kaese

tech, life, panda bears

look, I get it. getting MDT compatibility working every time there’s a new version of windows 10 is NOT a fun time for developers. there are so many nooks and crannies in code to consider, and I don’t envy that team.

HOWEVER.

I am amazed at the inconsistencies when using MDT each and every version of windows 10. 1607, especially LTSB, was a breeze. 1809, not so bad. just removed a bunch of store apps using powershell and things shook out okay. 1909, well that was a bit of a bitch with the store apps. but I was able to automate more stuff thanks to the power of REG IMPORT and other neat things. then came 20H2/2009…

I did my normal stuff. copied the templates from last year, applied the new base ISO for 20H2, then configured a VM to take the new build. after I set up everything on the VM how I like, the capture wouldn’t work. it literally would say it completed but did NOTHING after freezing on the “configure” task and happily breezing past the rest of the task sequence. what do? well, apparently there are capture bugs where legacy BIOS doesn’t work anymore. I downloaded and applied the new DLL’s recommended by microsoft. did that fix it? NOPE.

after several failures, I decided to build out my first EFI virtual machine. not that tough. vmware is pretty good about options. I sent the build out again. configured what I needed to. ran the capture. it failed. well, just dandy. built it again, as a base image, no configs, and captured. IT WORKED. now what? I need all my pretty configurations and applications.

so I built the VM from base, again. and messed with it a little. capture worked. great! except… I didn’t do one of my primary application installations in my rush to test. no problem; I’ll just do that and capture just like before. BUT IT FAILED. after it rebooted post sysprep, it just loaded back into windows!!! what the fuuuuuuuuuuu-

so I said screw this, I’m going to start again again (again), and booted into PXE. but DO YOU KNOW WHAT STARTED ON ITS OWN? the “create WIM” task. okay. so it’s something to do with reboots? after doing some reading on reddit, I felt better about my deduction.

THE CONCLUSION: before I start my sysprep and capture task sequence, I wipe out ALL customsettings.ini EXCEPT:
[Settings]
Priority=TaskSequenceID, Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty

[Default]
SkipDomainMembership=YES
SkipProductKey=YES
SkipComputerBackup=NO
DoCapture=YES
SkipCapture=NO
SkipAdminPassword=YES
FinishAction=Shutdown
SLShareDynamicLogging=\\address\deploymentshare$\Logs\%OSDComputerName%
EventService=http://address
ComputerBackupLocation=%DEPLOYROOT%\Captures


Then I have to set the VM to boot to the BIOS menu on next reboot, so I can manually choose PXE, to properly capture the WIM. THEN I start the sysprep and capture task sequence. whyyyyyy?!?!? I DON’T KNOW. but this is what I’m doing now.

ya know, the inconsistencies in windows 10 are astounding. with my current responsibilities, I constantly struggle with configuring and deploying software thanks to the ever-evolving landscape that is the microsoft hellbeast, windows 10. don’t even get me started on store apps.

but we’re here to focus on windows 10 and its interaction with office 2016. “2016?” you may guffaw. well, we have some apps that still prefer the old school MSI style of installations. not my pig, not my farm. what IS MY PIG and THE FARM I WANT TO BURN DOWN are the interactions with windows 10 versions and office 2016.

it started simple enough – build out a new MSP (using the microsoft office customization tool) that basically matches 2013’s, test, keep moving forward.

THE WRENCH: office 2016/windows 10 doesn’t care to have a folder in the start menu that contains all office products. why? I dunno. my boss always says it’s because there are so many different developer teams in microsoft and they don’t talk to each other lol.

THE SOLUTION: create my own start menu folder and stick the shortcuts all in there. works! under additional content > configure shortcuts, I created new program shortcuts under [ProgramMenuFolder]\Microsoft Office 2016. now all the office programs would be contained in a folder called Microsoft Office 2016, instead of them loose in the start menu, alphabetically taunting me. WEIRD SIDE NOTE: when adding or modifying the shortcut entry, I kept getting an error that I had to fill out the “start in” field. but I didn’t need anything there?!?! I had to put an open straight bracket [ in that field for it to save. harmless, apparently. and it worked after that.

THE STORM OF BULLSHIT: testing went great. I used my own machine and several others to test. but you know what we never really focused on? outlook 2016 toast notifications. toast notifications? yes, the notifications that slide over from the notification center are called toast notifications. hamilton gets stuck in my head every time I say it. related: I’m not always satisfied with microsoft. har har.

back to the toast. they work fine on my machine. I meeeeeean, a little awkwardly because the notifying app is called “microsoft.office.outlook.exe.16” which is laughable. we blame this once again on development teams not talking to each other. or the fact that microsoft straight-up doesn’t care about MSI installs and only wants us to use click-to-run/store apps. hey, I’m not bitter. you’re bitter. shut up.

why in the world would the outlook 2016 toasts work for me but not others? I built this office 2016 creature. I tended to it, I coaxed it to do my bidding, and as far as my tests showed, everything was great. but guess what? I’m on windows 10 SAC 1909. others are on SAC 1809. and this… this is the problem. an operating system that reacts differently based on a feature update. I found a fantastic ITninja post by ondrar, where he had done the same thing – customized his office 2016 installation to create an office 2016 folder in the start menu, and have all the shortcuts in there. he said one of the requirements for HIS version of windows 10 (1709) was to make sure the icons were in the root of the start menu. using that as a testing scenario, I proved it out on my SAC 1809 build. and against all rational thought, ondrar was right. when I did a basic, uncustomized office 2016 install with all the damn shortcuts FLOATING AROUND THE START MENU LIKE THEY’D LOST THEIR WAY HOME, the toast notifications worked. they worked.

where does this leave me? either making a mess of the start menu, or furiously working to feature-update those on 1809. thanks, microsoft.

