book and its future editions as text books. It received the Usenix LISA Outstanding Achievement Award. One DevOps pundit told me she considers it to be "the first devops book" which was quite humbling.

When I visited Google in 2004 (a year before I considered joining) I was told everyone in the "systems operations" team was given a copy on their first day. The person giving me a tour then took me to a supply closet with 30 copies awaiting to be distributed to new hires.

However the real satisfaction comes from how it has helped others. Fans have related many heartwarming stories. Many fans have told us they felt like reading the book was a turning point in their life, that the book "turned me into a professional system administrator".

To thank our readers, our publisher is offering a special deal: 45% off the latest editions now until Oct 31, 2021 What? You still have the 2nd edition and haven't seen the dozens of chapters of new material in the 3rd edition? Or maybe you haven't heard of our Cloud book? Now is your chance to get the 3rd edition or the cloud sequel!

• Use this link: https://informit.com/tposa
• Use this coupon code: TPOSA

Thank you to everyone that gave us feedback on the early drafts! Thank you to all our readers! This book changed our lives and we hope it changed yours too!

P.S. We would love to hear from you! Please post a comment with reflections on the book.

The Usenix LISA conference is no more. After 35 years, I have a lot of good (and some not good) memories of the conference. It was a big part of my career and I'm sad to see it go. However I'm proud of what LISA accomplished.

I wrote my personal reflections on the conference in a new article published on the Usenix website. Warning: this article includes some over-sharing.

Read it here: LISA made LISA obsolete (That's a compliment!)

After a 2-year break, my column in ACM Queue magazine returns! It has a new name "Operations and Life".

For many years I wrote a column in ACM Queue Magazine. It was called "Everything Sysadmin" and covered devops, IT, and basically anything I felt like. I stopped writing in 2020 due to the pandemic and a general lack of motivation. My last column was published Nov 2020. Two years later I finally feel like writing again.

The new column is called "Operations and Life". I'm going to write about the intersection of devops and personal life. I believe that most techniques we use at work can apply in our personal life and vice-versa.

These columns will be shorter and more to the point. While my old column would often be 10 or more pages long, my goal now is to keep things to about 2000-3000 words. This will make them easier to read and digest. This format is more web-friendly.

The first article in this new format is out!

Read it here: Split Your Overwhelmed Teams: Two teams of five is not the same as one team of ten

A hearty wild rice soup loaded with mushrooms, flecked with fresh thyme, and bolstered with Gruyere cheese and cream. The perfect winter warmer.

Continue reading Creamy Wild Rice Soup on 101 Cookbooks

Classic, buttery, whole wheat shortbread cookies. They're fragrant with rosewater, flecked with toasted nuts, and dried rose petals.

Continue reading Rose Shortbread Cookies on 101 Cookbooks

This is how you make simple, garlic kale - just right. If you love sautéed greens, the keys are avoid overcooking, and adding plenty of garlic to the pan. And yes, this technique works with kale, chard, or spinach. Super flexible!

Continue reading Simple Garlic Kale on 101 Cookbooks

Everything I know about making grissini. These beloved, pencil-thin Italian breadsticks are made with just five ingredients. No mixer is needed and you don’t need to proof your yeast.

Continue reading Grissini (Italian Breadsticks) on 101 Cookbooks

A special, triple-bean, vegan chili inspired by Jess Damuck’s new cookbook. It’s bold, flavor-packed and uses a technique to achieve the best texture of any chili I’ve eaten. It’s time to schedule a big chili night.

Continue reading Health Nut Vegan Chili on 101 Cookbooks

These lime scones are something special. Made with fragrant Rangpur lime zest and juice, they’re tender and rustic with golden craggy edges and a zest-flecked icing shell on top.

