Dell certification notes

These are notes that i made to help me with passing the online Dell test for servers and desktops.  It's gibberish to most people but helped me with passing the tests.  Everything in red is referencing a question that I had to answer in the actual test.

SERVERS

Solution that provides consolidated consistent way to monitor, configure, update and manage servers = OMSA Open Manage Server Assistant

SAS = NOT Leverages SCSI command set, supports multiple drives on channel, shares throughput bandwidth

View logs related to DRAM failure = DSET, OpenManage Server Administrator

Drives that are complete and consistent = Controller guide, Header guide, Time-stamp, Sequence number

Items detected and communicated using DRAC = Temp, Voltage, Fan Speeds

Hot spare = used to replace failed drive in redundant array

Clear non-BIOS errors from LCD = clear SEL

LCD display during POST = NOT BIOS version, date/time

Components in RAID that can contain firmware = PERC, backplane, HD

32 bit diagnostics CD can create = USB, Disk, HDD image

Valid color coded message displayed on LCD = alert state – amber

Perform global re-scan of storage drives = OpenManage Server Administrator

Perform HD self tests while server running = NOT OpenManage, 32 bit diag

Dell diagnostics operating within the OS = NOT DSET, 32 bit, MpMemory tests

If RAID drive goes offline, 1^st step = Attempt to rebuild the drive

Available in PERC BIOS = NOT modify auto-rebuilding, modify background operation rates

Import and clear foreign disk configs = PERC using ctrl R, OpenManage Server Admin

First digit of PE 2900 LCD message code = E = Error

Virtual media support = remotely boot managed systems from virtual media, install apps from vm, update drivers from vm, install os from vm

Running 32 bit diag be helpful = computer can’t access hard drive

OMSA PERC battery learning cycle delayed = NOT 72 hours

Check firmware compatible with drivers in use = OMSA

Test can be run from 32 bit = MpMemory

PE 2900 LCD Messages = written to SEL, listed during POST, displayed with color coded background

Displays on LCD if multiple errors = NOT all messages in sequence; only the most recent message

DRAC supports use of virtual media

Test run from 32 bit = MpMemory

Hot-plug drive replace = automatically rebuild

Modify auto rebuild rate = OMSA

BMC’s available = NOT host in-band, LAN in-band, LAN out-of-band

Management station perform when using virtual media = provides physical media

Run 32 bit = f10

Watch diagnostics run = NOT test selected tab

OMSA = solution for PE systems that provides consolidated and consistent way to monitor, config, update, manage servers

Clear NVRAM = power off server and change NVRAM jumper

Baseboard Management Controller = BMC = proactively forecasting the possible failure of hardware

-          Failovers: monitored and managed by PSU controller and detect a failure and utilize backup.  Controller will perform load balancing to reduce the load on any single PSU which extends mean-time-to-failure (MTTF)

-          Fans are controlled by BIOS and hot swappable

-          Memory redundancy:

o   Spare bank

o   Mirroring

o   RAID

Types: Tower, Rack, SC, Blade

-          Tower = 6800 + 2900

-          Rack = 1-2U in size.  1U = 1.75 inches

-          SC = Cheaper, 2 CPU’s max, 1 PSU

-          BLADE = “server on a motherboard”; large server farm

PE 2950 = Model 2, Gen 9, Rack optimized (5 for rack, 0 for tower), server (0 for server, 5 for blade)

Racks and rails work together in server environment = Rack systems ensure proper closure of servers, rail systems provide easy access

PERC = Poweredge Expandable RAID Controllers; Dell proprietary RAID controller; E = EXPANDABLE and not Edge

Components:

-          Side-plane connector = connecting SAS controller to board

-          DRAC-5 = Dell Remote Access Card 5 = remote manage; dedicated Ethernet port

-          PSPB/PDB = Power Supply Paralleling Board or Distribution Board

PCI

-          PCI = 133mbs

-          PCIX = 1gbs; extended, parallel based

-          PCIE = +2gbs; express, serial based

-          Hot Plug PCI: not supported for Dell RAID and SCSI controllers

o   Off - off

o   Green – On

o   Green blinking fast – slot being identified by app, program, or driver

o   Amber blinking slow – card is faulty or improperly installed

o   Amber blink twice, pause, then repeat – hot plugged expansion card is slower than other cards on same bus

