jessn's blog

Raspberry PI 5 and Home Assistant

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:54:00 +0000

For those who have bought Raspberry PI 5 and are waiting for a compatible and pre-configured image to be launched from home-assistant, a solution to get started is quit simple and takes approximately 30 min.

Simply follow the detailed instructions, that describes the simple installation procedure step-by-step.

PHP Sandbox

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Fri, 10 May 2019 11:07:00 +0000

For those who need it. A PHP Sandbox for Vagrant is available out of the box and it can be downloaded from gitlab ready to use. The sandbox includes Ubuntu 18.04, Php 7.3, MySql 5.7, Nginx, Redis and Laravel 5.8.

PHP Sandbox

Announcing WSL 2

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Wed, 08 May 2019 06:07:00 +0000

What exactly is WSL 2?

Our top requests from the WSL community have been to increase the file system performance, and make more apps work inside of WSL (i.e: introduce better system call compatibility). We have heard your feedback, and are glad to announce that WSL 2 helps solve these issues.

WSL 2 is a new version of the architecture that powers the Windows Subsystem for Linux to run ELF64 Linux binaries on Windows. This new architecture changes how these Linux binaries interact with Windows and your computer’s hardware, but still provides the same user experience as in WSL 1 (the current widely available version). Individual Linux distros can be run either as a WSL 1 distro, or as a WSL 2 distro, can be upgraded or downgraded at any time, and you can run WSL 1 and WSL 2 distros side by side. WSL 2 uses an entirely new architecture that uses a real Linux kernel.

Release details

Initial builds of WSL 2 will be available through the Windows insider program by the end of June 2019.

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/announcing-wsl-2/

Take Ownership in Windows 8

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 09:23:00 +0000

In previous versions of Windows it was easy to take ownership of a file, folder or drive. Taking the ownership is especially useful when you accidentally remove the permissions belonging to you or the Administrators group.

However, this functionality is very difficult to find on Windows 8. To achieve this you can follow the steps below, which will allow you to be able to instantly take ownership of a file, folder (and all contents), or drive (and all contents) by changing the owner to the current user and grant the Administrators group full access permission.

1. Create an empty .reg file and save it on the disk
2. Add the following content to file and save it

--- file content ---
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
"HasLUAShield"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"
"IsolatedCommand"="\"%1\" %*"
--- file content ---

3. Double click on the .reg file to merge it.
4. Click on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

Hope this helps you.

Microsoft SQL Server uses pigeons for communication

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 08:46:00 +0000

You might successfully have installed Microsoft SQL Server and also connected to it locally with success, but when you try to access it remotely it fails. Every time I dump into this issue and I cannot remember the solution for it - maybe because installation of Microsoft SQL Server is not one of my daily tasks.

Once again I was reminded that Microsoft SQL Server uses pigeons as the default communication mechanism hence both TCP/IP and Named Pipes protocols are disabled by default when you are installing a new Microsoft SQL Server.

However to enable more traditional communication mechanisms this can be done by the SQL Server Configuration Manager.

Go to All Programs >> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 >> Configuration Tools >> SQL Server Configuration Manager >> Select TCP/IP
Right Click on TCP/IP >> Click on Enable
Restart SQL Server Services for all the changes to take effect

Source

BING, what kind of name is that?

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:33:00 +0000

Why did Microsoft name their search engine "BING"?

The answer to this question is simple and it has been public available for a long time. The acronym B.I.N.G. stands for "Because It's Not Google". :)

Fever stick?

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:18:00 +0000

What on earth is a fever stick??? I cannot guess what it is, if it is not a thermometer and I do not think that a thermometer has any resemblance to a stick!

First, a stick is much longer than a thermometer. Second, a stick is something you can rely on, which is not physically possible with a thermometer.

Further, you cannot say that a dear child has many names, because I do not think there are many who like to have taken the temperature in the butt... or even to have a stick up in the butt for that matter...

The reason for the use of the word "fever stick" can, of course be that he or she cannot remember that it's called a thermometer... but where is the association to "stick"?

