I did of course phrase the subject to maximize the provocation :-) but my point is, while I really like the plumping to work, I don't really care about "the nine traits of a veteran plumber". For me a network admin is (believe it or not) a LOW TECH job, using of-the-shelf standard components (as any other admin/technician/mechanic). If my mechanic has to stare blankly while mentally figuring out what is preventing my car to start, I will let him do that in peace - because I assume he knows better than me how to do his job.
I have NO doubt that network administration is an intriguing job, with its share of problems to solve. But as long as the down time is counted in hours and not days, I prefer them to work invisible behind the scenes, not bothering me and hindering me to do my job.
Don't get me wrong, I know that a good admin is well worth his pay. But also I love the cleaning personal, especially when they don't clean while I'm working :-)
I guess I was hoping to gain a little insight in how the admin job is done - I dunno, maybe adapt some of it to my little (tiny) home network. But most of the points was fairly obvious - yes I also reboot my router. No of course I can't calculate subnet masks/read packages/write filters in my head. Is it impressive he can? Slightly, but not much, skills like that develop by regular use. I would be more surprised if he had written "we just google it" :-)