Just how long have I been on the journey to exam day? It’s complicated.

Like I said in my first entry, I’ve been using the CCNA as a framework to learn as much as I can about the job I have. Long term, I think I might want to pivot from SysAd to a proper Network Engineering/Architect position but that’s so far off right now there’s no point in worrying about that.

Right now, I’ve carved out a position where I’m assisting or independently working on different components of the company’s IT infrastructure. Some days I’m doing boilerplate Helpdesk stuff, others I’m in the server room troubleshooting one of our UDMs. My responsibilities would match those of a junior system administrator.

And that’s fine, but I do feel dumb as hell sometimes.

It also kinda doesn’t help that I’m wedged in between a couple big moving parts. On one side, you’ve got my boss, who’s been a one man band for so long at the firm he kinda looks at you funny when you don’t explicitly understand each component of his boutique system right away. On the other, you’ve got the longtime MSP that my company’s worked with. They’ve cordoned off a bunch of (seemingly random) parts of our infrastructure. My exposure to certain elements of the job are sometimes hamstrung because of random Group Policy actions or scripts that I can’t see.

I had to find a way to make up whatever experience I was missing, and it’d have to come on my own time.

Sourcing External Educationl Resources.

I first began looking for means to improve my knowledge base back in December 2024. The month was mostly spent casually looking for learning materials seeking out certifications to use as aspirational activities.

The first major decision was to skip CompTIAA certifications. From most of my research, it didn’t seem like a need for any sort of job, and I wanted to be efficient with my time (this is me being really nice to myself rather than just saying that I was broke and didn’t want to spend more money than I had. This will become a recurring trend.)

18.07.2023

• Restarted Project
• Added Local Repository
• Installed Ruby
• Installed Jekyll
• Added README to respository

19.07.2023

• Moved project off of SARnet2 Repo for now
• Will move back when more feature complete
• Completed first draft of Sitemap

Production Phase

29.07.2023

• Project now on GitHub Pages
• Will add custom URL when feature complete

30.07.2023

• Got the favicon working!
• Moved /about/ page to home page. Need more copy!

02.08.2023

• Holy shit we have images!
• Populated the site with some barebones stuff

05.31.2025

• Website is exiting matinenance mode to add a couple articles to expand on what I’ve been working on for the past two years.
• Stay tuned!
• Updated Localization Files.

06.07.2025

• Moved Patch Notes and Known Issues to their own blog page to improve landing page aesthetics.
• Will add quick links to patch notes and other stuff idk what yet tho

Known Issues

• Images not formatted correctly
• Missing the theme I actually want
• It’s not very pretty.

I started this article back in June and it’s August now! Time flies when you’re not looking. This’ll be part one of the B Plot to my life: getting my CCNA.

The Story So Far:

A little over a year ago, I made the switch from pursuing a job in Data Engineering and Administration and pivoted into Systems administration. I’m planning on making a longer form article on the switch, but the skinny is that I’ve been learning something new everyday while I’ve been on the job. I’m supporting what I’ve learned on the job by preparing for the CCNA.

Why the CCNA?

Here’s one of my lines of thought with gunning for the CCNA. When I approach a problem in tech, I’m usually just concerned with solving the problem in front of me. If I can’t get a host to respond on a switch, I’ll debug for that specific problem. This approach to problem solving is fine for day to day stuff, but I’m worried that I’m holding myself back by not having more holistic knowledge of running a network for my firm’s office.

I’m pursuing foundational knowledge, stuff that I’ll be able to use on the regular on top of the specialized systems and services that I maintain in office. I’m using the CCNA as essentially a framework to acquire that knowledge. Kinda how I’ve used my website as a means to pick up webdev skills and keep version control practices fresh in my mind.

Additonally, once I actually do get the cert, I feel like it’s a good feather in my cap to distinguish myself further for future opportunities.

So that’s the Intro. Mostly.

I’m going to be a little more transparent with my updates than I’m comfortable with–mostly because I’d like to come up and tell you (you in this case being everyone I know that I’d share this with and even potential employers) that everything is sick, that this has been a super linear journey so far, and that test day is just around the corner but no. Noooooooo.