CPU’s

-          AMD Opt 8200, 2200

-          Intel Xeon 7100,5300,5100,5000,3000,Pentium d915, Celeron d336

Power

-          LED:

o   Red or amber = failure

o   Green = ok

-          PSPB:

o   Distributes load across multiple PSUs

o   Larger systems with n+1

-          PDB:

o   Hot plug logic; power distribution

o   Smaller systems with 1+1

o   No load balancing

o   Provides redundancy and hot swapping

BIOS

-          BIOS Sequence:

o   Power supply board turns on and initializes; chipset receives the signal from power supply board; BIOS POSTs; BIOS looks for Video and runs it; memory count up; system inventory; summary screen displayed; search for boot drive; start the process of booting OS

-          Factory default:

o   Alt + f = factory default for entire BIOS

o   Alt + d = single fields in BIOS

o   SCSI enabled will be default

Drives that come with 9^th gen servers = SAS and SATA

Networking

NIC Teaming = create a VLAN, load balancing, failover

-          Fault tolerance = Smart Load Balancing (SLB); Adaptive Fault Tolerance (AFT)

o   If one fails, the other will be used

-          Load Balancing = SLB; Adaptive Load Balancing (ALB)

o   Share large data loads preventing one from being overwhelmed

-          Generic Trunking = FEC and GEC/802.3ad; FEC and GEC/802.3ad

o   Link aggregation.  Multiple cables/ports in parallel to increase link speed beyond the limits of any single cable/port

-          Teamed using Adapter Config Utilities

o   Broadcom = BASP; Intel = PROSet

o   Broadcom utility is preferred whenever possible

TOE

-          Removes processor bottlenecks; reduce excessive traffic across internal memory; traffic on internal PCI; Key required

-          Does not support iSCSI.

-          NIC is online before POST.  Must install the TOE key before AC power is applied

-          Layer 4 ethernet

-          BACS2 = Broadcom Advanced Control Suite v2

o   Basic diagnostics on Broadcom

o   Visibility in network stats

o   Teaming wizard

o   Netstat –nt to check for offloaded connections

Management

In-band = agents going through the OS

Out-of-band = through the DRAC and independent of the OS

-          Check for line voltage, verify BIOS, view logs, power on/off, force boot from floppy

-          Once DRAC is plugged in, direct interface with BMC is disabled and can’t use IMPI to talk to BMC

To talk to BMC, use OMSA or RAC. 

DRAC 5 is hardware and software that talks to BMC and takes over once installed on x9xx servers

-          Additional security, ipmi/bmc config capabilities, enable.disable access points and features, SM-CLP (new CLI for RAC), RAC users are same domain as BMC users, Virtual Media is USB  not IDE, hardware chipset and faster processor

-          RACADM = CLI for DRAC 5

o   Both hex and decimal numeric values, displays numeric values as decimal, IPMI config groups

-          DRAC 5 GUI

o   Consistency with RACADM and manageability features; target based rather than functional based navigation; consistency with OMSA gui; enhance server sensor display; ssh, serial, telnet;

-          DRAC 5 Configuration

o   Web based interface; RACADM CLI “cfgLanNetworking”; BIOS BMC Binary (BBB) (Ctrl E setup)

o   Network settings configured by web; RACADM CLI; BIOS BMC Binary (BBB)

-          Virtual Media = USB, floppy, CD, DVD

-          Can’t configure a console redirection session on the local system

System Event Logs (SEL)

-          Ways to view logs:

o   Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)

§  AKA Remote Access Config Utility

§  Ctrl E during POST to view logs

o   Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET)

§  Does not come standard

§  Extracts all event logs for offline viewing (1MB)

o   Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

§  Nice pretty GUI that you can drill down and do lots of things

-          RAC = Remote Access Control

-          DRAC 5 = Dell Remote Access Control

-          SEL = System Event Logs

OpenManage

-          Deployment tools = DSA (Dell Server Assist), DTK (Deployment Tool Kit)

-          Monitoring Tools = OMSA (Open manage server admin), ITA (IT Assitant), RAC, BMC (Baseboard Management Controller Management Utility)

o   OMSA, RAC, and BMC = management solution that provides a consolidated way to monitor, configure, update and manage servers

o   OMSA = does not support SC servers!

