[{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis post is sponsored by Cast AI, but they had no input in my review.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s September 2026 and we\u0026rsquo;re going through another wave of \u0026ldquo;what is software engineering\u0026rdquo; angst.\nThese have been coming every 4-6 months since ChatGPT launched and have ranged from RAG, one shots, gas towns, agents, escapes, and \u0026ldquo;open\u0026rdquo; is having a moment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpen weight models have caught up to be good enough for a lot of software lifecycle tasks.\nOpen harnesses are still in flux, but there are some patterns about what shape they should have and what layers each part of the system should be responsible for.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-09-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2026-09-08-kimchi/","tags":null,"title":"Kimchi"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis build took much longer than I anticipated.\nPartially because I spent a lot of time trying things that didn\u0026rsquo;t work out, partially because I had to learn new skills, and mostly because I didn\u0026rsquo;t have a deadline.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been running it as part of my home lab with \u003ca href=\"https://talos.dev\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eTalos Linux\u003c/a\u003e\n for the past couple of months without any hardware failures so I\u0026rsquo;m sharing it with you.\nWatch the video for a lot more pictures or keep reading to learn about the parts and software.\nI work on Talos, but this post and build is not sponsored by Sidero Labs.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/wrtk8s/","tags":null,"title":"wrtK8s"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat if you built a Linux distro that only worked with Kubernetes?\nIt could have an API instead of a shell, it could be configured the same way as Kubernetes, and it could handle common administration tasks with declarative config.\nTalos Linux was created to eliminate duplicate work, secure underlying infrastructure, and safely maintain Kubernetes and Linux together.\nThis talk will show how Talos works and why API driven distributions are the future of Linux.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.10-kcduk-building_a_kubernetes_linux_distro/","tags":null,"title":"Building a Kubernetes Linux Distro"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI really tried to make it work.\nI wanted it to work.\nBut I finally replaced my 11\u0026quot; iPad Pro (4th generation) with a real laptop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI love small laptops.\nScreen size between 10-12 inches (25-30cm) is what I\u0026rsquo;ve been using ever since I was able to pick a laptop screen size.\nEven 13\u0026quot; laptops feel too big to carry, which leaves me with limited options.\nSo when I started a new role, I tried an iPad — it seemed to tick all the boxes.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2026-06-20-ipad-laptop/","tags":null,"title":"Using an iPad Pro as a Laptop"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSystem management has evolved from packages, to configuration management, and now CRDs. We keep trying to automate Linux with new tools and interfaces, but the underlying interface doesn\u0026rsquo;t change. Shell scripts still rule the world and dominate workflows. When things go wrong, SSH is still the de facto standard. But what would Linux look like if it were built in today\u0026rsquo;s world without legacy baggage. This talk will explain the evolution and lessons learned from building an API for Linux used in Talos Linux. A completely API managed distribution without any shells or SSH.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.09-devopsdays_portland-cloud-init_isnt_enough/","tags":null,"title":"Cloud-init isn't enough"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDiscussion between new linux distributions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.09-devopsdays_portland-new-linuxes-panel/","tags":null,"title":"Cloud-init isn't enough"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe treat infrastructure and application as code thanks to cloud providers and Kubernetes, but we\u0026rsquo;re still SSHing to Linux machines and running shell scripts. What if Linux had an API? How would it change how we manage servers? What would it do, and how would we secure it? Talos Linux has been building an API for Linux to create a new way to manage your operating system. Let\u0026rsquo;s see why an API is better than SSH and what parts don\u0026rsquo;t\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.07-cloud_native_pdx-an_api_for_linux/","tags":null,"title":"An API for Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis post is sponsored by \u003ca href=\"https://cast.ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eCast AI\u003c/a\u003e\n, but comes from my real world experiences.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAutomatically scaling nodes is a cloud parlor trick you don\u0026rsquo;t get to opt out of.\nIf you run in a hyperscaler you have to play by their rules weather you need it or not.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs it useful?\nSometimes.\nIs it required?\nYes, to make the economics make sense.\nIs it cool?\nAbsolutely.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCloud pricing makes static provisioning expensive, so you\u0026rsquo;re forced to dynamically scale.\nBut autoscaling introduces problems you didn\u0026rsquo;t have on-prem.\nThen you spend years turning knobs to make the problems managable.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2026-06-04-kubernetes-autoscaling/","tags":null,"title":"Kubernetes Autoscaling"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike many people experimenting with self-hosting LLMs Justin tried it on the hardware he already had. This worked, but had limitations on capacity and access. The next step was to get dedicated hardware, but running multiple models, sharing, and deploying agents still had too many constraints. Then Justin started deploying LLMs to Kubernetes using substrate from Google. This talk reviews what substrate is, what problems it solves, and how it compares to other options.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-06-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.09-agentcon-eu-scaling_llms_from_1_gpu_to_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Scaling LLMs from 1 GPU to Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eYou\u0026rsquo;re not outsourcing work to AI.\nYou\u0026rsquo;re creating organizational sludge slowing down your experts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have over 20 years of experience in running infrastructure.\nI\u0026rsquo;m what many people would call an \u0026ldquo;expert\u0026rdquo; in my field.\nI\u0026rsquo;m spending most of my time reviewing other people\u0026rsquo;s low effort output.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m not saying LLM output can\u0026rsquo;t be useful.\nUse the word prediction machine to help you predict better words.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t foist the words on other people without critically thinking about what \u003cstrong\u003eyou\u003c/strong\u003e created.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-05-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2026-05-19-your-slop-my-sludge/","tags":null,"title":"Your Slop, My Sludge"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTBD\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-04-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.11-kubeauto_na-declarative-vs-automated/","tags":null,"title":"Declarative vs Automated"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes has a lot of components that depend on each other and \u0026ldquo;scaling\u0026rdquo; doesn\u0026rsquo;t always mean \u0026ldquo;up.\u0026rdquo; We\u0026rsquo;ll show how to understand the tradeoffs when you scale, and we\u0026rsquo;ll dive into the technical details of what components become the bottlenecks at large and small scales.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConstraints are unknown until you hit them, and adding more nodes is rarely the right solution. This talk will look at what it takes to find the limits of Kubernetes and what components are replaceable to go beyond the default size recommendations.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-04-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.11-kubecon_na-scaling_beyond_kubernetes_limits/","tags":null,"title":"Scaling beyond Kubernetes limits"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn preperation for conferences this year I wanted to update my \u003ca href=\"./petaflop-cluster\"\u003ePETaflop cluster\u003c/a\u003e\n to something that was easier to travel with.\nThe first version of the cluster was challenging to build mostly because of the limited space and power requirements.\nThe next version I had some goals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCut weight significantly\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImprove power efficiency\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake it easier to pack\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe\u0026rsquo;re a video version of this post if you want to watch me put it together instead of read the components.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-04-03T08:08:13-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2026-04-03-kubernetes-carrier-v2/","tags":null,"title":"Kubernetes Carrier V2"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet\u0026rsquo;s pretend all AI models are equal. Let\u0026rsquo;s assume the cost differences between SaaS and self-hosting are negligible. Self-hosting isn\u0026rsquo;t the only alternative to get the control you need. Justin will compare the trade-offs and benefits when you use Tailscale\u0026rsquo;s AI gateway—Aperture—in your environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-03-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.08-tailscale_up-saas_self-host_or_gateway_the_ai_control_conundrum/","tags":null,"title":"SaaS, self-host, or gateway: the AI control conundrum"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI gave a talk at \u003ca href=\"https://socallinuxexpo.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSoCal Linux Expo\u003c/a\u003e\n explaining what an \u0026ldquo;immutable\u0026rdquo; OS means and how some of the popular distributions implement immutability.\nThe talk is a lot more fun than this blog post and has props to visualize what\u0026rsquo;s happening.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/jvdPuTcdGXs?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLinux was never designed to start up and change nothing.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s no such thing as a 100% immutable.\nThe problem immutability is trying to solve is preditcable and scoped changes.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-03-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/state-of-immutable-linux/","tags":null,"title":"The State of Immutable Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u0026ldquo;starter cluster\u0026rdquo; has evolved from the simple days of kube-up to powering the largest platforms in the world. Kubernetes is the application interface developers expect, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t fit everywhere. Justin has spent years trying to meet that challenge. He\u0026rsquo;s built some of the smallest and largest clusters in the world using old, new, and custom-build hardware. He\u0026rsquo;ll share lessons learned from putting Kubernetes into places it wasn\u0026rsquo;t originally designed to run—and how those experiences are shaping a simpler path forward with Talos Linux.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-02-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.09-edgecase-gotta_build_em_all/","tags":null,"title":"Gotta Build 'em All"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2025 I tried to spend less time on social media and more time reading long-form content.\nI read 19 books which isn\u0026rsquo;t a lot, but it\u0026rsquo;s a lot for me.\nI also read a lot of papers, but didn\u0026rsquo;t track or remember all of them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI switched to \u003ca href=\"https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm765365\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003elibro.fm\u003c/a\u003e\n for all my audio books so I\u0026rsquo;ll link to that since it helped me de-Amazon my life.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want the full list of what I read subscribe to my newsletter.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be sending the full list with summaries soon.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2026-01-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2026-01-04-favorite-books-and-papers-of-2025/","tags":null,"title":"Favorite Books and Papers of 2025"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinux has evolved a lot over the past 30 years. Distributions were created as opinionated starting points for general usage, but the advent of containers changed what was required and expected. CoreOS pushed the limits of what a server distribution should be, and those limits continue to be refined with more special purpose options.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile many of these next generation distros have similar characteristics they\u0026rsquo;re not all the same. Justin will provide an overview of the current landscape of immutable distributions and what sets each one apart, and what they have in common.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2025-12-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2026.03-scale-the_state_of_immutable_linux/","tags":null,"title":"The State of Immutable Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eInstead of going to therapy I built another Kubernetes cluster.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI got a NVIDIA DGX Spark and wanted to see what it\u0026rsquo;s capable of.\nLots of people have done benchmarks and comparisons, but I needed to see what it practically felt like to build something.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it\u0026rsquo;s a local, powerful AI computer I had to think of something AI related, and I wanted some way to show it\u0026rsquo;s local.\nOf course this could all be faked, but it\u0026rsquo;s a lot more fun to work with constraints.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2025-11-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/petaflop-cluster/","tags":null,"title":"PETaflop cluster"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eCompany leadership say they\u0026rsquo;re data driven, and they may even believe it.\nBut the only data that actually matters is money.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery other data you collect, visualize, and optimize is a proxy for money.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re lucky, the data will be a direct translation to money, but most likely you\u0026rsquo;ll have to go through two or more exchanges (managers) before you can get the real value.\nAny data that\u0026rsquo;s worth collecting will have someone who translates it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2025-07-23T22:43:04-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2025-07-23-dollar-driven/","tags":null,"title":"Dollar Driven"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn an effort to keep using my domain for my identity online I wanted a way for people to start a Signal chat with me without needing to publish my phone number. \u003ca href=\"https://signal.org/blog/phone-number-privacy-usernames/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSignal usernames\u003c/a\u003e\n are an answer for this, but there\u0026rsquo;s still friction between telling someone my username and them sending me a message.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSignal has a way to share a QR code to automatically start a chat but that assumes people can scan something with a camera. I was looking for something as easy as typing in a URL.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2025-03-31T00:05:05-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2025-03-31-signal-domain-shortcut/","tags":null,"title":"Signal Domain Shortcut"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been running a home lab in various states for over 20 years.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not trying to be completely self-reliant and I don\u0026rsquo;t think that SaaS software is bad\u0026ndash;although increasingly this is the case.\nI just wanted to have some ownership over my data and I didn\u0026rsquo;t have a lot of money to pay for cloud storage or services, but I did have cheap computers and free time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwenty years later I have more money than time but I still run a decent amount of hardware for my home lab.\nSomeone asked me how they should get started with self-hosting so I\u0026rsquo;m writing it down to share what I\u0026rsquo;ve learned after years of changing requirements and multiple hardware iterations.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2025-03-09T21:00:17-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2025-03-09-getting-started-with-self-hosting/","tags":null,"title":"Get Started With Self-Hosting"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs cloud-init really the best we can do for managing servers? We\u0026rsquo;ve gone through a long history of SSH, webmin, and config management. Linux is still a core component to infrastructure maintenance and security and it seems most people have settled on bash scripts are good enough. Let\u0026rsquo;s explore what we\u0026rsquo;ve tried and where we\u0026rsquo;re headed as an industry.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis will give an overview of different management options for Linux and the benefits and drawbacks they\u0026rsquo;ve had. It will explore alternative approaches to management such as golden images, single purpose Linux distributions, and API options. Attendees will learn about why technologies were introduced and what problems they solved.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2025-02-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.05-oss_na-the_history_and_future_of_linux_management/","tags":null,"title":"The History and Future of Linux Management"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is the smallest distribution you could build that\u0026rsquo;s full featured for Kubernetes?\nTalos Linux is 80MB small with only 12 binaries in the system path.\nBy building a dedicated Kubernetes distro from scratch the system scales up and down, and has a variety of other useful side effects.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis talk will help attendees think outside of the box for what a Linux distribution can be.\nIt will focus on edge use cases such as security, connectivity, and maintenance.\nIt will also talk about lessons we learned building the system from scratch and how we\u0026rsquo;ve had to adapt our assumptions over time.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-12-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.04-kube_on_edge_day-the_little_linux_that_could/","tags":null,"title":"The Little Linux that Could"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMastodon is a social media monolith, but Bluesky\u0026rsquo;s architecture is microservices in the ways I like.\nWhile it\u0026rsquo;s true components of Mastodon are separate, the instance is inseperable from user data.\nYou have to run a Mastodon server if you want to be a user on the network.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat fundamental idea is not the responsibility I want to have with social media.\nNot only is that more expensive and complex, it\u0026rsquo;s more \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-04-24-mastodon-is-doomed/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003elegally fraught, and expensive\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-12-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-12-02-run-a-bluesky-pds-from-home/","tags":null,"title":"Run a Bluesky PDS From Home"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany of us are visual learners, but few of us are visual teachers. This talk will build on years of experience teaching Kubernetes concepts in an engaging and memorable way. We will cover concepts such as pods, scheduling, scaling, and load balancing, and you will leave understanding how the different components operates together to make a complete orchestration system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis will be an engaging and different way to explain core concepts that people know but don\u0026rsquo;t understand. It will encourage audience participation and give them a starting point to dig deeper. My goal is to make it the most entertaining talk of the entire conference.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-11-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.04-kubecon_eu-putting_the_fun_in_kubernetes_fundamentals/","tags":null,"title":"Putting the \"fun\" in Kubernetes fundamentals"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis panel brings together representatives from various Special purpose Linux distributions that are part of the CNCF working group. We will discuss what makes these operating systems similar and what sets them apart. Using this information you\u0026rsquo;ll be able to understand what benefits they offer over traditional distributions and when you may want to use each one.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis panel will help attendees understand why the operating systems were created and what problems they help solve. The panel will have some predetermined questions and will open the discussion to audience questions. It is intended to accelerate research into the options, not declare a specific \u0026ldquo;best\u0026rdquo; option.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-11-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.04-kubecon_eu-special_purpose_linux_distributions_for_containers/","tags":null,"title":"Special Purpose Linux Distributions for Containers"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRunning edge workloads isn\u0026rsquo;t easy. Combining that with the requirements of AI make infrastructure brittle and difficult to scale. Using Kubernetes as a base platform we will show how to architect and build a centrally managed, containerized AI platform that\u0026rsquo;s easy to maintain.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-10-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.05-scale-computing-running_ai_at_the_edge_with_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Running AI at the Edge with Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003ePlatform engineering teams are fooling themselves if they think they can build a single platform that will fit everyone\u0026rsquo;s needs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompanies want centralized management, reporting, and to \u0026ldquo;accelerate developer velocity,\u0026rdquo; and platform engineering is the current buzzword selling that snake oil.\nBut that\u0026rsquo;s not how platforms work, at least not the platforms they think they\u0026rsquo;re building.\nWhat they need is multiple platforms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pendulum has swung far away from the idealistic devops approach of giving devs pagers and letting them build whatever they need.\nNow we\u0026rsquo;re back to \u0026ldquo;reducing cognitive load\u0026rdquo; and specialized teams.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-09-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-09-30-platforms-engineering/","tags":null,"title":"Platforms Engineering"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat is your AI strategy? The question many companies are being asked and the joke many developers and laughing at. You probably don\u0026rsquo;t need a strategy, but it would be helpful to understand the landscape a bit more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKnowing where to start is a big part of the battle and using a managed service isn\u0026rsquo;t going to help you understand the requirements. Especially not for edge constraints. Let\u0026rsquo;s dive into what a Cloud Native Gen AI stack looks like, what hardware you might consider to get started, and build a deployment step-by-step to show what\u0026rsquo;s required and why.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-09-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.02-navigate-edge_ai_from_nothing_to_llm/","tags":null,"title":"Edge AI From Nothing to LLM"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe hype cycle for Platform Engineering is high, but few companies understand what they\u0026rsquo;re building or why they\u0026rsquo;re building it. Let\u0026rsquo;s look at the different types of platforms, where they fit in the stack, and which ones you should avoid building.\nOnce we know what we want and why we can begin to have a conversation about what technologies are required. After all of this you\u0026rsquo;ll have a better idea if you need to build vs buy, who your customer is, and why the term Platform Engineering exists in the first place.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-09-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2025.02-navigate-what_kind_of_platform_are_you_building/","tags":null,"title":"What Kind of Platform Are You Building?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes does a lot of things well, but it\u0026rsquo;s not the only orchestrator. Did you know Meta\u0026rsquo;s Twine orchestrator has millions of machines in a single cluster, Google\u0026rsquo;s Borg doesn\u0026rsquo;t run OCI containers, Amazon ECS has no API versions, and Hashicorp\u0026rsquo;s Nomad is a single binary with built in scheduler and cluster federation? There are opportunities to look at past and present systems to learn about features and architecture decisions that can benefit Kubernetes too.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-08-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.11-rejekts-what_kubernetes_should_learn_from_other_orchestrators/","tags":null,"title":"What Kubernetes Should Learn from Other Orchestrators"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAWS has recently been silently removing services for new users.\nThey claim existing customers will not be affected for many of the services, but it is clear that the company is trying to reduce their overhead and trim some fat.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince December 2023 they have deprecated 14 services, features, or versions of services.\nOf course Amazon doesn\u0026rsquo;t keep track of these changes and until someone makes a \u003ca href=\"https://killedbygoogle.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ekilledbygoogle\u003c/a\u003e\n for AWS we\u0026rsquo;ll have to \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/SummitRoute/aws_breaking_changes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehear about it from other customers\u003c/a\u003e\n.\nServices include Honeycode, Cloud9, CodeCommit, and a bunch of others you\u0026rsquo;ve never heard of.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-08-05T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-08-05-more-aws-services-they-should-cancel/","tags":null,"title":"21 More AWS Services They Should Cancel"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/cloud-customer-patterns.png\" alt=\"The fear is real.\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are the best practices for announcements from your cloud provider.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-07-31T22:59:51-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-07-31-cloud-customer-patterns/","tags":null,"title":"Cloud Customer Patterns"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2011, Marc Andreessen famously said \u0026ldquo;\u003ca href=\"https://a16z.com/why-software-is-eating-the-world/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003esoftware is eating the world\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u0026rdquo;\nThe article has been interpreted many different ways over the past 13 years, but the fundamental claim is that there is so much software running so many different industries that the \u0026ldquo;software companies\u0026rdquo; should be valued higher than they are.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe article didn\u0026rsquo;t age very well because many of the notable, forward thinking software companies that were mentioned in the article you haven\u0026rsquo;t thought of for at least 5 years.\nCompanies like Skype, Flickr, and Groupon.\nThese companies had incredible promise and either had successful aquisitions, or fell into obscurity in niche markets.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-07-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-07-01-the-world-is-eating-software/","tags":null,"title":"The World Is Eating Software"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI just wrote about \u003ca href=\"/blog/2024-06-06-ten-years-of-kubernetes/\"\u003emy path with Kubernetes\u003c/a\u003e\n and how I\u0026rsquo;ve seen the project grow.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s probably a good time to talk about what could be next.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"kubernetes-20\"\u003eKubernetes 2.0\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI would love to see some breaking changes in Kubernetes.\nIf we were building a Kubernetes 2.0, the top 4 things I would want to see changed are:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOptional etcd\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVersionless\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMore monoliths\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eK8sfile\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"etcd\"\u003eetcd\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes is an etcd API.\nIt was a great idea to make Kubernetes use a key value store instead of a traditional relational database or something like GraphQL.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-06-06T12:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-06-06-kubernetes-2.0/","tags":null,"title":"Kubernetes 2.0"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"my-background\"\u003eMy background\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn February 2014 I saw a presentation by \u003ca href=\"http://jpetazzo.github.io\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eJérôme Petazzoni\u003c/a\u003e\n about a new tool called \u003ca href=\"https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/sites/default/files/presentations/docker-and-containers-for-development-and-deployment-scale12x.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eDocker\u003c/a\u003e\n.\nI was pretty cautious about adopting a new tool because I was a system administrator and was still in the process of deploying config management in our environment.\nThat same year I gave a presentation \u003ca href=\"http://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale12x/speakers/justin-garrison.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eabout Ansible\u003c/a\u003e\n which was the most recent technology I was abusing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJune 2nd 2014, 4 days before Kubernetes was announced, I started a new role at Disney Animation.\nI was blown away by the infrastructure.\nAll the hard things I was trying to do at my last job were already done.\nPuppet was deployed everywhere, OS provisioning was automatic, even PXE booting and DNS were well established and reliable.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-06-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-06-06-ten-years-of-kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Ten Years of Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis topic has come up often over the years so I\u0026rsquo;m writing it down to express my current opinion of how your application and infrastructure should grow over time.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve roughly had the same opinion since working at Disney+ and moving to AWS and watching applications and infrastructure scale.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery application and environment is unique so no one will be able to follow this progression exactly.\nBut generally this is how I start anything I build, and how I recommend applications to grow\u0026ndash;assuming they\u0026rsquo;re business applications that make money and have customers.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-05-21T00:59:09-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-05-21-how-to-grow-your-infrastructure/","tags":null,"title":"How to Grow Your Infrastructure"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes does a lot of things well, but it\u0026rsquo;s not the only orchestrator. There are lots of opportunities to learn from other systems that have similar goals and made different decisions. Mesos got some things right and so did Google\u0026rsquo;s Borg. Hashicorp\u0026rsquo;s Nomad is simple and so is Amazon ECS. What lessons can we take away from these systems to make Kubernetes better?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubecon exposes a lot of people to the inner workings of Kubernetes but rarely considers how it compares to other options and why it may be useful to understand other systems.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-04-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.11-kubecon_na-what_kubernetes_should_learn_from_other_orchestrators/","tags":null,"title":"What Kubernetes Should Learn from Other Orchestrators"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-04-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.11-kubecon_na-windows_vm_in_kubernetes_with_kubevirt/","tags":null,"title":"Windows VMs in Kubernetes with KubeVirt"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompanies are in a constant state of change as the industry and technologies change around them. How can you make decisions that will change the company in the desired direction? Change is inevitable, but not all changes are desired. From DevOps to RTO, which behaviors are you trying to reinforce and which are you trying to get rid of? We\u0026rsquo;ll look at the study of \u0026ldquo;Blue Zones\u0026rdquo; and how they impact people around the world and how organizational and technology decisions have impacted companies for good and bad.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-03-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.10-all_things_open-how_to_change_a_company/","tags":null,"title":"How to change a company"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Kubernetes API manages network policies for application traffic in a declarative way. Some network interfaces—like Cilium—take this further by introducing additional policy resources that are more expressive than the default resources. Kubernetes intentionally leaves host networking policy out of the equation. As a result, admins typically fall back to familiar tools and write fragile bash scripts for Iptables and Firewalld when defining host network firewall policy, but that\u0026rsquo;s not the only option. The host network in your Kubernetes node is just another network namespace, albeit a somewhat special one, and it is possible to use declarative resources to secure node host networks, but not with the default Kubernetes API resources. This talk will cover a couple of contemporary implementations that provide in-cluster host network firewalling. Both Talos, as a Kubernetes distribution, and Cilium, as an advanced CNI, offer host firewalling declared as resources inside the cluster. We will compare and contrast these implementations and discuss the pros and cons of each.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-03-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.06-securitycon-node_firewalling/","tags":null,"title":"Kubernetes Node firewalling from the Inside Out"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone knows security is best done in layers. Usually that means adding more layers. This requires more to manage, more resources to pay for, and more overhead. But what if you could gain security by taking away some of the layers? We\u0026rsquo;ll show examples of how we took away layers in Talos Linux to strip and harden the OS with a total of only 12 binaries and a strict focus on Kubernetes.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-03-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.06-securitycon-security_down_to_the_kernel/","tags":null,"title":"Security down to the kernel"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"brief-description\"\u003eBrief description\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardware is hard and Kubernetes doesn’t help\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"short-description\"\u003eShort description\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust because Kubernetes is cloud native doesn’t mean you can’t run it on-prem, but why is it so hard in 2024? There are lots of options but all of them have trade-offs. Justin has been building on-prem clusters for 8 years and will help you figure out if you need a project or a product, CAPI or PXE, and cloud-init or config management.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-03-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.03-scale-the_state_of_on-prem_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"The state of on-prem Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStability and security start from the foundation. If you’re building Kubernetes based infrastructure with general purpose Linux you’re doing too much work. This talk will show you every binary in Talos Linux and what it does.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.08-devopsdays_minneapolis-how_many_binaries_do_you_need/","tags":null,"title":"How many binaries do you need?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wrote the book Cloud Native Infrastructure. I helped the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) define what “Cloud Native” means. I even worked at AWS on EKS. Now I’ve realized The Cloud isn’t living up to the promises. Here’s the pitfalls of The Cloud and how we can do better.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.10-all_things_open-how_many_binaries_do_you_need/","tags":null,"title":"How many binaries do you need?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis was the biggest un-truth that I saw while working at AWS on the EKS team.\nOn an almost weekly basis a customer would want to use AWS Fargate for a variety of reasons and one of them would be because it used Firecracker. For some reason\u0026ndash;AWS marketing\u0026ndash;that was better than traditional EC2 Xen virtualization.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd no one at AWS would correct them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was an unspoken policy to never point out that Fargate didn\u0026rsquo;t actually use Firecracker to create \u0026ldquo;microVMs\u0026rdquo; for each container.\nJust let customers believe what they wanted to.\nOf course all of the documentation and blog posts make it \u003cem\u003esound\u003c/em\u003e like Fargate uses Firecracker, but you have to read between the lines and know how companies push you to believe something that\u0026rsquo;s not true.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-08T22:17:30-08:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-02-08-fargate-is-not-firecracker/","tags":null,"title":"Fargate Is Not Firecracker"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"elevator-pitch\"\u003eElevator Pitch\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe run declarative systems built on top of an imperative operating system. It’s time we simplified our interface for Linux with a declarative API.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinux is the foundation for most of the internet, but we’re still building it with Packer and bash scripts. It’s time we had a better, more reliable interface to the Linux Kernel. The Common Operating System Interface (COSI) is setting out to do just that. An API layer on top of Linux that allows for declarative interface for configuring and managing Linux servers. Justin will show how it can be used in Kubernetes, and apply to multiple environments.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.09-sreday-declarative_linux_with_the_common_operating_system_interface/","tags":null,"title":"Declarative Linux with the Common Operating System Interface"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the popular 2013 essay and the 2018 book it doesn’t matter if you’re part of product, engineering, or marketing, it’s very likely that your job in DevRel is bullsh*t. By definition these jobs fall into a category of flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters. Justin will explore how DevRel fits into these categories and how we can find meaning in our careers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.07-devrelcon-devrel_is_bullsht/","tags":null,"title":"DevRel is Bullsh*t"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"elevator-pitch\"\u003eElevator Pitch\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBash scripts and cloud-init aren\u0026rsquo;t good enough to build infrastructure in 2024. It\u0026rsquo;s time to build with declarative APIs all they way down to the Linux kernel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if you run systems in the cloud or on-prem. Linux is going to be a key part of your stack, but how much Linux do you need to know? Do you remember the commands for systemd and tcpdump? SSH and bash don\u0026rsquo;t scale to today\u0026rsquo;s needs or security requirements. With Talos Linux you can stop spending your time scripting an OS and instead use modern, API driven methods to build more secure and more reliable infrastructure.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.06-sreday-security_down_to_the_kernel/","tags":null,"title":"Security down to the kernel"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can’t apply general storytelling techniques to short form video. Justin will show how he’s used short form video to reach and educate an audience at multiple companies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.07-devrelcon-tiktok_storytelling/","tags":null,"title":"TikTok Storytelling"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinux is the most popular operating system in the world but is still configured with shell scripts and obscure commands. Talos is a Linux distribution that is single purpose built for Kubernetes and is completely configured and managed via an API. There\u0026rsquo;s no shell and no SSH.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll show how it works and the benefits of a completely API driven OS.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.04-api_days-an_api_for_linux/","tags":null,"title":"An API for Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cloud has enabled countless innovations and powers some of the worlds largest websites. I am the author of Cloud Native Infrastructure and a user for a decade. Now I\u0026rsquo;ve changed my mind about when and how cloud environments should be used. Not everything should be on-prem, but we need to decide just how much \u0026ldquo;heavy lifting\u0026rdquo; our clouds are doing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.05-stir_trek-i_was_wrong_about_the_cloud/","tags":null,"title":"I was wrong about the cloud"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wrote the book Cloud Native Infrastructure. I helped the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) define what “Cloud Native” means. I even worked at AWS on EKS. Now I’ve realized The Cloud isn’t living up to the promises. Here’s the pitfalls of The Cloud and how we can do better.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.10-all_things_open-i_was_wrong_about_the_cloud/","tags":null,"title":"I was wrong about the cloud"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinux is the most popular operating system in the world, but that also makes it the most flexible and complicated to conform to your needs. What if there were a Linux distro without all the stuff you didn\u0026rsquo;t need? Talos is a single purpose Linux built for Kubernetes. It is managed by a gRPC API and only includes the tools required to run containers. Justin will show how it works and how you can use it in everything from a home lab to large cloud environment.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.05-stir_trek-single_purpose_linux/","tags":null,"title":"Single Purpose Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinux is the most popular operating system in the world, but it is too complex to manage. We can automate it and try to maintain the complexity, but what we really need is a simpler interface. Talos is a Linux distribution designed just for Kubernetes. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t do anything else and in this talk we will show all of the things you don\u0026rsquo;t need to worry about with a single purpose Linux distribution.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.04-devopsdays-tokyo-single_purpose_linux_for_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Single Purpose Linux for Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eToday is my first day at \u003ca href=\"https://sidero.dev/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSidero\u003c/a\u003e\n!\nThey created \u003ca href=\"https://talos.dev\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eTalos Linux\u003c/a\u003e\n and \u003ca href=\"https://www.siderolabs.com/platform/saas-for-kubernetes/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eOmni\u003c/a\u003e\n and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be more excited.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI spent the last 3.5 years at AWS working on EKS and a good portion of that time was working on \u003ca href=\"https://anywhere.eks.amazonaws.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eEKS Anywhere\u003c/a\u003e\n.\nI learned a lot about how companies are using Kubernetes, and even more about how they\u0026rsquo;re misusing it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m proud of the things I accomplished at Amazon, but I was frequently reminded of the limitations of AWS that force customers to do more work.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-22T00:00:00-08:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-01-21-hello-sidero/","tags":null,"title":"Hello Sidero"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eEvery developer I know is in one of the following stages.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-20T10:49:29-08:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-01-20-the-software-developer-life-cycle/","tags":null,"title":"The other SDLC"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI had a csv file with data that looked like this.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"highlight\"\u003e\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\" style=\"color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#282a36;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;-webkit-text-size-adjust:none;\"\u003e\u003ccode class=\"language-csv\" data-lang=\"csv\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:flex;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eemail\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003edate\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:flex;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eme@example.com\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eMon Jan 01 2024 15:59:34 GMT+0000\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:flex;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eyou@this.com\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eWed Nov 01 2023 23:20:09 GMT+0000\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd I needed to convert the date field into this:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"highlight\"\u003e\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\" style=\"color:#f8f8f2;background-color:#282a36;-moz-tab-size:4;-o-tab-size:4;tab-size:4;-webkit-text-size-adjust:none;\"\u003e\u003ccode class=\"language-csv\" data-lang=\"csv\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:flex;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eemail\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003edate\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:flex;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eme@example.com\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003e2024-01-01\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:flex;\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003eyou@this.com\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan style=\"color:#f1fa8c\"\u003e2023-11-01\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eI tried to do this with \u003ccode\u003eawk\u003c/code\u003e first because it seemed like it would be a good fit.