steve tout - seattle, washington
Consultant, writer, Most recently a dad, husband, consultant, writer and photographer.
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Networking solutions with Windows Vista

I know there are you creatives use and enjoy Windows Vista and if you are like me with multiple PCs to network with from the home office, then Windows Vista can and probably will cause you a lot of grief at some point. 

So I hooked a switch to two of my PCs because I didn’t have long enough cables for both to go directly into my router, and because I was tired of connecting to one of them via the wireless network.  Somehow this broke my network and file sharing to and from Vista.  I spent an embarassing amount of time troubleshooting this yesterday.  It boils down to the fact that NetBios over TCP/IP had to be enabled on the network card, and it was, but the tests I ran proved that it was not enabled, hence the problem. 

So if your networking or file shares with other XP computers all of a sudden stop working here is something to keep in mind.  You can test this my seeing whether you can connect by IP address.  If you can connect by IP address but not by the machine name, then here’s one thing you can do.  Make sure that NetBios is enabled on your network card, and make the following change in your registry:

- Enter the registry
- HKEYLocalMachines/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/NetBt/Parameters
- Double Click “transportbindname”
- enter the value \Device\ (use the backslashes) hit ok.
- reboot

I spent time with Linksys tech support several times, but they refused to help beyond ensuring Internet and LAN connections to my XP machines.  And, of course, Microsoft tech support doesn’t come free.

If you want the long and painful version of this story, look here:  http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3881172&SiteID=17

Cheers!

Today is Molly’s 1st Birthday

Our precious little Molly Jane turned 1 today.  She means the world to my wife and I, and has to be the most beautiful baby we have ever seen in our lives!  (Not kidding!)  But more than the good looks that she (obviously) inherits from her mom, we are so thankful today for God’s blessings.  For those who are just starting to read my blog, Molly was born with a rare form of children’s cancer called Wilms Tumor.  We feel extremely lucky that it was caught so early, and that we live in an age and time when advanced surgery can completely remove her cancer (and her kidney) so she can live a completely normal life.  In the last year we have heard of other familys who have less fortunate experience with Wilms, and our heart goes out to them.  We are thankful every single day, and surprised by the little personlity that Molly has grown into.  We are also thankful for all the friends and family who have supported us with their thoughts and prayers and concerns.  In spite of the challenges, our lives are enriched by the love and beauty and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Molly got her first chair.  A cute pink velvet one from Target.  She loved it, and we enjoyed watching her play with it as much as she enjoyed climbing all over it.  Here are a few pics.

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I don’t blog about politics

But today I’m going to jump into the fray, but this is probably the only time I will do so before we have a new president in office.

I was astounded by the repeated attacks by Obama & Co. on McCain for saying that “the fundmentals of the economy are sound.”  What a laughable semantic argument this was!  It was repeated so often by the liberal media as to become meaningless, and the point might as well not have been made at all.  It made the liberal news anchors look more foolish than McCain for saying it, that believing repeating it a few hundred times would make it any more meaningful.  Nobody stays clean when you start flinging mud.  Let’s clear the room and go for a swim to cool off, and start over tomorrow morning after you have a hot meal and a restoring nights rest.

In America supposedly the majority of us are Chrstians of some kind or another.  I suppose we could debate that until the cows come home too, but I hope the common theme is faith.  So now I suppose we throw our faith out the window when it comes to American politics, but our faith is strengthened when we read about the men who God chose to run countries in ancient history within the pages of the Bible.  So why is now any different than at any point in history?  I’m not saying I love Palin/McCain – there are unfortunate choices all across the board IMO, it definitely concerns me.  But as i think about this, I feel that my responsiblity as a Christian is to live by faith and make a decision based on that faith, not what pop culture says I should do based on non-Biblical criteria for political leaders.  As the Good Book says, “I being in the way , the Lord led me”. (Genesis 24:27) 

Does that mean I don’t study the leaders and turn my nose at politics?  Aboslutely not.  I hear their arguments (unfortunately) every single day and read the news headlines just like you.  But I refuse to debate with those close minded liberals who trample any notion of conservative values under foot.  The bottom line, which usually causes a lot of eyes to roll and grief in any debates I enter is that ultimately God is in control.  So put a monkey in the White House.  Go ahead, let’s vote Obama in there.  As for me, I am more interested in seeing what God is going to do with our country than what the Obamas or the McCains are going to do with it.  Those guys think they have everything under control.  haha!  Without faith, the joke is going to be on them at the end of the day.  So, it’s easy for me to avoid all the political debating going on and just vote from my heart, not my pocket book or my career or anything else that isn’t going to matter in the end, anyways.

I had some really cool stuff to share about Palin, but I have to run off to my gate to jump on a plane.  So I’m just going to share this link with you.  http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson090608.html

I’m won’t reply or debate anybody’s comments on this post, so post at your own risk. I have more important things to do and people to love, like my little Miss Molly Jane.

