Up From The Ashes

Someone in the blogosphere (can't remember who) had recently said they would like to see Microsoft start working with open source projects, include it in their products and yet leave it unchanged and open source, all the while contributing back to the original project. Well, they're going to include JQuery in Visual Studio going forward as well as other products. It will have IntelliSense support, too! This is great news from Microsoft and hopefully the beginning of much more support for open source projects. The announcement by Scott Guthrie is at http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/09/28/jquery-and-microsoft.aspx Here's another announcement by a member of the jQuery team: http://jquery.com/blog/2008/09/28/jquery-microsoft-nokia/

Sep 28, 2008 | Add Comment

My thoughts on FSU vs. Chattanooga:

• At least two of the three times I've seen Ponder audible, the play has gone for a TD.  Granted, one was a very slow developing play where he had to dump the ball to Smith, but it still went for a TD.  That tells me that all the comments about Ponder being a smart player and a student of the game are true.  He seems to be reading things well...
  
• The line has been opening huge holes.  While I think our OL is much better than years past, my concern is that our opponents are just over-matched.  On the other hand we haven't been able to dominate the "easy wins" like this, the way we should, in a long time.
  
• It's nice to see us running the ball so well today (like last week).
  
• I like ESPNU's effort to get college students experience.
  

Sep 13, 2008 | Add Comment

The teenager in me was ecstatic to find out that Night Ranger's new album "Hole in the Sun" was finally available in the U.S.  It's been available in Japan for a while, but not here.  While I've loved the band since their first album "Dawn Patrol", buying the import was impractical.  I did buy one import ("Neverland", I think) years ago, but I was single then and spare cash was easier to come by then. 

I typically won't buy an album without a recommendation or unheard but Night Ranger has consistently put out great music (IMHO) over the years so the band has earned that right from me.  Before I bought it I browsed through a few reviews on iTunes - although I bought it through Musicane (another post for another day) - even though I knew I'd buy it anyway.  I wasn't sure what to think - the reviews I read were mixed.  Some seemed to say "they've changed/updated their sound"; others said they were clinging to the past by putting new versions of "Sister Christian" and "Don't Tell Me You Love Me".  Ironically, some said both.  Hey, dumbasses, you can't have it both ways: either they update their sound or they live in the past.  Now, skippy, if you don't like the updated sound, that's fine.  But you can't have it both ways...

Now that I've rambled for a bit, here's the review.  I LOVE this album.  It's definitely heavier than most of their previous albums.  It doesn't have the pop appeal that "Midnight Madness" did back in the day (1983), but still has lots of catchy hooks.  Some of the stand out tracks:

• Tell Your Vision
• Drama Queen
• You're Gonna Hear it From Me
• Whatever Happened
• Rockstar (probably my favorite)
  
• Hole in the Sun
• White Knuckle
• Wrap It Up

This is most of the heavier, more upbeat tracks on the album.  The slower/mellower songs just don't grab me the way the others do.  Part of it may be the fact I generally like my music more upbeat.  One thing that is more noticeable on the slower songs is that the vocals aren't as strong as in the past - probably just aging (heck, Jack & Kelly are about 55).  That said, they still sound good - better than most of the newer stuff out there today, although one could say that's just me being ornery and contrary about anything new.

Overall, I'd give this album an 8/10.  It totally rocks, still has that Night Ranger feel, but doesn't feel like the old stuff re-hashed.  What else could you ask for?

Aug 12, 2008 | Add Comment

I've had something happen twice now, on two computers (both running Vista) when installing iTunes 7.7.  The installer runs just fine and when it's done, it tells me "Your software is up-to-date."  The problem?  My task bar has completely disappeared.  First time it happened (at home this weekend), I thought Vista had just crapped out.  After the same thing happened on my PC at work, I realized that the common denominator between when it happened at home the other day and at work today was the fact that I was updating iTunes using the Apple Software Update.

At home I solved the problem by rebooting.  Today I thought harder (because I really didn't want to reboot) and I just started Task Manager and on the Applications tab selected "New Task" and started explorer.exe.  Voila, the task bar is back.  Not sure why that fix didn't occur to me this weekend.

Thanks, Apple.

P.S. - I won't even comment on how bloated iTunes *really* is now - 60 mb!  Oh, wait, I think I just commented...

Jul 29, 2008 | Add Comment

I recently returned from a nice beach vacation with my family in Puerto Aventuras in the Riviera Maya in Mexico.  It was a great time and I have some suggestions for those planning a beach vacation.

1. Bring a watch (not a really nice one, just a functional timekeeper).  You might think on vacation that it's the last thing you'd want, but when you have things planned and you're lounging by the pool, you'll find yourself asking "¿Que hora es?" (at least in Mexico) a lot so you won't be late.
   
   
2. For the guys: go to your local second hand clothing store and buy a few old (preferably light colored) t-shirts to wear at the beach/pool/anywhere outdoors.  If you're like me, you might even wear it in the water to prevent sunburn.  I used the same t-shirt the whole week (gross, I know) and it got a bit nasty.  Also, despite washing, it still smells like sunscreen and has stains that didn't come out.  Plus, if you do wear it in the water, it will probably stretch out and no longer fit right.  If you buy some second hand dispoable tees you don't plan on bringing home, you have some clean shirts for the week and you have some extra room for souvenirs.
   
   
3. At many resorts, you get "towel cards" that you trade in at the towel cabana.  If you like to get out to the beach/pool early, the towel cabana may not be open.  So, at the end of the day, exchange your dirty towels for clean ones and take them to your room.  Voila, you have fresh towels for the morning.
   
