Musings from a code poet

Lotus Support is clearly overwhelmed

2009-06-15T12:45:00.001-04:00

My friend Ninke logs PMR's with Lotus Support on an almost weekly basis. He checked one of his PMR's today and found this note:

Called client and explained the reason for the delay. Enormous
amount of PMR's currently opened and ongoing, impacting
unfortunately all, especially lower prior/sev 4/4.

There are two things this brings to mind. First, Ed Brill keeps saying that there have been fewer issues reported for R8 than previous releases. That being the case it's odd that both I and the four Domino admins I talk to almost daily, including Ninke, have all opened more PMR's for R8 than they did for any others. I'm sure Ed's statistics are more representative than my limited sample, but it's still hard for me to reconcile the official reports with what I see firsthand.

Second, why would one customer having a large number of PMR's open slow down resolution on all their PMR's? I didn't think IBM dedicated staff to resolving individual customers' problems. Even if they did that should speed things up, not slow it down. If they don't, why would the volume of open PMR's have any impact on resolution? Something seems to be broken besides Notes and Domino 8.x.

VMWare ESX, virtualized DNS and an ISCI SAN

2009-04-27T11:00:00.009-04:00

Since the fire we had last year we have replaced all our old servers with a new virtualized infrastructure. We're running VMware ESX 3.5, an HP BLc-3000 blade chassis with six blades, and an HP AiO1200R ISCSI SAN. It is working great and I have a writeup about that decision-making process that I will be publishing shortly.

Today I wanted to bring up one of the potential pitfalls when you're creating a fully virtualized environment. This past weekend we had to cut building power for an extended period of time, so the network administrator brought down everything in our server room. As he brought everything back online he realized that Virtual Center, the control console for VMware ESX, could not talk to the SAN because it required DNS resolution.

The Problem

Our DNS servers are virtualized with storage on the SAN. He ran into a chicken-and-egg situation where he had dependent services that relied on each other.

It took him a while to realize that DNS was the issue. The logs on the SAN side simply said "Could not connect ISCSI LUN". On the VMware side the virtual machines said "storage not available". Figuring out why the two were unable to connect took some careful analysis. Solving it proved difficult because our departmental wiki also used SAN storage, so he had no access to our documentation. In a flash he found himself back in the same situation he was in after the fire, when he could not access critical documentation because the servers with it were not available.

The Solution

So how did he solve it? Luckily he still had the old primary domain controller hanging out, which had all the DNS information. He was extremely lucky, and he knows it. To keep from having to rely on luck, how should you configure your VMware environment so this doesn't happen to you? There are a couple of ways to tackle it.

Use local storage for your virtualized name servers.

Pros

Name servers will load without SAN access.
Resilient to SAN outages.

Cons

Cannot mix guest VM's that require SAN storage. The ISCSI initiator in VMware ESX loads when ESX boots. By having your DNS server on the same physical host as another VM that requires SAN storage, the guest on SAN storage will not be able to start.

Use a non-virtualized DNS server.

Pros

Resilient to SAN outages.

Cons

If using a Windows server, also requires you run Active Directory services.

Use hosts files.

Pros

Resilient to SAN outages.
May improve performance slightly since lookups will always be from local cache.

Cons

Requires you add hosts files to the Virtual Center server, SAN server, and every ESX host server.
Can be a maintenance burden if your environment changes frequently and you have to constantly add/remove ESX hosts.

We have opted for the last option. Our VMware host environment is fairly static, so maintaining hosts files will be a minimal maintenance issue. The resilience we gain from it make it very worthwhile. Oh, and we printed a copy of our wiki page that has all the hostnames and IP addresses of every server we have, and put it in the safe. :-) You do have a similar list, and a fireproof safe... right?

A script to check remote computers for directories

2009-04-20T14:48:00.003-04:00

At work we needed a way to check servers to see if certain software had been installed. The easiest way was to check for the software's installation directory. There isn't an easy way to do this remotely, though, so I wrote a script to take care of it: dircheck.vbs.

While I was writing this tool I learned a lot about VBScript. For starters, you can't interact with stdin or stdout using the default VBS command interpreter. If you try to write information to the user's console it will display everything in a popup. To fix this, you can use the special cscript interpreter:

cscript dircheck.vbs

If you execute the above command you will get command line help for the utility. Full source code is obviously included, so please feel free to use it however you need to.

How to copy SQL Server DBMail configuration to another server

2009-04-13T17:06:00.002-04:00

I'm setting up a new SQL Server from scratch and wanted to copy the existing DBMail configuration from the old server. I did some searches and the best I could find were pointers to the msdb.dbo.sysmail_* system tables. I did some trial and error and got everything copied over, so here's how I did it.

Log into the new server
Create a server link from the new server to the old server
Copy the DBMail configuration

I had to log into the new server and do the server link there. From my workstation SQL Server considered it a redirection, and that is a security violation. Save yourself some headaches and just start at the new server. Note that the following SQL script will delete any existing DBMail configuration in the target SQL Server. If you want to keep the existing configuration you'll need to take out the DELETE and SET IDENTITY_INSERT statements and manipulate the account_id and profile_id in the related tables.