I’m probably nowhere near close.

I’m trying. The hardest lesson I’ve learned from this eight month journey is that balancing your life today with the life you want is really, REALLY hard. And subnetting is harder.

More to come. Stay tuned!

The other side of the classroom: My time as a TA

One of the ways I made my way through the Masters of Science in Information Technology was by working as a Teaching Assistant for the Florida State University School of Information (iSchool). At first, I decided to do so to explore if I had a future in teaching. It was a great decision; I learned a ton about the world of academia and the content of the courses I was helping teach. The first of these opportunities was working with longtime iSchool mainstay Dr. Mark Jowett on his Advanced Database Management course during the Spring 2022 semester.

LIS 3781 - General Course Information

This course explores various topics in database management systems (DBMS), using a typical commercial DMBS (e.g., MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle), as well as non-relational data repositories (aka “NoSQL” databases). Administration, Security, stored procedures, triggers, transactions, functions, data mining, data analytics, data warehousing, and remote access to databases are some of the topics covered. The student is expected to demonstrate an understanding of these database concepts through creating, deploying, and utilizing various relational database designs.

My Responsibilites as a TA

I had a wide band of responsibilities in Advanced Database Management that mostly involved interfacing with the students in the course. My primary task was to grade the work done by students to the specifications of Dr.Jowett in a timely manner. I also would assist students in their debugging of assignments before they submitted them at the deadline. The job required communication between myself, Dr. Jowett, and the students in the course to coodrinate expectations and help with classwork.

This is a course I took as a part of the Master of Information Technology program at Florida State Univeristy. You can find the link here.

Course Description:

This course is an explorative introduction into artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and its associated fields, concepts, and technologies. AI and its related fields are used in a profusion of diverse areas; from forecasting weather trends, business needs assessments, to medical/health analytics, computer/security surveillance and protection, farm science, energy production, urban planning, image and biometric analysis and recognition, as well as many other useful applications. The possibilities and utilizations of these burgeoning AI fields are limitless. Just as importantly, the employment opportunities are equally available and lucrative. The foci of this course will be on the current and relevant trends and applications in these fields, as well as the related skill sets. The skills, tools, and techniques learned in this course are relevant to careers in the aforementioned areas.

Course Objectives:

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• Define terms and concepts used in AI and related fields;
• Create individual development and distributed version control environments;
• Identify characteristics of various intelligent systems;
• Evaluate AI strategies used to address specific practical real-world applications;
• Apply AI techniques on data sets at a basic level.

Course Work Links:

1. Assignment 1: Version Control and Development Installation - A1 README.md
   • Version Control Setup and Installations
     • Setting up Git on remote and home workstations
     • Installing R
     • Installing Anaconda
     • Jupyter Notebooks Setup
   • A1 Assignment - First Python Assignment
     • Answering Questions
     • A1 Tip Calculaor, written in Python
     • Create a Jupyter Notebook or A1TC
2. Assignment 2: Backwards Engineering and Jupyter Notebooks - A2 README.md
   • Reverse Engineer Python content
     • Post results in Juypter Notebooks enivronment
   • Screenshots of resulting code in Jupyter Notebooks
   • Assignment Questions
3. Assignment 3 -More Work with DataFrames in PythonA3 README.md
   • Reverse engineer python content
     • Post results in a Jupyter Notebooks
   • Make some sick graphs
   • Post a GIF file of it running in IPYNB -Assignment Questions
4. Project 1 - Predictive Analysis (Simple Linear Regression) P1 README.md
   • Reverse engineer python content
     • Post results in a Jupyter Notebooks
   • Learning Linear Regression!
   • Building a model using housing data
   • Starting work with Seaborn
   • Make some sick graphs
   • Post a GIF file of it running in IPYNB -Assignment Questions
5. Assignment 4 - Predictive Analysis (SLR)
   • Contrast similarities/differences among AI vs. Machine-Learning
   • Idenitfy Correlations
   • Use Seaborn (data)
   • Graph correlations
   • Use simple linear regression
   • Create linear model
   • Plot regression line
   • Make predictions - using simple regression model
   • Pick residuals
6. Assignment 5 - Predictive Analysis (MLR README.md
   • Predictive Analysis
   • Analyze Data
   • Identify Correlations
   • Create multiple regression model
   • Find best line to predict output
7. P2 README.md

Look ma, no CSS!

