All posts by mkizer

Dev, Windows

Adding an Automatic BCC to Outlook

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(This post was originally published April 23, 2009)

Note: This article is a bit out of date (in regards to newer versions of Outlook), but contains some interesting information in the comments section (which is reproduced here). At some point I will bring this article up to date, since I might have some new use cases for this functionality (i.e., automatically archiving posts to Evernote).

By using the built-in rules in Outlook you can automatically CC an email address on outgoing messages (and even specify additional criteria like keywords in subject lines, etc.), but there is no option to use BCC. This article will show how to modify Outlook to automatically BCC an email address on all outgoing messages. Continue reading Adding an Automatic BCC to Outlook →

Windows

Preventing an automatic reboot after Windows Update runs

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If you have Windows Update set to run in the middle of the night (as most of us do), it is rather annoying to return to your computer in the morning only to find that it has automatically rebooted due to an installed update. There is a way to prevent this from occurring, but it does require a registry hack (Windows XP/Vista/7/8).

  • Run regedit and browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows
  • Create a new key under Windows and call it WindowsUpdate
  • Create a new key under WindowsUpdate called AU
  • With AU selected, in the right-hand pane right-click and create a new DWORD. Call itNoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers
  • Double-click the DWORD and give it a value of 1.
  • Reboot and Windows Update will stop automatically rebooting your computer.
Dev

How to retrieve data from an Oracle database with VBscript

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(This post was originally published September 21, 2006)

This article will give you a brief example of how to create a VBscript process that can retrieve data from an Oracle database. The techniques presented here can more than likely be adapted to connect to other databases as well. I’ll walk through a script that I wrote to solve a small problem with a web-based application that I support. The finished script will also touch upon techniques for logging and setting the date/time from within a VBscript process. Continue reading How to retrieve data from an Oracle database with VBscript →

Billiards

Supplemental APA 9 Ball scoresheets

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(This post was originally published March 07, 2006)

I play pool (billiards) in a American Poolplayers Association (APA) league here in San Diego and developed a couple of supplemental 9 Ball scoresheets to assist in the scorekeeping task.

Keeping score in 9 Ball matches involves tracking balls pocketed, innings, dead balls and defensive shots…quite a bit to keep track of, but not too bad if you pay attention. Both teams playing in the match keep score and should compare their results after each rack to make sure they both agree. If the scores are different, it causes delays in the match while “who pocketed what” is figured out. It also can cause the players in the match some undo distraction and a break in their rhythm while it is sorted out. Continue reading Supplemental APA 9 Ball scoresheets →