SET IDENTITY_INSERT sysmail_account ON
INSERT INTO sysmail_account (account_id, [name], [description], email_address, display_name, replyto_address, last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_account
SET IDENTITY_INSERT sysmail_account OFF
GO

DELETE sysmail_configuration
GO
INSERT INTO sysmail_configuration (paramname, paramvalue, [description], last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_configuration
GO

DELETE FROM sysmail_profile
GO
SET IDENTITY_INSERT sysmail_profile ON
INSERT INTO sysmail_profile (profile_id, [name], [description], last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_profile
SET IDENTITY_INSERT sysmail_profile OFF
GO

DELETE FROM sysmail_principalprofile
GO
INSERT INTO sysmail_principalprofile (profile_id, principal_sid, is_default, last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_principalprofile
GO

DELETE FROM sysmail_profileaccount
GO
INSERT INTO sysmail_profileaccount (profile_id, account_id, sequence_number, last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_profileaccount
GO

DELETE FROM sysmail_servertype
GO
INSERT INTO sysmail_servertype (servertype, is_incoming, is_outgoing, last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_servertype
GO

DELETE FROM sysmail_server
GO
INSERT INTO sysmail_server (account_id, servertype, servername, port, username, credential_id, use_default_credentials,
enable_ssl, flags, last_mod_datetime, last_mod_user)
SELECT * FROM oldserver.msdb.dbo.sysmail_server
GO

free alternative to defrag.nsf

2009-03-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

My friend Adam asked me recently about defrag.nsf. In case you don't know, this is a Windows-only tool for Domino that will do a file-level defragmentation of Domino databases. According to the product page the theory is this will increase performance. I haven't tried the product so I can't state whether this is true or not, but I do know that you can get the same results for free.

defrag.nsf is using the Windows defragmentation API to do file-specific defragmentation. Microsoft baked this into Windows NT 4 and the same API has been in Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 and 2008. It is robust, stable, and has been proven over time. Because all the necessary libraries are included with Windows you could write this application yourself if you wanted to.

But you don't have to. Sysinternals, a division of Microsoft, has the free contig tool that does the exact same thing. You can defrag a single file, a directory, or recurse directories. And it accepts wildcards, so you could defrag "c:\program files\ibm\lotus\domino\data\mail\*.nsf".

If you decide you want to find out if file fragmentation is an issue for your Domino server it wouldn't hurt to try out the free contig tool and compare it to the results from defrag.nsf.

P.S. While I was researching this I came across Ulrich Kraus' write up of contig. The comments there include links to more free defragmentation utilities.

blueberry lime sauce

2009-03-15T12:24:00.003-04:00

You can use this with anything that needs a slightly sweet, fruity, and citrusy pop of flavor. I served this with braised pork belly.

1 C Riesling wine
1 C unsweetened blueberry juice
2 cardamom pod, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 kaffir lime leaves, or the zest of 2 limes
juice from 1 lime
sugar to taste
salt to taste
2 small saucepans
strainer

Put the Riesling in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until it reduces to 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup.
Remove from the heat
Thinly slice the kaffir lime leaves and stir the ribbons into the Riesling reduction, or add the lime zest
Add a pinch of salt, stir, and let sit.

Put the blueberry juice and cardamom pod (if using, ground cardamom later would be added later) into a second sauce pan. Heat over medium-high heat until it reduces by about 1/2.
Add the Riesling reduction to the blueberry reduction. Add the ground cardamom now, if you're not using a whole pod.
Reduce the entire mixture to about 1/2 a cup
Stir in sugar to taste. How much you need depends on how sweet the Riesling and blueberry juice was to begin with.
Add salt to taste
Continue cooking until sugar and salt are fully dissolved, about 1 minute

Allow to completely cool, then strain into a storage container. Stir in the lime juice.

buttermilk cake with spiced vanilla icing

2009-03-10T20:56:00.003-04:00

This is the buttermilk cake I have been making for dinner parties recently. It's delicious, easy, and a little unexpected with the buttermilk and butternut squash. I organized the ingredients into the groups you will need to prepare this recipe.

For the cake

10 cup bundt pan
1T unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs

1 Tbs distilled white vinegar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

13 1/2 oz (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups peeled and grated butternut squash (about 8 oz)

For the icing and garnish

9 oz (2 1/4 cups) confectioners' sugar
3 Tbs buttermilk; more as needed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp table salt

1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Make the cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325. Butter and flour a 10 cup bundt pan, tap out excess flour
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar on medium speed in a large bowl until well combined, about 1 minute
Add the oil and beat until combined, about 15 seconds
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well on low speed
Add the vinegar and vanilla and mix until just combined
Add half the flour and the baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg, mixing on low speed until just combined
Add half the buttermilk and mix until just combined
Add the remainder of the flour and buttermilk, mixing until combined
Stir the squash into the batter
Transfer the batter into your prepared bundt pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula
Bake the cake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour
Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the pan for 30 minutes
Carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack. You want to do this while the cake is still slightly warm to minimize sticking.
When the cake is completely cool transfer to a serving plate

Make the icing

In a medium bowl using a whisk or hand mixer on low speed blend the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, nutmeg and salt until smooth
Continue mixing and add more buttermilk a few drops a time until the icing is still quite thick but pourable
Pour the icing back and forth over the cake in thick ribbons, or drizzle using a spatula
Sprinkle with crystallized ginger
Let the iced cake sit at room temperature for about 45 minutes before serving

Rufous, the red-lored Amazon

2009-02-22T00:41:00.000-05:00

In September 1989 Myron got a new parrot. It was a red-lored Amazon that he named Rufous. Myron got Rufous when he was so young Myron had to hand feed him three times a day. Over the next twenty years Rufous learned to speak, saying "what are you doing", "bye", "hello birdie". In the last year or so he started mimicking my laugh.

Tonight as we were getting our dinner party underway we went into the kitchen and Rufous was in the bottom of his cage with his wings spread and his beak open. Myron picked him up and Rufous bit him, which Myron took as a good sign. Myron gave Rufous some water with a spoon, which he drank, and Myron returned him to his cage. Within a few minutes he was sprawled with his wings spread, panting.