Continue reading Rangpur Lime Scones on 101 Cookbooks

Hurra, Wochenende – und damit mehr Zeit zum Hören und Sehen! In unserer Wochenendausgabe präsentieren wir Euch eine Auswahl empfehlenswerter Filme und Podcasts mit Medienbezug. Dieses Mal wegen der am Dienstag anstehenden Wahl in den USA mit einem Fokus auf den Einfluss von Medien auf den Wahlausgang. Viel Spaß bei Erkenntnisgewinn und Unterhaltung! *** 1. […]

1. Wie die Öffentlich-Rechtlichen aus der Krise kommen sollen (taz.de, Ann-Kathrin Leclère) Ann-Kathrin Leclère hat die wichtigsten Fragen und Antworten zur Rundfunkreform zusammengestellt, beispielsweise: Warum braucht es Reformen? Wer kümmert sich darum? Was wurde beschlossen? Wer hat Angst vor welchen Änderungen? Und was ist mit dem Rundfunkbeitrag? 2. Wie das insolvente Kreml-Medium Ruptly unter neuem […]

1. “Wir müssen uns von der Vorstellung lösen, dass Journalismus gleichbedeutend mit Content ist” (journalist.de, Leif Kramp & Stephan Weichert) Bei journalist.de ist ein lesenswertes Interview mit dem US-amerikanischen Journalismus-Experten Jeff Jarvis erschienen, der gleich in der ersten Antwort ziemlich direkt wird: “Während wir die US-Wahlen durchlaufen, frage ich mich, ob es Zeit ist, den […]

1. Automatisierte Bots auf X greifen in den US-Wahlkampf ein (zeit.de, Eva Wolfangel) “Die Sorge, dass das Internet von Bots zersetzt wird, gibt es schon lange. Jetzt gibt es erstmals klare Belege für solche KI-Accounts – manche machen Stimmung für Trump.” Eva Wolfangel gibt einen Einblick in die derzeitige Forschung zu Bot-Netzwerken. Weiterer Lesetipp: Elon […]

1. RSF verurteilt israelische Nachrichtenblockade (reporter-ohne-grenzen.de) Die Organisation Reporter ohne Grenzen (RSF) verurteilt den Umgang der israelischen Armee mit Medienschaffenden. “Aus dem Norden des Gazastreifens dringen immer weniger Informationen heraus, und gerade deshalb wird Journalismus immer wichtiger”, so RSF-Geschäftsführerin Anja Osterhaus: “Die israelischen Streitkräfte verhindern zunehmend Bilder und Stimmen von der Realität des Krieges und […]

1. Was das Ampel-Aus für die Medienbranche bedeutet (dwdl.de, Timo Niemeier) Timo Niemeier macht sich bei “DWDL” Gedanken darüber, wie sich das Ende der Ampel-Koalition auf die Medienbranche auswirken könnte. Die vorgesehene Reform der Filmförderung mit Elementen wie Steueranreizen und Investitionsverpflichtungen sei ohne FDP-Stimmen kaum durchsetzbar. Die geplante Reform des öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunks bleibe hingegen unberührt, […]

Hurra, Wochenende – und damit mehr Zeit zum Hören und Sehen! In unserer Wochenendausgabe präsentieren wir Euch eine Auswahl empfehlenswerter Filme und Podcasts mit Medienbezug. Viel Spaß bei Erkenntnisgewinn und Unterhaltung! *** 1. Welche Rolle haben Medien beim Ampel-Aus gespielt? (uebermedien.de, Holger Klein, Audio: 24:34 Minuten) Im “Übermedien”-Podcast hat sich Holger Klein mit Ann-Kathrin Büüsker […]

1. Wir produzieren keine Eiscreme (journalist.de, Jacob Goldmann (Pseudonym)) In seinem Essay “Wir produzieren keine Eiscreme” beschreibt Jacob Goldmann, ein Pseudonym eines Lokaljournalisten, wie wirtschaftliche Interessen zunehmend redaktionelle Entscheidungen beeinflussen. Als ein Beispiel nennt er die Berichterstattung über die Nosferatu-Spinne, die aufgrund der hohen Klickzahlen zu einer Überflutung des Nachrichtenangebots geführt habe. Goldmann argumentiert, dass […]

1. Euronews-Redaktionen protestieren gegen ihren neuen Chef Claus Strunz (uebermedien.de, Stefan Niggemeier) Stefan Niggemeier fasst die Diskussionen um den neuen Euronews-Chef Claus Strunz, Ex-Mitglied der “Bild”-Chefredaktion, zusammen. Mitarbeiterinnen, Mitarbeiter und Gewerkschaften in Lyon und Brüssel würfen Strunz vor, die Prinzipien der Neutralität und Unparteilichkeit zu verletzen, insbesondere durch öffentliche Pro-Trump-Äußerungen und politische Eingriffe in die […]

