Thoughtsofanidlemind's Blog

  • Chamonix Serenity

    For the last five days we have been staying at Les Balcons de Savoy (http://www.les-balcons-du-savoy.com/), a four-star apartment residence in Chamonix. Our apartment has two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small sitting room – and best of all, a balcony (hence the name of the residence) overlooking the town of…

  • A gem in Blainville-sur-mer

    We had to pick somewhere to stay in Normandy for our first night in France. The easy decision would be to head to somewhere focused on tourists such as the resorts that service the D-Day beaches on the Manche coast. Indeed, we have stayed at the Chateau la Cheneviere (http://www.lacheneviere.com/en.html)…

  • Irish Ferries to Cherbourg

    Yesterday we took the Irish Ferries vessel “Oscar Wilde” from Rosslare to Cherbourg. I have been travelling  by ferry between Ireland and France since 1973 in fair weather and foul (one particular voyage in force 9 winds sticks in the memory), but this was the first time that I had…

  • “Inside Out” Book submitted but Exchange 2010 SP1 continues to evolve

    After some ten months of work, my Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Inside Out book was submitted to Microsoft Press last Wednesday.  The hard work now begins to edit, format, and complete the content in a form that is suitable for publication. At the same time, I’ll be tracking developments in…

  • Exchange 2010 SP1 Book Update – Getting Close to Initial Completion!

    The need to transform all the screen shots to use approved names for people and servers has slowed things down a tad but I think we are now back on schedule. The manuscript is now circa 437,500 words, mostly because I can’t stop making changes to text as I go…

  • Amlin Challenge Final in Marseille

    Last weekend I traveled to France to be the TV match official for the Amlin Challenge Cup final between Toulon and Cardiff Blues in Marseille. An uneventful flight from Dublin to Paris was followed by an uncharacteristic delay in the TGV station in CDG airport due to a breakdown of…

  • CITA-P accreditation board – Ireland

    Over the last weekend, I spent nearly seventeen hours participating as a board member for the first CITA-P (Professional) accreditation board run in Ireland. CITA-P is an accreditation for practical hands-on architects. The accreditation program is run by IASA, a vendor-neutral organization dedicated to the development and education of IT…

  • Microsoft Press requirements

    This week’s unpleasant surprise was being told by Microsoft Press that the complete text of my Exchange 2010 SP1 book had to be revised. Two issues were identified. First, I had created an environment to run multiple Exchange 2010 servers and test the software. The environment is based on VMware…

  • Chapters eventually flowing

    I haven’t been adding much text to this blog recently but that’s because I was away in France and have been busy submitting the first chapters of my SP1 book to Microsoft Press. The trip to south of France was interesting. We had 3 degree C weather in the Narbonne…

  • ISBN for Exchange 2010 SP1 “Inside Out” Book

    I’ve just been told by Microsoft Press that the official title of my Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Inside Out book and its ISBN are: “Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Inside Out” ISBN 9780735640610 Available for order now at all good booksellers. More details about this and other technical books that you…