Regardless where you stand on the issues, I love you anyways my fellow humans.  Word to the sweet lady, Judy, who has helped me return my Hertz rentals at the SFO for the last 18 months.  Her boss scolded her today for putting her name on a checkout cart during her break, and stealing it away from one of her co-workers after they took it away from her.  I don’t like how the young and brilliant managers at Hertz think they can harass their “subordinates” who are decades older than they are.  Treat every individual with respect and dignity you wish to be treated with.  Judy accepted (a paltry) 14 weeks of “early retirement” pay after 16 years of service with Hertz, and she thinks that she’s getting a wonderful deal.  I gave her two hugs before I walked away, and she gave me this parting advice.  The quickest route from your rental car to the Air Tram is to “Follow the yellow brick road.”  Evidently that’s universally good avice, whether you are at a Hertz rental garage or in the Emerald City.

Cheers!

-steve

Chris + Jennifer @ Bremerton Harborside

I jumped back into the saddle a couple weekends ago and shot a wedding with my sister-in-law and had great time!  It was so hot out, the hottest and most beautiful day all week, but everyone was so patient and great to work with.   It rained the very next day, so the timing couldn’t be better.   I met Chris for the first time at the rehersal the day prior and the first time actually getting to know Jen, and they are really laid back and enjoyable together. 

I am in awe at some of the amazing shots that Courtnee took, like this one.

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Congratulations, Chris & Jennifer!

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Quick escape from the shortest ceremony of all time.

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Camilee

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The ceremony was so short.   Lucky the guests were taking pictures :)

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Weeeeeeeeeee!!!

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MP3: My PhotoTalkRadio.com Interview

Hey you all,

I have a bunch of cool stuff to blog about right now, but hardly the time.  I have a couple of weddings to blog about, a sweet blog template that makes custom blog websites with all the latest features even more affordable, and will get to that hopefully in the next couple days.

For now I just want to remind you that my interview with the Photo Talk Radio guys (Howard Lippin and Michael Garcia) is now available as an MP3 that you can download and listen on your Zune, errrr, I mean your iPod and listen wherever you are.  (sorry it must be just a Seattle thing…)  I talk a little about my articles on Build vs Buy vs Outsource (the differences) and also a bit about online portfolios for photographers.  Here’s the link:

http://www.phototalkradio.com/ptr080906.html

I’d love to hear your experiences and opinions.  Did you, or are you planning to build yourself?  Hire a developer?  Has reading my articles or listening to the podcast helped you with your decision?

I will be a guest on Photo Talk Radio on Sept. 6 at 8:00am

I am going to be a guest on the the Photo Talk Radio show, and will be talking about Build vs. Buy and Online Portfolios for Photographers.  So if you have read my Rangefinder column and have been dying to ask me questions but haven’t done so, this is your chance to call in and ask away.

The producer says my spot should be about 15-20 minutes into the show, and I’ll get about 20-30 minutes to talk.  You can listen online in real time at the following URL, or if you can’t listen to the live show, there is always the archives which you can download and play on your iPod, or if you are like me (craZy) a Zune.

http://www.phototalkradio.com

Set your calendars:  Saturday, Sept. 6th at 8:00 AM PST

By the way, have you ever listened to the Photo Talk radio show?  These guys are goofy, and crack me up with their colorful remarks!   I first listened earlier this year when Mitche Grafe was on the show, and not only was it enjoyable but extremely informative.  There’s a high bar set so I hope I can meet or exceed your expectations.  Please help by calling into the show and asking some really good questions.

I can’t say “NO” to a BMW

In moving to Seattle, one of the things that needed a better solution is commuting back and forth to the airport, and having reliable transportation to run odd errands, like going to the post office or the gym. So Cami and I decided I’d need a car now since we live a lot further from the airport than we used to, it wouldn’t be feasible for her and Molly to taxi me to the airport and back when I travel.  At first the logical thing was to get something functional and practical, like a truck with decent gas mileage (as if such a thing existed) but after searching high and low I couldn’t find anything.  I actually was sold on the Toyota Tundra 08 model, it’s totally sweet, but the price was a little out of our range for a 2nd car.  Somehow in a round about way looking at a Porsche Boxster brought up the subject of me getting my dream car, the BMW Z4.  The size is perfect as a commuter car, and it receives pretty high ratings for reliability by JD Power Associates.  And did you know, that this puppy gets 28MPG Freeway? 

So I’m not sure if the MPG sold my wife, or the fact that I was not going to take no for an answer but she finally agreed to let me get one.  I promise I tried to stay away from this car.  In the process I almost bought a Dodge 1500 truck and a Porsche Boxster, but we ultimately agreed that this would do the job. 

So color me happy!!!!!   