Myron called the emergency vet, which did not have an avian vet on staff but said they would do what the could. By the time he got there Rufous was barely breathing. Rufous died shortly afterwards. The cause of death is unknown.

I can't imagine what Myron is going through right now. Having a pet for 20 years and losing it so suddenly is an unthinkable horror.

R.I.P Rufous, 1989 - 2009

Dining in the Vail area

2009-02-17T00:10:00.000-05:00

In Colorado we stayed in Avon, which is about 8 miles from Vail proper. This is a playground for the super rich and the dining scene follows suit. That's not to say that the old Colorado cowboy culture has been completely subverted, though. During our stay we enjoyed everything from rustic cowboy fare at The Gashouse to the ultimate in fine dining at Kelly Liken's eponymous restaurant. In between we had soft-shelled crab po boy's, tenderloin sandwiches, amazingly good Chinese, and a spectacular dinner at a slopeside mountain cabin. Our least expensive meal was breakfast at Daylight Donuts in Breckenridge ($17) and the most expensive was at Kelly Liken in Vail ($440).

The Good

Our first night in town we looked through the dining guides and came up with a few ideas, then asked the front desk staff which one they liked. They all raved about Fiesta Jalisco's, which you may have guessed is a Mexican restaurant. It was a short (but very cold) walk to the restaurant, where we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table. The restaurant was packed and insanely crowded, and we heard several locals who were leaving say they had never seen it that busy.

The (American) traditional chips and salsa was served with a coleslaw made from shredded cabbage dressed in lime juice. It was incredibly good, and our waiter said it was a traditional accompaniment with fish tacos in Puerto Vallarta, a coastal town in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

The food was very good but the standout was the Original Margaritas. They consisted simply of tequila, cointreau, and lime juice. That's it. They were also shaken with ice and served in a martini glass, not on the rocks or frozen. It was a delicious concoction and one I'll be sure to work hard to perfect. Do I have any taste testers who will volunteer?

The Better

Colorado is known for wild game. They hunt everything that walks, flies, swims or crawls, and you can find it on a menu somewhere. Many restaurants specialize in wild game, so we sought one out. We were very happy to find The Gashouse in Edwards, about 15 minutes away from Avon. The decor features mounted animal heads of everything from deer and antelope to cape buffalo.

The must-have dishes were the buffalo carpaccio, which was lightly smoked but still served raw, and the truffle and parmesan cheese fries. Both were superb.

The Even Better

One night Myron booked us at Zach's Cabin, which is located behind the Ritz Carlton in Bachelor's Gulch, a part of the Beaver Creek ski resort. We arrived a few minutes early and had wonderful pre-dinner drinks at Spago's bar. At the designated time we went out to a sled that was drawn by a snow cat (for those unfamiliar think bulldozer, but lower to the ground and wider), which took us up the mountain to a cabin in the woods.

The restaurant is a classic log cabin, complete with a double-sided fireplace. We were seated in a cozy corner table and the magic unfolded. The decor and ambience were wonderful and the service spectacular. The elk tenderloin was butter tender, and baklava cheesecake was to die for. It was a dollop of delicious cheesecake filling in a fillo dough shell, drizzled with honey. Sublime.

The only disappointment was that the wine list was shockingly overpriced. Bottles I have bought for $20 were over $100. The least expensive wines were still over $30 and I wouldn't even buy them at $6, which is what they are in Charleston.

The Best

Kelly Liken has been called rising star among female chefs and she has been featured in magazines ranging from Bon Appetit to Sky Magazine. I'm not sure where I first learned of her, but I was reminded of her presence in Vail by the in-flight magazine. We had done dinner at Zach's Cabin, which was fairly pricey, so we weren't sure we wanted to do something even higher end. Finally I decided that since we were there I was going to splurge and worry about paying for it later. That's the American way, right?

One of the options was a custom tasting menu with custom wine pairings. We put ourselves in the hands of Chef Liken and the very capable sommelier, Jeremy, for a completely blind five course tasting menu. We started with the cobia crudo, continued with braised pork belly, honey marinated duck breast, Colorado rack of lamb, and finished with an Earl Grey tea infused chocolate truffle cake. It was a nearly orgasmic progression. All five courses were delicious, the wine pairings were perfect, and the service superb. The only complaint I could offer is it was a little loud and sometimes hard to hear, but even that is highly subjective and dependent on who is dining that particular night. This was one of the most memorable dining experiences of my life, rating up there with our dinner at La Pergola.

The most striking thing I came away with was being introduced to banyuls, which is essentially a French port made from grenache. It is lighter and brighter in fruit than port and pairs wickedly well with chocolate (we had it with the chocolate truffle cake). If you like port you owe it to yourself to seek this out.

advertising and marketing

2009-02-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

There has been much talk in the Yellowverse about advertising, marketing and how the two interrelate -- or not. Most of the people I know still seem to correlate the two, and (ironically) equate the attempts at making a distinction just marketing spin. To be honest, I was one of them until I had an epiphany today. Before we get into that, let's start with some definitions:

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell goods or services.

Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service.

Okay... that still sounds about the same, right? First, advertising is a subset of marketing. Therefore all advertising is marketing, but not all marketing is advertising. Second, the distinction lies in the intent. Marketing is about disseminating information; advertising is about persuasion.

Still not clear? Suppose you're at a farmer's market and you want tomatoes. You see someone with tomatoes displayed, and you go buy them. He doesn't have to tell you to buy them or announce their availability, him simply presenting them is all the marketing you need. It would be advertising if he were yelling out loud "Get your fresh tomatoes here!" since he is trying to influence you to purchase his tomatoes. The announcement would be marketing, the persuasion (via the command "get") is advertising.