I had 1.5lbs of fresh brussels sprouts to cook and thought I’d give my instant pot a other chance to shine. what a horrible idea. though in this recipe she warns about lessening cook time to accommodate more veggies (the recipe is for 1lb), she also said 2-3 minutes is a good range for 1lb. I thought doing 2 minutes would be just fine. I was wrong. basically made mashed sprouts. I don’t know if I had more liquid on the veggies or something? I’m going to try this again but only with a steamer basket.god know why I didn’t think of that before this dinner debacle. I’ll tell you one thing, though – next test, I won’t be putting all my sprouts in the same basket.

Instant Pot Brussels Sprouts

chocolate protein pancake meh

perfect keto is one of my new favorite finds. they have some really unique keto snacks and treats, and great powders to get you going. if you’re interested, head over to their site to check them out.

I tried cutting this waffle recipe into a third since it was just me… and I must have fucked up. these tasted like baking powder which is pretty gross. I get that you need a leavening agent but c’mon. next time, I’m going to try whipping the egg whites for fluff and using less baking powder. to be continued.

https://perfectketo.com/chocolate-collagen-keto-waffles

chicken helper of sorts

https://www.campbells.com/kitchen/recipes/one-pot-chicken-parmesan-peppercorn-pasta

I’m adding a bag of frozen mixed vegetables because I need more healthy stuff in a heavy dish like this. I’m using egg noodles as the pasta and leaving out the extra pepper. I’ll definitely add some freshly minced garlic after cooking the onions. oh, speaking of, I’ll cook the onions first because I prefer a softer onion in my food. I can’t really get into the crunch of something in an otherwise softer dish. weird.

from the website:

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup or Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth
8 ounces (about 2 2/3 cups) uncooked penne pasta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips

Directions
Season the chicken. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until tender-crisp, adding the garlic for the last 1 minute of the cooking time, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the soup and broth. Stir in the penne and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 15 minutes or until the penne is tender and the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with the cheese, black pepper and basil.

pressure cooked cheesy ranch chicken

https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/instant-pot-crack-chicken

I had a pack of chicken breast and a pack of chicken thighs with NO MOTIVATION to cook at all. I remembered I had some homemade ranch seasoning and figured all of these things together would make a great dish. originally I was going to bake them but I really didn’t want to deal with prepping chicken. enter our savior, the instant pot!

slapped it all together, turned on the pressure cooker, then had the MOST EXTREME NEED TO PEE that I’ve ever remembered having. so weird. anyway it’s cooking right now and I’m sure it’ll be legit.

baked tuna & pan-seared asparagus

https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/sheet-pan-lemon-herb-tuna-steaks-and-potatoes

https://www.thespruceeats.com/pan-roasted-asparagus-lemon-garlic-102169

well. let me tell you how to fuck up tuna steak. the recipe said to roast at 450 degrees for 6 minutes, then flip and roast another 6. but I was trying to schedule dinner and decided I would do 425 degrees, 8 minutes each. I ended up turning off the heat 2 minutes early on the second side and left it in the oven for a few minutes. it wasn’t horribly dry but it was cooked all the way through. no lovely pink in the middle. thoroughly disappointing. the asparagus was on point, though.

I took the remaining cooked tuna and made it into tuna salad for sandwiches. that’s how unimpressed I was with my cooking. bleh.

peanut butter cookies

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10275/classic-peanut-butter-cookies

I’ve really been craving peanut butter lately… so much so that I’ve been taking a spoonful of creamy jif randomly. I thought it might be a good idea to get rid of some aging staples in the home like flour, sugar, and eggs. what better way to use up baking supplies and get a PB fix?

dunno how these will turn out but I know I shouldn’t have rushed the fridge time. since I only let the dough refrigerate for about 20 minutes, the balls were too soft when I pushed the fork into them. they smooshed and gripped onto the fork. I’m sure they’ll still be delicious, just maybe not the prettiest cookies.

I’d intended to use half coconut flour and half white flour but I forgot so this is a completely carbolicious treat. and I’m officially out of crunchy peanut butter!whoops.

stuffed pepper casserole

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/undone-stuffed-pepper-casserole-115888.aspx

when I’m feeling lazy about stuffed peppers, I’ll do a casserole instead. it’s easier to cook, easier to eat, and easier to reheat. now that I think about it, why am I bothering with the OG stuffed pepper? hmmmm.

I used my dutch oven to combine all ingredients and also to bake. and also for storage. this is just a win-win-win.

andre the giant ate a ton of this and didn’t seem to get tired of the leftovers. bonus, because it makes quite a lot of food.

myspace blags

you guys I just found the zip file with all my old myspace blogs and I am TOTALLY POSTING THEM ON THIS SITE. omg they’re so horrible. pretty boring, too. I think I’ll post three or four at a time. a lot of them are really, really short. side note, I complained a lot when I was younger. maybe I complain a lot now but it doesn’t seem that way because it’s about different stuff? bleh. anyway, MYSPACE BLOGS OMG