Josh Wieder

I'm an engineer. I am the first to admit that I don't 'get' art or creative people (things I do 'get' are: jobs, contracts and projects delivered on time). But this site is about computers and how we can use them to make things better and faster. I recently came across the work of one Meg Mitchell, Artist, who is using code in her installations. One example is a brief applet to arrange text input into an Archimedean spiral . She then designed her own font to imprint her own genome into metallic spirals. Neat.

Just a brief note, I have started to run a few very low circulation advertisements for the site on Google and Bing. Mostly this is an experiment to test whether having an active, but ultimately unpaid, marketing campaign improves search engine results. I don't expect any big changes to the site, and I am not selling advertisements. As always, any business practices will continue to match those outlined in the Commitment page .

Pidgin is a popular IM client. I've been using it for years, mostly because of its simplicity when used within alternate operating systems. I need a non-browser based IM client that I can use in Fedora and Windows with the ability to easily transfer log data between the two. My only complaint is that the log search function is not very great, and Pidgin does not provide you with the ability to locate or change the log file path within the application. For those of you who need to find Pidgin logs, here are the paths for both Linux and Windows. Installations include an actual  pidgeon. Rabies sold separately. Linux-based operating systems store log data within the root directory like so: ~/.purple/logs Windows XP stores your logs here:  C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\.purple\logs Windows Vista and Windows 7 store your logs here: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\.purple\logs When running Pidgin within Windows, Pidgin uses the PURPLEHOME en

Josh Wieder Checking SNMP Setting on 400 kW switch gear

Yeeesh posts have been MSSQL-heavy. I've just been working on this stuff for quite a bit lately - by no means is this my favorite database. Anyway, you're not here for that. You're here because you need to fix something that's broken and Google says I have it. Here you go: Find Database Table Size Your database is growing and you need to know why. First step would be to find out which table is responsible for the growth - but how? Right click the database in question and run one of the following queries: Displays the size of every table - exec sp_Msforeachtable 'exec sp_spaceused ''?''' Displays a specific table - exec sp_spaceused TableName Disable a Maintenance Plan Let's say you want to temporarily disable a maintenance plan. You are trying to troubleshoot it, but you don't want to delete the entire thing and re-create it. You may have noticed SQL Management Studio's GUI has not straight forward way of doing this. First,

The Problem The configuration of the system when this error was encountered is as follows: A. Windows Server 2008 R2 Redundant Domain Controllers - we will call these DC1.joshwieder.com and DC2.joshwieder.com B. Windows Server 2003 Web Server with Windows Remote Management enabled / part of the Active directory deployment - we will call this WEB.joshwieder.com C. For the sake of our example, let's say I have configured an OU named "Web Servers" on those domain controllers Whenever the Windows 2003 Web server reboots, or WinRM.exe service on the Windows 2003 Web server restarts, the following error was logged into the Event Viewer: Event ID: 10154 Source: Microsoft-Windows-WinRM Version: 6.1 Symbolic Name: LOG_WSMAN_SPN_CREATION Message: The WinRM service failed to create the following SPN: %1. Additional Data The error received was 8344: Insufficient access rights to perform the operation. User Action The SPN can be created by an administrator using sets

Classic ASP works a bit differently then the .NET framework. To many administrators (like me), the subtle differences can be a bit of a nuisance. Tasks that are performed daily with .NET are just different enough with Classic ASP to force an admin to consult the Google Brain. If that's why you're here - don't feel bad and don't worry. We have all been there, and we have a solution for you. This post will focus on error display using IIS7 and Classic ASP. In .NET, this is a simple matter of configuring the customErrors imperative in the web.config file. With Classic ASP, a bit of work needs fixin' within IIS Manager. Launch IIS Manager (Start --> Run --> inetmgr). Highlight your server name onthe left-hand menu. Then on the right side, you should be looking under the IIS heading. Select Debugging Properties and set the "Send Errors to Browser" setting to true. Back under the IIS heading, select Error Paged and then the 500 Error Page.Select Edit Fea