tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43649791407498214582026-03-26T20:36:12.209-04:00A blog about IT concepts and products...for IT support professionals, by an IT professional. Also some product reviews thrown in the mix.Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-28761693549370344982021-07-11T15:19:00.000-04:002021-07-11T15:19:26.581-04:00

Amongst technology experts, Murphy is someone we all try to avoid.  Murphy's Law states "Anything that can go wrong, will".  Every IT person has met Murphy, regardless of how hard they try to not meet him.  We try to avoid Murphy through many methods, some work and some don't.  Recently I've been doing a lot of research on a certain type of historical events that should give

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-46132733867617398162019-04-26T07:56:00.001-04:002019-04-26T07:56:52.120-04:00

Due to popular demand, I made a video about the nightlights I made inside the crown molding in our new nursery and bathrooms.  I cover all the parts and pieces and how I did it all.  Check it out! The video is hosted on YouTube.  If you like it, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel! Here's the part list to make all of this work: From better-like on eBay:

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-76608921178730316182018-11-17T14:31:00.000-05:002018-11-17T14:31:37.713-05:00

I've been working on our new home office, and part of the design includes a lot of electronic bells and whistles (shocker, right?)  Well all those bells and whistles need a way to control them.  I already use OpenHAB for my home automation, so it seemed like a good fit to expand that into the office.  However the documentation out on the InterWebs for integrating IR devices via

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-78123737554918983292017-08-01T13:27:00.000-04:002017-08-01T13:27:07.572-04:00

As I'm working through my ZoneMinder setup (and more posts are coming), I ran into a capacity issue.  I thought it'd be a good time to do a bake-off between ZoneMinder on Ubuntu/Linux vs FreeBSD.  This wasn't as easy as I thought... To perform what I thought would be a quick test, I configured an additional Ubuntu ZoneMinder server and setup the multi-server feature.  Worked like

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-68529167717371433652017-07-28T08:00:00.000-04:002017-07-28T08:00:08.682-04:00

VPNs are great things.  They allow secure remote access to your resources, either for your home or your job.  At work the solution is simple to use because typically someone else sets it up for you.  But if you are that person that does the setup (either at home or if you're the "network person" at work), VPNs can be complex.  I'd like to cover a quick thing to watch out for

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-68834727337578658682017-07-27T08:00:00.000-04:002017-07-27T08:00:39.430-04:00

So far I've been talking about how to configure ZoneMinder to do certain things.  I haven't said anything about what the ZoneMinder topology looks like.  ZoneMinder can be setup many different ways, but I'm going to stick to the simplest way for the purposes of this post. Simply put, ZoneMinder needs: A server to run ZoneMinder on A camera to feed images to ZoneMinder from A network

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-45595447181711932002017-07-26T08:00:00.000-04:002017-07-26T17:10:56.232-04:00

ZoneMinder "out of the box" is setup with the most basic of features configured and simple to get going.  And security is never simple, so by default ZoneMinder is configured to be wide open to anyone who accesses the URL.  As I'm sure you've probably noticed.  In this post I'll cover some of the basics of ZoneMinder authentication, as well as some additional ideas on securing a

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-46391399530233609602017-07-25T08:00:00.000-04:002017-07-26T17:11:06.939-04:00

My saga with ZoneMinder continues!  In this post I'll discuss adding in my first camera / zone and testing in the web UI on a PC.  In theory at the end of this post there will be a camera setup that will capture motion events. I'll do a post in the future on my entire infrastructure setup, but for the purposes of this post, here's what you need to know about in terms of what I'll be

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-57605588001483158602017-07-24T12:52:00.000-04:002017-07-26T17:11:18.631-04:00

For the past several years, I've been using Milestone Systems XProtect as my NVR software package for my security cameras at home.  Recently I've ran up against the limits of the free version (8 cameras).  In looking at what it would cost me to keep up to date with XProtect, it's become obvious that it's not possible for me to continue using XProtect.  Further, XProtect is quite

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-35599505857438232842015-07-02T07:53:00.001-04:002015-07-02T07:53:04.646-04:00

As you may have noticed from my last post, I just got back from a SCUBA vacation.  And while on that trip Carissa and I completed several PADI Specialty Diver classes though our local shop (SeaVentures).  One of the ones that I did (and Carissa already had) was the Night Diver Specialty.  During the class you always get asked "so why do you want to complete the X

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-71137103038848124702015-06-30T20:00:00.000-04:002015-06-30T20:00:01.102-04:00

Carissa and I just spent a a week at Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire on a trip organized by our local dive shop, Seaventures in Roswell GA.  Other then me getting ill on the 2nd day, we had a great time and will do it again.  There are a lot of oddball reviews out there on Buddy's, so I wanted to write my own to throw my $0.02 into the mix. First of all, getting to Bonaire may not be easy

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-15074959846867526422015-06-17T11:41:00.002-04:002015-06-20T13:22:32.296-04:00

Why no recent posts?  Other then life getting insane recently, my wife and I took our brand new shiny GoPro Hero 4 Black to Key Largo, FL on a diving trip to cut out teeth on it.  We wanted experience playing with it before traveling internationally with it, in case we discovered we needed some random accessory.  What started with the best of intentions lasted about 4 minutes and