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure it\u0026rsquo;s possible but the syntax is obscure and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t figure it out.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2024-01-06T00:49:06-08:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2024-01-06-nu-shell-is-cool/","tags":null,"title":"Nu Shell Is Cool"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis is not financial advice and I am not an expert.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you would like to listen to what happened in a podcast I did an interview for \u003ca href=\"https://changelog.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eThe Changelog\u003c/a\u003e\n podcast.\n\u003caudio data-theme=\"night\" data-src=\"https://changelog.com/podcast/573/embed\" src=\"https://op3.dev/e/https://cdn.changelog.com/uploads/podcast/573/the-changelog-573.mp3\" preload=\"none\" class=\"changelog-episode\" controls\u003e\u003c/audio\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://changelog.com/podcast/573\"\u003eChangelog Interviews 573: Amazon\u0026rsquo;s silent sacking\u003c/a\u003e – Listen on \u003ca href=\"https://changelog.com/\"\u003eChangelog.com\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cscript async src=\"//cdn.changelog.com/embed.js\"\u003e\u003c/script\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmazon has a stock problem.\nIt’s not only Amazon, but they have more to lose.\nIf you’re a customer, that’s going to be bad for your business too.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-12-30T07:29:31Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-12-30-amazons-silent-sacking/","tags":null,"title":"Amazon's Silent Sacking"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wrote the book Cloud Native Infrastructure. The core idea is to use control loops to continuously manage your infrastructure as software, not just code. The community has implemented these ideas with GitOps and other controllers. But we\u0026rsquo;re creating unnecessary complexity and not everything should be managed this way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis will help developers and platform builders identify the types of infrastructure and tools they should automate with control loops and when to avoid them. It will accelerate their understanding of how gitops tools like Flux work, how crossplane fits in and how backstage is different.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.03-kubecon_eu-i_was_wrong_about_cloud_native_infrastructure/","tags":null,"title":"I was wrong about Cloud Native Infrastructure"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardware is hard. Justin was the co-chair of SIG on-prem in 2017 and has been working with home lab and enterprise Kubernetes for 7 years. What are the options for deploying and managing Kubernetes on-prem? Everything from Raspberry Pis, edge environments, and Enterprise hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis will give an overview of what projects and products are available for clusters running outside of a cloud provider. It will be an overview of various tools with some information about when and where they should be used.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.03-kubecon_eu-the_state_of_on-prem_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"The state of on-prem Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI use Git to track my resume revisions and job applications.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been using this method—or variation of it—for over 10 years.\nYou can see my \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/resume\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003esystem engineer resume\u003c/a\u003e\n which is from my role-syseng branch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI made a video that walks through a couple different examples that you can check out here.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/W5pwShuW1yw?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"how-to-track-your-resume\"\u003eHow to track your resume\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s an example repo that can give you an idea for how to \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/rothgar/track-your-resume-in-git/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003etrack your resume in git\u003c/a\u003e\n.\nThis is filled with dummy data and commit dates so you can understand what the repo looks like over time.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-10-20T11:20:57-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-10-20-how-i-track-my-resume-with-git/","tags":null,"title":"How I Track My Resume in Git"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been attending technical conferences over 15 years.\nA lot has changed in conferences and the industry, but I\u0026rsquo;ve found a few rules for myself that help me get the most out of attending in person.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePick the right conference\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSocialize at your pace\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChoose talks sparingly\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBe present\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"pick-the-right-conference\"\u003ePick the right conference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis one should be obvious but lots of people I talk to seem to miss this step.\nThe \u0026ldquo;right\u0026rdquo; conference for you is not the same for me, but where\u0026rsquo;s what I look for.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-10-08T15:07:38-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-10-08-4-tips-for-a-better-conference-experience/","tags":null,"title":"4 Tips for a Better Conference Experience"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou don\u0026rsquo;t run APIs from cgi-bin anymore so why are you still building systems like it\u0026rsquo;s 2010? Security and scalability cannot be bolted on to traditional Linux and we need to have modern tools. We will look at the landscape for Linux without systemd and how to build and maintain systems with API contracts instead of scripts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.02-developer_week-api_driven_linux/","tags":null,"title":"API Driven Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInfrastructure engineering has gone through many shifts in the past decade. Does anyone hire sysadmins anymore? Title changes have been a result of solutions causing new problems and org charts solving technology needs. We will look at how CI/CD lead to SRE and what the current problems tells us about future jobs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.02-developer_week-how_we_got_from_devops_to_platforms/","tags":null,"title":"How we got from DevOps to Platform Engineering"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"program-committee-description\"\u003eProgram committee description\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat makes up a Linux distro? - setting the stage for what the majority of people are currently using and how we got here\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhere do we run Linux? - on-prem, cloud, part of larger systems/clusters\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow do we create those systems? - packer/immutable images. On-demand installs (hardware)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow do we manage systems? - config management, cloud-init, etc. Runtime and long running management systems\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhy is this less reliable? - drift, general purpose Linux, too many things to manage/change\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat an API for system management can look like\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow the API can be integrated into other systems - demo and practical use cases with kubernetes\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhen API driven operating systems make sense (and when they don\u0026rsquo;t)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"session-outline\"\u003eSession outline\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat is Linux?\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKernel responsibilities\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow we manage applications\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow we currently manage Linux\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u0026ldquo;Immutable systems\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConfiguration management\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAPI approach\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMinimal requirements\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow to manage lifecycle\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse cases and options\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.03-srecon-reliable_systems_with_api_operating_systems/","tags":null,"title":"Reliable systems with API driven Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"program-committee-description\"\u003eProgram committee description\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn-prem Kubernetes environments have often been relegated to DIY approaches with little to no options unless you use a specific hardware or VM vendor. Agnostic approaches exist but are usually tied to cloud vendors. This talk will overview the landscape of offerings and where community vs commercial overlap exists.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"session-outline\"\u003eSession outline\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhy on-prem Kubernetes is hard\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo common infrastructure between environments\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo APIs for provisioning\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow have people done it in the past?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommunity options\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKubeadm\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKubespray\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVendor options\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTanzu\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnthos\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEKS Anywhere\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOmni\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nRejected\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2024.03-srecon-the_state_of_on-prem_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"The state of on-prem Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;Show me the data.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI stopped to think about what they were telling me.\nThey were demanding irrefutable evidence that what I was saying was true.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut I never said it was true.\nI said it was my intuition based on my experiences being close to the problem and speaking with other people who were living with the problem daily.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut my experience didn\u0026rsquo;t align with their data so they decided what I said was wrong unless I could prove it.\nData is what they required to consider my ideas.\nThey weren\u0026rsquo;t going to hear any more until I produced it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-09-06T21:01:18-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-09-06-the-data-driven-falacy/","tags":null,"title":"The Data Driven Falacy"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eInfrastructure has come a long way in the past 5 years, and yet infrastructure as code has been stuck with the same promises and tools for much longer.\nThe advent of infrastructure APIs was revolutionary and shifted the status quo to writing code to create and maintain infrastructure instead of the manual processes that were widely used just a few years before.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe democratization of containers made the industry forget about measuring sysadmin skills in server uptime and instead move to how quickly and frequently you replaced your infrastructure.\nWe took declarative configuration management and traded it for user-data bash scripts and pre-baked AMIs.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-08-29T22:01:58-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-08-29-terraform-gitops-system-initiative/","tags":null,"title":"Terraform vs. GitOps vs. System Initiative"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDockercon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDocker images aren\u0026rsquo;t just for applications anymore.\nThey are used as a universal packaging mechanism and a lot has changed with how they are built, distributed, and consumed.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll cover some of the biggest advances in container image management and use cases to get you started using images for more than just applications.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImages are core to the containerized developer experience and they have come a long way since their humble beginnings.\nIn today\u0026rsquo;s container ecosystem we can build containers without a Dockerfile, we can create images that target multiple different application types, and we can distribute the layers faster and more efficiently than ever.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-08-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.10-dockercon-the_incredibly_flexible_oci_image_format/","tags":null,"title":"The incredibly flexible OCI image format"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis article is best to experience before reading the details.\nHere is a video with a mock Amazon meeting complete with PR/FAQ.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWatch here and come back if you have more questions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_mQBaoN5mQ?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/prfaq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eDocument driven meetings PR/FAQ\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"documents-are-the-core-of-amazon-meetings\"\u003eDocuments are the core of Amazon meetings\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this instance, our document is a press release and frequently asked questions (PR/FAQ) style, generally employed for new features or enhancements.\nThis simulates a press release announcing a new feature.\nNow, we can discuss the document and the associated details.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-07-31T13:06:38-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-07-31-document-driven-meetings-at-amazon/","tags":null,"title":"Document Driven Meetings at Amazon"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch1 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ve all had to make trade-offs to implement a solution. But with modern Kubernetes a lot of the limitations of yesteryear have been overcome with new features and implementations. Justin will show you how to run Kubernetes clusters that can scale effortlessly, be highly utilized, and react fast to new requirements.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nCancelled\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-07-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.09-aws_community_day_bay_area-fast_scalable_and_efficient_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Fast, Scalable, and Efficient Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevops Stage\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s my first day at Air C and D.\nI’m the new SRE and I need to make our service more reliable.\nThe site goes live in 3 days.\nLet’s figure out how to keep our 9s while under pressure of launch.\nWhat components are the most critical to reliability and how can we implement them quickly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h3\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-07-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.10-devops_stage-putting_the_lie_in_reliability/","tags":null,"title":"Putting the \"lie\" in reliability"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe platform engineering hype wave is almost over—thank you AI, but too many companies are still full steam ahead building one.\nWhy do companies think they need a platform, and what\u0026rsquo;s another option?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-are-platforms\"\u003eWhat are platforms?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompanies believe the way to make more money is to ship code faster.\nThis means they need to either hire more developers—too expensive—or reduce the time it takes for code to be put into production.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-06-29T21:17:25-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-06-29-patterns-vs-platforms/","tags":null,"title":"Patterns vs Platforms"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eShell aliases are great, but they have some limitations.\nBy default they only work at the beginning of your prompt.\nThe only exception is if there is a trailing space in your alias value the next word is also checked if it is an alias.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat\u0026rsquo;s why if you run\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003ealias mydate=\u0026#39;date -R\u0026#39;\n\nwatch mydate\n# sh: line 1: mydate: command not found\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut if you alias \u003ccode\u003ewatch\u003c/code\u003e with a trailing space the following will work\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-06-05T22:28:41-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-06-05-zsh-global-aliases/","tags":null,"title":"Zsh Global Aliases"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery company is now an AI company, but getting started with AI/ML workloads requires GPUs. Justin will show how to create your first GPU workload, and how to scale to an entire organization without blowing your budget.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are a lot of gaps in content and documentation around running GPU enabled workloads beyond the basics. Many examples will show 1 workload but not how to scale that for the size of jobs needed for real production ML requirements.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-06-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.11-kubecon_na-chatgpt_deploy_my_application/","tags":null,"title":"ChatGPT, Deploy My Application"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou just finished cluster upgrades last week and it\u0026rsquo;s time to start planning for the next version. Will you ever get out of constant upgrade cycle to get back to your real work? Justin will show you practical tips to make your workloads and clusters easier to upgrade. You may not be able to eliminate upgrades, but you can minimize their potential impact and streamline the amount of coordination required.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-06-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.11-kubecon_na-the_road_to_seamless_cluster_upgrades/","tags":null,"title":"The Road to Seamless Cluster Upgrades"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAmazon, AWS, Twitch.tv, Whole Foods, Woot, and Audible are among the companies that use document driven meetings to plan new products, features, and processes.\nThis is an example PR/FAQ to help you understand the document format.\nThe format is not as important as the process for how it is used.\nFor an example document driven meeting see \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/-_mQBaoN5mQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethis video\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLos Angeles, CA — (justingarrison.com) — May 29, 2023 —\u003c/strong\u003e Justin Inc, announces a brand new meeting format for all of your scheduled meetings.\nIt does not matter if the meetings are in-person or virtual, this process is based on the meeting format pioneered at Amazon Inc. and available to any company.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-05-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/prfaq/","tags":null,"title":"Document Driven Meetings"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch1 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSocial network protocols like Mastodon\u0026rsquo;s ActivityPub and Bluesky\u0026rsquo;s atproto are at the core of a new wave of social networks. They\u0026rsquo;re designed with data ownership and distributed networks in mind, but they may not be all they\u0026rsquo;re cracked up to be. Protocols are not products and we need to take a closer look at what compromises are made during implementation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"notes\"\u003eNotes\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis talk is an extension of research I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing around ActivityPub \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-12-06-mastodon-files-instance/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehttps://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-12-06-mastodon-files-instance/\u003c/a\u003e\n and the atprotocol. The talk will show basics of how the protocols are similar and different and demos for implementing them and what trade-offs have been made in their designs.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-05-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.09-strangeloop-dont_at_me/","tags":null,"title":"Don't at me"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Internet has connected the world and driven us apart. How the protocols designed to build bridges have created walls, and what the future could look like if things don\u0026rsquo;t change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"notes\"\u003eNotes\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis topic is focusing on the technical abilities that have been used to disrupt information and freedoms. I will stay as much as possible in the technical implementations, but there will be some discussion of government censorship (eg great firewall of China) and other internets that exist outside general public knowledge (tor and dark web).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-05-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.09-strangeloop-the_world_wide_web_of_lies/","tags":null,"title":"The world wide web of lies"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMastodon is free and open source microblogging software that many people believe will be the next Twitter.\nBecause it is open source and built on the \u003ca href=\"https://activitypub.rocks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eActivityPub protocol\u003c/a\u003e\n you can run your own instance or join one of the existing servers to find your community.\nThe \u0026ldquo;fediverse\u0026rdquo; claims to be community owned, decentralized, and ad-free.\nIt also lets you \u0026ldquo;own your own data\u0026rdquo; in direct opposition to the existing social media platforms.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-04-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-04-24-mastodon-is-doomed/","tags":null,"title":"Mastodon Is Doomed"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://tailscale.com/blog/tailscale-up-2023/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003etailscale up\u003c/a\u003e\n)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStreaming games from the cloud is great, but how can you get the same flexibility with existing hardware? Using tailscale with steam we can game from anywhere, anytime, on any device.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"session-format\"\u003eSession format\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20 minutes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-04-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.05-tailscale_up-build_your_own_game_streaming_service/","tags":null,"title":"Build your own game streaming service"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eFlatpak might be a great portable, secure packaging format, but it\u0026rsquo;s not the most user friendly tool.\nThere are plenty of downsides to flatpak apps, but it is increasingly the most ubiquitous Linux packaging format.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne thing that is difficult with flatpack is launching applications from the terminal.\nCurrently the only official way to launch an app is with:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003eflatpak run APP_FQDN\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eApplication fully qualified names are usually some form of a reverse domain name where the application is hosted or the developer who created it.\nExamples include:\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-03-19T21:53:18-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-03-19-launch-flatpak-app/","tags":null,"title":"Launch Flatpak apps easily from your terminal"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe age of content being king is long behind us.\nPackaging has replaced it in almost all media.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early days of content creation—1500s, not 2000s—content was scarce.\nThe printing press was invented, but people did not have access to content the way we did in the 1900s.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the late 1800s to early 1900s the world went from books as the main source of content to radio (live), recorded audio, movies, and television.\nThe explosion of content and formats changed peoples consumption habits forever.\nNo longer were you consuming what was available, there was too much to consume in a lifetime and you had to make a decision.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-03-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-03-15-content-was-king/","tags":null,"title":"Content was king"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAmazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)\u003c/a\u003e\n has over 100 unique instance types with more than 600 size combinations.\nPicking the right instance type can be a difficult task for even the most seasoned engineer.\nRunning an application on the largest, fastest instance you can afford does not guarantee the best performance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you\u0026rsquo;ve ever wanted to understand instance type names or need help picking the right instance for your application you\u0026rsquo;ve found the right article.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a moving picture version of this blog post.\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfjDLbHnhBw?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-02-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2023-02-23-ec2-names-explained/","tags":null,"title":"Amazon EC2 names explained"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://platformcon.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ePlatform con\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe days of \u0026ldquo;cloud native\u0026rdquo; dominance are numbered. It has served us well, but it\u0026rsquo;s time for the next evolution of application-centric infrastructure to take its place. We can move beyond API driven low-level primitives and take the years of lessons learned to make them defaults for the platforms of the future.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ve successfully shifted the data center primitives into the API driven cloud. Security groups, VPCs, and virtual machines work well as building blocks when you have specialists who can maintain them, but the next wave of applications and developers won\u0026rsquo;t have that luxury.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-02-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.05-platformcon-app_native_infrastructure/","tags":null,"title":"App native infrastructure"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://platformcon.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ePlatform con\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlatforms evolve from client side to server side, imperative to declarative, and they grow in scope over time. What are the benefits and downsides of the different models and how will they impact your platform capabilities and long term goals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you set out to build a platform you have goals for what problems it will solve, who it will serve, and what it can do. The moment a customer uses the thing you built you\u0026rsquo;ll know it was all worth it. A year later you\u0026rsquo;ll wonder where you\u0026rsquo;ve gone wrong. What could you have done better? Why are you planning another re-write?\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-02-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.05-platformcon-the_evolution_of_a_platform/","tags":null,"title":"The evolution of a platform"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/oZbEP121i5Q?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://https://www.siderolabs.com/taloscon/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eTalosCon\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis talk is a demo and discussion about this blog post. \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-11-04-immutable-declarative-automated/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehttps://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-11-04-immutable-declarative-automated/\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2023-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.03-taloscon-automated_immutable_declarative_all_lies/","tags":null,"title":"Automated, Immutable, Declarative? All Lies"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThanks to the \u003ca href=\"https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#section-most-popular-technologies-operating-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2022 StackOverflow developer survey\u003c/a\u003e\n we can finally say 2022 was the year of Linux on the Desktop!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLinux as a primary operating system had been steadily climbing for the past 5 years.\n2018 through 2021 saw steady growth with \u003ca href=\"https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2018#technology-_-developers-primary-operating-systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e23.2%\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019#technology-_-developers-primary-operating-systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e25.6%\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020#technology-developers-primary-operating-systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e26.6%\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021#operating-system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e25.3%\u003c/a\u003e\n, and finally in 2022 the usage was 40.23%.\nLinux usage was more than macOS in 2021, but only by a small margin.\n2022 it is now 9% more than macOS.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-12-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/year-of-linux-desktop/","tags":null,"title":"2022 was the year of Linux on the Desktop"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMastodon is built on the \u003ca href=\"https://activitypub.rocks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eActivityPub\u003c/a\u003e\n protocol which is based on \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-core/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eActivity Streams\u003c/a\u003e\n which stores data in \u003ca href=\"https://json-ld.org/primer/latest/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eJSON Linked Data (JSON-LD)\u003c/a\u003e\n.\nAll that means is Mastodon uses a lot of JSON that references other JSON.\nA Mastodon instance can serve those JSON documents any way it wants so long as they are UTF-8 encoded.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"why-would-you-do-this\"\u003eWhy would you do this?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are more than 17,000 Mastodon instances.\nWhy would you implement one with static files?\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-12-06T07:00:00-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-12-06-mastodon-files-instance/","tags":null,"title":"Mastodon instance with 6 files"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg alt=\"Ralph waves goodbye to Vanellope from Ralph Breaks the Internet\" src=\"/img/123dev/100-0.gif\" width=100% /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"final-123dev-issue\"\u003eFinal 123dev issue\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThank you so much for subscribing to this newsletter.\nIt has been my pleasure to bring you a new issue every week for the past 100 weeks!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the last issue.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have learned a lot from creating this newsletter and it has been a fun project. I wrote my first web assembly for this newsletter and more JavaScript than I expected. I appreciate the feedback I\u0026rsquo;ve received and for you taking the time to read these comments.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-29T13:30:02.609Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-11-29-123dev-100/","tags":null,"title":"Goodbye - 123dev #100"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis site is generated with \u003ca href=\"https://gohugo.io/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehugo\u003c/a\u003e\n which I love, but the default RSS template is very basic.\nI wanted to make the RSS feed better for people using readers and share what I did.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy goals were:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake the RSS feed include the full article text\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd banner images\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd a feed thumbnails\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe default hugo RSS template is good enough to get started, but didn\u0026rsquo;t have these things and I wanted the experience to be better for the 9 of you who subscribe.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-22T12:00:00-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-11-22-hugo-rss-improvements/","tags":null,"title":"Hugo RSS Improvements"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/99-0.gif\" alt=\"A pigeon is trapped with a bucket and counter weight\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExamples\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDocumentation comes in many forms. If you want a great article about documentation go back to the very first issue of this newsletter. Once I have learned how something works the best way for me to understand how to use it is with examples.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis week I\u0026rsquo;ve been building something without any example code. There is a high level spec, an example (full) implementation, but no simple examples. It has taken me much longer than I expected to reverse engineer my use case without any examples.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-11-22-123dev-99/","tags":null,"title":"Low tech is high tech - 123dev #99"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/98-0.gif\" alt=\"Someone pretends to lift weights at a gym\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStuck\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was wrote Typescript this week for the second time in my life. Learning new things is hard. Learning them without adequate documentation or a person to point you in the right direction is a test of perseverance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s amazing to me that junior engineers can grow at all in this industry. Senior engineers that are too busy to document how things work and in too many meetings to talk to.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-11-15-123dev-98/","tags":null,"title":"Harder than they seem - 123dev #98"},{"categories":null,"contents":"","date":"2022-11-12T01:21:24-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-11-12-spot-the-differences/","tags":null,"title":"Application environments"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/yd90yc/no_snowflake_in_an_avalanche_ever_feels/\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/97-0.gif\" alt=\"Someone records an avalanche coming toward them\"  width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccidental priorities\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI uninstalled the Twitter app from my phone last week. My screen time usage dropped 24%. An average of 1 hour and 45 min every day. I knew I was checking it too much but I didn\u0026rsquo;t realize how much.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m trying to capitalize on some of that extra time with intentional learning and choosing what I prioritize. I would like to spend the time learning things more deeply, but that is difficult in 5-15 minute increments. So far I haven\u0026rsquo;t figured out what will work for me, but I have had more motivation to write on my site. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t subscribed to my site please check out the first link.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-11-08-123dev-97/","tags":null,"title":"Avalanche - 123dev #97"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe goals of infrastructure since I started managing it has been to automate it, make it immutable, and make it declarative.\nA good sysadmin never had to do something manually twice.\nAn SRE doesn\u0026rsquo;t let their infrastructure change.\nPlatform engineers are imperative allergic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll of these idealized extremes are guaranteed to waste your time.\nThey are helpful mechanisms to employ as needed, but without understanding their usefulness can be dangerous traps.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-04T01:21:24-07:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-11-04-immutable-declarative-automated/","tags":null,"title":"Automated, immutable, and declarative"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://yougotthis.io/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eYou Got this\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe all claim to be story tellers, but not many of us know the fundamentals of story telling.\nSr. Developer Advocate, Justin Garrison has worked with some of the best storytellers in the world at Disney and is obsessed with the art of storytelling and how it affects our lives.\nIn this session, he’ll discuss story structure, how to find great stories, and what you should avoid when telling your stories.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.01-you_got_this-how_to_tell_better_stories/","tags":null,"title":"How to tell better stories"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://events.linuxfoundation.org/kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eKubecon EU\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2016 Justin sold all of his Bitcoin and bought a Kubernetes home lab.\nThe return on investment for learning Kubernetes has been more valuable than any crypto currency.\nWith 6 years experience building labs at various budgets he\u0026rsquo;ll share what he has learned and suggestions if you\u0026rsquo;re getting started today.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefit-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefit to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people learn by doing and have limited budgets.\nKubernetes the hard way is a great learning tool, but to deeply understand how the underlying components work sometimes unplugging a cable is a better learning experience.\nThis talk will collect hardware options and suggestions for people building home labs today.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.04-kubecon_eu-kubernetes_home_labs_for_any_budget/","tags":null,"title":"Kubernetes home labs for any budget"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/96-0.gif\" alt=\"A tractor flips upside down trying to get unstuck\"  width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow did this happen?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been feeling not like myself for the past few weeks. A combination of traveling alone, sick family, and changes have left me feeling directionless. Sometimes we need to reset and check our priorities, but we don\u0026rsquo;t always have the answers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you died today how would you want to be remembered? How do you think you would be remembered? Making those answers match is an ever changing, life-long process. Enjoy the journey without losing sight of your goals.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-11-01-123dev-96/","tags":null,"title":"Upside down - 123dev #96"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://events.linuxfoundation.org/kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eKubecon EU\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWebAssembly (Wasm) promises faster start times, better security, and more portability than containers.\nBut what can Wasm really do and how does it fit into the Cloud Native ecosystem?\nBailey and Justin compare the technologies and show how they\u0026rsquo;re more similar than you might think.\nThey\u0026rsquo;ll break down use cases in your existing Kubernetes clusters and explain why containers aren\u0026rsquo;t doomed, yet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefit-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefit to the ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Cloud Native ecosystem is evolving to include more tools, platforms, and technologies beyond just Kubernetes.\nWhile many people are just getting started with Kubernetes there is a lot of confusion about WebAssembly being used for server workloads and how it complements Containers and Kubernetes.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2023.04-kubecon_eu-what_is_a_wasm_and_how_do_you_kubernetes_it/","tags":null,"title":"What is a Wasm and how do you Kubernetes it?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/95-0.gif\" alt=\"A home built projector for live navigation on a bike\"  width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVelocity is better than speed\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn physics speed is the rate of change over time. How fast something is going. Velocity is speed + direction. Depending on the target, you can have negative velocity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoving fast isn\u0026rsquo;t a good measurement for making progress. It is better to move slowly in the direction you want than fast in any direction available. Maybe you\u0026rsquo;ll get lucky and you\u0026rsquo;ll move fast in the right direction for a little while, but unless you have a destination in mind you\u0026rsquo;ll likely lose focus and change course without realizing it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-10-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-10-24-123dev-95/","tags":null,"title":"Where are you going? - 123dev #95"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/94-0.gif\" alt=\"A skateboarder jumps over a pool ladder\"  width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eApplication Native\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe traditional box drawn around an \u0026ldquo;application\u0026rdquo; has been small. Developers don\u0026rsquo;t need to learn the other stuff like networking, storage, load balancing is a lie we\u0026rsquo;ve told ourselves for a long time—especially with traditional, on-prem infrastructure. The dividing line between teams was the boundary where applications ended and ops began.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOps was everything developers didn\u0026rsquo;t want to do. In reality, the application always included ops just as much as it included application code. Customers don\u0026rsquo;t care if you\u0026rsquo;re on-prem with Cisco switches and NetApp storage or in AWS with VPCs and s3. It\u0026rsquo;s all part of the application.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-10-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-10-18-123dev-94/","tags":null,"title":"Application Native Infrastructure - 123dev #94"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/93-0.gif\" alt=\"A pine tree air freshener moves with video game turns\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe right tools\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been building a shed in my backyard and it has turned into a neighborhood project. Multiple neighbors have graciously provided labor, tools, and advice to help me. This past weekend I was measuring and cutting facade trim boards and my neighbor, who has done woodworking for decades, was helping me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we were measuring the wood for where to cut he was going to mark the cut and he stopped. He got down from the ladder and asked if I had a sharper pencil.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-10-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-10-11-123dev-93/","tags":null,"title":"Sharpen your pencil - 123dev #93"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/92-0.gif\" alt=\"First person view of a satellite crashing into an astroid\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRun software only as long as it needs\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission happened recently and successfully crashed. I wish more software had a finite life span.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;This is temporary\u0026rdquo; is a guaranteed way to make sure something runs forever. In my first sysadmin role there were plenty of \u0026ldquo;quick fixes\u0026rdquo; I implemented that were still running when I left. They weren\u0026rsquo;t documented and very few people knew why or how they were put in place. I\u0026rsquo;m pretty sure they\u0026rsquo;ve all been replaced, but sometimes I worry my naivete about how long it would have to be run combined with my documentation aversion because it \u0026ldquo;slowed things down\u0026rdquo; caused someone to be woken up from an alert and have to fix my fix.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-10-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-10-04-123dev-92/","tags":null,"title":"DART - 123dev #92"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/91-0.gif\" alt=\"Pyrotechnics explode from a stadium concert\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe longest day of my life\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI flew from Bangkok to Los Angeles last week. The flight left at 0030 on Wednesday the 21st. It was a 6 hour flight to Seoul airport with a 7 hour layover.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe second leg of the flight was 12 hours long and crossed the date line. After 25 hours of traveling I landed at my destination at 1000 the morning of the 21st. Ready to relive the day.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-09-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-09-27-123dev-91/","tags":null,"title":"Time is one of the hardest things to deal with - 123dev #91"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/90-0.gif\" alt=\"A motorcycle racer narrowly misses other crashed racers\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExperience != expertise\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLots of companies want you to have experience. They require years of experience with X technology, but those years don\u0026rsquo;t translate to expertise.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany companies don\u0026rsquo;t require expertise, but because they\u0026rsquo;re not experts themselves they don\u0026rsquo;t know what they need. Years of riding a motorcycle will give you a lot of experience, but the expert level riding in this gif—and a decent amount of luck—show what\u0026rsquo;s possible.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-09-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-09-20-123dev-90/","tags":null,"title":"Expertise - 123dev #90"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/89-0.gif\" alt=\"Tumble weeds migrate across a field\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe importance of community\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo weeks ago my dad passed out and was brought to the hospital. He had internal bleeding and when I got the message they didn\u0026rsquo;t know what was wrong. All they knew was he had lost a lot of blood.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the time I got to the hospital they had a better idea that it was likely an ulcer caused by ibuprofen. There was still a lot of uncertainty, but it turned out to be correct and he got the medicine and blood transfusion he needed and is doing much better.