I have setup my partitions where I have a 15GB / root partition and the remaining space being partitioned and mounted as /home. This allows me to easily reinstall without formatting my home drive and be practically back to where I left off prior to installing.

This release is a little bit different as the previous version Ubuntu 9.10 installed the latest GRUB2 and with that, the ability to boot iso images without needing a cd.

Steps to booting an ISO using GRUB2

• First off we need to copy the iso onto you partition that won’t be being formatted. In my case this is my /home partition
• Next reboot your computer and hold down “shift” to enter the grub boot menu.
• assuming you have copied the iso image on the root of your partition ie I have copied mine to /home you may need to adjust the partition number and path. Enter the following in grub console mode
  • insmod ext2
  • set root=(hd0,7)
  • loopback loop /ubuntu-10.04-desktop-amd64.iso
  • linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=/ubuntu-10.04-desktop-amd64.iso noeject noprompt –
  • initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.lz
• Your system should boot up into the LiveCD. once the system boots up and you start the installer you may notice the installer complains that it cannot make changes to the disk without having first unmounted all partitions. At first this proves difficult because the partition is being used to boot the iso remembering my /home partition will be left unformatted and has the iso on it. To fix this problem simply unmount the isodevice mount by opening a terminal an issuing the following command
  “sudo umount -l -r -f /isodevice”

This solution will save even more time in installing Linux. This solution can be taken one step further by creating a handy USB drive which can boot many different iso’s.

Microsoft provides a built in stored proc to find the the size of one table but no ease way to determine the sizes of all tables

the “sp_spaceused” stored proc returns the following table results

• name: Table name for which space usage information was requested
• rows: Number of rows existing in the table
• reserved: Total amount of reserved space for table data and indexes
• data: Amount of space used by table data
• index_size: Amount of space used by table indexes
• unused: Total amount of space reserved for table but no yet used

below I have used a CURSOR to loop through each table a the database and return the results for all tables

DECLARE @dtTableSize TABLE
(
    Name varchar(100),
    Rows varchar(100),
    reserved varchar(50),
    data varchar(50),
    index_size varchar(50),
    unused varchar(50)
)

DECLARE @name varchar(1000)

DECLARE Size_Cursor CURSOR FOR 

select [name] from dbo.sysobjects
where  OBJECTPROPERTY(id, N'IsUserTable') = 1

OPEN Size_Cursor

FETCH NEXT FROM Size_Cursor INTO @name

WHILE (@@Fetch_Status >= 0)
BEGIN
    INSERT  @dtTableSize EXEC sp_spaceused @name
    FETCH NEXT FROM Size_Cursor INTO @name
END

CLOSE Size_Cursor
DEALLOCATE Size_Cursor

Select * from @dtTableSize order by data desc

· Set IP Address: <Nic> <Dynamic or Static> <IP> <mask> <gateway>

o Netsh interface ip set address “Local Area Connection” static 192.168.10.10 255.255.255.0 192.168.10.1

· Set DNS <dns server ip>

o Netsh interface ip set dnsserver “Local Area Connection” static 192.168.10.10

· Rename Computer:

o Netdom renamecomputer <computername> /newname:<newcomputername>

· Join domain: please note paswordD should have two “D’s” because you are specifying a Domain password

o Netdom join <computername> /domain:<FQDN> /userD:<domain admin> /passwordD:<domain password> <or “*”>

· Enable Remote Administration

o netsh firewall set service RemoteAdmin ENABLE

· Set Firewall

o Netsh firewall set icmpsetting 8 ENABLE

o Netsh firewall set opmode ENABLE

· Map Network Drive:

o net use [DriveLetter] \\Computername\ShareName
DriveLetter = D: E: F: Whatever you have available. Please omit the brackets when defining the driveletter
Configuration and installation

Task

Steps

Set the local administrative password

At a command prompt, type:

Net user administrator *

Join a computer to a domain

1.   At a command prompt, type on one line:

Netdom join %computername% /domain:<domain> /userd:<domain>\username> /password:*

2.   Restart the computer.

Confirm that the domain has changed

At a command prompt, type:

Set

Remove a computer from a domain

At a command prompt, type:

Netdom remove

Add a user to the local Administrators group.

