a113n’s daily dose

As a learning exercise and to develop a concise, simple site management tool, I have decided to create my own PowerShell script that interfaces with WMI classes to automate various tedious tasks I perform every time a new website is added to our Windows 2008 server. The general goal of the script is to create a website with standard functionality, including a username to own the website and connect via FTP to manage the site. This site will also receive it’s own application pool to isolate the website from all the other websites currently hosted on the server.
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• Current Location: Office
  
• Website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/default.aspx
  
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• Website Description: MSDN Library, reference and resource material for Windows application development
  

So tonight I got some pizza from Mother Bear’s, bought pen styli to replace the one Mama Bear lost, and got a movie to watch, King of Kong. When I went to to pick up the movie, there were a couple of store clerks (and one of their friends) standing around discussing the movie and its taglines. Evidently we’re in for a good treat. Speaking of treats, I picked up some Starburst and Laffy Taffy. I LOVE Laffy Taffy. In the recent copy of MakeZine, I learned how to build a crude yet effective taffy pulling machine. This one I really want to follow through with, because it’s easy to build and a great way to make homemade taffy. The hard part is just picking my first recipe.

It’s funny how the really simple things make a difference between a boring night and a really fun night. Mama Bear & I don’t have to go out and spend lots of money to have a good time, we enjoy a cup of tea and a game of Tiger Woods at home. I think that’s one of the reasons I love being around her so much, I can really be the closest to the “real” me as it’s going to get. Speaking of which, great xkcd comic that is hilarious and so very true. That site is possibly the best comic on the net, nuff said.

This night is just what I need after a day like today. I spent 3 hours in a courtroom for my 30 seconds in front of the judge where I was told to return two months later. I get back to the office to deal with a crashing email issue on our server and then try to get various other websites and email clients migrated. It just seemed like one slap after another today where I try to get something productive done only to be held back by a single minute detail, derailing my whole plan. I do so much impromptu work, it just isn’t funny, but as a plus I really pushed myself to get on with the PowerShell stuff. I am currently uploading our copy of VS to the server for installation, then I can do some new, exciting code-work. Interesting enough, these VS templates I found for PowerShell require the Vista SDK, which is a multi-gigabyte download. If this SDK is needed on Vista/Server 2008, skip the DVD download and use the web-based install because its less of a network-hog & using that link you can bypass MS genuine crap. I have valid copies of my OSs, but the genuine validation process for Firefox users (of which you should be one) is far too complicated even with my tricks to shorten the process.

So come to me sweet relaxation, for this weekend is DTS catchup time (with some makeout time for Mama Bear and play time for Baby Bear thrown in).

• Current Location: Living Room
  
• Website: http://www.xkcd.com
  
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• Website Description: Web comic of romance, satire, and nerd stuff
  

This should be an eventful week, with lots of tasks being finalized and taken off my plate. However, that is not the case. It seems that every thing has a minor detail beyond my control–waiting on approval for module purchase, waiting on confirmation that user emails have been downloaded, etc. My work is typically structured so that one task precedes another out of necessity, so holding up on task being finalized holds up the next and the next and the next. This really makes things drag on as I not only have to switch gears to handle a completely unrelated task, but at any moment I may be called into action to take care of one of the aforementioned, incomplete tasks when the bottleneck is resolved. Everything is so much more efficient if I just take care of it all myself, but that’s not always feasible when you are dealing with clients and users across the country.

I am really enjoying the new work with the new server, but in the back of my mind, I harbor doubts. Not in my ability to handle whatever may happen, just doubts that my next course of action is appropriate. I still believe that I can handle the various issues that arise much better and quicker than our hosting company, but my inexperience with the new range of applications on the server makes me second-guess my decisions. However, this is the extra edge I had been looking for, and I take it all in as valuable experience.