LIS 5367 was a class I took in Summer 2023 for my Masters of Science in Information Technology degree from Florida State University, taught by Dr. John Marks IV. This course was what sprurned me to rebuild this website! This website is the ongoing final project.

Connection Error identification and tracking for Destiny 2, all within Discord. No Bungie API required.

In a Nutshell: Menagerie is a chat bot built for the Discord chat client for use by players of Destiny 2, developed by Bungie, Inc. Menagerie was designed as a support to for players for when the Bungie.net API experienced issues due to high load or maitenence. Menagerie allows players to understand the error codes they encounter during gameplay and how to alleviate issues.

Technical Aspects Required figuring out what language would be best for the job (JavaScript), understanding what elements of the Discord API would be used, establishing an update pipeline, and working out how to get the bot hosted and running 24/7.

Reason for Starting this Project As you might’ve guessed, I’m a big fan of Bungie’s Destiny series. Menagerie was developed when Bungie were having serious issues with certain errors plaguing players on the East Coast of the United States and in Europe from 2019-2020. (The root cause ended up being some routing with Valve’s Steam servers. That specific issue was fixed over Summer 2020.) Menagerie was basically my answer for the question, “what happens when Bungie’s API and website are down for maintenance at the kickoff of an expansion, and players are getting errors as the game’s being fired up again?” How about an easy to use, no frills, bot for Discord servers of all sizes to help players out until Bungie.net comes back up?

Goals for this Project: The goal of this project is honestly just get it out of the door before the release of Destiny 2: Beyond Light, the newest expansion of Destiny 2, releasing November 10. At the very least, it’ll see use by my Destiny 2 Clan, and hey, maybe it blows up. Who knows. Depending on the success of the project, Menagerie 1.0 may see future expansion with other features, such as linking Raiding strategies or something.

Status:Shipped November 09, 2020. (Now defuct due to Discord updating their API a while back.)

For the Canon of the Consulate, Part 8: The Pit’s Internal Systems

While The Pit may seem like a simple coliseum, it is a living, breathing structure whose history spans nearly the entire history of the empire. The location was chosen a mere seven years after Nosibm Retsam stamped out the third and final coup attempt during his tenure as Chancellor of the Senate. After an investigation revealing that the coup was bankrolled by the same group of senators that were suspect to have perpetrated the first, the Chancellor decided that exile was a punishment too lenient on those involved. They were to be made examples of, for the public to see what happens to those who attempt to disturb the peace. A location was determined; a barren field outside of the city limits, and the traitors were publicly executed. Surprised at the turnout, the treasury found another source of income to supplement the taxes: bloodsport.

The upper levels of the pit, the spectators area, are arranged in a manner to maximize efficiency moving crowds of thousands of viewers. Below the public areas lies a system that has been developed and overhauled over the past 270 years to a point where it could operate without any external assistance for three fortnights before losing losing sustainability. Beneath the pit, there are five floors, each with its own purpose. The floor immediately under the Pit contains machinery designed to terraform the pit itself. The machinery can raise walls within the pit, open trap doors, and operate the two main doors that lead into the pit. With a day’s preparation, the Pit can be completely flooded. Floors below are living quarters for the Pit’s permanent staff, which is comprised nearly completely of slaves. The slaves come from a number of backgrounds. Most are prisoners of war, some refused to pay taxes, and still others were imports from the countryside. Every lunar cycle, a handful of slaves are cycled through the games within the pit as part of free entertainment. The floor below the slave barracks was used as storage for grains and feed for the beasts on the fifth and final floor.