Americans grow up knowing what the appropriate amount to tip is and when a tip is appropriate. The rest of us have to puzzle it out. And it’s not easy. Here are some of the key challenges:

1. How much should you tip percentage-wise?
2. Who do you tip? All waiters? Doormen? Concierges? Bus-people?
3. What constitutes good service?
4. How do I know if a bar, restaurant or a hotel pays tips to their staff? Especially if you Debit/EFT a charge. If I add an extra tip in a Hyatt does the room service waiter get it?

Add to this the inherent Australian (or is it just me?) awkwardness about pushing money into people’s hands – like hotel staff who carry your luggage.

I’ve slowly been ape’ing Americans and asking questions about it but am I asking the right Americans? What if I have latched onto the cheapest Americans ever? Tricky and a slightly stressful minefield every time we go out.

The 2.6.0 release is a major feature release and includes a huge variety
of new features, fixes, updates and enhancements. These include the
complete cut-over from XMLRPC to the REST API, numerous language
enhancements, a complete rewrite of the events and reporting system, an
internal Ruby DSL, a single binary, Windows support, a new HTTP report
processor, and a myriad of other enhancements.

We’ve included release notes below that you can also see at:

http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet/wiki/Release_Notes

The release is available for download at:

http://puppetlabs.com/downloads/puppet/puppet-2.6.0.tar.gz

And I am sure packagers will be hard at work in the not to distant future!

The 2.6.0 release is a major feature release and includes a huge variety of new features, fixes, updates and enhancements.  These include the complete cut-over from XMLRPC to the REST API, basic Windows support, numerous language enhancements, a complete rewrite of the events and reporting system, an internal Ruby DSL, a single binary, a new HTTP report processor, and a myriad of other enhancements.

You can read the full release notes at:

http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet/wiki/Release_Notes.

And download RC4 at:

http://puppetlabs.com/downloads/puppet/puppet-2.6.0rc4.tar.gz

The 1.0.1 release is a maintenance release that fixes a lot of the
outstanding bugs and issues with the 1.0 release. We’re planning a 1.1
release in the near future that will add additional features (you can
see the Roadmap here)

http://puppetlabs.com/downloads/dashboard/puppet-dashboard-1.0.1.tgz

Fixed in this release is:

* Fixed exception in display of audit log messages
* Fixed deletion of nodes to remove their reports, eliminating orphans
* Fixed exception on node group pages if they had associated classes or
groups
* Fixed unwanted pagination of JSON and YAML results
* Fixed reporting of successful and failed nodes
* Added deletion of single reports
* Added labels and placeholders to form fields
* Added local copies of all JavaScript files
* Added run status chart to node list pages (all, successful, failed)
* Added searching to node, class and group index pages
* Added tooltips to node and report status indicators
* Improved README’s installation and configuration instructions
* Improved sidebar with links to classes and groups, added it to homepage
* Improved tabular display of nodes, groups and classes
* Removed empty reports.css to make packagers happy
* Removed loading of seed data by default
* Updated UI with status icons, improved typography and spacing, more
noticeable buttons
* Updated packaging information for DEB and RPM

There are new packages also available. The new packages are available via APT and Yum repositories hosted by Puppet
Labs.

Overall instructions for installing and running the Dashboard can be
found here.

1. Get DEB Packages via APT

a. Add the following to your /etc/apt/sources.list file:

deb http://apt.puppetlabs.com/ubuntu lucid main
deb-src http://apt.puppetlabs.com/ubuntu lucid main

b. Add the new Puppet Labs repository release key to APT (the package is
signed with this key also).

$ gpg --recv-key 4BD6EC30
$ gpg -a --export 4BD6EC30 | sudo apt-key add -

c. Run apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get update

d. Install Puppet Dashboard

$ sudo apt-get install puppet-dashboard

The Dashboard will be installed in /usr/share/puppet-dashboard and
you can run the server from here or create a Passenger
configuration. The updated package contains a simple init and
sysconfig set-up.

2. Get RPM packages via Yum

a. Create a Yum repo entry for Puppet Labs

$ vi /etc/yum.repos.d/puppetlabs.repo
[puppetlabs]
name=Puppet Labs Packages
baseurl=http://yum.puppetlabs.com/base/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=http://yum.puppetlabs.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-puppetlabs

b. Install via yum

$ sudo yum install puppet-dashboard

You will be prompted to install the Puppet Labs release key as part
of the installation process and the RPM packages are signed with
that key.

The Dashboard will be installed in /usr/share/puppet-dashboard and
you run the server from here or create a Passenger configuration.

You can also find the RPM spec file here.

The 2.6.0 release is a major feature release and includes a huge variety of new features, fixes, updates and enhancements.  These include the complete cut-over from XMLRPC to the REST API, basic Windows support, numerous language enhancements, a complete rewrite of the events and reporting system, an internal Ruby DSL, a single binary, a new HTTP report processor, and a myriad of other enhancements.

You can read the full release notes at:

http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet/wiki/Release_Notes.

And download RC3 at:

http://puppetlabs.com/downloads/puppet/puppet-2.6.0rc3.tar.gz

The 2.6.0 release is a major feature release and includes a huge variety of new features, fixes, updates and enhancements.  These include the complete cut-over from XMLRPC to the REST API, basic Windows support, numerous language enhancements, a complete rewrite of the events and reporting system, an internal Ruby DSL, a single binary, a new HTTP report processor, and a myriad of other enhancements.