At a command prompt, type:

Net localgroup Administrators /add <domain>\<username>

Remove a user from the local Administrators group

At a command prompt, type:

Net localgroup Administrators /delete <domain\username>

Add a user to the local computer

At a command prompt, type:

Net user <domain\user name> /add *

Add a group to the local computer

At a command prompt, type:

Net localgroup <group name> /add

Change the name of a domain-joined computer

At a command prompt, type:

Netdom renamecomputer %computername% /NewName:<new computer name> /userd:<domain\username> /password:*

Confirm the new computer name

At a command prompt, type:

Set

Change the name of a computer in a work group

1.   At a command prompt, type:

Netdom renamecomputer <currentcomputername> /NewName:<newcomputername>

2.   Restart the computer.

Disable paging file management

At a command prompt, type:

Wmic computersystem where name=”<computername>” set AutomaticManagedPagefile=False

Configure the paging file

At a command prompt, type:

Wmic pagefileset where name=”<path/filename>” set InitialSize=<initialsize>,MaximumSize=<maxsize>

Where:

path/filename is the path to and name of the paging file

initialsize is the starting size of the paging file in bytes.

maxsize is the maximum size of the page file in bytes.

Change to a static IP address.

1.   At a command prompt, type:

Ipconfig /all

2.   Record the relevant information or redirect it to a text file (ipconfig /all >ipconfig.txt).

3.   At a command prompt, type:

Netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces

4.   Verify that there is an interface list.

5.   At a command prompt, type:

Netsh interface ipv4 set address name <ID from interface list> source=static address=<preferred IP address> gateway=<gateway address>

6.   Verify by typing Ipconfig /all at a command prompt and checking that DHCP enabled is set to No.

Set a static DNS address.

1.   At a command prompt, type:

Netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name=<name of primary DNS server> address=<IP address of the primary DNS server> index=1

2.   At a command prompt, type:

Netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name=<name of secondary DNS server> address=<IP address of the secondary DNS server> index=2

3.   Repeat as appropriate to add additional servers.

4.   Verify by typing Ipconfig /all and checking that all the addresses are correct.

Change to a DHCP-provided IP address from a static IP address.

1.   At a command prompt, type:

Netsh interface ipv4 set address name=<IP address of local system> source=DHCP

2.   Verify by typing Ipconfig /all and checking that DCHP enabled is set to Yes.

Activate the server locally.

At a command prompt, type:

Slmgr.vbs -ato

Activate the server remotely.

1.   At a command prompt, type:

Cscript slmgr.vbs -ato <servername> <username> <password>

2.   Retrieve the GUID of the computer by typing Cscript slmgr.vbs -did

3.   Type Cscript slmgr.vbs -dli <GUID>

4.   Verify that License status is set to Licensed (activated).

Networking and firewall

Task

Steps

Configure your server to use a proxy server.

At a command prompt, type:

Netsh Winhttp set proxy <servername>:<port number>

Configure your server to bypass the proxy for internet addresses.

At a command prompt, type:

Netsh winttp set proxy <servername>:<port number>bypass-list=”<local>”

Display or modify IPSEC configuration.

At a command prompt, type:

Netsh ipsec

Display or modify NAP configuration.

At a command prompt, type:

Netsh nap

Display or modify IP to physical address translation.

At a command prompt, type:

Arp

Display or configure the local routing table.

At a command prompt, type:

Route

View or configure DNS server settings.

At a command prompt, type:

Nslookup

Display protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections.

At a command prompt, type:

Netstat

Display protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT).

At a command prompt, type:

Nbtstat

Display hops for network connections.

At a command prompt, type:

Pathping

Trace hops for network connections.

At a command prompt, type:

Tracert

Display the configuration of the multicast router.

At a command prompt, type:

Mrinfo

Enable remote administration of the firewall.

At a command prompt, type:

Netsh firewall set service remoteadmin enable

Updates, error reporting, and feedback

Task

Steps

Install an update.

At a command prompt, type:

Wusa <update>.msu /quiet

Remove an update.

1.   Type at a command prompt:

Expand /f:* <update>.msu c:\test

2.   Navigate to c:\test\ and open <update>.xml in a text editor.

3.   In <update>.xml, replace Install with Remove and save the file.

4.   At a command prompt, type:

Pkgmgr /n:<update>.xml

Configure automatic updates.

