Jet Mariano

Author: jetnmariano

  • MIT8 – Enoch and Empathy

    I was reminded of that truth while camping in Monument Valley, waiting patiently in the quiet hours before dawn. I stayed awake at the cabin, watching the sky, trusting that light would come in its own time. When the waning gibbous moon finally rose, it crowned the stone buttes with a soft, steady glow. And then—unexpectedly—I was rewarded with a distant lightning show on the horizon. Stillness and power shared the same sky. Waiting revealed what haste would have missed.

    Excerpt

    God’s empathy is not a weakness to be restrained. It is the very source of His justice.

    Intro

    In recent years, empathy has come under suspicion. Some Christian thinkers have warned that it can become excessive or misplaced, even harmful. While acknowledging compassion as a Christlike trait, they caution that emotional identification—if left unchecked—might blur moral clarity or weaken obedience to God.

    That concern, however, finds no support in scripture.

    Notes from the Moment

    In Moses 7, Enoch is shown a vision of the future. His city has been taken into heaven. Other righteous souls dwell with God. Those left behind are marked by violence and cruelty. As Enoch observes God watching this scene, he expects detachment—or perhaps righteous anger.

    Instead, he sees something that unsettles him deeply: God weeping.

    “How is it that thou canst weep,” Enoch asks, “seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (Moses 7:29). To Enoch, holiness and empathy seemed incompatible.

    God then explains:

    “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;”

    Moses 7:32–34, 40

    Here, there is no effort to dilute empathy in the name of justice. God does not administer justice despite His compassion—He administers it because of it.

    Perspective

    As Enoch begins to understand the depth of God’s love, his own heart expands beyond anything he had known. He “wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook” (Moses 7:41).

    Divine empathy is contagious.

    Practice

    A similar pattern appears after the Savior’s death, when darkness covered the land in the Americas. The people heard His voice explaining the destructions that had taken place. These were not acts of emotional detachment, but of mercy—meant to prevent further suffering. Repeatedly, He gives the same reason:

    “That the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them”
    (3 Nephi 9:5, 7–9, 11)

    Justice, once again, is rooted in empathy.

    President Dallin H. Oaks—having spent years studying and administering law—has reflected deeply on the relationship between love and commandment. In a worldwide devotional, he shared how his thinking has matured over time:

    “I have previously referred to our ‘continually [trying] to balance the dual commandments of love and law,’ but I now believe that goal to be better expressed as trying to live both of these commandments in a more complete way. …”

    “Stand for Truth,” Worldwide Devotional Address for Young Adults, 21 May 2023

    Final Reflection

    If God loves all His children with perfect love, then loving them cannot compete with loving Him. When compassion seeks their eternal good, it is aligned with holiness—not opposed to it.

    The scriptures do not portray empathy as a liability. They reveal it as divine.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Compassion and holiness are not rivals. In God, they are one.

    What I Hear Now

    “God’s justice flows from His love.”
    “Empathy does not weaken truth.”
    “Holiness can weep.”

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Built in Motion, Seeing Afar Off

    Organizing legacy cables while holding a squat—order through motion, clarity under pressure.

    Excerpt

    I don’t stay ready because I fear failure. I stay ready because experience taught me that motion reveals what stillness hides.

    Intro

    I am not a static person. I never have been. Sitting still has never helped me think clearly—especially in infrastructure work, where systems fail without warning and clarity often arrives too late. Movement keeps me alert, adaptive, and aware.

    Notes from the Moment

    While organizing a tangled pile of legacy cables, I wasn’t standing still. I was holding a squat—time under tension—sorting chaos into order. At the same time, my feet were subtly moving: slips, pivots, pendulum steps. The same habits I use at my standing workstation. The same habits I use in boxing.

    This is how I work. Motion keeps my mind open.

    Perspective

    “Keep moving your feet.” — Elder David A. Bednar
    “If something can go wrong, it will.” — Murphy’s Law
    “Be water, my friend.” — Bruce Lee

    Practice

    I don’t wait for problems to announce themselves. I anticipate them.

    Murphy’s Law isn’t pessimism—it’s preparation. If something can fail, it eventually will. That reality shaped how I think and move, starting in the mid-90s during the dot-com era, when uptime was survival and mistakes were unforgiving.

    In boxing, moving your feet doesn’t give you x-ray vision like Superman. It gives you new angles. You see openings sooner. You avoid danger without panic. You’re no longer where the punch was.

    In IT, it’s the same. I don’t “see afar off” because I’m gifted with foresight. I see because I move—physically and mentally. I change angles. I scan. I test assumptions. I stay proactive instead of reactive.

    Health follows the same law. Circulation improves when the body moves. Stagnation invites breakdown. Motion sustains clarity, resilience, and longevity.

    Final Reflection

    Infrastructure professionals don’t get the luxury of being static. Thinking under pressure requires circulation—of blood, of ideas, of perspective. Standing still narrows vision. Motion expands it.

    Water that moves stays clear. Water that stagnates decays.

    Whether in boxing, IT, or life itself, the advantage isn’t supernatural vision.
    It’s movement.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Stay proactive. Stay moving. New angles reveal what stillness hides.

    What I Hear Now

    “You saw that coming.”
    “Good catch.”
    “How did you anticipate that?”

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “One Heart and One Mind”

    This photo was taken while hiking the Herriman Mountains. I walked the trail back and forth, up and down, creating multiple footsteps in the snow to simulate the idea behind this reflection — many steps, one direction. Unity is often built through repeated effort, not a single moment.

    Excerpt

    Zion is not built by sameness. It is built when people choose unity while carrying different loads.

    Intro

    Over the years, I’ve worked in environments where success depended on alignment more than talent. In IT, in security, and even in physical training, progress stalls the moment people begin competing instead of coordinating. The strongest systems I’ve seen—technical or human—are the ones where everyone knows they belong and everyone knows they matter.

    Scripture describes Zion in similar terms. Not as perfection, but as unity.

    Notes from the Author

    The prophet Enoch’s city is described in a way that has always stood out to me:

    “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.”
    Moses 7:18

    What strikes me is not just their righteousness, but the outcome of it. There was no poor among them. That phrase suggests more than generosity. It suggests belonging.

    Perspective

    Scripture doesn’t say they merely helped the poor. It says poverty ceased to exist among them. To me, that implies a community where people were not reduced to labels, deficits, or past circumstances. Each person was seen as capable of contributing, even if their contribution looked different.

    I’ve seen this principle play out in my own life. In work settings, people thrive when they are trusted early, not tested endlessly. In training, progress comes when the body is respected as it is today, not judged for what it was yesterday. When someone is treated as an asset rather than a burden, they often rise to meet that expectation.

    The Book of Mormon describes a similar unity among those baptized at the waters of Mormon. Alma taught them to move forward together:

    “That ye may look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having your hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.”
    Mosiah 18:21

    Unity does not erase difference. It aligns direction.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    Today, I will pay attention to how I see people. I will resist the urge to sort others into categories based on background, skill level, or current capacity. Whether at work, at church, or in daily interactions, I will choose language and actions that affirm contribution instead of deficiency.

    Unity begins with how we look at one another.

    Final Reflection

    Building Zion is not about creating a uniform community. It is about creating a cohesive one. A place where people are strengthened by shared purpose, not divided by comparison.

    That kind of unity requires intention. It requires humility. And it requires consistent effort, just like anything worth building.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Unity grows when people feel needed, not merely tolerated.

    What I Hear Now

    To be of one heart and one mind is not to think alike, but to move together.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • The Problem Lives Below Windows

    Most system failures don’t begin in Windows. They begin deeper, where firmware, drivers, and hardware quietly decide whether the OS will be allowed to run.

    Intro

    When a system reboots unexpectedly, freezes during a video call, or crashes the moment a camera turns on, Windows is usually the first thing blamed. But in most real-world cases, the operating system is only the messenger. The real problem lives below Windows, in layers most people never see until something breaks.

    Over the years, I’ve learned that stability is not something you install. It’s something you negotiate between hardware, firmware, drivers, and the operating system, all trying to work together under load.

    The invisible stack beneath Windows

    Modern endpoints are layered systems.

    Below Windows 11 sits firmware, BIOS, chipset drivers, GPU drivers, and kernel-mode components that operate outside the visibility of most logging tools. These layers handle power management, graphics acceleration, memory access, and hardware interrupts. When they disagree, Windows doesn’t always get a vote.