You can read the full release notes at:

http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet/wiki/Release_Notes.

And download RC2 at:

http://puppetlabs.com/downloads/puppet/puppet-2.6.0rc2.tar.gz

The 2.6.0 release is a major feature release and includes a huge variety of new features, fixes, updates and enhancements.  These include the complete cut-over from XMLRPC to the REST API, basic Windows support, numerous language enhancements, a complete rewrite of the events and reporting system, an internal Ruby DSL, a single binary, a new HTTP report processor, and a myriad of other enhancements.

You can read the full release notes at:

http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet/wiki/Release_Notes

And download the RC at:

http://puppetlabs.com/downloads/puppet/puppet-2.6.0rc1.tar.gz

1.  We’ll be using a CentOS 5.4 image as the basis for the tutorial – you can download it from here.  If you don’t want to download the image you can create your own by installing CentOS 5.4 and adding the EPEL repository.

2.  You can run it in VMWare Player, VMWare Fusion, etc (or VirtualBox – for VirtualBox you need to use the Virtual Media Manager to add the vmdk file and then create a new VirtualBox machine using that drive image.)

NOTE: Apparently there are some issues with the image and VirtualBox.  We’re looking into it.

I will provide a small number of USB keys with the image on it and copies of VirtualBox but generally expect that people will download and install the requirements prior to the tutorial.

You can elect to use your own host but if so I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to do everything in the tutorial or that if you have issues that we’ll be able to resolve them during the tutorial.

The visa application

1.  Read EVERYTHING – even if you’re using a lawyer – and then READ IT AGAIN.  Don’t assume your lawyer knows what they are doing – they’ll probably be taking care of your employer’s Department of Labour application and EAD – and your end is largely up to you.  If ONE piece of data or ONE piece of paperwork is incorrect they will reject your application and it’s back to square one with associated delays and costs.

2.  Check the ONET Job Code on your application is correct – that one cost me two weeks of delays and a new application.  It must be a job code that requires a Bachelor’s Degree or better.  The code is put on your DoL application by your lawers – so make sure it’s right because they’ll need to re-apply if it’s not. Costs, etc.

3. Make sure you get the right photos – they are very picky about photos and they should be in line with their guidelines.

4. Make sure you fill out the DS-160 correctly – save often when using the form and keep a copy of your application data – you may need it again.

5.  Bring everything to the interview – documents, supporting documents, educational assessments, transcripts, proof you are going to return (rates notice, family pictures, etc etc).  Better to have it all than miss out and have to come back because you forgot to bring something.

6.  Don’t forget your appointment confirmation page, the original Australia Post receipt for your visa application fee and your pre-paid self-addressed envelope – sometimes they are nice and let you run and get the latter but sometimes not from what we saw.

7.  Consular officials have absolute authority and there is no or limited right of appeal.  So make sure you have all your ducks in a row and if you don’t – then don’t argue.  Better to take your lumps and try again.

8.  Be prepared to wait.  You’ll take to several people and visit several different areas – all with much waiting in between.  We spent 6-8 hours in the consultate in Melbourne.  Bring a book.  Seriously.

Once you arrive

1. US Customs do not have a sense of humour and smiling and using “G’day” on them does not work (it does however work on most other Americans – which is damn useful ).  Have ALL your paperwork with you.  They can ask to see anything from your application and query details.  From my experience and other accounts it generally goes okay but be prepared to answer questions and produce bits of paper.

2.  The white card (I-94) they attach to your passport is important – the number on it is your “Alien Registration #” or something like that.  Don’t lose the card or detach it from your passport – and write the number down somewhere.  If your partner is going to work she’ll need this number to apply for her I-765.  Also needed are photographs and a copy of both sides of your I-94 card.

3.  Wait 10 working days before you apply for a Social Security Number – this is apparently how long it takes to process your arrival into the country into the various government databases.  No idea if this is accurate but it seems like a reasonable premise.

4.  The Visa policy sheets at the Social Security Administration hadn’t been updated (as at Jun 2010) with all the E-3 visa information and the staff member I spoke to was concerned my application wouldn’t work.  It turns out that you can make an application and it’s not rejected by the SSA’s systems – just be polite and persistant.

5.  You can get paid without an SSN – just write “Applied For” on your I-9 form and then update it with your employer later when you get the SSN.

6.  You can also sign up for most services – albeit with a lot more hassle in some cases – without an SSN – just be polite, say you don’t have one and ask about alternatives.  In most cases my passport number or sending a scan of my passport worked.

7.  Money – this is a tricky one.  Americans banks are backwards when it comes to banking – you’re going to be shocked about how many people write cheques for things.  Cheques!  Additionally, international transfers (telegraphic transfers etc) cost an arm and a leg – USD$30-$50 dollars.  I’ve worked around this by moving to HSBC which has zero fee transfers from my Australian HSBC accounts to my US ones and vice versa.  They also have linked Internet Banking so I can see all my accounts from one screen.  They also didn’t ask about an SSN and transferred my credit history across to the US.  Awesome sauce.

Overall, good luck and feel free to add any questions to the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.  Please note I’m not a lawyer and my advice is entirely based on my experiences – consult with an immigration lawyer rather than take my advice at face value.  Also I can’t help you find a job (unless you can want one of these jobs).  Good luck!