Look! Up in the Sky! It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Sysadmin!

Yes, it's a sysadmin—a somewhat strange visitor who might as well be from another planet, with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal users.

That's you, right? So these powers and abilities—How did you get them? How did you figure out which ones you had? How have you honed them? How have you learned to cope with them and the responsibilities they brought?

I don't really believe sysadmins are superheroes just like those in comic books. But I do think that we are different from others in a similar way, complete with, yes, powers and abilities that often exceed those around us. Some of these powers we already have whether we know it or not and some we'll have to strive to develop. But all come with their own set of practical and ethical obligations.

For almost eighty years, American comic books have been mulling over just the sorts of questions you and I face each day we live as sysadmins, so why not look at what they have to say on this subject? In this talk we'll explore just what superpowers you really do have or could attain with just a bit of work. We'll also address some of the moral and ethical implications of being "super" you'll need to face as you progress in your sysadmin career. Sure, our time together will be entertaining, but it won't be all "Biff! Pow! Sudo!" If I'm right, you could take away a new sense of yourself as a sysadmin.