Send hand written notes from your iPad with Felt.
I just think the idea is really neat.
Pictures from IMTS 2012
In September of last year I promised pictures from IMTS 2012. Here are a few:
Jake Weidmann: Forging the Future with the Tip of the Pen
“I believe that we are all created in the image of God, and that we don’t only bear his image in the way that we think, the way that we act, in the emotions that we have, but in our desire to create.”
“This passion in me to create is the most intimate way that I know God.”
How to check for FIPS mode on SQL Server
Recently, after turning FIPS mode on in Windows Server Local Policy I was looking for a way to see whether or not SQL Server was actually using FIPS certified cryptographic algorithms. The best way I could find to do this from SQL Server is to attempt to create an Service Broker endpoint with an algorithm that isn’t supported in FIPS mode and see if it fails. Here is the exact command I ran to do the check:
CREATE ENDPOINT BrokerEndpoint STATE=STARTED AS TCP(LISTENER_PORT=9989) FOR SERVICE_BROKER (AUTHENTICATION=WINDOWS, ENCRYPTION=REQUIRED ALGORITHM RC4)
If SQL Server is actually running in FIPS mode this will fail with a FIPS related error message because we attempted to set the algorithm to RC4 which isn’t supported in FIPS mode. When not in FIPS mode this should succeed or fail with a non FIPS related error message.
Don’t forget to delete the endpoint after your test.
Automation is necessary…
“Automation is necessary. It is common to take a sort of smug satisfaction in reports of colossal failures of automatic systems, but for every failure of automation, the failures of humans are legion.”
IMTS 2012
I went to the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago, IL last week. It was incredible. Right at 100,000 attendees and thousands of manufacturing related booths. I’ll post more about the show later, including some pictures.
Installing a JAR into your local Maven repository
I was testing out Java encryption libraries today and needed to install the Jasypt JAR into my local maven repository. I’m pretty new to Java and Maven and wasn’t sure how to do that, so I went searching. It took me a few tries to find an example, so I’m writing it up here so I can remember it and maybe help somebody else in the same situation.
Finding what process is using a port in Linux
I found a useful command to tell me what process is using a specific port. I use it when RubyMine doesn’t shut down the server properly and it keeps port 3000 locked.
netstat -tulpn | grep :80
Found here: http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/what-process-has-open-linux-port/
Simple and reusable data helper for Groovy unit testing
I recently created a little helper method for my Groovy unit tests that I’ve found helpful multiple times in the last week so I thought I should share. This little snippet will add a ‘prepare’ method to all objects which will help you build ‘mock’ unit test data.
You can use this helper like so:
This doesn’t seem all that amazing until you starting dealing with more complex objects. For instance, in the following example, we are able to reuse all of the default data for the person (height, age, eye color) but provide a custom list of children which might be a requirement for a test.
A couple of notes about this “helper method”:
- You don’t have to pass in overrides. You can just call DEFAULT_CONFIG.prepare() and get a copy of the DEFAULT_CONFIG data. This will let you use the data without modifying the defaults.
- I find it most useful to define default data maps as class level variables in my test class and then never modify them. I always use the prepare method to get an instance to use in the test, even if I don’t need to modify the data. For tests that use a lot of the same data with minor modifications, this makes each individual test method very short and easy to read.
SneakPeekIt Printable Grids
I used to take screenshots of a browser, blank out the page and URL bar, and print them out so I could sketch up ideas. Now sneakpeekit.com has something even better that requires less work! I will be using these in the future. They have tablet, phone, PC browser, and plain old grid layouts that you can simply print out and have a nice layout to brainstorm on.
Love it!