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Sometimes, Control-Z Just Isn't Enough

Oct 28, 2008  By Shawn Powers

This week on Linux Journal Live!, Kyle Rankin and I are talking about all the horrifying mistakes we've made as sysadmins. It may be a two part show. :)

Anyway, we were thinking about what sort of contest we should have, and figured maybe we could solicit your horrible stories from the field. So here's the deal:

  • Email your computer horror story to me shawn@linuxjournal.com
  • Put "CONTEST" in the subject, so I don't think you're a bot trying to sell me prescription drugs.
  • Realize we'll be judging the stories based on the worst damage, the most horrible events leading up to and following the event, resemblance to Armageddon, how Linux played a part, and of course humor.
  • Really, if you can't laugh about the mistake, you shouldn't send it in to us -- between the chat room and the hosts, we'll probably tease you in direct proportion to how silly the original mistake was.

That's it! The Linux Journal staff will pick a few of our favorites, and send you your very own "Linux Rules" ruler. The rulers are cool, truthful, and can be used to avoid some spacial estimation errors. (Like how far you should hold a candle away from fiber optic cables when checking connections in a dark wiring closet...)

Be sure to watch Linux Journal Live! on Thursday, 7:30PM CST to see if you win. Heck, even if you don't enter, it should be fun to hear about everyone else's goofs!

______________________

Shawn Powers is an Associate Editor for Linux Journal. You might find him chatting on the IRC channel, or Twitter

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You fooled me...

Dan Fekete's picture
Submitted by Dan Fekete (not verified) on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 04:58.

I thought this was going to be an article on pausing processes in new and different ways... but this looks good too.

Well...

Shawn Powers's picture
Submitted by Shawn Powers on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 07:53.

I considered a topic like "Look!!! Free Beer!" -- but in the OSS community, that's the norm, so it wouldn't have gotten much attention. ;o)

Shawn Powers is an Associate Editor for Linux Journal. You might find him chatting on the IRC channel, or Twitter

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