# Monday, 17 January 2005

We all know the classic line: "Be kind, Rewind." Many video stores still encourage this behavior. Until now, it's been easy to find a rewinder for all those old VCR tapes, but hard to find one for your DVDs. Well, no more!

The best part is that it works on your CDs and Game discs, too! There's even a changeable rewind sound available.

Thanks to the Langa List (item #10) for directing me to this site.

Monday, 17 January 2005 00:39:44 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Friday, 14 January 2005

I just can't believe it... the Father of the Portland Nerd Dinner is going to be leaving us. Jim, it has been an honor and privilege to get to know you and you will be missed here in the Northwest.

Tampa, get ready for the Blizzard of your lifetime! And learn to like crappy mall food!

P.S. Almost forgot - Big Congratulations on your quick house sale!!

Friday, 14 January 2005 22:43:28 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [1]

As I previously mentioned, the Head First series from O'Reilly just seems to work for me. Well, it appears I'm not alone in that view. HF Servlets and JSP and HF Design Patterns are finalists for the 15th Annual Software Development Jolt Product Excellence Awards. From Eric Freeman via the Creating Passionate Users blog:

Software Development's Jolt Product Excellence and Productivity Awards have been presented annually to products that have "jolted" the industry with their significance and made the task of creating software faster, easier and more efficient. Jolt cola, the fabled soft drink quaffed by software programmers for sustenance during development project marathons, sponsors the awards presentation.

Big congratulations to Eric and Elisabeth!   

Friday, 14 January 2005 11:03:20 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Tuesday, 11 January 2005

Some time ago, I saw mention of a new book series from O'Reilly called Head First. They published a chapter of the Head First Design Patterns book on the O'Reilly network and I found it particularly intriguing.

Since then, I've had a chance to start reading the weblog that is tied in with the book series, Creating Passionate Users. I'm loving it. Titles such as "You 2.0" are inspiring and a great reminder that it's never too late. And the general theories on how people learn are well worth consideration.

I finally got around to ordering the Design Patterns book, too. I'm just looking forward to O'Reilly doing the .NET technologies in the Head First series.

Update: I was reminded (in a rather long, twisted way (way to go, Michael ;-))) of another similar blog: Church of the Customer. Some really good bits on successful business practices and word-of-mouth marketing.

Tuesday, 11 January 2005 23:16:23 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, 10 January 2005

Well, I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later; I finally reached that all important age of 0x28 (sounds better in hex, eh?).

I'm definately playing this one low key. On Christmas day, we didn't do anything of consequence and I kind of enjoyed that. After spending so long in school and working part time, it is nice to just kick back and not think too hard for a day.

I've tentativly decided that my birthday would be the same. The 'tentative' part comes in the fact that we could get a wild hair later in the day and do something, but I suspect not. I mean, come on! Look at the sampling of decorations that Jesann has made around the house! Plus, we have a lot of breakfast foods in the house today; I'm thinking I'd like to have an all day brunch buffet going :-)!

Since I wrote that last paragraph, we actually had the first phase of the Brunchday. Mmm Good! Might have to watch some movie now.

I hope you all are appropriately jealous of the decor my wife has provided for me. It's deserved :-)!

Monday, 10 January 2005 14:25:50 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [7]
# Thursday, 06 January 2005

From the local Nerd Dinner Blog:

  • What: Portland Nerd Dinner
  • Where: Washington Square Mall food court
  • When: Wednesday, January 12, starting around 6:30 PM
  • Why: Because it's 2005

Be There and Be Square at Washington Square

Thursday, 06 January 2005 12:49:23 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [2]

And speaking of nerds...

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith will be released on May 19. Inevitably, there will be lines to get tickets and see the movie. If you are planning to participate in this little adventure, you better start making your plans now - the line has already begun in downtown Seattle.

Jeff Tweiten aka "Superfan 1138" got in line on January 1; a full 138 days before the movie is to be released. The nerdiest part of this? He's blogging the experience!

I think he gets an automatic '100' on the nerd quiz.

Thursday, 06 January 2005 10:55:34 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [1]
I am nerdier than 73% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!

Nerdy enough to take a stupid quiz on the subject. I knew I was in trouble over the gaming problems I have; I'm sure it knocked me down a bit.

That said, if I ranked better than 73% of the people who were even willing to take this test, then I think that the nerdiness is actually a couple of notches higher than is credited. I mean, come on, you gotta rank pretty nerdy just to play this game.

Thanks to Peter Provost for providing the link to this.

Thursday, 06 January 2005 00:09:51 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [5]
# Wednesday, 05 January 2005

Yesterday, I got a couple of emails that I didn't recognize. I didn't know the sender, the 'to' address was not me (presumably bcc'd), and it was for a product that I didn't recognize.

