About Cluster Help
I am Russ Kaufmann, and yes, I am a geek. Yes, I have all of those neat initials denoting certifications that include MCSE+I, MCT, CTT+, and MVP in Windows Server-Clustering. I specialize in Exchange, IIS, SharePoint Portal Server, and Clustering. I am very proud of being only one of six people to ever be awarded the MVP award in Clustering. I did some major sucking up to make that happen.
During the day, I work full-time for Ameriteach, an IT Training company in Greenwood Village, Colorado. During my breaks, while others are outside smoking, I am in the Microsoft newsgroups answering questions about Windows clustering. I even eat lunch over my keyboard while reading my RSS feeds and reviewing the newsgroups.
At night, I morph into... the same guy, but then I work for ClusterHelp.com where I work hard at developing good training material for those that want to learn server clustering in the Microsoft world. If you need training on Microsoft Windows Server Clustering, we are the ones you want. My partner, Rodney R. Fournier (another MVP in Clustering), and I spent several hundred hours making this web site and the materials happen. The course is only available about 8-10 times a year, so you need to schedule in advance if you want the chance to attend. I have also co-authored four different books, written courseware for Microsoft, and edited several other courses and books over the years.
I keep two blogs, this one is devoted to my life's work trying to help others understand and utilize Microsoft Windows Server Clusters (pretty lame, eh?). My other blog, A Working Geek's Life, is the one that scares away all technical recruiters. Recruiters read about how strange I am and how my mind works, and they stop calling me.
A quick summary of my life goes something like this:
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Born and raised in Aurora, Colorado.
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Ran away from home and joined the US Army where I learned some completely useless skills unless you want some help destabilizing a foreign government. I was a complete fool back then living in jungles and jumping out of crappy aircraft.
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Went to the University of Colorado where I received my BSBA in Business Finance and my MBA in Information Systems.
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Discovered the world of computers while at Texas A&M as a Ph.D. candidate.
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Created my own white box computer company and consulting firm, Advanced Computing, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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Worked my way through lots of jobs that got geekier and geekier until I reached my current level.
I love computers! Really. If I didn't have a job in the field, I would probably still be sitting at my computer late at night working on something computer related. Wait a second... that is what I am doing right now. Yes, computers are my job and my hobby. I am one of the lucky ones that really loves my work.
I am such a geek that I tell geek jokes and tell them badly. For example:
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Why did the geek give Christmas presents at Halloween? Because OCT 31 = DEC 25 (Octal and Decimal... really, try it.)
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There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that know binary and those that don't.
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Two men walked into a bar... That is as far as I get before I start wondering why neither of them ducked.
- Two IT guys were talking in a bar after work. "Guess what," says the first IT guy, "yesterday, I met this gorgeous blonde in a bar."
"What did you do?" says the other IT guy.
"Well, I invited her over to my place, we had a couple of drinks, we got into the mood and then she suddenly asked me to take all her clothes off."
"You're kidding me!" says the second IT guy.
"So I took her miniskirt off, and then I lifted her up and put her on my desk next to my new laptop."
"Really? You've got a new laptop?"
Oh, it gets worse, but I will let you see that for yourself. I am probably the only person that has information that Google rates right up there on topics from Exchange Clustering to Garlic Vodka. If you really want to see into my psyche, read about some of my dreams.
All I can say is, I hope you find some value here, at my other blog, at ClusterHelp.com, or on the clustering newsgroups.
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