Jimmy.Brainflush.com

50 Questions
One Hour

It’s Altiris Certified Spring.

Yes, I’m back on the Cert Horsey. Something about spring, and canadian geese that just put me back in the mood for certifications.
So, I can’t tell you anything about the exam. Seriously. I’m being legally correct. I can tell you that I was given 60 minutes for it, and that there were 50 questions.

I can also mention here that you need to score a 75% on the exam to pass it.

I can also mention here that I did, indeed pass it.

Having used NS for the better part of 3 years, I can finally say that I really do understand how the tab/Solution/organizational hierarchy works.

I even like it. Seriously. It’s really clean and logical once you give up, and force yourself to understand it.

It has that sort of daunting feel that X500 had when it was first implemented in Novell 5.0. Remember the trees and forests and how none of it, any of it, made sense? But it all looked exactly the same?

Then you spend some time, and you realize, this isn’t just better, it’s gravy. Then you figure out how to organize the tree, and prune it, and keep it happy, and then they go and change things.

Well, the exam pretty much sucked. This is not Altiris’ fault. I blame myself completely. If you study your guides and know security roles, application delivery, and inventory solution like the back of your hand, you might do just fine.

I had been studying with the elearning courses a bit and re-reading the class materials. I only lost a week to the studying, and found that I was much weaker on Inventory Solution than I thought.

I’m happy that it’s over, and I’m looking forward to finishing my 6.0/6.1 Suite certs so that I can jump into the 6.5 realm.

And, if I don’t mind saying so myself, NS 6.5 looks really sexy.

I’m going to see if I can get clearance to show some of the beta product with Altiris to you faithful readers.

Client Management Suite is the next and final exam in the CMS suite Altiris Certified Engineer series. I was humbled today by NS, so I’m going to try getting an earlier start on my studying this week.

I’ll try to keep in better touch this week.

Trying to get Bootworks to Behave for My Lab Environment

Sun

Bose Headphones
First the proverbial I haven’t posted in forever.

Second, I may have finally sold my house in Ohio.

Third, I became an Altiris Certified Professional, and haven’t contributed squat toward the community. It’s with this guilt that I began this post.

So, the issue: We’re currently implementing Altiris globally, right? And we’ve decided, for the time being (until late FY07) to keep Deployment Server 6.1. It’s as stable as they come..

So I’ve been trying to test our build of XP SP2 on my lab server, which happens to share the subnet with the production server of our Western Hemisphere server. Normally this causes no problems for Deployment Server jobs. Application testing runs great.

The craw in my hat at the moment, however, is trying to test the XP build. It’s a scripted OS install, and PXE defaults to the WHEM Server.

I turned to my trusty friend Bootworks to point me in the right direction. So, it helps at this point to mention what and how Bootworks works.

In this case, it’s an automated partition built on the local hard drive which stores what amount to a DOS floppy’s worth of data used to connect to the deployment server.

I’ve deployed it to my Dell test workstation which was running XP prior. (This can be accomplished by right clicking the machine in the deployment server console and choosing advanced, install Bootworks partition.

BE FOREWARNED: Getting Bootworks off is quite a chore. So, make sure you’re using a box no one will mind having fdisked after testing.

So, I’ve installed the bootworks partition. What’s all the fuss?

Well, it doesn’t seem to want to grant rights to the saved user account in its default database (which I believe is setup during the DS install. As I installed DS recently, this should all be working well.

So the error I received was Warning a network drive has not been mapped correctly! Bootwork may not operate as designed.

I checked the Altiris forums and kb articles and came up to a brief reference to network access. So then I began digging.

First, it may help to understand how Bootworks gets triggered. The AClient will send a little message to the master boot record within Windows (yes, it gets it’s fingers in the naughty place.) saying, hey man, I got this job to run, so, at next boot, can you please use me?

Windows obliges, the reboot occurs, the nic boots aname launches, bootworks loads, and the Drive mapping fails.

