My connection to the boundless cache of information called the “internet” is handled by my trusty Cisco 678. Unfortunately, the phone infrastructure in my building is less than top quality and my connection quality degrades over time. Part of my solution to this problem involves monitoring my 678 (running CBOS 2.4). Configuring Syslog The Cisco […]
In this modern era of cloud computing, servers are provisioned as needed and destroyed when their work is done. Most of these servers are short lived and have relatively low security requirements. This leads to some annoyances when using SSH. Specifically, the known_hosts file is constantly growing, most of the host records belong to hosts […]
My home lab has been running on VMware ESXi 4.1 for a while. I don’t have a personal Windows machines, so I use the ESXi SSH service console to manage the host and guests. Most of the time this works fine, but it would be nice to use the vSphere Client for some things (most […]
I have a Dell PowerEdge SC440 that serves as a light-weight server for my home lab. I wanted to update the BIOS from 1.2.0 to 1.5.0. I expected this to be a trivial update, but discovered that the update script used to unpack and execute the flash program had some issues with my environment. On […]
I’ve been using Network Solutions as my domain registrar for longer than I’d like to admit. Before I moved everything I could to Amazon Route 53, I used Network Solutions as a DNS service, too. If Amazon ever offers a registrar service, I would drop Network Solutions and consolidate in a heart beat. And, despite the […]
I’ve been using the same Cisco 678 DSL router/modem for around a decade, and I had a 675 for a year or two before that. My DSL provider tries to sell or lease me a new DSL modem every time I call to change my service or move, but I’m sticking with my 678 until it […]
Apple stopped putting serial ports on Macs in the late 1990’s. For the most part, I don’t miss them. In fact, I think every laptop I’ve been issued by an employer has been equipped with one of these dust gathering and finger scratching ports, and I would be happier without them. So, I can’t say […]
I use iWork ’09 and Office for Mac at home. I prefer iWork for basic spreadsheets and word processing at home, but use Office for just about everything else. My iMac came with Snow Leapord (10.6) and iWork pre-installed, but my recently acquired MacBook Air came with Mountain Lion (10.8) and without iWork. I naively […]
Blogging is a bad idea; it may even be sadistic or narcissistic. I’ll produce content on varying topics, probably in infrequent and sporadic bursts, for a non-specific audience of digital stalkers, lurkers, and passers-by. I have no doubt that I’ll share a few tidbits that some people will find interesting or useful, but I have […]
