Ask me questions frequently, and I shall answer them here! Okay, no, I’ll try and pre-empt some of the most common ones to save you the trouble. That’s what FAQs are for, right?

What is a zazzybob?

zazzybob was the first website I created for all my UNIXery back in the mid-2000s. Due to my workload my posts slowly tapered off, and it became a relic of webarchive. Recently, I’ve brought it back to life, but only as a zombie - no new content is or will be added, and I’ve ported any relevant articles to tokiwinter.com. Much the same story for theunixgeek.org; anything that is still at least partially current, useful or useable will be posted here. zazzybob is also my username on unix.com.

What are your qualifications?

I haven’t completed a uni degree or any formal higher education - instead, I’ve spent the last two decades learning everything UNIX that grabs my fancy, both inside and outside of work. Currently I’m studying for certifications and spending time with my newborn daughter, which gives me a lot more time to branch out, learn about the areas and new developments that interest me, and share them with you folks to make your lives a little easier. I also post frequently on unix.com under zazzybob so if you’re shy about asking me a question, feel free to pop over there and ask away. For more detailed information on my experience and professional qualifications, check out my linkedin profile via who is toki winter?

A lot of your articles are really complicated; can you make them easier to understand?

One of my biggest frustrations as a tech lead and senior sysadmin was trying to quickly get a handle on something new, only to find all the articles aimed at a very basic level. While I appreciate that these articles are really good for beginners and dabblers, they often left me to fiddle around until I worked something out myself; exciting and fun, but also time-consuming. The purpose of tokiwinter.com is to write articles for those who understand the basics and want to learn more complicated processes. However, you may find tips and tricks useful. Otherwise, I suggest you check out some beginner websites to learn the basics.

Do you like cats?

Why, yes, yes I do!

Why can’t I directly download scripts?

This was something I initially considered, but for CMS purposes I felt that, if I ever updated the scripts in future, I’d then have to update both the in-text script as well as the uploaded version. To easily copy the script, double click on the code box - it will remove all formatting and line numbers for you to directly copy and paste the script into terminal.

Is your name related to Toki from the cartoon Metalocalypse?

Yes, it is! When I met my wife, she thought I looked a lot like Toki, and started calling me that - to the point I legally changed my middle name to Toki and my surname to hers. A little offbeat, but you don’t become very good at UNIX without being a little odd!