ERROR: Unable to open TCP socket
ERROR: Unable to connect to the deployment server.

If you do the F2 to run diagnostics on the next go round, you’ll be granted access to the bootworks partition, which, like I said, is a glorified DOS floppy.

It sees the server just fine, but won’t start the Windows scripted OS install.
If you exit at the error, Windows comes up, gets the MBR flag again, and it’s Groundhog Day, but you’re not laughing at Ned.. .. Ned Ryyyyeerson.

So, the solution? The update? The fix?

Are you ready?

This from Altiris: “Bootworks and Scripted OS’ don’t work together. It’s an image only solution, there. Yeah.”

So, if you’ve run into this, cut your losses, and build a Sysprepped WinXP image, or find a machine built, well, after Groundhog Day.

Bose Headphones..

I forked the money for the headphones. I really thought I bought it in a lucid moment, and I’ve already felt the joy of hearing classical music walking next to a Metra liner.

I just need to get over looking like such a Dumbass with them on.

8 quality degrees

raisins

0* F ICE

Bears Win

Bears?

Win?

Earsbye

Chewbacca

Silent Night

Not so kozy in the Korner
The iceskaters are like commuters
Hellbent from getting from there to here,
missing the fact that their going in a circle.

But, the price is right with skates,
Mary Ellen schlepped them on the EL and thinks she’ll wake up with bruises on her shoulders.
We check them in the mirror this morning and they are fine.

I tell her “It’s because of the cold. Your body doesn’t bring the necessary red blood cells to the surface when it’s this cold outside. There are internal priorities that even nature follows.”

She looks at me quizzically, running her BS radar..

“But then what about my shoulders? Aren’t they dis-serviced by this misguided change of bodily plans?”

We look at each other in the mirror, I nuzzle my nose down around her shoulder, kiss it, and smile.

“Nope.. they seem okay to me.”

“Yeah?” she says. “This coming from the guy who thinks all Barry Manilow songs sound the same.”

“Won’t you let that die?” I say, half-seriously.

“Nope.” She says.

We agree to disagree, and it’s one more toothpick shaped body of seperation that will lead to the eventual complete seperation of life and experience and loves.

We know this.
We’re okay with it.
We share glasses and toothbrush holders and toothpaste.
The sun still rises.
The sun still sets.

We pay our bills. and we find and lose love.

Working from home, once considered sexy alternative, now leads to more work and greater productivity.

Two Thumbs Down.
I’ll admit that rolling out of bed and into the den at 8:30 in my pjs was fun as hell. Then, from that point forward, things went steadily downhill.

After dialing into the VPN and checking messages, it was like being in the office. Worse, I was able to focus so well that the day slid right by my eyes - no witty banter with colleagues, no break to get coffee at Centro, not even a lunch!

I forgot to eat lunch! No salad, no pudding, no meal. My conference call was twice as long as normal, and I was working steadily until nearly six o’clock tonight.

Needless to say, this kind of thing can’t continue.

Maybe once a week or so, but not for a week. I’d have nothing left to do. I’d get creative and start a snow-shoveling business, or worse, wake up early and begin delivering newspapers.

In all seriousness though, I’m happy with my steadfast resolve to be productive today.. at least I have proven to myself that I’m not a slacker, which I already sort of knew.

Oh well; maybe next time I’ll watch a movie for lunch or something. What a waste.

Dogs

Christmas

Cold

Children

Love

Lunch Fruit: 12/6/2005

Apple

Tangerine

Banana

They are adding a second to the end of this year. To properly manage the imperfection of our Julian/Gregorian calendar.. and account for the slightest wobbly shift of this here planetary mass, we’re going through a secondary leap year.

There. Don’t say I never taught you anything, kids.

I have a cold. Merely an annoyance to myself at this point, it’s bugging the hell out of my co-workers. Or maybe things are too quiet. Both are probably true.

Having spent my first two weeks here doing nothing, I pity the souls who have little to do. It sucks.

This is why I don’t want to win the lottery.

