WARNING - Watch out for the Succubus

Look out for Red Flags

I am sure you understand what I mean when I say "see" her

Post from: Jim Gaudet

This is Way too Personal…

There's one thing you need to know about Costa Rica, there are no street signs!

The Future

I was introduced to this website WikiMapia.Org and I noticed that I could see my exact coordinates on this planet (Where do I live in Costa Rica? link below). Cool! Then I started thinking about how I could use this info to my benefit. I cannot receive packages to my apartment because I have no address, it is also very hard to tell a taxi driver how to get home, especially after a few cervezas. ;)

Post from: Jim Gaudet

Never Get Lost Again, a trip into the future…

An Open Letter to Protesters

Get the E-Book, Greatness without Genies from Hunter Nuttall

Post from: Jim Gaudet

A Realist Take on The Secret and The Law of Attraction

Post from: Jim Gaudet

What is uSocial.net? Spammers?

Common Problems

The most common issue with managing Windows Updates for application servers with WSUS is that end users will often see update notifications that are actually for the application server.  It is visible through either a Terminal Services session or a Citrix session.  This is problematic because end users, in this scenario, have the rights and abilities to install Windows Updates on the application server itself……often times resulting in a reboot of the application server.

Steps to Resolve

The first step to resolve this problem is in Group Policy.  It is highly advisable to group the different types of machines into OU’s such as “Laptops”, “Citrix Servers”, etc.  This allows you to form policies that apply for computers that are isolated in their own OU.

I will assume that the application servers are in their own OU with their own WSUS policy, and start discussing the Group Policy settings that must be configured.  In the Computer Configuration of the Application Server WSUS policy, browse down to Administrative Templates\Windows Components/Windows Update.

Set the “Allow non-administrators to receive update notifications” to “Disabled”

Also make sure that “Configure automatic updating” is set to 3 - Auto download and notify for install.  This will allow you push out updates to the servers and they will not auto install.  I usually push out updates the day before I do my weekly server maintenance routine.  This allows 24 hours or more for the installation packages to be pushed out to all servers in the organization.

The next issue is that some application vendors recommend adding users or user groups to the Local Administrators group of the application server.  This is the hardest issue to work around, but with some patience and tenacity it is possible.

The Goal

The goal is to get the users or user groups out of the Local Administrators group and get them into the Power Users group.  This is not a simple migration as some additional permissions will likely need to be set in order for this migration to work.

The best method of testing this is to take one application server and disabled application access temporarily on that machine (I work with Citrix and this is fairly simple to do).  Once there are no published apps being hosted from the “test” server, it is time to start the re-configure process.

It is best to pick a specific user or user group that is associated with one application and remove that user or user group from the Local Administrators group and add the user or user group to the Power Users group on the application server.

The next steps all have to do with folder permissions.  Full rights must be manually granted to the Documents and Settings folder, the folder where the application itself is installed and at least read rights to the \Windows\System32 folder.  Full rights must also be granted to the \Program Files\Common Files\xxx application folder.

Finally, some testing…

Once this is complete, it is time to do some testing.  I sent out an email to the organization and informed them that we would be doing testing and if there were a problem to call into the support dept.

It is all trial and error from here on out.  All issues that come up will be folder permission related.  You just need to look at the specific error and find the folder/file that is causing the error and add at least read or full permission for the user or user group.

This can be a timely process, but as long as the end users are informed, they will ususally be understanding.  The beauty is that if something is not configured properly, you can remove the affected server from the application pool, have the user that got the problem log out of their session and log back in and they will hit a different application server.

Once all the folder permissions are set, you will be able to manage your application servers with WSUS.  This is really handy if any of your application vendors publish a list of compatible Operating Systems/Patches and Hotfixes…….

Post from: Jim Gaudet

Managing Application Servers with WSUS

Go to incontextmultimedia.com and view the slideshow

If you want more information on the Cluetrain Manifesto;

Wikipedia, Direct Website

Post from: Jim Gaudet

The Cluetrain Manifesto

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life, including food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, and may also include the deprivation of opportunities to learn, to obtain better employment to escape poverty, and/or to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens. According to Mollie Orshansky who developed the poverty measurements used by the U.S. government, “to be poor is to be deprived of those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted.”^[1] Ongoing debates over causes, effects and best ways to measure poverty, directly influence the design and implementation of poverty-reduction programs and are therefore relevant to the fields of public administration and international development.

How does poverty make you feel?

When poverty is the topic I think of Robin Hood. Rob from the rich and give to the poor. This is how I feel about poverty. I want to use my technical knowledge and be a criminal for a day. Maybe today is that day (most likely not - I don’t want to go to jail). I do want to help though, but how?