    A failure in these layers doesn’t always generate a blue screen. Sometimes the system simply resets. From the outside, it looks random. Underneath, it’s not.

    Why Windows 11 gets blamed

    Windows 11 sits at the intersection of modern hardware acceleration and modern applications. Tools like Microsoft Teams, browsers, and Office apps make heavy use of GPU pipelines, video encoders, and camera drivers.

    When something goes wrong at that boundary, the crash surfaces when the app is launched, the camera turns on, or a video stream initializes. Windows appears guilty because it’s present when the failure occurs, but the fault often belongs to a driver, firmware interaction, or hardware acceleration path that Windows merely exposed.

    Why visibility tools don’t always catch it

    Tools like Sysmon are excellent at recording what happens inside the operating system. They act like a flight recorder for processes, network connections, and file activity.

    But Sysmon can’t log what never reaches the OS.

    A reboot triggered by firmware, a GPU driver reset, or a kernel-mode failure can occur before logging completes. From an administrator’s perspective, it feels like the system went silent without warning. In reality, the failure happened below the level where logs exist.

    The thin line between stable and broken

    Stability often comes down to small decisions.

    A BIOS update here.
    A GPU driver change there.
    Hardware acceleration enabled or disabled in a single application.

    None of these changes look dramatic on their own, but together they determine whether a system runs quietly for months or reboots under pressure. That line between stable and broken is thinner than most people realize.

    What I’ve learned

    When troubleshooting modern Windows systems, I no longer ask, “What did Windows do wrong?” first.

    I ask:

    • What changed below the OS
    • Which drivers are involved
    • What hardware path is being exercised
    • Whether the failure happens under load or acceleration

    More often than not, the answer reveals itself there.

    Final thought

    Windows 11 is rarely the villain in these stories. It’s the surface where deeper tensions finally show themselves.

    Understanding that difference changes how you troubleshoot, how you update, and how you design systems meant to stay online.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Windows 11 Is Not the Problem

    Most Windows 11 instability doesn’t live in the OS itself, but at the edges where hardware, drivers, and applications meet.

    Understanding Failure at the Boundaries

    Why this post exists

    When something breaks after a Windows 11 update, the operating system is usually the first thing blamed.

    That reaction is understandable.
    It is also often wrong.

    Most Windows 11 issues I’ve seen in production environments were not caused by Windows itself, but by interactions at the boundaries — drivers, firmware, graphics acceleration, and modern hardware pipelines colliding under load.

    This post is about recognizing that pattern before making changes you can’t easily undo.

    Windows 11 changed the execution model

    Windows 11 didn’t just refresh the UI.
    It tightened and modernized how the system interacts with hardware.

    Notable shifts include:

    • heavier GPU offloading
    • deeper integration with modern drivers
    • stricter timing and power management
    • increased reliance on hardware acceleration

    These changes improved performance and security — but they also exposed weaknesses that were previously hidden.

    Where failures actually occur

    Most Windows 11 instability I’ve seen does not originate in the OS core.

    It shows up at the edges:

    • camera pipelines invoking GPU acceleration
    • browsers rendering complex content
    • collaboration tools engaging media stacks
    • document editors interacting with graphics layers

    When these systems overlap, failure is rarely clean.

    The result can look dramatic:

    • sudden reboots
    • frozen screens
    • applications triggering system instability

    But the OS is often just the messenger.

    Why blaming the OS is tempting

    Blaming Windows feels productive because it is visible and recent.

    But doing so can lead to:

    • unnecessary registry changes
    • disabling core protections
    • rolling back updates prematurely
    • introducing instability elsewhere

    Experienced engineers pause here.

    They ask a different question:
    “What interaction just occurred?”

    A real-world pattern

    In several recent incidents, systems rebooted only when:

    • the camera was enabled
    • a browser rendered media-heavy pages
    • a document triggered graphics rendering

    The same machines were otherwise stable.

    That pattern points away from Windows itself and toward:

    • GPU drivers
    • hardware acceleration paths
    • firmware timing
    • vendor-specific optimizations

    The fix is rarely global.
    It is almost always surgical.

    Why restraint matters

    Windows 11 gives us many levers:

    • registry overrides
    • advanced graphics settings
    • feature toggles

    Just because a lever exists does not mean it should be pulled.

    Sometimes the most correct decision is:

    • identify the root cause
    • mitigate user impact
    • document the behavior
    • wait for vendor correction

    Stability is not always achieved by action.
    Sometimes it is preserved by restraint.

    What Windows 11 is actually doing well

    Despite the noise, Windows 11 has proven to be:

    • more secure by default
    • more consistent under load
    • better integrated with modern hardware
    • less tolerant of outdated assumptions

    Those are strengths, not weaknesses.

    They require us to think more holistically about the stack.

    The lesson Windows 11 keeps teaching

    Modern systems fail at the seams.

    Operating systems, drivers, firmware, and applications now behave as a single organism.

    When one part misbehaves, symptoms surface elsewhere.

    The job is not to assign blame quickly.
    The job is to understand interaction.

    Final reflection

    Windows 11 didn’t break our environments.

    It revealed where we were already fragile.

    Once you see that pattern, troubleshooting becomes calmer, more precise, and far less reactive.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • DHCP is Boring Until It is Not

    When DHCP works, nobody notices.
    When it fails, everything looks broken.

    DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

    At its simplest, DHCP answers one question for every device on a network:

    “How do I join?”

    When a computer connects to a network, it does not yet have:

    • an IP address
    • a subnet mask
    • a default gateway
    • DNS servers

    DHCP provides all of that automatically.

    Without DHCP, every device would need to be configured manually. That might work for a lab. It does not work in the real world.

    Why we need DHCP

    DHCP exists for one reason: scale.

    In a modern environment:

    • users move between desks
    • laptops roam between VLANs
    • devices reboot
    • leases expire
    • networks change

    DHCP ensures that devices can leave and rejoin the network without human intervention.

    When DHCP works, nobody notices.
    When it fails, everything looks broken.

    How DHCP works (plain language)

    When a device boots or connects to a network, it asks:

    “Is there a DHCP server out there?”

    If one responds, the device is given:

    • an IP address
    • a subnet mask
    • a default gateway
    • DNS servers
    • a lease time

    That information is temporary. It belongs to the device only for the length of the lease.

    What is a DHCP lease

    A DHCP lease is the amount of time an IP address is assigned to a device.

    Leases matter more than people think.

    If leases are:

    • too long, stale devices linger
    • too short, networks churn and devices constantly renew

    In most enterprise environments, lease duration is a balancing act between stability and flexibility.

    What are DHCP reservations and why we use them

    A DHCP reservation is a fixed IP address tied to a specific MAC address.

    The device still uses DHCP, but it always receives the same IP.

    Reservations are commonly used for:

    • servers
    • printers
    • network appliances
    • systems referenced by firewall rules

    Reservations give consistency without abandoning DHCP.

    This is often safer than static IPs configured directly on the device.

    Installing DHCP on Windows Server (high level)

    On Windows Server, DHCP is installed as a server role.

    The basic steps are:

    • add the DHCP Server role
    • authorize the server in Active Directory
    • create a scope
    • define options like gateway and DNS
    • activate the scope

    Once installed, the DHCP server listens for requests and starts issuing leases.

    ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew explained

    These two commands are often misunderstood.

    ipconfig /release
    Tells the computer to give up its current IP address.

    ipconfig /renew
    Forces the computer to request a new lease from DHCP.

    Together, they are used to:

    • force a fresh DHCP request
    • test DHCP reachability
    • validate scope configuration
    • recover from stale leases

    They do not fix DHCP.
    They test it.

    Common DHCP problems in real environments

    Most DHCP issues do not announce themselves clearly.

    Common symptoms include:

    • slow logins
    • “no internet” complaints
    • intermittent connectivity
    • devices that work after reboot
    • systems that fail only in certain VLANs

    Common root causes include:

    • exhausted scopes
    • incorrect gateway or DNS options
    • multiple DHCP servers on the same network
    • relay misconfiguration
    • firewall rules blocking DHCP traffic
    • lease durations that are too aggressive

    How network engineers usually get misled

    DHCP problems often masquerade as:

    • DNS failures
    • authentication issues
    • Windows bugs
    • application problems

    Because DHCP is invisible when it works, it is often checked last.

    Experienced engineers check it early.

