The Bournemouth IMAX– on it’s way?

Who can forget the all pervasive sounds of disgruntlement that seeped into your car as you drove past Bournemouth Pier – back in the years that followed the erection of the IMAX cinema. What an erection it was.
For some reason or another the planning office had agreed to give planning permission for what appeared to be an enormous metal box next door to the pier. After construction it was clear that it deprived everyone approaching the sea front of half of the view of the Solent.

MS Reporting Services Error

I’ve had an issue, a couple of times now, with Reporting Services when emailing attachments (this can occur with automatic distribution of Team Foundation Server system reports). It is a known issue with RS. The fix requires administrative access to Active Directory – which I rarely have as a contract developer.
Here’s the MS help on it:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;842423
…and here’s the log file entry they refer to (from problem logs I have seen in the past):
ReportingServicesService!library!d!06/04/2009-09:02:32:: e ERROR: Throwing Microsoft.ReportingServices.Diagnostics.Utilities.ServerConfigurationErrorException: The report server has encountered a configuration error. See the report server log files for more information., AuthzInitializeContextFromSid: Win32 error: 5; possible reason - service account doesn't have rights to check domain user SIDs.;
Info: Microsoft.ReportingServices.Diagnostics.Utilities.ServerConfigurationErrorException: The report server has encountered a configuration error. See the report server log files for more information.
The problem is related to having emails with reports attached (embedded). I would recommend using the primary resolution as it requires the least amount of work and retains the current configuration on that box/machine (excerpt from MS online docs):

Method 1

1. Add the Windows account to the Pre-Windows 2000 Compatibility Access group by using the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
2. Add the Windows account to the Windows Authorization Access group by using the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.
3. Restart the computer that is running Reporting Services.
Note

• The Windows account in step 1 and in step 2 is the account that you use to run Reporting Services.
  
• After you add the account to these groups, it is guaranteed that Reporting Services can access the TGGAU attribute.
  
• This method does not require you to modify permissions on any user or group.

In my experience, the user that is running the service ‘SQL Server Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER)’ on the problem box/machine is, by default,  ‘NT Authority\NetworkService’.
Due to the fact that in both environments I was not ‘authorised’ to modify the AD setup (as I was a contract developer) I have had to ask the external IT department to create a new user to run the service under and follow the above procedure for that new user account. This has solved the issue on both occasions.

Tom’s European Vacation (Part 6): Bucharest

Arriving at Gara De Nord the first thing one notices is that we’re back in Latin Land! Yes, after my baffled head scratching and sign language in previous countries since Belgium I’m in a land where ‘Gara de Nord’ is clearly understandable to me. Phew!
That, unfortunately, was where the similarity ended. Actually, that’s not entirely true. The written word is very similar, seemingly a strange mix of French, Italian and Spanish. The spoken word might be too if you’re not quietly falling in love with the girl who’s serving you food in MacDonalds. OK, ok, I admit it – I had a MacDonalds in Romania, in the station – I was hungry.
Now, Bucharest is a funny old place, there’s not much one can say about it other than the fact that it’s Grand – in a proper Yorkshire type way. The streets are grand, the buildings are grand. Everything, in the parlance of a southerner is big.
It would be wonderful if I could tell you that I started to integrate into society and get a feel for the way of ‘Romania’ – but in all honesty it just seemed strangely closed. As if everyone had their own private business to get on with and I wasn’t that welcome.
(To the left is a photo of The Peoples Palace built by the self confessed ‘Genius of the Carpathians’, Nicolae Ceausescu – the dictator of Romania until circa Christmas day 1989 when they shot him. I say it was built by him, rather, it was built by the people whilst they starved as a consequence of the build project. So big I couldn’t fit it all in.)
Using my trustee Europe on a shoe-string manual I sought refuge in an Irish bar to see if I could find someone who might enlighten me as to how things work in Romania.
Many beers were had and much fun – although I didn’t learn too much other than the Irish can drink as well in Romania as they can in any other part of the world! Oh, and Romanian girls are gorgeous – at least the ones I saw. How I got back to the hotel that night is still a bit of a blur, but I made it all the same.
Strangest moment – receiving a phone call from an agent offering me work. When asked, ‘Is it a good time to talk’ – i.e. are you at a customer site, I had to reply, “No, actually I’m in Bucharest”. Silence & much confusion.