Brooks International has a good list of cloud computing events in 2012. 

Top Cloud Computing Events and Conferences

Events Scheduled for 2012
Cloud Expo 2012 – June 11-14- NYC – http://cloudcomputingexpo.com/

CLOUDCON 2012 – February 13-16, 2012 – Santa Clara, CA – http://www.cloudconnectevent.com/santaclara/

ICNC 2012 – January 30- February 2 – Maui, HI – http://www.conf-icnc.org/

CloudCon Expo – July 11-13, 2012 – San Francisco, CA – http://www.cloudconexpo.com/

Cloud Security Alliance Innovation Conference 2012 – January 26 – Silicon Valley, CA – https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/events/csa-innovation-conference-2012/

Cloud Identity Summit 2012 – July – Vail, CO – http://www.cloudidentitysummit.com/

IDGA 3rd Annual Cloud Computing for DoD & Government – February 21-23 – Washington DC – http://www.cloudcomputingevent.com/Event.aspx?id=619576

2012 Cloud Computing & Virtualization Conference & Expo – http://govcloudconference.com/Events/2011/Home.aspx

Parallels Summit 2012 – Profit from the Cloud – February 14-16 – Orlando, FL – http://www.parallels.com/summit/2012/

Cloud Fair Conference 2012 – April 17 – 19, 2012 – Seattle, WA – http://www.cloudfairconference.com/

Cloud/Gov 2012 – February 16, Washington DC – http://www.siia.net/cloudgov/2012/

Remaining 2011 Events

UP 2011 – Cloud Computing Conference – Mountain View, CA- December 5-9 – http://up-con.com/

CloudBeat2011 – November 30- December 1 – Redwood City, CA – http://venturebeat.com/events/cloudbeat2011/ CIO

Cloud Summit 2011 – December 8-9 – Scottsdale, AZ – http://www.ciocloudsummit.com/

Cloud Security Alliance Congress 2011 – November 16-17 – Orlando, FL – http://www.misti.com/default.asp?page=65&Return=70&ProductID=4985&LS=cloud

CloudCamp 2011 – November 19 – Chicago, IL – http://www.cloudcamp.org

If you would like to add your event to our list please contact Karen@brooksinternational.com.
Source: http://blog.brooksinternational.com/top-cloud-computing-events-and-conferences/

Legendary boxer Joe Frazier died at age 67.  NPR did a story on his life and career.  Smokin' Joe has some great lessons for us, for not only is he a boxer, he is a teacher.

Background
NPR reporter Tom Goldman writes, "A "sledgehammer left hook" that put Muhammad Ali on the canvas in 1971 pretty much tells the story of Joe Frazier's career."
"It was as crushing and symbolic" as any of Frazier's punches over his long career, Tom said on Morning Edition. "It put his bitter rival, Muhammad Ali, on his 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee' keister at Madison Square Garden in what came to be known as the "Fight of the Century."

But where did Frazier's dangerous left hook come from?  Joe was born into a poor sharecropping family in South Carolina.  When Frazier was about 8 years old, he "fashioned a punching bag out of a burlap sack stuffed with rags and corn cobs and Spanish moss. By Frazier's own estimation, he slugged that thing for the next six or seven years d@mn near every day."

Frazier's longtime friend Abraham Brown describes their youth in the documentary "Joe Frazier: When the Smoke Clears."  The two would put on gloves and go at it.  Brown says Frazier, "like to fight; he always liked to fight.  It was in him."

Goldman describes Frazier's distinctive fighting style  as  "bending at the waste, ducking under the opponents punches, all the while moving forward,  relentlessly forward, looking to throw those punches, fearsome punches.  Literally."

Boxing champion Larry Holmes, once Frazier's sparring partner admitted he was "scared as hell to work with Joe Frazier and to get hit by Joe Frazier."  Joe broke Larry's ribs during one sparring session.

The Lesson
Frazier is gone now, the great boxing champion lost his last battle to liver cancer.

Do what you were made to do. 

• "It [boxing] is in him," said Frazier's childhood friend.
• In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Lidell observed, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. "       
  

Practice. 

• The jarring left hook that won Frazier an Olympic gold medal and ultimately felled Ali was formed by years of hitting that burlap sack nearly every day.
• Roger Bannister, the first runner to break the 4 minute mile once said, "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

       
Pursue your passion.

• Goldman's description of Frazier in the ring, "all the while moving forward,  relentlessly forward."
• Keep moving towards your goal, relentless pursuit!
• As the saying goes, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

       
Posted in his Philadelphia gym, the Official Joe Frazier Creed reads,
"We sacrifice because when we give something up, something will come back; we are disciplined because without discipline there is nothing."

Additional reading:
Weird Facts about Smokin' Joe (Yahoo)
Boxer Joe Frazier, Who Beat Ali In The 'Fight Of The Century,' Has Died

CIO Magazine reports:
Cloud computing, security and the mobile space hold the most growth potential in the coming years, according to IT professionals surveyed by tech staffing firm Modis.