So, circling back to where I started, what led me to finally grasp the distinction between advertising and marketing was a blog post by Seth Godin titled "which comes first, the product or the marketing". In it he points out that most of the time you actually need the marketing first since that will drive product creation. Once I read that I recalled a Facebook status update by Matt White and a blog post by Ben Langhinrichs illustrating how this has started happening. IdeaJam is marketing because a community is exchanging information in an attempt to achieve something of value to them. Some entrepreneurial types are taking this and capitalizing on it by delivering products to meet the market demand.

my epic fall

2009-02-13T00:24:00.003-05:00

Some of you have seen my Facebook posts about my epic fall today at Breckenridge. Here's the deal. We were going down Monte Cristo, our first run at Breckenridge. The terrain is rolling hills, some big and some small, and it's really varied. Myron was ahead of me and when it looked like things had flattened out I went into a tuck to catch up.

When you tuck while skiing you put a lot of weight on the front of your skis, not the back as one might think. You want weight on the front of your skis because that's what makes you go. Resting on your heels slows you down. So it was while in a tuck with my weight shifted forward that I hit an unexpected bump and went airborne. When I landed it was on the front of my skis, still in a tuck. Not the right position to be in since the force of the impact caused both my skis to pop off.

I was launched forward, leaving my skis behind, and landed on my face, primarily on the left side. My ski goggles scraped down my face and my chest slammed into the snow. The next few minutes/hours/decades were both a blur and frozen in time. I remember pulling my ski poles and gloves off, and ripping my goggles and hat off, all while rolling to my knees to try to catch my breath. My chest felt like an elephant was standing on it.

I know I was making some pretty horrible noises because I simply couldn't breathe, and I was scared shitless because my chest hurt so bad. My first thought was I had broken a rib and punctured a lung. I struggled for a long time to catch my breath, kneeling in the snow and wondering if I was going to die there.

Maybe two minutes after I fell someone came along and asked if I was okay. By then I had regained my breath and my composure and was gathering my scattered equipment. I skied on down and met up with Myron, who was about half a mile ahead of me. He said it was such an easy run that he didn't think to look for me since I usually ski better than him.

Here's what the damage looked like at lunch today.

We finished out the day and I skied amazingly well. We both love Breckenridge and the fault here is entirely mine. Not to say it doesn't hurt, but if I can take a fall like that and walk away with some bruises and aching ribs, I'll call it a good day.

I'm gonna get kicked off the island for this...

2009-01-23T16:00:00.003-05:00

... and probably hunted down by lovely women with knives (possibly from a Caribbean island), but so be it.

I was hanging out in an online chat with some rather unsavory characters and they started talking about Post-Lotusphere Stress Disorder, leading to the inevitable top 10 list. I did not participate in the creation of this list, I'm merely the scribe capturing it for posterity. You will notice not every entry is numbered, there are more than 10 entries and there is no number 10. Creativity like this can't be bound by rules. Names have been redacted to protect the oh-so-deliciously guilty.

Top Ten ways you know you have PLSD

1. You have a sudden urge to put up a tent in your backyard, in Maine, in February, so family dinners will feel more natural.
2. You insist that all of you children's backpacks be yellow
3. All of your children's backpacks ARE yellow
4. You insist on rows of uncomfortable chairs in the living room for movie night.
5. You fill out an evaluation form after every television show you watch at home.
6. You fill out an evaluation form for completely inappropriate things. Out to the dining tent for you, mister.
7. You see a tchotke at a neighbors house and ask if you can have it if they swipe your card.
8. You get invited to a party, and don't tell your spouse just in case she wasn't invited.
9. You drink your coffee REALLY FAST so the Disney bots don't take it away mid-swallow.
for six months, every time you leave your bedroom you check to make sure you remembered your badgeholder.
You line up for lunch, even when eating at home.
you think it's normal to show up for work after only 2 hours sleep
You ask your spouse if you can stay in the same room you were in last year.
You are willing to listen to 5 minutes of crap talk just to get a free pen.
You keep asking your coworkers, kids, and spouse where you can get this year's CULT shirt from; they look at you in horror.
You ask the neighbors if it's ok to use their pool without a room key
You ask your spouse if she's coming to your session.
And if it merits a repeat.
You ask your neighbors if it is OK to use their driveway to park.
You ask your kid if he's filming your session
You put RFID badges on the cats.
you mutter "I can't remember if I'm swan or dolphin this year"
and then look for your two huge carp on your roof
you build a 3 stage waterfall from same said roof
In Maine, in February
You scream out SAKE! at the top of your lungs after finishing each drink
you wished they'd put your room number on your key, in case you ever need to go there
You applaud when your wife introduces a new dish for dinner, even though you seem to remember you should have had it years ago.
and you keep asking her, "Can I have this to go in a box, I'm late for my session"
You applaud after sex even if it wasn't that good. Then you hog the microphone for Q&A.
you have a favorite seat in every meeting room in 3 different disney hotels
You knock on neighbor's houses asking if they know where Jamfest (or SpeedGeeking) is.
You walk into your bedroom announcing, "OK, before we begin, please turn off all cell phones and pagers".
11. Every Wednesday night for four months, you randomly get on a bus.
12. You know what CULT stands for
13. You're jazzed because you have a CULT shirt for every day of the week.
you are hard-core because you have the original "Notes World Order" shirt.
14. You go home and claim to your spouse that you're going to be agile from now on.

hmm, "Brokeback Novak"... another CULT theme
beats my original suggestion, FSCK Portal.

