Nixadmins.net

This post is a little of topic from what I usually write but for me it’s something important so I hope you forgive me. In May 2009 I became a father to a little girl who means the world to me. A post on the Cisco Portal blog got me thinking about security from a different point of view. Security at home. The internet has provided us with so much good. We can get information, access our bank and get news 24/7 . But it has it’s dark sides also. When I was young my parents knew that once I was home I was safe. I had my safe haven inside my parents house where no one could get to me.

The Internet with all it’s glory also opened a gateway to our homes for the predators. Following the news you read almost weekly about police shutting down large pedophile groups, and that’s a good thing. Law enforcement units are able to hunt them down using the networks. But just as the good guys use the networks to find them, the bad guys use the networks to share their sick and twisted materials.

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As some of you (the ones who don’t use Ad-blockers) might have noticed, I run Google Adsense on my site. So far the income has been very low and it has been running for almost 2 years now. The idea was to try to cover hosting expenses using advertising programs but that failed. Because of this I’m currently looking into some other advertising providers who do not provide ads that make the user feel sick.

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For those of you who have been reading my blog might have noticed a slight change in topics. Previously I worked a lot with Linux but these days most of my work is done in a Microsoft environment, this reflects on my articles since I write most my articles about things I find I need to document to remember or even things that get asked again and again in forums, like the TechNet Forums.

So working with Microsoft products and writing about Microsoft products and technologies made me realize I really need to get certified. Certification for me was a way to prove to myself I know my way around the Windows Server operating system and specifically the Active Directory (AD).

The goals for now are to get the Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Server Administrator and after that Enterprise Administrator.

The first exam done

Today I took my first exam, the Microsoft exam 083-640 or 70-640, and by doing so receiving my first certification. And now I’m awaiting my email about my MCP status. Next week I have the next test booked and during my learning and training process I’ve noticed I remember things a lot better by writing about them, so this blog will probably get updated more these weeks than it has ever been, so keep a look out for new articles you might be interested in.

Bye for now

This was all for today and as I said, keep a look out for articles you might want to read in the close future.

We moved into our new house in May 2008 and it took me some time to get settled and plan the way I wanted my brand new home office to look like.  A few months later I was settled on a design I did in IKEA Planner. As all furniture I bought to my office was from IKEA using their planner was the smart way to go. I decided early on that I didn’t want any open cabinets, they all had to have doors I could shut. If you are wondering why, take a look at how ugly 30-50 programming books in different colors can be, add to them paper folders and you have a colorful office.

Anyway planning a office for myself I had a few goals. I had to have enough space to keep papers, books, magazines, notes and various office supplies on the tables without them getting in the way. I settled on two tables placed like an L. The other thing I felt important was that I had to have a view out the window and see the television in the living room. I feel more constructive when I can see something else than a wall.

All this in mind I ordered the furniture delivered to our door and the bill was a little over 800 €. Quite cheap considering I got everything except the chair which I already had and felt didn’t need to be upgraded. I wouldn’t buy a chair from IKEA anyway.

The home office

The point of this post was to show some pictures of my home office. It’s still a work in progress. I still need a few shelves and some paintings or photographs on the wall. But somehow buying stuff for my computers always seems more important . So here are two pictures from the office. I dare not show you the other wall since it’s a mess.

As you can seethe desktop is quite clean. Nothing special there.

New Keyboard

My trustworthy old Logitech MX keyboard started pipe out. The left shift button was working and not working as it saw fit so I had to replace it. And as from the heavens Jeff Atwood posted his keyboard was worn out. His “holy grail” of keyboards was the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. I remember myself looking at these ergonomic keyboards years back. So I figured it was time I’d at least try one out. I got the wired version since I see no point in using a wireless keyboard at the desk. A wireless mouse is different.  So I placed my order to my shop of choice Verkkokauppa.com and picked it up a few days later. I’ve now been using it for a few days and I have to say I really love it. Once you get past the fact that the keys are separated for the left and the right hand you’ll love it. I just feels right and I can’t remember a better keyboard. This is definitely the one I’m going to get to work next time I need something new.

Next time I’ll post pictures when the office is done. Until then this is what you’ll have to settle for. Feel free to comment and any ideas or ways to make a home office “better” will be greatly appreciated. If you have pictures of your office I’d be happy to see some and snag a few ideas.

I’ve been hearing this song Sweet about me in the radio for some time now. I really like her voice. It’s fantastic and this song gives me cold shivers.

I just had to share this with anyone of my friends who hasn’t stopped to listen to it.

This is one of the reasons I love http://www.youtube.com. Feel free to listen to the song and I hope you’ll get as blown away as I do.