The Cloud Agnost

We the People- A Theft in 3 Parts

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 21:42:33 +0000

The first official act of the stealing of democracy, occurred on 8/15/71, when Nixon ended the gold standard.

The second official act of the American Kleptocracy was the passage of the last amendment, the 27th, where congresspeople gave themselves the right to vote themselves raises– albeit only for the next, not the current set of members.

The third, ongoing, phase of the selloff of the American democratic system, is the accumulation of wealth and power by the fabulously wealthy. Made possible by 40 years of stagnation in wages, amidst vastly growing corporate profits, the wealthy became able to donate VASTLY more to candidates than everyday people. This is specifically accomplished, since 2010, via the PACs and SuperPAC’s made possible by the Citizens United supreme court decision, and the corresponding Speech Now vs FEC decision.

cloud agnost manifesto

Fri, 30 May 2025 07:21:30 +0000

If the CNCF are the Sith, we are the Jedi.
OK, maybe that’s not the greatest reference, I’m not saying enterprise software is straight up evil, but let’s run with it a bit and see where it goes. This is an opinion piece, obviously inspired by the devops manifesto. I’m trying to make it a fun read, and set some context, more than I’m trying to be technically correct.

GIF: technically correct best kind of correct

Backstory and consulting again

Fri, 02 May 2025 06:45:29 +0000

Going beyond a resume, if you want to understand me as a person, understand that I *love* when people tell me something can’t be done (especially if they are willing to pay to be proven wrong), and I’ve made an effort over decades to work on my weak points.

My childhood exposed me to a wide variety of schools, living environments, and conflicts that couldn’t be avoided, so I learned to lean into a challenge when it was unavoidable, and be adept in to avoiding unnecessary conflict.
In high school I got into competitive speech and debate, winning some minor awards, and most importantly becoming confident in front of a room or presenting in general. Coming out of high school, my worst % placement on any subject on the ACT was in the 79th percentile, with most subjects in the 90s, and a 95th percentile composite rank. I had jobs, the loss of a parent, girlfriends, extracurriculars, and cars, lots besides school going on. I wasn’t purely an academic, but by that age enough work ethic had been instilled in me to expect to be at least highly functional in every area, and to be the best or near the best in most areas. I’m a bit of a perfectionist to be sure, I also know that you can do anything but you can’t do everything, and good isn’t necessarily the enemy of perfect.

Birds

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Wildlife

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0600

Landscapes

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Cars & Track

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0600

Travel

Wed, 04 May 2022 00:00:00 -0600

Close-up

Mon, 02 May 2022 00:00:00 -0600

Dogs

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 00:00:00 -0600

Macro

Sat, 15 Sep 2018 00:00:00 -0600

Meet Annabelle

Mon, 05 Feb 2018 07:34:02 +0000

Yesterday I made a new friend.

▶ Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEQKCLpS8e4

She’s a hoot.

Half black and tan coon hound, half German Shepard.

resolve mac office 2016 unkown error and activation issues

Sun, 02 Aug 2015 21:57:43 +0000

how to fix outlook 2016 activation problems without deleting downloaded emails

the problem…

the solution:

Download: outlook-activation.command.zip
Double click to extract the outlook-activation.command file
Double click to run the extracted outlook-activation.command file
here’s what you should expect to see if it worked correctly:

you’ll see this if it worked.
1. If you can’t open the .command file, you will have to set your OS X security preferences to allow content from “untrusted developers” or just open terminal and run these commands yourself (simply copy and paste):
  killall “Office365ServiceV2”
  cd ~/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office
  ls -a | perl -n -e ‘print if m/^[e|c]\w/’ | xargs rm
now, you’ll be prompted to activate the next time you try to send recieve, or you can start activation from the outlook menu manually. now, just type in your office 365 username and password to activate, and you should no longer get activation or unknown errors :-)

now this should work without error…

it's been a while

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 03:30:02 +0000

these days i’m back in the corporate world, now in a full-time IT role, so i’ve had less time to write but it’s time to get back into the habit.

the projects I’m into lately are largely home-theater related, although i’m now using this as learning material for automating things like updating channel listings with a basic .bat file and task scheduler.

