Author: Mom

Raiser’s Edge, love, what were you thinking

TL;DR: In the SQL Configuration Manager, set the TCP port to a static one, if is trying to use Dynamic, and remove the Dynamic port. On the Server, go into the Advanced settings for the Firewall, and set Inbound rules for both the TCP and UDP ports, allowing them to connect. On the client, set Outbound rules in the Firewall manager for the same. Support Articles at bottom of post.

So, I do third party tech support for a couple of independent schools. Several of them use a program called Raiser’s Edge to keep track of charitable donations, and solicitations. This is all well and good, and the program certainly does the job, but sometimes it makes you want to down a liter of vodka and go home.

The set up: We had to replace a machine that was hosting a networked install of a Raiser’s Edge database. We didn’t realize it was networked until we got the call that they couldn’t access it from their laptop (crap).

The initial troubleshooting: First, we needed to uninstall RE from the laptop (the client computer). It would not go. Finally decided to reboot the machine to make sure RE was not running anywhere. Suddenly, the uninstall went like a breeze.

Now we needed to install RE from the network share on the server. We can’t connect. That took turning off all the firewalls on both machines to fix, but still, we could not get to the “Deploy” folder, that should have been the only available network share on the machine.

Turns out that the installer does not set that folder to be “Available” across the network. There was no documentation for that. Set it to “Available” and boom. I can see the network share.

Run the setup.

Install RE.

Try to run RE.

Start getting database errors. Native Error 17 – Can’t connect to the Database. Call Support and they say “Yeah, its probably the firewall.”

I was too irritated to tell them there was no firewall turned on, at first, but when I mentioned it, they said that it was possible an antivirus had blocked the ports needed. Go to this KB article and open the ports.

Yeah. Fine.

I go through the directions, figure out that SQL has a dynamic port, and follow the directions for that configuration. It doesn’t work. Fantastic.

Finally, Darling Husband o’Mine says, “Why don’t you specify the port it uses?”

So in the end, this is what worked:

  • In the SQL Configuration Manager, set the IPALL port to 1433
  • Stop and restart the SQL service/reboot the machine (I wound up rebooting, but YMMV).
  • On the Server, in Firewall Management, under Advanced Settings, set up Inbound Rules for the following:
    • TCP port 1433 open (or some open port)
    • UDP port 1434 open
  • On the Client, set up Outbound Rules for the following:
    • TCP port 1433 open (or whatever port you used on the server. THEY HAVE TO MATCH)
    • UDP port 1434 open
  • Install RE on the client machine from the Deploy share on the Server.
  • Test the connections.

If any of this makes no sense, here is the supporting documentation for all of it:

Good luck, and may the force be with you on this one.

My new camera lens

Yesterday was spent at the Boston Museum of Science with the Mystic Joneses. Today, we took Beta back for the thing she loves most: The Butterfly Garden. (We couldn’t go yesterday because it was sold out. Pro-tip, avoid the MOS on Federal Holidays at all costs.)

For my birthday I got something I’ve been wanting for a while: a set of lenses for my phone. I went a little nuts with the macro lens. I can’t even say I’m sorry about it.

These butterflies fake being owls. Very successfully.
These butterflies fake being owls. Very successfully. There is a husband in the background for scale.
you cannot see me
This guy was just hanging out, playing the You-Can’t-See-Me game. Poorly.

Most of these were taken from just a couple of inches away. The butterflies and moths in this exhibit are so relaxed around people, its is amazing.

pretty white
Caught this butterfly mid-flutter. Very lucky shot.

I played with my settings, and found out that trying to use the macro lens on butterflies on swaying branches was a guaranteed failure.

The details I managed to get were astounding, though.

curled tongue
You can even see his little curled-up tongue!

Some pictures came out with some real drama. You can almost see his scales!

yummy flower
This guy was hanging out and sipping from the flowers.

I am really pleased with these little lenses.

battle hardened
This little guy has been pretty beaten up. I’m guessing he’s a couple days old.

And of course, I had to do a gratuitous, super-close-up of a flower. For Reasons.

pink flower

First Snow of the Year

bendy_trees
These trees normally stand straight. They did not last night.

This winter has been kind of a bust as far as snow goes. Thursday I was wandering around in a t-shirt because it was 60 degrees! And then The Snow Came. The kids had a snow day, I worked from home, and Dad decided to go into the office. He was sad that he missed the traditional breakfast of all snow days, french toast. I explained that you only get french toast if you stay home. Its in the rules. Really.

