SYSADMIN SHAMANS

I mean, they’re basically the same thing, but with different sets of extra-human systems, patterns and intelligences with which they interact. Plus there’s that shitty comic that came out about that Cory Doctorow sci-fi story.

A system administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network. System administrators may be members of an information technology department.

The duties of a system administrator are wide-ranging, and vary widely from one organization to another. Sysadmins are usually charged with installing, supporting, and maintaining servers or other computer systems, and planning for and responding to service outages and other problems. Other duties may include scripting or light programming, project management for systems-related projects, supervising or training computer operators, and being the consultant for computer problems beyond the knowledge of technical support staff. A System Administrator must demonstrate a blend of technical skills and responsibility.

Where are the big computer technology companies’ “green sustainable” ad campaigns? I think we’ll be seeing a tremendous move forward with green technology jargon, especially around “sustainable computing,” “organic internet,” “biodegradable laptops”, etc.

Sysadmins often have to make emotional, intuitive and artistic/aesthetic decisions about how their systems work (or don’t).

et in arcadia ego

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• Sometimes I half expect
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• The Shamanic Sickness
• Shamans of Scientism

Read In Sequence:

• Prev: “States” of Consciousness
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2 Reader Responses

1. Big Elk Says:
   September 12th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

   http://www.answers.com/topic/shamanic-healing-1

   Anthropologists have long studied how cultural groups living in the world today view and attempt to control their living environments. In many of these groups there are individuals who perform rituals and ceremonies to ensure a good hunt, adequate crops, good health, and whatever else is deemed important. Rites are performed to keep the community safe, healthy, and well fed, and to ensure the favor of the gods and other natural and supernatural forces. These individuals may also be called upon to diagnose and treat illnesses and disease. “Shaman” is one of many names given to those who perform rituals and healing ceremonies.

2. Big Elk Says:
   September 12th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_ecology

   Information ecology draws on the language of ecology - habitat, species, evolution, ecosystem, niche, growth, equilibrium, etc - to describe and analyze information systems from a perspective that considers the distribution and abundance of organisms, their relationships with each other, and how they influence and are influenced by their environment. The virtual lack of boundaries between information systems and the impact of information technology on economic, social and environmental activities frequently calls on an information ecologist to consider local information ecosystems in the context of larger systems, and of the evolution of global information ecosystems.