At a command prompt:

· · To verify the current setting, type:

Cscript scregedit.wsf /AU /v

· · To enable automatic updates, type:

Cscript scregedit.wsf /AU /4

· · To disable automatic updates, type:

Cscript scregedit.wsf /AU /1

Enable error reporting.

At a command prompt:

· · To verify the current setting, type: ServerWerOptin /query

· · To automatically send detailed reports, type:

ServerWerOptin /detailed

· · To automatically send summary reports, type:

ServerWerOptin /summary

· · To disable error reporting, type: ServerWerOptin /disable

Participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).

At a command prompt:

· · To verify the current setting, type:

ServerCEIPOptin /query

· · To enable CEIP, type:

ServerCEIPOptin /enable

· · To disable CEIP, type:

ServerCEIPOptin /disable

Services, processes, and performance

Task

Steps

List the running services.

At a command prompt, type either of the following:

· · Sc query

· · Net start

Start a service.

At a command prompt, type either of the following:

· · SC start <service name>

· · Net start <service name>

Stop a service.

At a command prompt, type either of the following:

· · SC stop <service name>

· · Net stop <service name>

Retrieve a list of running applications and associated processes.

At a command prompt, type:

Tasklist

Stop a process forcibly.

1.   Use the Tasklist command to retrieve the process ID (PID).

2.   At a command prompt, type:

Taskkill /PID <process ID>

Start Task Manager.

At a command prompt, type:

Taskmgr

Manage the performance counters and logging with commands such as typeperf, logman, relog, tracerprt.

See http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=84872

Event logs

Task

Steps

List event logs.

At a command prompt, type:

Wevtutil el

Query events in a specified log.

At a command prompt, type:

Wevtutil qe /f:text <log name>

Export an event log.

At a command prompt, type:

Wevtutil epl <log name>

Clear an event log.

At a command prompt, type:

Wevtutil cl <log name>

Disk and file system

Task

Steps

Manage disk partitions.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Diskpart /?

Manage software RAID.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Diskraid /?

Manage volume mount points.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

mountvol /?

Defragment a volume.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Defrag /?

Convert a volume to the NTFS file system.

At a command prompt, type:

Convert <volume letter> /FS:NTFS

Compact a file.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Compact /?

Administer open files.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Openfiles /?

Administer VSS folders.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Vssadmin /?

Administer the file system.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Fsutil /?

Verify a file signature.

At a command prompt, type:

Sigverif /?

Take ownership of a file or folder.

For a complete list of commands, at a command prompt, type:

Icacls /?

Hardware

Task

Steps

Add a driver for a new hardware device.

1.   Copy the driver to a folder at %homedrive%\<driver folder>.

2.   At a command prompt, type:

pnputil -i -a %homedrive%\<driver folder>\<driver>.inf

Remove a driver for a hardware device.

1.   For a list of loaded drivers, at a command prompt, type:

Sc query type= driver

2.   At the command prompt, type:

Sc delete <service_name>

I have put together a list of question to ask when dealing with agents, these question are broken down in to two type; contact by Phone or contact Face to Face ie: at the property inspection or open house.

Contacting the Agent by Phone Questions:

• Location, address
• any Strata Fees or is it torrens title
• Council Rates
• Facing (north)
• Age of building
• Size Sq meters
• Parking, carport or lock up garage
• Is is Tenanted, How Much
• How long has it been on the market for

Inspecting the Property at an Open House Questions:

• Expected price range
• any Strata Fees or is it torrens title
• Council Rates
• Age of building
• Size Sq meters
• Tenanted How Much?
• How long has it been on the market for
• Why? What’s the Motivation for selling
• Water Supply Common under Strata
• Does it have GAS, Supply Common under Strata?
• is there a Shared Laundry or private
• Visitors Parking
• Sewer Diagram (line)
• any Contract or Easements allowing other access through block
• Any up coming Developments in the area eg: a new Highway through the middle of the property

Things to consider when buying a property

• affordability, can you really afford this
• stamp duty
• safety
• nice neighborhood/visually appealing
• good schools in the area
• mature trees
• walkablility
• low traffic street or quiet cul de sac
• low maintenance exterior
• well-maintained
• sufficient storage, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage space
• easy access to highway and airport
• closer to the kind of employment career that you do