The snow is that heavy, wet kind that takes out trees. We only lost the one branchOops (at the front of the stairs, just for the extra drama), so it could have been much worse. After Dad got home (I made him send me a Glympse so I could watch him drive home), we decided to go out and brave the roads to honor our family tradition of Friday Night at the Mall (don’t ask. I don’t know how it started). We got dinner and toddled off to Newbury Comics to see what they had.

Dad and Alpha settling in to wait for Beta and I to finish. It was a while.
Dad and Alpha settling in to wait for Beta and I to finish. It was a while.

We had a grand time. Beta found some quidditch goggles, and had enough money for them, so now she is their proud owner. I found so much stuff I would love to own, but I don’t want to actually pay for/store somewhere in my house. Alpha swears she loves comics, but she never seems to find the one that sings to her. I’m waiting for her to discover Sandman.

The drive home was beautiful, because the trees were all spangled with snow. They glowed in the headlights. There were a few new branches on the ground, which was a little nerve-wracking, but it looks if it was going to fall, it has.

This afternoon, Dad had to go down to Willimantic to help out one of his old clients. Of course, we stopped by Panera first for lunch (because Panera). He left from there, and I wandered down to a display of snow pants on clearance. On the day after a snow storm. I love how this works.

One pair of snow pants for Alpha later, I dragged the girls and Beta’s friend Lambda out to sled. First at the Senior Center here in town (which seems to be frequented by the little kids), and then Woburn Street School. They had the whole place to themselves, and spent about an hour blazing trails, building jumps, and sledding.

Girls

Much fun was had.

 

Best response ever

Us: We are going to the Bookstore! Do you guys want to come?
Children: NO! (They didn’t even look up from their computers.)
Us: If you’re sneaky, you may get to see your Christmas presents!
Beta: I don’t want to see them. If I do, they’ll turn into underwear!
Us:
Beta: I know that’s not true, but I don’t want to risk it.

Aspen How-to for Smart People

First: Find the email from the school. You can search your inbox for the name “Aspen Help”

Screenshot 2015-09-03 20.32.34

In that email, there is a username and password. I never change mine, because I am a ditz and will forget it if I do.

Screenshot 2015-09-03 20.32.11

Awesome. Keys to the kingdom and all that.

The URL for aspen is: https://ma-wilmington.myfollett.com/aspen/home.do but you can get to it from any of the schools’ websites (http://wpsk12.com/wms/).

Let the insanity begin.

Log in with the credentials they gave you.

Now we’re in the insanity that is the home page. It is almost as useless as you think. In case they dump you on a weird page other than the Home page, just click the “Home” button.

Screenshot 2015-09-03 20.33.38

To do the Emergency Info thing, you need to scroll down the page to see the “Tasks” area. Its below the To Do section.

Screenshot 2015-09-03 20.38.18

Click on Initiate. Because this makes so much sense.

At this point a dialog pops up with this totally sensible window. First one we’ve seen, right? Guess how you kick it off. Go ahead. (I gave you an arrow to help.)

Screenshot 2015-09-03 20.34.36

At this point, you’re in. There are several windows that need to be filled out. It won’t let you click Finish until they are complete, but it does tell you what still needs doing.

If you need to do more than one kiddo, you go back to the first dialog and click on the Search thingie to get the list of kids.

Hope this helps!

Patriots Days in Concord (Day 1)

The morning dawned bright and clear, and the weather prediction called for a warm and gorgeous day. We decided that today was the day to take off and go learn some history! We packed the kids and the dog into the car, and off we went.

The first stop was the North Bridge. We missed the excitement at Miriam’s Corner, but had fun walking around the bridge and seeing just how full the river is. I can see why going around the bridge wasn’t really an option back in the day!

The flooding at the North Bridge was extensive!
The flooding at the North Bridge was extensive!
Butter is on the alert!

On our way up to the Visitor’s Center we ran into a very friendly dog. “Mort” was out without a leash, and apparently without an owner! Butter thought he was great fun, and they had a good time playing. We managed to catch him, and I leashed him with the strap from my bag (army map cases rock, and I highly recommend them). Fortunately, Mort’s family put their phone number on his collar,  so we were able to call them. Their first comment, “We thought he was inside!” We met them up at the Visitor’s Center, and Mort the Houdini Dog went on home like a  good boy.

