Matt Zaske Online Blog
The Financial Automation Account
![Mechanical slide coin sorting machine](/sites/default/files/2020-03/source%5B1%5D.gif)
- March 02, 2020
- 6 minutes
- finance, inspiration, personal
A couple weeks ago, I made brief mention of my financial automation account and how I've come to consider it my "free money" account. I wanted to dig into that topic just a bit more, since it's become a key component of my own regular financial well-being.
Why an Automation Account?
Simple: it's thoughtless, once set up.
Read MoreInteresting Log Entries (or, Why To Patch Thy Systems)
![Random text scrolling from within a terminal window](/sites/default/files/2020-02/source%5B1%5D_1.gif)
- February 24, 2020
- 3 minutes
- tech, website, drupal, inspiration
So far in 2020, I've been keeping a closer eye on the logs of this Drupal site. Back in the day, I used to pore over logs in a sort of 'bender' fashion, presumably as I was bored or something similar. Rarely was something particularly interesting, but it was a good way to figure out and correct some random things. Still is...but it's 2020 and nobody manually looks at logs anymore.
Read MoreFinancial Literacy Matters
![Machine counting $20 bills](/sites/default/files/2020-02/source%5B1%5D_0.gif)
As we enter the thick of tax season (I just filed ours this past week), I thought I'd write a short bit about my own take on financial literacy. This idea was originally sparked when I read an article last year about Why Financial Literacy Matters from a more education-based perspective. I suggest giving it a quick read.
Read MorePrivate Content in Drupal
![Glass that turns opaque with an electric current.](/sites/default/files/2020-01/source%5B1%5D_2.gif)
When I started going down the Drupal road a year ago, with minor delay after delay after delay, one of the many 'dorky' things I wanted to do was port my old "Start Page" to a real platform.
Read MoreQuality Educational Theatre
![Man shaking hands following a project's completion.](/sites/default/files/2020-02/source%5B1%5D.gif)
This past Saturday ended a most marvelous run of the One-Act Play production in which my 7th grader was cast. I'm deliberately not going into any details regarding the production, because it doesn't matter what production was in scope, but how the production went.
It. Was. Fantastic.
Read MoreLow-Budget "CI/CD"
![Dude with baseball bat smashes monitor off desk](/sites/default/files/2020-01/source%5B1%5D_1.gif)
A client project had a database server upgrade in early December, and as I eluded to in a different post from around that time, Git was the shit when it came to making my angle of that migration go smoothly. Past Me made Current Me's life a lot simpler.
Read MoreLetting It Go
![Viking funeral ship on fire](/sites/default/files/2020-01/source%5B1%5D_0.gif)
Last summer we had a pretty gnarly hailstorm, which has ultimately resulted in the need to replace shingles and siding on the house (among several other things). As a result, this has become a launching point for getting some insulation work and window replacement on the project list. Because if we're gonna do the siding, we might as well get those other things done, too.
Read MorePowershell to Find and Export AD Records
![Frantically searching through report data](/sites/default/files/2020-01/source%5B1%5D.gif)
- January 13, 2020
- 3 minutes
- tech, powershell
With the very near end of life for Windows 7, as we work through the last bit of known and managed machines to upgrade or replace I find myself needing to do more frequent "searches" of AD computer object records for analysis.
Read MoreCleaning Up and Updating
![Suspense while waiting (to update).](/sites/default/files/2019-12/source%5B1%5D.gif)
I've been a bit remiss in the posting cadence lately (well, since Thanksgiving). Much has been happening in all realms of life (as they are want to be during the "holiday season"). That being said, I don't return to work, proper, until January 6. And so it's time to do some cleaning up and other updates. With any luck, I'll have some material queued up to help buffer the situations when I'm out of time (or random ideas).
Read MoreVisual Customizations for Windows 10 in OSD
![Windows logo](/sites/default/files/2019-11/source%5B1%5D_1.gif)
- November 25, 2019
- 3 minutes
- tech, powershell, automation, inspiration
As we work through the tail-end of our Windows 7 fleet (January 14, 2020 is coming if you haven't heard...), I've found myself rolling a different type of hammer process for the last of the "upgrades." This past week as I was tweaking what amounts to an in-place update (by way of wipe and load) for Windows 7 to Windows 10, I was reminded of how Past Me was indeed awesome (and inspired) since this simple script with all the various background and image sizes still works in Windows 10 19
High Quality Local Talent
![That was an amazing performance](/sites/default/files/2019-11/source%5B1%5D_0.gif)
Haven't had a more personal post for a while (hope to rectify that in the next few weeks as I've got some stuff queued up), but it seemed fitting to give a short tribute/shout out to some of our regional performance art talent.
Read MoreTales From The 'Duh!' Archive: Command Syntax
![Cartoon character pushes zombie back into grave](/sites/default/files/2019-11/source%5B1%5D.gif)
- November 11, 2019
- 2 minutes
- tech, powershell, mistakes
I had a very long week, which means I'm writing a short post this time around.
Among several seemingly disparate things I accomplished in the last week or so, I spent some time deploying applications via SCCM (soon to be called Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Configuation Manager/#MEMCM per the announcement at Ignite this week).
Read MoreLet's Expand Encryption!
![Gif of lock tumbler mechanism](/sites/default/files/2019-10/source%5B1%5D.gif)
This weekend I performed the quarterly actions to update my various letsencrypt certificates, which I've not written about since early May when I'd performed the first set of renewals. Let's Encrypt and SSL For Free are still outstanding services, and I'm super happy with them!