Douglas Coupland mentions in Generation X that the price of being middle class is anonimity. We trade comfort, he claims, for obselesence. (sp)

It’s about then that I realize I need to read more.. My spelling is getting mildly rusty, which is a problem I’ve never had. Maybe it’s the cold. (cough, cough).

Getting a lot done at work. I’m nearly back to Supermanly speed. If I can just kill this cold things will really start humming. I’ve got so many things rambling in my head that I’m anxious to get down on paper.

Getting people to abide by and believe in a vision is a lot harder than you might think it would. Getting it out of your head and onto paper is just the beginning. Like the Constitution (not that I’m implying my dictates are Constitution-level worthy), they require many revisions.

The objectivist within me looks at the data and decides solely on that. It seems to make the process of determination much simpler.

There’s no emotional attachment to any decisions that way. It’s not a me not agreeing with you situation, it’s a data saying x not y situation.

As long as people leave their egos at the door, all is well.

So far every discussion and decision I’ve made here has followed that approach. It’s saved me from large quantities of grief already.

Also, I’m noticing the role change. I’m the guy with The Answer, now. Not the ‘have you tried x?’ guy anymore.. ‘just the do y and call me in an hour guy.’

I guess we all hope to be in that sort of a role in our careers and lives, but some of us will reach it sooner based on belief.

If you truly believe that you’ve walked the walk, and the talk you talk is the truth, rather than the assumed truth, your reputation and your guidance is that much more concrete.

Stay unemotional about it, and you’re even better off. More isolated, less of a target.

I also now realize that unless I outlasted the remaining staff at TH, I would have never been able to enjoy this level of ownership or responsibility.

It’s very anticlimatic too. No bells or fireworks. Just doing and doing and more doing congruently.

I’m currently debating when I can officially go on a date with Laura. I don’t know if we’re ready for that kind of officiality yet, or officiality at all. We’ll see.

Good night everybody.

Jim

First measurable snowfall arrives

Memory Lane

So, I got home late from work last night.

I didn’t get to the gym until close to 8 oclock.. which was kind of a bummer. But I saw a few individuals I haven’t seen in years. We didn’t say anything, but there it was.

Everything is as it should be. I got a slightly subconcious reminder of this last night. A small present in my email box this morning has further improved my overall outlook on this jump back here.

It’s funny though, how we’re so greedy.. “Now if I could just: get over this cold, find that thing, buy this, sell that, convince them, etc. ad nauseum.”

Part of that is great - not settling is a cornerstone to success and life growth, etc.

The other part just, I think needs a more introspection and reflection and the other -ections I can’t think of at the moment.

Then there are moments where you’re in slow-mo and everything’s perfect - - Like the walk this morning. I had the right music (Quiet, Please by Galactic), the right hoodie and gloves, and the right environment.. The snow was falling and I just fell into this seemless rhythm that more times than not just matches everything..

It’s a magical type of time that if you find yourself there, all just can’t be better or more perfect. I seek out moments like that.. like after working out, where I could just spontaneously break out into some strange kind of dancing yahoo.

I think this has gone from hit or miss days, to a general tide swell of good tiding and feelings, etc. which, to put it simply, rocks!

Holiday party tonight at the new job.. should be fun. Expect updates later.

My fifteen minutes are up!

Jimmy

Bears

Thanksgiving

Randometer: 6.5
The Bears played well enough to win yesterday. That’s all that matters. I do think that this 1985 comparison nonsense needs to stop. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Turkey day was nice this year; a pretty relaxing affair that didn’t involve the long trek from Ohio, which oddly sent me into a sort of melancholia that I hadn’t expected.

I almost got sick from other people in my family being sick, but this too, ended up not happening. I blame a combination of Airborne! and incredulous quantities of sleep.

I plan on doing something random and exciting this week; I just don’t know what, or for that matter, when inspiration may strike.

Stay tuned..

The obscenely productive day is a rare gem to be cherished.

Vague Windows Errrors + NS Purging error/disabilities = Great fun.
It happens.

