@JaredBusch @dbeato @Texkonc we will get rid of the troll problem that made me look like a dummy last time.

Date: 6/25/2020
Start Time: 6:30 PM Central
Format: Zoom

Note - the Zoom registration data is not used for Sales campaign purposes. It's to keep the trolls away.

It's that time again! This will be another virtual SpiceCorps meeting using Zoom. In addition to your RSVP in the community, please register to attend to receive the Zoom link and calendar invite.

Many of us are in charge of refreshing desktop / laptop / server / network (or other) technology equipment with the unstated responsibility to "get rid of" the old stuff. One option for disposal is to send the hardware to a recycling company. Have you ever thought about how the recycling process works and how this process has changed over the years? Join us from the comfort of your home office as Brad Chism of Computer Crusher Recycling brings us some education in this area. During this session, we'll consider the following questions:

1. How do people / companies normally manage the equipment disposal process?
2. What happens after old equipment leaves your premises?
3. What security precautions should be taken when disposing of equipment that we don't often consider (i.e. erasing hard drives, destroying hard drives, etc.)?
4. How much of the old stuff can actually be reused, and how can that work to your advantage?
5. How does the recycling process work, and how has it changed over the years?
6. What are some of the strangest things people recycle?

We hope to see you there (virtually). Bring your questions, and let's have fun with it!

I was thinking there's some kind of per-database compatibility mode that allows the backward compatibility with older applications that need to access the database. But it's also been a while since I've done much with SQL Server.

Maybe these will also help (a bit older though):

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1006810 (speaks to VMFS 3 and 5 but not 6)

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/03/08/thin-provisioned-disks-and-vmfs-fragmentation-do-i-really-need-to-worry/

So each VM is NOT a single file in VMFS. Each VMDK file is really just a virtual disk characteristic file. The data disk is a -flat.vmdk file (even though we usually don't think of having both of these files when we say VMDK).

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-CEFF6D89-8C19-4143-8C26-4B6D6734D2CB.html

Paging @StorageNinja for insight on this one...

Sometimes you need to dive deep down the rabbit hole to really understand what's happening. Has that ever happened to you?

In my last post we started down the path of configuring Azure Repos and Azure Pipelines for the purpose of deploying Azure functions from VS Code using these services. In this post, we pick up the process just after having tested and confirmed our Azure repo networknerd-repo1 is properly integrated with VS Code. I had intended to document all steps in the same way as in previous posts (all steps, including hurdles to jump), but since Azure Pipelines got the best of me for the better part of a couple of weeks, I’ll do my best to help readers avoid banging their head against the wall as long as I did. Consider this my attempt at an Azure Pipelines prequel.

Get the full story here.

@flaxking said in Push and Pull – Using VS Code with Azure Repos:

I've been pretty satisfied with Azure DevOps so far, but calling it 'Azure' seems to be a marketing move and ends up being a misnomer.

I love the fact that Azure can advertise giving customers DevOps for free.

@black3dynamite said in Cloudflare for Families, Anyone?:

I’m using it with my Pi-Hole server and there’s no block page showing why you are blocked.
You’ll end up seeing something like this when blocked.

Ok, that helps. If it were actually Pi-hole using its own blacklists that was the cause, you could find it in the query logs. If it isn't there, we can safely assume it must have been CloudFlare.

I wondered if it would be moved to virtual. Now I know.

Photo credit - Pixabay

A fellow Redditor responded to this post sharing an experience with Azure Functions and Azure DevOps, and it got me to thinking. Several others also posted helpful replies. Since I was planning to dig into using some kind of code repository as well, why not give Azure DevOps a shot? That, dear reader, is where our story begins.

In my last post, we configured VS code to build, test, and deploy functions directly to an Azure Function App. In the spirit of once again walking before we run, let’s go back to the Azure portal and add some hooks into code repositories. As before, I’ll be documenting both successes and failures throughout this post, so you may want to read it completely before following all steps in order.

The journey begins here if you want to read the full story.

Has anyone explored the DNS servers advertised in this blog to block malware or both malware and explicit content? I saw news about this on Twitter and then heard people didn't like it because it blocked certain sites they did not feel should be blocked.

If you're using it, what do you see in your browser when this filters something out? I'd love to hear feedback from anyone using it and what you thought. I use Pi-hole but was thinking of adding this as another layer for things Pi-hole may not be blocking.

My previous post was a first step toward understanding and using Azure Functions. We created a Function App, added a function to it using the Azure portal, and made some simple tweaks. In this post, it’s time to take the next step. Keep in mind as a beginner I’ll be documenting both successes and failures throughout this post, so you may want to read it completely before following all steps in order. Hopefully this helps someone avoid making the same mistakes.

In an effort to make the Azure function deployment process more automated and learn some code at the same time, here we go.

Get the full story here.

Since I had little to no exposure to playing with Azure outside of having an O365 subscription, I wanted to change that. Azure has the option to create a free account with access to a number of services, so I took the low risk plunge.

I had intended to start with deployment of some basic virtual machines to compare the ease of use to AWS and GCP but found there was little to no availability on the free tiers. That was a step outside my comfort zone, but it’s probably best. In this post, the plan is to create a function app and add at least one function to it. I’ve heard a lot about functions as a service but have never explored them. Are you ready? Let’s do this!

Get the the rest of the story here.

What about using Ghost? I started with it before moving to Wordpress. It is completely markdown if I remember right. I liked it but didn't feel the plugin availability was there.

On a recent Nerd Journey episode, we interviewed Mike Burkhart. As Mike considered what was next for his career, he examined what he wanted his life to be like rather than what he wanted his job / role to be like. This was an interesting viewpoint that became much more vivid in my mind after a weekend trip to IKEA.

Even if you’re not a fan of shopping, taking a stroll through IKEA is pretty interesting. The store layout is setup to show shoppers what could be, acting as a psychological sea of possibility. Sure, furniture stores have been leveraging this tactic for some time, but it’s not the same as IKEA’s approach. The shopping experience begins with a trip through the show room. Walking down the main aisle one would see different rooms on either side – a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, a closet, or perhaps an office…each carefully constructed down to the last detail.

Get the full story here - http://blog.thenetworknerd.com/2020/01/31/career-ideas-from-a-trip-to-ikea/.

I'm glad someone asked this. I was about to ask the same.

@dbeato I will unlock it for you.

We are live and online if folks are ready to join.
@dbeato @scottalanmiller @jt1001001

@dbeato You bet! The more the merrier in my opinion.