Feb 16

Testing Centers at VMworld

So this is my first VMware blog post. I’ve had two major blocks to blogging. One I’ve not had time. Two working for a VAR a lot of the things I work on are on NDA or my employer wants to protect as they see the material as something of value which they can leverage. Take it or leave it that’s how it is.

For today’s topic I don’t have either of those constraints. VMware Partner Exchange (PEX) is over and my flight doesn’t leave till the morning. And my topic has nothing to do with any value proposition or bottom line.

What’s the topic about you might ask. I’m going to look at exam testing for VMware certs. Something that I felt was lacking at VMworld 2011 in Las Vegas last year was the testing. If you were there and wanted to take the opportunity to sit an exam you couldn’t because Pearson View did not have a testing center at VMworld 2011.

I found this an annoyance for two reasons. First I live in the middle of Kansas and if you look on a map you’ll see that there are limited testing centers that you can go to take a VMware exam. For me to take an exam I’d have to drive several hours to get to a testing center. The second part is finding the time to do it. I like many in the IT industry are busy. We can just say “ya know I’m going to go take my VCP on Monday.” It just doesn’t work for many of us. However VMworld is big and it’s been on the schedule for a while. It’s a perfect time to sit an exam.

I’m sure there are at least a few of you out there that would agree with this. So why are there no tests at VMworld? This week at PEX I got the chance to have lunch with a lot of VMware people. There is a very straight forward answer to this. Because it’s a hassle for both VMware and Pearson View, that and too few people were taking advantage of it.

Before someone says that’s not true it’s just that (insert company here) is not making money on it. There’s not a lot of money to be made by offering the exams at VMworld. VMware has to consume a room to put the testing center in it has to meet specific requirements. They also have guarantee a given number of tests are taken during the hours of operation. It’s not all that beneficial for Person View either. They have to divert staff and equipment to run a temporary testing center.

I bet someone out there is going to say, “way to tow the line Tony.” For those saying that I’d like to ask what certification(s) are you working on and where do you plan to do your testing? I have a feeling that many people stop at the VCP. This is probably because of where you work in the industry. Most people are not required to seek higher level certifications like the VCAP-DCD, VCAP-DCA, or the ever cherished VCDX. Why? Most likely because while the certifications are valuable they don’t help a lot of companies generate revenue so they don’t require it. The exception to this VMware Partners, it helps them distinguish themselves, as well as VMware having confidence in the certified person having the ability to perform with in the range of their certification.

For these reasons it makes a lot of sense that VMware doesn’t offer testing at VMworld any longer. I do want to give them props for offering it at PEX though. Why? Because this really gives partners who are busy the opportunity to fit it into their schedule. It also means that consumers are benefiting from more intelligent highly trained folks who have taken the time and put forth the effort to attend a partner event and show they know there stuff.

So in the end, even though it’s disappointing to some (myself included) that there is not a testing center at VMworld sometimes it’s not what works best for the individual its what’s best for the community.  If you don’t like that then think of it this way, there can be one less session at VMworld to help you do your job better because it’s being taken up by a testing center that only a few people are taking advantage of.

Make it a happy day,

Tony

For additional reference see my post on the VMworld 2011 site: http://www.vmworld.com/thread/5085

Permanent link to this article: https://www.wondernerd.net/testing-centers-at-vmworld-2/

Nov 20

NCYC Sponsor Notes For Next Time

This is just a brain dump of ideas for the 2013 NCYC in Indianapolis. These are just things that have been noticed by sponsors that would help for future sponsors.