Home Loan Questions

• Setup Fee, it is deferred
• Ongoing fees, monthly fees
• can you make additional repayments
• is there a redraw facility or offset account
• can split fixed / variable interest
• is there an Early Termination Payout what is the period %
• redraw fee
• Self Employed

What I look for when buying a home

• Air-conditioning, I prefer ducted aircon = reserve $10g’s to fit and install
• kitchen large enough to have 3 people in it close to living room and dining = $20g’s to renovate
• location, close to work schools and parks
• prefer 1 extra bathroom = add $10g’s to renovate
• 3 bedroom, at least 2 built-ins = $1g per room to install built-ins
• hallway storage space for blankets and towels
• laundry large enough to install ironing board
• potential for outside decking and Jacuzzi
• area to place my treadmill and gym
• garage or car space for at least two cars
• place to store power tools eg a shed or in a garage
• neighbours, high fences concealing views, no double story windows peering into yard
• windows peering into neighbours windows
• street light, loud exhausts taking off from the lights interrupt sleep
• close to some shops, within 8 minutes walk
• look for finishings, mouldings, down lights etc.. $10g’s
• total block size greater than 370sqms
• no power lines or easements
• remember add stamp duty to the price

This requirement required that all network card drivers were installed and thus creating a one size fits all bootable ISO which could then be used to “net use” a remote network share and start the installation of Windows 2008.

This is the script I came up with. Its fairly simple. all you have to do is download the network drivers from the BTS download page here: http://driverpacks.net/driverpacks/windows/xp/x86/lan you can also download eg mass storage drivers if required.

Requirements:

1. Download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit form the Microsoft website.

2. download and extract the required drivers ie network drivers from the above link

3. Copy the contents of this script into a .bat file

4. modify the loaction of the drivers

5. run the script.

REM x86 or amd64

Set Arch=x86

Set PEBase=%userprofile%\Desktop\WinPE-%Arch%

Set Drivers=%userprofile%\Desktop\Drivers

if Exist "%PEBase%" goto :End

Set WAIKBase=c:\Program Files\Windows AIK

Set ImageX="%WAIKBase%\Tools\%Arch%\imagex.exe"

Set PeImg="%WAIKBase%\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe"

Set oscdimg="%WAIKBase%\Tools\PETools\oscdimg.exe"

Echo.

Echo Copying basic PE to %PEBase%

Echo ======================================

call "%WAIKBase%\Tools\PETools\copype.cmd" %Arch% %PEBase%

cd /d %PEBase%

Echo.

Echo Mounting the basic wim to the mount directory under %PEBase%

Echo ===========================================================================

%ImageX% /mountrw winpe.wim 1 mount

Echo.

Echo Copying %ImageX% to %PEBase%\iso\

Echo ==========================================

copy %ImageX% %PEBase%\iso\

Echo.

Echo Installing Pachages

Echo ===================

%peimg% /install=WinPE-XML-Package %PEBase%\mount\windows

%peimg% /install=WinPE-HTA-Package %PEBase%\mount\windows

%peimg% /install=WinPE-WMI-Package %PEBase%\mount\windows

%peimg% /install=WinPE-Scripting-Package %PEBase%\mount\windows

%peimg% /list %PEBase%\mount\windows

Echo.

Echo Installing Drivers

Echo ==================

FOR /F %%a IN ('dir /s /b "%Drivers%\*.inf"') DO (%peimg% /inf="%%a" %PEBase%\mount\windows)

Echo.

Echo Prepare the image for saving

Echo ============================

%peimg% /prep %PEBase%\mount /f

Echo.

Echo Save the image

Echo ==============

%ImageX% /unmount %PEBase%\mount /commit

Echo.

Echo Copying saved image to ISO directory

Echo ====================================

xcopy %PEBase%\winpe.wim %PEBase%\iso\sources\boot.wim /y

Echo.

Echo Creating ISO image

Echo ==================

%oscdimg% -n -h -b%PEBase%\etfsboot.com %PEBase%\iso %PEBase%\..\WinPE-%Arch%.iso

Echo.

Echo Cleaning up directories - Removing...

