System administrators - often taken for granted or ridiculed for their techie habits - today get their chance to feel loved.

July 27 has been named System Administrator Appreciation Day (as in 'Happy SAAD Day'?). This is "a special day, once a year, to acknowledge the worthiness and appreciation" of the...person who really keeps the wheels of your company turning," according to Sysadminday.com.

Suggested gifts for the top techie at your company include: PDA, digital camera, cake and ice cream party, radio controlled car or Java-enabled mobile phone.

In the spirit of this event, The Reg thought it would only be fair to honour our own beloved and often overlooked system administrator Simon.

Simon, who until this afternoon was blissfully unaware of the significance of today's date, was today his usual good-humoured self.

When asked what brightened up his day, he said: "Merely people being smiley and happy and saying thank you is enough, which is what all of you do anyway."

Ah, bless. But what about feeling taken for granted? "Sometimes we are forgotten at the bottom of the pile," he confessed.

Simon, consider yourself at the top of the SAAD pile. ®