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-09-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-09-13-123dev-89/","tags":null,"title":"Networking - 123dev #89"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/88-0.gif\" alt=\"Me pretending to be a Kubernetes cluster (click for full version\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCulture\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;The emotional intelligence of management is what makes a company culture miserable or excellent.\u0026rdquo; Out of Office: The Big Problem and Bigger Promise of Working from Home\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI read this book last week and it had some really good insights that put words to experiences of corporate America. The main lesson from the book is working remotely is going to amplify the dysfunctions of companies and until bad practices are fixed working remotely isn\u0026rsquo;t going to be the idealistic environment so many people hope it will be.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-09-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-09-06-123dev-88/","tags":null,"title":"LARPing - 123dev #88"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI hosted a Twitter space to discuss the differences between devops and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE). It was very insightful and I was lucky to have amazing guests \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/lizthegrey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLiz Fong-Jones\u003c/a\u003e\n and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/lizthegrey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eEmily Freeman\u003c/a\u003e\n who I learned a lot from.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have the time available you should listen to it here. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1BdGYwZvaByxX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehttps://twitter.com/i/spaces/1BdGYwZvaByxX\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you don’t have the time, here’s a summary.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy first observation was that devops—in its intended form—required an org chart that was decentralized. SRE took an exact opposite approach and centralized the responsibility of reliability in a role. Sometimes SRE roles work on product teams, but they often report to a central SRE org and not the team manager.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-08-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-08-30-devops-vs-sre/","tags":null,"title":"Devops vs SRE"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/87-0.gif\" alt=\"Someone makes a miniature tree from copper wiring\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCloud Computing\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe phrase \u0026ldquo;the network is the computer\u0026rdquo; was coined in the 80s at Sun Microsystems to describe that you could use computing resources from other systems to enhance your local needs. The idea had been around before, but the ethos was driving computing in new ways.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the 90s and early 2000s computing became localized because computing power and operating systems were meeting the needs of the work to be done. Smartphones had simple workloads but grew beyond what local computing and batteries were capable of.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-08-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-08-30-123dev-87/","tags":null,"title":"The computer is the network - 123dev #87"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/86-0.gif\" alt=\"Some fish look at the camera\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNo code walls\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been prototyping a mobile app with no code solutions. It helped me start quickly, but I hit limitations with functionality I needed. I tried multiple options and they all had similar—but different—limits.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI finally decided the app was worth making so I started picking a language, framework, hosting, etc. I\u0026rsquo;ve never written a mobile app before so it\u0026rsquo;s all new to me. I decided on Flutter which took me much longer to set up than I expected.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-08-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-08-23-123dev-86/","tags":null,"title":"Learning hurdles - 123dev #86"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/85-0.gif\" alt=\"The nutty professor looks at the camera surprised and confused\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDesign fossils\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you start a new job or contribute to an existing code base you often have to dig to find where to make changes. Every time I do this I start thinking \u0026ldquo;I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have done that\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;how does this work?\u0026rdquo; but it\u0026rsquo;s important to recognize I don\u0026rsquo;t have the limitations or knowledge the original creators had at the time.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-08-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-08-16-123dev-85/","tags":null,"title":"How does that work? - 123dev #85"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/84-0.gif\" alt=\"A patio umbrella flys away from the wind\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComplements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen someone gives you a complement to your face, or via chat, or even in pull requests it feels good. If it\u0026rsquo;s a complement aligned with your values it could give you a boost for a long time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf the complement is unexpected or about something you are self conscious about it may make you feel worse; even if the other person intends it for good.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-08-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-08-09-123dev-84/","tags":null,"title":"Uplifting - 123dev #84"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/83-0.gif\" alt=\"A molten cylinder is rolled to extreme lengths\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForming your experience\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes we get stretched in multiple directions at once. When this happens we end up flat and shapeless. But when we\u0026rsquo;re pushed to go deeper in a single direction we can stretch a lot further than we ever expected.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis probably means you need to say no to a lot of cool opportunities. But if keep disciplined in applying pressure in the same direction not only will you go a lot further, but it\u0026rsquo;ll serve you better in your career. The world has lots of people with shallow, shapeless experience. Being formed into a tool can be much more useful and valuable to the companies who need your experience.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-08-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-08-02-123dev-83/","tags":null,"title":"Stretching yourself - 123dev #83"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/82-0.gif\" alt=\"A computer window looks like it catches on fire to close\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStories\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI gave an internal talk at work last week about storytelling. I had been stressing about that talk more than any talk I had given recently. The hard part wasn\u0026rsquo;t the lessons or tips about telling stories. The hard part was telling how I learned anyone can be a good storyteller. Taking my own advice and being vulnerable will never be easy.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-07-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-07-26-123dev-82/","tags":null,"title":"Eye candy - 123dev #82"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/81-0.gif\" alt=\"A dog gets a haircut\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFocus\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur vision can be clouded by too many things. A little trim to get rid of the things you don\u0026rsquo;t need can give you a whole new look. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is saying no to a great opportunity. Having a clear goal is the first step to knowing what you need to cut out of your life.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best way I have found to do that is to take a break. Take time away from your daily work to focus on your yearly objectives. It\u0026rsquo;s a lot easier to know what to remove once you know what needs to stay.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-07-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-07-19-123dev-81/","tags":null,"title":"Refreshing - 123dev #81"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/80-0.gif\" alt=\"A blue flame in a glass of liquid from a chemical reaction\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIgniting the flame\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumans need to rest. Even if you\u0026rsquo;re excited about what you\u0026rsquo;re doing you have to take a break. There\u0026rsquo;s a reason it\u0026rsquo;s called \u0026ldquo;burn out.\u0026rdquo; You run out of fuel. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if your fuel is excitement, calories, or any other motivation. When it\u0026rsquo;s gone the only thing you can do is stop and wait for it to come back.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-07-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-07-12-123dev-80/","tags":null,"title":"Searching for an answer - 123dev #80"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/79-0.gif\" alt=\"A Mac cube computer spins to reveal a Kubernetes logo and then lights inside\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[caption align=\u0026ldquo;alignnone\u0026rdquo; width=\u0026ldquo;980\u0026rdquo;]\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@justinleegarrison/video/7116174769560636718?is_from_webapp=1\u0026amp;sender_device=pc\u0026amp;utm_campaign=Skills%2C%20stories%2C%20and%20software%20every%20dev%20should%20know\u0026amp;utm_medium=email\u0026amp;utm_source=Revue%20newsletter\u0026amp;web_id=7066193659477804549\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n[/caption]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eShipping products\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShipping products has been very different throughout my career. In my first developer role the products I created were loosely tied to the product the company made (movies). My second role I created services to help developers create the product (streaming service). My work with EKS Anywhere is a mix of open source and hardware.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-07-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-07-06-123dev-79/","tags":null,"title":"Cubernetes - 123dev #79"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIt took a few months to plan and about three weeks to build my latest Kubernetes hardware lab.\nI originally built it for my test lab while building EKS Anywhere, but now I use it for demoing \u003ca href=\"https://talos.dev\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eTalos Linux\u003c/a\u003e\n.\nThis blog post includes a parts list and process for anyone who wants to do something similar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/IoUCFNQDkNA?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this cluster you may also like my \u003ca href=\"./petaflop-cluster\"\u003ePETaflop cluster\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-07-05T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/cubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Cubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/78-0.gif\" alt=\"A billiard shot that takes a unique path\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGatekeeping\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople take a path to learn and achieve things. Some people have more things to overcome than others and some learn things more naturally or \u0026ldquo;unconventionally\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor many people it\u0026rsquo;s hard to understand how someone else can learn the same things without using the same resources or taking similar steps in learning. Thinking the way \u003cstrong\u003eyou\u003c/strong\u003e learned was the convention is gatekeeping.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-06-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-06-28-123dev-78/","tags":null,"title":"Career paths - 123dev #78"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/77-0.gif\" alt=\"Throwing a bowling ball at a large balloon and seeing it pop in slow motion\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAre you the balloon?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone needs some amount of structure. Some people need more than others and it helps them keep their shape. This works until someone throws a bowling ball at you. The more flexibility you have—and the less internal pressure—the more likely you are to be able to absorb the external force without popping.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-06-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-06-22-123dev-77/","tags":null,"title":"Structure - 123dev #77"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/76-0.gif\" alt=\"A man throws a ball and then stumbles across the court\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeasuring\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe often measure things in development environments to understand things like how much traffic our application can accept or how many resources it\u0026rsquo;ll use. This is a good practice to get estimations, but the only measurements that matter are the ones we do in production.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m building a case and have to make custom brackets. I measured the space and then made prototypes out of cardboard and paper. I created 3D models and printed them. Hours later I had a physical bracket I could finally use! A marvel of rapid prototyping.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-06-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-06-14-123dev-76/","tags":null,"title":"Delayed failure - 123dev #76"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/75-0.gif\" alt=\"An animation from the game oh my git\" width=\"100%\"/\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoundaries\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve known people who work 60+ hours a week for as long as I\u0026rsquo;ve been in tech. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter what company you work for, people will always fail at setting boundaries.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndividual contributors failing to set their own boundaries is a problem, but a much bigger problem is when leadership does it. Once leadership does it it becomes an expectation and culturally accepted. If you\u0026rsquo;re in leadership and are not able to finish your work in 40 hours then you need to clearly communicate that with your leadership and make sure you do not set that expectation for people you manage. Once boundaries are not respected in culture it takes multiple generations of employees to reverse the negative effects.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-06-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-06-07-123dev-75/","tags":null,"title":"Reconciliation - 123dev #75"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eInfrastructure has changed a lot, but the mantra of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has been the goal for organizations for far too long. The idea that you can create infrastructure with text was a big shift for the industry 10 years ago, but it hasn’t held up to the test of time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen writing \u003ca href=\"https://cnibook.info/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eCloud Native Infrastructure\u003c/a\u003e\n the idea of Infrastructure as Software (IaS) was the main takeaway we wanted for readers. It was the main idea behind what we thought the difference between organizations working with a cloud native mindset and people with an automation mindset.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-06-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-06-01-infrastructure-as-software/","tags":null,"title":"Infrastructure as software"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/74-0.gif\" alt=\"A squirrel tastes almonds and remembers their childhood.\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom memory\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy dad loves puzzles. He would do them when I was a kid, but he had a rule I\u0026rsquo;ve never heard of before. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure where or when he created the rule, but he was very strict about it for himself even though he never forced it on us.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe would study the picture intently before opening the box, but once the box was opened he would not look at the picture again. He would do the puzzle from memory.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-31T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-05-31-123dev-74/","tags":null,"title":"Memories - 123dev #74"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/73-0.gif\" alt=\"Visualization of a mark-sweep garbage collector\" width=\"100%\"/\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGarbage collection\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s weird to think that our brains do garbage collection while we sleep. Reinforcing memories, storing things we don\u0026rsquo;t need, and generally flushing toxins so we can be refreshed and think clearly for another day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut humans have a finite runtime before we have to garbage collect sleep. Our ability to function relies heavily on our brain taking time to rest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m on vacation this week. Hopefully garbage collecting.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-05-24-123dev-73/","tags":null,"title":"Vacation - 123dev #73"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/72-0.gif\" alt=\"An animation of a binary search tree\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn person\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI spent this week with 7,500 other people in a country I\u0026rsquo;ve never traveled to. It was amazing and stressful, but overall I\u0026rsquo;m thankful for the people I met and the conversations I had. Being face to face really does build trust so much faster than any form or remote communication I\u0026rsquo;ve used. Technology, business, and the economy require trust to scale and this week was a clear reminder for me that it is important.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-05-20-123dev-72/","tags":null,"title":"Conferences - 123dev #72"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/71-0.gif\" alt=\"LEGO heads are manufactured on a machine\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScripting\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think about tools a lot. Tools that will solve my problems. Automation that will help me do something faster. APIs I wish existed. I sometimes write down structure for a database, API objects, and CLI structure I would like to exist.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen I come to my senses and create a crude script that pipes together a few existing tools into something that works good enough. It\u0026rsquo;s not as elegant as the one I designed and it doesn\u0026rsquo;t do everything I need, but it works and it\u0026rsquo;s good enough to save me time.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-05-10-123dev-71/","tags":null,"title":"Automation is beautiful - 123dev #71"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/70-0.gif\" alt=\"A cat tries to watch a spinning ball\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLearning\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLearning is a process of identifying similarities between something we know and something don\u0026rsquo;t (the thing we are learning). Learning brand new things is usually hard, not because it is more difficult, but because we don\u0026rsquo;t have similar things to compare it to.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you first learn how to program it\u0026rsquo;s really hard. The similarities with things we know are very limited and not similar. Once you learn how to program, it\u0026rsquo;s much easier to learn a different language. Some languages have more differences than similarities (e.g. functional programming) but there are still enough similarities for us to know where to start.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-05-03-123dev-70/","tags":null,"title":"Too much to learn - 123dev #70"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.gophercon.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGophercon\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"pitch\"\u003ePitch\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone knows about garbage collection, but few people understand how it works.\nUsing every day objects can help you visualize invisible concepts such as garbage collection.\nIn this demo you\u0026rsquo;ll learn about what your software is doing when it\u0026rsquo;s time to take out the trash.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGarbage collection is sometimes seen as a bad thing in software.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s easy to blame pauses and downtime on things we don\u0026rsquo;t understand.\nGarbage collection has a lot of benefits and we\u0026rsquo;ll show why it\u0026rsquo;s necessary and what it\u0026rsquo;s doing.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll represent it with physical objects so you can visualize what is happening under the hood and understand how it benefits your applications.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.09-gophercon-a_visual_guide_to_garbage_collection/","tags":null,"title":"A visual guide to garbage collection"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://globaldevslam.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eDevSlam Dubai\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdopting the cloud isn\u0026rsquo;t only about infinite capacity or on-demand flexibility.\nIt enables new ways of managing your infrastructure.\nUsing Kubernetes to dynamically manage applications and infrastructure is a powerful pattern many successful businesses use.\nYou can use the power of the cloud with the patterns of Kubernetes to improve your resiliency and scalability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"status\"\u003eStatus\u003c/h2\u003e\nAccepted\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-05-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.10-devslam-cloud_native_infrastructure_with_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Cloud Native Infrastructure with Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/69-0.gif\" alt=\"A basketball player perfectly passes the ball backwards.\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSite Reliability Engineering\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was an SRE in a previous role and bought into the idea of SRE. I read the books and thought the concept was great, but after doing the role for a while and later seeing how Amazon does operations I realize that SRE is just the new ops.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe skills and tools are better and the problems are slightly different, but the process and reporting structure didn\u0026rsquo;t change. The power dynamics between SRE and application developers is unavoidable so long as the reliability for a system falls on a different team than the creators of that system.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-04-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-04-26-123dev-69/","tags":null,"title":"Who's on call? - 123dev #69"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/68-0.gif\" alt=\"I hit a container full of water with a 4x4\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFiguring it out\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s so nice when you figure something out. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if it\u0026rsquo;s a new technology, a hard problem, or a new way to explain something. Once you have the solution you can rely on that solutions for future, similar problems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHumans are great pattern matchers. By recognizing small similarities in simple problems we can solve more complex problems.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-04-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-04-20-123dev-68/","tags":null,"title":"OOM gonna get you - 123dev #68"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/67-0.gif\" alt=\"Red hot steel coils down a conveyor belt as it's being made\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYOLO/CD\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContinuous delivery is built on trust. Trust is gained over time. How do you take the first steps?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can get some assurances with tests, but they\u0026rsquo;re never enough. You have to start slowly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eManual deployments to learn the steps and failure modes\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eManual automation: automation that\u0026rsquo;s triggered from an engineer\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eObserved automation: runs on its own but is closely watched by a human for errors\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrust\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoon you\u0026rsquo;ll not care that there\u0026rsquo;s molten iron flowing from your Jenkins servers\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-04-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-04-12-123dev-67/","tags":null,"title":"CD happens - 123dev #67"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/66-0.gif\" alt=\"Me asking myself if I knew dockershim is being removed in Kuberenetes 1.24\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatistics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFacts don\u0026rsquo;t convince people.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou don’t have to change someone’s mind. You just need to give them doubts about what they know.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;Statistics should be the driest thing\u0026rdquo; \u0026ndash; Florence Nightingale\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003cem\u003eHow to Lie with Statistics\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou need to learn how to tell stories, not data.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSo much to learn\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn writing the detector for docker socket plugin I had a co-worker review it with me. They are a much better developer than I am. I can make things work, but it\u0026rsquo;s often not idiomatic and many times not clean.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-04-05T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-04-05-123dev-66/","tags":null,"title":"Dockershim and some network tips - 123dev #66"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/65-0.gif\" alt=\"A video billboard looks like it's in 3d\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWorking smarter\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was sanding some wood and it was taking me a long time to get off a layer of paint even with rough sandpaper. I figured the paper was clogged or worn even though it looked fine. I swapped the paper without much change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI remembered I had a new type of sandpaper—SandNet—with the same grit but claiming to be stronger. I was skeptical but didn\u0026rsquo;t have much to lose. It made a huge difference! I immediately started making progress.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-03-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-03-29-123dev-65/","tags":null,"title":"The right tool for the job - 123dev #65"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/64-0.gif\" alt=\"Person straps 75 inch TV to their back and rides a scooter\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTroubleshooting\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI spent most of my week trying to figure out problems with new systems with minimal feedback. Learning new tools and systems is hard. Doing it without insight into how the system works is nearly impossible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis concept is easy to understand with logical systems like software. Even bugs can quickly be understood and fixed. We write tests and tools to give us more insight and help us understand and avoid the same mistakes in the future.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-03-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-03-23-123dev-64/","tags":null,"title":"Black boxes - 123dev #64"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/63-0.gif\" alt=\"Representing what different level of latency are like with a swimming pool\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTaking space\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m taking up this comment to dedicate it to my friends and strangers in Ukraine fighting for their freedoms and in some cases fleeing for their safety.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis newsletter is focused on developers but beyond that it\u0026rsquo;s focused on humans. Seeing pictures of my developer friends who have had to put down their keyboards and take up guns breaks my heart.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-03-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-03-15-123dev-63/","tags":null,"title":"Just go - 123dev #63"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/62-0.gif\" alt=\"A forklift hits a shelf. Everything crashes.\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePriorities\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis newsletter is not important. There is a global pandemic which has killed nearly 6 million people. There is a war in Ukraine which is claiming innocent lives and threatens global peace.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease prioritize your safety and health. Help where you are able and make sure you set your own boundaries to stay informed but not at the cost of your mental or emotional well-being.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-03-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-03-08-123dev-62/","tags":null,"title":"Cascading failures - 123dev #62"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/61-0.gif\" alt=\"A puppy running with baby ducks\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNewsletter\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to write an issue this week because I\u0026rsquo;m a bit overwhelmed by what\u0026rsquo;s happening in the world and it didn\u0026rsquo;t feel right to try to teach people tech when people are at war. I also know that there are still ways I can help.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can still teach others how to digitally protect themselves and give financially to people in need. I also hope this GIF made you smile because I\u0026rsquo;d like to bring a little bit of happiness into the world right now.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-03-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-03-02-123dev-61/","tags":null,"title":"War - 123dev #61"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/60-0.gif\" alt=\"An iceberg flips on its side\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRefactoring\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake it work\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake it beautiful\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMake it fast\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a common saying for software developers. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if your starting a new project or fixing a bug in an established project.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMake it work means you write code that does what it\u0026rsquo;s supposed to and you write code that keeps your code working.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMake it beautiful so other people can read your code. Working code isn\u0026rsquo;t useful if no one can maintain it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-02-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-02-22-123dev-60/","tags":null,"title":"There's always time to refactor - 123dev #60"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/59-0.gif\" alt=\"A goat effortlessly climbs a wall\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKnowing how to debug\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWriting code isn\u0026rsquo;t too hard. Writing code that works is difficult. Writing code that does what is intended on the first try in all circumstances is nearly impossible. One way to get from writing to working code is through testing and debugging.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are lots of ways to improve your speed and accuracy when writing code. Some people only choose statically typed languages like Typescript and Go to catch errors at compile time. Others prefer test driven development and IDEs that assist in surfacing errors early.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-02-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-02-15-123dev-59/","tags":null,"title":"Making it look easy - 123dev #59"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/58-0.gif\" alt=\"Comparison of a web page loading at different modem speeds\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIdeas\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1920, 14 year old Philo Farnsworth was plowing a potato field in Idaho. The teenager had moved there a couple years earlier with his family to a relatives farm. This farm was different though. This farm had electricity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1920 electricity was only in 50% of homes and this farm boy picked it up quickly. He found old electronics magazines in the attic and started tinkering with anything he could find. Electronics came naturally to him and soon enough he was thinking of new things to build.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-02-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-02-09-123dev-58/","tags":null,"title":"What will you invent? - 123dev #58"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/57-0.gif\" alt=\"A zoetrope—physical animation—of catbus from My Neighbor Totoro\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMovement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you look at images you can see art. If you look at art in sequence you can perceive movement. If you perceive movement you can see progress.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes we get caught up looking at art we forgot to see how it fits into the bigger picture and how much progress we\u0026rsquo;ve made.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInterpreted languages\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImagine if every computer interpreted code differently depending on what model, operating system, and location where the computer was running. It would be impossible to write a program that would run with any sort of consistency or guarantees.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-02-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-02-01-123dev-57/","tags":null,"title":"The price is right - 123dev #57"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/56-0.gif\" alt=\"A kid trying to hide cookies\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEarned trust\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn any job you have to have trust. You can\u0026rsquo;t pinpoint a moment when you trust someone, but it\u0026rsquo;s easy to identify a moment when trust is broken. In a world of remote work without casual interactions with co-workers it can be very difficult to [re]build broken trust.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you wanted to get in shape you can\u0026rsquo;t go to the gym once for 9 hours. You would end up sore and in no better shape than when you started. But if you worked out consistently, every day, for 30 minutes you\u0026rsquo;d eventually get in shape.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-01-25-123dev-56/","tags":null,"title":"You have nothing without trust - 123dev #56"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI’ve been using \u003ca href=\"https://www.getrevue.co/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eRevue\u003c/a\u003e\n for my \u003ca href=\"https://123dev.email/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e123dev\u003c/a\u003e\n newsletter and wanted an easier way to save URLs to include in future emails. If you’re not familiar with it, Revue has a chrome extension so you can send URLs to a queue which shows up next to the editor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/revue-sidebar.png\" alt=\"Revue sidebar showing staged links\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s a really handy feature and I wanted to use it without the extension. Ideally, I could send these URL from my phone via a Siri Shortcut (I haven’t figured this part out yet).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2022-01-19-reverse-engineering-extension/","tags":null,"title":"Reverse engineering a chrome extension"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/55-0.gif\" alt=\"I view from inside a washing machine but the world turns around instead\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLoops\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInner loops and flow are such powerful things for developers. Some of the most productive developers are the ones who can easily get into this state. I spent most of my week trying to develop a fairly simple app, but instead I spent all of my time yak shaving and spinning my wheels.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMore problems\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-01-18-123dev-55/","tags":null,"title":"The world goes round - 123dev #55"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/54-0.gif\" alt=\"Forces are visually projected on a board as static structures are pushed\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatic force\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I was a Sophomore in college I signed up for an upper division physics course called Statics. I had never taken a proper physics course before, and I didn\u0026rsquo;t have a clue what the class would be about. But I wanted to try it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was in way over my head to figure out how much force applied in one area would effect other joints and beams. I absolutely loved it! I needed help to understand how to calculate the forces, but once I knew the basics I knew physics was what I wanted to study. This gif is a visual representation of the forces we would calculate in the class.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-01-11-123dev-54/","tags":null,"title":"Measuring your impact - 123dev #54"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/53-0.gif\" alt=\"dog runs away after owner drops leash\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe illusion\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou\u0026rsquo;re free to do whatever you want. The part that I\u0026rsquo;ve had problems figuring out in the past is I have freedom with and without a leash.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWithout a leash I can go wherever I want. I can go anywhere, learn anything, and do anything. I have to pay the consequences of my actions but I\u0026rsquo;m free to do them.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2022-01-04-123dev-53/","tags":null,"title":"You're free; it's free - 123dev #53"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubecon EU\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCongratulations! You\u0026rsquo;re using Kubernetes. You\u0026rsquo;re company is all in and you\u0026rsquo;re no longer a systems administrator—you\u0026rsquo;re a cluster operator. You\u0026rsquo;ve set up automation to create your first handful of clusters, but it\u0026rsquo;s not enough. The infrastructure is out of hand with versions and maintenance you can\u0026rsquo;t keep up. No amount of bash is going to scale to the amount of clusters you need.\nSo what other options are there? How can you manage 100, 500, or 1000 clusters? This talk will show patterns for deploying and managing hundreds and thousands of clusters. Terraform, CDK, Crossplane, GitOps, and more will all be discussed to show where they shine and where they might have limitations.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.05-kubecon_eu-100_clusters_and_beyond/","tags":null,"title":"100 clusters and beyond"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpen Source Summit North America - ContainerCon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people know the benefits of using Kubernetes to operate at scale.\nSome people also know the accelerated learning opportunities when things go wrong.\nWhere do you start debugging? What questions and patterns should you look for?\nJustin will look at some common components that cause trouble and give you commands you can start with next time  you\u0026rsquo;re troubleshooting an incident.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.06-open_source_summit_na-debugging_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Debugging Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGitOpsCon EU\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cloud has enabled abstractions and automation, but Infrastructure as Code (IaC) doesn\u0026rsquo;t scale. You can use declarative YAML or imperative scripts and still lose control. Infrastructure as Software (IaS) allows you to control and scale infrastructure with the same practices as applications. GitOps is an implementation of IaS with lots of benefits over IaC. We\u0026rsquo;ll look at how it\u0026rsquo;s different, when you should use it, and where it potentially breaks down.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.05-gitopscon_eu-infrastructure_as_software_with_gitops/","tags":null,"title":"Infrastructure as Software with GitOps"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpen Source Summit North America\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes is the most widely used container orchestrator, but scaling workloads is not as easy as it should be.\nWorkloads are diverse, but we deploy them to homogeneous compute nodes.\nThis leads to complex configuration, label proliferation, and cluster sprawl.\nWhat we need is workload native compute scaling for any Kubernetes cluster.\nKarpenter is a new way to scale clusters by provisioning compute nodes that workloads need.\nHeterogeneous compute infrastructure helps simplify configuration and utilize clusters for more workload types.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2022-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.06-open_source_summit_na-scaling_kubernetes_with_karpenter/","tags":null,"title":"Scaling Kubernetes with Karpenter"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/52-0.gif\" alt=\"A pigeon is hypnotized by a screen\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStart fresh\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the end of every year I read or delete my pocket queue. I highly recommend it. It feels really good to start the year without all the baggage of the things you wanted to read but never prioritized.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same goes for things you wanted to learn. All those frameworks and languages you haven\u0026rsquo;t needed probably don\u0026rsquo;t matter that much. Take some time to push yourself to new things in 2022 instead of feeling guilt over the things you didn\u0026rsquo;t do in 2021.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-12-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-12-28-123dev-52/","tags":null,"title":"A year in review - 123dev #52"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI have been running \u003ca href=\"https://123dev.email/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e123dev newsletter\u003c/a\u003e\n for a full year. 52 weeks in a row. I’m really proud of myself for writing more, being consistant, and—unlike my exercise plans—sticking to a new habit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot only did I buy a domain \u003cstrong\u003eand use it\u003c/strong\u003e, but I’ve received great feedback on the content and format. It has given me an outlet to share my thoughts, and—according to the people who’ve reached out—added value to their lives.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-12-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-12-27-lessons-learned-from-123dev/","tags":null,"title":"Lessons learned from 123dev newsletter"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/51-0.gif\" alt=\"A monster truck does a front flip\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe future of the web\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people believe the future of the internet is web3. The more I dig into it the more I\u0026rsquo;m convinced it isn\u0026rsquo;t a technology stack and instead it\u0026rsquo;s a business model.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt does little to address the shortcomings of existing systems and in many ways harms and alienates more people. Maybe that\u0026rsquo;s the exact reason it \u003cem\u003ewill\u003c/em\u003e be the future of the web—that\u0026rsquo;s terrifying.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-12-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-12-21-123dev-51/","tags":null,"title":"A bit on web3, community, and the purpose of life - 123dev #51"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/50-0.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCrumple zones\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOlder cars were built strong with lots of metal and reinforced welds. The thought that building every part strong so it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t break turned out to be a bad idea.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn an accident, something has to give. All that energy has to go somewhere. With a rigid frame—and mostly hollow interior—the area that usually collapsed was the passenger space. Combine that with a lack of other safety features, accidents used to be much more dangerous for the people than the cars.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-12-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-12-14-123dev-50/","tags":null,"title":"Intentional weakness, getting a job in tech, and OSS funding - 123dev #50"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/4-0.gif\" alt=\"A pipe falls off a truck and rolls into a storm drain\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"problems\"\u003eProblems\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIsn\u0026rsquo;t it great when a problem fixes itself? I\u0026rsquo;ve seen this happen more often with people systems than with technology. Ignore that email a couple of days and it\u0026rsquo;s likely not to be a problem anymore.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith technology we usually have to take some action. Reboot a server, add a sleep, or add more resources. It\u0026rsquo;s not a \u0026ldquo;fix\u0026rdquo; but the problem isn\u0026rsquo;t visible for a little while so we can go back to doing other things.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-12-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-12-07-123dev-49/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #49"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/48-0.gif\" alt=\"A very large cable connector is plugged into an old machine\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLogic\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow people think has been on the mind of philosophers for ages. Aristotle had the most famous works on logic for around 2000 years. In the 1600\u0026rsquo;s Gottfried Leibniz attempted to improve on Aristotle\u0026rsquo;s logic by simplifying it and representing it in mathematical notation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo hundred years later George Boole further simplified Leibniz\u0026rsquo;s logic and notation into what we know today as Boolean algebra. Every introduction to computer science will teach you AND, OR, and NOT which are the foundational components of human logic.