    How to troubleshoot DHCP calmly

    A disciplined approach usually looks like this:

    • confirm the client received an address
    • verify the subnet and gateway
    • check lease time and renewal behavior
    • confirm the DHCP server sees the request
    • validate there is only one authoritative DHCP source

    The goal is not to “fix fast,” but to understand what the client believes is true.

    Why DHCP failures feel chaotic

    DHCP sits at the intersection of:

    • networking
    • identity
    • DNS
    • routing

    When it breaks, everything downstream behaves unpredictably.

    That is why DHCP is often described as boring — until it isn’t.

    Final reflection

    The most important infrastructure services are the quiet ones.

    They do not call attention to themselves.
    They simply allow everything else to function.

    DHCP is one of those services.

    When it fails, it reminds us how much we rely on what we rarely see.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Sysmon on Windows

    Sysmon Event ID 1 in action.
    Each entry records a process creation event, showing when a process started and providing the first layer of visibility into how activity begins on an endpoint.

    Seeing What Actually Happens

    Why this post exists

    Sysmon is often misunderstood.

    Some expect dashboards.
    Others expect alerts.
    A few expect it to magically explain incidents on its own.

    Sysmon does none of those things.

    What it does extremely well is something more fundamental.
    It records what actually happened.

    Think of Sysmon as a black box flight recorder for a computer.

    What Sysmon is

    Sysmon (System Monitor) is a Windows system service from Microsoft Sysinternals.

    Once installed, it continuously records detailed system activity into the Windows Event Log, including:

    • Process creation and command lines
    • Network connections
    • DLL and driver loading
    • Process access and injection behavior

    Sysmon does not block activity.
    It does not alert.
    It observes and records.

    What Sysmon is not

    Sysmon is not:

    • A SIEM
    • A reporting platform
    • An inventory system
    • A centralized logging solution

    Sysmon logs locally on each endpoint only.

    Visibility comes later, when those logs are queried, collected, or forwarded.

    Where Sysmon logs live

    All Sysmon telemetry is written to the Windows Event Log on each machine.

    Log path:

    Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational

    These logs can be:

    • Queried locally with PowerShell
    • Forwarded using Windows Event Forwarding
    • Collected by a SIEM
    • Reviewed during investigations

    Why companies deploy Sysmon

    Most security incidents are investigated after the fact.

    Without Sysmon, questions like these are difficult to answer:

    • How did this process start?
    • What command launched it?
    • What network connection did it make?
    • Was this behavior normal for this system?

    Sysmon provides the raw telemetry needed to answer those questions with evidence, not assumptions.

    Where Sysmon comes from

    Sysmon is part of Microsoft Sysinternals and is downloaded directly from Microsoft:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

    It is free and does not require licensing.

    Why Sysmon requires configuration

    Out of the box, Sysmon logs too much.

    A configuration file is required to:

    • Reduce noise
    • Focus on meaningful security events
    • Avoid unnecessary performance impact

    Most mature configurations are based on known attacker behaviors, not generic logging.

    This is where MITRE ATT&CK and Atomic Red Team come in.

    Sysmon, MITRE ATT&CK, and Atomic Red Team

    MITRE ATT&CK documents how attackers behave, not just which tools they use.

    Atomic Red Team provides small, controlled tests that simulate those behaviors.

    Sysmon supplies the telemetry that proves whether those behaviors are visible.

    Together, they form a feedback loop:

    • ATT&CK defines behaviors
    • Atomic Red Team tests them
    • Sysmon records them

    Key Sysmon Event IDs (1–10)

    Event ID 1
    Process Create
    Records process start, parent process, and command line.

    Event ID 2
    File Creation Time Changed
    Indicates possible timestamp manipulation.

    Event ID 3
    Network Connection
    Records outbound network connections per process.

    Event ID 4
    Sysmon Service State Changed
    Shows Sysmon startup or shutdown.

    Event ID 5
    Process Terminated
    Records process exit.

    Event ID 6
    Driver Loaded
    Useful for detecting suspicious or unsigned drivers.

    Event ID 7
    Image Loaded
    Shows DLLs loaded by a process.

    Event ID 8
    CreateRemoteThread
    Often associated with injection techniques.

    Event ID 9
    RawAccessRead
    Can indicate disk or credential access attempts.

    Event ID 10
    Process Access
    Records when one process accesses another.

    Installing Sysmon

    Sysmon is installed from an elevated PowerShell session.

    Example:

    sysmon64.exe -accepteula -i sysmonconfig.xml

    This installs Sysmon using a predefined configuration file.

    Rollout considerations

    Sysmon performs deep system inspection during installation.

    In some environments, this can cause:

    • Extended login times
    • Temporary sluggishness
    • The appearance that the system is unresponsive

    Because of this, many organizations choose manual or staged deployment instead of broad GPO rollout.

    Confirming Sysmon is installed

    Sysmon does not report inventory centrally.

    Coverage is confirmed by querying endpoints.

    Check for the Sysmon service:

    Get-Service -Name Sysmon64

    If present, Sysmon is installed.

    Confirming Sysmon logging

    Check that the Sysmon event log exists:

    Get-WinEvent -ListLog "Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational"

    If the log exists, Sysmon is logging locally.

    Viewing Sysmon telemetry (examples)

    Show recent process creation events (Event ID 1):

    Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{
  LogName   = "Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational"
  Id        = 1
  StartTime = (Get-Date).AddMinutes(-10)
} -MaxEvents 10 |
Select TimeCreated, Id, MachineName, Message

    Show recent network connection events (Event ID 3):

    Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{
  LogName   = "Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational"
  Id        = 3
  StartTime = (Get-Date).AddMinutes(-10)
} -MaxEvents 10 |
Select TimeCreated, Id, MachineName, Message

    Show driver load events (Event ID 6):

    Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{
  LogName   = "Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational"
  Id        = 6
  StartTime = (Get-Date).AddMinutes(-30)
} -MaxEvents 5 |
Select TimeCreated, Id, MachineName, Message

    Show process access events (Event ID 10):

    Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{
  LogName   = "Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational"
  Id        = 10
  StartTime = (Get-Date).AddMinutes(-30)
} -MaxEvents 5 |
Select TimeCreated, Id, MachineName, Message

    Plain-language summary

    Sysmon records activity.
    Windows stores the records.
    PowerShell reads the records.
    Other tools collect the records.

    Sysmon is the recorder, not the reporter.

    Why this matters

    Security improves when decisions are based on evidence.

    Sysmon does not replace other tools.
    It reinforces them by preserving the truth of what happened.

    That alone makes it worth deploying thoughtfully.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “Walk With Me”

    Walk With Me.
    Jagna, Bohol — my second area. One year a member of the Church, already a full-time missionary, learning what it meant to walk with God.

    Excerpt

    God’s invitation is not always to arrive quickly, but to move together. When He says “walk with me,” He is offering companionship before certainty, and presence before proof.

    Intro

    I served my mission in the Philippines Cebu Mission in 1981. I had been a member of the Church for only six months. I did not feel experienced, polished, or prepared. Yet from the first day forward, I felt something unmistakable: I was not walking alone.

    There were days I did not know what to say, doors that did not open easily, and moments when I felt far too small for the work. Still, I felt the Lord beside me—quietly guiding, steadying my steps, and shaping my confidence over time. Long before I understood doctrine deeply, I understood companionship. God was walking with me.

    Notes from the Author

    Looking back, I see that the Lord did not remove uncertainty from my path. He sanctified it by walking with me through it. That companionship mattered more than eloquence or experience. It still does.

    Perspective

    In the scriptures, the word walk often describes the pattern of daily living. We are invited to walk uprightly, to walk in the ways of the Lord, and to walk after His holy order. These phrases point to consistency and direction over time.

    With Enoch, however, the Lord extended a deeply personal invitation:

    Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.

    Moses 6:34

    God did not ask Enoch to lead from a distance. He asked him to walk together. Enoch accepted that invitation, and so did his people. Scripture records that they walked with God, and “God received [them] up into his own bosom” (see Moses 6:39; Genesis 5:22, 24; Moses 7:69).

    The idea of walking together suggests conversation, proximity, and shared direction. It implies movement at the same pace, side by side.

    Even the risen Savior chose this pattern. As He walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, their understanding unfolded gradually. Only later did they reflect:

    Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

    Luke 24:32

    Mormon later testified of his people’s discipleship, saying he knew they were followers of Christ because of their “peaceable walk with the children of men” (Moroni 7:4).

    Children in the Church sing this same truth simply: “I will walk with Jesus, and He will walk with me” (“I Will Walk with Jesus,” Hymns—For Home and Church).