Read MoreWho's Font Awesome?
![Puppy pointing with text "Who's Awesome? You're Awesome!"](/sites/default/files/2019-10/awesome.jpg)
Earlier this year while working on a client project revision, I decided to spruce up the old and dated icon set. This set had been cobbled together from various sources over time (the way you did these things back in the day), and overall lacked a consistent use and/or feel. Some actions had no associated icon, so educated guesses were made to find a matching icon from the existing set...and so forth.
Ultimately, it was time. But where to start?!
Read MoreTime for a Drupal Refresh
![Old computer mainframe tape disks](/sites/default/files/2019-09/giphy%5B1%5D.gif)
So here we are...just over six months into the new Drupal adventure driving the site. Overall I'm much happier with the transition than I'd originally expected, because the general maintenance and upkeep has been pretty much automatic. Scheduled publishing has been a lifesaver, too, because it's a 'set and forget' thing...unless I cross a month's boundary between create and publish dates (more about that in a bit).
Read MoreI Took a Break
![Pause](/sites/default/files/2019-09/PauseNote.jpg)
- September 16, 2019
- 2 minutes
- personal
As I've noted a few times in the last few months, things have been remarkably crazy and busy. As it always does, this culminates in a late-August/early-September influx of "survival mode" where most everything centers around keeping the fires to a minimum.
Read MoreCollection Variables in SCCM Task Sequences
![Hello my name is {X} tag](/sites/default/files/2019-08/variable.png)
- August 26, 2019
- 4 minutes
- powershell, automation, tech
As I've mentioned a number of times in previous posts, on our campus we perform a roughly-annual refresh of multi-user workstations across the institution. This 'multi-user' scope includes machines in classrooms, computer labs, open learning spaces, conference rooms, and so forth.
Read MoreA Brief Respite
![My Summer 2018 Outdoor Office Companion, Macho](/sites/default/files/2019-08/OutsideOfficeCompanion.jpg)
- August 19, 2019
- 3 minutes
- personal
Ahh, August: that "season" of all things chaotic, crazy, busy, and otherwise rushed. See also: back-to-school season.
A time when the rush of all the things that haven't yet been accomplished through the summer converge and, like it or not, must be completed before the new school year(s) begin.
Read MoreEnvironment Context Troubleshooting
![Dashed and dotted lines](/sites/default/files/2019-08/dashedline.png)
- August 12, 2019
- 5 minutes
- powershell, automation, mistakes
Broken Context(s). The story of my weekend project.
Due to a number of reasons, mostly well outside my direct control, I spent part of this weekend working through the application and task sequence refresh process for our multi-user workstations...which will need to be finished by August 27.
Read MoreKnit Your Best Life
![Subaru car 'quilted' with material and the brand 'fiberartsfest.com'](/sites/default/files/2019-08/QuiltedCar.jpg)
- August 05, 2019
- 2 minutes
- personal
On Saturday, we made the short trip to [West] Fargo, ND for the Fiber Arts Festival, something we'd not previously visited before. For a small-sized gathering, at first sight I certainly didn't expect to spend half the day at the venue. But it's a good little fest, and we well might go again in the future. Saw lots of folks spinning fiber into yarns, working with said product, and using some neat little machines to do it all.
Read MoreDynamically Created Anchor HREFs
![Multiple Arows Crossing Paths](/sites/default/files/2019-07/arrows.png)
- July 29, 2019
- 3 minutes
- tech, website, automation, inspiration
Back in the day, namely before Javascript and jQuery were really a thing, the idea of dynamically creating an anchor's HREF attribute required some serious magic and behind-the-scenes wizardry. Or something like Flash. Those were not the days...
A Bit of Background
Several years ago, during a client's web app rebuild/refresh, I decided to clean up some of the gnarly baggage behind their reporting mechanism.
Read MoreTo The Moon!
![Astronaut Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on the moon](/sites/default/files/2019-07/moonbusiness.jpg)
We spent the weekend away from home taking in a production of Guys and Dolls at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, along with a visit to the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul.
Read MoreWhat's That Join Again?
![Visualization of SQL Joins](/sites/default/files/2019-07/Visual_SQL_JOINS_orig.jpg)
In the interest of hopefully saving Future Me some time, I'm writing this little bit so as not to have to stumble to remember a simple premise:
How do I LEFT JOIN the same table more than once in a query?
For as many times as I've had to join a table more than once (effectively as a certain type of generic lookup table), you'd think I'd have this memorized. But I always get caught forgetting to proper alias both joins.
Read MoreThat's A Wrap, and Happy Summer
As I wrote about two weeks ago (while in mid-run), we just had our early summer theatre production. It was, in my opinion, a very successful run...though bittersweet to see it end after two weekends (and six shows). We had a great and consistent audience, which speaks well to the attempt at doing a show over two weekends in June. Our next board meeting will reveal the "final" financial result of our activities.
Read MoreAuto-Determine Primary IP Address
- June 30, 2019
- 3 minutes
- automation, tech, powershell
One of the things I've baked into our production task sequence for "multi-user devices" is a secondary way to automatically determine a device's use case while in the WinPE stage. The primary, preferred way to determine use case is by the use of SCCM collection variables, but those require a known object (in the proper collection) to function as designed. Thus, for all rebuilds of known devices, the use case is figured out by collection variable.
Read More