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-11-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-11-30-123dev-48/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #48"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/47-0.gif\" alt=\"A ball hits glass filmed in super slow motion to see the glass shatter\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"moment-of-impact\"\u003eMoment of impact\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you watch the gif again look at the moment the ball hits the glass. The glass appears to shatter \u003cstrong\u003ebefore\u003c/strong\u003e the ball makes contact. How is that possible?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt turns out glass often breaks from tension rather than compression. The ball \u003cstrong\u003epushing\u003c/strong\u003e on the glass makes it break from the opposite side from where it hit.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-11-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-11-23-123dev-47/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #47"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/46-0.gif\" alt=\"A golfer makes a hole in one by skipping the ball over water\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"skill\"\u003eSkill\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome developers are very skilled. They can do things seemingly impossible for others. It might be developing a feature faster than others, debugging a hard problem, or reaching new scale with systems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany times those skills are accompanied by a decent amount of luck. While a skilled developer can replicate something with high accuracy, it\u0026rsquo;s not always skill alone that helped the first time.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-11-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-11-16-123dev-46/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #46"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/45-0.gif\" alt=\"A baby penguin trips over a rock and shakes it's head getting up\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"picking-yourself-up\"\u003ePicking yourself up\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLearning new things is hard. I don\u0026rsquo;t care if it\u0026rsquo;s a programming language, being a parent, or starting a business. One of the hardest things about being a developer is it\u0026rsquo;s such a new profession you\u0026rsquo;re constantly learning new things. If you\u0026rsquo;re not falling on your face once in a while you\u0026rsquo;re not moving forward.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-11-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-11-10-123dev-45/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #45"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/44-0.gif\" alt=\"Multiple pumpkins are carved and animated using stop motion\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"hard-work-unnoticed\"\u003eHard work, unnoticed\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ve all worked hard on something only to have it go completely unnoticed or the work completely cancelled. It really sucks. It\u0026rsquo;s out of your control, but that still doesn\u0026rsquo;t make you feel better.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen this happens to me—it has happened a few times in the past two months—I focus on what I learned doing the work. Was there a hard problem I solved? Did I work \u003cem\u003etoo\u003c/em\u003e hard and should I put better boundaries in the future? Knowing what I know now, would have have solved the problem differently if asked to do it again?\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-11-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-11-02-123dev-44/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #44"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/43-0.gif\" alt=\"Sabrina crumples her laptop and throws it away\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"continuous-frustration\"\u003eContinuous frustration\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContinuous integration and deployment systems have gone through a lot of changes. What started as shared bash scripts and Makefiles changed into central systems that could be shared by multiple developers and teams. This shift allows for more repeatable, scalable, and more secure systems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs systems optimize globally they can negatively impact local optimizations. This is a usually a win for an organization because they consolidate expertise and reduce overhead costs, but they reduce flexibility and can become a bottleneck.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-26-123dev-43/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #43"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/42-0.gif\" alt=\"A book is flipped through one way with text and the other way with pictures\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"motivation\"\u003eMotivation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is easier to educate a do-er than to motivate the educated\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy experience at companies in various jobs and in open source communities echos this quote. I have had the privilege to work with some very smart people. If given the chance when starting a new project I will always pick the people who are excited to learn new things over the people who already know what to do.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-20-123dev-42/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #42"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/41-0.gif\" alt=\"Multiple abandoned buildings are destroyed\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"bgp\"\u003eBGP\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI heard the GIF came from what happened when Facebook ran the following command.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003eip link set fb0 down\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThankfully they were able to fix it with\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003esudo reboot\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"thinking\"\u003eThinking\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you\u0026rsquo;re overthinking you should write. If you\u0026rsquo;re underthinking you should read.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten word is much slower than spoken word. It helps to slow down and be deliberate when you have lots of ideas in your head.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-17-123dev-41/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #41"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/40-0.gif\" alt=\"someone puts a board to cover a gap on a porch and then steps on the board which hits them in the head\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"laying-a-trap-for-yourself\"\u003eLaying a trap for yourself\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have lost track of how many times I’ve patched a bug only to have it come back and hit me in the head. Sometimes tests will help you avoid a self-made trap, but more often then not I’ll just push harder until it breaks.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-15-123dev-40/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #40"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/39-0.gif\" alt=\"A golf ball hits a steel plate in slow motion and deforms like rubber\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI twice had lunch with Ed Catmull at Disney and I asked him if there was anything that surprised him about managing people. He said he was surprised how well people can game rules and metrics for their own benefit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe above gif may or may not be real, but also speaks to people manipulating perception for—maybe—their benefits.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-14-123dev-39/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #39"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/38-0.gif\" alt=\"An animation explaining that k8s is a numeronym of Kubernetes\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"edutainment\"\u003eEdutainment\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalt Disney\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"whats-next\"\u003eWhat’s next?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had a lightning talk for Devops Days Portland called “TikTalk” about innovation. Please go watch it because it was a lot of fun to make.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInnovation comes in different forms; there are sustaining innovations and disruptive innovations. Most companies need people who can help sustain their innovations. They need to be better, faster, and stronger than they were.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-13-123dev-38/","tags":null,"title":"Skills, stories, and software every dev should know - 123dev #38"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/37-0.gif\" alt=\"A timelaps illustration of the Titanic ship sinking which took over two hours\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"shipping-products\"\u003eShipping products\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis past week I was part of the team that launched EKS Anywhere. Launching an open source project was something I really wanted to do to see how it was different from products and services I’ve helped launch in the past.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe biggest difference for me was it’s really refreshing to point people to GitHub for issues and to let people use the software for free. The users I got to talk to were fellow infrastructure engineers which also made it really easy to talk about the project because I am personally familiar to the problems it solves.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-12-123dev-37/","tags":null,"title":"Exponential growth and shipping - 123dev #37"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/36-0.gif\" alt=\"Someone created a real time ray tracing program in excel. This shows balls\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"tools-youre-familiar-with\"\u003eTools you’re familiar with\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe right tool for the job isn’t always the best tool. Some tools are made for a specific reason, but there is a learning curve and cognitive tax to know how to use new tools. Sometimes the right tool is the one that is good enough that you already know.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe hardest part is knowing when to switch tools. If you work on a team this means updating documentation and training and maybe convincing the rest of your team the switch will be worth it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-11-123dev-36/","tags":null,"title":"Tools and workflows - 123dev #36"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/35-0.gif\" alt=\"Gru shows off a slides of new ideas and then is surprised by domain renewals\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"stress\"\u003eStress\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a junior developer you get assigned work and have to implement it and solve problems within a certain scope. As you get more senior you have more responsibility which often comes with more visibility and more pressure. Sometimes you’re a blocker for a new project or are part of an outage. These can be stressful situations.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-10-123dev-35/","tags":null,"title":"Mental health is health - 123dev #35"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/34-0.gif\" alt=\"A uniquely shaped puzzle piece slides into place in a finished puzzle\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"puzzling\"\u003ePuzzling\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrowing up my dad loved puzzles. He had the weirdest rule that I never understood.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo matter how many pieces the puzzle had, he would look at the picture once when he opened it and never looked at it again. Thankfully, he never enforced that rule on us as kids, but I still don’t understand why he did it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-09-123dev-34/","tags":null,"title":"The importance of docs - 123dev #34"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/33-0.gif\" alt=\"A person standing on top of a ladder cuts a branch off a tree that falls and hits the ladder and the person falls out of sight\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"stealing-the-corner-office\"\u003eStealing The Corner Office\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI listened to this book and here are the action items to help you climb the career ladder into senior leadership if that’s what you want. It’s not the best strategies for a dev/IC, but some of the tips are still helpful. If you can follow some of these tips your career climb hopefully won’t look like the gif.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-08-123dev-33/","tags":null,"title":"Climbing the corporate ladder - 123dev #33"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/32-0.gif\" alt=\"A black and white video of the first olympics from 1908. Including various sports which by today's standards seems not impressive\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"your-build-tools-are-great-but-no-one-wants-to-learn-them\"\u003eYour build tools are great, but no one wants to learn them\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve never worked somewhere that had a completely off-the-shelf CI/CD system. In some cases the systems are just minor tweaks or wrapper scripts over common tools (usually Jenkins). In extreme cases it’s completely from scratch tooling that has syntax and behaviors I’ve never encountered before.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-07-123dev-32/","tags":null,"title":"Please stop building custom CD tools - 123dev #32"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/31-0.gif\" alt=\"A pigeon walks across wet cement leaving foot prints\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"cher-ami\"\u003eCher Ami\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCher Ami was a messenger pigeon used by the American army in France during WWI. A battalion of 550 troops was surrounded by the German army and the allies thought they were in a different location. The Major was trying to send out messages for help, but the messengers he sent (humans and pigeons) kept getting killed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe allies began to drop artillery fire onto their location not knowing it was them. The Major sent out another pigeon, Cher Ami, with the message\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-06-123dev-31/","tags":null,"title":"No code mo problems - 123dev #31"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/30-0.gif\" alt=\"A paper clip and spring bend back into shape automatically when exposed to heat\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"resiliency\"\u003eResiliency\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCode and systems break all the time. At a certain scale it’s important that your start building software that can heal itself. It’s sometimes confusing what that means because what state should the software return to?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile it was bent out of shape the paper clip wasn’t broken, but it wasn’t useful as it was intended to be. Software is similar in that it may still be functioning but not usable for its intended purpose.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-05T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-05-123dev-30/","tags":null,"title":"Resiliency and new domains - 123dev #30"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/29-0.gif\" alt=\"A surfer gets tossed like a rag doll from a large wave\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"an-industry-secret\"\u003eAn industry secret\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor all the automation the technology industry prides itself in there’s still a lot of it that’s manual. Some companies get up on stage and talk about how great their automatic canary deployments are, how they use feature flags, or a variety of different methods to get their products to market.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve been a part of some large product launches and plenty of incremental changes in various environments. As soon as the product launch requires coordinating with a non-development team (e.g. blog post or press release) they all had some form of a slack channel, email list, or phone bridge where someone was in charge of manually going down a spreadsheet and clicking buttons.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-04-123dev-29/","tags":null,"title":"What it’s like to ship products - 123dev #29"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/28-0.gif\" alt=\"Two women put on table cloths and place plates very fast using large turn tables\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"code-generators\"\u003eCode generators\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLots of people recommend learning to program by starting with fundamentals. Learn the basic language patterns and elements and work your way up to frameworks. You’ll have a stronger understanding of how things work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don’t think this is good advice anymore. By doing this you slow down your speed to market and what I’ve seen is more companies need speed than understanding. If I want to create a website I’m not going to start with HTML and CSS. I’m going to use a generator like React, Vue, or Hugo.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-03-123dev-28/","tags":null,"title":"Working faster not harder - 123dev #28"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/27-0.gif\" alt=\"An animation showing how a rocket launches from earth and lands on the moon\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"silent-stories\"\u003eSilent stories\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ability to educate with stories is something humans are very good at. Videos are just a new(ish) medium for telling stories. One of the reasons I love gifs is they’re videos with restrictions. The restrictions limit the types of stories we can tell but not the impact those stories can have to educate.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-02-123dev-27/","tags":null,"title":"Be kind and AWS Infinidash 🌩️ - 123dev #27"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevOpsDays LA\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou\u0026rsquo;ve adopted DevOps but you\u0026rsquo;re still not seeing the product acceleration your were hoping for. Amazon is a \u0026ldquo;prime\u0026rdquo; example of shipping fast. Let\u0026rsquo;s have a mock meeting for a new AWS service to understand how a document first culture can help you get buy-in and optimize your meetings for getting consensus quickly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"describe-audience\"\u003eDescribe audience\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEngineers who want to change the culture of their companies by using document first process and tools used at Amazon.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.03-devopsdays_la-document_driven_culture_at_amazon/","tags":null,"title":"Document driven culture at Amazon"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevOpsDays LA\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s time we say goodbye to our good friend \u003ccode\u003eprint()\u003c/code\u003e. The grep and bash that got us here won\u0026rsquo;t get us where we need to go. Systems and applications have changed. Where does monitoring stop and observability begin? What can modern infrastructure provide for applications today? Let\u0026rsquo;s look ahead by finding what worked in the past and what is missing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"describe-audience\"\u003eDescribe audience\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe audience should be systems operators and SRE who have a focus on building tools for application developers.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.03-devopsdays_la-the_observability_conundrum/","tags":null,"title":"Monitoring Observability"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/26-0.gif\" alt=\"A view at the internals of an oscillating fan\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"simplicity-vs-user-experience\"\u003eSimplicity vs User Experience\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy do fans have that weird nob to turn on oscillation but they have buttons for speed control? Why not put an oscillation button on the front? The nob is hard to reach and especially difficult while the fan is oscillating. It’s terrible UX.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s incredibly simple to implement which makes it extremely reliable. As a user of a fan’s interface I would prefer a button next to speed controls. As a builder, I rather not implement a secondary motor and deal with the guaranteed support and defective returns a more complex system would have.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-10-01-123dev-26/","tags":null,"title":"Reliability is the most important feature - 123dev #26"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"sub-heading\"\u003eSub heading\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorkload native node provisioning in Kubernetes\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSoCal Linux Expo\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"short-abstract\"\u003eShort Abstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes automatic node scaling has solved many problems, but it has introduced some new ones too. If you need your clusters to scale without pre-defined node groups or complex weight configurations we\u0026rsquo;ll show how you can dynamically add nodes based on workload needs with the Karpenter project.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"long-abstract\"\u003eLong Abstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKarpenter is an open source Kubernetes node autoscaler that is optimized for fast node provisioning with workload defined constraints. Workloads don\u0026rsquo;t need to adapt to clusters to get the best node. Now your clusters can adapt to the workload to make sure all resources and constraints are perfect for what you\u0026rsquo;re running. Karpenter works directly with compute providers (eg EC2) so you get fast provisioning in the correct zone and instance size you need. You can create provisioners to restrict compute options or set defaults for your constraints. Karpenter also handles deprovisioning and cycling nodes based on your needs. In this talk we\u0026rsquo;ll cover some of the most used features and show differences between Karpenter and the Kubernetes Cluster Autoscaler and alternative providers like AWS Fargate.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-10-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2022.03-scale-where_were_going_we_dont_need_nodes/","tags":null,"title":"Where we're going we don't need Nodes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/25-0.gif\" alt=\"A building floor collapses as a construction crew lays concrete\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"whos-to-blame\"\u003eWho’s to blame?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany of us probably heard about the HBOMax email that was sent out by mistake last week. It wasn’t a major outage, but a lot of people were talking about it. I especially loved the outpouring of support I saw online for whomever triggered the integration job that sent the email. 💖\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust like the gif, no one person is to blame. The person who poured cement isn’t any more to blame than the person who architected the building. With any incident, if a single person can cause an outage it is almost certainly not their fault.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-30-123dev-25/","tags":null,"title":"Integration Test Email #25 - 123dev #25"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/24-0.gif\" alt=\"Bowling pins are automatically set up\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"declarative-and-imperative\"\u003eDeclarative and imperative\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOftentimes in technology we say declarative things are better than imperative. Why write a script when you can create an abstraction? In reality there’s no such thing as something being completely declarative outside maybe binary data in memory, but even that requires sequential steps before it can be stored.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, we can hide imperative steps behind a declarative interface and a user never needs to know about the complexity. Just like these bowling pins, a bowler doesn’t know how they got there. They ask for another set of pins and it shows up.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-29-123dev-24/","tags":null,"title":"Declarative and imperative - 123dev #24"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/23-0.gif\" alt=\"An old advertisement showing how an inflatable car jack works\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"nostalgia-technology\"\u003eNostalgia technology\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLooking back at old technology products most of the time I think how bad they were. Occasionally, I remember something I really liked and I wish I could have it again. But then I realize the products were good at the time but probably would hold back innovations in ways I couldn’t predict.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMuch like this car jack which seems like a great idea! Takes up minimal amount of space, self inflates, and probably about as safe as scissor jacks are today. But when you think about it maybe if we all had self inflating car jacks the electric car would have one more obstacle to overcome.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-28-123dev-23/","tags":null,"title":"Nostalgia technology, DNS, and lessons learned as a senior engineer - 123dev #23"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/22-0.gif\" alt=\"A cat hits a candle and falls off a counter\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"curiosity\"\u003eCuriosity\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes our curiosity gets the best of us. I cannot count how many times I’ve run a command, changed a config, or pushed a button that burned me. Usually, I learn my lesson. Many times I’ve put up guardrails or warnings so other devs wouldn’t burn themselves in exactly the same way. People are very creative and until you remove the candle they’ll always find a way to learn on their own.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-27-123dev-22/","tags":null,"title":"🐱🕯️ Curious tools and resume tips - 123dev #22"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/21-0.gif\" alt=\"An animation of flying through doors created by folding paper\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"end-results\"\u003eEnd results\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I think about \u003cem\u003ehow\u003c/em\u003e I create software it feels very haphazard. Some days are better than others but I rarely make the progress I want. By the time I’m ready to share with someone I realize how much a week or a month of steady progress adds up.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gif was created by making folds and creases in paper and then using stop motion to put them together. Progress must have been slow but the end result is stunning.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-26-123dev-21/","tags":null,"title":"When does software end? How do we get there? - 123dev #21"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/20-0.gif\" alt=\"A mechanical clock draws the time\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"self-made-complexity\"\u003eSelf made complexity\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone is familiar with their own complexity. I’m sure this clock makes sense to the person who built it. When you’re the one who creates it it doesn’t seem complex but perfectly logical.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComplexity shows up in our daily lives, in code, in systems, and especially organizations. Fighting complexity isn’t always the right solution, but finding a complexity that can be reasoned about and understood by others is often the best solution.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-25-123dev-20/","tags":null,"title":"What does complexity look like? 🕰️ - 123dev #20"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/19-0.gif\" alt=\"A movie scene where the camera pans over a series of tables\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"wings-1927\"\u003eWings (1927)\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gif is from a silent film I’ve never seen but it won the first ever Academy Award (1930). Ninety years later I would have a hard time reproducing that shot, and I love the vision someone had to make it happen. It reminded me of one of Clark’s laws; I’ll list all three for you here:\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-24-123dev-19/","tags":null,"title":"Kubernetes EU 2021 edition - 123dev #19"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/18-0.gif\" alt=\"A baby is surprised by flipping a water bottle\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"when-code-works\"\u003eWhen code works\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes I’m equally surprised as this baby when my code works. Especially when I either do it on the first try or I fight with it for days and finally figure it out. It’s exciting and then I try to figure out why it works.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"know-where-to-look-for-a-problem\"\u003eKnow where to look for a problem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI struggled with something for the new 123dev website for a few nights this past week. I thought the problem was because of my lack of CSS skills and I spent most of my time trying to figure it out. It turned out to be completely unrelated to CSS—full write up in next weeks post—and reminded me of the importance of finding the simplest reproducible issue before making assumptions.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-23-123dev-18/","tags":null,"title":"The feeling the first time your code works - 123dev #18"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/17-0.gif\" alt=\"An animatronic beast transforms into a prince\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"i-still-dont-know-how-this-works\"\u003eI still don’t know how this works\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was at Disney Animation when they first showed us the animatronics for the new Beauty and the Beast ride for Tokyo Disneyland. I never saw this transformation and still don’t understand how it works.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHonestly a lot of code I write feels the same way. The fact that I can tell transistors what to do with any resemblance of English language is pretty magical.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-22-123dev-17/","tags":null,"title":"Is magic real? - 123dev #17"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/JonErlichman/status/1383457845081825285\"\u003e\n    \u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/16-0.gif\" alt=\"A map of the united states showing Blockbuster video locations over time.\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClick the image for the full length video. It\u0026rsquo;s worth it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"survival\"\u003eSurvival\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou may think that quote is from Charles Darwin but it is actually a misquote. I’ll let you do your own homework to find the true author.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-21-123dev-16/","tags":null,"title":"What does Blockbuster and misquoting Darwin have in common? - 123dev #16"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/15-0.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"planning-work\"\u003ePlanning work\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m sure many of you saw this gif in various places recently. There’s lots of similarities that are obvious from a software engineering perspective. To me it shows how difficult a re-write really is.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"estimating\"\u003eEstimating\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same is true for what I can achieve in an afternoon and what I can achieve in a week.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-20-123dev-15/","tags":null,"title":"Writing things from scratch and containers - 123dev #15"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/14-0.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"rolling-upgrades\"\u003eRolling upgrades\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gif this week is the first of many I’ve made with a focus on teaching engineering concepts. It is part of an article I wrote for The New Stack explaining different patterns for Kubernetes cluster upgrades. The full article be available later this month.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith a little bit of shared knowledge you know exactly what is happening in that gif with \u003cem\u003ealmost\u003c/em\u003e no words. I’ll still be sharing gifs I find funny or intriguing in the newsletter, but creating and sharing my own gifs was a desire from day 0.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-19-123dev-14/","tags":null,"title":"Rolling upgrades and three links I disagree with - 123dev #14"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/13-0.gif\" alt=\"A man getting hit in the face with a ball in slow motion\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"do-you-know-how-to-say-no\"\u003eDo you know how to say no?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople often feel guilty for saying no to opportunities, but in reality you should say no when you really care about something but know you are not the best person. It doesn’t matter if you’re not interested, if you don’t have enough time, or you don’t have the right skills. If you understand saying no will make the project/event/collaboration/etc. more successful then you can better position yourself to say no and explain why.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-18-123dev-13/","tags":null,"title":"Just say no ⚽😑 - 123dev #13"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/12-0.gif\" alt=\"A van rolling down a hill. The van is on fire\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"shipping-code-that-doesnt-catch-fire\"\u003eShipping code that doesn’t catch fire\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes I push code into production that I’m certain will work well. Not because of test coverage or PR reviews, but usually just because the change was so simple and obvious there couldn’t possibly be another way to do it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany times those pushes work fine and my false confidence is reinforced to do it again another day. Often times I end up paying for an undocumented quick fix later. Sometimes those guaranteed-not-to-fail code pushes catch fire and roll production down a hill. Those are good learning experiences.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-17-123dev-12/","tags":null,"title":"Your code is on fire 🔥 - 123dev #12"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/11-0.gif\" alt=\"a cat licking itself at a gym\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"practice\"\u003ePractice\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve been on a diet and I’m pretty sure this cat has better sit-up form than I have. Just like anything we do it takes practice and if we don’t do it for a while we fall out of form. As much as I exercised in high school I have to relearn a lot after not doing much for the past 20 years.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-16-123dev-11/","tags":null,"title":"Practice, handling errors, and some python 🐍 - 123dev #11"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/10-0.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"hidden-work\"\u003eHidden work\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI never thought about how donuts were filled. I should have guessed it was someone’s job, but I assumed it was automated. It makes me realize there’s a lot of work I never think about.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is lots of work I do that no one else thinks about. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s important to view my work as a delightful filling to someone’s day. Hopefully, like this email is for you.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-15-123dev-10/","tags":null,"title":"Hidden work, systems design, compensation, and faster learning - 123dev #10"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/9-0.gif\" alt=\"woman rides a bike on a high wire over a forest\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"balance\"\u003eBalance\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLearning how to ride a bike requires you to balance in new ways. Riding a bike on a tight rope requires similar balance, and I can only image the perceived risks of failure makes it exponentially harder to focus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrying anything new will require some sort of balance. Physical, mental, time management, relationships all create a balance in our lives that can easily topple due to unexpected illnesses, changes in priority, or adding new plates to juggle. Balance is only achievable when we understand how we fall and reacting to the signals that indicate we are falling.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-14-123dev-9/","tags":null,"title":"Balance, free resources, lock-in, and whitepapers - 123dev #9"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/8-0.gif\" alt=\"Two dots on a graph form a line until they hit a 3rd dot\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"one-more-feature\"\u003eOne more feature\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s difficult with software to know when to stop and release what you have. There’s always one more feature to create and one more bug to squash. Putting out software you know has bugs or doesn’t do everything you want is anxiety inducing but also freeing because it can only get better from here.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-13-123dev-8/","tags":null,"title":"Vertical auto scaling Daft Punk elliptic curves - 123dev #8"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/7-0.gif\" alt=\"a frame of a car is replaced in commercials with real looking production cars\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"company-presentations-and-movie-magic\"\u003eCompany presentations and movie magic\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI often watch conference talks from companies that appear to be complete internal products, but behind the scenes are more like the blackbird car in the gif above. Companies have high performance, purpose built solutions they create and then present them as the answer to everyone’s problem. This isn’t always a negative thing. You should be aware that their Ferrari may not have a windshield or AC.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-12-123dev-7/","tags":null,"title":"How to learn and three projects to try - 123dev #7"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/6-0.gif\" alt=\"a tree bends and breaks under the weight of snow\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-weight-of-nothing\"\u003eThe weight of nothing\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSometimes we make decisions in software and design that appear to have no impact on what we’re building. After many years of unchecked decisions we may find our systems breaking from a million — seemingly weightless — snowflakes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"future-of-open-source\"\u003eFuture of open source\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpen source is changing and so are the people and communities. What started as free software stored in a drawer back when people used to share computers has evolved into big business and companies trying to protect the type of open source that benefits them. A new generation of users and contributors are getting involved and have their own motives.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-11-123dev-6/","tags":null,"title":"🔒 Creating IAM and handling exceptions - 123dev #6"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/5-0.gif\" alt=\"Two ventilation towers collapse in sync\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"html\"\u003eHTML\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere were some conversations on Twitter this past weekend that HTML is not a programming language. I don’t care about semantics, but I \u003cstrong\u003eDO\u003c/strong\u003e care to recognize people that write HTML as developers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy first full-time job I wrote code to solve problems even though I didn’t have “developer” in my title. I automated a job that used to take 3 weeks down to 3 hours with the code I wrote. It just so happened that my IDE was Excel.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-10-123dev-5/","tags":null,"title":"HTML, queues, and whiteboarding - 123dev #5"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/4-0.gif\" alt=\"a cat waving at something\" width=\"100%\" \u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"open-source\"\u003eOpen Source\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere’s been a lot of open source news this week between my current employer and Elastic. I have nothing to do with it directly, but it reminds me that open source is people which means there will always be drama.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEven when it’s billion dollar companies it often comes down to a small number of people making decisions. I think this weeks drama hurt the image of open source more than it helped.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-09-123dev-4/","tags":null,"title":"📃 Make your resume stand out and write your docs with semantic line breaks - 123dev #4"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/3-0.gif\" alt=\"A man hits his head on a table and turns into snow\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"learning-to-code\"\u003eLearning to code\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe more programming languages I learn the more it resembles human language for me. It takes a lot of practice to write content that humans want to read. It takes similar practice to write code that computers want to execute.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf I start writing in another language the meaning of the words might be the same, but how they will be interpreted by the readers could be completely different.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-08-123dev-3/","tags":null,"title":"AWS as a framework, pair terminals, and bash script template - 123dev #3"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cimg src=\"/img/123dev/2-0.gif\" alt=\"someone skis off a cliff and thankfully has a parachute\" width=\"100%\" /\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"comments\"\u003eComments\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLearning new things\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gif reminded me of what it feels like to be new to something. You think you know where you\u0026rsquo;re going, you start to understand what you\u0026rsquo;re doing, and then you\u0026rsquo;re free falling. You pull the rip cord, gain a resemblance of control, and slow down—just a little bit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLearning new things doesn\u0026rsquo;t end the way it started and you still don\u0026rsquo;t understand it all, but you\u0026rsquo;re having fun and want more!\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-07-123dev-2/","tags":null,"title":"Learning new things and developer productivity - 123dev #2"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eSince this is the 1st newsletter I’ll explain how it works. I’d like to help you learn development or become a better developer. I also want you to look forward to opening this newsletter. I’ll keep the content short so you can skim everything in under 10 minutes. I’ll do that by always providing:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 gif\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2 comments\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3 links\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gif will hopefully make you smile. The comments will make you think, and the links will teach or show you something you didn’t know. Usually, content will be about development or technology but not everything.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-09-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/123dev/2021-09-06-123dev-1/","tags":null,"title":"Welcome to 123dev - 123dev #1"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eSlack is a major part of how we communicate at work. If you still think it’s just about chat then chances are you’re using it wrong. Other collaboration tools exist and some have similar features but Slack is the dominant choice.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter using Slack, and similar collaboration focused tools, in multiple jobs here are some practices I’ve found that will make it better for everyone. Some of these tips work best in a remote-first, asynchronous environments, but many of them apply to fully co-located teams and companies as well.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-08-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-08-08-succesful-slack/","tags":null,"title":"Successful Slack"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/profile-surprised-round.png\" alt=\"A picture of Justin making a surprised face\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHi, I\u0026rsquo;m Justin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI work at \u003ca href=\"http://siderolabs.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSidero Labs\u003c/a\u003e\n as the Head of Product.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI wrote a book with \u003ca href=\"https://nivenly.org/memorials/krisnova/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eKris Nóva\u003c/a\u003e\n called \u003ca href=\"https://cnibook.info/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eCloud Native Infrastructure\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI helped make some \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7463292\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003emovies\u003c/a\u003e\n at Disney Animation.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHere\u0026rsquo;s my \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/resume.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eresume\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf you need a profile picture you can use one available on \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/rothgar/rothgar/tree/master/img\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGitHub here\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou can find my other places online in the social links below.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"history\"\u003ehistory\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI previously wrote at \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eMedium\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/author/rothgar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehowtogeek.com\u003c/a\u003e\n, and \u003ca href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20170701000000*/1n73r.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e1n73r.net\u003c/a\u003e\n. Most of those articles have been moved to this site.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-07-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/about/","tags":null,"title":"About Me"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eGitHub’s UI has improved a lot over the years but sometimes you just need quick access without clicking. Here are a few GitHub URL tips to get you data you want faster. One cool thing is all of these tips give raw text output so they work great with \u003ccode\u003ecurl\u003c/code\u003e and other CLI tools.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"public-ssh-keys\"\u003ePublic SSH keys\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you want to get a users public ssh keys you can add \u003ccode\u003e.keys\u003c/code\u003e to the end of their user profile URL. Here’s mine.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-07-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-07-11-github-url-hacks/","tags":null,"title":"GitHub URL Hacks"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI wanted a landing page for the \u003ca href=\"https://123dev.email/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e123dev newsletter\u003c/a\u003e\n and it was the perfect opportunity to try a few new things.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have static sites on GitHub, Gitlab, Netlify, and Amplify. They’re all great options for static site hosting but I was missing a few to fill out a complete bingo card.