-          Maintenance Tools = SUU (Server Update Utility), PED (PowerEdge Diagnostics)

o   SUU = update BIOS, RAC, RAID firmware

-          IPMI = “discover” capabilities of manageable devices

-          DRAC has virtual floppy, CD support and physical drive or image support

-          Remote Management Hardware = DRAC; works out of band, no OS interaction, can work when system is powered down

Storage

SATA

-          Point to point, no master/slave

SCSI

-          Timing errors at higher bus speeds; EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference); Serial bytes converted to parallal data bits, parallel move down bus system, re-serialized at receiving end

SAS

-          Uses proven SCSI functionality

-          SCSI command delivered via a serial topology; 16,387 SAS devices in SAS domain; enhanced SATA while adding support for a second drive port; point to point, switched architecture

-          Point to point, full duplex, dual port, hot plug

-          PHY

o   Like a telephone conversation, source and destination PHY; OPEN -> OPEN_ACCEPT… CLOSE

o   Two narrow links can be combined to become a wide link where each PHY has a unique identifier but share a common SAS address

-          Expanders = port multiplier; similar to an Ethernet switch in that it’s not an end point

-          Connection rate = +3gps; rate matching if connection rate is slower than physical link rate

-          Protocols= SSP (Serial SCSI Protocol) supports SCSI disk, tape, etc, STP (Serial ATA Tunneling Protocol)  supports SATA drives, SMP (Serial Management Protocol) supports SAS expanders

-          SAS domain = SAS devices + 1 or more expander

-          SAS controller online = goes out through each of its phys, Registers every device it comes across, Notes the device WWN, maintains the list of physical disks by WWN

-          If RAID supported, examine RAID info and build map of virtual disks to physical disks

-          Backplanes, slots, enclosures obtained by discovered SEPS

-          Basic SAS controller = SAS 5i = daughter card, I denotes internal cables only, ctrl C BIOS setup

-          Added RAID hardware = PERC5i = daughter card, ctrl R BIOS setup

PERC 5 = PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller = DDF is stored twice at the end of each physical disk

-          Uses 512mb on each disk for DDF

-          Config data cached during normal operation and NOT on the controller.  Removal of member disks = virtual disk deleted

-          Provides logic that interacts with CPU and memory  or CPU and storage devices to read/write

RAID

-          Stripe order info stored on PERC and each disk, adapters know where disks are

-          Move a disk or replace the PERC = mismatch

-          RAID types = 0, 1, 5, 10, 50

PERC = PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller

-          PERC 5/i  5 = generation, I = integrated vs controller card

-          Hot spare =  RAID configured with drive already in place; drive roaming = identify drives that have been moved and re-associates the drives SCSI ID with the new slot

-           

BIOS does NOT control initial part of boot process

BIOS checks and configures memory in post process

AC Adapter = power cord + brick

Symptoms of no post = no OS messages, no response from keyboard, no startup sounds, locks up at Dell splash screen

Successful post = keyboard status LED’s flash, OS messages

AC adapter LED changes from solid green to blinking = board

NVRAM = ESCD

HD’s that are replacement will contain diagnostic partition = FALSE

BIOS copied from ROM to RAM during boot = SHADOW MEMORY

POST related fault = Check state of power LED, check diagnostic LEDs, Check AC adapter LED, Refer to online doc

Power up but no video on LCD = check num lock, connect external display, wait for BIST to load

Ink spots on LCD is not covered by support

Wireless unable to connect = NOT confirm card is on, confirm enabled in BIOS, run PSA

LCD distorted = Dell diagnostics and OBD, Update driver

BIOS = Basic Input/Output System

Chassis:  Latitude D, E, Precision, Vostro

Portability, Design, Materials, Tech, Access to hardware

FRU = Field Replaceable Units

-          System board, Video, Audio, NIC, touchpad, LCD + internal memory

CRU = Customer Replaceable Units

-          Keyboard, HD, memory modules, mini-OC cards, Bluetooth cards, modem daughter card, coin-cell battery, main battery, modular drives, external dries, AC Power

Components:

-          Front View

o   Ambient light sensor, keyboard LEDs, Status LEDS, internal microphone, touchpad

-          Bottom View

o   HD, Memory, Battery, Dock connector

Can be removed:

-          AC Power, battery, coin cell battery, memory, keyboard, Bluetooth daughter, expansion card, HD, Modular bays

Keyboard Bexel:

-          Diagnostic lights

-          “lock lights”

Chassis:  XT,XT2

Tablet, integrated pen support, multiple gesture touch screen, digital ink, handwriting recognition

Screen swivels 360

Size/weight, dual mode (pen and touch), structural integrity, usability, performance

On the LCD:

-          Power, Diagnostic LED, Battery LED, Status indicators

-          Wireless switch = FN F2

CRU

-          AC Power, Battery, Bluetooth, pen, express cards, wireless antenna

FRU

-          Ambient light sensor, audio card, bio reader, LCD, processor, board, touch pad, video

BIOS

SSU = System Setup Utility – F2 OR F12 -> system setup

                Detected, enabled/disabled, settings for: power, processor performance, video, etc

