Categories
Product Reviews

DishNetwork – Do Not Call Me!

So, after 5 years with just a cell phone, I now also have a home phone number. I get soliciting calls from Dish Network once a week. I put my number on the do not call registry, but it just must not have gotten through to them. So I get a call tonight, a recording, offering me dish network. Now I could just hang up, but I listen, and hit 1 to get to a rep. The guy asks me what he can do for me since I am interested in satillite service. I respond – “Please take this number off your call list”. And his respone? “click” – he hangs up! WTF?!?!

Now, I don’t have caller id, im sure it would have been blocked anyways, but are you serious? Do they now they by hanging up on me I am ever in my life going to consider getting DishNetwork service? This post is probably already to much lip service to them. I guess I just thought that maybe they wouldnt want to get in trouble for not abideing by the DNC registry, guess not.

Next time they call, I will ask them what they number is I can call them back at, so I can do the same thing to them every week.

Categories
Geeky/Programming

Crisis Mode Burnout and SQL Server Tips

Ever have one of those weeks where everything is a crisis or you are in “alert” mode all week? It is pretty draining. The worst part about it is, nothing else gets done, things fall behind, etc. Lesson learned: if you have a sql database and you are seeing tons of connections and cannot find the root cause, do not run sql profiler – it just makes it worse.
As for working with databases, especially SQL, you need to monitor connections, cpu, db size, transactions, IO and you also need to reorg your indexes and update your statistics. That along with verified backups, and you should be off to a good start. Also logging failed logins and even successfull logins (sometimes) is a good thing.

There are alot of tools to assist as well (Qwest, Idera, Sql Delta, Reg Gate’s Suite, etc) – but first you need to know how to use the built in tools and things that come with SQL Server itself (profiler, watching processes, dbcc commands, and more).

Back to the burnout – if you get to the point where its non-stop crisis mode, once it’s over – go and party 🙂

Categories
Geeky/Programming

Dell Support – Vista Beta 2 – Restore Partition

So, a while back I installed Microsoft Vista Beta2 on my Dell machine. Seems that it must have overwritten the master boot record (MBR). I wanted to revert back to Windows XP Media Center Edition that came on my box, so I fired it up, and hit F12 to goto the boot selection. Where is system restore? not there – wtf. So i look online, you need to hit ctrl+F11 to get the restore partition – even though that isnt stated anywhere when booting, or the sheets that came with the PC. Do they expect everyone to have 2 computers so they can figure this out? Anyways, ctrl+F11 – not working at all. So I hop on dell.com, get on live chat, and talk to not 1, but 2 different techs – they tell me I am screwed – need to get the cd’s (which, btw, they dont ship by default anymore with new systems). I think to myself, there has got to be a way to get to that partition – i never deleted it, so it is still there. More spelunking on the internet, and I find this site. Seems that someone has created a utility to fix your mbr and get to your restore partition.

Ok – seems that I have what I need, right? Well, next step – find a old win98 cd so I can boot it up. Copy the utilities on the restore partition site to my flash drive, and boot to the cd. I run the utility, and I have one alert – easily fixable. I run the fix, reboot, and ctrl+f11 works, and I am in the symantec ghost restore partition – two clicks later – its restoring and a few minutes later I am back into winXP MCE.

My biggest gripe/question with all of this is, why didn’t dell

#1 – create this utility themselves

#2 – steer me in the right direction

#3 – ship the cd’s with my system

Now it maybe just me, but you would think they spend more $$ on support than it would cost to ship the cd’s in the first place. Anyways, I’m back to my old system, so I am happy 🙂

Categories
Life

Slingbox

Well, I happened upon a slingbox…hooked it up tonight. Pretty cool, I want to see how XM through DirectTV will perfom if I try it from work. The mobile client is choppy, I cant get more than 15 fps. I think for sure I will use it in my office in the basement to watch TV once I get that room configured with my desktop PC. It seems to work better than Orb, but I will have to give it a better test.

Categories
Geeky/Programming

IIS Integrated Authentication – Still Getting a Login Prompt

If you setup a intranet or internal site, and setup the security as Integrated Windows Authentication – and you still have Anonymous Access on as well, but are still getting a prompt, it is most likely you are using a domain name for your site (like intranet.myinternaldomain.com) – The way to avoid getting a windows login prompt when hitting the site is to add the site to your trusted sites in your local zone in your IE tools->options, security tab.

Categories
Geeky/Programming

IISAdmin doesnt start (IIS Admin 2147418113)

debacle with a capital D – IIS Admin service just doesnt work haphazardly.
if you get this error, you will find many solutions, and maybe one that works – here is what worked for me:

– stop and put in manual start mode all non-Microsoft services (using msconfig)
– Downloaded the AUthdiag tool, ran it and fixed all problems found;
– follow steps in KB article ID 271071 at
– Set the “Remote Procedure Call (RPC)” service to Log On as “Local System account”;
– reboot (because RPC can not be restarted;
– IISAdmin now works correctly.

Categories
Life

Getting There

Worked on the basement pretty much all weekend. Finished painting, put up trim and cleaned it up. Hauled in the last of the stuff I had out in a trailer. The couch was a debalce. Wouldn’t come through the back door, and it fit though the front door, but wouldnt turn the corner down the basement. What we had to do was cut a hole in the sheetrock from the garage to the side door – like I said, debacle. Wish I would of taken a picture, because the sheetrock is back up now. I got DirectTV – finally. After them cancelling once, then cancelling again – and me calling and saying, today or never, they sent a tech out who got here at 7PM. Also I think I found a bug of some sort with SQL 2005. I set up a new laptop this week, and it was fine, but then I noticed IISAdmin service was crashed and wouldnt start – WTF right? So I do a clean install – start getting everything installed, IISAdmin was fine – until I installed SQL2005 (everything – RS, AS, IS, MS). So now, I’m on my second clean install, and I havent installed SQL yet. I think I am going to just install Management Studio and hope to heck that IISAdmin stays running.

Categories
Life

New Car – Pontiac Vibe 2006


Vibe – Side Angle

Originally uploaded by ScaleOvenStove.

Well, I traded in my Truck (99 Chevy Silverado) and picked up a 2006 Pontiac Vibe. It is very roomy and I really like it. 35 mpg doesnt hurt either. The one thing I wish it had though was a aux jack so I could hook up my ipod. It does have 2 prong plug in though, which is nice.

Pictures here

Categories
Random

DigElogROCORI

Well, now that I am semi-moved into Richmond, after a debacle of trying to move in during River Lakes days, since my house is like right on the parade route..but that is a different story…I stumbled up DigElogROCORI, a digital vlog of Rockville, Cold Spring, Richmond. Pretty cool, I thought there would be more videos, I subscribed to the feed, so we will see. I wish I had more time and energy, and a video camera – then I could do something like that. Maybe first, I need to get my computer office setup in the basement 🙂

Categories
Geeky/Programming

Agile 2006 – Google Night


Agile 2006 – Google Night

Originally uploaded by ScaleOvenStove.

Glimpse of Google Night at Agile 2006. Google threw a huge bash, and all I got was a lousy tee shirt. But it was still cool. Thought maybe there would be more Google stuff, or a presentation, but they just put on the party.