Developer Blog

Configuring DNS over TLS and HTTPS behind Nginx with BIND

In January of 2022, BIND 9.18 became a new stable branch that contained support for DoT and DoH. Learning this, I decided to upgrade my previous BIND server to this new version and enable these features. If you run containers, you can use Docker to get the latest BIND

Home Assistant

Automatically Adjusting Indoor Home Temperature to Outdoor Temperature in Home Assistant

Using Home Assistant, I have been able to create a system for scaling my home's indoor temperature based on the outdoor heat index. This will also account for day/night cycles and home presence. The goal of this automation is to increase the temperature indoors as it gets hotter to

Home Assistant

Heat Index Calculated Sensor in Home Assistant

The following is a sample of how to implement a sensor in Home Assistant that displays a calculated heat index value based off an existing sensor device that provides temperature and relative humidity readings. This calculation is using the formulas provided on the National Weather Service website. - platform: template

Update

Content has been migrated from the old blog. Stay tuned! I plan to be working on some new content in the coming weeks.

.NET

Cake Build Script - Node, Gulp, .NET Core MSBuild

The following is a basic guide for setting up a Cake build script to work with a project that utilizes .NET Core, Node.JS, and Gulp. This build script can be used with various continuous integration setups to assist with automated builds and deployments of code. Requirements: * .NET Core SDK

Minecraft

Minecraft Server Docker Image

Dockerfile Create a Dockerfile for the minecraft server image with the following: FROM ubuntu:xenial MAINTAINER Richard Meyer ENV MINECRAFT_VERSION 1.11.2 ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND noninteractive RUN apt-get -y update && apt-get -y upgrade && apt-get install --no-install-recommends -y -q \ software-properties-common \ && apt-add-repository -y ppa:webupd8team/java \ && apt-get -y update \ && echo

Bootstrap

Dynamic Responsive Tables with Bootstrap 3

The following function will force the table-responsive behavior in Bootstrap 3 when the table's width exceeds the window's, and while the window size is > 768 pixels. Bootstrap's default of 768 pixels is great in most cases, however I've encountered some requirements where I need to squeeze large amounts of data

Bootstrap

Bootstrap 3 Twitter Typeahead LESS Improvements

The following are some improvements I've made for Twitter Typeahead 0.9.3 with Bootstrap 3. The typeahead-bootstrap.less file should be imported at the end of the bootstrap.less file. typeahead-bootstrap.less .tt-dropdown-menu { min-width: 160px; width: 100%; margin-top: 2px; padding: 5px 0; background-color: @dropdown-bg; border: 1px solid #ccc; border:

Bootstrap

Bootstrap 3 DataTables Paging Modifications

Update Sept. 18, 2013: I have updated the JavaScript to include the following updates: * Adjusted the "sDom" column widths for the record selection/search filter fields * The "records per page" will wrap to a new line on extra small devices * Fixed an issue where filtered searches were not updating the

Bootstrap

Bootstrap 3 jQuery Validator Defaults

The following can be used with a Bootstrap 3 Horizontal Form. jQuery.validator.setDefaults({ debug: true, errorClass: 'has-error', validClass: 'has-success', ignore: "", highlight: function (element, errorClass, validClass) { $(element).closest('.form-group').removeClass('has-success').addClass('has-error'); }, unhighlight: function (element, errorClass, validClass) { $(element).closest('.form-group').removeClass('has-error').addClass('has-success'); $(element).closest

Visual Studio

Visual Studio 2012 - Pre-Build Bootstrap 3 LESS with RECESS

Warning: This no longer works as of Bootstrap version 3.1! Step 1: Install the Bootstrap Less Source package to your web project. Step 2: Close any running instances of Visual Studio. Step 3: Install Node.js. Step 4: Install the RECESS npm package globally via the node.js command

.NET

How to get ASP.NET MVC3 Working under Mono 2.10 (Ubuntu 12.10)