Stored in PROM on CMOS chip.  PROM BIOS

Code that allows a computer to boot

BIOS Security Policies

-          BIOS Password

BIOS Level Security

-          Passwords set by user: primary, admin, hard drive

-          Primary = prevents booting any media

-          Admin = boot the OS but prevents BIOS changes

-          HD = HD specific password that will prompt on any machine

POST process:

Power button -> signal through board to processor -> cpu signals soft switched power supply to power up system -> power supply sends current out

Initialize core chipsets, checks and configs memory, enables L1 L2 cache and check cpu, copy into memory

Latitude LED error codes for no post

Flash-off-off = no sodimms present (memory)

Flash-on-on = cpu error

Flash-on-flash = LCD

Off-flash-off = memory compatibility error

On-flash-on = memory detected but has errors

Off-flash-flash = modem

Flash-flash-flash = board

Flash-flash-off = option rom

Off-on-off = HD/storage

Wilde Toyota Experience

http://www.wildetoyota.com

I sent this to our sales snake (Terry Dies) and also anyone on their website with the title of "manager" for used cars.  Not expecting anything out of them on this because it's too late.  Too bad they won't be able to truly appreciate how angry at them i am.

terrydies@wildetoyota.com
randy.dunn@wildetoyota.com
eric.schoessow@wildetoyota.com
dougbuer@wildetoyota.com
cwalczak@wildetoyota.com
j.ploeck@wildetoyota.com

On the evening of August 1^st around 6pm my girlfriend and I arrived at Wilde Toyota with the intent of purchasing a new or slightly used vehicle for her in the coming weeks.  We were hesitant to do so but we were keeping our options open.  Andrew and Safro Toyota were already looking for her.  We had both purchased our cars from there in the past and neither of us were very “warm” on the idea of going there again.  Simply put, we went to view the selection and cross our fingers that we would have a more positive experience.

Her criteria was pretty straight forward.  She wanted: Toyota Rav4 (new or slightly used), four wheel drive, moon roof, and almost any color but red.  We initially walked towards the used vehicle side for obvious reasons (saving money).  We met Terry Dies (a 17 year veteran at Wilde we were told) along the way.

My girlfriend has 12+ years sales experience for the largest mobile provider in the country and knows a thing or two about sales.  I’ve got a sales/service background but nowhere near as impressive.  We were very open about our experience to keep the playing field even.  It was our way of politely saying “Don’t BS us you snake”.  We’ve had fantastic experiences with sales people in the past with being honest.  At one point we dealt with a guy named Robbie at Wilde and he was a fantastic person but that was about a year ago and we didn’t get a chance to look for him.

There were a couple of prospects for us and we decided to take a 2010 charcoal gray Rav4 out for a test drive.  There were some cosmetic blemishes and minor issues with the vehicle which we found during the post test drive inspection.  We had plenty of time to inspect and nit-pick the car because Terry was nowhere to be found when we got back.  Items of note were the scrape on the passenger headlight (1/4” wide and 4” long), scuffs on the front bumper and a corner where the bumper was no longer flush with the quarter panel (broken clip and easily fixed we were told), scuffs on one of the rims from someone improperly mounting the tire, 5-6 small ¼” splash stains on the inside roof on the moon roof slide out, dog hair between the seats in the back when you fold them down, and a nail in the driver side rear tire.  The car was clearly used and most of these issues are cosmetic and won’t matter in a week but they’re still fodder for the negotiation phase.

As we went inside someone had just arrived and was going out with a salesman to look at that same vehicle.  We were first there and so we got priority we were told.  Numbers and estimates were given.  He stepped away a couple of times for us to discuss.  I could see that earlier customer near’ish the vehicle in question.  One way or another, that vehicle was being sold that night.  No budging on the price.  The price is what it is and there was no attempt at negotiation on Terry’s part.  Can’t budge.  The blemishes would be addressed but no movement on the price.  I bet Terry would have loved to know what we truly had budgeted for a down payment (I’ll give you a hint… there’s a reason why we were also looking at NEW vehicles).

My girlfriend asked “what’s the price on a new one”.  Terry’s response was “I don’t know, I only deal with used ones and you’d have to talk to one of the other guys.”  Let me put this exchange into context for you…  By this time it was after 7 and Terry had left us a couple of times for privacy.  I also spotted him slipping out a side door.  I saw the customer and sales person hovering near the vehicle in question.  This was the 3rd or 4^th time he stepped away.  He was visibly agitated with our attempts at negotiation.  After that exchange, he stepped away again and we agreed he was being an asshole and we were ready to walk away.  When he came back, he said the price wasn’t budging and so we got up and said we were done.  We walked out one door.  He walked out another door.