Coca Cola Zero

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:47:00 +0000

Coca Cola Zero, try it before your neighbor and taste the difference.

Zero sugar, zero taste and zero cola!

Nokia Strategy 2011

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:40:00 +0000

Microsoft gets Nokia, a company that sells Half a Billion Phones a Year, to install Microsoft's OS.
Microsoft gets Nokia Maps.
Microsoft gets the OVI Store.
Microsoft gets Nokias Mobile Camera Technology / team.
Nokia gets Bing and a crappy OS that isn't even doing well on its own.

Source: Nokia Strategy 2011

Conclusion
RIP Nokia (1865 - 2011)
Nokia was founded in 1865 by Fredrik Idestam.
Nokia was killed in 2011 by Stephan Elop.
Thanks so much :-\

Desktop Cube Effect on Windows

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Jealous of your geeky Linux friends? Do you want Beryl running under Linux, you should check out Yod’m 3D. It is a small application for Windows XP / Vista that will give you a decent substitute for the “Desktop Cube” effect. Below you will find a link to an older, but very-well working freeware version.

Download from instructables.com
(requires log in)

Direct download

Threads in C++

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:37:00 +0000

It is fairly simple to create, but difficult to debug due the complexity in multiple-threaded environments.

Threads in C++ can be done by a simple and workable 3-step approach. Doing it in the "right" way will make it equivalent to i.e. the Java-approach, where you have to either inherit from a class (java.lang.Thread) or implement an interface (java.lang.Runnable).

Create a base class (class Thread).
Create the worker class (class A) and make it a subclass of
the base class (cf. step 1).
Create an instance of your worker class (cf. step 2) and
call its start() method.

-- snip --
class Thread {static DWORD WINAPI ThreadFunc(LPVOID pv) {
try { (reinterpret_cast<Thread*>(pv))->run(); }
catch(...) { }
return 0;
}
public:
typedef DWORD threadid;
virtual void run() = 0;
void start() { threadid id;
::CreateThread(NULL, 0, ThreadFunc, this, 0, &id);
}
//...
}
};

class A : public Thread {
virtual void run() { /* Do some work! */ }
// ...
}


Thread * p = new A();
if (p) p->start(); // Spawns it in a new thread
-- snip --

The Danish social democratic battle song

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 06:49:00 +0000

This is the Danish social democratic "battle song". I apologize in advance to the English readers for the missing translation of the song, but translation of songs and lyric make no sense due to the grammar and rhyme.

Hvem skal nu betale?
Hvem har råd til mer' ?
Hvem har mange penge, penge?
Jeg har ikke fler' !
Hvem skal nu betale?
Hvem har råd til mer' ?
Hvem har mange penge, penge?
Jeg har ikke fler'!

Please note that this post does not necessarily reflect my political view.

Personality type: INTP

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:17:00 +0000

INTP

Architect — "It's Not Theoretically Possible"

INTPs live rich worlds inside their minds, which are full of imagination and excitement. Consequently, they sometimes find the external world pales in comparison. This may result in a lack of motivation to form and maintain relationships. INTPs are not likely to have a very large circle of significant relationships in their lives. They're much more likely to have a few very close relationships, which they hold in great esteem and with great affection. Since the INTP's primary focus and attention is turned inwards, aimed towards seeking clarity from abstract ideas, they are not naturally tuned into others' emotional feelings and needs. They tend to be difficult to get to know well, and hold back parts of themselves until the other person has proven themselves "worthy" of hearing the INTP's thoughts. Holding Knowledge and Brain Power above all else in importance, the INTP will choose to be around people who they consider to be intelligent. Once the INTP has committed themself to a relationship, they tend to be very faithful and loyal, and form affectionate attachments which are pure and straight-forward. The INTP has no interest or understanding of game-playing with regards to relationships. However, if something happens which the INTP considers irreconciliable, they will leave the relationship and not look back.