The problem is always the same, how can one person make a difference? How can I make a difference? There are many answers to these questions, and many things that one person can do to help.

What does it cost?

Now the bigger question, can I afford to help? Most of us are not rich, we are not “the Elite”. If I was one of the elite I would like to think that I wouldn’t be a selfish asshole and bank my millions/billions. I would give most of it away, properly through donations.

Check out Poverty.com. Poverty.com has come up with a practical approach to world poverty and saving human lives. It is very simple actually, this is from their web page;

International Aid ― A Solution

Quick Summary: Almost all of the deaths from hunger and disease that you see on this site can be stopped. The cost to do this is about $195 billion a year, according to the United Nations. Twenty-two developed countries below have pledged to work towards each giving 0.7% (a little less than 1%) of their national income in international aid, which would raise the $195 billion. Some countries are slow to meet their pledge.

Is it no surprise that the United States has pledged the least amount of money and are not schedule at all to fulfill this pledge? Of course not, we can not wait for our government to help anyone, we must do it ourselves.

It’s time to act

First things first, go to Poverty.com and print out a letter to send to the government. I know I said we can’t wait for them, but with enough letters maybe we can make a difference.

Next, go to places like EndPoverty.org and donate some money. Let’s do some math here;

1. Poverty.com says that $195 billion a year is needed to help alleviate poverty.
2. There are 22 countries involved in the “Solution”. So, $195 billion divided by 22 is roughly $9 billion dollars needed by Americans.
3. There are close to 300 million people in the US. $9 billion dollars divided by 300 million people is roughly $30 per American a year.

Like I said before, I am by no means rich. Unti this past year, I was paycheck to paycheck. But I can afford $30 dollars a year. Stop being so lazy, it only takes a couple minutes to donate. Really, $30 is one night of going out to dinner a year. Do you need that one night?

Post from: Jim Gaudet

Blog Action Day - Poverty, what can we do?

It is a wonder where inspiration comes from. I was reading “If You Don’t Stop Being Negative” by Matthew Dryden and he reminded me of why I actually read The Secret. This is also the reason I left the United States for Costa Rica.

In a previous post, Why Costa Rica, I explain that I was in a car accident and had to spend way too much time in bed. This was my turning point, I had time to reflect. I asked myself why. Why and I stuck in this bed? Why did I fall asleep and crash my car? I knew I had spent too much of my life working, and for what?

I needed to start living my life instead of living to work.

I was  either in the hospital or in bed for the next 3 months. It took a year before I could even do a push-up. I had nothing to do so I read The Secret. I am so glad I did. This book reminded me that I need to be positive. Stop thinking of why did something happen to me. I need to think about how happy I am to be alive, what a blessing this is and not what did I do wrong. Because of my job, I could have a negative attitude, always complaining about the “users” and their “stupid problems”. I never thought that my negative attitude could bring negative events into my life. Better said; I never though a positive attitude could bring positive events into my life.

This is just my opinion

I know there are many people on both sides of the fence with this, and I accept that. I am not trying to sway anyone into following what I believe, but I feel that I should explain how I see The Secret and maybe I can help some people to understand it.

Have you ever stubbed your toe in the morning, right after you wake up? I know you have. Well, what happened next? For most people this is the start to a bad day, and they can not figure out why they are having such a bad day. It starts with the toe and then you drop your toothbrush and then there is a traffic jam, it seems like it will not end. I believe that this is happened because you are releasing negative energy out to the universe.

The universe (law of attraction) only understands negative and positive energy. So if you are laughing, happy or in love; this is positive energy and if you are sending out these emotions, you will receive these back. The same goes for negative energy. If you are angry, sad or in pain; this is negative energy.

So why do I believe?

First, this takes practice. It is not easy to be positive even if there is something negative happening in front of you, but it can be done. After I finished The Secret and had time to think about what it is that I want, I came to the conclusion that I just want to be happy every day, no matter what. I try to not let anything take me down and it has been working.

I made my move to Costa Rica and it was a success. I have actually made more money this year working remotely and less hours than I did last year in a  full time job. I have the ability to just go where I want, when I want and be happy the whole time. I thought of all this in bed, injured and now I am living it. I see less negative events now.

Is this a coincidence? Did I fool myself into working harder and I am not noticing it? Or could The Secret be true?

- Hey Matthew, I capitalized the secret (this one un-capitalized just for you) in my post because I think it should be.

Post from: Jim Gaudet

The Secret - Do you believe?

Summer Visits Only

It's been three weeks since I left Costa Rica for Cape Cod and I can't wait to go back. I used to never be cold. I was the one who wore shorts in the Winter. But now....Fuck that, it's not even Winter yet and I am buying more pants because I will just not wear shorts.

Post from: Jim Gaudet

I am a different person when it’s cold.