Must be spam, right?

Well, that's what I figured, so I deleted the emails and moved on through my day. Honestly, I didn't really pay much attention to what they were even for. Therefore, when I saw Roy Osherove mention the same email today, I was surprised.

I commented on Roy's blog about my reaction and within two hours, Sean (the original emailer) had sent me an apology and responded on Roy's blog. Well, Sean, I'm the one that should apologize:

I'm sorry, Sean, for disparaging your name!

Now that I pay attention, I'm intrigued and will look a bit closer at Zanebug, Sean. I have in fact looked at Codus in the past (also from Sean and Adapdev) and “deserved” that announcement.

Spam has ruined it for all of us.

Wednesday, 05 January 2005 12:33:30 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Wednesday, 29 December 2004

Here's an additional idea: Many employers and organizations have programs to match charitable contributions. Check with yours. I'll be able to double donations that I make because of my employer's matching program.

Note that Amazon has Amazon.com is now providing the ability to donate through 1-Click.

As we watch the number of casualties rise, we can see that there will be no end to the need any time soon. Anything that can add to the relief is worth doing.

Stuart Celarier's list of agencies that one may consider donating through:

Wednesday, 29 December 2004 09:54:12 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, 27 December 2004

My buddy Scott Hanselman and his coworker (and often destination of referrals on my blog) Greg Hughes have a great idea: donate all of one's Google AdSense revenue to the relief efforts in South Asia.

I would say that one doesn't need to restrict one's self to just AdSense, but that is a great starting point. Further, Greg and Scott are beginning a campaign to encourage Google to help automate the process for users of AdSense.

Do the world a favor: Participate, Donate, and Contact Google along with all of us. It's worth it!

Update: Stuart Celarier has a great list of other agencies that one may consider, too:

Monday, 27 December 2004 22:42:06 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [2]
# Sunday, 26 December 2004

Today's news from south Asia is a monumental reminder of how precious life can be. Seldom will you see me make such a strong suggestion for getting involved, but this deserves it.

Take a few moments and visit the Red Cross site's donation page and give a little to the International Response Fund. Heck, give a lot. You can afford it.

Powerful earthquake, tsunamis strike South Asia, leaving thousands dead, injured and missing

Sunday, December 26, 2004 — The largest earthquake to strike the globe since 1964 has caused devastating tsunami waves that have killed thousands in south Asia. The 8.9-magnitude quake hit December 26 off the coast of Indonesia, triggering these extremely large waves that have brought massive flooding, damage and loss of life in the region.

Waves as high as 20 feet have crashed into the coastal areas near the Bay of Benegal. Among the worst affected countries are Sri Lanka and India, as well as Indonesia, Maldives and Thailand. Reports are that thousands of people are missing, and it is possible that the number of dead may tragically rise in the coming days.

International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in south Asia have begun to mobilize staff and volunteers to affected areas to assist with the immediate needs. Emergency assessment and first-aid teams have already reached some of the affected areas.

“The situation is fluid, with so many people affected in so many areas of southeast Asia, and it is likely that relief teams there may need many different types of assist in the coming days,” said Matthew Parry of the International Disaster Response Unit.

The American Red Cross continues to maintain contact with its partners on the ground and is prepared to support operations with relief supplies, financial assistance or personnel as requested by our sister International Red Cross and Red Crescent societies there.

You can help those affected by this crisis and countless others around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance, and other support to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the International Response Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.

Update: Stuart Celarier has a great list of other agencies that one may consider, too:

Sunday, 26 December 2004 19:56:09 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [1]
# Tuesday, 21 December 2004

I know they have been a bit disparaged elsewhere, but I have tell you, I continue to be a very happy customer of Webhost4life.

I've had three positive experiences in the last 24 hours. First, I've noticed that they now advertise 300MB of space for my “Advanced Plan.” When I signed up, it was only 150MB. One quick post on their help system and it is resolved!

Second, I noted that the site was down last night for a while. Why is that positive? Because, in the year and a half that I have been here, I have never seen my site down for more than a refresh or two. I realize that I may have missed some instances, but I have no complaint there.

Third, there was a configuration error that Aaron was kind enough to tell me about today. I made a quick phone call to Webhost4life and the problem was resolved in minutes! “Reggin” even made me try it and make sure everything worked before he would get off the phone. Great Job!

For personal hosting, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a much better deal than what Webhost4life provides. Plenty of bells and whistles for a very reasonable price.

Tuesday, 21 December 2004 11:18:41 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [6]

I imagine that I'm the last one to know this, but Costco has a wonderful photo center. This year, I realized that it was time to try out the complete, electronic version of the Costco photo center for getting our Christmas cards.