  • Pack breakfast and have the youth come by your room to get it in the morning/night before.
  • Bring baggies of all sizes from trash bags to 1qrt bags.
  • Bring Cases of water, 1 case for 7 people
  • Bring water bottles.
  • Make sure to stay hydrated.
  • Pack a cooler full of soda. Pop machines in hotels, etc. sell out fast.
  • Call and have lunch pre-ordered, Jimmy Johns, Little Ceaser’s, Subway, etc.
  • Take videos with you on the bus. Its a long trip.
  • Have pre-packed snack for the bus ride to and from NCYC. (fruit snacks, crackers, candy, granola bars, etc.)
  • Have a sponsors room and stage all your stuff from that room.
  • If you have a large group talk with your dioceses/hotel and see if there is a conference room/suite close to your rooms that can be rented so your youth have a place to come and wind down after a long day. The hotel staff don’t like them in the corridors.
  • Take lots of pictures.
  • Each sponsor should have a baggy that has a pair of nitrile gloves (not rubber due to allergies), band-aids, and tissues in it. You can do basic first aid that doesn’t require a trip to a nurse.
  • Pack a small first aid kit for the group.
  • Pack a pole with some identifying symbol so your group can find you.
  • Make pins, they are popular. Most folks can go through about 75 a day.
  • Make clothes pins as they are easy to put on people.
  • Find stickers for your group to distribute.
  • All of the pins and stickers should identify your parish.
  • If you are taking pictures have cards that indicate where you are putting them so folks can find them.
  • Carry spare batteries for your cell phones, tell the youth to do the same. There are not a lot of places to charge them.
  • Hats are always good, but they need to be cool, like chicken hats, light up hats, etc. Oriental Trading Co. has these.
  • Take tape for multiple things including sealing the doors of your youths rooms so they don’s sneak out.
  • Take note pads so the youth can write about their experiences on the way back.
  • Beads are ok trading items.
  • Print schedules that apply to your diocese.
  • See if you can find maps of the facility and surrounding area so you can tell your youth prior to going where they can not go.
  • Use social media if at all possible.

More items to come as we think of them.

Tony

Permanent link to this article: https://www.wondernerd.net/ncyc-sponsor-notes-for-next-time/

Nov 17

king of the road

This is my first blog update from our bus ride to NCYC. We departed on time. Father lead us in prayer prior to leaving. The trip has been uneventful with most people sleeping.

I’ve managed to scare some of the pilgrams with my sleeping. I’m sitting in an isle seat. And when I fall asleep I tend to lean far into the isle. Theyf think I’m going to fall out of my seat. No such luck. 🙂

We pulled off in Kingdom City MO for a streach break. Now we are back on the road and most of the pilgrams are asleep.

As soon as I have a decent data connection i’ll upload the video from our evening prayers prior to departure.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.wondernerd.net/king-of-the-road/

Nov 16

t-shirts and other NCYC musings

Our t-shirts are ready. For those who read my blog I’ll give you a sneak peek at the end of the blog. Had a slight issue with the iron on transfers. We applied them and then washed the t’s. When they came out of the wash some of the iron on’s had started pealing. This peeling was not an issue for the t’s we had spray painted and actually gave them a more authentic look. The ones we did not paint though did not look good. So while I’m at work today I’m painting the t’s. (I guess this is one thing that phone support does while they are talking with you.) 🙂

Otherwise I guess my helpful set of tips for anyone who has yet to leave for NCYC yet are these:

  • Take pop, water, whatever with you. The vending machines will sell out quickly in your hotels.
  • Take food. It will be marked up.
  • Take a poncho or a trash bag (you can cut holes in them and get the same result as a poncho). Its supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday. might as well be somewhat comfortable while standing in the rain.
  • Need last minute trading items, think duct tape, cloths pins, or label makers.
  • Have fun! you’re celebrating your faith! And faith isn’t supposed to be monotonous, its supposed to be enjoyable. Christ died for us so that we may have life and have it abundantly. ENJOY YOUR FAITH!

 

As promised here our the groups shirts. On the front it says “Jesus Loves This Guy.” The back says “What up, Pray’a?” You will probably see some of these wondering around at NCYC. And before someone says why did you say “Guy” and not use a gender neutral term it was a decision of the youth, both boys and girls. They have chosen to use the masculine neutral form of the English language.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.wondernerd.net/t-shirts-and-other-ncyc-musings/

Nov 12

National Catholic Youth Conference 2011

Well our group is getting ready to hit the road to Indianapolis for NCYC 2011.  We’ve had our ups and downs and things are really shaping up. We’ve got everything ready to go and I think everyone is ready to go.  Our youth are growing and learning responsibility.

Sunday night we are getting together to prep some of the trading items for NCYC this year. We are going to try and brand all of our items with our NCYC logo for this year.

This year we are doing cowboy hats, bucket hats, pins, and stamps. We got the hats from oriental trading company.  The pins we are going to make with pin blanks. And the stamps are going to be stamps from the USPS.

Everyone may have other additional trading items too. We are hoping to see our buttons all over the conference.

 

More to come soon. Hopefully I will be doing some posts and pod casts from the bus on the way down.

T.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.wondernerd.net/national-catholic-youth-conference-2011/

Nov 12

My First Blog Post

This is my first time blogging. I will give readers a heads up my blogs will be rather wide and varied. You will probably get to see content from computers to politics here.

And in classic nerd fashion.

Hello World!

Tony

Permanent link to this article: https://www.wondernerd.net/my-first-blog-post/