The ten most popular random disconnected diatribes of a documentation engineer http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/default.aspxen-gb Alex Homer http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/about.aspx ahomer@microsoft.com ahomer@microsoft.com OK, OK, so one month I'm complaining that our little green paradise island seems to have drifted north into the Arctic, and now I'm grumbling about the heat. Obviously global warming is more than just a fad, as we've been subjected here in England to temperatures hovering around 90 degrees in real money for the last week or so. Other than the gruesome sight of pale-skinned Englishmen in shorts (me included), it's having some rather dramatic effects on my technology installations. I'm becoming seriously concerned that my hard disks will turn into floppy ones, and my batteries will just chicken out in the heat. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/07/05/It-Ain_2700_t-Half-Hot-Mum.aspx I seem to have spent a large proportion of my time this month worrying about health. OK, so a week of that was spent in the US where, every time I turned on the TV, it scared me to death to see all the adverts for drugs to cure the incredible range of illnesses I suppose I should be suffering from. In fact, at one stage, I started making a list of all the amazing drugs I'm supposed to "ask my doctor about", but I figured if I was that ill I'd probably never have time to take them all. They even passed an "assisted suicide" law while I was there, and I can see why they might need it if everyone is so ill all of the time. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2008/11/23/Take-Two-Aspirins-And-Call-Me-In-The-Morning.aspx I've been trying something new and exciting this week. OK, so it's perhaps not as exciting as bungee jumping or white-water rafting, but it's certainly something I've not tried before. I'm experimenting to see if I can use Team Foundation Server (TFS) to monitor and control the documentation work for my current project. As usual, the dev guys are using agile development methods, and they seem to live and die by what TFS tells them, so it must be a good idea. Maybe. But I suppose there's no room in today's fast-moving, high-flying, dynamic, and results-oriented environment for my usual lackadaisical approach of just doing it when it seems to be the best time, and getting it finished before they toss the software out of the door and into the arms of the baying public. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/06/21/Am-I-Done-Yet_2E002E002E003F00_.aspx Isn't it funny how - after a while - you tend not to notice, or you ignore the annoying habits of your closest colleagues. As I work from home, some 5,000 miles away from my next closest colleagues, the closest colleague I have is Microsoft Vista (yes, I do lead a sad and lonely life doing my remote documentation engineering thing). I mean, I've accepted that sometimes when I open a folder in Windows Explorer it will decide to show me a completely different view of the contents from the usual "Details" view I expect. I suppose it's my own fault because I happen to have a few images in there as well as Word documents, and Vista thinks it's being really helpful by telling me how I rated each one rather than the date it was last modified. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/06/14/Having-A-Bad-Where_3F00_-Day.aspx I endured a severe culture shock this week. And that was without meeting new people from countries afar, or travelling to distant lands. And it didn't involve a trip to some foreign eatery (such as our local Indian restaurant or Greek fish 'n' chip shop) either. No, all I did was respond to a change in the company security policy by replacing the existing well-known virus protection software with the new Forefront Client Security application. All I need to do now is work out how to configure it. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/05/17/How-Much-Configuration-Do-You-Need_3F00_.aspx I read somewhere a while ago that the word "expert" comes from a combination of the two Latin words "ex" meaning "a has-been", and "spurt" meaning "a drip under pressure". I'm not sure I actually believe it, but is does seem a remarkably fortuitous match to my capabilities when it comes to the grudge matches I regularly indulge in just trying to keep my own network running. I suppose I've rambled on about my semi-competence as a network administrator enough times in the past. It's one of those areas where you think you're starting to get the knack of it, and then you realize that it's only because you haven't yet discovered all the things you don't know. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/08/16/A-Drip-Under-Pressure.aspx I'm starting to worry that I can’t cope with the frantic releases of operating system versions. I just got settled with a couple of Vista machines and, more recently, two Server 2008 boxes, and now I'm being pushed to "dogfood" Windows 7. I wonder if I should install it on the machine I use for all my important work, or on the laptop I depend on when travelling. I know I tend to be somewhat conservative in terms of upgrading to the latest cool software, but neither of these options seems like a really good idea with a beta operating system. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/04/05/Going-to-the-Dogs.aspx Here in England, architects (the kind who design houses and office blocks) seem to have a pretty poor reputation. Other than the "stars" who win prizes for designing skyscrapers, or weird shopping centers that look like an armadillo that wandered into a chrome-plating factory, they seem to be universally reviled. Perhaps it’s the same in the US. I remember once hearing the quip "Don't tell my mother I'm an architect, she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse". That sounds like a US-ism if you ask me. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2008/09/28/Build-It_2C00_-And-They-Will-Blame-You.aspx I thought I'd better start off this week with that well-known email disclaimer "INAG" (I'm Not A Golfer). Mind you, when I was a lot younger and fitter, I did occasionally caddy for a few affluent visitors to the R.A.F. Changi course in Singapore. Though when I say "caddy", what I actually mean is "carry the bag and look for lost balls", but you get the drift. ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2008/08/31/INAG.aspx After approximately two weeks of intermittent network upgrades, I seem to still have a working network. I guess at least that's something to be thankful for. But it's still not fulfilled the original plan. And much hyper-ventilation has occurred during the process, particularly when watching those little green caterpillars crawl across the endless "Please wait..." dialogs, and wondering what the next error dialog will say... ahomer@microsoft.com http://blogs.msdn.com/alexhomer/archive/2009/02/08/Hyper_2D00_Ventilation_2C00_-Act-III.aspx