Sync your desktop between multiple pc’s- free!

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:07:04 +0000

I read a thing on lifehacker about syncing your desktop with dropbox and decided to try that out with my preferred sync utility, Windows Live Mesh.

I set the desktop folder on each of my machines to sync with my cloud storage, and now files I save to the desktop automatically show up on each machine. I was a little nervous that I’d wind up with a proliferation of shortcuts and other junk but Live Mesh seems to be smart enough to only sync files not shortcuts too. Love it!

My favorite IT tools

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:59:00 +0000

You’re only as good as the tools you work with. I’ve spent years refining the set of tools I work with, and these are among the best. From the basics of virus and forgotten password recoveries to the real issues like figuring out how to make a silent installer for critical applications during deployment, these are the tool you’ll need. Well these and a thousand others that I’ll try to add as I have time.

building an ecommerce site with ZenCart

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:41:24 +0000

Building your own ecommerce site with ZenCart is surprisingly easy. If you’ve had any experience with HTML you can probably get the job done, but an understanding of PHP and especially includes and the ZenCart overrides system can be very helpful.

What you need to know before you start installing ZenCart:

1. creating a template of your own is a smart move, and can save you time by letting you switch back to default to isolate theme related issues.

Outlook 2010 running but not visible on Windows 7

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:22:16 +0000

I’ve seen this issue a couple of times in the past few months where Outlook seems to open and run normally (shows running in taskbar, systray, and task manager) but you can’t see it onscreen.

Basically the issue seems to bee that Outlook is stuck offscreen somewhere, as in on a 2nd monitor that isn’t connected or it’s on your “right” monitor when you’re only using a left monitor.

If you’ve tried outlook /safe to make sure an add in isn’t the cause of your issue and outlook.exe /resetnavpane and neither one has worked, you can try deleting the “office explorer” “frame” reg key. After this is done, restart outlook and get back to work!

build websites? have windows? do yourself a favor, read this.

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:05:48 +0000

In the last 14 days I’ve setup about 20 websites. I’ve published 3 of the to the web, and 2 are in or near production. The only interesting thing is that I’m a systems administration person, not a web developer. I knew a little HTML from around y2k, and picked up a basic understanding of CSS before getting started with web matrix, but really knew a pretty limited amount about mySQL/apache/php configuration, and had gotten stuck on one or other of those phases more than once when I was working on side projects. I’ve been looking for opportunities to add a new specialty, so I wanted to see what was around to help me work with the Windows 7 environment I know and love to test out all the poplar new CMS systems: Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, Orchard, Umbraco CMS, DotNetNuke, nopCommerce, etc.

SEO Results with Drupal 7

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:14:01 +0000

The last few months have given me the opportunity to work on a couple of SEO projects, and I’ve been really impressed with the results I’m getting with Drupal 7 (D7). We launched http://death2flash.com last Thursday, and over the weekend I spent a couple hours setting up the feed aggregator to harvest a little bit of HTML5/CSS3/Flash sucks related content. Today I checked to see if Google had found the site yet, and was thrilled to see it on google page 1! I haven’t even started working on SEO and we’re already off to a great start. Way to go Drupal!

SEO 101

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:36:38 +0000

Search engine or site engineering optimization has been a hot topic for years, and considering the continuing growth and success of e-commerce, it’s likely to get even hotter. Since Google has such a dominant position in the search industry, focusing your SEO efforts around their recommendations is the smart thing to do. Google provides a ton of top-quality resources to help you understand exactly how they rank sites and how to improve your site’s listings. As usual, all the tools and methods described in this post are free!

A personal note from the author

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:43:45 +0000

A lot has changed since I wrote my last few posts, so here goes-

For the last 18 months I’ve been working (where I can find it lol) as a freelance IT professional based in Seattle. after 10 years spent with fluorescent lights of retail shops shining on me, I had to make a break for it. before my break I’d spent 3 years seriously diving into all things IT, so at this point I’m nearly 5 years into my journey shifting careers from retail to IT. I’ve been lucky enough to find a few part time and temporary positions to keep myself afloat, and have possibly more than my fair share of fun along the way.

