When you find a few, rotate through them over the years. Most conferences I find don't change/update enough in subsequent years. Plus you get a diversity of tech/people.

If these are as critical services as you say, I would assume you have some sort of redundancy, at least a 2nd server somewhere. If so, treat each as "throw away", build out what you need on the alternative server, swing DNS and be done. Rinse and repeat for the next 'upgrade'. Then do your work in the middle of the day. See Immutable Servers: http://martinfowler.com/bliki/...

Where does one find a place that would teach/certify me in welding? I've already got a day job developing. Useful skills to have when the zombie apocalypse comes.

in Hollywood we get to enjoy the perceived benefits of total war, where we throw every weapon possible at the enemy without regard for making a lasting peace. i'm sure if razed Afghanistan with every weapon in our arsenal, we would have 'won' years ago, though people might be upset with the crater we left behind.

Costello: What’s the name of the new iPad?
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: Yes, the name of the new iPad?
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: Yes, the device just released today by Apple.
Abbott: The new iPad.
Costello: I know! What’s the name of the new iPad?
Abbott: The new iPad.

i should add.. not news, not news that matters to nerds.. again slashdot going off the rails..

it so happens i'm seeing various religious/philosophy quotes at the bottom of slashdot at the moment...

he doesn't want to you read about what he might have done back in 1990

you refer to people as "dumbass Texans".. if you're so smart, why not reason with them and fight the good fight instead of dropping below their level and resorting to name calling. those "dumbass Texans" are winning...

F-22 raptor - 1.7 million lines of code
F-35 joint strike fighter - 5.7 million
Boeing 787 - 6.5 million
Premium class automobile - ~ 100 million

IEEE Spectrum: "How hard should it be to stop a runaway luxury car?" http://spectrum.ieee.org/blog/computing/it/riskfactor/how-hard-should-it-be-to-stop-a-runaway-car

IEEE Spectrum: "This car runs on code" http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/advanced-cars/this-car-runs-on-code

... that is politically convenient...

because we would still be using telegraph if we had to rely on the government to improve communications infrastructure

my torrent download is screaming fast now

http://4pcb.com/ great manufacturer located in Denver. They have great deals, willing to work with you at all levels of production (prototypes vs. actual production releases). If you are new to design they are very helpful and willing to test your designs before printing, to warn of any mistakes you may have.