I found an ideal picture from last winter; went on to costco.com and chose the photo center option; then, followed the simple instructions! If you get the order in early enough, you can pick up the cards the next day. They even include envelopes.

With a little label printing, we were just about ready to go. This is the way to do Christmas cards! I might just have to see what else they can do.

Tuesday, 21 December 2004 00:58:45 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [3]
# Thursday, 16 December 2004

I'm really excited! Jesann is going to take a couple of classes after the first of the year to become more familiar with this wonderful world of geekness we call computing.

It's hard to imagine how she tolerates the nerdiness that is me, but she has. I don't blame her for not being 'into it' like me, but I just know that she'll find compelling content out there when she starts getting online on a regular basis.

Her taking the class is part of the motivation for this year's cleaning project. I figure that I need to make more room in the office for her to be comfortable and I will likely want to update 'her' computer to WinXP - yes, it's still got WinME on it.

Congratulations Jesann! You're going to Love it!

Thursday, 16 December 2004 00:24:39 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]

I can't believe what I found: it was over a year ago that I rearranged my office to the configuration that it is presently in. I just find it hard to believe that it has been that long since I did this. Further, It's hard to believe some of the things I haven't gotten around to :$.

Back then, I had gotten to the job of rearranging - and let me tell you, it has been much better. But, as I look at that old blog entry, I see that I was to have made my old desktop into the new server; that never happened. Don't get me wrong - it still will - it just wasn't as compelling as it might have been.

The old server worked well for a long time. Over the summer, though, it started to have problems with overheating. I had to take it down permenantly and haven't had time to build up the new one. Over this Christmas break, it will happen though (he says smuggly).

I started this cycle with the closet. There are several boxes that have been in there for too long without serious consideration of the items in them. This year, that changed. So far, there are six empty boxes and likely to be more. This is a very big win.

In addition, I've pulled out two old computer shells - case/mobo/processor. One was my old P166 from, what, ten years ago? Thanks to Greg (again), I see where these are headed. I'm going to try to find a few more things to take to them before I make the trip, though.

By the beginning of 2005, I should be running much more lightly in this office of mine. That will indeed be worth it.

Thursday, 16 December 2004 00:16:49 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, 13 December 2004

Once again, Greg Hughes comes through with a vital tool for all nerds. Now he's outdone himself. I'm sure many have heard of the new “Google Suggests” feature: start typing and possible matches for what you are typing drop down below the input field.

Well, Greg happened on the Google Search for Klingons! (As in, “search that a Klingon might use”; not “search to find a Klingon” :-))

Monday, 13 December 2004 21:45:57 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Tuesday, 07 December 2004

Fred Flintstone Local (to Portland) artist, Michael Paulus has a series of drawings showing several cartoon characters without their flesh. No really!

As Greg Hughes (where I came across this) pointed out, it is both interesting and weird, but well worth taking a look. If you are a local sort, you can see the drawings live and in person at the Belmont Stumptown Coffee through December.

Tuesday, 07 December 2004 23:01:32 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]
# Monday, 06 December 2004

Hello All Portland .NET-ers!

I wanted to let everyone know what we have planned for the December PADNUG (http://www.padnug.org) meeting. Due to a scheduling conflict with our regular venue, meetings have moved to a **NEW LOCATION**. Please make a note of it!

WHAT: December PADNUG meeting.
WHEN: Thursday, 12/09/2004
6:00 p.m. Pizza, Sponsored by 3Leaf (http://www.3leaf.com)
6:30 p.m. Presentation
**WHERE: PCC Auditorium at Capital Center
(http://www.capital.ous.edu/directions.html)
18640 NW Walker Road
Beaverton, Oregon

The auditorium is in room 1508 through entrance B. There is a $2 parking fee. The kiosk for paying for parking is located between entrances B and C.

WHO: Stuart Celarier, Owner - Fern Creek Corporation
(http://www.ferncrk.com)

Stuart is a consultant, course author, and instructor. He recently served as technical lead and author of a Web services course for Microsoft. Stuart is also editor for the Longhorn Developer FAQ on MSDN.

TOPIC: Understanding Service-Oriented Architecture

There is a huge movement in the software industry towards Web services and service-orientation. What is the essence of a service? What values do services provide to a software organization? How do you organize and combine services into systems that realize the full benefit of service-orientation?

These are increasingly important issues for developers and architects working on the .NET Framework. Today you create Web services using ASMX. Looking forward to Indigo - the communications pillar of Longhorn - service-orientation is at the core of all communication. That will profoundly change on how software is architected, designed, implemented and deployed. Service-oriented architecture can guide your use of Web services today, and prepare you for understanding and creating tomorrow's software.

Important topic and excellent local speaker! Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Monday, 06 December 2004 12:43:55 (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00)  #    Comments [0]