Cranberry lambic and root beer braised beef

2009-01-22T08:39:00.009-05:00

The young lady who house sits for us loves root beer, so whenever we travel we buy some for her. There is usually some left and I find it too sweet to drink, so I was trying to think of a way to use it. While I was pondering this I remembered Myron bought a sampler of Samuel Adams beers and it included a cranberry lambic. A lambic is a type of beer from Belgium that started out 500 years ago as peasant home brew. The version produced today carries on the coarse and have an unrefined flavor. Fruit is often added to help counter the bitter aftertaste. It is too bitter for me to enjoy, so I wondered what it would be like if I combined the bitter lambic and the sweet root beer. The answer: DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

Preparation

1 12oz bottle of root beer

1 12oz bottle of Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic

1 – 1.5 lb stew beef

2T cooking oil

1t black pepper (for the beef)

1t black pepper (for the sauce)

1t salt (for the beef)

1t salt (for the sauce)

A medium-sized non-reactive pot with a lid in the 4 to 6 quart range. Nonstick is fine, but don’t use unenameled cast iron.

A simmer plate (assuming you’re cooking with gas)

A bowl or plate for holding the beef after browning.

Toss the stew beef with 1t each of black pepper and salt

Let stand 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature

Heat the oil in the pot over medium-high heat until you see it ripple, about 60 – 90 seconds

Add the beef and brown on all sides

Remove the beef to a bowl or plate

Reduce or turn off the heat so you can put the simmer plate on the burner, then return the heat to medium-high.

Put the pot on the simmer plate and add the root beer and lambic into the pot.

Bring to a boil and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom

Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 - 20 minutes, or until the liquid reduces by a quarter to a third

Add the beef, cover, and reduce the heat to its lowest setting

Leave it to simmer for 90 minutes, stirring a couple of times to make sure there is enough liquid. Add water to keep the beef nearly, but not completely, submerged.

Check it for doneness. You are looking for it to be tender enough that it comes apart when you press it with a spoon, but not so much so that you can see the beef separation simply by stirring it. This will take between and hour and a half and two hours, but you need to start checking early so you don’t overcook it.

Stir in the remaining salt and pepper, adjusting to taste

Serve with rice, pasta – or one of my favorites, Israeli couscous

a change of focus

2009-01-13T14:48:00.004-05:00

I started this blog in 2006 mostly to vent about IBM and Lotus and poke fun at the zealot fanboys. In 2007 I was frustrated both with my job and the direction IBM was taking Notes and Domino so took a job doing Access and SQL Server development. I continued doing Notes development as a consultant to keep current with it. That continued until mid-2008. Shortly after ILUG I stopped all Notes and Domino work altogether.

Several things led to that decision. It was partly a final severing of the ties to my old job. It was also an admission that I will never be satisfied with Notes and Domino. The things that are important to me just aren't important to IBM, so it's time for me to move on. And about this time we had the fire at work in and that sapped all my spare time for several months.

We got our new HP blade system delivered at the end of December and I am in the process of learning how that works along with VMware ESX. I am also preparing for a complete rewrite of our internally built ERP software and transitioning to Ruby and postgreSQL.

On a more personal level, I am feeling very strongly drawn toward the culinary field. I have learned to love cooking over the past decade and it has reached the point that I am finding that is where my passion lies. Software development doesn't energize me anymore.

The focus of this blog will be changing. I will be posting about Ruby, postgreSQL, Linux, VMware, HP hardware, and cooking. It's going to be a hodgepodge and you'll never know whether you're going to get programming code or a recipe for soup.

Oh, and for the three of you who might care, I asked Yancy to remove me from PlanetLotus. Since the content hasn't been Lotus related for a long time and never will be from here on out, I thought it was best if I didn't clutter things with my off-topic chatter.

Domino 8.5 hot fix 1

2009-01-07T15:25:00.003-05:00

If you're using Domino 8.5 be aware there is a hot fix already available. In a nutshell, adminp may not properly handle renames or deletes. I found a blog with a decent write up about it, including a link to Fix Central where you can drill down through six levels and finally get to the hot fix: http://www.lntoolbox.com/content/view/95/2/.

conspicuous charity

2008-12-21T23:00:00.001-05:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about philanthropy and charity. Even though I'm not a Christian I am very influenced by the Christian faith and by the traditional Christian holiday season. Despite my disdain for most people who call themselves Christians I do believe in many of the ideals the Christian faith puts forth. One of those tenets is that philanthropy is a duty, and giving selflessly is a virtue.

It seems like everything these days is about greed and ego. You take what you can and leave nothing behind. It’s not enough to do the right thing. You have to make sure everyone else to sees you doing it. When did everyone turn into attention seeking whores with a personal brand? So what if I Google my name and someone else turns up in the top of the list?

It isn’t the same, though, when you very visibly pull a community together to achieve an idealistic goal, then turn around and just as visibly hold your hand out for your reward. Doing something philanthropic then shouting it from the rooftops spits in the face of philanthropy. As someone else asked, "is it strictly charitable giving if you know up front you'll get an award for it?" In this age of self-aggrandizement there needs to be more doing and less quid pro quo, sine qua non. Loosely translated that means "something for something, without which there is nothing."

The recent election and economic meltdown seems to have brought out the absolute worst in many people. Nobody is feeling the least bit ashamed about demanding what they feel entitled to for the good deeds they do. Gays are up in arms because the preacher doing the invocation at Obama’s inauguration supported California’s Proposition 8.

“Let me get right to the point," Joe Solomnese, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a harsh letter to the president-elect, "Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans."

Some members of the Hispanic community were complaining because not enough of their people were in the higher offices in Obama’s cabinet, so he appeased them.

"We're glad he listened to our voices and listened to the Hispanic community that came out and delivered for him on election day."

[I am not saying that the Hispanics chosen were not qualified. I'm merely saying that some members of the Hispanic community feels this was repayment for them helping Obama win the Presidency.]

