LiquidSilence - R Keith Smith

Friday

05Feb2010

I Guess I'm Ready

Friday, February 5, 2010 at 1:21PM

Today's the day. I scheduled my final MCITP exam for this afternoon. I was torn between today or sometime next week. Yesterday I knew I wasn't ready, but was hoping I could be ready by 2:15 today. The alternative of thinking about the test all weekend and studying every night until then to keep it fresh in my mind wasn't something I was looking forward to.

So. Here I am. I just finished my sushi (6 pieces of tuna nigiri) as part of what has become a pre-test ritual. I'm sitting in the cafe at Whole Foods staring out the windows into the cold rain. I'll get to walk in the cold rain... the test site is in a building just across the street. I'll walk from here rather than parking at the actual building. That, too, has become part of the ritual and I don't want to deviate from the plan.

Wish me luck. I guess I'm ready.

~keith

R Keith Smith |

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Friday

29Jan2010

Four Down, One To Go

Friday, January 29, 2010 at 8:03PM

Wednesday marked the completion of my fourth exam in my ongoing quest for MCITP certification. The test du jour was MCTS 70-643 Configuring Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure. Seriously... that's the name they came up with. As I had done with the three previous exams, my primary study material was the Microsoft Training Kit. This book was even more to-the-point the than those that I read for the other exams. I think that's what I like most about this series of books; They're direct and focused, while still giving an overall broad view of the subject matter.

As of test time I was consistently scoring in the mid to hi 90's on the practice exams that came with the Training Kit as well as some 3rd party study guides I acquired online. As such, my confidence was pretty high going into the test. It was quickly shaken when the very first question threw me for a complete loop. Of course, I signed an NDA when I took the exam so I can't discuss the question, but it was something that I had not encountered in my many hours of studying. Fortunately, it got much smoother from there. The next 4 or 5 questions were right in my comfort zone. I marked 12 (of 40) questions to go back and review. The others I was 99.9% sure I had right. Of those 12, several were just oddly worded and I wanted to make sure I thought them through logically before committing to an answer. And finally, there were about 5 questions that I was unsure of the answer for. So, like before, I eliminated any ridiculous answers and tried to make an educated guess from the remainder. It worked. I passed the test with a score of 953/1000.

That means it's time to prep for my fifth and final exam... MCITP 70-647: Windows Server Enterprise Administrator. I've got the Microsoft Training Kit sitting in front of me now. Time to study.

R Keith Smith |

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Monday

25Jan2010

A Favorite Zen Poem

Monday, January 25, 2010 at 9:44AM

Just wanted to share one of my favorite poems.

CRIMSON-WEAVE CARPET

Crimson-weave carpet,

silk reeled off select cocoons and boiled in clear water,
sun-bleached and steeped in dyes of crimdigo flower,

dyes turning thread crimson, indigo depths of crimson,
then woven to grace the Hall of Widespread Fragrance.

The Hall of Widespread Fragrance is a hundred feet long,
and the carpet's crimson weave will stretch end to end,

its iridescence soft and deep, its fragrance everywhere,
plush weave and mirage blossoms beyond all compare,

awaiting beautiful women who come to sing and dance,
gauze stockings and embroidered slippers sinking deep.

Even those carpets from T'ai-yuan seem stiff and rough,
and Ch'eng-tu rugs thin, their embroidered flowers cold:

they'll never compare to these, so warm and sumptuous
and sent each year from Hsuan-chou in the tenth month.

Hsuan-chou's grand Prefect orders a new pattern woven,
saying they'll spare no effort on the emperor's behalf,

and then a hundred reverent men haul it into place,
the weave so thick and silk so lavish it can't be rolled up.

Can you fathom what it means, O prefect of Hsuan-chou:
for ten feet of carpet
a thousand taels of silk?

Floors don't feel the cold- people do. People need warmth.
No more floors dressed in clothes stolen from the people.

--Po Chu-I (772-846AD)

R Keith Smith |

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Friday

22Jan2010

ATM Skimmers. Protecting Your Banking Information.

Friday, January 22, 2010 at 12:26PM

Check out this great article from KrebsOnSecurity about the advancing technology of ATM "skimmers". These are the electronic devices used by thieves to steal your ATM card information. Always be vigilant when using ATMs and if something is JDLR (Just Don't Look Right), go elsewhere.

Would You Have Spotted the Fraud?

R Keith Smith |

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Monday

18Jan2010

Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park

Monday, January 18, 2010 at 10:49PM

Long name... nice park. With temperatures approaching the mid-30's this past Sunday I figured I'd take a late morning walk in the woods. I checked my trusty copy of Hiking Missouri and settled on Babler State Park. I've been here numerous times before for some day hiking as well as just a picnic on the grass. Even though the park gets a fair amount of use in the spring and summer, there are enough miles of trail to spread out the hikers so it doesn't feel crowded. But, this being January I wouldn't have to worry about crowds. I saw a few folks running on the roads through the park and a few cars parked at various parking areas, but didn't encounter another person on the trails.

I started with the Virginia Day Memorial Nature Trail that starts just across the road from the visitor center. The ground was soggy and extremely muddy through about 80% of the trail. I was surprised to find a good coating of ice still covering the small trickles and even the larger stream. I took the "Long Loop" making this about a 2 mile hike.

Next up I drove to the Alta Shelter and headed across the road to the Hawthorn Trail. This is another nice loop trail of about 1.125 miles. There are nice views of the houses and barns in the valley below from the southwest side of the trail.