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-18029046960539229002015-03-29T11:20:00.004-04:002015-03-29T11:20:40.159-04:00

Continuing from my First Impressions post about the Go Pro Hero 4 Black Edition, the next part of my review is battery life.  When shopping and researching for the Hero 4 Black I found all sorts of data about the Hero 3+, but not much on the Hero 4.  Not to mention how the TouchBac REALLY effects battery life, real numbers around the BatteryBac, if video type effects life...any real

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-80708858437601162482015-03-27T04:16:00.001-04:002015-03-29T10:09:56.083-04:00

While shopping to build my GoPro "kit", something I was having a hard time with was determining file sizes for the different video formats.  I wanted to be able to say "I need X GB of space for 60 minutes of video at 4K".  I found anecdotal evidence, but nothing real.  So, as soon as my Hero4 Black came, I started collecting data to figure out how many memory cards I

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-58070993826385014312015-03-18T19:24:00.000-04:002015-03-29T10:10:13.243-04:00

I'm going to try something different here, with a gear review for something that is not directly IT related.  But since I can't find many posts with the details I was looking for when I was shopping, I'm going to write a series of articles about this handy piece of tech: the GoPro Hero 4 Black edition camera. The camera itself seems quite delicate when it's not in a housing.  For

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-4637122716242154692013-02-26T20:22:00.002-05:002013-02-26T20:22:49.574-05:00

This is just a quick apology from me to you, my readers.  With the holidays, looking for a new home, and everything else that has been going on in my life recently, I've been unable to keep up with posting.  New posts are coming soon!  Stay tuned!

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-9441715543465276102012-12-03T07:00:00.000-05:002012-12-03T07:00:08.193-05:00

In the event of a major event, warranties will not do much for you.  They are good to have during your typical daily operations, covering part failures as needed with as little as one day turn around time, but when things go really bad you can't count on them.  As was the case with Hurricane / "Superstorm" Sandy, transportation was severely impacted and nothing was getting

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-32220833579197788072012-12-01T07:00:00.000-05:002012-12-01T07:00:14.358-05:00

Documentation is something that every IT professional should do, but it's something that none of us really do.  There's lots of reasons for this: lack of time, environment changes too fast, lack of desire.  Whatever the reason is, there's no reason good enough to not document your network.  And in emergencies, documentation is invaluable. When everything on your network is

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-5506314281388575722012-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:002012-11-28T07:00:09.502-05:00

While it's a really nice feature to have on a day to day basis, having remote access to your servers and network gear during a crisis / emergency is vital.  Especially considering that you or your staff may not be able to even get into the data center.  These remote access cards or devices are typically not that expensive, and can really save your skin if it comes to it.  The more

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-91320783263619958752012-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:002012-11-21T07:00:09.695-05:00

The go-to choice for most IT people has typically been APC when it comes to power equipment.  It's like the saying "No one was ever fired for buying Cisco".  A little while ago I needed a new UPS for some workstations, so I decided to reach out of my comfort zone and try a UPS from CyberPower (http://www.cyberpowersystems.com).  I was pleasantly surprised with it,

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-7048226912929409982012-11-19T07:00:00.000-05:002012-11-19T07:00:06.845-05:00

In light of the recent Hurricane Sandy events, it may be a good time to bring up the "what if" of major catastrophes.  I'm no expert in this field, but I've done my share of recovery and preparedness planning.  I'm going to present some of the things to consider and plan for, in the event that your data center & network gets seriously damaged.  This is NOT a "preppers"

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-87461432151680890712012-11-17T12:04:00.000-05:002012-11-17T12:04:42.597-05:00

So this is going to be a short and quick article while I'm working on a longer one.  There's something no server room or data center should be without, and it's not what you think: a cordless phone.  This simple item can make your life in there much easier and help for lots of reasons. Sure, cell phones work, but I can't tell you the number of times I've heard "there is no service in

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-75633257810958388942012-11-13T19:03:00.000-05:002012-11-14T15:59:48.042-05:00

Everywhere we look these days, something is wireless.  It started with an infrared remote control, and now we can send vast amounts of data at incredible speeds.  The latest wireless innovation I'm taken aback by is AirFiber from Ubiquiti Networks, which allows a point to point wireless link at over 1.4Gbps for under $3000!  With all these wireless solutions around, why do we even

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-68698098154003677162012-10-26T07:00:00.000-04:002012-10-26T07:00:00.623-04:00

Remember when LCD projectors came out and replaced transparencies and overhead projectors?  Presentations were reshaped in awesome ways.  These days almost anyone can afford an projector for their computer.  And when designing conference rooms and classrooms, building them into the design is becoming more and more common.  Up until recently, computers had to have a

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364979140749821458.post-22086348216554560182012-10-19T07:00:00.000-04:002012-10-19T07:00:10.650-04:00

Helping someone with a problem can be very rewarding.  That's why some people love teaching.  In an IT department, we have to help people all the time.  It's what we do.  Whether you're interacting directly with the customer, or working on a system the customer uses, you're helping someone.  In this final part of my "Customer Service Trilogy", I'm going to focus on the

Overworked IT Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847432534703709341noreply@blogger.com0