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Never have I been treated that way by a sales person.  I’ve dealt with some smarmy and smug sales people at car dealerships.  I’ve also dealt with some awesome people who are just trying to help and not looking at me as though I’m a piece of meat.  I love everyone’s reaction when we mention Wilde Toyota.  That is the hands down best ice breaker for them.

Wednesday night, there was no attempt was made at retaining us as customers.  No attempt was made at keeping us on the lot.  No attempt was made at getting us involved with a sales person who deals with new vehicles and “knows how much they cost”.  There was no negotiation.  We were an inconvenience getting in the way of another sale.  No apologies were made.  No attempt at keeping us on the lot.  No attempt at finding out what we were looking for so we could come back and buy like other dealerships.  It was very clear that if we did not buy that night, we were garbage to this person.

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Understand this:  Regardless of what your sales quotas are, customers are people and retention should be one of your priorities.  WE have the power.  WE expect to be catered to at some level.  Without US, YOU are nothing.  There’s no excuse for us to be able to walk off the lot feeling dejected.  I ask that you take one of your vehicles and drive around the surrounding area of your dealership.  Look at how many dealerships there are nearby.  Seriously.  Look around.  That is where WE as customers have the power.  Clearly our business wasn’t wanted at Wilde that night but it was very much appreciated elsewhere.

Tonight we’re picking up her new Honda CRV from just down the road which was found later that night.  It has everything we were looking for (4wd, moon roof, not red, and a fair price).  I should thank you Terry because if not for you, we’d not have found a vehicle we both instantly loved which is in immaculate condition and a sales rep who was an all-around awesome person (notice the use of “person” which is to denote the traits of humanity which were absent elsewhere that night).

I want no fake apologies.  I want no assurances that things will change because I’m far too cynical to believe otherwise.  I just want someone somewhere to learn from our experience.

Oh…

I would hope that someone removed the nail from the tire of that Rav4 for the new owner…

Sean Paczesny

2001 Toyota Solara SLE purchased at Wilde in 2004

Jennifer Cable

Ex - 2000 Toyota Camry SE purchased at Wilde in 2004

Remodeling - Windows (part II)

Progress has been made.  Project is more or less done.  Now i'm trying to piece my house and life back together.  With this comes pictures!  It's looking fantastic right now.  The fumes from the stain are gone and i'm no longer getting high!  I'm not sure if i'm going to post pics of the rest of the windows with their blinds on or even the glass block in the basement or not.  I know i would love to get nicer wood blinds but not sure when that'll happen.  These were significantly cheaper than the roughly $180 per wood ones i was looking at.  The wood ones look fantastic buuuuuut this project has cost me enough already.

Slowly but surely i'm also replacing outlets which are in bad shape while my house is in disarray.  As i piece stuff back together i'm also cleaning the shit out of it all to get rid of the dust and also because i've not been awesome about cleaning the past couple years (or ever).  Doubt i'll ever post pics of when things are 100% done because they'll honestly never be done!

Through all of this, the work has been done in a reasonable amount of time and wasn't as big of a nightmare as it could have been for me.  Considering what got done, things stayed pretty clean which is remarkable.

This is the window facing onto my enclosed front porch facing west.  This would be the south west corner of the house.  This will be one of the main windows giving me fresh air during summer as i geek out on my computer in the corner.  The white is mud from where they're patching the damage to the plaster.  It'll look better when i finally paint this summer.

This is my upstairs window facing south.  The walls look muuuuuch better than they really are.  Some nasty ass wood paneling on them from god knows when.  This window was completely shot originally.  This is also the one that gets hit with the most sun year round.  Really need to get some blinds up there so the neighbors don't think i'm creepier than i already am.

Here you will see two windows that face onto the front porch.  The TV is normally in front of them and these windows have never been usable for airflow for me.  They've always been drafty.  The heat thermostat is about another 2 feet away from the edge of the picture.  Always the draftiest room in the house.

My bedroom downstairs window is the one that had the most plaster damage around it.  Very impressed with how it came out.  Coincidentally, the white from the patching makes it look like i've got some kind of cloud theme going in my room which i very much do not!








Finally here's that same window after i got the blinds put on.  These were a different style of blinds which i've never used before.  The instructions said to use a 1/16" drill bit.  Wrong!  Ruined one of the screw heads in the process.  Wound up going through 5 bits before settling on a 1/8" bit.  This took me 45 minutes to get the blinds in this window!  It had to get easier than this otherwise i was going to cry!!!  These blinds enable me to now have some privacy in my bedroom and blocks out the damned alley light!