    Practice Today (Not Someday)

    Today, I will walk with God intentionally. I will not rush past Him by relying only on habit or experience. I will pause to listen before acting, pray before deciding, and trust that steady movement matters more than speed.

    Walking with God means choosing alignment over control, presence over performance, and faith over fear—one step at a time.

    Final Reflection

    God does not promise that the path will be effortless. He promises companionship. When we accept His invitation to walk with Him, progress becomes possible even when confidence is not yet complete.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Walking with God is not about getting ahead.
    It is about staying close.

    What I Hear Now

    If I keep walking, He will keep walking with me.
    That is enough.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “Seeing Afar Off”

    Seeing Afar Off.
    The eclipse rises over Joshua Tree — a reminder that vision returns, even when light feels partial.

    Excerpt

    In technology and in discipleship, problems rarely fail because of missing data. They fail because we cannot see far enough ahead to understand the consequences of our choices.

    Intro

    In IT, I have learned that anxiety often narrows vision. Early in my career, I walked into a colleague’s office convinced I had the solution to a thorny issue in a project we were co-leading. I explained what I thought we should do and why. He listened calmly, then looked across the desk and said simply, “Think about how this plays out.”

    He walked me through the likely reactions of team members, the downstream effects on systems, and the unintended consequences I had not considered. His calm allowed him to think more strategically than I was able to in that moment. What I lacked was not intelligence or effort, but perspective.

    Notes from the Author

    In infrastructure work—whether designing a Cisco Meraki network, planning a VMware migration, or making security changes—short-sighted decisions can create long-term pain. A fix that looks elegant today can become tomorrow’s outage if we fail to see how it will unfold over time.

    Perspective

    When God called Enoch to be a prophet, He described a people who suffered from the same problem:

    I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them; for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off;

    Moses 6:27

    This was not merely a failure of perception. It affected how they treated one another and how they made decisions. Their inability to see beyond the present moment led to cruelty and violence. God’s work with Enoch began by expanding his vision before expanding his influence.

    The Lord said to Enoch:

    Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see.

    Moses 6:35

    After doing so, Enoch saw “things which were not visible to the natural eye” (Moses 6:36). With that expanded perspective, he was prepared to teach.

    In modern terms, this feels familiar. When working with systems, clarity comes only after stepping back—diagramming dependencies, understanding traffic flow, or modeling failure scenarios. Seeing afar off is what separates reactive fixes from resilient design.

    Peter later warned Church members of this same danger:

    He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off.

    2 Peter 1:9

    Elder David A. Bednar taught how this expanded vision is developed, especially within families:

    Parents who consistently read and talk about the Book of Mormon with their children, who share testimony spontaneously with their children, and who invite children as gospel learners to act and not merely be acted upon will be blessed with eyes that can see afar off.

    “Watching with All Perseverance,” April 2010 general conference

    He directed this promise to parents—a reminder that, like Enoch, we must see more clearly ourselves in order to help others develop clearer vision. Scripture study sharpens perspective the way system diagrams sharpen architectural thinking. It reveals consequences that are not obvious in the moment.

    Moroni extended a similar invitation:

    …remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

    Moroni 10:3

    Practice Today (Not Someday)

    Today, I will slow down long enough to see farther. Before making decisions, I will consider downstream effects—on people, systems, and relationships. I will study the gospel not only for answers, but for perspective, trusting that clearer vision leads to wiser choices.

    Final Reflection

    Whether designing networks or building faith, short-term fixes can create long-term problems. Seeing afar off requires patience, humility, and calm. When perspective expands, decisions improve—and so does the impact of our service.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Clarity comes when I stop reacting
    and start seeing farther.

    What I Hear Now

    If I expand my vision,
    the right decisions become clearer.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Subnetting Makes Sense When You Meet the ISP

    Subnetting in the real world.
    A /30 is the transit bridge to the ISP.
    The routed /29 is the public space you actually use behind the firewall.

    Excerpt
    Subnetting clicks when you stop treating it like math and start treating it like design. The moment you get public IPs from an ISP like Comcast, you realize there are two stories happening at once. The transit link that connects you to the ISP, and the routed public block you can actually use inside your firewall.

    Intro
    Subnetting is the practice of dividing an IP space into smaller networks so routing, security, and growth stay predictable. That sounds academic until you get a real ISP handoff and suddenly someone says, “Here’s a /30,” and you discover you only get one IP you can assign. Then they also give you a /29, and you are told those are your public LAN IPs, but they do not live on your WAN port the way you think they do.

    This post will make that feel normal.

    Notes from the Author
    Subnetting became real for me when Comcast handed us public IP space and the physical reality did not match the training diagrams. I learned there is a difference between an ISP transit network and a routed block. Once you see that difference, /29 and /30 stop being confusing and start being tools.

    Perspective
    What is subnetting
    Subnetting is splitting a network into smaller networks by borrowing bits from the host portion and adding them to the network portion. The prefix length, like /24 or /30, tells you how many bits are network bits.

    Why it is necessary

    1. Routing clarity
      Routers make decisions based on networks, not individual IPs.
    2. Security boundaries
      Separate systems by function. Users, servers, guests, printers, management.
    3. Broadcast control
      Smaller broadcast domains reduce noise and improve performance.
    4. Clean growth
      You can expand without renumbering everything if you plan.

    Two ISP stories you must separate
    Story 1: The transit link, often a /30 or /31
    This is the point to point connection between your firewall WAN interface and the ISP. It is not your “public LAN block.” It is just the link.

    Story 2: The routed block, often a /29, /28, or larger
    These are the public IPs you can use for NAT, 1:1 mappings, public services, or DMZ addresses. The ISP routes that block to you through the WAN link.

    This is why people say, “Comcast gave me a /30 and I only have one usable IP.”
    In a /30 there are 4 addresses total. Two are usable, but one is almost always used by the ISP side, and the other is used by your WAN interface. That leaves you with only one you can assign on your equipment, which makes it feel like “one usable.” That is normal.

    Practice Today (Not Someday)
    Here are easy to very difficult examples with answers. Read them in order. The goal is understanding, not speed.

    Example 1, easy
    Network: 192.168.1.0/24
    Question: How many usable IPs, and what is the usable range

    Answer
    Mask: 255.255.255.0
    Total: 256
    Usable: 254
    Network: 192.168.1.0
    Broadcast: 192.168.1.255
    Usable: 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254

    Example 2, easy to medium
    Requirement: at least 50 devices
    Base: 192.168.10.0
    Question: What prefix fits, and what is the first subnet range

    Answer
    Need at least 50 hosts. Next power of two is 64 addresses.
    64 addresses means /26.
    Mask: 255.255.255.192
    First subnet: 192.168.10.0/26
    Network: 192.168.10.0
    Broadcast: 192.168.10.63
    Usable: 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.62

    Example 3, medium
    Network: 10.20.30.0/27
    Question: What is the usable range and how many usable IPs

    Answer
    /27 means 32 addresses
    Usable: 30
    Network: 10.20.30.0
    Broadcast: 10.20.30.31
    Usable: 10.20.30.1 to 10.20.30.30

    Example 4, public IP reality check, /30 transit
    Comcast gives you: 203.0.113.8/30
    Question: What are the four addresses, and which one do you typically put on your firewall WAN

    Answer
    /30 is 4 addresses total, increments of 4
    Block: 203.0.113.8 to 203.0.113.11

    Network: 203.0.113.8
    Usable: 203.0.113.9 and 203.0.113.10
    Broadcast: 203.0.113.11

    Typical assignment
    ISP gateway: 203.0.113.9
    Your firewall WAN: 203.0.113.10
    This is why it feels like you only got one usable IP. You only got one usable IP for your side. The other usable belongs to the ISP side.