Echo =====================================

RD /s /q %PEBase%

pause

:End

exit

The delivery method was to use Altiris to  deploy to numerous servers at once.

This script uses the Altitis WlogEvents.exe to pass back error and informational status to Altiris for collection and evaluation.

Although this configures HttpS and binds the site to an https IP address I am yet to configure the script to assign the correct Certificate to the site

Code Below…

REM Configure IIS Settings

Set AppPool=AppPoolName
Set WebSite=WebSiteName
Set IPAddress=IPAddressOfSite
Set managedPipelineMode=Integrated
Set enable32BitAppOnWin64=false
Set physicalPath=c:\InetPub\%WebSite%

Set APPCMD="%systemroot%\system32\inetsrv\APPCMD"
Set WlogEvents=C:\Software\Installers\Altiris\WLogevent.exe

Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "AppPool: %AppPool%"
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "WebSite: %WebSite%"
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "IPAddress: %IPAddress%"

If Not Exist "%physicalPath%" mkdir "%physicalPath%"
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Creating Directory if not exist: %physicalPath%"

REM Create App Pool if not exists
%APPCMD% list AppPool "%AppPool%"
If %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 ( Call :CreateAppPool )

REM enable32BitAppOnWin64
%APPCMD% Set APPPOOL /Apppool.name:%AppPool% /enable32BitAppOnWin64:%enable32BitAppOnWin64%
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Setting enable32BitAppOnWin64 to %enable32BitAppOnWin64%"

REM managedPipelineMode
%APPCMD% Set APPPOOL /Apppool.name:%AppPool% /managedPipelineMode:%managedPipelineMode%
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Setting managedPipelineMode to %managedPipelineMode%"

REM Configure Recycle pool time
%APPCMD% list apppool "%AppPool%" /config | findstr "04:"
If %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 ( Call :ConfigRecyclePool )

REM Create WebSite if not exist
%APPCMD% list site "%WebSite%"
If %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 ( Call :CreateWebSite )

REM Configure Bindings for Http
%APPCMD% list site  "%WebSite%" /text:*|findstr "bindingInformation:""%IPAddress%:80
If %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 ( Call :ConfBindingsHttp ) else (
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Skipping Existing protocol='http',bindingInformation='%IPAddress%:80:"
)

REM Configure Bindings for Https
%APPCMD% list site  "%WebSite%" /text:*|findstr "bindingInformation:""%IPAddress%:443
If %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 ( Call :ConfBindingsHttps ) else (
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Skipping Existing protocol='https',bindingInformation='%IPAddress%:443:"
)

REM Change the physical Path location of files
%APPCMD% set site /site.name:"%WebSite%" /[path='/'].[path='/'].physicalPath:"%physicalPath%"  /commit:apphost
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "physicalPath: %physicalPath%"

REM Assign site to app pool %AppPool%
%APPCMD% set site /site.name:"%WebSite%" /[path='/'].applicationPool:%AppPool% /commit:apphost
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Assign %WebSite% to applicationPool: %AppPool%"

Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "End of Script"
Exit

:CreateAppPool
%APPCMD% set config  -section:system.applicationHost/applicationPools /+"[name='%AppPool%']" /commit:apphost
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Creating App Pool %AppPool%"
GOTO:EOF

:CreateWebSite
%APPCMD% add site /name:"%WebSite%" /physicalPath:"%physicalPath%" /bindings:"http/%IPAddress%:80:"
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Creating Web Site %WebSite% to %physicalPath% with bindings http/%IPAddress%:80"
GOTO:EOF

:ConfBindingsHttp
%APPCMD% set site /site.name:"%WebSite%" /+bindings.[protocol='http',bindingInformation='%IPAddress%:80:'] /commit:apphost
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "protocol='http',bindingInformation='%IPAddress%:80:"
GOTO:EOF

:ConfBindingsHttps
%APPCMD% set site /site.name:"%WebSite%" /+bindings.[protocol='https',bindingInformation='%IPAddress%:443:'] /commit:apphost
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "protocol='https',bindingInformation='%IPAddress%:443:"
GOTO:EOF