   
4. If you're at a resort that has lots of visitors from the UK, you might discover that while you're walking on the right, they're walking on the left, leading to a potential collision.  They can't help it - I guess it stems from the fact they drive on the wrong side of the road and like to walk there, too!    Seriously, it took me a day to figure out why there were always people walking directly towards me.
   
   
5. Even if you're at an all-inclusive, bring lots of dollar bills and fives for tips (at least in Mexico they're happy with U.S. dollars, and I'm assuming other Caribbean countries are as well).  While at an all-inclusive, tipping isn't necessary here a couple of reasons to tip anyway:
   • The staff are usually happy to receive dollars, which go further than the peso.
   • The staff work really hard to make you happy.
     
   • They can probably use the money more than you can.
   • You get better service.  Trust me - they will come by with the cervezas more often if they think they'll get a tip.
     
     
6. When you first arrive, find out what activities are offered (both in and around your resort) and make a plan as to when you plan to do each.  It's vacation so be flexible about your plans, but time can get away from you if you let it and you might just find yourself out of time.  You might spend the first half-day booking reservations, but then it's done.
   
   
7. Try to speak the native tongue as much as possible (this is good outside of beach vacations).  Remember, you're a guest in a foreign country.  If they speak English, they'll figure it out and start speaking in English, but they appreciate you trying.  How would you feel if a French tourist came up to you and started speaking in French?  You'd probably appreciate it if they at least tried English.
   
   
8. DON'T eat the habanero peppers (another story for another day)!

Jul 21, 2008 | Add Comment

I'm reading/learning/studying LINQ using the book "Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008" by Joe Rattz.  First, I must say it's an outstanding book - the writing is clear, littered with code, easy to read and sometimes even funny.  On page 226, Joe makes the statement:


OMG, I am such a geek, because I was thinking almost exactly that as I read the code sample in question.

May 10, 2008 | Add Comment

2008-05-08 Update:
Before I posted what I found, I had searched the web and found a usenet posting by Peter Zimmermann of www.ambit.ch asking the same question I was trying to answer.  I sent him a note about what I'd found.  He said they had dug through it and found the root of the problem is having contact with a blank last name.  Indeed, I found that on the page in question there were contacts that had been imported with no last name.  Thanks to Peter for the update and the further investigation.
-- end update --

After upgrading a customer from MS CRM 3.0 to version 4.0, I discovered an error that kept popping up in the "do you want to report this to Microsoft box".  The actual XML to be sent to MS included:
I isolated that the problem (at least in my case) only occurs when I have Windows Live messenger loaded.

After stepping through the code, I discovered that the error is indeed on lines 196 and 197 in presence.htc, which read: The probelm is that oImgSpan.firstChild is null.  The workaround is to have line 197 check for the existence of the null, like this:
My disclaimer on this is that while this will stop the error from happening, it isn't necessarily solving the root problem.  I haven't had time to look at exactly what the code is doing.  Since it is in presence.htc and it only happens when Windows Live Messenger is running, I believe "presence.htc" is basically a behavior that is supposed to display an icon that indicates whether someone is online or not.  Where and how, I'm not sure.  Since the line in question is followed by logic to assign the src property of the image <SPAN>, it may or may not show things correctly.  If I have time, I'll investigate further.  Right now, since my customer doesn't allow their users to use Messenger, they won't see the error.  I've advised them of the potential issue - they said leave it as is.  My work here is done.

May 06, 2008 | One Comment

As a side note to my post about my machine freezing while reinstalling Windows Vista Home Premium on my new Dell Inspiron 1720, I used the Dell Outlet to purchase the laptop as a refurbished machine.

I got a great price ($655 after shipping & tax) for a laptop with a 1.5 GHz Intel dual core processor, 2GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a webcam, a 17" screen plus a few other things I probably forgot about and I must say I'm pleased (so far).  Not only did I get a good deal, but I also get the full warranty.  Hard to beat unless you really want to build your custom laptop from all the available options.  If you're OK choosing from the selection they offer and act quickly you can get a good deal!

May 03, 2008 | Add Comment

I recently ordered a Dell Inspiron 1720.  After I got it, the first thing I did was to reinstall the OS (Window Vista Home Premium) to really clear out the crap that Dell installs with it.  Uninstalling the software wasn't clean enough for me.  When I did, I ran into a problem with the reinstall where it would get to the fifth step, "Completing Installation", freeze and just sit there looking at me.  The progress bar stopped and nothing happened.

After trying it a second time and having that fail, I started considering options.  Then I remembered having seen on the screen where you select the drive to install, choose to format the drive, etc., an option that said "Load Drivers".  Select this option and when prompted, pop in your Dell "Drivers and Utilities" disk.  It will scan the disk and look for various drivers for your system.  On mine, it found a new driver for the hard drive and that was all.  I selected that driver and went on my way.

The install ran just fine after that and I got the OS reinstalled.  I reinstalled the few Dell apps I actually wanted and all was well.

Hope this helps someone else.

May 03, 2008 | Add Comment

I stumbled upon a great feature in Outlook the other day.

While in the compose mode, I used the "Ctrl-Mouse Wheel Scroll Up" feature to see if it would enlarge the text (as it does in IE or Firefox) and it did, which is what I expected.  (FYI, my font is "Calibri 11".)  I composed the message and hit "Send".

Later, when I went to compose another new message, the body text was still enlarged!  I didn't expect it to retain that setting between messages but it did.  I find that to be a plus.

And the really odd thing?  Even though the text is made larger:

1. The font size in the drop down on my toolbar when composing is still set at 11 even though the font is much larger.
   
2. Recipients of my message see the font size as Calibri 11.

I find that to be great design.  I can set my font to a normal size (Calibri 11) for my recipients but have a larger font when composing.

Mar 06, 2008 | Add Comment