    Example 5, common ISP setup, /30 transit plus routed /29
    Comcast gives you two things

    1. Transit: 198.51.100.0/30
    2. Routed block: 198.51.100.8/29 routed to your WAN IP

    Question A: What goes on the WAN interface
    Question B: What is the usable range of the /29 and how do you actually use it

    Answer A, WAN interface
    Transit /30 block is 198.51.100.0 to 198.51.100.3
    Network: 198.51.100.0
    Usable: 198.51.100.1 and 198.51.100.2
    Broadcast: 198.51.100.3

    Typical
    ISP gateway: 198.51.100.1
    Your WAN: 198.51.100.2

    Answer B, routed /29
    /29 is 8 addresses total, increments of 8
    Block: 198.51.100.8 to 198.51.100.15
    Network: 198.51.100.8
    Broadcast: 198.51.100.15
    Usable: 198.51.100.9 to 198.51.100.14

    How you use it
    These /29 addresses usually do not get placed directly on the WAN interface. Instead, the ISP routes that entire /29 to your WAN IP on the transit /30. Then inside your firewall you can use them for:

    • 1:1 NAT mappings to internal hosts
    • Public VIPs on a DMZ interface
    • NAT pools
    • Assigning a public IP to a specific service

    The key phrase you ask Comcast for is: “Confirm the routed block is routed to my WAN IP and provide the next hop.”
    That next hop is your WAN IP on the /30.

    Example 6, difficult, find the /29 block and answer fast
    Given public IP: 64.71.22.14/29
    Question: What is the network, broadcast, usable range

    Answer
    /29 increments by 8 in the last octet
    Find the nearest multiple of 8 less than or equal to 14
    8 and 16 bracket it, so network is 8

    Network: 64.71.22.8
    Broadcast: 64.71.22.15
    Usable: 64.71.22.9 to 64.71.22.14

    Example 7, difficult, build a WAN /30 from a random IP
    You are told your WAN IP is 75.120.44.6/30
    Question: What is the /30 block and what is the ISP gateway likely to be

    Answer
    /30 increments by 4
    Nearest multiple of 4 less than or equal to 6 is 4
    So block is 75.120.44.4 to 75.120.44.7

    Network: 75.120.44.4
    Usable: 75.120.44.5 and 75.120.44.6
    Broadcast: 75.120.44.7

    Likely
    ISP gateway: 75.120.44.5
    Your WAN: 75.120.44.6

    Example 8, very difficult, design for two ISPs with clean routing
    Requirement

    • ISP1 gives transit /30 and routed /29
    • ISP2 gives transit /30 and routed /29
      You want to publish two services, one primary on ISP1, one primary on ISP2, with failover possible later.

    Answer concept

    • Put only the transit /30 on each WAN interface
    • Confirm each routed /29 is routed to the correct WAN IP
    • Publish Service A using a public IP from ISP1 routed /29 with 1:1 NAT to internal host
    • Publish Service B using a public IP from ISP2 routed /29 with 1:1 NAT to internal host
    • Keep internal addressing private RFC1918 and do not mix public blocks inside LAN unless you have a real DMZ plan
    • Make sure the firewall supports policy based routing or proper default route tracking if you plan failover

    This is where subnetting meets design.

    Final Reflection
    Subnetting is not about counting. It is about ownership. When you know which addresses belong to the link, which belong to your routed block, and which belong to your internal network, you stop feeling confused. You start feeling calm.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    The /30 is the bridge.
    The routed /29 is the usable land.

    What I Hear Now
    I can design this with intention.
    I can separate the transit from the routed block.
    I can explain it clearly to anyone on the team.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – Same Sociality (D&C 130:2): On Friendship, Loss, and Eternal Relationships

    A quiet gateway between mortality and eternity.

    Excerpt
    Life is fragile.
    But friendship makes it lasting.

    Intro
    This reflection is about grief, friendship, and the doctrine of eternal relationships found in Doctrine and Covenants 130:2.

    There are moments in life when doctrine stops being theory
    and becomes something you feel in your bones.

    This week, I attended a funeral for a young man taken suddenly in the mountains.

    He was 31.

    As I stood in an overcrowded chapel,
    I realized I was not witnessing a tragedy.

    I was witnessing the measurement of a life.

    Notes from the Scriptures

    “That same sociality which exists among us here
    will exist among us there,
    only it will be coupled with eternal glory.”

    — Doctrine and Covenants 130:2

    This is one of the quietest promises in all of scripture.

    Not about time.
    Not about power.
    Not about reward.

    About relationships.

    Perspective (Direct Quote)

    “That same sociality…”

    Not ended.
    Not erased.
    Not forgotten.

    Only continued.

    Practice Today (Not Someday)

    We only live once.

    But with kindness,
    with friendship,
    with being friendly when it is easier to be distant,

    we can make our life live twice.

    Once in our own body.
    And again in the lives of others.

    Final Reflection

    Some people try to make their life long.

    Some try to make it successful.

    But the best lives are the ones that are wide.

    Wide with friends.
    Wide with people helped.
    Wide with quiet acts of goodness no one records.

    Life is fragile.

    But a friendly life is never short.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    You do not control how long you live.
    You only control how you treat people while you are alive.

    What I Hear Now

    “That same sociality…”

    The friendships you build here
    are not temporary.

    They are eternal.

    © 2012–2026 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – The Thief of Hope

    Not every battle is visible. But every choice to keep hope alive matters more than we realize.

    EXCERPT

    Hope is not lost in a single moment.
    It is stolen quietly, one small lie at a time.

    INTRO

    Scripture teaches that the adversary does not simply oppose us. He seeks to strip us of joy, confidence, and hope itself. Lehi warned that the devil works tirelessly to rob us of our agency and lead us toward misery. Nephi later added that these efforts are rarely loud or obvious. They are subtle. Gradual. Easy to overlook if we are not watchful.

    That pattern explains why discouragement so often feels heavier than temptation. The enemy’s goal is not only to make us stumble, but to convince us that getting back up is pointless.

    Yet the scriptures also give us a clear pattern for resistance.

    After Moses had seen God and spoken with Him, he found himself suddenly alone and physically weak. In that vulnerable moment, Satan appeared and demanded worship. The timing was no accident. Weakness is when doubt feels loudest.

    But Moses was not confused. He did not argue. He did not panic. He anchored himself in truth.

    He remembered who he was.

    NOTES FROM THE SCRIPTURES

    Moses’ encounter with Satan teaches us that temptation often comes after spiritual strength. When the vision ended, Moses was left exhausted. That is when Satan approached him, trying to blur the line between creator and pretender.

    But Moses did not measure himself by his weakness. He measured himself by his identity.

    He stood on three unshakable principles.

    First, he remembered that he was a son of God.
    Second, he refused to stop resisting when temptation persisted.
    Third, he relied fully on the power of Jesus Christ.

    Each step brought greater strength until Satan’s influence finally broke.

    The pattern is clear.
    Identity anchors us.
    Persistence strengthens us.
    The Savior delivers us.

    PERSPECTIVE (DIRECT QUOTES)

    Scripture

    “I have a work for thee, Moses, my son.”
    Moses 1:6

    “Moses, son of man, worship me.”
    Moses 1:12

    “Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God.”
    Moses 1:13

    “Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not.”
    Moses 1:16

    “Depart hence, Satan.”
    Moses 1:18

    “In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan.”
    Moses 1:21

    “Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence.”
    Moses 1:22

    Sister Tamara W. Runia

    “Satan is the thief of hope.”

    “Your Repentance Doesn’t Burden Jesus Christ; It Brightens His Joy,” April 2025 General Conference

    PRACTICE (TODAY, NOT SOMEDAY)

    Today, I will resist temptation by choosing three simple acts of faith.

    I will remember who I am.
    A child of God, not defined by weakness, but by divine heritage.

    I will be persistent.
    I will not give up just because temptation returns. I will stand again, and again, and again.

    I will rely on Jesus Christ.
    Not only in moments of crisis, but in every quiet struggle where hope feels fragile.

    FINAL REFLECTION

    Satan rarely begins by asking us to abandon faith.
    He begins by whispering that faith is not working.

    He steals hope before he steals obedience.
    He drains courage before he attacks conviction.

    But Moses shows us a better way.

    Hope is protected when we know who we are.
    Strength grows when we keep standing.
    Victory comes when we trust in the Savior’s power instead of our own.

    POCKET I’M KEEPING

    Hope is not something I lose.
    It is something I must protect.

    WHAT I HEAR NOW

    “Satan is the thief of hope.”

    But Jesus Christ is the Giver of strength.
    And with Him, hope can never truly be stolen.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “I Have a Work for Thee”

    Snow resting on the Oquirrh Mountain Temple this morning, a quiet reminder that even in the coldest seasons, God is still building something holy in us.

    EXCERPT

    God does not just see who we are.
    He sees what we can become — and invites us to help Him get there.

    INTRO

    Most of us want to feel valued, not just noticed, but trusted. We want to know that our lives matter beyond our own circle, that what we do makes a real difference.