And when it does, you bottle it up for the times that it seems elusive. Success & progress in a leaps-and-bound fashion is affirming to me, and those around me.

I’m trying a new experiment though, at the new place. No one around me really knows what I do, or how my day’s really going.

Why shut up now?

Mainly, those around me don’t care what I’m working on. That’s reason enough, isn’t it?

A problem with a favorite vendor mentioned in posts past was resolved by me in a matter of an hour or so. This is a six month problem, gone.

The problem stemmed from a nice, vague, error code 6 in the Windows event log. Nice & clueless, with some jibberish about the event registry flying out some illegal exceptions.
I dug a bit, and found in some dark corner of SP2 release notes a law-like configuration necessity within Altiris:

When you have inventory queues in NS, and you’re utilitzing IIS for that inventory managment, the Anonymous IIS user has to have mod rights on your NSCAP share.

Duh! Right? Should be able to pick that smack up over a troubleshooting phone call, eh?

So I added special NTFS perms for the Anon IIS User, which, by default, should be an I_USR_MachinName account. (That’s of those invaluable tidbits I got out of my MCSE. Thanks Billy.)

So you give mod rights to the account to the NSCAP folder on the server locally, and that error sensation goes away. I thought maybe the queues were backed up, but they were running okay.

Then we’ve got the disability on the purging events.. it’s vague and we’re unsure of which solution has the purging configured improperly… but we fight onward, bravely, and with good cheer.

There was only one solution that was unchecked, which to those of you uninitiated, means disabled in this sense, which you already knew, of course.

So we checked it, slapped a 180 day purge timeframe, and all was well.

That’s how I earned it today.

And that’s okay.

Site Unseen 2005: An excellent example of why I’m happy to be back in Chicago
No, we don’t have the Burning Man Festival in Chicago, but once annually, the hope is, we have Site Unseen, a one-day-only, free admission day where the Chicago Cultural Center gets taken over by site specific performances that make us laugh, cry, or just take note of the human condition.

Started last year, Julie Laffin and her so-called modest attempt to show the wealth of work of unique Chicago artists mapped so well to the environment of the Cultural Center, and was executed so flawlessly, that you might have gotten the impression that they do these shows every night.

The the En Masse performance had an ironic emotional bend that had the majority of the group I was in with crying. Maybe it’s due to the current war in Iraq, or maybe it was the mournful melody Dan Mohr evoked while singing “The Soldier’s Return” in a dimly lit GAR hall that actually served its Civil War past hauntingly well.

Lot Sand Found was what reminded me of an almost interactive This American Life, which is saying good things. Each of us were handed an IPod Shuffle - kudos to the Apple Store on N. Michigan for that - with random experiences knitted in a strange fabric that left you running around a mini-stage of messages in a bottle, bedrooms, trophy cases, and outside windows.

She Listens in Caves was by far the most bizarrely fun experience of the evening, with an Ape seated at a baby grand piano, and Joan Dickinson playing a female conscience in the flesh to a tee.

Great work Julie. Great show everyone.

Jimmy’s digg gets dugg.

Peers say, yes. That’s cool.

Jimmy gets happy.

There are moments inl life that you cherish and remember more than ever. Some are monumental, world-shifting events, like 9/11, or the Great Blackout of 03.

Well, another one of those milestones recently happened in my life.

One of the links I found while evaluating some mathematical theoreticals on Google, (something I like to do in my spare time), made it to the Digg homepage.

It’s the happiest thing that’s happened in a while.

Sure, I think that if your CmdrTaco posts get slashcred, that’s amiable, and something to shoot for.
When, however, it’s your peer group that agrees something is cool - you feel something altogether different.

Surely, I would hope that other stories can make it up to that famed front page, but never again will there be a first.

Thanks Google. Thanks Kevin Rose.

Thanks everybody for reading.

It’s sunny, 19 degrees, and the top of the nine o’clock hour in Chicago.

Have a great day, everyone.