https://itguyeric.com/categories/speaking-engagements/Recent content in Speaking Engagements on Eric The IT GuyHugoen-USWed, 24 Jun 2026 13:43:33 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/southeast-linuxfest-2026-recap/Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:28:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/southeast-linuxfest-2026-recap/SouthEast Linux Fest has a different feel than most conferences I attend. It is less trade show, more reunion. You run into the same person twice in an hour, swap contact info, and actually mean it…https://itguyeric.com/blog/ttrpg-southeast-linuxfest-2026/Sun, 14 Jun 2026 09:24:42 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/ttrpg-southeast-linuxfest-2026/I ran a hands-on introduction to tabletop role playing games at SouthEast LinuxFest for a room full of Linux nerds, most of whom had never rolled a die in their life outside of a D20 keychain.https://itguyeric.com/blog/ciq-at-open-source-summit-2026-minneapolis-recap/Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:37:02 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/ciq-at-open-source-summit-2026-minneapolis-recap/I spent three days on the expo floor at Open Source Summit 2026 in Minneapolis with Howard Van Der Wal and Stephen Simpson, and it was one of the better events we have done this year.https://itguyeric.com/blog/community-days-kc-2026-trip-report/Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:18:18 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/community-days-kc-2026-trip-report/Community Days 2026 was a different kind of conference experience for me. No booth to staff, no talk to deliver, no social media queue to manage. Just me, a badge, and a schedule full of sessions I…https://itguyeric.com/blog/linuxfest-northwest-2026-worth-the-trip/Thu, 30 Apr 2026 13:14:36 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/linuxfest-northwest-2026-worth-the-trip/I made it to Bellingham this spring for LinuxFest Northwest, and I get why this event has been earning its reputation for 27 years.https://itguyeric.com/blog/from-fresh-install-to-ai-inference-in-under-4-minutes/Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:17:17 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/from-fresh-install-to-ai-inference-in-under-4-minutes/Getting a GPU box ready for AI workloads is way harder than it should be, and we proved that live on the CIQ Webinar Series on April 2nd.https://itguyeric.com/blog/tech-burnout-recovery-scale-23-talk/Sun, 08 Mar 2026 21:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/tech-burnout-recovery-scale-23-talk/This one was personal. I gave this talk at SCaLE 23 in Pasadena as part of Open Source Career Day, and I will be honest, I almost did not write it because it meant putting some very uncomfortable…https://itguyeric.com/blog/from-bash-to-burnout-scale-23x/Sun, 08 Mar 2026 13:49:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/from-bash-to-burnout-scale-23x/I gave this talk at SCaLE 23x in Pasadena as part of Open Source Career Day, and it is probably the most personal thing I have ever put on a stage.https://itguyeric.com/blog/community-linux-enterprise-support-webinar/Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:49:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/community-linux-enterprise-support-webinar/I hosted this solo webinar for TuxCare making the case that you do not actually have to choose between community Linux and enterprise-grade support. The whole pick-a-camp framing is a false choice…https://itguyeric.com/blog/almalinux-enterprise-support-tuxcare-webinar/Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:22:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/almalinux-enterprise-support-tuxcare-webinar/AlmaLinux Enterprise Support: TuxCare Webinar with Benny Vasquezhttps://itguyeric.com/blog/devops-kc-communication-in-an-open-company/Wed, 19 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/devops-kc-communication-in-an-open-company/I had the pleasure of speaking at the Kansas City DevOps Meetup in downtown Kansas City! It was kind of like a coming home party. KC DevOps Days is where I got my start at GitLab and set me on a path…https://itguyeric.com/blog/self2019-busting-open-source-security-myths/Tue, 18 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/self2019-busting-open-source-security-myths/I gave my Busting Open Source Security Myths talk at DevSecOps Days Denver to a packed out auditorium. If was so well received, I decided to bring it back for Day 2 of SELF 2019!https://itguyeric.com/blog/self2019-getting-started-with-open-source/Mon, 17 Jun 2019 06:00:24 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/self2019-getting-started-with-open-source/This talk defined the voice of the IT Guy for me. This was the moment when the Sudo Show got its wings, when I realized that I was on the right track towards re-inventing my career. I had people in…https://itguyeric.com/blog/self2019-gitlab-takes-you-from-idea-to-production/Mon, 17 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/self2019-gitlab-takes-you-from-idea-to-production/South East Linux Fest 2019 was an amazing test of the IT Guy…not as a brand but as the person I wanted to be in my career. I gave 3 talks in 3 days and spent a lot of time chatting with different…https://itguyeric.com/blog/devops-days-des-moines-communication-in-an-open-company/Mon, 06 May 2019 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/devops-days-des-moines-communication-in-an-open-company/Getting started in my career, I never imagined I would work in sales or go speak at conferences! I was very nervous and I think that showed. What was worse is I had the first breakout after lunch and…https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-4/Thu, 20 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-4/The conference now seems like SO long ago! It was 4 crazy-packed days (plus 2 on the road) but it would not be overstating anything to say it has forever changed the course of my career.https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-3/Tue, 18 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-3/Oops! The downside to staying up pretty much all night talking about FOSS, life, and everything else under the sun is that the next morning comes WAY to quickly!https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-2/Mon, 17 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-2/I know, I know this is a lot later than I promised.https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-1/Thu, 06 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-day-1/IT IS HERE! Libre Application Summit 2018. This is the first IT conference I have attended since a VMware Summit in 2012.https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-travel-day/Tue, 04 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0500https://itguyeric.com/blog/las2018-travel-day/Kansas City, Missouri to Denver Colorado, 1 Interstate, 609 miles, 8 hours of podcasts… Nothing but rain! However, the nice thing about this road trip was it gave me time to consider a few things…