    One of the quiet truths of the gospel is that God increases our sense of worth by inviting us to participate in His work. He does not simply affirm who we are. He assigns us something meaningful to do.

    When the Lord spoke to Moses, He first declared, “Thou art my son.” Then He added an invitation that changed everything: “I have a work for thee.” In that moment, identity became purpose.

    The same pattern appears again and again in scripture. Abraham learned that he had been chosen before he was born. Alma taught that many were prepared from the foundation of the world to help others enter God’s rest. These were not random callings. They were expressions of divine confidence.

    Not everyone receives a visible role like Moses or Abraham. Most of us are called in quieter ways. Still, the principle is the same. Whether the work feels large or small, every invitation to serve is God saying, I trust you. I need you. You matter in My plan.

    NOTES FROM THE SCRIPTURES

    Throughout scripture, God affirms worth and then invites action.

    Moses learned he was a son of God before being sent to liberate a nation.
    Abraham learned he was chosen before being entrusted with leadership.
    Alma taught that many were prepared long before they were ever called.

    The pattern is consistent.
    Calling follows confidence.
    Service follows identity.

    Even Amulek, who described himself as being “called many times,” shows us that repeated, simple invitations can be just as sacred as dramatic ones.

    PERSPECTIVE (DIRECT QUOTES)

    Scripture

    “I have a work for thee, Moses, my son.”
    Moses 1:6

    “Thou wast chosen before thou wast born.”
    Abraham 3:23

    “They were called and prepared from the foundation of the world.”
    Alma 13:3

    President Spencer W. Kimball

    God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom. … So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds!

    “Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, December 1974

    President Thomas S. Monson

    I experienced … as I have many times before, a sense of gratitude that my Heavenly Father had answered another person’s prayer through me.

    “The Priesthood—a Sacred Gift,” April 2007 General Conference

    PRACTICE (TODAY, NOT SOMEDAY)

    Today, I will look for the ways God is calling me to serve.

    Not only in the obvious moments, but in the quiet ones.
    In a kind word.
    In a listening ear.
    In a simple act that no one else may notice.

    I will recognize these invitations for what they truly are.
    Not interruptions.
    Not obligations.
    But expressions of trust.

    Each small call is a reminder that God believes in me.
    That He sees my potential.
    That He trusts my ability to bless others right now.

    FINAL REFLECTION

    Some people are asked to lead nations.
    Others are asked to lift one soul at a time.

    Both are sacred.

    God’s work does not move forward only through grand moments. It advances through countless quiet acts of faith, done by ordinary people who accept divine invitations.

    To be given work in God’s kingdom is not a burden.
    It is a gift.
    A sign of confidence from heaven.

    POCKET I’M KEEPING

    When God gives me something to do, He is not testing me.
    He is trusting me.

    WHAT I HEAR NOW

    “I have a work for thee.”

    Not just for prophets.
    Not just for leaders.
    But for me.
    Today.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – A New Beginning Every Day

    A quiet morning at the Los Angeles Temple, where light meets stillness and reminds me that every day with Jesus Christ is a new beginning.

    EXCERPT

    A new year does not begin because the calendar changes.
    It begins because Jesus Christ makes change possible, again and again.

    INTRO

    January always feels like a threshold, but this year feels different. I am not stepping into 2026 only with goals, but with a deeper awareness of how much I still need the grace of new beginnings.

    On a personal level, I began something in late December that has already humbled me. I enrolled in boxing training and quickly learned the truth of a saying I once heard, “Everyone can fight, but not everyone can box.” Since December 23, I have trained six days a week, three hours a day, discovering that boxing is not about force, but fundamentals. Footwork. Head movement. Timing. Discipline. Skills, technique, and speed matter more than power.

    Watching the greats only deepened that lesson. Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion, did not become legendary by relying on strength alone, but by mastering movement, adaptability, and relentless discipline. His career is proof that greatness is built on fundamentals refined over time.

    The same principle echoes in Bruce Lee’s timeless words, “Be water, my friend.” To be adaptable. Formless. Fluid. To empty the mind and adjust to whatever shape life requires. Water flows around obstacles, yet can also crash through them when needed. That image has stayed with me in training. Every session feels like learning how to move with life rather than against it.

    Professionally, 2026 brings its own kind of discipline. Major work lies ahead. Domain transitions. Intune migrations. Expanding responsibilities in Azure that will demand precision, patience, and steady endurance. These are not quick victories. They require humility, adaptability, and the willingness to begin again when plans change.

    As I reflected on these personal and professional goals, Elder Patrick Kearon’s message from General Conference settled deeply in my heart. His words felt like the spiritual parallel to everything I was learning in the gym and at work.

    “All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”

    In that moment, I saw the connection clearly.
    Boxing teaches me to move with discipline.
    Work teaches me to adapt with patience.
    But the Savior teaches me something far greater.

    No matter how many times I stumble, hesitate, or feel behind, through Jesus Christ I am never out of beginnings. This year is not just about improvement. It is about remembering that in every arena of life, spiritual and temporal, I am allowed to start again.

    NOTES FROM ELDER PATRICK KEARON

    Elder Kearon reminded us that when Jesus walked among the people, He did more than perform miracles. He restored hope. He reached those society avoided. He touched the diseased and comforted the weary. He taught liberating truth and called sinners to repentance.

    To the blind, the lame, the grieving, the ashamed, and the broken in spirit, what the Savior offered was not simply relief from pain. He offered a new beginning.

    Not once.
    Not rarely.
    But as often as needed.

    Elder Kearon taught that baptism is not our only chance to start again. Through weekly sacrament and daily repentance, we are invited into continual renewal. This is not a church of one-time forgiveness. This is the Church of new beginnings.

    PERSPECTIVE (DIRECT QUOTES)

    “All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”

    “With baptism by water and the Spirit, we are born again and can walk in newness of life.”

    “These new beginnings can happen every day.”

    “Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”

    PRACTICE (TODAY, NOT SOMEDAY)

    Today’s practice is choosing renewal over regret.

    It is stepping into the gym again, even when yesterday felt like failure.
    It is opening the laptop again, even when yesterday felt overwhelming.
    It is kneeling in prayer again, even when yesterday felt heavy.

    Faith is not demanding perfect conditions.
    Faith is trusting the Savior who makes imperfect beginnings holy.

    Repentance is not fear.
    It is hope in motion.

    FINAL REFLECTION

    The Savior never gave up on His mission, even when the cost was suffering beyond measure. He endured so that I would never run out of beginnings.

    Not just at baptism.
    Not just at major turning points.
    But every ordinary day when I choose to stand up again.

    That is what faithful endurance looks like.
    Not perfection.
    But persistence with God.

    POCKET I’M KEEPING

    I do not have to wait for a perfect moment to change.
    I only need to choose to begin again, today.

    WHAT I HEAR NOW

    “All of us can have a new beginning through, and because of, Jesus Christ. Even you.”

    “This is the Church of new beginnings.”

    “Jesus gives us as many new beginnings as we need.”

    Link To The Talk

    https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/31kearon?lang=eng

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “What I learned from the Doctrine & Covenants”

    Cheerful Giver.
    A quiet reminder that faith is practiced through trust, discipline, and gratitude.

    Excerpt

    In 2025, the Doctrine and Covenants did more than guide my study. It quietly shaped my choices, my discipline, my priorities, and the way I practiced faith in ordinary life.

    Intro

    Studying the Doctrine and Covenants this year felt less like following a schedule and more like walking alongside revelation that insisted on application. The lessons were not abstract. They pressed gently but consistently into how I prayed, how I worked, how I cared for my body, how I gave, and how I treated time as something sacred rather than expendable.

    This was not a year of dramatic spiritual moments. It was a year of steady alignment.

    Notes from the Doctrine and Covenants

    Again and again, the Doctrine and Covenants reminded me that God is already offering light, direction, and help. Receiving those gifts requires intention. Revelation is not passive. It is chosen.

    Holiness emerged as something practical. Holy places matter, but so do holy habits. Order invites peace. Discipline creates freedom. Obedience is not restriction. It is alignment with divine patterns that actually work.

    Joy was reframed. Not as ease, but as purpose. Even in difficulty, joy grows when time is used wisely and life is ordered toward things of eternal value.

    Education stood out as a divine expectation. Learning is not optional. God prepares His people by helping them develop intelligence, skill, and faith together.

    Family relationships deepened my understanding of eternity. Joy increases as relationships are strengthened on both sides of the veil. Zion is not built alone.