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"goals\"\u003eGoals\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy main goals were to have a simple layout that highlights the weekly gifs and is easy for people to share. I really wanted a way to embed the gifs into Twitter if someone shared a link on there. I didn’t know how I wanted to accomplish that and it turns out there are multiple options.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-06-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-06-04-making-123dev-website/","tags":null,"title":"Making 123dev Website"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI \u003ca href=\"https://www.justingarrison.com/blog/2020-07-23-dev-to-devrel/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eposted last year\u003c/a\u003e\n about what it was like to move from a full time development role into a developer advocate (DA) position. I wanted to follow it up with my experience after one full year for anyone interested in this type of role.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEverything I said in my six month post is true and I can sum up the last six months with.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevrel puts the I in IC\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor those of you not aware IC stands for Individual Contributor and generally is used to describe non-manager roles.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-04-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-04-22-one-year-devrel/","tags":null,"title":"One year as a developer advocate"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn my time at Amazon, I’ve observed the way we use documents is incredibly unique. A lot has been written about the six-pager and PR/FAQ so I’m not going focus on document formats, but I wanted to share how our process benefits from document-based meetings. I also have identified some areas for improvement if you are looking to adopt document-based meetings for your workplace.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve been wanting to write this blog post for a while and Jaana’s tweet finally gave me the inspiration to share my thoughts.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-03-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-03-15-the-document-culture-of-amazon/","tags":null,"title":"The Document Culture of Amazon"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMaybe you want to switch your keyboard layout because you hear there are benefits for alternative layouts. Some people do it for speed, others for ergonomics.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI learned to touch type with QWERTY and could type 50+ words per minute. I later switched to Dvorak after having wrist pains typing for extended periods of time. I’ve been typing with Dvorak for nearly 20 years and here’s my experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"good\"\u003eGood\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s nice that every operating system has Dvorak as an optional layout and there are plenty of learning tools that exist to re-learn how to type. In my experience using Dvorak has allowed me to use my computer for longer periods of time with less wrist pain which was my main goal.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-02-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-02-13-dvorak-the-good-bad-ugly-and-recommendations/","tags":null,"title":"Dvorak: the good, bad, ugly, and recommendations"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the things I miss most about working in an office is diagramming with coworkers. I’m a very visual learner and drawing what I’m thinking and having others explain their thoughts in picture form help me a lot. If you’ve seen any of my conference talks you’ll also probably know that I like props too!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet me start with what I’m using and then can explain some other options and trade-offs. Here’s the best option I’ve been using.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-02-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-02-02-remote-whiteboarding/","tags":null,"title":"Whiteboarding software and hardware"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eYou’ve discovered that \u003ca href=\"https://signal.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eSignal\u003c/a\u003e\n can provide you with secure communication from your phone that is cross platform and free!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst of all you may be asking “who makes Signal?” Signal Messenger LLC. is the company that makes the Signal app. They are funded by the Signal Foundation which is a non-profit organization that relies on \u003ca href=\"https://signal.org/donate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eyour donations\u003c/a\u003e\n to make the app free and not have ulterior motives with your data.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe foundation’s mission is\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-01-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-01-11-getting-started-with-signal/","tags":null,"title":"Getting started with signal"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI’ve been talking to a lot of people about how they can get a job in technology. Some people are starting from knowing nothing and others have done some coding lessons or maybe an idea about what they want to do.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people I’ve talked to think working in technology is all about programming. While it helps for many different roles it’s not everything.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou will need to understand some technology or at least be curious enough to learn how things work and driven enough to not give up. I’ve been working in tech for more than 15 years and in all of my positions I can only remember a few weeks where I programmed more than 30 hours in a week. A majority of my time has been spent learning, planning, and coordinating with people.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-01-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2021-01-09-breaking-into-tech/","tags":null,"title":"Breaking into tech"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z8ptJIYfCIs?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI learned containers to solve problems with repeatable, isolated application deployments.\nNow individual applications aren\u0026rsquo;t a problem and my environment is much more complex.\nContainers has proven to be the little standard that could adapt.\nNo matter if you\u0026rsquo;re new to containers or an experienced user we\u0026rsquo;ll look at how containers are used for packaging more than traditional web apps.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2021-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.04-cloud_native_kubernetes_manchester-from_container_to_cloud/","tags":null,"title":"From container to cloud"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eo11ycon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eT\u0026rsquo;was the night before launch and all through the app\nNot a ticket was open, not even a slack.\nThe backlogs were sorted in Jira with care,\nIn hopes that no bugs would show themselves there.\nThe pagers were quiet next to devs in their beds;\nWhile SLO graphs danced close to the edge.\nAnd SRE wake putting finishing touches,\nOn one last push with no repercussions.\nWhen out of the alert arose such a clatter,\nI sprang to my laptop to see what was the matter.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-12-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.04-o11ycon-the_bug_before_downtime/","tags":null,"title":"The bug before downtime"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/JdRxRoxGpME?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll Day Devops\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if you do it the hard way or with opinionated tooling, Kubernetes cluster creation is a solved problem.\nBut how many clusters do you need?\nThe correct amount is N+1.\nHow can you manage that many clusters, upgrades, security patching, and guarantee workload availability?\nWe\u0026rsquo;ll look at common patterns for cluster deployments, upgrades, and what components should be decoupled by explaining how the patterns work and how they can be applied to any environment.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.03-all_day_devops-cicd_continuous_infrastructure_cluster_demand/","tags":null,"title":"CI/CD: Continuous Infrastructure / Cluster Demand"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll Things Open\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCongratulations! The war of The Enterprise vs Open Source is over and you\u0026rsquo;ve won! But at what cost? You may be able to use and contribute to open source but on enterprise terms. Let\u0026rsquo;s have a look at what it takes to create an open source program that can hold up to enterprise requirements and also what it\u0026rsquo;s like to contribute to open source as an enterprise developer.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.04-all_things_open-enterprise_grade_open_source/","tags":null,"title":"Enterprise grade open source"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll Day Devops\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s day one at Air C and D.\nI\u0026rsquo;m the new SRE and I need to make our service more reliable.\nMore 9s is all I was told.\nYes, I already asked if moving the decimal was an option.\nIt is not.\nThe site goes live in 3 days.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s figure out how to keep our 9s while under pressure of launch, performing upgrades, and multi-region deployments.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.03-all_day_devops-putting_the_lie_in_reliability/","tags":null,"title":"Putting the \"lie\" in reliability"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWn3hZkZAAI?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevOpsDays PDX\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTechnology has cycles of innovation and refinement.\nMovements that bring new ideas and ecosystems that refine the ideas into usable tools for a broader audience.\nDevops and container orchestration were big ideas that were refined by config management and Kubernetes.\nHere we\u0026rsquo;ll explore the patterns and what might be next.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.05-devopsdays_pdx-tiktalk/","tags":null,"title":"TikTalk"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrossplane Community Day Europe\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYour toy application is a buzz on the internet.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s containerized but your uptime is falling with style.\nHow can you get cloud services in a Kubernetes native way?\nAWS Controllers for Kubernetes (ACK) rides in to save the day, but what about about multi-region?\nACK has a friend in crossplane to give your app the love and scale it deserves.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"audience\"\u003eAudience\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevelopers with containers already running on Kubernetes or thinking of moving to Kubernetes.\nUsers who want to scale their application beyond a single region for HA or being closer to customers.\nThey\u0026rsquo;ll learn how they can easily do that with crossplane and how ACK accelerates what they can do with in AWS.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.03-crossplane_community_days-to_us-east-1_and_beyond/","tags":null,"title":"To us-east-1 and beyond"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/eym93NluVxc?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll Things Open\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom hundreds to hundreds of thousands of community members, the Kubernetes project and Cloud Native ecosystem has thrived for the past seven years. Many companies have gone all in on Kubernetes, but how can a vendor neutral project provide stability guarantees that companies need? How can maintainers plan feature enhancements and react to security vulnerabilities? Everything from KEPs to SIGs, we\u0026rsquo;ll look at the structure, process, and tooling Kubernetes has used to become one of the most active open source projects ever.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-11-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.04-all_things_open-web_scale_open_source_with_kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"Web scale open source with Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI think there’s a rule that any helpful tweet with 10k likes should be a blog post.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy past two on-boardings have taught me a lot about what it takes for me to feel comfortable in a new job. I owe these insights to my managers for good and bad experiences that showed me things that mattered to me and things that I thought important that turned out not to be.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-08-31T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2020-08-31-remote-onboarding/","tags":null,"title":"How to On-board New Hires Remotely"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI switched from a role as a Sr. Software Engineer leading a team of Site Reliability Engineers for Disney+ to a Developer Advocate for containers at AWS. Here are some of my experiences and observations about the role change, and what it might mean for you if you’re looking to do a similar switch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was a long time engineer in various roles. As I changed roles my title changed from Sysadmin to Sr. Systems Engineer and then to Sr. Software Engineer - Lead.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-07-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2020-07-23-dev-to-devrel/","tags":null,"title":"From Dev to Devrel"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThere has been a lot of bad news about snap recently. I’m not a fan, and it looks like \u003ca href=\"https://jatan.blog/2020/05/02/ubuntu-snap-obsession-has-snapped-me-off-of-it/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eother people\u003c/a\u003e\n are \u003ca href=\"https://techtudor.blogspot.com/2020/06/four-reasons-why-snaps-are-anti-pattern.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003espeaking out\u003c/a\u003e\n too. Linux Mint has even decided to \u003ca href=\"https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-dumps-ubuntu-snap/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003edrop snap\u003c/a\u003e\n altogether.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking to drop snap here’s how to make sure it stays off your system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst check if you have any snaps installed. If you do you should write them down and try installing them with apt.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003esnap list\nNo snaps are installed yet. Try \u0026#39;snap install hello-world\u0026#39;.\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow you’re ready to remove snapd\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-06-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2020-06-08-snap-out-of-it/","tags":null,"title":"Snap out of it"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf your an engineer you probably spend a lot of time using a terminal. Some of your best productivity gains will come from understanding it better and making small improvements to repetitive tasks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany people know the basics for default shell shortcuts like Ctrl+a and Ctrl+e to go to the begining and end of a line. There are also a few keyboard shortcuts you’ve probably found by accident like Ctrl+s, Ctrl+z, or Ctrl+c.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-05-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2020-05-28-shell-shortcuts/","tags":null,"title":"Shell Shortcuts"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubecon NA\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere\u0026rsquo;s a prevalent theory that adding one more cluster will solve your problems.\nIt\u0026rsquo;ll unblock that team, or enable that new project to be successful.\nBut the cluster sprawl and management overhead can slow you down.\nLocal optimization can have big impacts to the global organization.\nIn this talk we\u0026rsquo;ll look at operating cluster scale at scale.\nWhat patterns can we learn from the past to help us plan for future growth, and what tools exist to help us get there?\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-05-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.05-kubecon-the_mythical_multi-cluster_month/","tags":null,"title":"The Mythical Multi-Cluster Month"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"conference\"\u003eConference\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubecon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEKS Anywhere is a new open source project to deploy and manage Kubernetes in any environment.\nIt builds on top of the open source EKS distro and other community projects to provide opinionated tooling so you can gain from the expertise of how AWS runs Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).\nThis presentation will dive deep into the technologies and how EKS Anywhere combines them to solve real world problems.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-05-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2021.05-kubecon-the_open_source_of_eks_anywhere/","tags":null,"title":"The Open Source of EKS Anywhere"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWorking from home can be a great opportunity to focus, get a better work life balance, and not get sick. It may be a benefit of your position, or mandated by your employer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEither way there are some equipment you’re going to need if you want to be able to stay productive and effectively collaborate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere’s a short list of tips and equipment I recommend for working from home. I’ll start the list from what I see as most critical to least and try to keep a working class budget in mind.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-03-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2020-03-06-wfh-survival-kit/","tags":null,"title":"The WFH Survival Kit"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/QD_P_E6Sq9M?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"YouTube video\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet\u0026rsquo;s talk about what it takes to create movies and ship them to theaters as well as what it takes to\nstream movies directly to viewers. Justin has experience running infrastructure for both and wants to\nhelp you be successful in your cloud or on-prem journey.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-03-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2020.11-kubecon_na-infrastructure_for_entertainment/","tags":null,"title":"Infrastructure for Entertainment"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisney+ was a highly anticipated product that launched in five countries in a week. In this talk we\u0026rsquo;ll review how one of the cloud infrastructure teams prepared for launch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaunching a product is stressful for people and infrastructure.\nJustin will show you what to consider before a big product launch so you can be prepared for the unknown.\nHe will provide examples from the recent Disney+ launch to help you focus on what\u0026rsquo;s important to make your launch a success.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-02-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2020.06-oreilly_infrastructure__ops-how_disney+_prepared_for_launch/","tags":null,"title":"How Disney+ Prepared for Launch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe fine folks at Palm offered to send me their new \u003ca href=\"https://palm.com/pages/companion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eCompanion phone\u003c/a\u003e\n in exchange for writing a review. I am grateful for their generosity and wish to fulfill my portion of the bargain below.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst of all, I have a long history of Palm phones. My first Palm device was a Palm m100 I used to keep myself organized in college. I didn’t have a computer so it was a lifesaver and also a burden because I didn’t have a computer.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2020-01-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2020-01-27-palm-companion-review/","tags":null,"title":"Palm Companion Phone Review"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"brief-description\"\u003eBrief description\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat Disney did to prepare for Disney+ launch\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"short-abstract\"\u003eShort Abstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaunching a product is stressful for people and infrastructure.\nJustin will show you what to consider before a highly anticipated product launch so you can be prepared for the unknown.\nHe will provide examples from the recent Disney+ launch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"long-abstract\"\u003eLong Abstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore a product launch you need to consider more than just load testing and scale. In this talk Justin will review the year leading up to Disney+ including:\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-12-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2020.03-scale_18x-how_disney+_prepared_for_launch/","tags":null,"title":"How Disney+ Prepared for Launch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"track\"\u003eTrack\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003estrange software\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early days of the web you could get a job anywhere with \u0026ldquo;HTML\u0026rdquo; on your resume. Having a website meant you knew networking, DNS, how to code and probably systems administration. Building basic websites has gone from elitist hacker to drag and drop. This empowered millions of people to have a presence on the web without needing to learn CSS.\nThe internet has changed over the years. Websites are no longer the definitive source of engagement and new generations don\u0026rsquo;t own computers. App development is the new HTML and voice assistants are an emerging form of customer acquisition. New platforms are empowering millions more people to create mobile and voice apps without needing to code. In this talk we\u0026rsquo;ll look at two examples of getting started with simple ideas and how you can use these new platforms.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-09-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.09-strangeloop-building_apps_without_code/","tags":null,"title":"Building apps without code"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbstract: Infrastructure has come a long way from servers in closets ??. The servers are out of the closet and software defined in the cloud ??. They\u0026rsquo;re so fabulous they\u0026rsquo;re serverless ?. Now they\u0026rsquo;re breaking all the rules and moving to the edge. Next thing you know they\u0026rsquo;ll be everywhere and nowhere! Let\u0026rsquo;s take a trip down memory lane and peek into the future ? for what infrastructure is blossoming into ? and how it impacts the software we write.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-09-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.09-strangeloop-evolution_of_infrastructure/","tags":null,"title":"Evolution of infrastructure"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"track\"\u003eTrack\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eother\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this workshop we\u0026rsquo;ll start with a fresh zsh configuration and work our way up to advanced keyboard shortcuts and command line usage. We\u0026rsquo;ll build from basics to show attendees how they can combine commands and shortcuts to meet their needs. We\u0026rsquo;ll be building a .zshrc file as we go to make continued usage, portability, and tweaking easy. Various tools such as sed, awk, and jq will be covered as needed for examples. Attendees should be familiar with basic to intermediate shell usage and are welcome to bring their own tips/tricks to share.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-09-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.09-strangeloop-mastering_zsh/","tags":null,"title":"Mastering ZSH"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaunching a product is stressful for people and infrastructure.\nJustin will show you what to consider before a highly anticipated product launch so you can be prepared for the unknown.\nHe will provide examples from a recent service offering as well as discuss lessons learned.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the Ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ecosystem currently focuses too much on tools. By providing a real world example from a service that does not use Kubernetes I hope to help people be successful no matter what their technology stacks look like.\nDisney+ launches the week before Kubecon and I will show what we did to prepare as well as what expected and unexpected things happened during launch.\nI might not be able to directly say the example service is Disney+ (Disney legal would probably say no), but I will extract the things we found beneficial and give some real world examples of why.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-06-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.11-rejekts-how-to_prepare_for_launch/","tags":null,"title":"How-to prepare for launch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI’ve been working full time remote for Disney Streaming for the past 6 months. This is my first full time remote position.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile I’ve had lots of experience working in open source and tons of experience with communicating asynchronously doing full time work remotely is different. I wanted to share some things I’ve learned so far.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s important to note my life situation is likely different than yours. I’ve been working in technology for \u0026gt;10 years, I’m married, and I have 2 kids (one less than a year old).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-05-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2019-05-29-six-months-remote/","tags":null,"title":"Experience from Six Months of Remote Work"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe only sustainable competitive advantage is an organization’s ability to learn faster than the competition. – Peter Senge\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think about how companies get a competitive advantage a lot. While I agree with the above statement I don’t think it’s enough.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve worked long enough to know learning something isn’t the thing that gives you a competitive advantage. Acting on what you’ve learned is where the real value lies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve seen organizations learn things at the micro (individuals) and macro (divisions) levels and still fail at executing. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you know the right thing to do. If you can’t execute on the new thing you’ve learned then it would have been better for you to never know it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-05-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2019-09-03-rate-of-successful-retire/","tags":null,"title":"Rate of Successful Retire"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"description\"\u003eDescription\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaunching a product is stressful for people and infrastructure.\nJustin will show you what to consider before a highly anticipated product launch so you can be prepared for the unknown.\nHe will provide examples from a recent service offering as well as discuss lessons learned.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"benefits-to-the-ecosystem\"\u003eBenefits to the Ecosystem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ecosystem currently focuses too much on tools. By providing a real world example from a service that does not use Kubernetes I hope to help people be successful no matter what their technology stacks look like.\nDisney+ launches the week before Kubecon and I will show what we did to prepare as well as what expected and unexpected things happened during launch.\nI might not be able to directly say the example service is Disney+ (Disney legal would probably say no), but I will extract the things we found beneficial and give some real world examples of why.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-04-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.11-kubecon_na-how-to_prepare_for_launch/","tags":null,"title":"How-to prepare for launch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"final-description\"\u003eFinal Description\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn engineer\u0026rsquo;s $SHELL is likely one of their most used tools. However, it is rarely mastered because it\u0026rsquo;s invisible in nature. Knowing how to use aliases, variables, and functions is an important start, but there are many more features that can be used to boost your productivity and help you be better at your job.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this training Justin will cover some of the more advanced topics of zsh and how you can use them. This will help you save time at a prompt and be a better shell user for fun and profit.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-04-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.10-lisa-mastering_zsh/","tags":null,"title":"Mastering ZSH"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"abstract\"\u003eAbstract\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone wants a service mesh because of the benefits they bring. Few people consider the costs or alternatives. Justin will look at how the internet has managed to get by for so long without it. When can you use a load balancer instead? What other options do you have? Are services meshes just hype? We\u0026rsquo;ll take a step back and think through the problems and solutions available so you can make your own decisions.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2019-04-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/cfp/2019.11-kubecon_na-service_mess_do_you_need_a_service_mesh%CA%94/","tags":null,"title":"Service Mess: Do You Need A Service Mesh?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eHere’s to us who moved because we couldn’t afford to stay. Those who were on the receiving end of church meals and charity gifts. The thrift store clearance shoppers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere’s to those of us who never had a role model. With moms in rehabs and dads at work. With broken families and hidden scars. Constantly let down and habitually in trouble.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere’s to the necessity of friends. Overstayed welcomes, dinners, and loose change sustained us. We are forever grateful to those who gave without questions or conditions.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2018-12-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2018-12-17-heres-to-you/","tags":null,"title":"Here’s to you"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI never would have imagined I would be a part of such an amazing place. Being able to work on technology and help make cartoons kids all of the world love has been awesome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter four and a half years it’s time to say goodbye to friends and co-workers who have taught me so much! I’m thankful for how this place has changed me and the world through our stories and art.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2018-11-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2018-11-08-goodbye-disney-animation/","tags":null,"title":"Goodbye Disney Animation"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI am not an expert. I have co-authored a single book in 2017 called \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.cnibook.info/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eCloud Native Infrastructure\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/em\u003e for O’Reilly Media. Many people have asked me what it was like so I will attempt to explain the process, time investment, and financial incentive here.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was \u003cstrong\u003emy\u003c/strong\u003e experience. If you have written a book, or would like to, I promise your experience will be different. Nonetheless, I hope you can learn something from the things I learned.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2018-05-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2018-05-07-the-economics-of-writing-a-technical-book/","tags":null,"title":"The Economics of Writing a Technical Book"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTL;DR I\u0026rsquo;d love if Google made the ChromeOS experience better for professionals but I have little hope they\u0026rsquo;ll figure it out any time soon given the issues I experienced.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been using a Pixelbook as my main mobile computer for a little over a month now. I have long wanted to use ChromeOS as my full time OS for a number of years but it always seemed to not be ready. I was finally ready to jump in knowing there would be limitations, but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t prepared for some of the limitations and bugs I found. Here\u0026rsquo;s my experience.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2018-01-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2018-01-18-a-nitpicky-chromeos-review/","tags":null,"title":"A Nitpicky ChromeOS Review"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eDear Kubernetes Community,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubeCon and CloudNativeCon were an absolute blast! 🙌 I can\u0026rsquo;t believe how big the conference has got in such a short period of time. I\u0026rsquo;m thrilled to see how inclusive and welcoming the community is to new people. Especially people who identify with groups underrepresented at most conferences.\u003cbr\u003e\nThank you to the Linux Foundation for all the hard work I can\u0026rsquo;t even fathom goes into planning an event of this magnitude. Thank you to the CNCF for intentionally fostering a diverse community. Thank you to the project and community leaders for being accessible and approachable by anyone and everyone in the hallways, talks, and after hours events. Thank you to everyone who provided constructive feedback to speakers, organizers, and projects.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2018-01-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2017-12-11-dear-kubernetes-community/","tags":null,"title":"Dear Kubernetes Community"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI recently ran a survey about infrastructure and applications for some research. I wanted to open up the results for everyone to see.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI ended up with 222 responses. Responses required logins to not allow repeat answers. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t figure out how to embed the actual results so the best I could do was take screenshots of the answers. I\u0026rsquo;m not going to add any commentary around the data so you can draw your own conclusions.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2017-04-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2017-04-11-infrastructure-survey-results/","tags":null,"title":"Infrastructure Survey Results"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWhen formatting partitions on a Linux PC, you\u0026rsquo;ll see a wide variety of file system options. These options don\u0026rsquo;t need to be overwhelming. If you\u0026rsquo;re not sure which Linux file system to use, there\u0026rsquo;s a simple answer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-quick-answer-use-ext4-if-youre-not-sure\"\u003eThe Quick Answer: Use Ext4 if You\u0026rsquo;re Not Sure\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe\u0026rsquo;ll get into the weeds and run down the difference between the various file systems in a moment, but if you aren\u0026rsquo;t sure: Use Ext4.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2017-03-01T11:23:00-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2017-03-01-htg-explains-which-linux-file-system-should-you-choose/","tags":null,"title":"Which Linux File System Should You Use?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"alternate-title-how-to-debug-freaking-go-binary-containers\"\u003eAlternate title: How-to debug freaking go binary containers\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContainers are great for shipping software, but sometimes you can go too far when stripping down your container to make it as small as possible. There’s a fine balance between a “no-frills” image and something impossible to debug (I’m looking at you, single binary go containers).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe normal way I see people debug a running container is to \u003ccode\u003edocker exec -it $CONTAINER sh\u003c/code\u003e and install their debug tools on demand in the container. But what if your container doesn’t have /bin/sh? What if it doesn’t have a package manager? You could copy utilities into the container with \u003ccode\u003edocker cp\u003c/code\u003e and then exec into the running container but that’s also a hassle.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2017-02-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2017-02-13-how-to-debug-a-running-docker-container-from-a-separate-container/","tags":null,"title":"How-to Debug a Running Docker Container from a Separate Container"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eKubernetes has a lot of options for running in cloud environments. If you’ve never experienced the simplicity of starting a cluster in GKE I highly recommend it. But how can you test cluster setups in an on premises environment?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are just a few reasons to have your own development cluster\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNode provisioning testing\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNode life cycle management (adding, removing, and maintenance)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOut-of-cluster storage\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNetwork overlay/underlay testing\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLoad balancing testing\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are plenty of other reasons but these are some that have driven me to find options. Below are some of the best options I found and what I went with.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2017-01-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2017-01-03-on-prem-development-kubernetes-cluster-options/","tags":null,"title":"On-Prem Development Kubernetes Cluster Options"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAfter 9 years of predictions I\u0026rsquo;ve been wrong with my predictions more often than I\u0026rsquo;ve been right. Read my 2016 predictions \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2016-predictions-1efba5959bb7#.pji3tja5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e\n (with links to previous years) and read below for predictions for 2017.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSecurity (or lack thereof) had some ugly displays in 2016. Unfortunately, 2017 is going to be much worse. Internet of things devices will continue to have flaws as hacks become more sophisticated. In 2016 DVRs and webcams took out a major DNS provider and it was just a drop in the bucket for what\u0026rsquo;s to come.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSecuring systems is so hard that companies are going to move even faster to cloud providers. This includes moving server infrastructure and also moving workstations to hosted virtual desktops. It will help with security simply because cloud environments force better policies more than they are actually more secure.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVR kept making news in 2016 but there was still a lack of adoption. Lack of content and high cost of entry is going to make VR news turn dark. The promise of a future with VR will turn to news about VR companies shutting down and VR never catching on. There will still be some new/novel ways and new start-ups creating cool VR demos. But they will forever stay demos.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOpen source all the things! Time and time again companies that were focused on being open grew considerably. 2017 will have more companies open source their technology but with negative outcome. CEOs will think that dumping a bunch of code on GitHub is enough. This will cause problems because the open source community is a community, not a code dumping ground. It will also be a problem because at least one company will publicly expose code with critical security vulnerabilities and passwords/keys to access that companies infrastructure. They will frantically have to re-key before hackers cause too much havoc.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolitics. All I can say is things are going to go dark (encrypted) for law enforcement which is going to cause much more drastic measures from government. Expect more back doors and companies being forced to secretly expose private data under gag restrictions. Also expect innovation to stall as creative solutions for securing data to be a focus of big companies and startups to fail under regulations for government access.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eManufacturing is going to grow in leaps and bounds in 2017, but only for the companies that invested in automation instead of cheap labor. This will include Apple and Tesla. Companies that aren\u0026rsquo;t forward thinking will struggle as global economies collapse and labor expenses skyrocket.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConsumerism is going to grow in 2017 as the economy is on a rebound. Unfortunately, by the end of 2017 there will a downturn in the economy and all the innovation that is announced in the summer will have a hard time gaining a foothold in the fall. I could be wrong about the timeline but the downturn will come before the end of 2018.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWireless charging! Finally wireless charging is going to become main stream and make it into more devices. A wirelessly charged iPhone will come out this year including laptops, tablets, and various other gadgets.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat\u0026rsquo;s all for this year. Let me know your predictions in the comments or on \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/rothgar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003etwitter\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2017-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2017-01-01-2017-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2017 Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eSome times people will join the Kubernetes community and get confused on what the “k8s” is all about. So I just wanted to share a \u003ca href=\"http://www.i18nguy.com/origini18n.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003elittle bit of history\u003c/a\u003e\n around \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numeronym\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003enumeronyms\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the 80s computer companies were having new challenges sharing their software around the world. They often would use the words “internationalization” and “localization” to describe the process of translating the software. Developers are lazy and somewhere in the mid-late 80s they started abbreviating the words based on their first letter, last letter, and number of letters in between. This is why you’ll sometimes see i18n for internationalization and l10n for localization. There are also new numeronyms such as Andreessen Horowitz (\u003ca href=\"https://a16z.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ea16z\u003c/a\u003e\n) and of course our favorite kubernetes (k8s).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-12-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-12-19-why-kubernetes-is-abbreviated-k8s/","tags":null,"title":"Why Kubernetes is Abbreviated k8s"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe outdoor security camera market didn’t exist much before this year. Then startups realized it was a ripe market for disruption, the old options were terrible, and cameras got smart with motion detection and other features some people never asked for.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet me start by just saying my requirements for an outdoor camera may not be your requirements. My basic requirements\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood night vision support\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWide field of view\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmart alerting (I don’t want alerts if I can help it)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe long term recordings, 2-way communication, and some other features I don’t need.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-12-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-12-16-nest-cam-outdoor-vs-ring-stick-up-cam/","tags":null,"title":"Nest Cam Outdoor vs. Ring Stick Up Cam"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eNot all Ethernet cable is created equally. What’s the difference, and how do you know which you should use? Let’s look at the technical and physical differences in Ethernet cable categories to help us decide.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthernet cables are grouped into sequentially numbered categories (“cat”) based on different specifications; sometimes the category is updated with further clarification or testing standards (e.g. 5e, 6a). These categories are how we can easily know what type of cable we need for a specific application. Manufacturers are required to adhere to the standards, which makes our lives easier.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-12-13T11:55:01-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-12-13-what-kind-of-ethernet-cat-5e6a-cable-should-i-use/","tags":null,"title":"What Kind of Ethernet (Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a) Cable Should I Use?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://dyn.com/blog/dyn-statement-on-10212016-ddos-attack/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLarge scale DDoS\u003c/a\u003e\n are not rare occasions anymore. What we need to help protect the Internet is to make home routers smarter. I hope Google can start this trend and maybe it would catch on as standard features.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere are some feature that (to me) seem reasonable for any modern router to provide.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t allow source IP spoofing (egress filtering)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotify me for large amounts of outbound traffic\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlacklist known C\u0026amp;C IPs and malicious sites\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEgress filtering should be a no-brainer. If my local subnet is 192.168.0.1 don’t allow traffic to leave my network pretending to come from any other subnet not local to my network. This doesn’t solve all DDoS attacks, but it does help with \u003ca href=\"https://blog.cloudflare.com/deep-inside-a-dns-amplification-ddos-attack/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eUDP amplification attacks\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-11-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-11-07-google-onhub-feature-requests/","tags":null,"title":"Google OnHub Feature Requests"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWindows 7 gives the ability to quickly pull up a calendar from the taskbar by clicking on the time. What you may not know is that you can also quickly jump to dates in different months and years.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn order to see the options for jumping straight to a month, year, or decade all you have to do is click on the banner that indicates your current view.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/change-view.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYour view will cycle from month to year to decade but will stop at the decade view.