About

Welcome to T.B.D., the blog of Dee Abson. At my day job I’m a technical architect for a financial services company. I mostly work with infrastructure technologies, especially virtualization, platforms, and middleware. As an architect my hands-on time with tech has become somewhat limited, so I’ve decided to build a home lab. This will reacquaint me with tech, let me learn new things and expand my technical horizons. This site will collect some of those learnings with the intent to share how-to’s, thoughts and discoveries. Note that everything on this site is my own does not reflect or represent any current or past employer.

Who is this guy?

A little bit about myself. I’m a technical architect in Alberta, Canada. I’ve been working with technology for 20 years, starting out in the early days of web development and data entry. Over the years I’ve trended towards systems administration and architecture, emphasis on virtualization. I’ve run the gauntlet of VMware technology from early Workstation through GSX to ESX. I hold several technical certifications including the VCP5-DCV, and am honoured to have recognized as a VMware vExpert and PernixData PernixPro.

What’s in a name?

Why an acronym? I wanted a name that was easy to remember, available (always important!) and non-specific yet àpropos. Many will recognize T.B.D. as meaning “To Be Determined”, that familiar phrase used to show that more is yet to come. My main meaning for the acronym is “There Be Dragons”. There Be Dragons is a derivative of the more common phrase “Here Be Dragons”. Map makers of the day used this phrase to suggest undiscovered lands full of frightful creatures and grave danger.

During whiteboard sessions I like to scrawl “Here Be Dragons” on the Internet cloud that gets added to the diagram. While adding a bit of levity the reference to the ancient maps conveys the idea that out there in the wild is an uncontrolled frontier. It also evokes the idea that there is more to learn and more to discover within the world of technology. This blog will attempt to chronicle some of my journey through it.

All the above, plus by spelling it out phonetically I’ve somehow managed to tuck my name in there too!