The south window downstairs is another window that always gets hammered by the elements.  I had replaced it with a chap vinyl window a couple of years ago as a band aid.  As you can see there was some mild plaster damage from the work around the window but nothing too bad.  It's going to be fantastic once I get around to painting.  I like this pic the most because it shows how well the stained oak matches the original pine.  I accidentally matched them up almost perfectly!

Here is what it looks like afterwards with some blinds on.  Only took me 10 minutes (a far cry from 45 min before) to hang these while stopping long enough to mix myself a drink.  Yay for privacy!!!

Remodeling - Windows (in progress)

A virtual tour of some of the work being done at my house this week.  I'm having the original windows (metal counterweights and all) replaced with energy efficient ones.  With the house being almost 100, this project is also doing a bit of damage which will be repaired once all is said and done.  The wood work was not salvageable and so the trim around the windows is going to be replaced.  Here's what i came home to the other night...

Living room:

This is the window to the right of my front door.  It opens onto my enclosed front porch facing west.  You can see my computer desk which is normally in the corner.  This means no desktop computer at home in the interim. :(  At least i have my laptop to play with!

 This is the other window in that room which faces south.  Prior to this project, this was the only window that had a screen on it and was usable for air flow during summer.  If my computer desk were in the corner again, this would be to my left and i could easily see the damn bunnies in my side garden!

These windows are to the left of my front door and face out onto my enclosed porch (west again).  It's in this area that I consistently felt a chill during winter months.  Again, these windows no longer had functional screens so they were closed year round.  Needless to say, the airflow will be nice this summer!



Mess in living room:

You can see my new love seat stacked on top of my new couch to make room for the work.  Also got my coffee table covered in more crap than usual right there.  Yeah.  It's a mess.

Here's my computer desk pulled out with Smokey inspecting the work.  No sense in moving this bulky thing back into place until it's all done.  I've got a bunch of cords that need to be re-plugged when it's done.  Having the 2 windows right there by my desk will be nice though.

Bedroom:

My bedroom on the first floor faces east towards the alley.  Not having any blinds up right now means the neighbors get a free peep show if i'm not careful!  You can see how much of the plaster came off when they took the trim boards off.  That's the joys of an old house.  It'll be patched soon but was quite a heart breaker when i initially saw it.

Notice next to no mess on the floor that night?  Very impressive job cleaning up after doing work.  I would have endured a mess but nice to have courtesy like this.  :)

Cats helping:

Smokey decided he needed to sit on the arm of the couch as i was putting the love seat on top of it in preparation for this project.  You can't see the drool in this picture but it was there!

Shadow decided to investigate things as i was taking a break.  On the floor is a glass with my "beverage".  :)

2012-02-02

The presidential primaries are in full swing right now in the US.  The Republican party is tearing its self apart.  Newt vs Mit.  One is trying to be more red than the next.

I sit here reading the latest gossip about the campaigns.  You can call it something else but in the end it's the same as the gossip you read about Hollyweird people and your neighbors.

When did things get so polarized?  It's my way or the highway.  We want strong leaders and yet we want people able to compromise.

IM conversations

Oh the joys of getting sucked into domestic disputes!  This is a conversation between a friend of mine (JC) and her friend (AB).  Keep in mind that this conversation is on their corporate IM client.  AB got dumped in 06/2011 and this is from 09/14/2011.

