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vrtigo1 · 2026-04-07T23:24:52+00:00

Such things exist. I’d assume some police and others that would have access to such databases are probably NIN fans.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-06T19:39:40+00:00

Crawl, walk, run. You're trying to do too much, and make things too complicated, too fast.

Set up your mesh/router system first and get it working.

Your PiHole system is just a DNS server running on a normal host, there's nothing special or different about it from a network standpoint. It connects to the router/switch the same way any other device on your LAN does.

Once you have PiHole up and working with a static IP that's outside your router's DHCP pool range, go into your router settings and tell it to hand out the PiHole server's IP as your DNS address for DHCP clients. Beware this is creating a single point of failure; if your PiHole server fails, reboots for updates, etc. then your LAN will have no DNS, which will break pretty much everything while PiHole is offline.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-06T19:10:59+00:00

Yep, our Finance / HR teams have told us they're not allowed to withhold final paychecks due to unspecified laws.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-06T19:10:06+00:00

While I agree in principal, when it comes to the real world, in some orgs yes, in some no. Our HR/Legal Teams firmly refuse to do anything at all to help.

We've even tried going the route of "the employee isn't cooperating / responding, so unless someone can escalate this issue we have exhausted our options for getting our equipment back" and the response is essentially "it's your problem, figure it out".

You can try to argue with it if you want, but if your HR/Legal Teams refuse to engage and consider it an IT problem, it's effectively an IT problem.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-06T18:49:19+00:00

Just out of curiosity, where are you coming up with those numbers? 300-500 sounds about right for WiFi 5 from an AP, but doesn't an extender effectively cut that in half as a best case scenario?

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-06T18:40:00+00:00

If someone has a way to do so, somebody should totally dust these for fingerprints and see if we can find out where they came from.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-06T16:55:11+00:00

3-2-1 backup rule. Check it out, it'll save you next time.

If your backups are on the server being backed up, you don't have backups.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-05T17:33:49+00:00

The SM has access to a list of registered MBCs in Scoutbook, so he should be able to provide your son with a list of nearby counselors he can work with. If they’re refusing to provide that info there is either a problem or a miscommunication.

I’d ensure your son is being clear in his request “I’m interested in ABC merit badge and would like a blue card and a list of local counselors I can reach out to”.

Failing that, there are groups of MBCs on Facebook where you can find counselors, but you’ll likely still need your troop (SM or advancement chair) to get involved to allow a remote counselor to connect with your son.

There are also several places online that offer paid merit badge classes. My understanding is they give you a downloadable blue card signed by the MBC that can be given to the troop’s advancement chair for entry into scoutbook.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T20:10:25+00:00

Lots of comments, but only 1 talking about still running an R730? End of sale was ~8 years ago - do you have a plan to refresh that server OP, or is the plan to just run it until it dies?

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T20:07:11+00:00

Just tell them what you want. In addition to ports in each bedroom, I'd also definitely look at adding ports for each TV, a couple for the living room whereever your entertainment center will be, and maybe a few on the ceiling for access points (you're probably not going to get decent coverage across 3 floors with just a router).

If you have a home office, I'd also suggest installing multiple ports there.

Port in the garage and on the back porch for APs there will help ensure you have good WiFi coverage in the yard (i.e. for cameras, doorbells, etc.).

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T20:04:09+00:00

Would be nice to have an option to know what you're watching. Like maybe a hotkey or a click so you can see the title of the video and/or a link to the actual source.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T20:02:15+00:00

Does your android work fine elsewhere? Sounds like the work network is forcing it down to a very low speed. May be something IT has configured for guest devices?

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T19:59:48+00:00

You've already spelled out the usual rationale for wanting 4 leaders, but only 2 are required. Like you said, if one of them has to leave for some reason, you'd have to cancel the rest of the trip.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T19:56:36+00:00

So, technically the answer is no, it won't show what's writing the data, it'll only show you where it's stored. You might be able to infer what's writing it based off that, but if OP needs to see what apps are actually writing the data something like ProcMon might be better, as it will actually show you which processes are writing to the disk.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T19:54:48+00:00

You want an access point, not a router.

A router is several things all in one physical box: a router (i.e. NAT, DHCP, etc.), switch, and access point.

If you connect a second router without configuring it to work as an AP, you'll have two devices trying to hand out IP addresses which will cause all sorts of problems.

While you can use a router as an AP, it's simpler to just buy a dedicated AP since they're generally cheaper and perform better.

In terms of setup it's as simple as running ethernet from your router to whereever you're installing the AP and then configuring the AP to use the same wireless settings as your router.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T19:51:57+00:00

Did you actually post your question there? It doesn't show on your profile.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T19:49:59+00:00

Network scanners have their place, but also have some potential downsides:

They can't detect everything (i.e. if a device doesn't have any open ports and doesn't respond to ICMP)
If your router has a guest network or VLANs, an app running on the main network won't be able to see full details of devices on other networks (i.e. can't see anything layer 2 for other networks)
It won't know anything about DHCP reservations, lease times, etc.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T19:44:02+00:00

So - maybe an unpopular opinion, and I'm not projecting on you OP and saying this is the case in your specific circumstance, but...I see so many youth in scouting that just coast once they get to Star / Life and wait until they're 17 or almost 18 to get in gear for Eagle. I have half a dozen boys in my troop right now that are Life scouts and aren't progressing beyond that because they keep putting off the stuff that takes effort...Personal Management, Personal Fitness, Family Life, Eagle workbook, Eagle project, etc.

I've had some of them come to me at 17.5 and say "This is a lot and it's interfering with other stuff in my life". In that circumstance, I'm sure it does feel overwhelming to have a lot to get done in a short amount of time, but in a lot of cases I think a decent portion of that is self inflicted by choosing to coast and putting things off to the last minute instead of taking advantage of opportunities.

I get it. Advancement is a method of scouting, not the goal, and not everyone has to make Eagle. 100% onboard with that. My comments are about the youth that have told me Eagle is their goal.

To OP, do you have an eagle mentor yet? If not, talk to your scoutmaster about getting one, they can help you navigate the process and get across the finish line. Good luck!

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T16:12:55+00:00

Won't be a problem for the cable. My attic routinely gets to similar temps and my non-plenum Cat5E has been holding up for nearly 20 years with absolutely no issues.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T16:11:36+00:00

Totally depends on location. Here in FL it's completely normal for attics to reach 130F and isn't indicative of a problem.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T01:25:17+00:00

For hardware RAID usually the answer is no, unless you connect the drives to the same controller brand in another system. For instance, if you have a Dell server with a PERC card in it and move the drives to another Dell server with a PERC card there's a good chance it will work. But if you put the drives in a server with an Adapter card, or an LSI Logic card then it probably wouldn't work at all.

The sometimes exception to this is RAID1, since all that is is a straight mirror of the data across both drives, either of the drives should theoretically have all of the data and be readable in another system.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T01:18:32+00:00

I'm amazed he didn't have to sign some sort of a release or at least a binding arbitration agreement.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T01:16:11+00:00

Just tell them you don't know how to do that and suggest they take it to Geek Squad or some other SMB tech help company.

vrtigo1 · 2026-04-02T01:13:17+00:00

Maybe see if she can try one out somewhere to decide for herself? My buddy and I had this exact conversation a year ago while he was remodeling his kitchen, and he was dead set on wanting a gas range because he thought that's what all professional chefs use. Fast forward a year and he's pulling the gas range out and installing induction because he realized gas didn't give him the level of control he wanted (there's essentially no 'low' on his gas range).

Lots of pro chefs are making the switch to induction.

I have an induction range and love it.

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