There was one event I really wanted to see today, and that was the ceremony that commemorated the end of Paul Revere‘s ride (but not the end of the ride of William Dawes or of Dr. Samuel Prescott). The drive from Concord to Lincoln takes you past The Old Manse, Orchard House, and The Wayside. Once we got into Lincoln, the site of the ceremony was easy to find. Revere was caught on the road to Concord, after all.

The Minute Men arrive.
The Minute Men arrive.

There was a dramatic reading of “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” by “Mr. Longfellow,” along with “Mr. Revere” and a “British Captain” calling him out when he got fast and loose with the facts (he called it “poetic license”). All in all, it was fun.

We got home in plenty of time to make dinner, and we were all tired. It was a fantastic day, and there is more to do next weekend! I can’t wait!

monument
Alpha and Beta sitting at the base of the monument marking the position of the British. There is an insane amount of water behind them. If it gets much higher, the bridge will be an island.

 

 

Jonesey’s Enchiladas

Quinn used to work at Margarita’s in Mystic. (Its a great place for pretty standard Mexican food. The stories that came out of that place are legendary.) He loves cooking Mexican food. I’m … okay at it. Tonight, we came up with something epic.

Ingredients:

  • hamburger (about a pound and  a half was pretty good)
  • two handfuls of cheese
  • two dollops of salsa
  • 12 tortillas
  • green enchilada sauce
  • sour cream and more cheese for garnishes
  • chilies for more garnishes

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Brown the ground beef. When it is cooked completely, remove it from the heat and drain the grease.
  3. Mix in the cheese and salsa.
  4. Spoon the mixture into the tortillas, rolling them and placing them in a 9×13″ pan. Keep going until the pan is full or you run out of filling.
  5. Pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil when there is about 5 minutes left on the timer.
  6. Scoop out the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese (and chilies if desired), and dump some sour cream on them for good measure.
  7. Eat!

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They remembered the fires. The pounding of the hammer. The freezing cold of the water, and then the finishing touches. The man filing the rough edges, and checking their locks.

They remembered the arms of the man. They’d held his arms high over his head, while the whip came down again and again. They remembered being left where everyone could see. They hadn’t been cleaned.

They remembered the arms of the woman. She tried to stop the man from taking the boy away. They’d held her, and she stayed. He left. She cursed them, and the man. He took them off when the bleeding stopped.

They remembered the day they wound up in the tree. The people sang all around. The big white house sat quiet, the family pretending not to hide inside. The man took them from their hook, and flung them, end over end, up into the tree. And they stayed there. It was nice to be out of sight.

The rain came, and washed them clean. The snow came with the cold, like the waters before. The summer heat came and went, and the cold came again. The tree began to swallow them. It felt good to be held, not to hold. Winds came, and more rain. More cold, and more heat.

Things changed around them. The white house was empty. There was no more screaming or singing or crying. It was quiet. They liked that.

Then the singing started again, but different. People came, but no one noticed them so high up in the tree, almost one with it. Just a little longer.

The people dragged the white house away. The tree grew. Now only one of them remained. The other was inside, held like they held so many. They would be together again soon. The tree would keep them forever out of sight.

The lady came one more time. She looked at the tree, and was glad. The chains that held were gone, surrounded by green new life. And it was good.

Pork Chops and Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups of rice
  • 3 cups of water
  • half a spoonful of minced/chopped garlic
  • half a spoonful of chicken bullion

Place all above ingredients in a rice cooker, and kick it off. It should be done in about 25 minutes

  • 1/2 inch thick Pork chops
  • 1 Tbsp butter for each chop
  • Italian breadcrumbs (about a cup)
  • Parmesan cheese (enough to add some yellow to the bread crumbs)

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Heat a large, oven safe skillet on the stove over about low-medium heat.
  3. On a plate, mix the Parmesan and the bread crumbs.
  4. On another, microwave-safe, plate melt the butter
  5. Dip the pork chops in the butter on both sides, and then dredge through the breadcrumbs. Place them on the nice, hot skillet.
  6. Once they are all on the skillet, give them a couple of minutes, and then flip them all over. Cook them for another 3 or 4 minutes.
  7. Place the whole skillet in the oven for 15 minutes (for 1″ chops, 25 minutes).

Serve with the rice, applesauce, and some green veggies. Makes as many chops as you need.