From the Holstee Manifesto...
"...Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them. So go out and start creating."
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Seems Confusing To Call It the "Second First Friday Salon." Hmm?
I've decided I want to start an art club. It turns out I'm not getting enough time sipping shiraz out of a paper cup and smoking a filterless cigarette that gently litters light grey ashes across my "Hades midnight" (black) organic cotton turtleneck. Life is too short.
Ok, actually it's not really an art club, it's an artists' club. Yep, I've been hitting the Seth Godin kool-aid again.
The idea, in it's beta version was released to the public during a delightful evening of beers, food, and conversation with two of the most genuine and admirable guys I know: Mike Proctor and Steve Hathaway. The seed for that idea was planted by a lunch outing with my ex-boss and friend, Mark Swift just hours prior. My brain-to-mouth turn-time is amazing, eh? "Fuck it, Ship it!"
Initially, the idea was to form a monthly gathering of friends....just an assortment of the interesting, impressive, admirable, wickedly smart people that I've been blessed to have stumble on to my life's stage. Poor bastards!
You see, after returning from Mexico (and accentuated by our too-brief visit back to Oaxaca in January), Meredith and I have felt the withdrawal of no more fiestas de amigos. In Mexico we spent a good chunk of time in each month just hanging out with our friends - talking, making/enjoying music, drinking, laughing and saying God-only-knows-what to them in our half-assed Spanish. Yet, here in the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" we have spent less time over seven months than we did there in any given month doing anything similar to those Mexican social gatherings. HELL, I spend more time in my fucking car in traffic each week than I do truly, actively "in" my friendships!!
Perhaps, I could see more of my friends (and they could see more of each other) if I made it a bit more "scheduled." Nothing more formal than a happy-hour after work would at least be something...if not the first step towards something even more "real," and intimate, and meaningful.
Many years ago....ok, MANY, MANY years ago, my girlfriend and I started something similar. Most of us were in our twenties and dispersing geographically across the metro area. News was slow to make the rounds. Job changes and relationship changes could happen and once-close friends might found out only months later via some shared contact.
This wasn't just pre-Facebook. This was pre-(public)-Internet, BITCHES!!!!
We started the First Friday social club and convinced enough people to join us for cocktails and appetizers and, most importantly, conversation, on that designated evening each month. We emphasized it wasn't a party or a dining event. It was a chance to catch up with a special group of people.....friends who had many years together.....friends who were now noticing that life was pulling them apart and the bonds would wither without some effort.
Eventually, we started rotating the location among the homes of the participants. And it grew. And, I believe, it became a meaningful event to all of us. Time marched on and more changes came and went just like the seasons.
So, I want to do it again. I want to spend more time hearing the thoughts and laughter of the clever, funny people I know. I want to see what happens when those who don't know each other make acquaintances. I want to share more of the nifty, amazing, awe-inspiring, silly, inspiring things I stumble across. And I want my friends to do the same so we can determine if maybe these types of honest intimacy are the true jewels we ignore in the crazy-lust of consumerism that seems to be America. Thus, it's time for a new salon!
More details to follow. In the meantime, Id love to hear your thoughts on starting, conducting or nurturing the growth of a salon? Care to join us?
Ok, actually it's not really an art club, it's an artists' club. Yep, I've been hitting the Seth Godin kool-aid again.
The idea, in it's beta version was released to the public during a delightful evening of beers, food, and conversation with two of the most genuine and admirable guys I know: Mike Proctor and Steve Hathaway. The seed for that idea was planted by a lunch outing with my ex-boss and friend, Mark Swift just hours prior. My brain-to-mouth turn-time is amazing, eh? "Fuck it, Ship it!"
Initially, the idea was to form a monthly gathering of friends....just an assortment of the interesting, impressive, admirable, wickedly smart people that I've been blessed to have stumble on to my life's stage. Poor bastards!
You see, after returning from Mexico (and accentuated by our too-brief visit back to Oaxaca in January), Meredith and I have felt the withdrawal of no more fiestas de amigos. In Mexico we spent a good chunk of time in each month just hanging out with our friends - talking, making/enjoying music, drinking, laughing and saying God-only-knows-what to them in our half-assed Spanish. Yet, here in the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" we have spent less time over seven months than we did there in any given month doing anything similar to those Mexican social gatherings. HELL, I spend more time in my fucking car in traffic each week than I do truly, actively "in" my friendships!!
Perhaps, I could see more of my friends (and they could see more of each other) if I made it a bit more "scheduled." Nothing more formal than a happy-hour after work would at least be something...if not the first step towards something even more "real," and intimate, and meaningful.
Many years ago....ok, MANY, MANY years ago, my girlfriend and I started something similar. Most of us were in our twenties and dispersing geographically across the metro area. News was slow to make the rounds. Job changes and relationship changes could happen and once-close friends might found out only months later via some shared contact.
