I am Robot

Hello

I'm Charles Haven - a technologist* in North Carolina

A native Floridian I moved to the Piedmont region of North Carolina in 1990. After graduating from High Point University my wife and I chose to settle in High Point.

I have always been in the information business. Starting in high school by studying lithography and various aspects of the graphics trade. I would go on to become a proficient press-operator, unknowingly following the generations of men in my family before me.

In the early 1990s I came to realize that the pace of change in the information field was increasing. I was doing more pre-press and composition work on a computer, and Xerox had recently delivered a machine that could do my job.

There were two paths before me: one, additional training to pursue fewer opportunities in traditional information sharing; or two, additional education to participate in the future of information sharing.

I love helping organizations embrace technology and show how it is essential for business success.

HTML

System Administration

I cut my teeth on system administration as a Computer Operator for a local hospital in the 1990s during college. Most of my career centered around Microsoft technologies with Linux filling-in the gaps.

As the technologies organizations use becomes more decentralized I believe Linux will fill important roles formerly addressed with expensive Microsoft solutions.

Microsoft Active Directory

Windows / Linux Users and Groups

Networking

Firewall (Windows / Sonicwall / Cisco)

Storage (SAN / NAS / File Servers)

Prophet21 ERP

Microsoft Exchange

Database (MySQL / SQL Server)

Webservers (Microsoft IIS / Apache / NGINX)

VPN (Windows / Sonicwall / OpenVPN)

Virtualization (VMWare / Virtualbox / Hyper-V)

Print Management

I excel at integrating data from disparate systems that help organizations make decisions essential for business success.

HTML

Web development

I believe in the concepts behind HTML. The idea that information can be displayed anywhere, on any device, in nearly any format (appearance), and link other information with the ease and openness not found in traditional forms of information sharing. It is open. It encourages sharing. It accomodates obscurity.

Frontend

HTML/HTML5

Javascript

jQuery

CSS

Creativity

Backend

PHP

SQL/T-SQL

Apache/NGINX/IIS

System Admin

Resourcefulness

“A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it.”
Scott Allen

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Projects

I am always tinkering with something and it usually involves tech. These are some highlights that are posted on my blog.

LibreOffice is a free and powerful office suite, and is fully supported (and supports) Microsoft Office. It sports a clean interface and is feature-rich in tools. This short post lists the commands to install LibreOffice 7.4.4.2 from the Terminal in Linux Mint.

Using Udev, the device manager for the Linux, I am able to backup a Linux system to an external hard drive just by plugging in the USB drive. When the drive is connected Linux will detect it, mount it, and start a backup. Once the backup is done the drive will remain mounted so I can review the files before removing the drive.

Veracrypt includes the ability to manage encrypted volumes from the command-line. You can supply the password and key to mount the volumes from the terminal. Furthermore, you can put these commands in a script to mount multiple volumes. Running from script will allow you to mount several volumes and only have to enter your Linux password for sudo once.

How to use a Powershell script to generate 20 (or more) passwords using random words and numbers.

Reset LEDE/OpenWRT using Failsafe boot mode. LEDE allows you to boot into a failsafe mode that overrides its current configuration. If your device becomes inaccessible, e.g. after a configuration error, then failsafe mode is there to help you out.

How to easily copy to the clipboard the full filename (including the path) of the current document in Microsoft Office applications. This is helpful in increasing productivity since you do not have to open Windows Explorer then hunt down your file and copy the path from there (by holding down the SHIFT key - even MORE work!!).

* one who specializes in technology. I haven't touched a printing press since 1994.