Monday Blues leaves

I just found out from a colleague of mine that in my company there’s a leave called Monday Blues leaves. I can choose not to work on monday for a year. Wow may be I should apply for this leave.

Windows Vista stuck in loop

My friend lappy was having problem. It got stuck in a loop when trying to start Windows Vista. It fails, attempts to restart, and fails again repeatedly. Here are some steps on how I fix it.

1. Turn on the laptop and press F8 before Windows start to access the Advanced Boot Options menu.
2. Select “Disable automatic restart on system failure” and press enter.

This will prevents Windows from automatically restarting if an error causes Windows to fail. Choose this option only if Windows is stuck in a loop where Windows fails, attempts to restart, and fails again repeatedly.

3. Then her laptop start and stuck at BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) with the following error :

Stop:0×0000007b(0×81e03ba0,0xc0000034,0×00000000,0 x00000000)

4. Restart the laptop and go into BIOS configuration menu.
5. In the BIOS settings, change and revert back the SATA mode to original value, i.e. in ATA (or PATA) or IDE emulation mode). Doing this will allow system to get passed BSoD and boot up properly.
6. Restart the laptop and now it boot into Windows Vista.
7. Exit all Windows-based programs.
8. Click on Vista Start Menu, type regedit in the Start Search box, and press ENTER.
9. If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
10. Go to the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci

11. In the right pane, in the Name column right-click Start , and then click Modify.
12. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
13. Then go to File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.
14. Restart laptop and go to BIOS menu (F2 key for my friend laptop), and enable ACHI mode in BIOS again.
15. This time the computer should be able to boot up properly without error or BSoD.

Did you know : The Seven Dirtiest Jobs in IT

“Working in IT isn’t always pretty. After all, we can’t all work on the cutting-edge technologies all the time. Some of us have to get dirty — in some cases, literally. Unfortunately, dirty jobs — whether you’re being chained to a help desk, hacking 30-year-old code, finding yourself wedged between warring factions in the conference room, or mucking about in human effluvia — are necessary to make nearly every organization tick. (Well, maybe not the human effluvia part.) The good news? Master at least one of them, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a job with somebody. We don’t guarantee you’ll like it, though. Here are seven of the dirtiest jobs in IT, and why your organization needs them.”

~”The Seven Dirtiest Jobs in IT”, March 2008, by Dan Tynan.
Read the full article on IT World at: www.itworld.com/dirty-jobs-080314

Dirty IT job No. 7: Legacy systems archaeologist
WANTED: INDIVIDUALS FAMILIAR WITH 3270, VAX/VMS, COBOL, AS/400, AND OTHER LEGACY SYSTEMS NO ONE ELSE REMEMBERS. MUST BE ABLE TO TYPE ENTIRELY IN CAPITAL LETTERS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS. APPLICANTS MUST MEET MINIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT OF 55.

Dirty IT job No. 6: Help desk zombie
Excellent entry-level opportunity for multitasking individual with low self-esteem. Ability to read from scripts a plus. Potential to move up to bug scraper, password reset technician, or tape rotation coordinator.

Dirty IT job No. 5: On-site reboot specialist
Seeking individuals for on-site support of end-users. Must be familiar with three-fingered Ctrl-Alt-Del salute and power cord reconfiguration. Ability to withstand a variety of environments and personality types; concealed-weapons permit a plus. Individuals with anger management issues need not apply.

Dirty IT job No. 4: Interdepartmental peace negotiator
Looking for self-starter skilled at moderating tech disputes between warring factions within the same company or between company and its client. Must possess experience in ego-stroking, manipulative massage, and hand-to-hand combat.

Dirty IT job No. 3: Enterprise espionage engineer (black ops)
Seeking slippery individuals comfortable with lying, cheating, stealing, breaking, and entering for penetration testing of enterprise networks. Requirements include familiarity with hacking, malware, and forgery; must be able to plausibly impersonate a pest control specialist or a fire marshal. Please submit rap sheet along with resume.

Dirty IT job No. 2: Datacenter migration specialist
Position involves relocating and reconfiguring datacenter over impossible distances within a ridiculously short time frame. Prior experience as cable jockey, rack-n-stack grunt, console monkey, and/or log zombie a plus.

Dirty IT job No. 1: Sludge systems architect
Seeking individuals with demonstrated ability to squeeze over, under, or between confined spaces to solve technical problems. Candidates should be prepared to work long hours for low pay under adverse conditions. Must not be allergic to sawdust, vermin, airborne pathogens, or sewage.

Mid Year Appraisal

Today I had my mid year appraisal with my boss. Guess what? I’m doing OK. I need to get 4 products certification by December.  I was asked to list down the exam that I’m interested. I simply said :

1. IBM Tivoli Netcool (Omnibus)
2. IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager for WebSphere
3. IBM Tivoli Access Manager for e-business
4. IBM Tivoli Netcool (Impact)

I doubt I can pass easily on the certification exam but by hook or by crook I need to get it or my appraisal won’t be as good as last year. Let hope I can attend Tivoli Technical Workshop in Manila this coming October.

I miss Siteminder sob sob …

MAXIS Broadband with VPN

Finally I managed to get my vpn to work with maxis broadband. I managed to to download email, view intranet site  and login to sametime.

I’m gonna keep using it as I’m able to get connected almost everywhere (within the coverage area of coz) … No more asking customer for their proxy password to get access to the net (some cust.)