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-11-03T18:52:45-04:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-11-03-quickly-view-month-year-and-decade-information-in-window-7/","tags":null,"title":"How to Quickly Switch to a Different Month or Year in the Windows 7 Calendar"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eForgive the analogies, I read \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Chains-Gravity-Spaceflight-before/dp/1472911172\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eBreaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA\u003c/a\u003e\n and despite a few slow parts, it was a really enlightening read. I couldn’t help but see some similarities with early spaceflight and computing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early days, flight was about experimentation and lots of smart (and daring) individuals. The early planes were crude and inefficient but they worked and that’s all that mattered. This is also true for almost all early computers, software, and systems administrators. Hindsight is easy to explain how crude something was when we see how “great” things are now.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-10-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-10-19-space-computing/","tags":null,"title":"Space Computing 🚀 and Orbit Native Applications"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eHypervisors are what make virtual machines possible, and they aren’t just for servers anymore. You probably use one every day and don’t even know it. If you don’t use one now, you will in the near future.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA hypervisor is software that exists outside of a guest operating system to intercept the commands sent to the computer hardware. The term “hypervisor” comes from the different levels of an \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/31632/what-is-the-linux-kernel-and-what-does-it-do/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eoperating systems kernel\u003c/a\u003e\n; it performs actions with more authority than the “supervisor” level, hence, \u003cem\u003ehyper\u003c/em\u003e-visor.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-09-28T11:08:33-04:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-09-28-htg-explains-what-is-a-hypervisor/","tags":null,"title":"What Is a Virtual Machine Hypervisor?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eKubernetes networking has a \u003ca href=\"http://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/networking/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003efew requirements\u003c/a\u003e\n. They are:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePods are routable on a flat network\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePods should see their own routable IP address\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNodes can communicate with all containers\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow these requirements are implemented is up to the operator. In many cases this means using a software defined network “SDN” also called an overlay network (e.g. \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/coreos/flannel#flannel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eflannel\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://www.weave.works/products/weave-net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eweave\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/projectcalico/calico-containers/blob/master/docs/cni/kubernetes/README.md\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ecalico\u003c/a\u003e\n) or underlay network (MACvlan, IPvlan). The SDNs all accomplish the same three goals but usually with different implementation and often unique features.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-09-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-09-26-no-sdn-kubernetes/","tags":null,"title":"No SDN Kubernetes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eDocker has been available on the Raspberry Pi for a while but 1.12 makes installation much easier. So I figured it was time to stop paying for a shared server and use my own hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNote: Running Wordpress on a Raspberry Pi is not a good idea for a high traffic website.\u003c/strong\u003e I am using it to run 3 sites with \u0026lt; 500 page views per month combined. YMMV\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst step is to install \u003ca href=\"https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/docker-comes-to-raspberry-pi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eDocker on your Raspberry Pi\u003c/a\u003e\n. A pi model 3 will work better for this but I’ve been running on a 2b and it seems to be working OK.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-09-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-09-07-wordpress-in-docker-on-a-raspberry-pi/","tags":null,"title":"Wordpress in Docker on a Raspberry Pi"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eNOTE: This article has not been updated for Kubernetes clusters that use RBAC for API authentication (versions 1.6+). I am leaving this article here for reference but you should be aware of the limitations of this guide.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKubernetes is great and running and maintaining pods. It can schedule fast and has a great API. But getting access to your pods with on-prem installations has been a challenge. In the past people have solved this by manually mapping exposed service ports and essentially keeping a spreadsheet of port conflicts. Then they’d use the \u003ca href=\"http://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/kube-proxy/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ekube-proxy\u003c/a\u003e\n to make sure their traffic is routed to the right node and pod. But there’s a better way!\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-06-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-06-01-exposing-services-using-ingress-with-on-prem-kubernetes-clusters/","tags":null,"title":"Exposing Services using Ingress with Kubernetes \u003c= 1.5"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMicrosoft recently announced Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) which allows you to run some Linux binaries on top of Windows using an API remapping layer to translate Linux API calls to Windows API calls. If you want specifics you should probably ready the \u003ca href=\"http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/04/why-microsoft-needed-to-make-windows-run-linux-software/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eArs article\u003c/a\u003e\n because I’m not going to go into the history or reasoning. Instead I want to look into why it doesn’t matter for the future of Windows development.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-04-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-04-06-linux-on-windows-doesn-t-matter/","tags":null,"title":"Linux on Windows Doesn’t Matter"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAfter reading the \u003ca href=\"http://itvision.altervista.org/why.linux.is.not.ready.for.the.desktop.current.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eMajor Linux Problems on the Desktop\u003c/a\u003e\n article I thought I would point out some of the major successes for Linux on the desktop that I probably wouldn’t have known about if I weren’t using Linux on my laptop and multiple desktops. Let me be clear that I mostly agree with the points in the above article. I read the whole thing, including some comments, and also read the \u003ca href=\"http://itvision.altervista.org/best-linux-distro-this-year.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eBest Linux Distro for the Desktop\u003c/a\u003e\n from the same author. There are many bug report links, mailing list threads, and various comments on that page that detail some problems people have had. I would also argue, given the time, similar lists could be made for OS X and Windows.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-01-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-01-25-major-linux-successes-on-the-desktop-2016/","tags":null,"title":"Major Linux Successes on the Desktop: 2016"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eHere’s my talk from the Southern California Linux Expo 14 (SCALE14x) this weekend.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;\"\u003e\n      \u003ciframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" loading=\"eager\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/A33wVwygkzQ?autoplay=0\u0026amp;controls=1\u0026amp;end=0\u0026amp;loop=0\u0026amp;mute=0\u0026amp;start=0\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;\" title=\"Config Management Sucks\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\n    \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e","date":"2016-01-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-01-24-config-management-sucks-recording/","tags":null,"title":"Config Management Sucks Recording"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis article is in reply to a \u003ca href=\"http://lifehacker.com/set-top-box-showdown-apple-tv-vs-nexus-player-vs-rok-1754810806\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003epost on Lifehacker\u003c/a\u003e\n. While I think they usually do a pretty good job I think there were a lot of day-to-day usability things they missed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have owned all three devices, here are my thoughts to add.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"roku-4\"\u003eRoku 4\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis was the one I hoped I would like and use. I often recommended the Roku 3 to friends/family. When I got the 4 the interface just seemed far too outdated. Lots of the apps didn’t work at all (PBS apps especially) and Netflix would crash almost every other day. I also got into situation when sound just stopped working and the device would have to be restarted. I tried resetting factory defaults to see if it would help but no luck. With a family who uses the device I often got calls and had to walk them through troubleshooting and restarting the box.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-01-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-01-24-nexus-player-vs-roku-4-vs-apple-tv-4/","tags":null,"title":"Nexus Player vs. Roku 4 vs. Apple TV 4"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI’ve been using Twitter for a long time now. I’ve gone through many 3rd party apps, used it over SMS, and have tried various things. After many attempts to get the most out of the service, here is how I’ve been using Twitter for almost a year to great success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst of all, some things I had to change about how I used Twitter\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEmbrace the fire hose. You can’t be selective about who you follow or you won’t see the benefits of diversity and you’ll miss more things.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t be a completest. You can’t do #1 and also read every tweet in your timeline. Deal with it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo 3rd party apps. Twitter is going to force you into their apps whether you like it or not. New features (good or bad) are only going to be in the official apps. I use tweetdeck (web) and the official iPhone Twitter client.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse lists and searching to be informed and engage.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t feel obligated to follow someone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou don’t have to follow thousands of people (I currently follow about 450) but if you are too selective you’ll miss a lot of the benefits of the network. I used to follow ~50 people. I was able to read every tweet but never found much use from twitter. Most of the tweets were things I had already read through RSS feeds or in person conversations.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-01-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-01-14-getting-the-most-out-of-twitter/","tags":null,"title":"Getting the Most Out of Twitter"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn a tradition that is now 8 years running (\u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2009-predictions-11b338a5a39c#.oto4xr99e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2009\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2010-tech-predictions-adbde5c171ab#.hiazi2mkd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2010\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2011-tech-predictions-5076b5b5cd7#.35txwe4ba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2011\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2012-technology-predictions-6ecdfb0001f0#.sy3yfkpgx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2012\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2013-technology-predictions-b5b9a6063e2f#.1ghl5v5wp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2013\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2014-technology-predictions-3472e9f63103#.rsj08w7c4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2014\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/2015-predictions-5951d1ccfab2#.4yc5ls1fz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2015\u003c/a\u003e\n) here are my predictions for 2016. My predictions have shifted from consumer technology quite a bit as I have focused my career but hopefully I’ll still make some accurate predictions for the year to come.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you haven’t already read my followup to my 2015 predictions you can find it \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@rothgar/2015-predictions-follow-up-ab4a3d4750e1#.egn0e5x09\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe year of \u003cstrong\u003eLinux on the desktop.\u003c/strong\u003e But what does that actually mean? Probably not what it used to mean. I don’t think consumers are going to start buying desktops or laptops in mass in 2016, but just like my 2015 prediction I hope corporations and governments will look to Linux as an alternative to Windows and OS X. The reasons I think it will start to happen is Microsoft is forcing Windows 10 a little too aggressively for companies and OS X doesn’t work very well in a corporate environment for many different reasons. Not to mention the on going security problems Windows and increasingly OS X have.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWebsite tracking and ad blocking will have a very public and very ugly war\u003c/strong\u003e with multiple websites going bankrupt. The solution the ad companies will come up with is to \u003cstrong\u003eproxy their ads through the hosting websites\u003c/strong\u003e so ads and tracking appear to come from the first party instead of third party. This will cause ad blockers to no longer blacklist ad networks but instead \u003cstrong\u003eblock based on tracking signatures\u003c/strong\u003e similar to how AV companies have tried, and mostly failed, for years. I believe the solution to this problem is to get rid of ads completely and move to a micropayment solution, but I don’t think the web will ever agree upon a standard unless it is forced upon them.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeb apps\u003c/strong\u003e grow up into \u003cstrong\u003enative software replacements\u003c/strong\u003e. Chrome’s \u003ca href=\"https://developer.chrome.com/native-client\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003enative client\u003c/a\u003e\n and Firefox’s \u003ca href=\"http://asmjs.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003easm\u003c/a\u003e\n are going to hit the main stream in 2016 with some big names making alternatives to their desktop software as powerful “web” versions. I assume \u003cstrong\u003eAdobe will make a striped down Photoshop\u003c/strong\u003e (which eventually will replace the current version) and Microsoft will probably make a more powerful version of office. I don’t have high hopes for asm but whichever solution is more open will probably be adopted.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf driving cars will stall in 2016\u003c/strong\u003e because of political reasons, people scared they’re going to get hacked, and companies not being able to agree on standards for inter-vehicle communication and rules for “driving”.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVR will come out with a bang\u003c/strong\u003e and receive lots of backing from big companies that want it to succeed (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon). But with a steep price to get started and no content or killer application \u003cstrong\u003eadoption will be slow\u003c/strong\u003e. Similar to 4K TVs.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFor developers and systems administrators, 2016 will be consumed with \u003cstrong\u003eaaS to reign in the new era of applications\u003c/strong\u003e. These service will abstract servers away more and more so applications can be more easily run without any yak shaving and dependency management. A lot of this has already happened in 2014–2015 but 2016 will see a lot more hosted services to do this for you. This will be a lot like \u003ca href=\"https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eAmazon lambda\u003c/a\u003e\n but more specific for a lot of different types of applications.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOn the more crazy side of my predictions I have a feeling we’ll see the \u003cstrong\u003efirst accident resulting in death from a self driving car\u003c/strong\u003e, as well as a \u003cstrong\u003ecatastrophic event from space exploration\u003c/strong\u003e. I really hope these don’t come true but I don’t see how much longer they will be avoidable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGoogle will open a retail store\u003c/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eAmazon will open mini stores\u003c/strong\u003e with a partnership with existing retailers like Best Buy. This will allow them to have areas of the store where customers can buy products from Amazon after looking at the items on the show floor. This will be the last hope for \u003cstrong\u003eBest Buy\u003c/strong\u003e but will ultimately lead to \u003cstrong\u003ebankruptcy\u003c/strong\u003e when Best Buy hopes Amazon will buy them but Amazon will refuse.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere \u003cstrong\u003ewill also be a new big online retailer\u003c/strong\u003e. A competitor to Amazon and Etsy but more seller friendly. It will crowd source products and make shipping/receiving products much easier. A little bit like what ebay has tried to do and failed. It will also source a lot of products from India and China.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI really hope there will be some advances in \u003cstrong\u003emaking the U.S. government less political\u003c/strong\u003e (sounds strange). I hope the next president will be able to continue the work Obama has started to bring more \u003cstrong\u003efocus on innovation\u003c/strong\u003e, start to get more \u003cstrong\u003efair wages for women and minorities\u003c/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eremove some roadblocks for innovation\u003c/strong\u003e in the U.S.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think that’s enough. I caught myself rambling on hopes more than things I actually think will happen, but I can dream.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-01-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-01-02-2016-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2016 Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMy \u003ca href=\"https://justingarrison.com/2015-predictions-5951d1ccfab2#.ou2r1378j\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003epredictions for last year\u003c/a\u003e\n I was right about a lot but not always in the way I was hoping. Most of what I was right about were security and hacking still being a big part of 2015 and IE going away. Both were true although IE is only going away because of how forceful Microsoft is pushing Windows 10 and the Edge browser. Although Chrome is now the most used browser with Firefox just behind it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2016-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2016-01-01-2015-predictions-follow-up/","tags":null,"title":"2015 Predictions Follow-up"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/crowd-surfing.jpeg\" alt=\"Me in the hospital with a broken arm\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn injury from 1999 that still affects me today.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-12-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-12-30-crowd-surfing/","tags":null,"title":"Crowd Surfing"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEarlier this week, we \u003ca href=\"http://lifehacker.com/5559357/iphone-vs-android-showdown-which-phone-is-best-for-power-users\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ecompared the iPhone and Android in a knockdown showdown\u003c/a\u003e\n of features that matter to us. Upset with the lack of representation for webOS, reader \u003ca href=\"http://lifehacker.com/commenter/Rothgar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eRothgar\u003c/a\u003e\n repurposed our chart and offered this thoughtful (and sometimes angry) counterpoint.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_yLpYUfUpUTarfhyA.png\" alt=\"https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:137/0*yLpYUfUpUTarfhyA.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe newest iPhone comes out in two weeks; the Android OS continues to deploy on better and better… \u003ca href=\"http://lifehacker.com/5559357/iphone-vs-android-showdown-which-phone-is-best-for-power-users\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eRead more Read more\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI understand that the iPhone is the king of the hill (well technically RIM is but they suck anyway and are only ahead because of the giant corporate following) and Android is the new buzz word, but how can so many comparisons just ignore webOS, the most intuitive, productive, and flexible platform? Honestly I really am sick of the fact that webOS is left out of most mobile device comparisons simply because the “tech industry” doesn’t use it because it isn’t cool enough to get headlines.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-12-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-12-30-iphone-vs-android-vs-webos-a-counterpoint/","tags":null,"title":"iPhone vs. Android vs. webOS: A Counterpoint"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/1_BU1Gv_81bQiByW1m8Ee05g.jpeg\" alt=\"1_BU1Gv_81bQiByW1m8Ee05g.jpeg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-12-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-12-29-windows-vs-linux-hardware-support/","tags":null,"title":"Windows vs. Linux Hardware Support"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAt my current job I have the luxury of a typical Southern California commute. It’s the worst part of my job.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut, being the ever optimist that I am, I have been able to read (via audible) a lot of books I would have never had the chance to read otherwise. I have found that I don’t typically like fiction which means I end up reading a lot of self help, biography, and historical books. I recently finished a book that made me want to recommend a readlist (or playlist) for anyone interested in how technology got to where it is. I read all of these books out of order but I think reading them in the following order would be a great reference for anyone curious how we ended up where we are with computers, technology, and the Internet.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-11-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-11-15-recommended-reading-or-listening/","tags":null,"title":"Recommended Reading (or listening)"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAmbient lights help with eye strain and glare from overhead lights. This is a simple light you can install in 10 minutes and should cost less than $20. There are other (more expensive) LED shelf lights you can get from IKEA but I had an old one lying around I wasn’t doing anything with.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst step is to take the shield off the light so it’s more even.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_EaHWRHTIkzNF2o55.jpg\" alt=\"0_EaHWRHTIkzNF2o55.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_vqZvJkjZf-_PEzLG.jpg\" alt=\"0_vqZvJkjZf-_PEzLG.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-10-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-10-10-10-minute-monitor-ambient-light/","tags":null,"title":"10 Minute Monitor Ambient Light"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThat’s right, I took “technology” out of the title. Why, because I didn’t want to limit myself. As before, check out my \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2014/01/01/2014-technology-predictions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eprevious years predictions\u003c/a\u003e\n (they were especially bad for 2014). But never-the-less I will try again for 2015.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"computers-and-mobile\"\u003eComputers and Mobile\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSecurity will hopefully become a major focus.\u003c/strong\u003e Not to say it didn’t get its own scrutiny in 2014, but maybe 2015 will see some real work to clean up underlying secure libraries and tools (SSL, email, SMS, etc.). I really hope more companies \u003ca href=\"http://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003elike Google\u003c/a\u003e\n designate resources to fix and maintain fundamental internet technology. \u003cstrong\u003eHuge phone will continue to eat into tablet markets\u003c/strong\u003e and will also eat into laptop and TV sales. Phones won’t get any smaller and 5–6″ will be normal by years end (with 8–9″ phones available). I have a feeling most mini tablets will cease to exist by 2017. Sadly, no one will converge their phone/laptop/desktop like I hoped they would in 2014. It will be a very \u003cstrong\u003eboring year for computers as single purpose computing devices get a big boost\u003c/strong\u003e. Those devices will be wearables, set top boxes, and Chrome Books. They come with less maintenance and offer people all they need.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"software-and-web\"\u003eSoftware and Web\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrowsers are already the new OS. 2015 will prove that even more as more native software move to work in the browser and \u003cstrong\u003eInternet Explorer will continue its downward spiral into oblivion\u003c/strong\u003e. Firefox sadly will also take a nose dive as it still requires web developers to develop for two platforms (webkit and geko). I really wouldn’t mind if Firefox moved to webkit. It seems like it could simplify a lot of things. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Microsoft. They sucked so bad in 2014 I can’t even see how they will pull themselves out of their hole and fix their desktop, gaming, and mobile platforms to make them something people want again (I don’t mind if they fail at what they’re currently doing). I really hope with all of the security concerns as of late that \u003cstrong\u003ecompanies will take a good look at Linux on the desktop\u003c/strong\u003e but I doubt it’ll happen. \u003cstrong\u003eTwitter will have a falling out\u003c/strong\u003e. It is becoming as hated as Facebook. Not that people won’t still use both. But as soon as something new comes along with the same functionality (real time broadcast updates) it has potential to gain a lot of subscribers. I really hope that “something” is in the form of a distributed social network (Bittorrent Maelstrom?) so that no single company owns it and can’t cram ads down our throats or mess it up like all the others have.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"games\"\u003eGames\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat the hell do I know about games, I didn’t play a single game in 2014. I think the same things as last year about Apple coming to the market and virtual reality having a hard time finding a foothold, even though I really like it. VR will probably start expanding to other markets even more. Movies and TV especially.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-10-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-10-10-2015-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2015 Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eOver the past year I have had great opportunities to interview for positions at companies I respect, and some I didn’t. I wanted to share my experiences to help others looking to go down this job path and some general interviewing tips.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis post originally appeared on \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2014/05/26/interviewing-for-devopssresysadmin-positions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eJustin Garrison’s blog\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve talked to quite a few companies, including:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGoogle\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwitter\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGitHub\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOculus VR\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDisney Animation Studios\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBeats by Dre\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTinder\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDigital Ocean\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeviantArt\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBass Pro\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach company was different in their approach to interviewing candidates. For most of the companies I didn’t make it past the screening call, but I got job offers from some. Most were for DevOps/Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) positions but for even those that weren’t, the interview process was similar enough to be relevant to my experience. Some companies sought me out, some I applied for, and some were through recruiters I had previously applied through who kept in touch with new opportunities. The companies that found me usually were via \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/justingarrison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLinkedIn\u003c/a\u003e\n or \u003ca href=\"http://github.com/rothgar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGitHub\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2015-10-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2015-10-10-what-it-s-like-to-interview-for-tech-jobs/","tags":null,"title":"What It’s Like to Interview for Tech Jobs"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf you frequently send out mass email news letters and keep getting users replying to all recipients, or need to disable the ability to forward an email, Microsoft Exchange and Outlook have you covered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExchange and Outlook enable their own special flags that can disable this functionality and it can be extremely helpful if you need more control over your sent emails. This add-in works in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, and Outlook 2013 if you are using an Exchange account.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2014-11-19T15:30:07-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2014-11-19-prevent-people-from-forwarding-or-replying-all-in-outlook/","tags":null,"title":"Prevent People from Forwarding or Replying All in Outlook"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn the open source community you’ll often hear the phrase “free as in speech” or “free as in beer” in reference to software products, but what do these phrases actually mean? Let’s walk you through the meaning behind each.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe terms are generally used to differentiate between free software, like the Internet Explorer or Opera browsers, and open-source software, like Chromium or Firefox. In a nutshell, it translates to “zero price” (gratis) versus “with few or no restrictions” (libre). Keep reading.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2014-11-15T16:04:05-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2014-11-15-what-do-the-phrases-free-speech-vs.-free-beer-really-mean/","tags":null,"title":"What Does “Free as in Speech” or “Free as in Beer” Really Mean?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eTL;DR — I was using an iPhone 4s for two years, an iPhone 5c for a few months, I really liked how fast and small they both were. I bought a Nexus 5, used it for a couple weeks, but didn’t like the size and poor camera performance. I bought a Motorola Moto X. It’s not as good as an iPhone, but it’s the best Android phone I could find.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2014-01-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2014-01-15-nexus-5-or-moto-x-review-and-comparisons-from-a-past-iphone-user/","tags":null,"title":"Nexus 5 or Moto X? Review and Comparisons from a Past iPhone User"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eA new year is here so I’ll take another swing at how technology will change in the year 2014. This will be my sixth year doing a predictions post. If you haven’t read them before you should check out my \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2013/01/01/2013-technology-predictions/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2013 post\u003c/a\u003e\n and then take a look at some of the \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/?s=predictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eolder predictions I’ve made\u003c/a\u003e\n. I especially like my prediction from 2009 that Google would make a social network and twitter would be the next big social network. Anyway, here are some crazy, and not so crazy, predictions for 2014.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2014-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2014-01-01-2014-technology-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2014 Technology Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn January 2014 I will have been using a standing desk as my \u003ca href=\"https://plus.google.com/photos/114290766308602004678/albums/5873003211889499937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003emain desk for three years\u003c/a\u003e\n. Here are three tips I’ve learned along the way to make your endeavors with a standing desk a success.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGet a padded mat or soft shoe inserts\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDon’t force yourself to stand 100% of the time\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways start your day standing\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI currently use a padded mat and have soft shoe inserts (cheap ones from Target). For my first 8 months at a standing desk I wore Converse on a concrete floor. My feet and knees hurt so bad by Thursday I often had to sit down. I have since moved to a carpeted office, bought a mat, and have softer shoe inserts. I no longer have that pain in my feet at the end of the week/day.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-12-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-12-30-how-to-be-successful-with-a-standing-desk/","tags":null,"title":"How To Be Successful with a Standing Desk"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI just turned 30. I wanted to share 30 things I’ve learned in the past 30 years. Or at least the things I wrote down over the past 8 months.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon’t rely on school to give you an education.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlways write things down, and always carry something to do so.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou get what you pay for, especially when it’s free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShowing respect for someone is the easiest way to show you love them.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-09-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-09-27-turning-30/","tags":null,"title":"Turning 30"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI have been working with some of the above products at work for the past couple of weeks and I just came across the most succinct and straightforward answer to what each product is and what it is used for so I wanted to share.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis all comes from \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mccun934\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eMike McCune\u003c/a\u003e\n who explained this so nicely in the #Pulp channel of irc.freenode.net\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst, I did not realize that all of the products are Red Hat products. They are open source projects, but RH is the biggest contributor in each case.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-09-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-09-20-what-is-pulp-candlepin-foreman-and-katello/","tags":null,"title":"What is Pulp, Candlepin, Foreman, and Katello"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI had this idea while driving into work with a friend and, like a lot of my ideas, I just wanted to throw it out there to discuss how, why, and what’s wrong with the idea. Please feel free to leave a comment to discuss.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisclaimer, I’m not a software developer so I really have no say into how this actually works.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"how-version-numbers-should-work\"\u003eHow Version Numbers Should Work\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVersion numbers are a unique name or number assigned to a specific version of the software. There can be public and internal versions but they typically increment from 0 -\u0026gt; ∞ or a — z. Often times there are also “code names” for releases which sometimes become more popular than the actual names themselves (see \u003ca href=\"https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eUbuntu releases\u003c/a\u003e\n).Incrementing version numbers usually are the form major.minor.fixes (e.g. 1.3.0 is major release 1, minor release 3, with 0 bugfixes). Incrementing versions can also have letters to help designate (pre)release state (e.g. 2.0.0b2 is the second beta release for version 2.0). Some systems also use odd numbers for development and even numbers for production (see the \u003ca href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_versioning#Odd-numbered_versions_for_development_releases\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLinux kernel\u003c/a\u003e\n).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-08-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-08-08-version-number-0-a-new-way-to-do-software-versions/","tags":null,"title":"Version Number 0: A New Way to Do Software Versions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI came across this and thought it may be helpful for someone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOS X only uses the traditional /etc/passwd and /etc/group files when running in single user mode so they are no help. Instead we need to do everything with \u003ca href=\"http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/dscl.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003edscl\u003c/a\u003e\n.If you want to make a domain user part of the local admin group in OS X without needing them to login first you can use the following command.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003esudo /usr/sbin/dseditgroup -o edit -a “DOMAIN\\Domain Users” -t group admin\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou can also set individual users as part of the admin group with\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-07-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-07-10-make-domain-users-part-of-local-admin-group-in-os-x/","tags":null,"title":"Make Domain Users Part of Local Admin Group in OS X"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAs a follow-up to my recent article about \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2013/04/04/the-best-wallet-ever/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ethe best wallet ever\u003c/a\u003e\n, I was given the opportunity to test some of the slim wallets available on the market. These wallets are all designed to slim down your wallet and protect your cards. As an added bonus they all look better than a rubber band! I used each of these wallets for a minimum of one week so I could try it out in day-to-day life with my usual set of cards, cash, and papers. This comparison is to help you decide on which wallet might best fit your needs. I try to stay away from picking “the best” because user preference varies drastically and the features I’m looking for in a wallet may not be yours.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-06-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-06-24-slim-wallet-comparison/","tags":null,"title":"Slim Wallet Comparison"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI have always had a bad relationship with wallets. It was just one more thing I had to carry because there was no way to keep IDs and money organized in my pocket on its own. After one of my wallets wore to the point of me actually throwing it away, I decided I’d try to make the most efficient wallet ever.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot with leather or Duct Tape, but with something that could do the job of holding my cards/cash together without getting in the way of me trying to get things in and out of it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-04-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-04-08-why-a-rubber-band-is-the-best-wallet-i-ve-ever-had/","tags":null,"title":"Why a Rubber Band Is the Best Wallet I’ve Ever Had"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eGoogle has a cool feature to let you sign into \u003ca href=\"http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en\u0026amp;answer=1721977\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003emultiple accounts at once\u003c/a\u003e\n, but in practice it really sucks. Here’s why, and also a better way to manage multiple Google accounts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"it-sucks-because\"\u003eIt Sucks Because\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou have no easy way to manage what account links will open with (mailto, calendar, docs)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou can’t (easily) have to inboxes open at the same time from different accounts\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAll of your bookmarks, history, open tabs, plugins sync no matter what account you’re using\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEvery account is subject to the same browser plugins permissions\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou are limited to a single private browsing window\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis method doesn’t work for all Google services\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"how-to-make-it-better\"\u003eHow to Make it Better\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChrome and Firefox have the ability to \u003ca href=\"http://www.howtogeek.com/139705/how-to-use-multiple-browser-profiles-in-any-browser/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eset up multiple user profiles\u003c/a\u003e\n. In Google Chrome go to the settings and click add a new user.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-03-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-03-11-a-better-way-to-handle-multi-sign-in/","tags":null,"title":"A Better Way to Handle Multi Sign In"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eA while ago a friend of mine set out on a quest to make a 3D map of my work. At first the process seemed really easy. Just import some blueprints into \u003ca href=\"http://www.sketchup.com/product/newin7.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGoogle SketchUp\u003c/a\u003e\n, export that into \u003ca href=\"https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eValve’s Hammer\u003c/a\u003e\n, tweak some spawn points, and BOOM you have a Counter-Strike map. The process obviously wasn’t that easy and after 2 years of painstakingly editing textures, walls, and even the sky, the Azusa Pacific University (APU) Counter-Strike map was born compiled.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-03-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-03-04-azusa-pacific-university-counter-strike-map/","tags":null,"title":"Azusa Pacific University Counter-Strike Map"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI was going to write a full review of the Surface RT but I just couldn’t bring myself to write a review for a device a have no reason to use. Here’s a quick rundown of my thoughts after having the device for a week.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"pros\"\u003ePros:\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeels nice in the hands (you have to use 2 hands)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTouch is really responsive\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGood screen (angles and colors)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree RDP app (this was the only reason I used the device)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTouch cover trackpad was actually good\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTouch keyboard was more usable than I expected (more on it below)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFull size USB (although what do you use it with?)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"cons\"\u003eCons:\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLack of good apps. Lots of apps, but most of them suck. Coming from iOS I feel like Android apps are 2nd class citizens (especially tablet apps). Windows RT apps are even worse\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eToo big/heavy/awkward to be mobile with it. After using a Nexus 7 for so long this feels huge. And compared to the iPad 2/3/4 it feels too wide and thick.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo easy way for video out which makes it hard to use as a full time computer (microHDMI doesn’t count)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLack of Google ecosystem integration. I don’t use Skydrive, Outlook, Office, etc. This made me just use IE10 which isn’t that great when you can’t have any plugins. It also would not pull up the virtual keyboard inside a google doc no matter what I tried.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_rkUgekDkY_dyZUGV.jpg\" alt=\"0_rkUgekDkY_dyZUGV.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-01-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-01-25-microsoft-surface-rt-review/","tags":null,"title":"Microsoft Surface RT Review"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eYay! Another year and another post for my technology predictions. \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2012/01/01/2012-technology-predicitons/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLast years predictions went about 50/50\u003c/a\u003e\n with what I got right but I also was a bit aggressive with what I thought hoped would happen. Check out my predictions for what will happen in 2013.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"computers-and-mobile\"\u003eComputers and Mobile\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst of all, I really really hope that the \u003cstrong\u003eApple mania\u003c/strong\u003e that has been going on for the past few years \u003cstrong\u003ewill finally die off\u003c/strong\u003e. I don’t think it will though only because Microsoft seems to have shot themselves in the foot with Windows 8 being nothing that consumers were asking for.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2013-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2013-01-01-2013-technology-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2013 Technology Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eGoogle has search appliances available for enterprise customers to house in their data centers to take advantage of Google’s searching and indexing abilities for web services and intranet resources. One such device is called the \u003ca href=\"http://mini.google.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGoogle Mini\u003c/a\u003e\n. Unfortunately, the Google Mini was also \u003ca href=\"http://googleblog.blogspot.de/2012/07/spring-cleaning-in-summer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eend of life’d as of July 2012\u003c/a\u003e\n. No big deal, it was replaced by better and faster appliances. Besides, the Google Mini is now 7 yeas old so it was about time.I happen to come across a Google Mini that was being retired so I took it upon myself to investigate what was inside. I also thought it might be fun to repurpose for a project or two.So let’s take it apart and see what’s inside. So far as I could tell the \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/google-mini-eula.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eEULA didn’t completely forbid this\u003c/a\u003e\n so long as the drive was wiped.