Installing Ghost as an App in ServerPilot

Updated Note 4/2/19: While the information below is still valid, I’ve since moved away from ServerPilot and now use RunCloud. You can read my post as to why I switched here. ServerPilot is great, and I recommend them to anyone. I use their service almost exclusively to manage multiple WordPress installations on a single $5/month … Continue reading Installing Ghost as an App in ServerPilot

How to Install and Configure Squid Proxy on Ubuntu

Though Squid Proxy isn’t particularly difficult to install and get up and running, I hit a few snags during my configuration that I felt would prove useful for someone attempting to do the same thing. First, let’s get Squid installed: apt-get install squid Once Squid is installed, let’s make a copy of the squid.conf file … Continue reading How to Install and Configure Squid Proxy on Ubuntu

Create a menu with options using var_prompt in Ansible

While creating a provisioning task, I found it difficult to create a “menu-like” structure in Ansible, where you can easily select from a number of options. Various people online recommended janky hacks which involve wrappers in bash. I wanted an Ansible-native solution. This might also fall in the category of “janky”, but I like it … Continue reading Create a menu with options using var_prompt in Ansible

Provisioning Windows Machines via Ansible

While I’m not new to Configuration Management (CM), necessarily, I will admit that I’m slightly outdated (hey, things change fast in the tech world, okay?). Prior to this, my exposure to CM has been limited to Chef or Puppet. Recently, I was tasked with vetting out the various CM tools out there, and began weighing … Continue reading Provisioning Windows Machines via Ansible

Export Outlook/Exchange Contacts to iCloud

For the duration of my time at my current employer, they’ve provided me with a company-owned cell phone (that was also permitted to be used as my personal device). A couple months back, I started looking for new employment opportunities. I accepted an offer with a different company. Separating from the company, I’ve had to … Continue reading Export Outlook/Exchange Contacts to iCloud

Create SQL Server User and Add Role via Powershell

I found a need to create a new SQL Server user, but wanted to automate it. The following script seemed to do the trick for me. You’ll have to install two modules, but the script will take care of that for you as well. Set-PSRepository -Name PSGallery -InstallationPolicy Trusted Install-Module sqlserver -Confirm:$False Install-Module dbatools -Confirm:$False … Continue reading Create SQL Server User and Add Role via Powershell

How to Perform a Silent Install of SQL Server (or SQL Express)

I needed to install SQL Server Express 2016 silently, but the documentation out there wasn’t the best. The trick to installing this silently is to create a ConfigurationFile.ini and then reference that during the install. Luckily for us, the installer creates the Configuration File for us. Download SQL Server I’ve only tested this using the … Continue reading How to Perform a Silent Install of SQL Server (or SQL Express)

Visual Studio Code: The editor I was surprised to find I needed

It’s no secret that I’ve been an advocate of Sublime Text for many years. I started using it a couple years back in college, and never really looked back. From time to time, I’d briefly test out other text editors, but nothing I found ever compelled me to switch. Using a MacBook Pro as my … Continue reading Visual Studio Code: The editor I was surprised to find I needed

Exporting Scheduled Tasks from Windows Task Scheduler to CSV

I stumbled across a cool tidbit of information this morning. I was attempting to export a long list of scheduled jobs from the Windows Task Scheduler, but was thinking that I’d have to either build a powershell script to do it for me, or manually export each task individually, and then aggregate all the results. … Continue reading Exporting Scheduled Tasks from Windows Task Scheduler to CSV