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JC(09:23:27): Good Morning, My AB!
JC(09:23:36): We have out Rock N Roll Kick off today
AB(09:23:38): he says he never wants to see or speak to me again
JC(09:23:47): I dressed up as 80's Madonna
JC(09:24:08): Did he say that to you? Or that was the email to the therapist?
AB(09:27:01): he emailed that to me
AB(09:27:25): i don't know if he replied to the therapist or not. i won't know until tomorrow at my appointment
AB(09:28:25): i tried to discuss the awful name he called me and he said he wouldnt EVER apologize to me
JC(09:29:34): I think you need to let him go, honey.
AB(09:30:10): he has no reason to be treating me like this. i deserve to know why
JC(09:30:47): Break ups don't always have a 'why'
JC(09:30:59): You may be asking a question that doesn't have an answer
JC(09:31:17): Something go left unanswered.
AB(09:31:58): there has to be a reason, it just doesn't happen
JC(09:32:10): Things 'just happen' all the time
JC(09:32:18): Why did I miscarry?
JC(09:32:23): Why is SC [someone who suddenly passed away recently] gone?
AB(09:32:34): those things are different
JC(09:32:40): Why did your relalatioship fail?
AB(09:33:10): there definitely should be an answer for that - you don't spend 7 years with someone and BOOM they don't love you anymore
AB(09:35:21): he told me God put him in my life but i pushed him out - he should be able to explain that
JC(09:35:56): If you were given a 'why' - - - what would you then do?
JC(09:36:03): Would you say thank you and leave it there?
JC(09:36:58): Or would you continue the conversation and try to 'fix' things?
JC(09:37:33): I just think the answer he may have for you still won't help=
 you?
AB(09:38:16): i would say thank you and then continue to fix myself
AB(09:45:48): do you know something that i don't?
JC(09:46:48): Huh???
AB(09:47:13): i get the feeling you know why
JC(09:47:33): ab. . .
JC(09:47:36): seriously
JC(09:47:39): you just don't trust me.
JC(09:47:51): I know nothing more than I already told you
JC(09:48:37): Haven't talked to him since he texted me that you were in need of help.
JC(09:48:53): I don't want to talk to him
JC(09:49:11): Everytime I do, you get pissed at me and think I'm hiding something
JC(09:51:30): You're pushing me away, and I'm trying to be a shoulder for you as best I can. i don't have any vaca left, or I would be at your side.  I call you about once a week. I try to keep the communication channel open for you , but you seriously don't trust me. It's sort of bothering me, to tell you the truth. I would NEVER do anything to hurt you. I would NEVER try to be 'sneaky' or go behind your back. . . but for some reason you think I would do that.
AB(09:53:46): of course i trust you. but i also know you are a woman of your word and if you tell someone you won't say something you will do that because you are a good person
JC(09:54:20): Of course I would. But not at the expense of you.
AB(09:58:58): im sorry you feel that i don't trust you. i'm a jacked up mess JC. I don't know which way is up somedays. thank you for being my friend and i know you would be here if you could.

-----------

I love people.  Those that know me know i have little patience for stuff like that.  When I encounter situations like this I don't sugar coat it and spell it out in black and white.  JC actually asked me if she was too harsh on AB.  I almost laughed.  Some people wonder why i have 'so few friends'.  It's not that i have 'so few friends'.  It's that if i even smell a situation like this coming my way I avoid it like the plague.

This is me.  This is me going in the opposite direction.  Any questions?

Adobe Reader - Creating Automated Installation Point

This is a rehashing of different blog posts I've found to help me with patching Adobe Reader.  Full credit can't be given because this is something I've pieced together for the sake of saving my sanity.

This made understanding the release cycle a little easier to understand in regards to the differences between quarterly and security patches.  Look at the acceptable/unacceptable examples in the Administrative Deployment section.

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/498/cpsid_49880.html


Get the MSI

So what you need to do is grab the AIR/Acrobat.com free version of the reader executable, as well as the patches, from Adobe.

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/888/cpsid_88814.html

Once you've got all of those, open up a command prompt and navigate to wherever you downloaded them to.

Run the following command:

AdbeRdr910_en_US.exe -nos_ne

To extract the MSI file. It will be extracted into "%userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\AdobeReader 9.3"

****NOTE: Adobe does not consistently extract to this location on my XP machine and so it can be maddening.****



Create the Administrative Install Point

Now, do an administrative install to a shared network location.

Change directories to where you extracted the msi file, as noted above. Run the following command:

msiexec /a "AcroRead.msi"

Follow the on-screen prompts. You will need to select a network share where "authenticated users" and "Domain Computers" have at least read access.  I prefer to point the installer at the test machine I'm building this on which is easy enough to do.

Once the install is completed, the next step is to patch it with the Reader msp files. Change back to where you saved the msp files and run the following commands:

msiexec /p "AdbeRdrUpd931_all_incr.msp" /a "\\INSERT SHARED DIRECTORY LOCATION HERE\AcroRead.msi"

Follow the prompts, then run

msiexec /p "AdbeRdrUpd932_all_incr.msp" /a "\\INSERT SHARED DIRECTORY LOCATION HERE\AcroRead.msi"

Make sure you update the AIP, not the msi you used to create the AIP! At this point you are ready to deploy. If you need to customize your deployment, continue reading, otherwise open up GPO and deploy it via the software management policy under Computer Configuration.


Customizing your deployment

You can customize your deployment using the Adobe Customization Wizard 9, available here:

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=3993&fileID=3727

Once you've made your changes, save and generate your MST file. When you're deploying via group policy, make sure that you select "Advanced" when it prompts you for a deployment method. Select the Modifications tab and add your MST file, then hit OK.