Two former colleagues in London

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:55:00 +0000

In the beginning of August (6-9/8 2009) two former colleagues enjoyed a pleasent visit in London where the yearly Great British Beer Festival took place. An unknown amount of Guinness was consumed combined with other very good and tasty Ales that includes both bronze and silver winners. Finally enjoying a cold Guinness along the Thames a sunny evening is a great opportunity to relax and have a couple of hours off.

Three Gentlemen in London

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:04:00 +0000

Within the period of 48 hours (26-28/6 2009) three gentlemen have been invading London. Lots of Guinness have been consumed and a dozen of night clubs and pubs have been visited. The average temperature about 28-30 degrees (35+ degrees in the tube) just intensified the thirst for the cold Guinness. Even the visit at Wimbledon required a cold Guinness.

The photo is from Tiger Tiger that is one of the night clubs located in Central London.

Lock My Computer Programmatically in C#?

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:08:00 +0000

The following code is used to Lock a Computer programmatically. It is nothing but calling a hook on the user32.dll library and commands also exist for shut down, log off, restart...

Process.Start(@"C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe",
     "user32.dll,LockWorkStation");

Addional information on how to use .NET Process class can be found at MSDN or by following the link below.

Process Class Documentation

Three gentlemen in London

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:54:00 +0000

In the period 8. - 12. August 2008, three gentlemen have been visiting London (again). One of the have-to-join events this time was of course the yearly Great British Beer Festival, where an unlimited number of pints was consumed. You just cannot get enough of the taste of good beers (especially stouts and ales). During the time we also watched a football match at Wembley Stadium and what a spectatular view from the seats we got and with more than 50.000 visitors almost all the seats were taken.

Christmas beer is going to be released soon

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:01:00 +0000

Under normal circumstances Wednesday the 5. November 2008 at 11:59 pm would be the day where the Christmas beer is going to be released, but it has been rescheduled for some years ago because of the schools. We have all have been looking forward to that Wednesday and now we have to wait two more days.

Friday the 7. November 2008

I'll strongly emphasis that Wednesday and Friday is not the same, they don't even start with the same letter. The schools felt offended because of the empty class rooms the following Thursday, but I don't find that as a legal reason to move a red-letter day. You don't move christmas eve or Constitution Day just because they occur in the middle of the week, you adjust!

There are several remedies to ensure the students will be in the class rooms the following day such as a mandatory assignment followed by an oral presentation, which is highly weighed in the regular grades. In the other words, the schools just have to think out of the box.

Audi takes the winner position again

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:51:00 +0000

It is a pleasure to tell that Audi once again has won the 24 hrs Le Mans race. This is the eight time the winning car is an Audi and it is the sixth time it has been driven by Tom Kristen. This really makes it a pleasure to drive an Audi.

Quote:
After a fierce fightm the Audi R10 no. 2 driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello has won the 24 Heures du Mans 2008. This is Tom Kristensen's 8^th victory here at Le Mans. The three Audi drivers did a great job in wining this race with a slower car than the Peugeot 908. The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP no. 7 driven by Jacques Villeneuve, Nicolas Minassian and Marc Gene arrived second and the no. 9 of Frank Montagny, Christian Klein and Ricardo Zonta arrived third. Pescarolo Sport arrived first in the unofficial petrol LMP1 category.

Source: www.leman-sensations.com

The pleasure of driving an Audi A3

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:33:00 +0000

I am proud to announce that I'm now driving an Audi A3. It is really a pleasure to be driving such a fabulous car. Why drive with the windows or sunroof open, when you can switch on the climate control and enjoy the chilly breeze while you cruise. The quote below is from a review taken from the Auto Express magazine.

Quote:
The Audi is a relaxed cruiser, with a good ride, well-controlled damping and plenty of suspension travel. Only really nasty surfaces send shocks into the cabin. Body control and front-end grip are good too, although the handling does lack ultimate dynamic appeal, with slower steering and more body movement than racier competitors. However, it’s easy to drive, composed and well mannered. Engines are generally good too.