The HRC, which I have donated to in the past, doesn’t speak for me (which is why I don't donate to them). And excuse me; isn’t the idea supposed to be that we are all just Americans and nobody should get special treatment? Why the racial divisiveness?

I really don't get it. It's beginning to look like I'm a dreamer, and I am the only one.

McCrady's: Sparkling Wines & Exquisite Dines

2008-12-09T17:00:00.001-05:00

From McCrady's website:

Chefs John B. Shields and Karen Urie of Town House in Chilhowie, VA will join Chef Sean Brock in preparing a special dinner. Town House Sommelier Charlie Berg will join McCrady’s Sommelier Clint Sloan in pairing a variety of exclusive sparkling wines for each course.

I was asked by my friend Ann (the same person who helped us with Dining With Friends) to join her at this special event. Her husband doesn't drink and is allergic to shellfish so he wouldn't have enjoyed it much. A recent experience at McCrady’s dimmed my enthusiasm for the restaurant, but I was willing to give it another shot with some guest chefs. Both guests have impressive backgrounds. John worked at Alinea and Charlie Trotter’s, and Karen worked at Tru before spending five years as the lead pastry chef at Charlie Trotter’s. Those are all highly rated restaurants so I went into this with very high expectations.

Dinner was to start at 7:00, with a chef meet and greet at 6:30. Ann’s husband, Dennis, volunteered to be our designated driver since we were anticipating a Bacchanalian event. We arrived at McCrady’s at about 6:15 and sat at the bar and had a pre-dinner drink. McCrady’s makes the best Manhattan on Earth and Ann had her first Pimm’s Cup, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

At about 6:40 we were told we could go upstairs. As far as we can tell the chef meeting never happened, but the tables were about half full so I don't know for certain. It was open seating, so we approached a table with two couples already seated and they invited us to join them. One couple was Curt and Marti, the other was Eric and Debra, and they were all absolutely delightful. There was a bit of awkwardness as Anne and I explained that we were just friends, how we knew each other, and why we were there together.

While we were waiting for the dinner to start someone came around and asked if there were any food allergies or other issues the kitchen needed to know about. This led to a discussion at our table about foods we didn’t like. Eric and Curt had traveled together in South Korea, and agreed that neither liked kim chee. Their wives agreed, but both Ann and I said we liked it. Ann, being the delicate person she is, asked Curt if he had served in the Korean Conflict. Everyone laughed and I don’t think he was offended, and it kept coming up throughout the night.

I won’t do a blow-by-blow of every course since there were eight of them and this post would be even more obnoxiously long. Five courses were prepared by Chefs John and Karen, the remainder by Sean Brock. The overall consensus from our table was we preferred the flavors of Sean’s dishes. The others were interesting and very intellectual, but they failed the first rule of food: it has to taste good.

From the raw scallop with banana mousse to the sour milk with crispy milk bubbles, it was a challenging menu, to say the least. The highlights were Sean Brock’s chicken liver and hazelnuts, his blackened short ribs, and his truffle. The wine pairings were similarly difficult. I don’t have a list of the wines that were served and don’t remember them off the top of my head, but from what I recall the standout was a sparkling shiraz that we all thought was very good with the blackened short ribs.

We were all disappointed that this was supposed to be a celebration of sparkling wines but three courses were served with something else. One course was served with a white sherry that had the wonderful heady bouquet of sherry but the finish of retsina (which smells like turpentine). I don’t think any of us enjoyed that one. another course was served with Sapporo. Yes, Japanese beer. I could kinda buy that it was sparkling, but it didn’t pair well with the dish. And the final drink debacle was a concoction made of Meyers’s dark rum infused with sarsaparilla and vanilla, then topped with Mug root beer. It was served warm, which only enhanced the sweetness and cloying flavor. I saw another table ask for a second round, but only two at our table finished it.

Overall it was a delightful evening because of the company and I truly hope to spend more time with my table mates. When I’m paying $100 for dinner I expect to be wowed, and I simply wasn’t. I enjoyed every dish Sean Brock prepared and the service was stellar. The drink pairings were a rollercoaster, as was the food from the guest chefs. I won't be making a pilgrimage to Town House any time soon, and I'm not so sure I want to bother with Alinea, Tru or Charlie Trotter's, either.

But it did rekindle my hope that perhaps McCrady's can return to its former glory in my eyes.

Why I'm done with PostSecret

2008-11-23T20:14:00.006-05:00

I have been a fan of PostSecret since it launched in 2005. Every Sunday one of the first things I do is open up the site to read the new secrets. The point of PostSecret is for people to send in postcards that reveal a secret that nobody else knows. Since its inception some of the secrets have been funny or strange, and many have included disturbing personal experiences about trauma and abuse. Some have included PG-13 verging on R rated imagery.

For the last few months some of them are simply statements of fact about how someone feels. These have always annoyed me since they aren't really secrets, but none have really bothered me. Today the moderator of PostSecret, Frank Warren, posted what I felt was a horribly gruesome image, and the note from the submitter simply said it was disturbing. That was obvious and not a secret so Frank posted it for shock value, not because it was a compelling secret.

There is a separate site called the PostSecret Community, also moderated by Frank, where people comment on the week's secrets or share secrets of their own. Very quickly the disturbing image blew up with dozens of complaints and a mostly negative "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" reaction.

As far as I can tell Frank never participated in any of those discussions, but he did send an e-mail to all the members of this site asking:

Have you seen the secret and postcard that literally made one woman vomit?

For me the whole thing ran off the rails today. A non-secret was posted purely for shock value, then Frank spammed the entire PostSecret Community to make sure the flames are sufficiently fanned. I'm disgusted by the image as well as the fact that it was obviously posted for sensationalism, and by how Frank has handled the uproar. I won't be visiting PostSecret again.