1. Bundestag will die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Fraktionen neu regeln (netzpolitik.org, Martin Schwarzbeck) Der Bundestag plane, noch vor der nächsten Wahl die Regeln für die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit der Fraktionen zu überarbeiten. Der Bundesrechnungshof habe festgestellt, dass viele Social-Media-Aktivitäten der Fraktionen, die eigentlich die parlamentarische Arbeit darstellen sollen, in der Vergangenheit parteipolitische Werbung enthielten. Eine breite Mehrheit der […]

If you’re facing criminal charges, the best thing you can do is look for opportunities …

The post 7 Tips for Getting Criminal Charges Reduced appeared first on Pink Is The New Blog.

B3ta newsletter 927, out now "ASCII NEWSLETTER FLASHES SIDE-BOOB AND REVEALS PERKY URLS" This Week: * QUEEN RESPECTS - how your fave brands paid them * JUST OUT OF SHOT - image challenge * SHANNON MATTHEWS THE MUSICAL - on your telly

Goodbye Legless Sorry to share this news - from the email: "Hi B3ta. Bit of sad news, Joe Thompson aka Legless passed away last week. Thought you might want to post something, better coming from you instead of some random lurker. The funeral will be webcast. Whack it in /links for a suitably tasteless send off :)" If you want to leave a comment - stick it on the thread.

The hepatitis E virus protein ORF1 contains a region that scientists have struggled to characterize, making the structure and function of this region the subject of much debate. Now, Princeton scientists show that this region of the protein does not behave as a protease, as has been previously suggested, but instead serves as a molecular scaffold to stabilize the rest of the ORF1 protein.

Documenting climate change at the ends of the Earth.

Getting hit with one hurricane is bad enough, but new research from Princeton Engineering shows that back-to-back versions may become common for many areas in coming decades.

A Princeton-led team of astrophysicists has measured a surprising value for the “clumpiness” of the universe’s dark matter.

Princeton chemists used MacMillan's µMap, a molecular mapping technology, to watch tiny changes in a DNA-protein complex called chromatin — essentially, an architecture that allows for the compaction of DNA — in the presence of genetic mutations associated with cancer.

Research by Princeton scholars at the Atacama Cosmology Telescope collaboration has culminated in a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of the universe.

National survey highlights vibrancy and growth of campus research

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $52.66 million grant to fund a major infrastructure upgrade to the Simons Observatory in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Upgrades are expected to take about five years; the resulting facility will be known as the Advanced Simons Observatory (ASO).

Amichai Feit had known Seema Jayachandran as a Twitter-famous development economist.  She became Feit’s senior thesis advisor for a policy-analysis project that included economic field research in India.

The Princeton professor's research follows elephants, wolves and urban lizards. He hosts the new PBS series, "Human Footprint."

The landmark 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has committed nearly $400 billion to mitigating climate change. Nine research teams across the U.S, including a Princeton team led by Jesse Jenkins, have now modeled the law's effect on U.S. carbon emissions.

While we primarily think of viruses as targeting their attacks against us, they are also in constant competition with each other.

SPIA’s Andrew Guess and research colleagues used de-identified data from Facebook and Instagram to explore how changes in the way content was delivered affected people's attitudes and behavior.

The world wastes enough food to feed a billion people. A collaboration between Princeton and Microsoft Research is engineering a 6G wireless sensor to be part of the solution.

Princeton's 'extremely supportive' environment for new ideas laid the foundation for an aha moment about a toggle switch in the fruit fly brain. Do humans have one, too? 

This is the second round of Princeton Alliance for Collaborative Research (PACRI) projects partnering HBCU and Princeton researchers.

Two NASA telescopes helped an international team of astrophysicists peer far enough back in time to gain new insight on how black holes form.

Scientists have long known that magnetic fields probably extract energy from spinning black holes — they just didn’t know how.