This wasn't just pre-Facebook. This was pre-(public)-Internet, BITCHES!!!!
We started the First Friday social club and convinced enough people to join us for cocktails and appetizers and, most importantly, conversation, on that designated evening each month. We emphasized it wasn't a party or a dining event. It was a chance to catch up with a special group of people.....friends who had many years together.....friends who were now noticing that life was pulling them apart and the bonds would wither without some effort.
Eventually, we started rotating the location among the homes of the participants. And it grew. And, I believe, it became a meaningful event to all of us. Time marched on and more changes came and went just like the seasons.
So, I want to do it again. I want to spend more time hearing the thoughts and laughter of the clever, funny people I know. I want to see what happens when those who don't know each other make acquaintances. I want to share more of the nifty, amazing, awe-inspiring, silly, inspiring things I stumble across. And I want my friends to do the same so we can determine if maybe these types of honest intimacy are the true jewels we ignore in the crazy-lust of consumerism that seems to be America. Thus, it's time for a new salon!
More details to follow. In the meantime, Id love to hear your thoughts on starting, conducting or nurturing the growth of a salon? Care to join us?
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Employee Mindset for an Edge-of-change Company
My boss recently shared an interesting item with the team.
How does a cutting-edge company, or one that finds itself competing in a realm that is on the edge of (industry) change, hire and keep the right kind of employees? Here is how NetFlix explains its thinking regarding that challenge:
http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664
If you want more context on this PowerPoint presentation, here is a Harvard Business Review article (registration required):
http://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr/ar/1
I LOVED this! Right on, NetFlix!
How does a cutting-edge company, or one that finds itself competing in a realm that is on the edge of (industry) change, hire and keep the right kind of employees? Here is how NetFlix explains its thinking regarding that challenge:
http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664
If you want more context on this PowerPoint presentation, here is a Harvard Business Review article (registration required):
http://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr/ar/1
I LOVED this! Right on, NetFlix!
Monday, February 17, 2014
SnapTimer for Better Time Tracking
I've yet to meet
a consultant who LIKES keeping track of their time (billable or non), but most
I've met like to get paid. So, doing your invoicing is (sadly still) part of
the job.
I have found
that I can significantly decrease the time I spend on doing my weekly timecard,
increase the accuracy of my time entries, AND provide better received billing
notes for client invoices. To do this requires a bit of technohelp…at least for
me.
I use SnapTimer
(freeware) from Dan Hersam (http://dan.hersam.com/software/snaptimer/
) to keep a countdown timer running on my desktop and to automatically pop up a
simple text file log every 30 minutes.
I have
configured the SnapTimer to launch automatically so I always have it up on my
desktop. My configuration causes it to countdown from 30 minutes and thing
start ringing a chime and then launching a Notepad instance with a datetime
stamp prepopulated. I then record what I
did (or didn’t do) for the last 30 minutes. I try to put this in a format that
carries easily into the billing system. For
example, here is this morning’s entries….
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon 02/17/2014
08:15 AM
..
Arrive 6:45
Admin = 1.5Hrs = Relocate
desk, minor chatter with Mr.X
------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon 02/17/2014
08:30 AM
..
Admin = 0.25 Hrs = email
------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon 02/17/2014
09:01 AM
..
Training = 0.50 Hrs = Research AngularJS
------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon 02/17/2014
09:32 AM
..
Admin = 0.50 Hrs = email
and NetFlix slidedeck
------------------------------------------------------------------
I’ve provided a
zip file with all the goodies you’ll need but you’ll need to configure it for
your system/setup:
Note that SnapTimer is a
standalone .EXE so you can run it from a USB key or whatever. I myself locate the SnapTimer folder at:
C:\Program Files\SnapTimer
Then, for
various personal preferences (e.g. perms on the Program Files folder, my SOP
for my BAT files), I put the two supplemental .BAT and .LOG files into a folder
in my Documents folder. I then configure
the SnapTimer (after you read its ReadMe and launch it) to launch my .BAT file
at the end of the countdown. I then
configure the .BAT file to point to the .LOG file (path).
Finally,
remember to put a shortcut to the SnapTimer.EXE in your StartUp folder for
autolaunch at login.
Holler if you’d
like help with the initial configuration. Plus, please share your thoughts and
suggestions for more efficient time tracking (with or without SnapTimer).