You will notice that I have not provided any links to PostSecret. This is for two reasons. First, I don't want anyone to follow the link and see the image and blame me for their trauma. I'm nauseated every time I think of it. Seriously. Second, I don't want to drive traffic to any of the PostSecret sites. If you're determined to know what all the fuss is about I'm sure you'll find it without my help.

For anyone who wants to comment and tell me I'm overreacting, don't. I have a right to set the boundaries I find appropriate. This crosses several of them.

I need cordless phone recommendations

2008-11-20T09:16:00.005-05:00

I think I saw someone else post this a while back but I can't find it now. I've been trying to find decent cordless phones to use at home for years. All the 2.4Ghz and 5.8Ghz I have tried have poor range, poor reception, or poor volume. I have purchased various Sony, AT&T, VTech, Uniden and Panasonic phones through the years and pretty much all of them have had issues. Most recently I bought a VTech IA5824 5.8Ghz phone, set it up last night, and I only get about a 15 foot range before the static starts.

Can anyone recommend a cordless phone that actually works well?

business insurance and personal effects

2008-11-20T08:41:00.004-05:00

I'll be posting some follow ups in the next few weeks regarding our progress in replacing equipment and moving to a fully virtualized infrastructure. We have been wrapping up our dealings with the insurance companies, and something very interesting came to light.

Last year we installed centralized network printers and copiers, and as individual desktop printers died we did not replace them. There were some people who insisted on a printer on their desk and brought in their own. The company did not purchase them or provide supplies other than paper and IT refused to support them, but management allowed it.

You can probably see where this is going...

We learned that personal effects coverage is an add-on for business insurance policies. In our case the maximum amount was $50 per employee. Nearly all the employees who had personal printers are claiming they cost $100 or more and they were very upset by this. While I feel badly that they lost personal equipment it really drove home our policy of not bringing it in to work in the first place.

So if you have something expensive (that you own) or of personal value at work, take it home or get comfortable with the idea that . All it takes is a faulty heating or air conditioning unit and it could be gone in seconds.

It's sad that it takes something like this to get management on board with IT policies, and it also made me aware of another piece of the DR puzzle that I had not even considered.

It's official - no Lotusphere for me

2008-11-13T08:30:00.003-05:00

I submitted my ILUG session for consideration and it was not accepted. Therefore I will not be attending Lotusphere 2009. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted, and I'm truly jealous of anyone else who is going to Lotusphere.

I do intend to still try to coordinate the Over The Rainbow group. It wasn't my idea in the first place, so there is no reason to should die just because I'm not there.

Lotusphere Over The Rainbow - 2009 edition

2008-11-03T14:34:00.003-05:00

For the past couple of years there has been an Over The Rainbow group at Lotusphere to help GLBT attendees find other like-minded people. It's back again for 2009, this time as a Facebook group. Consider this your invitation to join in the festivities. Last year we got together for dinner on Saturday night, then again for drinks one night and met up to do the rides together on Wednesday night. I'll be trying to set up some more concrete events for Lotusphere 2009, but I wanted to get the word out early.

Republican Principles

2008-10-31T13:20:00.002-04:00

I've steered clear of the current political mess, but this is just too good to pass up. I've never heard of salon.com and I came across this in my marumushi news map and it is an excellent read.

Republican Principles, from the GOP website:

I'm a Republican Because...

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person's dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.

I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations, and that the best government is that which governs least.

I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

I BELIEVE Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

FINALLY, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

Does the Republican Party really believe that? I think the evidence would point to a resounding "no". And now the funny part...

2008 Republican Principles (Chuck Lasker's perception)

I'm a Republican Because...

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies in military might and God's help, as long as we do His Will and make this a Christian nation while supporting Israel until the day Israel is destroyed and Jesus returns.

I BELIEVE that each person's dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored unless we can encroach on these in the name of safety or other short-term excuse that the idiot populace will accept.

I BELIEVE in special rights and justice for Republican politicians, Christian leaders, the extremely wealthy and lobbyists, regardless of cause as long as the money is right.

I BELIEVE in equal justice and equal opportunity for everyone else, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability, unless we're talking about lazy black people, illegal Mexican people, uneducated women, homosexuals, or, if justice and opportunity for disabled people costs businesses money.

I BELIEVE large corporate profits, stock market wealth and protection of monopolies will bring this nation opportunity, economic growth and increased prosperity for the upper one percent of incomes.

I BELIEVE government should talk about fiscal responsibility and allowing individuals to keep more of the money they earn, but should actually borrow and spend recklessly and place the full burden of taxes on those with lower and lower incomes and future generations for short term gain. Any taxes on the rich are socialism.

I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to advance Christian evangelical morals through tax code, control of education, judicial appointments, privatization and the proper Christian philosophies of wealth and warfare.

I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government run by those who know best, and all means necessary must be used to work against poll access by the lowly, the lazy, the stupid and the poor.

I BELIEVE the Republican Party was founded by America's founding fathers to fight Roe vs. Wade, to protect "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance they wrote, to put "Under God" on our money, and to keep the Ten Commandments in our Courtrooms and government buildings.

I BELIEVE that we must never speak to our enemies, unless they're very big enemies with money and cheap labor agreements.

I BELIEVE in free trade with lower nations that provide cheap labor and higher profits and any attempt to induce labor or environmental equality on these nations is liberalism.

I BELIEVE you're either with us or you're with the terrorists. If you do not have the same beliefs we do, you are un-American and worthy of derision, abuse, vandalism, placement on no-fly lists and investigation.

I BELIEVE anyone labeled "liberal" is a socialist, which is actually communist, which is actually Marxist, which means evil.

