Friday, February 10, 2012

Happy Sysadmin Appreciation Day

July 27, 2007

Just in case you didn’t mark your calendars, the last Friday in July is System Administrator Appreciation Day. The holiday's Web site proudly proclaims: "If you can read this, thank your sysadmin."

A sysadmin worries about spam, viruses, spyware, but also power outages, fires and floods, the site says. When the e-mail server goes down at 2 a.m. on a Sunday, your sysadmin is paged, wakes up, and goes to work.

"Systems administrators are the unsung heroes of the 21st century, our tireless morlocks who keep the entire universe running," tech blogger Cory Doctorow writes on BoingBoing. "They understand that they’re keeping the infrastructure of the information age alive and functional."

So if you haven’t already done so, give your sysadmin a pat on the back… after he/she stops berating you for not being able to fix the paper jam yourself. And if you're really feeling generous, click here for gift ideas.

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Juliana Gruenwald

Tech Writer

E-Mail: jgruenwald@nationaljournal.com.


Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


Josh Smith

Tech Reporter

E-Mail: joshsmith@nationaljournal.com.


Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.