Smartphone data use comparrison

A couple of months ago I was given an iphone 3 to use since my existing phone was dieing, I was a month or so away from end of contract, and it was cheaper to go onto my g/friends AT&T plan as opposed to staying solo on Verizon.  The price was right.  The phone was free, no contract, and even with the data plan I was paying less because it was a group plan.

This past week we started looking at usage of the phones on her plan in the hopes of finding a way to streamline the bill a bit.  My data package is 2gb for $25 because the 200mb for $15 didn't make sense.  Well I'm hear to tell you that the 200mb plan is looking better for me now that I have a couple of months under my belt but I'm also going to compare my usage with a friend who has an HTC Inspire (freekin' huge), his wife who has an iphone 4, and my girlfriend who has an iphone 4.  I must admit that the graphs showing usage on the AT&T site are pretty and so that is what I will be using as a reference.

First off let's look at my iphone 3 usage:

I came on board at the end of the billing cycle in May which is why there was so little use.  I have wi-fi at home, work, and when i'm at her place.  This is my first smartphone but I have had a phone in the past with some form of internet access on it.

Now let's look at her iphone4 usage:

She has wi-fi access at her place, mine, and her parents.  She does not have wi-fi access at work.  She is also grandfathered in with the unlimited data plan so there's no threat of an overage (yet) in the event that she decides to watch one too many youtube videos on her phone.  She is a long time smartphone user.

Now let's look at my friends HTC Inspire usage:

He too has wi-fi at home and does not have it at work.  He has the 2gb data plan.  The June spike is attributed to traveling out of town and being bored in a hotel.  This is his first smartphone though he has had a phone in the past that had internet access on it.

Finally let's look at his wife's iphone 4 usage:

She too has wi-fi access at home and elsewhere.  Her data plan is 200mb.  The June spike is attributed to user error (forgot to join network while at someones house).  This is her first smartphone and I'm unsure if she's had internet access on her previous phones.

I'm aware that 3 of 4 phones listed are iphones.  An argument that was brought up is that the droid user does not have wi-fi at work which explains the heavier usage.  This is thrown out by one of the iphone 4 users having no wi-fi at work AND an unlimited data plan.

What I see in this data is more how 4 people use their phones instead of what types of phones they are.  I have heard arguments that droid phones use more data which I refuse to believe.  The OS has no affect on data consumption.  It's the applications (dare i say 'apps' for fear of Apple coming after me for using their word?) that are on the phone that initiate the data connection.  To assume otherwise is uninformed about the underlying technology and thus wrong.

I see a husband and wife with smartphones and it can be assumed that they are together more often than not outside of work.  This would imply that they have access to the same wi-fi spots.  If this is correct then one could infer that the usage is a behavioral issue and not a result of the handset.  Feeding into my behavioral theory is that the user who has no wi-fi at work and has an unlimited data plan is actually in the < 200mb range consistently.

All of this came up with my trying to decide what to do about my data usage plan.  I'm currently at 2gb for $25 because i wanted to not feel restrained by my data package.  Because I believe consumption is behavioral, I'm no longer worried about dropping my plan down next month to the lower allotment of 200mb for $15. 

It is my advice to others jumping on the bandwagon to start high and then turn it down after you see some trending.  Some people are heavier users out of habit.  Some are lighter users out of habit.  I apparently am a lighter user and I'm OK with that.

Beavis and Butthead - They're Back

http://popdust.com/2011/07/22/beavis-butthead-jersey-shore-new-season-preview/

I'm not a fan of Family Guy.  American Dad is ok at times.  The Simpsons need to be put to rest.  South Park should have ended years ago.

I'm normally not a fan of the retarded humor and Family Guy is the one that I think is the one that best represents the genre.  That being said, I'm actually happy Beavis and Butthead are coming back.  Maybe it's the nostalgia of them that made me grin when i heard this.  Maybe it's my juvenile side that still laughs when I've got gas.  I just think the world could use a dose of simple stupid humor again because of how polarized we're getting and how vogue it is to throw political commentary into every form of media.

After finding this out, I'm grinning and I don't know why.  :)

Gnome 3 - Follow Up

Linus himself trashes Gnome 3.  The comments are originally from Google+ according to the article.

I for one ditched Fedora/Gnome and went back to Ubuntu where I'm fighting with Unity.  Unity would have pissed me off if not for encountering Gnome 3 first.  Reading this makes me feel better about my previous rant about Gnome 3 and it's epic failure.

I hate being right.