I’m picking up this car at SeaTac tonight, and I’m stoked!  It’s a 2005 model for all you fuddy duddys, which means it’s new enough to impress a BMW purist, but it’s old (and affordable) enough to contradict the skeptics.  I paid $20k and some change for this car.  It has a 5-star safety rating from NHTSA, and probably gets better gas mileage than the car you drive, so don’t even start about what a BMW snob I am.  haaa!  It always pays to do your homework.

Here’s the sweet car.  It’s Toledo Blue.

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The Premium Audio and the sweet stick shift.

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Bremerton Wedding, Chris & Jennifer

No sooner do I get moved up to the Seattle area that I’m off to shoot a Coffeehouse Photography wedding with my sister-in-law Courtnee one weekend later.  Jennifer is one of the Stevenson Quints volunteers.  The wedding is going to at the beautiful Bremerton Harborside this Saturday, and should be one of the nicest days all week.  This is the same location that I shot the classic signature image that appears on the back of Coffeehouse Photography business cards and the opening image on our website.  I’m pretty excited at the challenge of shooting in this location again, and partnering with Courtnee to create an experience as unique as the couple themselves.

Here is a great image from the engagement shoot that Courtnee had with Chris and Jennifer last October.

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It’s another sleepless night in San Francisco Bay Area away from home sweet home.  Good night Molly.  Good night Cami.  Good night Winston.  Good night Beatrice.  I miss being home.  Thursday won’t come soon enough.

Photo Cart by PicturesPro rocks!

I just wrapped up another article for Rangefinder which I think will help photographers decide on the best sales solution for selling images online.  If you already have a selling system in place, I think it will provide some food for thought.

After completing my article I asked Tim from PicturesPro if I could evaluate Photo Cart.  I wanted to see just how much PHP or MySQL I would need to know in order to get up to speed and productive with his system.  As I expected, from my experience in installing similar systems, there are only a couple of config changes that you need to make to a setup file prior to and after installion.  Everything else is scripted with a Web based installer and through the Web based administration GUI.

Perhaps I have an advantage that most do not (having software/web development background) but with this experience I feel like I can provide a better guide as to the real level of effort is required to get the system deployed on your host’s servers.  In fact, there are a few templates that you can use right out of the box which offer a reasonably nice looking solution.  I myself would opt for customizing from the start, which consists of pointing to my existing CSS file with a few customizations here and there, and editing some settings through the Admin interface.  So far I have not edited any PHP code or done any customizing of MySQL database. 


In less than a day, I have configured Photo Cart more or less to my liking.  You can see it and play around with it here.


I intend on putting it through the test by using this system for a wedding I’m shooting with my sister-in-law later this month.  I’m also experimenting with Wedding Photography Registries and will report here throughout the month on the results.  If you offer wedding registries on your website, please share your experiences here. 


If you are interested in this system for your own website, take a look here.  Let Tim know that you heard about it from Steve Tout.

Photo Cart by PicturesPro

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I will be reviewing a Beta version of Photo Cart for Tim later this month, and posting a short teaser review here.  So if you are interested in staying on the cutting edge in shopping carts for photographers, check back frequently, or subscribe to my blog through Xanga or a RSS Newsreader.

Happy Birthday to me!

Birthday boy here, with little signs of aging except that I wish I could forget how old I’m getting.  I shouldn’t feel so lonely about it, though.  A couple of my friends had their birthday yesterday, so they feel the pain before I do.  Also me and my sister-in-law are the same age so I know someone must be able to empathize. 

Running made me feel better.  I’ve been running lately, and today I ran 3 miles for an average of 10 minute mile.  I used to run 3-5 miles on the X-Country team in High School, and it seems my body is adapting to the training I used to do back then.  I am trying to get my heart healthy and strong, and to get back to my leaner and stronger self.  Beginning to feel and enjoy the energy and endurance benefits, be it ever so slightly.

It still hasn’t really sunk in that we are moving to Seattle.  I will miss all the flowers Cami and I planted here.  I’m considering digging up a few and taking them with me.  If I don’t, I will have to get a few roses and lavender plants to start anew up north.  Here is a shot of our hollyhocks in (almost) full bloom. 

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It’s gorgeous outside today, it’s supposed to get up to 83, which is about perfect!  There isn’t a cloud in the sky.  Color me happy.  Cami is going to take Molly and I shopping and for a lunch in Clackamas.  I theoretically have the day off from work, but let’s not go there.  Since taking VMware live back in June with their spanking new Oracle Identity & Access management solution they have had fewer problems (thankfully) and everyone is happy including me. 

Time for me to go.  Have a great day!

Keywords

 

Oracle, Oblix, COREid, Oracle COREid, OAM, Oracle Access Management, Identity Management, Access Management, Internet Security, Web Security, Information Security, Architect, Information Security Architect, SOA, Oracle Web Services, Internet Consulting, Security Consulting, Web Services, Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Bay Area, California, West Coast