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Ok now wait a minute
Why?!?
I know we all hate the traffic, the clouds drenching us as we go from the car into where ever we need to be.
But come on!!!
In the next few months, April or May time frame, when the temperatures are in the triple digits again and the 2 year drought worsens and you are told to restrict your water usage more, don't water your lawn but once a MONTH etc ...
... You'll be crying for rain!
So suck it up! I for one am hoping for more.
Well then
Welcome to 2012, I trust you are doing well?
I made it through December without a post *twitch*; it was a pretty busy end of the year. Now we are in January almost over to February, people have already broken their "resolutions" for 2012, snow has yet to make its way to Dallas (nor ice yet), and the world around us is still crumbling economically and politically.
I could so easily go into a political rant, especially after the state of the union last night, but I'll digress.
This year we look to continue growth at www.Brady-Liu.com, grow the use of www.MikeDecides.com, and smile more often.
Other than that, how has the start of 2012 been for you?
Scalloped Potatoes
So what happens when I boil TO many potatoes for my Cheddar Mashed Bacon casserole...
You end up with Scalloped Potatoes that disappeared before I got more than just a "cook's taste" of 'em!
Let's get ready, preheat your oven to 350.
Here is what you will need:
2.5 quart casserole dish greased, I use a butter wrapper for this
6-8 potatoes peeled and sliced (not diced or cubed)
2 cups cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 regular can of chicken and herb condensed soup
3/4 cup milk (I use 2%, use whole for a thicker sauce)
1 cup sour cream
3Tbsp butter
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp pepper
After boiling the potatoes until a bit tender (do not overcook or it will be soggy and hard to transfer) Add 1 cup of cheese and the onions in layers as you place them in the casserole dish.
In another bowl combine the remaining ingredients (exception of the remaining cup of cheddar), stir, and pour over the potatoes.
Now top with the remaining cheddar cheese
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until cheese is browned and surface bubbles.
Viola!
Sprint Upgrades Now Extended Time Frame
So last month I became eligible to upgrade my phone with Sprint. I decided I would wait until this month as I was having some issues with my EVO 4G anyhow and was looking to get the EVO 3D.
Imagine my surprise when I logon to the site to see that they have now extended how long it will be until I get a new phone. Now I have to wait an additional 10 months.
I asked "why" when opening a ticket for my EVO 4G to be looked at and was informed it was due to Sprint now carrying Apple devices and the requirements they have with that new contract.
Imagine, those of us that CAME to Sprint because we wanted top of the line Android devices are now being penalized because there are still those out there that want their Apple device but they want it on Sprint now because they are tired of the billing issues with their current providers.
Add insult to injury when I spoke to the rep at the Sprint store when dropping off my phone for repairs he told me I could always get an "additional" phone to my plan like the Apple 4S ... do you see the irony here? ... Then when I get my Android EVO 4G back they tried again
... after digging in my logs I found that though an app was added for testing ... the three hours they stated they tested my phone for was false. They have to know that some of us using these devices are technical folks right? Why lie to me ...
Looks like Sprint is changing again, unfortunately not for the better. 
One of Those Weekends
Now back in the day when I was a manager, and when I owned my own company, there comes a time when you have to evaluate the business relationship. We use to do this starting around October. We'd evaluate if the relationship was profitable, had the potential to be ultimately profitable, or if prices needed to rise in order to make the relationship a good one going forward for both enterprizes. To continually let mismanaged client relationships suck out resources (and availability) that is no longer a good partnership. A few times key partnerships were found to be unprofitable and the ability to mange the relationship going forward was no longer profitable for either organization. In these cases (and to the shock of some) we would terminate the relationship. In the long run this provided stability for our organization and gave us the ability to focus on other partnerships or finding better matched partnerships.
What we look for to be profitable is partners, not clients and vendors. When the relationship degrades to that it is no longer about both organizations looking to grow and assist one another. It becomes a one sided relationship for both parties. When that becomes the case you will start to see clients drop off, vendors leave, and then both organizations have issues.
Think of this more as a traditional marriage. Oh, you know, the ones where it use to be that both partners were expected to work through issues and at least attempt to save the marriage.
Instead what we see more and more with business partners is that the client vendor relationship is becoming instilled. The partner mentality appears to be taking a back seat ... much like many people's attempts at marriage ... easier to say "irreconcilable differences" than to actual try and work out the issues ... but is that really the case? Lost is the trust going forward, building relationships anew, financial obligations both past/present/and now future. If a relationship manager (mediator) isn't engaged properly everyone stands to lose in the near term, not even thinking of the long term costs.
Worse yet they just settle for the vendor/client relationship. Synonymous with Information Technology Professionals calling their Clients (people within a business unit) that they call "users". You hear terms like "those techies", "that's techie talk" and "those losers *ahem* I mean users" all put downs. Vendor means you give me and Client means pay the bill. The longevity of these relationships are tenuous at best.
Here's an exercise for you:
If you are a vendor try calling your clients "partners" (without a southern drawl please)
If you are a client try calling your vender "partners" (same applies)
If you are in information technology try speaking about all your "users" as clients
Finally, if you interface with someone in technology, be it a help desk associate, or network guru etc ... try treating them like a person you'd like to actually help you.
It really does help to start and change the mentality.
USMC 236th Birthday Today!
Please join Go Daddy on November 10, 2011, in wishing the United States Marine Corps a Happy 236th Birthday.
If you have trouble with the above link you can also copy and paste this to find the video:
http://www.godaddy.com/holiday/usmc/usmc-2011.aspx
Enjoy!
Semper-Fi!
Finally!
Finally finished the process with Apple to become developers in the iOS and Safari programs at www.Brady-Liu.com ... only takes ... forever! *echo*
Check us out on Facebook too: www.facebook.com/BLTech
Export SQL to Text
Oddly I heard this question today. It has been awhile but thought I would note for others for future reference the bcp command:
For a comma separated file:
From your sql server management studio run the below:
declare @sql varchar(8000)
SELECT @sql = ‘bcp “select * from [dbname]..[table name]” queryout c:\temp\mytest.txt -c -t, -T -S [server name]‘
exec master..xp_cmdshell @sql
Hot Toddy Time
This brings to mind a nice Hot Toddy.
There are many ways to make this and really it's up to your taste but, if you follow these guidelines you can enjoy a nice Hot Toddy yourself tonight:
1oz brandy, whiskey or rum (your choice)
1 Tbsp honey
Squeeze of lemon
3/4 cup hot water
Now if you want to add a little more flavor beyond this you can add a tea bag of your choice but I'd recommend using an earl grey for relaxing or a green tea if you have the sniffles.
Now to put it all together properly:
Coat the bottom of Irish coffee glass with the honey. (or a mug if you must)
Add the liquor and the lemon juice
Heat your hot water in a tea kettle (if adding a tea bag steppe tea in the water before adding) ...
... and stir.
Viola!
Enjoy!
Reset HP Procurve Switch
Anyone who manages HP Procurve devices knows that at some point you will not be able to access it because it does not recognize the username / password. Better yet the last admin didn't have it recorded for his replacement.
When physically at the switch you can press and hold "Clear" button with a paperclip. You know, that one you keep in the drawer for poping open CD/DVD ROMs? By doing that you have reset password to the configured default which is admin with no password.
NOTE: Beware, if you press "Reset" and "Clear" at the same time this will reset the switch to factory settings.
This applies to at least the HP Procurve 25xx series, 26xx and 28XX.
If you are unsure please contact HP or consult your user manual (downloadable from HP).