Mama Bear and I went to a carnival last night and had a great time. The only downside was that Baby Bear did not take too well to our having a night out, and she ended up fussing for the whole hour we were gone, only quieting down 10 minutes prior to the call where we informed the sitter we were coming back. At least she does take beautiful pictures. Now if I can only to remember to bring in my boss’ copy…

• Current Location: Office
  

A href="http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT8288296398.html">response has been released in response to ExtremeTech’s
article Why Vista Won’t Suck. Since I felt the
urge to comment and respond to the ExtremeTech article, I think I’ll tackle this opinion.

Firstly, I am a Linux
advocate. I dual boot XP/Gentoo, which the primary portion of my Inspiron’s 60GB HD for Gentoo, and I support open source
9x out of 10 for a variety of reasons, including just general support for the open source concept. However, this article
really got my blood boiling.

Granted, it was an opinion, but I consider it an opinion on the ExtremeTech article and
not on Windows Vista. Steven Vaughan-Nichols seems to believe the ExtremeTech article was parading Windows Vista as
Microsoft’s answer to the Linux/Unix movement or perhaps does any sort of comparision. Please show me where this
comparision is made. Maybe I missed whole sections or pages of the ExtremeTech article, but I didn’t see proof one that
ExtremeTech was doing anything more than highlighting intriguing and interesting features of Vista. Why, then, does this
author deem it necessary to enter a comparison? Is he really serving the needs of his readers (Linux users I presume) by
bashing an article with how Linux reigns over Vista despite no connection between Linux and Vista in the
article?

Given the length of the article, I would think the author would spend more time discussing Vista’s
drawbacks thoroughly or highlighting his experiences (which he does in a miniscule manner). Instead, the article is ladden
with Linux propaganda, such as

• “Mind you, it’s not enough machine for Vista. I could run any
  Linux with all the bells and whistles on it without a problem.”
• “Of course, Linux never had
  this kind of garbage to clean up in the first place”
• “What they don’t mention is that Linux
  and Mac OS X have both done that kind of thing well for years.”
• “You’ve been able to use it in
  any application written with the open-source GCC for years.”
• “It’s nice to know that they’ve
  finally done something with that href="http://www.kuro5hin.org/?op=displaystory;sid=2001/6/19/05641/7357">open-source BSD code that’s the basis
  of their TCP/IP network protocol.”
• “So, Linux desktop designers, it’s time to get cracking on
  audio support.”>
• “Be that as it may, as I sit here looking at my SUSE 10 Linux desktop, I
  can’t help but notice that I have, for free, every software application I could ever want. Advantage: Linux.”
• “What I do know, is that I really don’t see a thing, not one single thing, that will make the still undelivered
  Vista significantly better than the Linux or the Mac OS X desktops I have in front of me today. “

Now,
these comments may have been useful, pertinent, worth of reading IF the ExtremeArticle had in any way been
out to strike a comparison with Vista (if anything, the article only compares Vista to prior versions of Windows), but, as
stated, I did not see any comparision. Therefore, despite some good opinions on Vista’s features, the article is
overshadowed by propaganda and thrown in a pile of Linux advocacy that undermines the entire movement!

I also find
interesting the comment, “Vista will be better than XP, which has easily been Microsoft’s best desktop operating system
to date”, which falls under the “What was the author thinking” category. I agree that Windows XP has been Microsoft’s
best OS to date…and then I state that Windows XP is a GOOD OS for users. The average home user is able
to get more out of their PC in a stable environment thanks to XP. Guaranteed if I put Gentoo with X, OpenOffice, Firefox,
etc. on my wife’s computer, she would have me strangled by the end of the weekend. There are simply two different markets
(granted these differences are diminishing and I look forward to the day that a graphical Linux can stand on par to Windows
in terms of layman-friendliness) for the operating systems, and the comments that are strewn throughout this article
demonstrate the author is blinded by his Linux advocacy.

If the author really wants to post his thoughts on the web,
I suggest next time he go for an unbiased opinion (seems oxymoronic, doesn’t it, but I believe ExtremeTech achieved this as
much as possible) and stick to what’s pertinent to his opinion. No sense in getting wraveled up with extraneous details
misleading to the facts!

• Current Location: Work
  
• Daily Task(s):
  • Database optimization
  • Dreamweaver setup
  • Login errors