No kidding?
Efficient (and/or affordable), secure, accessible.  I don't really see anything new here.  We did not need a new study to confirm these are potential growth areas.  One can look at the recent and current strategic plans of the FedGov, DoD, and industry leaders to confirm.

Read entire CIO article: http://www.cio.com/article/693125/Study_IT_s_Future_Lies_with_Cloud_Computing_Security_and_Mobile?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2011-11-07

Townhall's David Sterman paints a gloomy picture for the defense industry starting 23-November when Congress is slated to the Super-Committee recommendations on federal spending budget cuts.  The recommendation is likely to include $454B in defense spending reductions, on top of a previously agreed to $350B.

Other interesting information from the article.

• Merrill Lynch says spending by defense contractors will shrink 3.3% annually for the next five years -- and even this number may prove optimistic.
• Defense spending has risen from 3% of gross domestic product in the 1990s to a current 4.8%. A return to that 3% level represents a 35% drop.
• According to Merrill Lynch, since October 2001, defense and security spending has risen 74% and this trend is unsustainable.
  

    According to a new story, Google will begin indexing Facebook posts.  In the story, Scott Gilbertson @wired says, "any time you use a Facebook comment form on a other sites, or a public page within Facebook, those comments will be indexed by Google.  The new indexing plan isn’t just about Facebook comments, but applies to nearly any content that’s previously been accessible only through an HTTP POST request."

    This is important for many reasons, not the least of which, a 2009 study found "45% Employers use Facebook-Twitter to screen job candidates."

Despite the technology change, the best policy is still: Don't post anything sensitive on fb or anywhere else on the web.

Everyone has heard Adele's Rolling in the Deep, but have you heard the acoustic version?  Just as amazing as the first time I heard Adele.

Last month I drove through the Texas country back roads past Justin, Texas to Texas Motor Speedway.
I was there for school....to learn how to drive at 150MPH.


Mike Starr, owner of Team Texas Driving School, was my chief instructor.  He taught me the basics of handling, performance, and expectations of the race cars.  After the session, I took a practice lap of the track.

Behind the wheel of a 2010 Sprint Cup car (I still call it 'Winston Cup'), it was cramped and tight.  I don't recommend sealing the doors on your personal car...it was a challenge slipping thru the window!  We got a push start from a four wheeler down pit row and I popped the clutch.  The 700hp engine roared to life.  I shifted up to third and rounded turn two on the apron.  Out of turn two and on to back stretch, I slammed on the pedal and put four on the floor.  The car accelerated quickly and I moved close to the wall.  The letters on the wall few by T......E.....X..A.S!  Faster and faster, then slowing for turn 3 and down close to the apron.

The ride was bouncy, but the car handled amazing, even on turns it steered left toward the apron.  The track was tall and wide, if I didn't keep speed around the corners, I would drift down....almost like riding on a wall.  Out of each turn, I accelerated and hugged the wall, which did not seem comfortable, but allowed the best line on the track for speed.

I am proficient in sports, research, writing, firearms, and other activities, but driving a real racecar was quite an experience...
humbling at that!  I had to respect these cars - they are the real deal.

Turn four was a monster.  The front straightaway has a small dog leg.  As you round the corner, the driver must point the car in a fashion that appears to be headed directly to the front spectator wall.  Turning slightly left to pass the start/finish line, then do a similar maneuver going into turn one.  It's an optical illusion for the TV audience.  In other words, the front straightaway is not really "straight!"



I completed 10 (1.5 mile) laps in the 2010 Haas Automation #39 Impala and took the checkered flag.  I have a new found respect for NASCAR drivers, the skill, and endurance required to complete a race.

If you ever had a desire to jump behind the wheel of a real race car, it's a blast!

Checked out Klout service.  The idea is portray how influential one is within their network and to portray how others influence you.  The data is collected through social networks and give a "score" based on the findings.

The service also identifies 5 topics one is "influential on."  I consider myself well-read in some aspects of technology as well as religion and spirituality.  However, I have never been to Reno nor Yale.  I do not know much about teeth and orthodontology (aside from avoiding the dentist lately).  

I don't have much faith in klout's ability to determine if I am influential or authoritative on a topic.  It's an interesting concept, but in reality, our sphere of influence is much greater than twitter and other social network mediums.

Flight test progress 2011 Flight test totals as of Nov. 4:

• Total flights: 837
• F-35A conventional takeoff and landing: 407
• F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing: 296
• F-35C carrier variant: 134
• Program lifetime (including AA-1 and production aircraft): 1,428   

View reports from April 4, May 11, June 14, July 25, and Sept. 20.
More, including video: https://www.f35.com/building-the-f-35/testing/flight-tests.aspx?ESRC=sm_deftech.nl

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. has a new HBR ideacast on what successful people do differently.

1. Get specific.
2. Seize the moment to act on your goals.
3. Know exactly how far you have left to go.
4. Be a realistic optimist.
5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good.
6. Have grit.
7. Build your willpower muscle.
8. Don't tempt fate.
9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do.

Ideacast is here: http://blogs.hbr.org/ideacast/2011/11/what-successful-people-do-diff.html

More at Dr. Halvorson's blog: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/02/nine_things_successful_people.html