:ConfigRecyclePool
Call :GenerateRecycleTime
%APPCMD% Set APPPOOL /Apppool.name:%AppPool% /+recycling.periodicRestart.schedule.[value='%RANDTIME%']
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "Apppool.name:%AppPool% /+recycling.periodicRestart.schedule.[value='%RANDTIME%']"
%APPCMD% set config  -section:system.applicationHost/applicationPools /[name='%AppPool%'].recycling.periodicRestart.time:"00:00:00"  /commit:apphost
Call :Log %ERRORLEVEL% "applicationPools /[name='%AppPool%'].recycling.periodicRestart.time:00:00:00"
GOTO:EOF

:GenerateRecycleTime
REM Random Time - 4am
SET RANDTIME=%time:~7,1%
SET RANDTIME=%RANDTIME%%time:~10%
IF %RANDTIME% GTR 59 GOTO :GenerateRecycleTime
SET RANDTIME=04:%RANDTIME%:00
GOTO:EOF

:Log
If %1 neq 0 (Set Level=3) else (Set Level=1)
%WlogEvents% -id:%ID% -n:"ConfigIIS" -c:"%1" -l:%Level% -ss:%2
GOTO:EOF

initially I started this as a mechanism of helping my friends out (and also so I wouldn’t have to keep spending my weekends rebuilding their MythTV boxes over and over again.

What I’ve done is simply created some metapackages to assist in the installation of MythTV as well as some configuration scripts

To use the repository simply add the following lines to you /etc/apt/sources.list file

Method 1

1. open a terminal
2. type in “sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list” to bring up the sources repository listing
3. add the following codedeb http://bencic.net/repo/ hardy main
   deb http://packages.medibuntu.org/ hardy free non-free
4. type in “sudo aptitude update” to refresh the apt packages listing

Method 2

1. open a terminal
2. type in
   “wget http://bencic.net/repo/pool/hardy/ozmyth-repo_2.0_all.deb“
3. type in
   “dpkg -i ozmyth-repo_2.0_all.deb“
4. type in “sudo aptitude update” to refresh the apt packages listing

Once the repository is installed you can install OzMyth through Synaptics or via the command line sudo aptitide install ozmyth

Originally when we were looking for reception venues we overlooked Lauriston House as it is my belief that any venue we choose will have a website at this day in age present with powerful impacting high quality photoshoped photos. Also we overlooked any website which did not include the PRICE on the site along with the inclusions and exclusions. This to me make me think that a venue is trying to hide something. We were looking at Curzon Hall which with their winter packages including extras not in the summer packages and would be $124 per head. At Lauriston House we were quoted $110 per head and thinking we were getting a good deal compared to others we ended up choosing Lauriston. To our dismay we ended up paying $121 per head as the quote was GST exclusive.

When I go to the shops and buy say a shirt I am given a price inclusive of GST, This is because I am a consumer and not a company buying goods from a supplier. I do not get a GST credit and cannot offset or claim the GST portion back from the tax office. I have found Lauriston House to be deceiving in talking up the $110 per head and then in the fine print adding price is ex GST.

Prior to booking we were asked to come in to sample some of the food and to see what they have to offer. Other places would charge for this however this was all free at Lauriston which was great. When we arrived there were others already there browsing (as there would be) we were given some sample desert which was to die for, the tastes just melted our mouth and i was impressed.

When we got there we were told that they owned all the houses up until the small church about 4 doors up. We were also told that they have an application with the council to demolish one of these houses to make way for a garden with a sandstone line isle for the bride to walk down. It was told to us that this house would most probably be demolished within weeks and the garden had a 95% chance of being ready before our wedding in 5 months time. We decided to have our ceremony in this garden at Lauriston as this would save on some of the costs (transportation, church donation…). I drive past everyday and still see the house is being occupied by a tenant or a car parked in the driveway and have little doubt the garden will be ready before the wedding. We have now started looking for a church to have the ceremony in as from speaking to others, this new garden has been promised and failed to eventuate.

The decor at Lauriston is a little dated, with old carpet and the walls have some stains on them especially beneath the air conditioner where it is most noticeable. Overall the general venue is quite presentable and simple to work with. I was a little disappointed to find out that there is no back yard and the only outdoor area would be the front yard which is quite small. The venue is kid friendly providing DVD movies for the kids to watch and pausing the movies for the important moments of the night.