Networking

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:25:40 +0000

I’ve been fortunate to make some pretty incredible friends. I work with my friends, and consider myself lucky to do so. More importantly, in my own mind at least, I’ve learned to do what I love in friends living rooms, offices, and over coffee or beer. Social networking has become second nature for me, and increasingly, for a generation.

More than half of relationships now start online, and e-commerce seems to be one of the only economic sectors still growing reliably. If you’re into the idea of doing what you want instead of what you have to, find yourself a specialty, and start connecting with people online.

Hello world!

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:07:17 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Microsoft Security Essentials

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:04:44 +0000

So I’ve been running MSE for about a year now, and I’ve got to say it’s been great. Vitrually no annoying pop-ups, daily updates for security, and no issues with viruses all year. I did see the scanner notify me about a number of potentially malicious files, but with very few false positives. I was pleased to hear Microsoft announce that it would be free for small businesses to use for up to 25 users. Make sure you uninstall thoroughly any other Anti-Virus applications like Norton, McAffee, TrendMicro, and the like before installing MSE. You can download it from www.microsoft.com/security_essentials.

Great dual local & web hosted backup service.

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:09:17 +0000

Here’s a great article on Mozy, which helps you configure a backup plan to keep a copy both locally, and sent encrypted to Mozy’s servers just in case your house burns down and all your drives get toasted. 2gb is free, and unlimited backups are only $55 a year!

Quote

http://lifehacker.com/5564957/set-up-a-foolproof-and-fireproof-automatic-backup-plan

Talking about Linux infection proves Windows malware monopoly is over | ZDNet

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:55:22 +0000

Funny, a few years back I would have never believed that I would look to Microsoft to provide the most secure OS. Definitely seems like they’ve got their security on lockdown better than anyone else at this point.

Quote

Linux infection proves Windows malware monopoly is over | ZDNet
Linux infection proves Windows malware monopoly is over

Security: Is working on your PC really better than working online?

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:29:32 +0000

It seems like every day lately I’m hearing one side or the other of the argument for storing data online, so I thought I would take a few minutes to write a post comparing a couple of possible strategies, with pros and cons. With all the heat coming down on Facebook for privacy concerns, it’s no wonder people are starting to question the wisdom of storing all sorts of files online. As the number of critical files we all have increases, making certain that our storage systems and backup systems are in peak form becomes more and more important.

An alternative to a tumultuous market?

Thu, 06 May 2010 20:43:50 +0000

I’ve been following a trend know as microfinance or microloans for a few years now, and I’m really excited to see that some online marketplaces for it are getting established.

The concept is simple- instead of investing huge amounts in huge multinationals, invest smaller amounts in microloans the 3rd world, where traditional means of finance are typically unavailable. You’ll be getting fairly low returns, from 1-3%, but data to date suggests that microloans have extraordinarily low default rates. Certainly no once can argue against a little portfolio diversification these days, and I’m hoping no one will argue against the mission. Take a look at:

Awesome PC & Portable applications

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:34:13 +0000

I use nearly all the tools on this list pretty regularly, and being able to take them with you on a flash drive and use them anywhere is pretty awesome. If you’re like me and use a flash drive instead of a laptop, you’ll want to read this.

Quote

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/09/02/24-killer-portable-apps-for-your-usb-flash-drive/

The Cloud Agnost

We the People- A Theft in 3 Parts

cloud agnost manifesto

Backstory and consulting again

Birds

Wildlife

Landscapes

Cars & Track

Travel

Close-up

Dogs

Macro

Meet Annabelle

resolve mac office 2016 unkown error and activation issues

how to fix outlook 2016 activation problems without deleting downloaded emails

Download: outlook-activation.command.zip

it's been a while

Sync your desktop between multiple pc’s- free!

My favorite IT tools

building an ecommerce site with ZenCart

Outlook 2010 running but not visible on Windows 7

build websites? have windows? do yourself a favor, read this.

SEO Results with Drupal 7

SEO 101

A personal note from the author

Networking

Hello world!

Microsoft Security Essentials

Great dual local & web hosted backup service.

Talking about Linux infection proves Windows malware monopoly is over | ZDNet

Security: Is working on your PC really better than working online?

An alternative to a tumultuous market?

Awesome PC & Portable applications