Gemfile.lock

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ GEM
       sass (~> 3.2)
     jekyll-watch (1.3.0)
       listen (~> 3.0)
-    kramdown (1.8.0)
+    kramdown (1.9.0)
     liquid (2.6.3)
     listen (3.0.3)
       rb-fsevent (>= 0.9.3)
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ GEM
     rb-fsevent (0.9.6)
     rb-inotify (0.9.5)
       ffi (>= 0.5.0)
-    redcarpet (3.3.2)
+    redcarpet (3.3.3)
     safe_yaml (1.0.4)
     sass (3.4.18)
     thor (0.19.1)

_posts/2015-10-09-how-i-upgrade-mac-os-x.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: How I Upgrade Mac OS X
+date: 2015-10-09T09:56:27-04:00
+summary: Fresh installs every year, (almost) fully automated. Overkill? Yup.
+image: /images/2015/el_capitan.jpg
+image_source: https://flic.kr/p/dkTQ9k
+tags:
+- chef
+- devops
+---
+
+Last week saw the release of [El Capitan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS_X_El_Capitan) the latest version of Mac OS X. Over the weekend, I did fresh installs on both of my machines. With minimal effort, I had both workstations ready to work, configured the way I like them.
+
+tl;dr It's nerdy and totally overkill.
+
+### chef-workstation
+
+A few years ago, I read a blog post by [Josh Timberman](https://twitter.com/jtimberman) titled [OS X Workstation Management with Chef](http://jtimberman.housepub.org/blog/2012/07/29/os-x-workstation-management-with-chef/). This was in the height of my early exploration with [chef](https://www.chef.io/) and "DevOps". I loved the idea of keeping my desktop machine configuration in sync and set out to create my own version.
+
+The result is my  [chef-workstation](https://github.com/walkah/chef-workstation) repository used in conjunction with a [hosted chef](https://manage.chef.io) instance.
+
+I use this daily to keep my configuration in sync, but also it means I can reliably rebuild a machine from scratch with minimal effort (and without relying on backups).
+
+### Just 5 simple steps!
+
+For my annual upgrade, I like to start fresh. I run the installer from a USB key and re-format my hard drive. This year I tried to note the steps I took following my initial login after the clean install:
+
+1. Update the hostname (Sys Prefs > Sharing). (I also turn on SSH access while I'm here).
+1. Install [chef-dk](https://downloads.chef.io/chef-dk/) - this handy package includes all the chef-related tools I need.
+1. Install xcode command line tools: `xcode-select --install`
+1. Create my `/etc/chef` directory. In the past, I've removed my old node and created a new one (using my validator key, kept on a usb drive). This year, I just copied the directory from a backup.
+1. Run `sudo chef-client`. This takes a long time.
+
+### Almost perfect...
+
+There are a few things left for me to do once the initial chef run is complete. I'd love to have them automated eventually:
+
+* There doesn't seem to be a way to install apps from the Mac App Store programatically. So things like Keynote and Tweetbot have to get installed later.
+* There's a lot of logging in required after the fresh install. I use [LastPass](https://lastpass.com/) (for passwords) and [Authy](https://www.authy.com/personal/) (for two factor auth), which both sync all the details, but I still need to re-authenticate everywhere.
+* My `~/Projects` folder contains my, well, projects. I tend to re-create this (fresh clones, etc) manually. It helps weed out the cruft, but it would be nice to somehow automate.
+
+Feel free to check out the [code](https://github.com/walkah/chef-workstation) and offer feedback, or fork it for your very own.