
As usual I remembered the Advent of Code after it had started, but never the less I got stuck in to it around day 10 (10th December 20222). However I never got past the day 7 stage 1 puzzle but not because I couldn't, but rather I just fell in to that busy time of year, and didn't spend the time trying to keep up.
Well there is nothing to stop you from continuing on so I'll see if I can get back in to it in (ummm...) February 2023! (Im sitting here shaking my head)
If you havent ever heard about it, you should take a look. It's a series of puzzles, relased as an Advent calender, that you solve by wwriting up the code to find the answers. 2 puzzles are released every day from December 1st through Decmber 25th that you solve to help the elves undertake Christmas tasks. You can use any language you like, and its not the code you write that you progress with, just the correct answers you must get from that code.
So I'll continue on, no doubt it wont all get solve in 2 months, but tis still a fun task to keep you learning.
Web Site - Advent Of Code
My GitHub repository - AdventOfCode2022
Adendum - 2023-07-17
Well I didnt get back to it, life tooks it path and I never jumped back in to it. Maybe this year I can make more of an effort.

I recently ran in to an issue where I needed to convert a reasonably large DHCP database from a Windows Server in to a Cisco CLI to allow the Cisco to take over DHCP roles for a subnet. I found nothing that realy automated this task, even using the exported XML file. So knowing that this was the second time I needed the tool, and likely to need it again, even if it was for smaller tasks, I set about coding it in Powershell. It is the scripting system well supported in Windows land.
The current version of the script can be found on my GitHub repository:
Convert-WindowsDHCPToCisco
Still ha smany DHCP options that it hasn't been setup to hanle at this point but it does follow the basic ones that most of us use.
Currently handles DHCP Options
Code |
Option Description |
Cisco Output |
3 |
Default Gateway |
default-router |
4 |
Time Server |
ignoring |
6 |
Domain Nameserver |
dns-server |
15 |
Domain Name |
domain-name |
42 |
NTP Servers |
option 42 ip |
51 |
Lease time |
ignoring |
66 |
TFTP Server |
next-server |
67 |
Boot filename |
bootfile |
81 |
MS DHCP Name Protection |
ignoring |
121 |
Static routes |
option 121 hex |
161 |
FTP Server |
option 161 ip |
162 |
Path |
option 162 ascii |
252 |
Proxy PAC URL |
option 252 asicc |
DHCP References Used

It's back around to October again and Hacktoberfest is of course up and running. I enjoyed my first involvement with Hacktoberfest in 2019 but I didn't complete enough pull request for the month. Will I make it this year?
Hacktoberfest is a great idea. It got me contributing, and keen to try again next year, but I hope to keep its intent rolling through the year.
As before in 2019, my thanks go to DigitalOcean and DEV for this great initiative.