We are Living in a Multicast World and I am a Multicast Girl
I’ve spent most of this weekend, save for a trip downstate to visit the farmer’s stands, studying Integrated IS-IS and Multicast, two very different topics. At first, I was whining beyond belief at having to study IS-IS. I’d heard it was a difficult topic and I also knew that it is rarely seen outside ISP’s. Since I’ve never worked for an ISP and don’t work for one now, it seemed irrelevant. However, I actually really enjoyed studying it and I’m looking forward to playing with it in the lab. IS-IS offers one of those rare glimpses back into the foundation of the internet and also gives you a chance to consider what networking today might have been like had different decisions been made and the founders gone with OSI and it’s many protocols rather than IPv4.
Multicast has also been interesting and definitely seems relevant as we at work for our server team to virtualize and move a server that hosts an important multicast application. I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned with my teammates as we prepare for that change. I’d also like to push for us to move from PIM sparse-dense mode on our routers to just PIM sparse-mode, unless anyone has any reasons why not.
Lastly, I’m thinking of a fun competition here. Like many of those out there studying for certifications, I often have to leave home and all its chaos to be able to concentrate on my studies. This means I’m always looking for the best public place to study. I’m thinking that each week I should have a competition between two study venues to see which one ends up on top. I’m willing to add suggestions from comments on this one, too. This week I did Panera vs. Starbucks and here are the results!
Panera - WINNER - free wifi (time limits during peak hours), relatively quiet, lots of natural light, even power strips provided. Good food and free refills on sodas. So far this is my go-to study place.
Starbucks - LOSER - While the coffee is great, there are few healthy snack options. Wifi is available for a nominal fee, but I was able to steal Panera’s from there. Biggest drawback - High noise level both from music and blenders.
Next week, I’m planning on doing Public Library vs. Bookstore. Here are a few match-ups I have planned:
Crystal (think White Castle in the south) vs. Local Hookah Bar - Both have free wifi and both have food…will greasy sliders win out over a hookah pipe and a drink for study nirvana? We’ll find out!
My criteria for a study site to try…
1. Must have a place to sit and not be bothered for at least 2 hours straight (no mosh pits or dance clubs)
2. Must have access to a place to plug in a laptop.
3. Must have enough lighting to read and enough quiet to possibly do so.
4. Wifi is a definite plus. Must be either free or available for a nominal fee to count.
Feel free to make suggestions for study venues in the comments section. I am even considering a Beach vs. City Park match-up if I can figure out how to make sure I don’t get sand in my laptop and that my battery will last long enough. 
I never liked starbucks either, they are always way too busy and noisy I can’t believe anyone gets anything done there. I never thought of a hookah bar, that would actually be a pretty relaxed place to chill out! Might be a little dark for books though.
My favourite spot was a university library. The reason I think its better than a public is that its usually bigger, theres always someones wifi to steal, and has lots of variety in study areas, with some being very private and cozy. They also are sometimes open much later.
I’m thinking the hookah bar might be fun for labs (short ones, definitely no longer than 1 hour), and for watching CBT Nuggets or Trainsignal. I think anything else and it would be too dark or too distracting.
I’m planning on getting a hookah, some hummus, and a beer and watching trainsignals and playing with GNS3. 
I’ll have to see if I can sneak into one of the university libraries here…there are a few smaller universities here and I might blend in…besides unless I’m checking something out, I doubt they’ll care that I’m not a student.