Saturday, December 7, 2013
UPS Can Only Carry So Much (Without Help From You)
I have a love/hate relationship with SharePoint's User Profile Synchronization Service App. I LOVE it when I get it working but I hate it when the deployment doesn't work as MS would like you to believe it should go. I was going to say "doesn't go as expected" but anybody who has wrestled with UPS knows that it's almost expected it won't work. In all fairness, the more I've done it, the better my success rate (our of the gate) has become. It really comes down to be meticulous about doing each and every step along the way. See this earlier post for the references you MUST read when messing with the full FIM-based UPS deployment/configuration/re-configuration:
http://derondilger.blogspot.com/2013/05/configuring-sharepoint-2010-ups-these.html
Anyway, here is another reference I also spend more time looking for than I should. Thus this entry so I have my scratchpad to refer to.
When trying to determine which AD/User object properties get imported or can be set for bi-directional sync (using full FIM-based UPS, not the 2007/2013 AD-basic one-way-only sync!), this is the reference:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh147510(v=office.14).aspx
So when certain fields in your users' profiles aren't populating and you've confirmed they ARE filled in on the user object in your domain's Active Directory, make sure that this list confirms they actually are carried over into SharePoint profiles by UPS.
http://derondilger.blogspot.com/2013/05/configuring-sharepoint-2010-ups-these.html
Anyway, here is another reference I also spend more time looking for than I should. Thus this entry so I have my scratchpad to refer to.
When trying to determine which AD/User object properties get imported or can be set for bi-directional sync (using full FIM-based UPS, not the 2007/2013 AD-basic one-way-only sync!), this is the reference:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh147510(v=office.14).aspx
So when certain fields in your users' profiles aren't populating and you've confirmed they ARE filled in on the user object in your domain's Active Directory, make sure that this list confirms they actually are carried over into SharePoint profiles by UPS.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Erratic or Totally Missing eMails with Windows SMTP Server
This week I was doing configuration work on a client's new SharePoint Server 2010 farm to get inbound & outbound mail set-up. This project had a slightly "one-off" requirement in that their business uses Microsoft Office365 for their employees' email and Office suite. Ergo, there is no on-premise Exchange or other mail server and instead we needed to set-up SharePoint to route mail via their mail domain inside Office365. Fortunately, John White has two great blog posts covering this topology (though it references Office365's "predecessor," BPOS):
http://whitepages.unlimitedviz.com/2010/09/integrating-sharepoint-on-premises-with-bpos-and-exchange-online-part-1outbound/
http://whitepages.unlimitedviz.com/2010/10/integrating-sharepoint-on-premises-with-bpos-and-exchange-online-part-2-inbound/
I had the configuration done and had started unit testing the setup. Outbound email was working fine but as we completed more and more inbound email tests and confirmed the SharePoint site's mail-enabled document library was getting the emails it became apparent that not ALL emails were making it in. Time to put on the troubleshooting faceshield, crap-waders, leather gloves and get out the proper tools for computer troubleshooting:
Spam filter folders/logs showed nothing amiss. Examination of the SMTP log files showed that each test message resulted in the Office365 mailservers connecting to our SMTP server and seemingly delivering the email messages successfully (e.g. 200-series status codes, bytes-transferred relative to the test email's attachments). No error messages could be found in the SharePoint ULS nor the Windows Event Logs. Then, looking in the SMTP server's Badmail folder (default location is C:\inetpub\mailroot\Badmail) we discovered where all the missing emails were going.
For each missing message sent, three files existed in the Badmail folder; a .bad, a .bdr, and a .bdp.
This MS KB article describes the three file types in more detail: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306043
But looking inside the .bdr files for an explanation gave only the following error information:
Sadly, that is a fairly generic error message and Googling it lead to many false leads (including the KB article above).
Over the course of several days we sent multiple messages from different email addresses (e.g. hotmail, gmail, internal to the client, etc.) and the puzzle only grew. There seemed to be no absolute pattern to the failures. E.g. attachment v. no attachment, type of attachment, size of attachment, time of day, one sender v. another, one email service v. another, text in the body of the message. Eventually, though, it started to seem that emails sent via corporate email servers (e.g. our Exchange server) had a higher failure rate.
So here is the short and skinny of it all: The default setting in the MS SMTP Service (for IIS7.5...and probably all the way back to the first offering of SMTP Server) for the Maximum Hop Count is 15.
You can see that setting at the top of the Advanced Delivery tab as screenshotted in John White's coverage of SMTP configuration in his blog post (see URL above). Ignore his red circle around the Smart host parameter.....
In the old days, that was probably a pretty generous limit. But, now days with outbound & inbound spam filters, corporate IP trackers, and global Web mail-provider networks (e.g. GMail), it seems it isn't that hard to have your email message passed through 15 machines on its zippity-do-da way around the big ole Internet as it goes to a server across the street from your office. Depending on the gods-of-TCP/IP-routing and the current sum of the airspeed of all airborne English Sparrows, test messages that seemed to be identical tests resulted in different pass/fail results as some messages took slightly different (i.e. longer routes, they'd exceed the allowed Maximum Hop Count and the SMTP Server would do as configured and shove them into the Badmail folder.