One annoyance was when we asked if we could spread rose petals on the table which was quickly refuse. The reason being OH&S, This really annoys me. As if anyone would slip on a rose petal which has fallen from the table and hurt themselves.

I didn’t notice a bar for where spirits can be purchased and i will need to check with the owners if spirits can be purchased. They have allowed for us to bring some Rakia spirits for the toasts as it is our tradition that the groom has to have shots with the guests at the tables.

I have been told from speaking to various videographers hat videoing the bridal waltz is difficult as the DJ turns off the lights and disallows the videographer to used the lights. This results in a poor recording to the waltz.

Some of the things we were impressed with;

• Lauriston provide a choice of cars to be used as a getaway car included in the price.
• Seat covers were included in the price and a variety of colours were offered
• Long and low flowers for the main table was said to be provided however there is nothing in the contract which specifies this (have to verify)
• 5 1/2 hours of service but a minimum of 100 guests
• The venue is not shared with others.

Address: 146 Marsden Road (Cnr Stewart Street)
DUNDAS VALLEY NSW 2117
Telephone: (02) 9858 3335
Fax: (02) 9874 9371

I would recommend this venue to anyone however always remember to read the fine print to know exactly what you are getting into and make sure any promises are written down in the contract. If you are not sure then do not sign the contract

If you would like to comment or share some experiences regarding this venue please post a comment

Initially I thought there would be a method to call the wp_list_pages() function from the page content but I couldn’t find how (or doesn’t exist).

I explored my options there was exec-php however I didn’t want add any potential security holes by allowing php code to be executed (I have been stung in the past with something similar).

Searching through the internet, I couldn’t find any help out

I ended up creating a custom pages template.

———————————————-

Start off by making a copy of the “page.php” file and call this copy “page_with_menu.php”. This “page.php” is located in the /wp-content/themes/default/page.php. There are many ways to do this (SSH, FTP, WebDav, Web file management) which I will not go into details here.

These next steps will demonstrate how to edit the new “page_with_menu.php” php file to add the menu listing. This example below shows how achieve this by using the admin area of your WordPress site.

1) Navigate to the admin area of your website. This is usually http://YourDomain/wp-admin

2) Click on the “Design” link from the main menu

3) A sub menu will appear underneath the main menu. Click on the “Theme Editor” link of the “Design” sub menu

4) I am assuming that you are using the “Default” theme which come with WordPress, if not then change the theme by select it at the “Select theme to edit” dropdown box and click select.

5) On the right side of the page under “WordPress Default theme files” click on the link which will be called something like “page_with_menu.php” to view and start editing the contents of “page_with_menu.php”

6) You should now see the contents of “page_with_menu.php”.

7) Modifying the code

Were going to give the page a name so that we can select this as a template when creating a page. Add the following code to the top of the page changing the template name as desired.

<?php
/*
Template Name: MenuList Template
*/
?>

8 ) Underneath the line

<?php wp_link_pages(array('before' => '<p><strong>Pages:</strong> ', 'after' => '</p>', 'next_or_number' => 'number')); ?>

. Add the following code

<?php if($post->post_parent) { // page is a child

echo "<ul>";

wp_list_pages('sort_column=menu_order&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;title_li=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;child_of='.$post->post_parent);

echo "</ul>";

}
if(wp_list_pages("child_of=".$post->ID."&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;echo=0")) { // page has children

echo "<ul>";

wp_list_pages('sort_column=menu_order&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;title_li=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;child_of='.$post->ID);

echo "</ul>";

} ?>

9) The final product should look something like this.

<?php
/*
Template Name: MenuList Template
*/
?>
<?php get_header(); ?>

	<div id="content" class="narrowcolumn">

		<?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
		<div class="post" id="post-<?php the_ID(); ?>">
		<h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
			<div class="entry">
				<?php the_content('<p class="serif">Read the rest of this page &raquo;</p>'); ?>

				<?php wp_link_pages(array('before' => '<p><strong>Pages:</strong> ', 'after' => '</p>', 'next_or_number' => 'number')); ?>

				<?php if($post->post_parent) { // page is a child
					echo "<ul>";
					wp_list_pages('sort_column=menu_order&title_li=&child_of='.$post->post_parent);
					echo "</ul>";
				}

				if(wp_list_pages("child_of=".$post->ID."&echo=0")) { // page has children
					echo "<ul>";
					wp_list_pages('sort_column=menu_order&title_li=&child_of='.$post->ID);
					echo "</ul>";
				} ?>
			</div>

		</div>
		<?php endwhile; endif; ?>
	<?php edit_post_link('Edit this entry.', '<p>', '</p>'); ?>
	</div>

<?php get_sidebar(); ?>

<?php get_footer(); ?>

10) Click on the “Update File” button to save the changes.