Source: Auto Express

Another two gentlemen in Milan

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:38:00 +0000

During the time May 16. - 18. 2008, another two gentlemen have had a cloudy and rainy 48 hours stay in Milan. Luckily, when two gentlemen are abroad, a few clouds and rain are not enough to ruin the stay. They have really been enjoying the stay and visited "a few" bars especially the ones located at corso como. Secondly, it is really a pleasure to have a real italian pizza with a thin bottom and a delicious topping served with a good cold italian white wine. Italy is indeed the country of pasta and pizza.

During the stay "unfortunately" not everything went as expected. We did try to "hunt down" a few pints of Guinness, but both gentlemen had to realise that it was not the country of Guinness. With all respect we did find a substitute, another irish stout, but that was of course not the same as Guinness and we own Arthur Guinness an apology for that.

Another two gentlemen in London

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:24:00 +0000

Two gentlemen have returned from a weekend (12. - 14. january) in Central London. We have been visiting an unlimited number of pubs in Soho and that includes one gay pub, but that was more a coincidence.

Of course we visited the nightclub of all nightclubs located in the South West end of London (Stockwell) and that was of course The Swan! :-) They had live music during our stay and the place was very well-attended.

To read more about the Swan, click here.

Two gentlemen in Dublin

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:26:00 +0000

For about 1-2 weeks ago my friend and I just returned from the country of Guinness (aka Ireland). It is a exciting country with a lot of historic background. A visit to the Guinness brewery and the St. Jameson Distillery is definitely a most, when visiting the country. Pictures from the trip will soon be available at my homepage.

Upgraded Internet connection

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:14:00 +0000

The date April 2nd 2007 that is the official date (the actual date was April 3rd) where my Internet connection got upgraded from a 6 mbit / 256 kbit to a much faster connection with a speed up to 20 mbit / 2 mbit (avg speed 16 mbit / 1.8 mbit). It is really a pleasure having such an Internet connection. I just downloaded data with the size of two CD's (approx. 1.2 Gb) , which just took ten minutes.

A God really exists! :-)

Release of Connection Pool Lib

noreply@blogger.com (jessn) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 16:06:00 +0000

I have previously published an article at codeproject.com that describes the design of a connection pool. The source included with that article is not complete, but it still works! I have now taken the next step and finished the implementatin of the connection pool.

The implemenation is divided into three dynamic libraries:

database.dll
contains the abstraction layer of the pool
adoadapter.dll
contains a concrete ADO implementation of the pool
settings.dll
contains functionality to store the settings in the registry

Compared to the source included with the article at codeproject, this implementation has been enhanced further i.e. :

the connection string is now stored encrypted in the registry.
the abstraction layer has been put into its own dynamic link library. This makes it possible to encapsulate the vendor specific implementation and it becomes easier to change from one database to another.
the methods aquire() and release() are now made thread-safe.
the storing logic has been moved into a separate dynamic link library, which makes it possible to store the settings another place if a dynamic link library with the same interface is made by deriving the implementation from the abstract CPoolSettings class.

The snippet below illustrates briefly how the connection pool is used.

-- snip --
#include "database.h"
#include "adoadapter.h"

#import "msado15.dll" rename_namespace("")
rename("EOF", "ADO_EOF") rename("BOF", "ADO_BOF")

CPoolFactory * factory = new CADOPoolFactory;
CPool * pool = factory->getPool();
CResource * res = pool->aquire();
// use the connection, i.e.
// recordset->Open("SELECT STMT",
// res->getConnectionVariant() /* we use it here */,
// adOpenDynamic, adLockOptimistic, adCmdText);
// ...
// recordset->Close()
pool->release(res);
res = NULL;
-- snip --

First time the pool is used it will store the initial size and an encrypted connection string (with default values) in the registry. The connection string that containts the default values are written in plaintext to a file named "pool-regvalues.txt", which easily can be modified and pasted into the registry.

Another (and maybe incomplete) implementation of the connection pool in C# can be found at one of my elderly posts, which can be accessed here.

Download C++ library

(if the link fails by left-clicking on it, then right-click and choose "Save target as..." or "Copy link address")