    Perspective (Direct Quotes)

    Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.

    Be anxiously engaged in a good cause.

    Teach ye diligently.

    Seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

    Where much is given, much is required.

    Practice (Today, Not Someday)

    Today, I choose to receive light intentionally.
    Today, I guard time spent in holy places.
    Today, I live the Word of Wisdom as a daily discipline, not a checklist.
    Today, I practice the law of tithing with trust rather than fear.
    Today, I invest in learning, family, and unity.

    Holiness is not postponed. It is practiced now.

    Final Reflection

    The Doctrine and Covenants taught me that obedience is not about perfection. It is about direction. When life is ordered according to divine patterns, strength is renewed, clarity increases, and peace follows.

    God does not rush His work. He prepares His people patiently as they choose to act.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    Light fills every part of life that is opened to receive it.

    What I Hear Now

    Be anxiously engaged in a good cause.

    Where much is given, much is required.

    I am bound when you do what I say.

    Every blessing is predicated upon obedience.

    Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.

    Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.

    Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.

    Seek learning, even by study and also by faith.

    As health is honored, wisdom and hidden treasures of knowledge are revealed, and strength is renewed to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.

    As trust is practiced through tithing, fear gives way to confidence, and the promise stands that the faithful shall not be burned at His coming.

    The same sociality that exists among us here will exist among us there, coupled with eternal glory.

    Whatever principles of intelligence we gain in this life will rise with us in the resurrection.

    Zion is built together.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “And Now I See”

    From the Last General Conference Address of President Jeffrey R. Holland, October 2025

    After nearly four years since moving to Utah, I returned here for proxy endowment. As I arrived at the temple grounds, news came that Jeffrey R. Holland had passed away. California had endured storms through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after. As the rain finally lifted, light broke through lingering clouds, marking a quiet and sacred hour.

    MIT8 — “And Now I See”

    From President Jeffrey R. Holland, Oct 2025 General Conference

    Excerpt

    “Whereas I was blind, now I see.”
    John 9:25

    Intro

    On December 27, 2025, while I was inside the Los Angeles Temple performing proxy endowment work, President Jeffrey R. Holland passed away.

    As I later reflected on his final General Conference message, my thoughts returned not to sentiment, but to scripture — to the blind man healed by the Savior, and to the simple, unmistakable declaration that became the heart of Elder Holland’s witness:

    “And now I see.”

    Notes from President Jeffrey R. Holland

    President Holland anchored his message in John chapter 9, where Jesus and His disciples encounter a man blind from birth. When the disciples asked complicated questions about blame and cause, the Savior answered not with theory, but with action.

    He spat on the ground, made clay, anointed the man’s eyes, and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man obeyed. He returned seeing.

    When challenged by those who opposed Jesus, the healed man bore a witness rooted not in argument, but in experience:

    “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

    President Holland emphasized that evidence matters — lived truth over accusation, obedience over debate.

    Perspective (Direct Quotes)

    Scripture — John 9:25
    “Whereas I was blind, now I see.”

    President Jeffrey R. Holland:
    “So what if the answers to our prayers come in plain or convoluted ways? Are we willing to persevere, to keep trying to live Christ’s gospel no matter how much spit and clay it takes? It may not always be clear to us what is being done or why, and from time to time, we will all feel a little like the senior sister who said, ‘Lord, how about a blessing that isn’t in disguise?’”

    President Jeffrey R. Holland:
    “My first sight-giving, life-giving encounter with real evidence of truth did not come with anointing clay or in the pool of Siloam. No, the instrument of truth that brought my healing from the Lord came as pages in a book, yes, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ! The claims about this book have been attacked and dismissed by some unbelievers, the anger often matching the vitriol of those who told the healed man that he could not possibly have experienced what he knew he had experienced.”

    Practice (Today, Not Someday)

    Today’s practice is obedience without full explanation.

    It is accepting that the Savior may heal us through methods that seem plain, uncomfortable, or disguised.
    It is choosing to wash in the pool when instructed — even when we do not yet understand the why.

    Faith is not demanding better ingredients.
    Faith is trusting the Healer.

    Final Reflection

    President Holland taught that God’s power is not diminished by simple instruments.

    Spit and dirt.
    Clay and water.
    A book of scripture.

    What matters is not the method, but the obedience — and the courage to testify afterward.

    Inside the temple that day, I felt again the quiet power of a witness earned through experience, not argument:

    Whereas I was blind, now I see.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Are we willing to persevere, no matter how much spit and clay it takes?”

    What I Hear Now

    The Savior does not always heal in ways that impress the crowd.
    But He always heals in ways that change the soul.

    Link to the Talk

    https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/41holland?lang=eng

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • How to Implement High-Availability Engineering (Step-by-Step)

    In the world of Infrastructure Engineering, we often say that “Complexity is the enemy of reliability.” Whether we are managing an M365 environment or a distributed network of remote nodes, the goal is always the same: High Availability (HA).

    As a Senior Engineer, I view system resilience through three specific forensic lenses. Here is how we ensure “Uptime” when the environment becomes unpredictable.

    1. The Heartbeat Protocol: Real-Time Telemetry

    In a distributed system, you cannot manage what you cannot see. Implementing a “Heartbeat” or real-time location sharing for remote assets is the difference between proactive recovery and forensic failure analysis.

    A consistent heartbeat ensures that the central controller knows exactly where the data (or the asset) is at all times. If a node goes silent—especially during a critical window like a 3:00 AM deployment—the system shouldn’t have to wait for a user to report a “down” status; the heartbeat failure should trigger the “Rescue Protocol” automatically.

    2. Edge Hardening: Preparing for Environmental Extremes

    We often focus on the software, but the physical “Base Layer” is where many systems fail. In engineering, we call this Environmental Hardening. Just as we provide thermal protection for outdoor hardware to prevent “cold-start” failures, we must ensure our digital assets have the proper “insulation.” In an enterprise context, this means:

    • Redundant Power: Ensuring “thermodynamic” stability for remote nodes.
    • Physical Security: Using high-fidelity interfaces to maintain signal integrity in noisy environments.

    3. Resource Pooling: Eliminating Single Points of Failure

    The most resilient systems utilize Resource Pooling. By creating a “Joint Account” of resources (storage, compute, or capital), we ensure that the system has immediate access to what it needs, even if one “administrator” is offline.

    Moving from a single-owner architecture to a shared-resource model reduces latency and ensures that the mission (the application) continues to run without interruption. It is the ultimate safeguard against the “Government Thieves” of data—bottlenecks and probate-like locks.

    Forensic Conclusion: True engineering isn’t about building a system that never fails; it’s about building a system that is sensible enough to recover when it does. As the late Bruce Lee said, “The stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “Don’t Give Up, Boy”

    By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Oct 1999

    Layton Temple beneath the final supermoon of 2025 — a quiet witness that light continues to rise, even after long nights.

    Excerpt

    “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

    Intro

    For the last four days, I have listened repeatedly to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s talk An High Priest of Good Things to Come. On December 4, 2025, standing at the Layton Temple beneath the final supermoon of the year, those words settled deeply into my heart.

    This was not a message of quick relief or easy answers. It was a message spoken to the weary, the long-suffering, and those who keep walking even when the road feels endless.

    Notes from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

    Elder Holland shared a tender, personal account from his life — a moment when he imagined speaking to his younger self during a season of discouragement and uncertainty.

    Rather than rewriting the past, he offered reassurance. Not denial of hardship, but perspective gained through time, faith, and endurance.

    His message was simple and powerful: God was already at work. Help was already coming. And quitting was never the answer.

    Perspective (Direct Quotes)

    “In that imaginary instant, I couldn’t help calling out to him: ‘Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying.’”

    “There is help and happiness ahead — a lot of it — 30 years of it now, and still counting.”

    “You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end.”

    “Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

    Practice (Today, Not Someday)

    Today, the practice is not dramatic change. It is refusal to quit.

    It is continuing to walk when answers are delayed. It is continuing to believe when outcomes are unseen. It is choosing faith not because the road is easy, but because God is faithful.

    Today, I keep walking.

    Final Reflection

    Under the rising supermoon at the Layton Temple, I felt something quiet but firm: reassurance does not erase trials, but it strengthens the traveler.

    God does not rush us through our struggles. He walks with us through them.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Keep walking. Trust God. Good things are coming.”