I've managed to get Mono (version 2.10.8.1) working with MVC3 in my Apache server through mod-mono and mono-server4. Update: Included a DirectoryMatch configuration for securing various ASP.net directories. Visual Studio Project Settings Required References (Copy Local: True): * System.Web.Mvc * System.Web.Helpers * System.Web.Routing

Internet Explorer

Fixing an IE7 Rendering Issue with Oracle ADF Faces 10.1.3.0.5

I've been working on a project that involves the use of Oracle's ADF Faces (10.1.3.0.5) components. The application is written using only Oracle's ADF components, so there isn't any intermixed HTML/CSS. Part of the code uses ADF's iterators and tableLayouts to present the data. This

PowerShell

Updating User Workstations through PowerShell

Below is a simple PowerShell script that can be used to search for all currently restricted accounts in Active Directory (accounts who have a value for userWorkstations), and update their list of workstations by adding/removing hosts as needed. This script might be most useful in a scenario where you

PowerShell

C# and Remote PowerShell - Lookup Smallest Mailbox Database

The following example can be used to return the smallest available mailbox database with a given name pattern. This might be useful if you're running multiple mailbox databases with similar names: Database 1, Database 2, Database 3, etc.. You can pass in a search for "Database*" and it will find

PowerShell

Using PowerShell to Retrieve DCs within a Specific Domain

The following example will use a remote PowerShell session to query a list of domain controllers under a domain name, and return the first result. Note: This does not verify that the domain controller is online and responding to queries! ///

/// Returns a domain controller from the specified domain ///

/// The domain

Microsoft Exchange

Exchange Remote PowerShell - PSLanguageMode to FullLanguage

How many developers have encountered the following errors when attempting to write remote PowerShell commands against Exchange? Function declarations are not allowed in restricted language mode or a Data section. Property references are not allowed in restricted language mode or a Data section. Assignment statements are not allowed in restricted

Microsoft Exchange

Exchange 2010 - Check if Mailbox Exists using C# and Remote PowerShell

The following is an example on how to use C# to check if exchange mailboxes exist in Exchange 2010 using remote PowerShell. Imports, not all are used in the example function below: using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using System.DirectoryServices; using System.EnterpriseServices;

Active Directory

AD .NET - User's Can't Change Password Attribute (Get/Set)

The following is an example on how to read a user's Can't Change Password attribute in Active Directory using C#. public bool GetCantChangePassword(string userid) { bool cantChange = false; try { DirectoryEntry entry = new DirectoryEntry(string.Format("LDAP://{0},{1}", "OU=Standard Users,OU=Domain", "DC=domain,DC=org")); entry.AuthenticationType = AuthenticationTypes.

Minecraft

Minecraft Linux Servers - Automated Commands using Screen & Cron

The following is for Minecraft Server administrators running Linux. If you run your Minecraft server through a named screen session, you can develop simple bash scripts that automate commands. This can be everything from giftbag scripts to automated backups. An example backup script: /home/user/minecraft/backup.sh #!/bin/sh

Microsoft Exchange

Exchange 2010 - Enable Mailbox through C# & PowerShell

The following is an example on how to use C# to create exchange mailboxes for Exchange 2010 using remote PowerShell. Imports, not all are used in the example function below: using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using System.DirectoryServices; using System.EnterpriseServices; using System.

Oracle

Oracle 11g R2 x64 Client with ODAC Installation Guide

The following is a straightforward guide to installing the Oracle Client and Oracle Data Access Components for Windows 64bit clients/servers. Downloads: 1. 64-bit Oracle Client 11g R2 2. 64-bit Oracle Data Access Oracle Client Installation: Unzip the win64_11gR2_client.zip file into an appropriate location. Run the setup.

Oracle

PL/SQL Challenge 2010 Q3 Playoffs - 4th Place

In Q3 of 2010 I competed in the PL/SQL Challenge Playoffs and ranked 4th out of 62 competitors worldwide! While I ranked 4th, I was still the top ranked US player. Source: http://plsql-challenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/winners-of-q3-playoffs.html Congratulations to all of the PL/SQL Challenge competitors!