It interesting how often IT people are left to their own devices as far as training is concerned. Some shops seem to think IT training is a needless expense they want to avoid or worse they think training someone will make them want to leave the company for greener pastures. I’ve never understood why there is fear about training. There is a lot of evidence training improves IT efficiency. Here’s an article from The Register with the data: Are your staff adequately trained? Training is critical for a lot of reasons. Aside from simply enabling staff to do better with tasks at hand, attending off-site training gives them new perspectives on solutions and introduces them to peers in their industry. A small break from the daily grind and a new perspective pays off in new solutions to persistent problems. As staff expands their community they have a wider group with which share problems and solutions. The advantages of off-site training far outweigh any imagined downside. Savvy IT groups spend time every quarter engaged in community through training and interest groups. Speaking of SIGs, the Ganglia team is convening a meet-up this week which should be interesting as it’s one of the first times this team has met. This SIG will be a kick-off to the Ganglia “Project in Residence” event Feb 28-29: more details at the meeting.What: BayLISA Monitoring SIG XIV: Ganglia Monitoring and Integration Who: Anyone interested in IT monitoring issues and tools (newbies particularly welcome!)When: Wednesday, Feb 13 2008, 7PMWhere: GroundWork Open Source, 139 Townsend St., San Francisco How: 139 Townsend St. is very near AT&T Ballpark. It is one and a half blocks from the CalTrain Depot. Take the MUNI N, T or J trolley to 2nd and King (ballpark stop) or take the 30 or 45 bus (among others) crosstown. Free evening street parking can probably be found, and there are several fee-based parking garages around in case of parking difficulty.Cost: Free!! Technology Industry