John & Jayne Stark Family

With a little help from CST (our IT support) and Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 we’ve are well on our way to setting up our 19 new computers. The 800+ page implementation guide for Ghost made the project seem more complicated that it really was.

Now that we’ve successfully created our master image, ran a trial clone, ran a multicast session to clone three additional computers, and did a simple name change and joining to our domain those new computers are all ready for their new homes. I’m looking forward to learning how to use this tool better in the future. It will make the rebuilding and deployment of the computers easier.

The next step is to make an image of the out of the box configuration from HP to have on hand. After that we can clone the remaining machines so they all are identical to one another.

I’m sure there are many ways to configure and push computer configurations out to new clients. For me, Symantec’s Ghost Solution has made the process easier. It may be a costly solution to implement for most businesses but with charity licensing the option is very affordable for non-profits.

Today I got an email from Tim’s assistant letting me know I was chosen today. It was a pretty exciting moment for me.

Tim has been working on this book now for several months and it was been interesting reading his progress on his blog. I’m amazed at his ability to write a book, goto to India, and somehow do everything else he must have on his plate at Granger Community Church.

I eagerly await the arrival of the manuscript tomorrow at work. I won’t be able to share anything specific about the book or share it with anyone until it is officially released, but I will put together a review about my initial overall impressions when I’ve completed the work.

Thanks Tim for this wonderful opportunity to provide you input on your latest book. I hope whatever feedback I give you will be helpful. For me it is a great opportunity to give a little back to the one whose given me so much through your other books and blog.

Back in December a member of our congregation donated 19 new HP computers along with LCD monitors to replace our aging Dell machines our staff uses. Because of this unique opportunity to set-up all our machines from scratch, we obtained the latest version of Microsoft Office 2007 and Symantec Ghost Solution 2.0 for all the machines. With Symantec Ghost Solution 2.0 we’ll be able to set-up one machine and clone it to all the others. Tomorrow we plan to see how it goes.
Our outsourced IT support is sending a guy over in the morning to help with getting things set-up and working. I’m hoping things go smoothly. A couple weekends ago a volunteer and I spent an afternoon loading up our master machine with software. Hopefully that work will payoff tomorrow.

Tonight I got all the machines started up and attached to our server. I was really amazed at how long it takes to simply unpack cables and hook 19 machines up. It does look impressive seeing it all at once.

I’m relatively new to IT work in an official capacity and know far more about the things I don’t know than the things I do.

I’ve heard the word change tossed around all my life. This week it is everywhere. We want this to change. We want that to change. Changes means so many things to so many people I believe it is a matter of perception.
Heraclitus wrote over 2,000 years ago that:

Nothing endures but change.

The variant of this I grew up hearing all the time was:

The only constant in life is change.

Then again… I also remember that I’ve heard the opposite said many times as well.

Things will never change [but they typically do].

Life is all about change. The only thing I’ve ever known in life not to change is God. While my understanding of God has changed as I’ve grown up, God has been a rock on which I could depend upon. God doesn’t flip-flop on the issues. He doesn’t rewrite history to spin the truth of actual events. God just “is”. Despite how the winds may blow from one day to the next I can rest assured that no matter what each day will brings he’ll be with me each step of the way. How about you?