I BELIEVE abortion must be made illegal, but stopping extramarital and teen sex is more important than reducing abortion rates, so I support abstinence-only education, blocking of access to birth control by teens, and punishing poor people for being lazy by blocking access to health care to those women who want to keep their babies.

I BELIEVE Americans must retain only those principles that we consider important while developing new and innovative ideas for bringing power to a Republican executive branch and reducing the power of the annoying Congress and the activist Courts.

I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights to good Americans only, and to create international opportunities throughout the world to develop inexpensive manufacturing for American companies.

FINALLY, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government, and I believe we must use any means necessary, including lies, smears, voter suppression, federal police, the Secret Service, warrantless spying, even the destruction of lives and reputations, to progress our God-endorsed agenda.

I don't know who Chuck Lasker is and I don't know the political leanings of salon.com. I think this is hysterical. The entire article is quite sobering, though. The Republican Party has shifted its ideals since Reagan started making changes, and now bears little resemblance to the party it was 30 years ago. Bush II's regime is almost diametrically opposite where the party started.

New feature for my blog: translations

2008-10-23T00:05:00.003-04:00

One of the suggestions at the blogging BOF at Lotusphere 2008 was to offer translations of your blog to encourage non-English speakers to read it. It's been on my list but never bothered to invest any time in it.

Ironically, I was reading a blog this evening and was a frustrated that it was only available in French. I looked around the page and noticed a block with language translations. When I clicked it I was surprised to see it was using a Google translator, which I didn't know about. I pulled apart the URL and very quickly had translated my blog into the most common languages spoken by my readers, then added them to a block on the left.

If you can spare a few minutes I'm sure your readers would appreciate it if you did the same thing. :-)

How to print full pages of records in Microsoft Access

2008-10-21T15:53:00.001-04:00

Recently I was recreating a government form in Access that included some columns with background colors. Each row was a fixed height, and if a page was not completely filled there was a large blank space before the page footer printed. I needed a way to print extra records to fill the empty space. I did some digging and came across some sample reports from ACG Soft that included one for duplicating Detail rows. There wasn’t any documentation or comments in the code so I had to pull it apart and figure it out myself. It turns out it is surprisingly simple.

Count how many records fit on a page. No programming involved in this and it should be a constant value.
Count the number of records you will be printing.
As records are printed compare how many have been printed with how many will fit on a page.
When you run out of records to print, stop Access from advancing to the next record until you reach the number that will fit on a page.

Here is the code I ended up using.


Option Compare Database
Option Explicit

Dim RowCounter As Integer
Dim TotalRows As Integer

Const MAX_ROWS As Byte = 17
Const COLOR_WHITE = &HFFFFFF
Const COLOR_BLACK = &H0

Private Sub Report_Open(Cancel As Integer)
  Dim ThisRecordset As DAO.Recordset

  'Get the number of rows to be printed
  Set ThisRecordset = CurrentDb.OpenRecordset("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM [qFuel Log Summary by State2]")

  If Not ThisRecordset.EOF And Not ThisRecordset.BOF Then
      TotalRows = ThisRecordset.Fields(0)
  End If

  Set ThisRecordset = Nothing
End Sub

Private Sub PageHeader_Format(Cancel As Integer, FormatCount As Integer)
  'Reset the row counter for each page
  RowCounter = 0

  'When you hit a new page decrease the total rows to be printed by one page worth
  If Report.Page > 1 Then
      TotalRows = TotalRows - MAX_ROWS
  End If

  'Make sure the text is visible
  Call SetForegroundColor(COLOR_BLACK)
End Sub

Private Sub Detail_Format(Cancel As Integer, FormatCount As Integer)
  'This event is called every time a record prints.

  'Keep track of the number of rows printed
  RowCounter = RowCounter + 1

  If RowCounter < TotalRows Then
      'There is still more to do
      Exit Sub
  Else
      'Make sure you do not overfill a page
      If RowCounter < MAX_ROWS Then
          'This keeps Access from advancing to the EOF marker and printing the Page Footer
          Me.NextRecord = False
      End If
  End If

  'Since you are not advancing to a blank record you have to hide
  '  the text so it does not print.
  If RowCounter > TotalRows Then
      Call SetForegroundColor(COLOR_WHITE)
  End If

End Sub

Private Sub SetForegroundColor(Color As Long)
  Select Case Color
  Case COLOR_BLACK
      Me!St.ForeColor = Color
      Me!Mileage.ForeColor = Color
      Me!Mileage2.ForeColor = Color
      Me![Taxable Gallons].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Tax Pd Gal].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Net Gal].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Tax Rate].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Tax].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Surcharge Rate].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Surcharge].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Net Tax].ForeColor = Color
      Me![NetTax2].ForeColor = Color
  Case COLOR_WHITE
      'Some of the columns use a colored background so I can't just set
      '  all the foreground text to white.  Also, some of the textboxes
      '  have a transparent background and others have white, so I can't
      '  just set all the foreground text the same color as the background.
      Me!St.ForeColor = Me!St.BackColor
      Me!Mileage.ForeColor = Me!Mileage.BackColor
      Me!Mileage2.ForeColor = Me!Mileage2.BackColor
      Me![Taxable Gallons].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Tax Pd Gal].ForeColor = Me![Tax Pd Gal].BackColor
      Me![Net Gal].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Tax Rate].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Tax].ForeColor = Me![Tax].BackColor
      Me![Surcharge Rate].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Surcharge].ForeColor = Color
      Me![Net Tax].ForeColor = Color
      Me![NetTax2].ForeColor = Color
  End Select
End Sub

This LotusScript was converted to HTML using the ls2html routine,
provided by Julian Robichaux at nsftools.com.