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-12-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-12-11-google-mini-search-appliance-teardown/","tags":null,"title":"Google Mini Search Appliance Teardown"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s not very often that I am so excited for a product that I go get it on launch day. Usually I am a skeptic who waits at least for a few reviews to come out before rushing out to get whatever it is. The Boxee TV however was one of those products I had very high hopes for and wanted to spend as much as it would take to try it out for myself (I had $325 saved up just for this). I have debated for the past year to buy the original Boxee Box +live TV tuner but after years of \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/htpc-log/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eusing an HTPC\u003c/a\u003e\n and cable DVR I couldn’t bring myself to live by TV schedule anymore.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-11-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-11-06-boxee-tv-review/","tags":null,"title":"Boxee TV Review"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eFirst step is to tag a picture with #movietime in Instagram. This recipe uploads the picture to Facebook.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_pwEFXj66lgZVUSKc.png\" alt=\"0_pwEFXj66lgZVUSKc.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNext we make a text post on Facebook with a link to the picture.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_-cuL_kWskb-mYjBo.png\" alt=\"0_-cuL_kWskb-mYjBo.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow we change our Twitter profile picture and tweet about the movie we are watching.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_43-MxTWzbNwNwoef.png\" alt=\"0*43-MxTWzbNwNwoef.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe also use the same Facebook post to update Tumblr.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_ULYZWPuzRclPU58P.png\" alt=\"0*ULYZWPuzRclPU58P.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce the Tumblr post has been made we need to log the movie into Evernote.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-09-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-09-30-ifttt-belkin-video-recipes/","tags":null,"title":"IFTTT Belkin Video Recipes"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s trivial to break into a Mac \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/30983/how-to-reset-your-forgotten-mac-os-x-password/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eusing an OS X boot disk\u003c/a\u003e\n, but new Macs use a restore partition for OS installations. Here’s how you can use that partition to reset a user password and break into a Mac.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll laptops that come with OS X 10.7 “Lion” or laptops that were upgraded to Lion have a restore partition for easy OS recovery. This easy-to-use recovery partition also opens up hackers to break into your Mac without needing any additional tools.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-04-04T04:00:58-04:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-04-04-how-to-use-the-restore-partition-to-break-into-a-mac-running-os-x-lion/","tags":null,"title":"How To Use the Restore Partition to Break Into a Mac Running OS X Lion"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe Apple TV is one of the best media streamers on the market, but if you don’t buy into Apple’s ecosystem it lacks functionality. Here’s how to supercharge your Apple TV by installing alternate media players like XBMC and Plex.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first thing you will need to do is jailbreak your Apple TV. Luckily the process is very easy and \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/106085/how-to-jailbreak-your-2nd-generation-apple-tv/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ewe have already shown you how to do it\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe next thing you will need is the ability to SSH into your Apple TV. After the jailbreak, openSSH server is automatically installed and turned on so you’ll just need a client to connect to the device and the IP address to connect to. We have already \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/68061/setup-ssh-on-your-router-for-secure-web-access-from-anywhere/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eshown you how to use SSH in a previous article\u003c/a\u003e\n if you need to review.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-02-21T08:00:54-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-02-21-how-to-install-alternate-media-players-on-your-apple-tv-xbmc-plex/","tags":null,"title":"How to Install Alternate Media Players on Your Apple TV (XBMC, Plex)"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eJailbreaking your iDevices allows for more options when it comes to software and usage. The Apple TV is no exception. Here’s how to jailbreak your second generation Apple TV so you can install software like XBMC, Plex, or aTV Flash.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJailbreaking your Apple TV does not mean you will lose any functionality, it only ensures you will get more options when it comes to how you want to use your device. Thanks to the hacking community, you can jailbreak your Apple TV in literally one click.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-02-20T04:00:24-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-02-20-how-to-jailbreak-your-2nd-generation-apple-tv/","tags":null,"title":"How to Jailbreak Your 2nd Generation Apple TV for Extra Functionality"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eOnce you’ve tried using a standing desk for yourself and decided you want something more permanent, your next option is to build a desk of your own or buy something you can use full time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have already \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/99961/how-to-modify-your-existing-desk-to-make-it-a-standing-desk/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eshown you how you can modify your existing desk to make it a standing desk\u003c/a\u003e\n, but if you want more options or prefer something that looks more professional, here are some options to build or buy a permanent standing desk.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-01-18T06:00:20-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-01-18-15-ideas-to-buy-or-build-your-perfect-standing-desk/","tags":null,"title":"15 Ideas to Buy or Build Your Perfect Standing Desk"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI recently started playing Tiny Towers (a couple weeks ago) and although I’m not an expert at the game, I found it intriguing because of the amount of planning you can use, or not use, while playing the game. Here are some things I picked up on while playing to help you scale your tower.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"floor-layout\"\u003eFloor Layout\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are three important factors when choosing a floor layout.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYour floor pattern needs to scale from 10 floors to 100 floors\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou need to have enough residential floors to house Bitizens\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou need to be able to quickly find Bitizens when asked\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome strategies choose to group different types of floors together (creative, food, recreational, retail, service) so that bitizens can be easily managed in apartments and at their jobs. The problem with this strategy is you will have to keep spending money (bux) to move your floors so they can be grouped properly. Here’s an alternative to keep your floors in order and save you money.If you want to keep your stores staffed, you will need to have roughly 40% of your tower residential (see bitizen management for why). In order to do this in a way that scales, I put an apartment on every prime number (25 floors every 100 levels) and every floor ending with zero (10 floors every 100 levels). This gives me 35% residential floors but that is OK because the larger your tower gets, the lower you residential ratio gets (see below).The other 5 types of floors cycle in alphabetical order (creative, food, recreational, retail, service). This keeps them evenly distributed on non-prime/non-multiples of ten floors. This layout will help you figure out what type of floor any arbitrary floor is with the following equation.(Floor number — (prime numbers+multiples of ten)) / 5Whatever the remainder of that equation is will tell you what the floor type is. (1=creative,2=food,…0=service)For example, if we want to know what type of floor level 42 is the equation would be(42 — (14 + 4)) / 5 = 4 with a remainder of 4 which means floor 42 is a retail floor. You can easily tell what type of floor it is by the color the floor name is written in.In order to quickly find Bitizens there are two things I found helpful. First of all, you should rename every floor to something memorable. Instead of “Donut Shop” name it “Cop Hangout.” This will not only aid in finding bitizens, but it will help when placing bitizens into their dream jobs. When your tower starts to get big, you’ll inevitably forget what floors you have. So instead of a dream job being “Pizza Place” it will say “Little Cesar’s” which will be much easier for you to remember that you have the “Little Cesar’s” floor instead of the generic floor naming.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-01-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-01-10-tiny-towers-strategy/","tags":null,"title":"Tiny Towers Strategy"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAs usual, here are my predictions for what will happen in 2012. Last year I played it pretty safe and was right on almost all of my predictions. \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2011/01/01/2011-tech-predictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eCheck it out here\u003c/a\u003e\n and see how I did for yourself.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"computers-and-mobile\"\u003eComputers and Mobile\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe market will finally start to have \u003cstrong\u003etablet fatigue and the clear winners will be Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle, and Microsoft tablets\u003c/strong\u003e. Android will still do well but no single company (besides Amazon) will be able to market and push a tablet like the tech giants. And cheap tablets will, in the end, have more market share than expensive ones. Which is also why Apple will probably come out with a cheaper tablet ($350-$400) to compete.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. \u003cstrong\u003eUltrabooks are going to be everywhere\u003c/strong\u003e this year. They will try to compete with tablets and the MacBook Air but \u003cstrong\u003ewill only gain traction when they drop to $500 or less\u003c/strong\u003e. A lot of users won’t even care though because they can do most of their work on a $250 tablet.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2012-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2012-01-01-2012-technology-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2012 Technology Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWhether you want to stand because it’s trendy, or you want to test the benefits, one of the biggest hurdles from a standing desk is the cost involved. Here are some standing desk options you can build for free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStanding desks have become big news in the tech field because most of us sit at a computer for our daily jobs. There have been numerous reports about the benefits of standing while working, and some about the dangers, and a few of the How-To Geek writers have been standing for a while.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-12-19T06:00:35-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-12-19-how-to-modify-your-existing-desk-to-make-it-a-standing-desk/","tags":null,"title":"How To Modify Your Existing Desk to Make It a Standing Desk"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMany of us rely on Windows Search to find files and launch programs, but searching for text within files is limited to specific file types by default. Here’s how you can expand your search to include other text-based files.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have shown you some \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/73065/learn-the-advanced-search-operators-in-windows-7/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eadvanced search operators using Windows Search\u003c/a\u003e\n before and even how to change \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/73376/learn-even-more-windows-7-search-tricks-to-find-files-easier/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ewhich files are indexed and how to rebuild your search index\u003c/a\u003e\n. But what about searching for text inside of .html, .php, .js, and other text-based web and scripting files? Windows search allows you to include other file extensions in its index with a few simple clicks.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-12-05T06:00:09-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-12-05-how-to-search-for-text-inside-of-any-file-using-windows-search/","tags":null,"title":"How to Search for Text Inside of Any File Using Windows Search"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eSmartphones are essential to our daily lives. They help us stay connected and keep us organized. But when it comes to calendar syncing and Gmail there are limitations. Here’s how you can sync your shared calendars and contacts from Gmail.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you use Gmail you probably know about the ability to create and share calendars with others. They help keep groups organized and even let you subscribe to public events. When it comes to getting that information on your smartphone there are some trade offs if you are on a non-Android phone.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-11-14T06:00:54-05:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-11-14-how-to-sync-your-shared-google-calendars-with-your-iphone/","tags":null,"title":"How To Sync Your Shared Google Calendars with Your iPhone"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eChime.in is a social network brought to you by UberMedia; the people behind UberSocial apps and Echofon. They aim to improve your social network experience by integrating rich media, community discovery, and flexible user following.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt a glance, here are some features that sets it apart from other social networks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEverything is public. There are no private messages, direct messages, or circles.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMedia can easily be integrated into every post (sorry no gifs).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou can follow a user wholly, or only specific interests from that user.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommunity pages allow founders to monetize on the pages they make with ads.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet’s have a look at some of the features to see if you want to want to invest time in another social network.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-10-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-10-18-what-is-chime.in-and-how-is-it-different-from-facebooktwittergoogle/","tags":null,"title":"What Is Chime.in and How Is It Different from Facebook/Twitter/Google+?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWhat’s better than a $100 tablet? A $100 tablet that can run two operating systems! The TouchPad was a great bargain and now that you’ve figured out webOS, try Android. Here’s how to install it in 3 easy steps.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile \u003ca href=\"https://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LQ73996JTSE801-7R97TJ3TJ99TBQU2SSARHSCKBS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ewebOS is not completely dead\u003c/a\u003e\n and the TouchPad is still supported by HP for it’s software and hardware, a $100 tablet that can run two operating systems is always better than just one. Ever since HP announced the fire sale, multiple groups vowed to port Android to the discontinued tablet and there was even a $2000 bounty for the first team to successfully do it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-10-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-10-14-how-to-install-android-on-your-hp-touchpad/","tags":null,"title":"How to Install Android on Your HP Touchpad"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eStaying social while your mobile doesn’t mean you have to pay for a data plan. Using SMS, you can update and receive status messages from your favorite social networks using the messaging plan you probably already have.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing social networks via Short Message Service (SMS) will not only cut down on your mobile phone bill, it will also increase your phone’s battery life, and allow you to stay up to date with social networks without needing a smartphone. Being able to send a simple SMS makes updating fast and available on every mobile phone available today (so long as your plan supports it). During busy situations like natural disasters and large events, SMS is also much more reliable than data plans which makes it ideal if you just need to get the word out about where you are.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-10-10T04:00:16-04:00","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-10-10-how-to-use-facebook-twitter-google-and-foursquare-via-sms/","tags":null,"title":"How to use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Foursquare via SMS"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eGoing remote with friends and family is helpful when you need to show them how to do something or fix a problem. Here’s how you can offer cross platform remote assistance using only Google Chrome and an extension.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have shown you how to go remote with friends and family before \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/27120/help-computer-users-remotely-with-teamviewer/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eusing Teamview\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/56538/how-to-remotely-control-your-pc-even-when-it-crashes/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ewhen your computer crashes\u003c/a\u003e\n, \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/73/allow-remote-control-to-your-desktop-on-ubuntu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eto your Ubuntu computers\u003c/a\u003e\n, and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/42491/how-to-remote-view-and-control-your-android-phone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eto your Android devices\u003c/a\u003e\n. In most cases you need to install software or have a special service running in the background. With Chrome Remote Desktop, all you need is your Chrome browser running to be able to take control and share your screen. Here’s how to install and use it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-10-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-10-10-how-to-control-a-remote-computer-using-only-your-chrome-web-browser/","tags":null,"title":"How to Control a Remote Computer Using Only Your Chrome Web Browser"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eArduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. Today we will help you get started by showing you some of the options available and how easy it is to get started.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArduino hardware is an open-source circuit board with a microprocessor and input/output (I/O) pins for communication and controlling physical objects (LED, servos, buttons, etc.). The board will typically be powered via USB or an external power supply which in turn allows it to power other hardware and sensors.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-10-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-10-03-what-is-arduino/","tags":null,"title":"What is Arduino? Learn About This Open-Source Electronics Platform"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eKeeping your home stereo in a cabinet helps with noise and protects your equipment from pets and kids. Game consoles, receivers, and STBs don’t work well in saunas; so here’s how to keep your entertainment center cool automatically.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeat is one of the quickest ways you can kill electronics. Most home theater equipment is designed to be cooled passively, but being enclosed in a cabinet does not allow for the proper amount of airflow. Weather you’re on your third RRoD Xbox 360 or your PS3 is getting too loud, keeping your home theater gear cooled ensures long life and quiet operation.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-09-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-09-19-how-to-automatically-cool-your-entertainment-center-when-it-gets-too-hot/","tags":null,"title":"How to Automatically Cool Your Entertainment Center When It Gets too Hot"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMuch of my site is dedicated to home theater computers because it is one of those hobbies that never seems to get old. Even though HTPCs are very niche, I can’t help but love having one and love the freedom it brings to my TV.Despite the great things they can do, I always find features that are missing no matter what the software. Thanks to plugin support, most HTPC software can easily be extended beyond what features “come out of the box”. Here are a few plugin ideas I have for anyone willing to code them.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-08-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-08-16-9-htpc-plugins-that-should-exist/","tags":null,"title":"9 HTPC Plugins that Should Exist"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI spent a weekend with the latest Google Chromebook and wanted to update real quick with my impressions. I tried to do as much as possible from the machine so I could really get a feel for what it would be like if it were my only computer. I like some of Chrome OSs ideals, but have never spent “hard time” with one of the Chromebooks to be able to see how it would work for me. I also really wanted to figure out if it would be something I could recommend to my family and friends looking for a cheap notebook.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-08-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-08-09-samsung-chromebook-review/","tags":null,"title":"Samsung Chromebook Review"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWhen do you safely remove a device? Some users put caution to the wind and yank out any device, while others perform religious rituals every time. Here are some tips and guidelines for practicing safe drive removal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRemovable storage has been around as long as the personal computer and safely removing or “ejecting” drives is something that OS X and Linux users are very familiar with. Whenever an external storage device is plugged into those operating system it becomes mounted to a location, and if you just pull it out without warning your OS, typically you receive a nasty warning saying you may have just lost all your data.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-08-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-08-09-when-should-you-properly-eject-your-thumb-drive/","tags":null,"title":"When Should You Properly “Eject” Your Thumb Drive?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWe have just \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/63253/upgrade-your-windows-home-server-with-amahi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eshown you that you can upgrade your Windows Home Server for free\u003c/a\u003e\n by choosing the open source Amahi server. Now that it’s installed, here’s how to manage your drives, shares, and storage pool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"add-hard-drive\"\u003eAdd Hard Drive\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first step to adding storage is to add more drives. To do that, shutdown the server and plug in the additional hard drives you would like to add.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe will need to format the new drive so make sure you have a backup of anything you may need.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-08-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-08-01-learn-how-to-upgrade-and-manage-your-amahi-server-storage/","tags":null,"title":"Learn How to Upgrade and Manage Your Amahi Server Storage"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWindows Home Server (WHS) is one of the most reliable and feature rich network attached storage devices on the market. However, WHS 2011 removed some key features. If you’re looking for an upgrade without losing features, look no further than Amahi.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA few praised features of Windows Home Server when it launched in 2007 were:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrive extender: allows for multi-disk redundancy and combines multiple drives into a single shared space\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRemote access: access to the server from on and off your network\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdd-ins: adds functionality to your WHS without needing to figure out complicated configurations\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWindows Home Server 2011 has recently come out but it removes the drive extender feature, requires a 40% faster CPU (1.4 Ghz), and 4 times the RAM (2 GB) as its predecessor. If you’re looking for an upgrade, but don’t want to lose the functionality you have now, the open source project Amahi may be the perfect solution for you.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-07-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-07-25-upgrade-your-windows-home-server-with-amahi/","tags":null,"title":"Upgrade your Windows Home Server with Amahi"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf you have a lot of time and information invested in Facebook, it’s not easy moving to a new social network. Here are a few tips on moving your information from your Facebook account to your shiny new Google+ account.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoving social networks isn’t the easiest thing to do, but luckily there are a few tools we can use to migrate pictures, videos, and friends. Wall posts and messages don’t make sense to migrate between networks so we are going to leave those out.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-07-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-07-12-how-to-migrate-from-facebook-to-google/","tags":null,"title":"How to Migrate from Facebook to Google+"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWe have already shown you how to \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/65073/how-to-thoroughly-clean-your-keyboard-without-breaking-anything/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eclean your keyboard without breaking it\u003c/a\u003e\n, but did you know your smartphone can be just as dirty and covered with bacteria? Here is \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/660848/how-to-disinfect-your-smartphone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehow to properly clean your smartphone\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/woman-cleaning-smartphone.jpg\" alt=\"/img/woman-cleaning-smartphone.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCell Phones have been repeatedly found to be one of the most disgusting things we regularly touch. In many tests, cell phones have tested to contain more germs than a toilet seat. Can you hear me now? You don’t want to put your head on a toilet seat. If you are going to reach out and touch \u003cdel\u003esomeone\u003c/del\u003e your phone, make sure you rethink possibilities and clean your smartphone the right way.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-06-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-06-27-how-to-clean-your-smartphone/","tags":null,"title":"How to Clean Your Dirty Smartphone (Without Breaking Something)"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eA \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/1261/create-a-bootable-ubuntu-usb-flash-drive-the-easy-way/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLinux live USB drive\u003c/a\u003e\n is normally a blank slate each time you boot it. You can boot it up, install programs, save files, and change settings. But, as soon as you reboot, all your changes are wiped away and you’re back to a fresh system. This can be useful, but if you want a system that picks up where you left off, you can create a live USB with persistent storage.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-06-13T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-06-13-create-a-persistent-bootable-and-virtualized-linux-usb-drive-with-lili/","tags":null,"title":"How to Create a Live Ubuntu USB Drive With Persistent Storage"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWindows 7 adds functionality to your login screen to give you additional logon options. If you want to lose the clutter, here is how to disable some or all of your credential providers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhether it was installed from the factory or add-on software you installed, these registry settings will disable the unwanted credential providers at your login screen.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003eHKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Authentication\\Credential Providers\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt will not be obvious what some of the providers are but you should be able to determine which one goes to which provider by looking at the value of the (Default) DWORD inside each key.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-06-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-06-01-cleanup-your-windows-7-login-screen-and-remove-unwanted-logon-items/","tags":null,"title":"Cleanup Your Windows 7 Login Screen and Remove Unwanted Logon Items"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/image102.png?width=1198\u0026amp;trim=1,1\u0026amp;bg-color=000\u0026amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery Apple fanboy will tell you that Macs are safe from malware, but it’s just not true. Recently a fake AV program has been targeting and infecting OS X computers in the wild. Here’s a quick look at how it works, how to remove it, and also how to prevent it in the first place.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe virus in question is actually a fake antivirus and trojan which goes by a few different names. It may present itself as Apple Security Center, Apple Web Security, Mac Defender, Mac Protector, and possibly many other names.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-05-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-05-18-mac-os-x-viruses-how-to-remove-and-prevent-the-mac-protector-malware/","tags":null,"title":"Mac OS X Viruses: How to Remove and Prevent the Mac Protector Malware"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eCloud storage is a must have for any geek, and Dropbox is leading the way with its simplicity and affordable prices. With SecretSync you can take full advantage of Dropbox without giving up your privacy by encrypting sensitive documents easily.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Dropbox does store your files encrypted on their servers, users do not have access to the encryption keys and if files are requested by government agencies, Dropbox has the ability to decrypt your information and hand over the requested files.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-05-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-05-16-sync-encrypted-files-with-dropbox-and-secretsync/","tags":null,"title":"Sync Encrypted Files with Dropbox and SecretSync"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMotherboards are the most complex component in your computer. Fitted with hundreds of components and dozens of options it can be difficult to choose. Let’s look at the most important factors to help you decide before building your next computer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMotherboards are the central nervous system of your computer. They are responsible for connecting and communicating between all of the important components inside. Knowing what to look for is key when comparing boards.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-05-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-05-11-how-to-pick-the-right-motherboard-for-your-custom-built-pc/","tags":null,"title":"How to Pick the Right Motherboard for Your Custom-Built PC"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eUbuntu 11.04 is finally here and you can’t wait to download it, but as is typical on any Ubuntu release day, the mirrors are crawling. Luckily if you have an old Ubuntu .iso you can update it easily with zsync.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZsync is a Linux command that allows you to compare an existing .iso with an up-to-date zsync meta file to download only the missing or out of date parts. Combine those parts with your existing file and what you are left with is a completely up to date iso without spending the time to download the entire file.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-04-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-04-28-how-to-upgrade-your-ubuntu-iso-without-re-downloading/","tags":null,"title":"How to Upgrade your Ubuntu ISO Without Re-downloading"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eProtected View can stop viruses from installing onto your computer but comes at the price of clicking a button every time you want to edit a document. Here’s how to permanently disable Protected View for all documents in Microsoft Office.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMicrosoft added many usability and security features to Office 2010 that help protect end users from embedded plugins and viruses that can crash Office or even install viruses. These features go a long way to keep your computer running smoothly, but there are still options you can tweak to disable Protected View for specific files. To fine tune your Protected View options have a look below.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-04-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-04-25-enable-editing-for-all-office-2010-documents-by-disabling-protected-view/","tags":null,"title":"Enable Editing for All Office 2010 Documents by Disabling Protected View"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eActive Directory lets companies manage users, computers, printers, and more from a centralized location. Have you wanted this functionality at home but don’t have money for Windows Server? Here’s how you can promote Windows Home Server to a domain controller.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMaybe you don’t have 100+ computers in your closet but sometimes it may feel that way. Active Directory allows you to centrally manage the users that can log into the machines as well as help quickly set up machine preferences and can even help manage your virtual machines. If you have been wanting a better way to manage it all, or even just want to dive into Active Directory here’s how you can do it on the cheap.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-04-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-04-04-how-to-make-windows-home-server-into-a-domain-controller/","tags":null,"title":"How To Make Windows Home Server into a Domain Controller"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eBeing able to remotely control your computer is an age old geek trick. But what about changing BIOS settings or installing an operating system remotely? With Intel AMT KMS this is within reach for any geek with the right hardware.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntel vPro is a management platform built into Intel processors and other hardware that allows companies to manage their desktops and laptops out-of-band (OOB). That means the computers can be managed no matter if the computer in on or off, and even if the operating system has failed or there is no hard drive present.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-03-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-03-28-how-to-remotely-control-your-pc-even-when-it-crashes/","tags":null,"title":"How to Remotely Control Your PC (Even When it Crashes)"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eUbuntu notifications are great, but some applications can get annoying by popping up things you don’t care about. Here is how you can disable, or enable, specific notifications for Pidgin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you only want notifications when buddies sign on and off, or you only want new message notifications the libnotify plugin allows you to tweak the settings to your liking.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"enable-or-disable-popups\"\u003eEnable or Disable Popups\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo change your popup settings, open Pidgin and navigate to the tools -\u0026gt; plugins menu, or push the shortcut key Ctrl+U.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-03-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-03-14-how-to-disable-pidgin-notifications-in-ubuntu/","tags":null,"title":"How to Disable Pidgin Notifications in Ubuntu"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWe have already shown you the steps needed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/44392/how-to-transfer-all-your-information-to-a-new-ps3/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003etransfer all your information to a new PS3\u003c/a\u003e\n, but for those of you who would like to see the whole process from start to finish we put together this video.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you need any clarification on the steps involved don’t forget to check out the original post with more details.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/44392/how-to-transfer-all-your-information-to-a-new-ps3/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eHow to Transfer All Your Information to a New PS3\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-03-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-03-07-how-to-transfer-all-your-information-to-a-new-ps3-video-tutorial/","tags":null,"title":"How to Transfer All Your Information to a New PS3: Video Tutorial"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThe PlayStation 3 now costs half the price, has double the storage, and uses half the power. If you need another reason to upgrade, Sony also makes it easy to transfer all of your information to a new console.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTransferring all of your games, data, and settings is easier than ever, and all you need is an ethernet cable. Read on as we walk you through the whole process of setting up your new PS3 and wiping all your information off the old one.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-03-03T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-03-03-how-to-transfer-all-your-information-to-a-new-ps3/","tags":null,"title":"How to Transfer All Your Information to a New PS3"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/banner6.png?width=1198\u0026amp;trim=1,1\u0026amp;bg-color=000\u0026amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHave you ever wondered what “XP” stands for or where “Ubuntu” comes from? Some operating systems get their names from obvious places, but others need some explaining. Read on to find out where your favorite OS got its name.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe’ve rounded up the most popular and well-known operating systems, as well as a few lesser-known ones—if you know of another operating system with an interesting story behind its name, make sure to teach your fellow readers in the comments.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-02-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-02-28-how-your-operating-system-got-its-name/","tags":null,"title":"Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eLinux has come a long way with hardware support, but if you have a wireless card that still does not have native Linux drivers you might be able to get the card working with a Windows driver and ndiswrapper.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing a Windows driver inside of Linux may also give you faster transfer rates or better encryption support depending on your wireless card.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf your wireless card is working, it is not recommended to install the Windows driver just for fun because it could cause a conflict with the native Linux driver.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-02-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-02-21-how-to-install-a-wireless-card-in-linux-using-windows-drivers/","tags":null,"title":"How to Install a Wireless Card in Linux Using Windows Drivers"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eNetflix streaming isn’t just a feature that is nice to have, for many people it is a must have for any video streaming software. Unfortunately it has been missing from XBMC for various reasons, until today.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn order to get Netflix Watch Instantly working in XBMC you just need to have XBMC 10.0+ installed on Windows or OS X. Because of a lack of Silverlight support, this currently does not work on XBMC Live, Linux, or iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, AppleTV). You also need to live in a region that offers Netflix streaming (currently US and Canada).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-02-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-02-17-how-to-view-netflix-watch-instantly-in-xbmc/","tags":null,"title":"How to View Netflix Watch Instantly in XBMC"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn our \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/36568/what-is-logical-volume-management-and-how-do-you-enable-it-in-ubuntu/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eprevious article we told you what LVM is and what you may want to use it for\u003c/a\u003e\n, and today we are going to walk you through some of the key management tools of LVM so you will be confident when setting up or expanding your installation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs stated before, LVM is a abstraction layer between your operating system and physical hard drives. What that means is your physical hard drives and partitions are no longer tied to the hard drives and partitions they reside on. Rather, the hard drives and partitions that your operating system sees can be any number of \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/devops/which-type-of-raid-should-you-use-for-your-servers/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eseparate hard drives pooled together or in a software RAID\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-02-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-02-07-how-to-manage-and-use-lvm-logical-volume-management-in-ubuntu/","tags":null,"title":"How to Manage and Use LVM (Logical Volume Management) in Ubuntu"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eGoogle recently launched the ability to print to your local printers from anywhere in the world using Google Cloud Print, but it didn’t work anywhere until today. Here’s how to set it up, get it running, and print from your mobile phone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the moment, the only desktop way to use Cloud Print is from a Google Chrome Notebook, which most people don’t have access to, or from the \u003ca href=\"https://redirect.viglink.com/?key=e7eab128eb8d1c53e14db14f4c632447\u0026amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fgmailblog.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fprint-from-your-phone-with-gmail-for.html\u0026amp;cuid=xid:%7bxid%7d\u0026amp;___trxnet=vg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGmail Mobile web site\u003c/a\u003e\n that you can access from iPhone or Android. It’s also worth noting that only Windows is supported for the Cloud Print server portion.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-25-how-to-set-up-and-use-cloud-print-in-google-chrome/","tags":null,"title":"How to Print from Gmail on Your Android or iPhone Using Cloud Print"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWindows command-line tools have advanced a lot with PowerShell, but Linux has had a much more usable terminal for many years. Here’s how you can get the best of both worlds with Cygwin, a ‘nix-style terminal for Windows PCs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn today’s lesson, we’ll explain how to get Cygwin running, but stay tuned for future articles where we’ll explain how to use it for all sorts of different things.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"install-cygwin\"\u003eInstall Cygwin\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCygwin comes with a normal setup.exe to install in Windows, but there are a couple steps you will need to pay attention to, so we will walk you through the installation.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-25-how-to-use-linux-commands-in-windows-with-cygwin/","tags":null,"title":"How to Use Linux Commands in Windows with Cygwin"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eTired of the grey Apple logo on your Mac? Why not “think different” and “switch” it to something else? “The notebook for everyone” doesn’t give you “the power to be your best” without a little personalization.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat we mean to say is, the Apple boot logo can get very boring over time and there is no easy option in OS X to change it. However, with a few items you can customize it to just about anything you want, or you can confuse your friends by changing their logo without them knowing for a harmless practical joke.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-24-how-to-customize-your-mac-boot-logo/","tags":null,"title":"How to Customize Your Mac OS X Boot Logo"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eLogical Volume Management (LVM) is a disk management option that every major Linux distribution includes. Whether you need to set up storage pools or just need to dynamically create partitions, LVM is probably what you are looking for.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-lvm\"\u003eWhat is LVM?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLogical Volume Manager allows for a layer of abstraction between your operating system and the disks/partitions it uses. In traditional disk management your operating system looks for what disks are available (/dev/sda, /dev/sdb, etc.) and then looks at what partitions are available on those disks (/dev/sda1, /dev/sda2, etc.).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-17-what-is-logical-volume-management-and-how-do-you-enable-it-in-ubuntu/","tags":null,"title":"What is Logical Volume Management and How Do You Enable It in Ubuntu?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/?width=1198\u0026amp;trim=1,1\u0026amp;bg-color=000\u0026amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis year, How-To Geek’s own Justin was on-site at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where every gadget manufacturer shows off their latest creations, and he was able to sit down and get hands-on with most of them. Here’s the best of the bunch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMake sure to also check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/40110/the-worst-of-ces-consumer-electronics-show-in-2011/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eour list of the Worst of CES 2011\u003c/a\u003e\n, where we covered the gadgets that just didn’t make the cut.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-10-the-best-of-ces-consumer-electronics-show-in-2011/","tags":null,"title":"The Best of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in 2011"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThis year, How-To Geek’s own Justin was on-site at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where every gadget manufacturer shows off their latest creations, and he was able to sit down and get hands-on with most of them. Here’s the ones that just didn’t make the cut.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMake sure you also read \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/40108/the-best-of-ces-consumer-electronics-show-in-2011/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eour Best of CES 2011 post\u003c/a\u003e\n, where we cover the greatest gadgets that we found.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep reading to take a look at the best of the worst products, that might have initially appeared good but showed their true colors after we spent some time with them.