    Link to the Talk

    An High Priest of Good Things to Come – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1999/10/an-high-priest-of-good-things-to-come?lang=eng

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • MIT8 – “Keeping the Temple Holy”

    By President Gordon B. Hinckley

    Oquirrh Mountain Temple glowing at dusk, December 13, 2025 — a quiet reminder that holiness is preserved by preparation.

    Excerpt

    “The other card which I have is what we call a temple recommend. It represents a credit card with the Lord, making available to me many of His greatest gifts. The bank card is concerned with things of the world, the recommend with things of God.”

    Intro

    December 13, 2025. 6:00 PM. Proxy Endowment at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

    As the sky deepened into winter color and the temple stood illuminated against the dusk, I carried more than a recommend in my pocket. I carried a reminder. President Gordon B. Hinckley’s words returned clearly and quietly, teaching not just what a temple recommend is, but what it represents. Not a formality. Not a routine. A sacred trust.

    Notes from President Gordon B. Hinckley

    President Hinckley offered a simple but unforgettable comparison.

    He held up two cards.

    One was a bank credit card. Useful. Valuable. Governed by contracts and conditions. Issued temporarily. Revocable if misused. Owned ultimately by the bank.

    The other was a temple recommend.

    A different kind of credit entirely. A credit card with the Lord.

    Unlike financial credit, eligibility for a temple recommend is not based on wealth, status, or means. It is based on consistent personal behavior, moral worthiness, and the goodness of one’s life. It is concerned not with money, but with eternity.

    He reminded us that a recommend is not permanent. It must be renewed. Worthiness must be maintained. And sometimes, he cautioned, we rush people to the temple before they are truly prepared.

    So sacred was this matter in earlier times that Presidents of the Church personally signed every recommend themselves.

    Perspective (Direct Quotes)

    “I hold before you two credit cards. Most of you are familiar with cards such as these.”

    “The other card which I have is what we call a temple recommend. It represents a credit card with the Lord, making available to me many of His greatest gifts.”

    “Eligibility for a temple recommend is not based on financial worth. That has nothing whatever to do with it. It is based on consistent personal behavior, on the goodness of one’s life.”

    “The temple recommend which you carry, if honestly obtained, is certification of your moral worthiness.”

    “What a unique and remarkable thing is a temple recommend. It is only a piece of paper with a name and signatures, but in reality it is a certificate that says the bearer is honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous.”

    “It makes one eligible for an exclusive and remarkable privilege—the privilege of entering that House which says on its wall, ‘Holiness to the Lord—the House of the Lord.’”

    “Live worthy to serve in that house. Keep it holy.”

    Practice (Today, Not Someday)

    Today I ask myself:

    Am I treating my temple recommend as a privilege or as a routine?

    Am I living in a way that quietly honors what it certifies?

    Worthiness is not proven at the interview table alone. It is practiced daily in private choices, honest dealings, clean thoughts, and deliberate restraint. Today, not later. Now, not eventually.

    Final Reflection

    Standing before the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, I was reminded that holiness is not accidental. It is cultivated. A recommend is renewed on paper every two years, but it is renewed in the soul every single day.

    The Lord does not rush holiness. He invites preparation.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Entering the temple is a privilege to be earned and not a right that automatically goes with Church membership.”

    Link to the Talk

    Keeping the Temple Holy – President Gordon B. Hinckley https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1990/04/keeping-the-temple-holy?lang=eng

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • How to Install Sysmon on Windows 11 (Step-by-Step Guide)

    System Monitoring Made Simple for IT Admins & Security Pros

    Sysmon (System Monitor) is part of Microsoft’s Sysinternals Suite, and it gives you deep visibility into process creation, network connections, file changes, and system activity. For threat detection, forensics, and baselining, Sysmon is one of the most powerful free tools you can deploy.

    In this guide, I’ll walk through the step-by-step process of installing Sysmon cleanly on a Windows 11 machine, loading a hardened configuration, enabling the event log, and validating that everything is working.

    This is the exact method I used on my laptop — clean, repeatable, and production-ready.

    1. Prerequisites

    Before you start:

    • Log in as a user with Local Administrator rights.
    • Open PowerShell as Administrator.

    You’ll be using a mixture of PowerShell commands and Event Viewer, so make sure you have admin elevation.

    2. Download Sysinternals Suite

    Microsoft distributes Sysmon inside the Sysinternals Suite ZIP.

    1. Download Sysinternals Suite from Microsoft’s official site.
    2. Create a clean directory:
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\Sysinternals" -Force
    1. Extract the ZIP:
    Expand-Archive "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\SysinternalsSuite.zip" `
  -DestinationPath "C:\Sysinternals" -Force
    1. Verify Sysmon64.exe exists:
    Get-ChildItem "C:\Sysinternals" -Filter Sysmon64.exe -Recurse

    You should see something similar to:

    Sysmon64.exe   Length: 4563248

    If the file is non-zero in size, it’s valid.

    3. Prepare Your Sysmon Configuration File

    Sysmon must be installed with a configuration that tells it what to monitor.
    You can use:

    • A basic config
    • A hardened config
    • The community-recommended SwiftOnSecurity config

    Here’s how to set up a config folder:

    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\Scripts\Sysmon" -Force

    Copy your Sysmon config into it:

    Copy-Item "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\sysmonconfig-export.xml" `
  "C:\Scripts\Sysmon\sysmonconfig.xml" -Force

    Verify it:

    Get-ChildItem "C:\Scripts\Sysmon"

    You should see:

    sysmonconfig.xml   Length: (non-zero)

    4. Install Sysmon with the Config

    Navigate to the Sysinternals directory:

    cd "C:\Sysinternals"

    If Sysmon was previously installed, uninstall it first:

    .\Sysmon64.exe -u force

    Then install it cleanly with your XML config:

    .\Sysmon64.exe -i C:\Scripts\Sysmon\sysmonconfig.xml

    Expected output:

    Sysmon64 installed.
SysmonDrv installed.
Sysmon64 started.

    Check service status:

    Get-Service Sysmon64

    You should see:

    Running  Sysmon64

    5. Register the Sysmon Event Manifest

    This step ensures the Sysmon event log is visible in Event Viewer.

    .\Sysmon64.exe -m

    Output:

    Event manifest/format registered successfully

    6. Enable the Sysmon Event Log

    Check if the Sysmon log exists:

    wevtutil el | Select-String "Sysmon"

    You should see:

    Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational

    Enable the log:

    wevtutil sl "Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational" /e:true

    7. Validate That Sysmon Is Working

    Method A: Quick PowerShell validation

    wevtutil qe Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational /c:5 /f:text

    If you see any events (Event ID 1, 5, etc.), Sysmon is working.

    Method B: Event Viewer

    Open Event Viewer:

    Applications and Services Logs
  → Microsoft
      → Windows
          → Sysmon
              → Operational

    You should start seeing:

    • Event ID 1 – Process Create
    • Event ID 5 – Process Terminate
    • Other IDs depending on your config

    Method C: Live test

    Run:

    Start-Process notepad.exe

    Then refresh Sysmon → Operational log.

    You should immediately see a new Event ID 1 logging Notepad’s process creation.

    If you see this event, Sysmon is fully operational.

    8. Optional: Create a Shortcut for Faster Access

    Desktop Shortcut

    1. Right-click Desktop → New → Shortcut
    2. Enter:
    eventvwr.msc /c:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
    1. Name it Sysmon Log

    Now you can open Sysmon in one click.

    Event Viewer Favorites

    Right-click Sysmon → Operational → Add to Favorites.

    9. Updating the Sysmon Config Later

    If you want to modify or replace the config:

    cd C:\Sysinternals
.\Sysmon64.exe -c C:\Scripts\Sysmon\sysmonconfig.xml

    You should see:

    Configuration updated.

    No reinstall required.

    10. Uninstall Sysmon (if needed)

    cd C:\Sysinternals
.\Sysmon64.exe -u force

    This removes:

    • Sysmon64 service
    • SysmonDrv driver
    • Registry entries
    • Event manifest

    Conclusion

    Once installed, Sysmon becomes a powerful source of system telemetry for:

    • Threat hunting
    • Malware investigation
    • Lateral movement detection
    • Process monitoring
    • Incident response
    • Forensic analysis

    With a hardened config, Sysmon gives deep visibility with minimal overhead — making it an essential component of any Windows security stack.

    If you’re deploying Sysmon across multiple endpoints (like we do at work), you can automate it using Intune, GPO, or a custom PowerShell deployment package.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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