Raising the Maximum Hop Count to a more generous 99 (max allowed value is 255) solved the erratic-emails problem.
One other thing to note while your in the SMTP configuration is to ensure the message size and session limits on the Messages tab reflect modern email expectations...especially for a SharePoint server that will be accepting documents into a document library via email. If nothing else, raise the "Limit Message Size To (KB)" parameter from its default value to something with real MB meat - e.g. 51200KB = 50MB (but don't forget that the default IIS & SharePoint file upload limits might still need to be addressed for your document library's needs, as well).
Sadly, the server never seemed to use the email address in the "Send Copy of Non-Delivery Report to:" parameter (aka Postmaster) to send an email notifying a human of the non-deliverable emails during our testing.
Oh, and here is a nice single-page overview sheet of the MS SMTP Server settings: http://www.tech-faq.com/understanding-and-managing-smtp-virtual-servers.html
http://whitepages.unlimitedviz.com/2010/09/integrating-sharepoint-on-premises-with-bpos-and-exchange-online-part-1outbound/
http://whitepages.unlimitedviz.com/2010/10/integrating-sharepoint-on-premises-with-bpos-and-exchange-online-part-2-inbound/
I had the configuration done and had started unit testing the setup. Outbound email was working fine but as we completed more and more inbound email tests and confirmed the SharePoint site's mail-enabled document library was getting the emails it became apparent that not ALL emails were making it in. Time to put on the troubleshooting faceshield, crap-waders, leather gloves and get out the proper tools for computer troubleshooting:
Spam filter folders/logs showed nothing amiss. Examination of the SMTP log files showed that each test message resulted in the Office365 mailservers connecting to our SMTP server and seemingly delivering the email messages successfully (e.g. 200-series status codes, bytes-transferred relative to the test email's attachments). No error messages could be found in the SharePoint ULS nor the Windows Event Logs. Then, looking in the SMTP server's Badmail folder (default location is C:\inetpub\mailroot\Badmail) we discovered where all the missing emails were going.
For each missing message sent, three files existed in the Badmail folder; a .bad, a .bdr, and a .bdp.
This MS KB article describes the three file types in more detail: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306043
But looking inside the .bdr files for an explanation gave only the following error information:
Unable to deliver this message because the follow error was encountered:This message is a delivery status notification that cannot be delivered.The specific error code was 0xC00402C7.
Sadly, that is a fairly generic error message and Googling it lead to many false leads (including the KB article above).
Over the course of several days we sent multiple messages from different email addresses (e.g. hotmail, gmail, internal to the client, etc.) and the puzzle only grew. There seemed to be no absolute pattern to the failures. E.g. attachment v. no attachment, type of attachment, size of attachment, time of day, one sender v. another, one email service v. another, text in the body of the message. Eventually, though, it started to seem that emails sent via corporate email servers (e.g. our Exchange server) had a higher failure rate.
So here is the short and skinny of it all: The default setting in the MS SMTP Service (for IIS7.5...and probably all the way back to the first offering of SMTP Server) for the Maximum Hop Count is 15.
You can see that setting at the top of the Advanced Delivery tab as screenshotted in John White's coverage of SMTP configuration in his blog post (see URL above). Ignore his red circle around the Smart host parameter.....
In the old days, that was probably a pretty generous limit. But, now days with outbound & inbound spam filters, corporate IP trackers, and global Web mail-provider networks (e.g. GMail), it seems it isn't that hard to have your email message passed through 15 machines on its zippity-do-da way around the big ole Internet as it goes to a server across the street from your office. Depending on the gods-of-TCP/IP-routing and the current sum of the airspeed of all airborne English Sparrows, test messages that seemed to be identical tests resulted in different pass/fail results as some messages took slightly different (i.e. longer routes, they'd exceed the allowed Maximum Hop Count and the SMTP Server would do as configured and shove them into the Badmail folder.
Raising the Maximum Hop Count to a more generous 99 (max allowed value is 255) solved the erratic-emails problem.
One other thing to note while your in the SMTP configuration is to ensure the message size and session limits on the Messages tab reflect modern email expectations...especially for a SharePoint server that will be accepting documents into a document library via email. If nothing else, raise the "Limit Message Size To (KB)" parameter from its default value to something with real MB meat - e.g. 51200KB = 50MB (but don't forget that the default IIS & SharePoint file upload limits might still need to be addressed for your document library's needs, as well).
Sadly, the server never seemed to use the email address in the "Send Copy of Non-Delivery Report to:" parameter (aka Postmaster) to send an email notifying a human of the non-deliverable emails during our testing.
Oh, and here is a nice single-page overview sheet of the MS SMTP Server settings: http://www.tech-faq.com/understanding-and-managing-smtp-virtual-servers.html
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