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-10-the-worst-of-ces-consumer-electronics-show-in-2011/","tags":null,"title":"The Worst of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in 2011"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAfter doing this two years I figured I needed to continue my tradition. If you want to see how right or wrong I was in previous years check out my \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2009/01/01/my-2009-predictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2009 predictions\u003c/a\u003e\n and \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2010/01/01/2010-tech-predictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e2010 predictions\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"computers\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComputers\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_nYRv4T3-2z0oWEfW.png\" alt=\"0_nYRv4T3-2z0oWEfW.png\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst of all 2011 will be the year of the tablet. That isn’t a prediction, it’s more of a fact. I think the big winner in the tablet world will eventually be Google with Android simply because they will have the cheapest and most devices. This has already been proven true with cell phones.2. Even though the company with the cheapest and most devices will eventually win, advertising will win the tablet market in the short term. It doesn’t matter who has the best device or the best software. The company who has the most successful marketing campaign will win. This makes me think that the iPad will continue to sell well, the Blackberry Playbook will have a decent market, even though it will suck, and HP won’t have much traction unless they change their strategy. In the end, Android will still probably take the lead because they will have the most companies pushing Android tablets.3. Because of tablets in the Cellphones\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2011-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2011-01-01-2011-tech-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2011 Tech Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eStaying connected may be hard no matter what network you are on, and in flight Wi-Fi isn’t pervasive enough to count on. Here are tips and tricks to keep yourself entertained when unplugged and traveling.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eImage Via \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/marinaavila/2816658384/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eMarinaAvila\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"audio-and-video\"\u003eAudio and Video\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/movie-banner.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLittle keeps us entertained like the music and movies we love. There are plenty of ways to keep occupied online with YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix but what happens when your cord is cut? Obviously DVDs are not practical when traveling so here are a few easy ways to get your movies and TV shows on your computer, phone, iPod, or portable gaming system with ease.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-12-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-12-22-use-your-pc-to-keep-yourself-entertained-while-traveling-for-the-holidays/","tags":null,"title":"Use Your PC to Keep Yourself Entertained While Traveling for the Holidays"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIt happens all the time, you find an article to read but then nature calls. Do you take your laptop with you? With site to phone you can share links between any browser and any smartphone with a single click.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have Android you may be familiar with this functionality with \u003ca href=\"https://redirect.viglink.com/?key=e7eab128eb8d1c53e14db14f4c632447\u0026amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fcode.google.com%2Fp%2Fchrometophone%2F\u0026amp;cuid=xid:%7bxid%7d\u0026amp;___trxnet=vg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eGoogle’s Chrome to phone\u003c/a\u003e\n, or with \u003ca href=\"https://zhephree.com/apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ewebOS’ Neato!\u003c/a\u003e\n But what if you have an iPhone, Blackberry or Windows Phone 7 device? That is where site to phone comes in handy. It not only supports every major mobile smartphone operating system, but it also supports every major web browser.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-12-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-12-21-how-to-share-links-between-any-browser-and-any-smartphone/","tags":null,"title":"How to Share Links Between Any Browser and Any Smartphone"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMastering the keyboard will not only increase your navigation speed but it can also help with wrist fatigue. Here are some lesser known Windows shortcuts to help you become a keyboard ninja.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImage by \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/remkovandokkum/3996993810/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eRemko van Dokkum\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"global-windows-shortcuts\"\u003eGlobal Windows Shortcuts\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWin+1, 2, 3, 4, etc.\u003c/strong\u003e will launch each program in your taskbar. It is helpful then to keep your most used programs at the beginning of your task bar so you can open them one right after another. This also works in Windows Vista for the quick launch icons.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-12-06T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-12-06-20-windows-keyboard-shortcuts-you-might-not-know/","tags":null,"title":"20 Windows Keyboard Shortcuts You Might Not Know"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eNow that Microsoft has officially killed off the best part about Windows Home Server what can you do? Here are some alternatives for drive extender that you can use if you want to build a WHS of your own.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"so-what-is-drive-extender\"\u003eSo What Is Drive Extender?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea of drive extender for Windows Home Server is you can have as many hard drives as you want and they all group together into the same pool of storage. This is similar to a RAID setup but drive extender had a few cards up it’s sleeve that made it invaluable for a NAS appliance.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-29-9-alternatives-for-windows-home-servers-drive-extender/","tags":null,"title":"9 Alternatives for Windows Home Server’s Drive Extender"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/raidarray1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead of having a bunch of separate drives to deal with, why not put them together into one big drive? You can use software RAID to accomplish this, and here’s how to do it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWindows has built in functionality to set up a software RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) without any additional tools. This makes it easy to turn your existing spare hard drives into massive storage or even redundant backups. In this example we are going to set up a spanned disk that takes three 2 GB disks and creates one 6 GB disk using Windows 7 Professional.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-29-how-to-create-a-software-raid-array-in-windows-7/","tags":null,"title":"How to Create a Software RAID Array in Windows 7"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eSometimes you’ll be prompted to scan and fix a removable disk before using it in Windows. The proper way to fix this is to scan for filesystem errors, but here is how you can make the prompt go away permanently.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-is-the-scan-and-fix-for\"\u003eWhat is the Scan and Fix For?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is caused by Windows detecting errors in the filesystem of the drive, or the drive not being unmounted properly. To never get this prompt you can make sure to use the safely remove option built into Windows before pulling out your drive.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-26-disable-scan-and-fix-for-removable-drives-in-windows/","tags":null,"title":"Disable Scan and Fix for Removable Drives in Windows"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eXBMC has come a long way since its humble beginnings as an Xbox media player. Let’s take a look at the latest 10.0 release of XBMC, also known as “Dharma”, to see what’s new.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eXBMC is free and open source software that is released for Windows, OS X, Linux, AppleTV, and as a live image that can be run directly from a CD/USB drive or installed to turn an extra computer into a true HTPC appliance. XBMC gives you the functionality of many media streamers currently on the market but in a free DIY package that you can customize and use however you’d like.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-19-screenshot-tour-xbmc-media-center-10-has-add-ons-skins-and-more/","tags":null,"title":"Screenshot Tour: XBMC Media Center 10 Has Add-ons, Skins, and More"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/image95.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you have ever wanted to cross-reference two actors or crew members to find out what they have worked on together, IMDb’s common search has you covered with an easy way to do just that.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhether you are trying to cheat at six degrees of Kevin Bacon or just trying to remember an actors name who was in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Hot Rod, IMDb common search can help. It will allow you to search for two movies or TV shows and find all of the common people who worked on them, or you can search for two actors and find all of the movies and TV shows they were in together.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-17-how-to-cross-reference-actorsmovies-or-cheat-at-the-kevin-bacon-game/","tags":null,"title":"How to Cross-Reference Actors/Movies (or Cheat at the Kevin Bacon Game)"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf you’ve ever had a missing or corrupt system file in Windows you sometimes end up in shady parts of the internet downloading files from who knows where. Why not restore the files directly from your installation disks?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/dll-error.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt doesn’t matter if the missing files came from a virus, poorly programmed software, or a family member who didn’t know better. We have all found ourselves in the situation of needing a system file that we can’t find. Luckily if you still have your install disks you can manually restore the system files you need without doing a reinstall.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-09T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-09-manually-restore-system-files-from-your-windows-installation-media/","tags":null,"title":"Manually Restore System Files from Your Windows Installation Media"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eXBMC already has an advanced movie library that can gather fan art, movie posters, and cast information all with a simple scan. With XBMC 10.0 you can also combine movie collections into a single entry in your library.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote\u003c/em\u003e: XBMC has been replaced by Kodi. We have an updated guide to \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/345269/consolidate-movie-collections-in-kodi-with-movie-sets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eusing movie sets in Kodi\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/HP-collection-0.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite if you think the second two Matrix movies should be included in the trilogy or not, combining movie collections and being able to reorder the movies in the order they were released is a much needed feature in any movie library. In XBMC there are a couple of ways to set up this feature, and if you prefer using a text editor check out the link below. We will set up the same feature using the XBMC web server and a custom web skin.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-08-consolidate-movie-collections-in-xbmc-with-movie-sets/","tags":null,"title":"Consolidate Movie Collections in XBMC with Movie Sets"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWindows provides a fail safe way of recovering your entire hard drive with system images, but what if you only need to recover certain files from the image instead of restoring your entire hard drive?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWindows Vista and 7 have a few different options for recovering your computer in case of a catastrophe. System protection will allow you to keep a restore point and backup to an existing known good state, and a system image will allow you to reproduce every bit on your hard drive in case of total failure. A system image is more completed but there is no easy way to recover a single file from a system image.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-11-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-11-08-how-to-recover-specific-files-from-a-windows-system-image/","tags":null,"title":"How to Recover Specific Files from a Windows System Image"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eComputers are complex devices that cannot easily be explained, like say, a delicious Reuben sandwich. Let’s break down and explain your computer, over lunch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYeah, we’re having some fun today with somewhat of an inside joke around here due to The Geek’s irrational love of the Reuben sandwich. Enjoy and join the discussion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eImages by \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/eujene/3533448576/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eteujene\u003c/a\u003e\n and \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/20688578@N00/402580085/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eVirtualErn\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-hardware\"\u003eThe Hardware\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/reuben-rye.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eImage by \u003ca href=\"https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimberlykv/2308927133/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ekimberlykv\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe start of a great Reuben is in the rye bread. Rye bread is a dense bread that is full of complex flavors and comes in many different variations. Think of rye bread as your computer hardware.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-10-27T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-10-27-how-your-computer-is-exactly-like-a-delicious-reuben-sandwich/","tags":null,"title":"How Your Computer is Exactly Like a Delicious Reuben Sandwich"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWith over 13 million lines of code, the Linux kernel is one of the largest open source projects in the world, but what is a kernel and what is it used for?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"so-what-is-the-kernel\"\u003eSo What is the Kernel?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA kernel is the lowest level of easily replaceable software that interfaces with the hardware in your computer. It is responsible for interfacing all of your applications that are running in “user mode” down to the physical hardware, and allowing processes, known as servers, to get information from each other using inter-process communication (IPC).\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-10-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-10-26-what-is-the-linux-kernel-and-what-does-it-do/","tags":null,"title":"What is the Linux Kernel and What Does It Do?"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eMounting a USB device inside a virtual machine is often a tool that you cannot go without. If you are using Virtualbox in Ubuntu however, you need to take a few extra steps to make it work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/vm-usb-na.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"install-virtualbox\"\u003eInstall Virtualbox\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first thing you need to do is install Virtualbox from Oracle’s website. It is different than Virtualbox OSE which is included in the Ubuntu repositories because the Virtualbox from Oracle includes proprietary software which allows you to mount USB devices inside you VM among other things. If you already have Virtualbox OSE installed from the Ubuntu repositories, uninstall it before installing the .deb file from Oracle’s website.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-10-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-10-18-mount-usb-devices-in-virtualbox-with-ubuntu/","tags":null,"title":"Mount USB Devices in Virtualbox with Ubuntu"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAndroid phones with Google Voice can make and receive calls at an extremely disounted rate, but you still need a voice plan to make these calls. Using Google Voice, Android, and Sipgate, you can get around that limitation and make calls for free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsing Google Voice you can call any number for free but you are not able to receive calls directly to your Google Voice number on your Android phone without a voice plan with your carrier. Using sipgate you can receive any call for free but cannot place calls without adding money to your account. Combining the two services, we will be able to place calls using Google Voice which will automatically call back your sipgate number connecting you to your intended recipient, and we will do all of this using WiFi, 3G data, or EDGE, meaning you will never run out of minutes again.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-10-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-10-04-never-run-out-of-minutes-again-make-free-voip-calls-on-android/","tags":null,"title":"Never Run Out of Minutes Again: Make Free VoIP Calls on Android Phones"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eHere at How-To Geek, we’ve covered many different ways to reset your password for Windows—but what if you can’t reset your password? Or what if you’re using drive encryption that would wipe out your files if you changed the password? It’s time to crack the password instead.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo accomplish this, we’ll use a tool called Ophcrack that can crack your password so you can login without having to change it.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-28-how-to-crack-your-forgotten-windows-password/","tags":null,"title":"How to Crack Your Forgotten Windows Password"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIt doesn’t matter if you are using Windows, OS X, or Linux, everyone should do regular backups of their information. In Linux one of the easiest ways to do automated backups is with Simple Backup (SBackup). Here is how you can set up SBackup to make sure you have a backup of all your important files.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"install-simple-backup\"\u003eInstall Simple Backup\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo install SBackup open your menu and click on the software center. Search for SBackup and install the software from the search results.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-24T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-24-how-to-backup-your-linux-pc-with-simple-backup/","tags":null,"title":"How to Backup Your Linux PC with Simple Backup"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eConnecting to file servers is something most people do on a daily basis even without thinking about it. In Linux, it may not be intuitive how to quickly connect to a samba or ftp server without a separate program. Here are a few different ways to connect to a remote file server without needing to touch a terminal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"using-keyboard-shortcut\"\u003eUsing Keyboard Shortcut\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can connect to a server by opening the run application window with the Alt+F2 keyboard shortcut. You will just need to specify the server type by adding the protocol at the beginning of the command. For example smb:// will connect to a samba share; other supported protocols are ssh, ftp, sftp, http, and https.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-21-3-easy-ways-to-connect-to-windows-shared-folders-from-linux/","tags":null,"title":"3 Easy Ways to Connect to Windows Shared Folders from Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eSometimes screen shots just aren’t enough to explain how to do something or to show the steps you took to reproduce an error. There are a few tools available that will let you record your desktop but none are as easy, free, or cross platform as Screen Toaster.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScreen Toaster is a Java-based screen recorder that will work on any operating system that has Java and Flash player installed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"record-your-screen\"\u003eRecord Your Screen\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis may be something that doesn’t need to be said, but in order to record your screen with Screen Toaster you will need to have Oracle’s Java and Adobe’s flash player installed. Please download and install both pieces of required software first.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-20-record-your-desktop-on-any-os-for-free/","tags":null,"title":"Record Videos of Your Desktop on Any OS for Free"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eOften times you will need to copy and paste text into an email from various sources. By default Outlook keeps the formatting of whatever it is that you are pasting instead of the formatting of the email you are composing. Here is a quick tip on how to change that behavior.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"change-copy-and-paste-options\"\u003eChange Copy and Paste Options\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis tip should work for Outlook 2003, 2007, 2010 and probably most older and newer versions. This fix will only apply to emails that are being composed in HTML or Rich text. The first thing you need to do is open up Outlook and got to the Tools menu, then select options.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-14T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-14-copy-and-paste-in-outlook-without-messing-up-your-formatting/","tags":null,"title":"Copy and Paste in Outlook Without Messing Up Your Formatting"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf you are tired of trying to keep up with Apple’s new iPod releases, upgrade your old iPod for free with Rockbox. Rockbox allows you to upgrade your aging iPod with new themes, fonts, games, and more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRockbox is a replacement firmware for the iPod, iriver, Cowon, and many other devices. What the firmware does is extends the functionality and features of your current digital music player.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/devices.png\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"installing-rockbox\"\u003eInstalling Rockbox\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first thing to do is download the Rockbox utility from their website.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-02-upgrade-your-old-ipod-with-rockbox/","tags":null,"title":"Upgrade Your old iPod with Rockbox"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eBefore remote software, helping your friends and family with computer problems often meant hours on the phone trying to remember what a menu looked like or where a file was saved. Here we look at helping them remotely with TeamViewer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith TeamViewer you can remotely help your friends and family on any major operating system straight from your computer, the web, or on the go with your iPhone or iPad. TeamViewer full version should be installed on your computer for you to provide remote support for your users. You can both send and receive support with the TeamViewer full version installed on your computer. The full version is completely free for personal use and has some extra features that we will go over later.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-09-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-09-01-help-computer-users-remotely-with-teamviewer/","tags":null,"title":"Help Computer Users Remotely with TeamViewer"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eA personal wiki is an amazing place to store all of your notes, to-do lists, projects, and links. Traditional wikis are no easy task to set up and typically cost money for web hosting and software licensing. With TiddlyWiki and Dropbox you can set up your own wiki that is easy to use and available from anything with a web browser. Here is how to get started.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"set-up-your-wiki\"\u003eSet Up Your Wiki\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTiddlyWiki isn’t like a traditional MediaWiki or Confluence wiki which requires a database server and PHP in order to run. TiddlyWiki is a self contained .html file that you can use in any modern web browser even without internet access.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-08-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-08-25-build-your-own-personal-wiki-accessible-from-any-pc/","tags":null,"title":"Build Your Own Personal Wiki Accessible from Any PC"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eAfter your webOS emulator is set up, it can get boring without any new apps to play with. The official Palm App Catalog isn’t supported in the emulator but luckily the homebrew Preware app is supported. Here is how to get more apps in your webOS emulator.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe previously covered \u003ca href=\"https://www.howtogeek.com/22681/test-drive-webos-without-buying-a-phone/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehow to test drive webOS without a phone on your PC\u003c/a\u003e\n via the emulator, but what about adding apps? Preware not only has access to some of the official Palm App Catalog applications, but it also has access to hundreds of third party patches and apps that aren’t available in Palm’s App Catalog.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-08-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-08-18-install-homebrew-apps-in-the-webos-emulator/","tags":null,"title":"Install Homebrew Apps in the WebOS Emulator"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eJust like Windows 7 and OS X, Ubuntu has the ability to create a slideshow wallpaper thanks to GNOME 2.28. Here is how you can take control of your wallpaper slideshows with a simple to use GUI tool or a down and dirty text editor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-easy-way\"\u003eThe easy way\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet’s start by showing you the easy way to create a slideshow wallpaper using a GUI tool called CreBS (Create Background Slideshow). CreBS is an easy install in Ubuntu. To install the software open up a terminal and type\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-08-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-08-16-how-to-create-a-wallpaper-slideshow-in-ubuntu/","tags":null,"title":"How to Create a Wallpaper Slideshow in Ubuntu"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWindows customization isn’t anything new, but with Windows 7, customization got a lot easier with theme packs. Here is how you can create your own theme pack from scratch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCreating a theme pack from scratch is a lot more work than using built in tools, but it gives you a lot more flexibility by allowing you to creating brand icons, RSS background feeds, and customizing every feature which may not be easy to do through Windows native tools. When you are going to create a theme that you can share with others you will want to take into account what exactly you will be able to change that others will be able to use. Windows 7 theme packs allow you to customize the desktop background (including “slide show” backgrounds, and RSS feed backgrounds), screen saver, system sounds, desktop icons, mouse pointers, and system colors.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-08-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-08-12-create-a-windows-7-theme-pack-from-scratch/","tags":null,"title":"Create a Windows 7 Theme Pack From Scratch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eWith all the new mobile operating systems how do you to know which one to pick? Like Android, Palm has a webOS emulator to allow developers to test applications without physical hardware. Here is how you can test drive webOS on your computer for free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"getting-started\"\u003eGetting Started\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Palm webOS SDK/PDK requires that you have Java installed for the developer tools as well as VirtualBox 3.2.6 or higher.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first step is to install Java Runtime Environment (JRE). You may already have JRE installed and you can verify if it is installed by opening a command prompt and typing in the command \u003cem\u003ejava -version.\u003c/em\u003e You should get a output just like the one below. If you get this output you already have Java installed and you can skip to installing VirtualBox.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-07-26T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-07-26-test-drive-webos-without-buying-a-phone/","tags":null,"title":"Test Drive webOS Without Buying a Phone"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf you have ever found yourself in need of a terminal available at all times in Linux, here are four different ways you can bring up a terminal with a maximum of three buttons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"keyboard-shortcut\"\u003eKeyboard shortcut\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy default in Ubuntu and Linux Mint the terminal shortcut key is mapped to Ctrl+Alt+T. If you would like to change this to something else that makes sense to you open your menu to System -\u0026gt; Preferences -\u0026gt; Keyboard Shortcuts.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-07-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-07-19-four-ways-to-get-instant-access-to-a-terminal-in-linux/","tags":null,"title":"Four Ways to get Instant Access to a Terminal in Linux"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThere are plenty of automatic music organization tools but for those who like to do things by hand, TagScanner is a powerful music organization tool that can be run from a USB drive, and it’s free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"installation\"\u003eInstallation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTagScanner is a native Windows program that runs well under WINE for Linux and OS X; it has support for MP3, OGG, Musepack, Monkey’s Audio, FLAC, AAC, OptimFROG, SPEEX, WavePack, TrueAudio, WMA, and MP4 files.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-07-12T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-07-12-tag-and-rename-music-with-tagscanner/","tags":null,"title":"Tag and Rename Music with TagScanner"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eInterested in Android but think you need to buy a new phone to try it out? Actually, your Windows Mobile phone may already have the capability of running Android. Today we show you how and the type of phone you’ll need.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/sshot20100707220907.jpg\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUpdate:\u003c/strong\u003e This article was written 5 years ago, and as far as we know this process doesn’t work anymore on modern phones. It’s certainly possible that you can still run Android on a Windows mobile phone, but we don’t have a good solution to give you. We recommend asking about your specific phone model \u003ca href=\"https://forum.xda-developers.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eover on the XDA Developer forums\u003c/a\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-07-08T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-07-08-run-android-on-your-windows-mobile-phone/","tags":null,"title":"Run Android on Your Windows Mobile Phone"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIf you have ever needed to edit a whole folder of photos with the same effect or need to repeatedly crop, add watermarks, or drop shadows to images for the web, Phatch is the tool for the job. Phatch is a photo batch editor written in python so it works on any operating system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"install-phatch\"\u003eInstall Phatch\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePhatch is available in the package manager of most Linux distributions. If it is not available you can download installation files from the Phatch website or source code from launchpad. In Windows and OS X things are a bit different and you will need to install all dependencies and launch the phatch.py script manually. \u003cem\u003eLinks and download zip with all dependencies for Windows can be found below.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-06-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-06-29-batch-edit-photos-with-phatch/","tags":null,"title":"How to Batch Edit Photos with Phatch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIn Windows you can easily kill any task by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and bringing up the task manager. Linux running the GNOME desktop environment (i.e. Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.) has a similar tool that can be enabled to run exactly the same way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"setting-up-globalkey-bindings\"\u003eSetting up global key bindings\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe GNOME desktop environment by default uses the Ctrl+Alt+Del shortcut to bring up the shutdown, logout, restart, and hibernate dialog. This is not useful for users who are used to quick access to a task manager.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-06-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-06-28-use-ctrlaltdel-for-task-manager-in-linux-to-kill-tasks-easily/","tags":null,"title":"Use Ctrl+Alt+Del for Task Manager in Linux to Kill Tasks Easily"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eThere are a plethora of programs that can rip audio CDs on Linux, but very few are as simple as Sound Juicer. Sound Juicer is a GUI front-end for the command line only tool cdparanoia, but it adds quite features that make it worth a look.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"install-sound-juicer\"\u003eInstall Sound Juicer\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSound Juicer is not installed by default in a lot of distributions so it may need to be installed from the distribution’s software repository. Start by opening up the software manager that comes with your distribution.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-06-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-06-23-rip-audio-cds-with-sound-juicer/","tags":null,"title":"Rip Audio CDs in Linux with Sound Juicer"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI would like to take a couple minutes to share with everyone how she made it, and what software I used to help her edit it.First of all, here was the setup.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_W6YfJYoSQch-WWmC.jpg\" alt=\"0_W6YfJYoSQch-WWmC.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe started with a piece of poster board paper taped to our kitchen floor. Then added a microphone boom with a mini tripod zip tied to the end of the boom. This allowed her to take pictures from the same height every time and also gave a little flexibility in moving the camera around. Finally she added two small halogen lights to either side of the paper to light the “stage”. When taking pictures she took a picture of the whole piece of paper every time and we used software to edit the photos later.For the commercial she needed 3 full size webOS cards and 6 smaller phones. She started with making the phones.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-05-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-05-17-making-of-webos-r-evolution-commercial/","tags":null,"title":"Making of webOS (r)evolution commercial"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI thought I would follow up on my \u003ca href=\"http://1n73r.net/2009/01/01/my-2009-predictions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003epredictions for last year\u003c/a\u003e\n and see how I did.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComputers:1. Multitouch — While this didn’t make as big of a push as I hoped, hardware development is very slow in a recession, there have been announcements of hardware coming out in 2010 that defiantly take advantage of multitouch inputs. \u003ca href=\"http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eProject Natal\u003c/a\u003e\n and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/02/sony-announces-new-ps3-motion-controller/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ePS3 motion controller\u003c/a\u003e\n did surprise me though.2. Linux Market Share — I cannot find a good answer on this one. But lets just say market share boomed but not where I thought it would. Android and webOS are both Linux based devices that saw a huge jump in market share from where they were in 2008. And there were also reports of Linux having a \u003ca href=\"http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140343/Linux_s_share_of_netbooks_surging_not_sagging_says_analyst?taxonomyId=89\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e30% market share\u003c/a\u003e\n in netbooks. Those numbers are good enough for me to say this is confirmed!3. Microsoft Solutions — Windows Mobile was a failure still because WM7 got pushed back, the ZuneHD made huge progress and if weren’t for apps would be preferred over the iPod Touch in the tech world. Just the fact that I had 4–5 people ask me about the Zune this year makes me think it was a success. A year ago if you said Zune nobody knew what you were talking about. Windows 7 was a success but I think more than anything Microsoft no longer is the joke of the tech world, \u003ca href=\"http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/20/poor-iphone-reception-graduates-to-snl-weekend-update-joke-sta/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eApple is\u003c/a\u003e\n. Just getting their reputation back was a huge success for them.Video games:1. Wii — No it didn’t crash, sales are still relatively strong but with addons upon addons for the console and no new games that are any good. This will remain a console that collects dust in peoples entertainment centers.2. PS3 — Totally confirmed! With the launch of the PS3 slim and a couple big games that finally came out sales jumped tremendously. From what I could find the PS3 actually surpassed the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales. And that is saying a lot considering how much the US and Europe loves the Xbox 360 and how much of the market share that accounts for.3. Online play — Was it key? Not anymore than previous years. But the PlayStation Network is growing in popularity, and usefulness, and casual Xbox 360 games even needed to sign up for accounts for Netflix streaming, which I think is lame BTW.4. PS3 3D — It is later than I thought but it is \u003ca href=\"http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/04/ps3s-new-3d-mode-captured-on-video-coming-in-2010-to-all-exist/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003esill coming\u003c/a\u003e\n.Other:1. DTV transition — Wow, that was uneventful. I guess people were more prepared than I thought. It also helped that a good portion of OTA users switched to cable or satellite.2. Streaming video — While this probably wasn’t because of the DTV switch. Many online video sites \u003ca href=\"http://www.businessinsider.com/hulu-nation-is-growing-and-fast-2009-11\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eflourished\u003c/a\u003e\n, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2009-03/the-vudu-status-report/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003esome failed\u003c/a\u003e\n.3. OLED — Besides a few mobile devices, OLED was unheard of in 2009. I blame that on the recession, that crap is expensive to develop. All in all though, there was no projector built into a laptop and pocket projectors just started coming onto the market. Stupid recession.4. New site — Nope, didn’t happen. Twitter really took off but nothing to surpass the growth of facebook. Although MySpace is finally bleeding users.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-01-01-2009-predictions-follow-up/","tags":null,"title":"2009 Predictions Follow-up"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eIt was fun doing this last year. So I thought I would have another go at it and see what I come up with.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComputers:1. \u003cstrong\u003eNetbooks/sub-12″ laptops will be even bigger than before because they will finally be useful.\u003c/strong\u003e Atom/ULV processors, Ion/Tegra graphics, and touch enabled devices will make having a 17″ laptop a bad thing. Oh and used/refurbished laptops might play a big role in killing desktops once and for all.2. \u003cstrong\u003eWindows Home server will have a big update\u003c/strong\u003e (based on server 2008 r2) and will \u003cstrong\u003einclude Windows Media Center backend and Zune software\u003c/strong\u003e so you can plug your tuners directly into your WHS. This will also allow for great integration in Windows Mobile 7 and begin a new wave of extenders. I don’t think it will be out till Q3/Q4 though so extenders won’t make a push until 2011.3. Someone will finally offer a true \u003cstrong\u003ealternative to cable TV\u003c/strong\u003e. It will probably come from Apple/Netflix/Boxee/Hulu/Microsoft and it will still be an expensive monthly charge but it will be possible to disconnect your cable/satellite. I am thinking Microsoft will begin a Zune Pass for TV which will integrate into Windows Media Center when WHS 2 and WM7 come out.4. Apple will begin talks of their new OS, Microsoft will stay quiet about what they are working (and ride the good wave of Windows 7) on as long as possible, and Linux will be in a transitional phase while KDE and Gnome both get big updates.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2010-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2010-01-01-2010-tech-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2010 Tech Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_SlS0PNK4SVKvOuu3.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla Roadster\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_Nk26z7YMMvbZI5uL.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla Roadster\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor my birthday this past weekend I treated myself to something I wouldn’t normally do. I went for a test ride in a super car. It is something I have always wanted to do, and now that I am 25 I feel like I should be able to go do it. Lucky for me there is a start-up super car company that happens to have 1 of 3 dealerships about 30 minutes away from my house. So I gave them a call and scheduled a ride in one of their fabulous cars.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2009-10-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2009-10-04-tesla-roadster/","tags":null,"title":"Tesla Roadster"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI had an idea a while ago for a website that I know I will never be able to act on so I thought I would just post it here and maybe someday someone will find it and have the time and know-how to complete it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe basic idea for the website is to be a software recycler. The site allows you to donate your old/unused software either digitally or by mailing in the CD/DVD, and it also allows you to download software you are looking for completely free (donations accepted). With so many software companies just allowing you to download installers and emailing you a key this would be fairly easy to implement.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2009-05-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2009-05-23-software-recycler/","tags":null,"title":"Software Recycler"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI have never done this before but I thought I would take a swing and making some predictions at what I think is going to happen this year with technology.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eComputers:1. Smaller, faster, better. Duh. That is obvious but I think there will be some big improvements in \u003cstrong\u003e“alternate” input for computers\u003c/strong\u003e. Apple is rumored to release a multi-touch imac. Windows 7 has multi-touch support and is just waiting for hardware/software to take advantage of it. In 2009 I expect to see the biggest improvements in multi-touch software. Games will probably be first, with the iPod touch and iPhone helping with lots of ideas, and then we will get some cool browser and media solutions. I for one would love to see \u003ca href=\"http://www.cooliris.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ecooliris\u003c/a\u003e\n with some multi-touch support. After multi-touch will probably come touchless input but I don’t think that will gain a lot of ground in 2009.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2009-01-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2009-01-01-2009-predictions/","tags":null,"title":"2009 Predictions"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eRecently \u003ca href=\"http://www.hackaday.com/2007/05/06/powershot-firmware-hacking/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ehack a day\u003c/a\u003e\n had a article about enhancing your Canon to have more functionality than a standard point and shoot camera. The firmware loads on your memory card and it allows you to do things like shoot in RAW picture format, change your ISO speed, even allow a calendar and games on the camera. One of the best features of the firmware looks like it is completely reversable. All you do is load the files on a memory card and it works (as far as I have read at least). Once you no longer want the extra features you can just delete the files from the memory card.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2008-05-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2008-05-20-camera-zoom-hack/","tags":null,"title":"Camera Zoom hack"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003cp\u003eI have mentioned the IT Crowd before and if you haven’t seen it yet you need to check out the recently released \u003ca href=\"http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-IT-Crowd/dp/B000EU1OYC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eDVD\u003c/a\u003e\n or at least read some of the \u003ca href=\"http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=\u0026amp;threadid=2175768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e1337 subtitles\u003c/a\u003e\n. In honor of the show my wife Beth has cross-stitched a great tribute the IT Crowd using a pattern we made from screen shots of the intro. Hope you enjoy!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/0_o7UYqApnkH14bb7m.jpg\" alt=\"\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeth’s site is \u003ca href=\"http://www.defenestrateeverything.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003ewww.defenestrateeverything.com\u003c/a\u003e\n. Check out some more crafts she has over there. For information on purchasing this pattern for the low, low price of $3.50, please email: beth at hartfeltcrafts dot com.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2006-12-02T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2006-12-02-it-crowd-cross-stitch/","tags":null,"title":"IT Crowd Cross-stitch"},{"categories":null,"contents":"\u003ch2 id=\"what-i-used\"\u003eWhat I used:\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI used my 1987 Toyota MR2 with a 1600 cc engine. The car weighs approximatly 2500 lbs (1134 kg) and only seats two people. It has 117,000 miles on it and is rear wheel drive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-i-did\"\u003eWhat I did:\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI drove my car for 1 week as I normally would and 1 week never allowing my engine to rev over 3000 rpm. In the 2 weeks of testing I never had cargo in my car, never had a passenger, and never went through a drive through or had excessive idling. Not allowing my engine to go over 3000 rpm held me to a top speed of about 57 mph. It also caused me to accelerate very slowly but I was still able to get up to my destination speed by the time I reached the freeway.\u003c/p\u003e","date":"2006-05-11T00:00:00Z","permalink":"https://justingarrison.com/blog/2006-05-11-is-55-the-answer/","tags":null,"title":"Is 55 the Answer?"}]