Using the custom template

11) from the top menu click on “Write” then underneath “Write Page”

12) Enter a title into the page title box.

13) On the menu under the “Page Template” section, Click on the dropdown menu and select the new template “MenuList Template”

14) Click on “Save” and test the page.

If there is anything I missed or can make a better suggestion please comment…

Aperture a hole or an opening through which light is admitted. A lower f-number denotes a greater aperture opening which allows more light to reach the film or image sensor The lens aperture is usually specified as an f-number, the ratio of focal length to effective aperture diameter. A lens typically has a set of marked “f-stops” that the f-number can be set to. A lower f-number denotes a greater aperture opening which allows more light to reach the film or image sensor. Adjustment to the aperture controls the depth of field

Shutter Speed

• shutter speed is the length of time a shutter is open
• Slow shutter speeds are often used in low light conditions, extending the time until the shutter closes, and increasing the amount of light gathered
• a shutter speed of B (for bulb) keeps the shutter open as long as the shutter release is held
• Shutter speed is measured in seconds. A typical shutter speed for photographs taken in sunlight is 1/125th of a second

ISO Speed

• how sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor and therefore the possibility to take pictures in low-light situations.
• auto ISO range from 100 – 800 although the 40D can be manually set to ISO 3200 (ISO expansion)

Metering Mode

• metering mode refers to the way in which a camera determines the correct exposure.
• Evaluative metering: This is an all-round metering mode suited for portraits and even backlit subjects
• Partial metering: Effective when the background is much brighter then the subject due to backlighting. Covers 9% of the viewfinder
• Spot metering: This is for metering a specific part of a subject of scene. Covers 3.8% of viewfinder
• Center-weighted average metering: the metering is weighted to the center and then averaged for the entire scene

Debth of field
the distance in front of and beyond the subject that appears to be in focus.

Notes:

• a fast shutter speed will require a larger aperture to ensure sufficient light exposure, and a slow shutter speed will require a smaller aperture to avoid excessive exposure.

Creative Zone Modes

P (program AE) mode: the camera sets the shutter speed and aperture to suite brightness. you choose to use flash and ISO levels.
Tv (Timed value AE, shutter priority) mode: you set the shutter speed, the camera automatically sets the aperture to obtain correct exposure.
Av (Aperture value AE, aperture priority) mode: you set the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed.
M (Manual Exposure) mode: in this mode you set the shutter speed and aperture as desired.
A-DEP (automatic depth of field AE) mode: objects in the foreground and background will be in focus automatically.

My Arsenal

Canon EF-S 17-85MM f4-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM

Some Notes on colour

• Hue: the color’s direction from white, for example in the CIE chromaticity diagram. the colour itself, Hue is that aspect of a color described with names such as “red”, “yellow”. Usually, colors with the same hue are distinguished with adjectives referring to their lightness and/or saturation, such as with “light blue”, “pastel blue”, “vivid blue”. Notable exceptions include brown, which is a dark orange, and pink, a light desaturated red
• Saturation: how “intense” or “concentrated” a color is; also known as chroma or purity. saturation or purity refers to the intensity of a specific hue. A highly saturated hue has a vivid, intense color, while a less saturated hue appears more muted and grey. With no saturation at all, the hue becomes a shade of grey
• Value: how light or dark a color is.
• Tint: a color made lighter by adding white.
• Shade: a color made darker by adding black.

Contrast
The difference between the darkest and lightest areas in a photo. The greater the difference, the higher the contrast

RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is used for computer screens, scanners, digital cameras and other devices that give out light.

RYB/CMYK (Red, Yellow, Blue and/or Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is used for paintings, magazines, fabrics, cars, and actually all materials around us that reflect light rather than emit light.