Jay's Blog

2008-07-22T18:03:00.000-05:00

If you use Google Docs, you'll want to learn about the new Templates feature.

Some business oriented templates include: Service Invoice, Time Sheet, Letterheads, Labels and Business Cards

Wondering what is Google Docs? It is a free service that allows you to create online documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can share and collaborate with others. Check it out: Google Docs or take a tour.

2008-07-22T16:04:00.002-05:00

Back to blogging after a long hiatus!

Looking forward to writing on various topics:
- Technology in general
- Technology as it relates to Microsoft .NET and SQL Server
- Perhaps some .NET training material. Have some friends who are bugging me to teach them .NET
- Current political events and news
- Sustainability, conservation, energy, environment, and related subjects. Plan to have a separate blog for this: Sustain The Earth
- Public policy as it affects the American citizen and the world at large

2006-07-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

Financial Calculators at Dinkytown.net

All kinds of Financial Calculators (mortgage, loan, personal finance, retirement savings, business, investment, etc.)

2006-06-15T23:08:00.000-05:00

Virtual PC Guy's WebLog : A simple script to backup a Virtual Server: "the ',1,True' option at the end of the objShell.Run command tells the vbScript to wait until after the command is completed - which is critical for this script."

The command-line options '1, True' could be handy for integrating 'legacy' .exe apps.

2006-06-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

The Script Center Script Repository

Good starting point for scripting on Windows. Has wide variety of examples.

2006-04-13T23:05:00.000-05:00

ZoomClouds

Interesting tool to help categorize one's site. The categories are shown as a cloud with more relevant keywords showing in largert font and less relevant ones in smaller fonts.

2006-04-12T23:31:00.000-05:00

Source Code is the design. It always bugs me when we're asked to write huge documents that become obsolete as soon as coding begins. This doesn't mean one shouldn't document. On the contrary one should document to the extent it gets the information across. The 'actual' design will always be represented by code. The design is 100% reflected as code.

What Is Software Design: 13 Years Later by Jack W. Reeves - developer.*, Developer Dot Star: "In software development, the design document is a source code listing."

2006-04-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

Interesting topic on 'what is software design?'

The Cognitive View: A Different Look at Software Design by Robert L. Glass - developer.*, Developer Dot Star: "In managing design, managers can focus on communication facilitation and conflict resolution as their contribution to design. The empirical studies researchers further suggest that management of design should be the management of the key issues that arise during the design process.

In pursuit of these goals of better design education, practice, and management, several tool concepts are proposed by the researchers. We do not know how to build all of these tools yet, but if we did it would go a long way towards assisting the now-better-understood design process.

1. Modeling and simulation packages to support the mental process.
2. Idea archive and retrieve packages to prevent thoughts from falling through the cracks.
3. Strategic assumption surfacers that keep track of key requirements and pop them up when a candidate design is about to violate one.
4. Issue-based conflict resolution support.
5. Unresolved issue recording/tracking.
6. Mediated discussion support.
7. Group idea collection and coordination."

2006-03-31T22:48:00.000-06:00

James Shore on Dependency Injection

"The Really Short Version: Dependency injection means giving an object its instance variables. Really. That's it."

Whenever I stumbled upon a blog post or article on 'Dependency Injection', it must have been late at night when I was half asleep. The light bulb never went off or I simply fell asleep before I finished the reading.

When I read read his simple explanation the first time, it didn't make sense. I read the rest of the post, then came back and read that line again and 'AHA'! That's it?

Powerful, yet simple.

"20-dollar term for a 5-cent concept" as the author put it. Too often people throw around fancy terminology, sometimes not even knowing what the heck they're saying, and just plain confusing the issue. Kudos to James Shore for putting it simply.

2006-03-25T22:48:00.000-06:00

Here's an Idea: Let Everyone Have Ideas - New York Times

Good ideas come from inside and outside the organization. Do you have the best 'architecture of participateion'?

"Most companies operate under the assumption that big ideas come from a few big brains: the inspired founder, the eccentric inventor, the visionary boss. But there's a fine line between individual genius and know-it-all arrogance. What happens when rivals become so numerous, when technologies move so quickly, that no corporate honcho can think of everything? Then it's time to invent a less top-down approach to innovation, to make it everybody's business to come up with great ideas.

According to Tim O'Reilly, the founder and chief executive of O'Reilly Media, the computer book publisher, and an evangelist for open source technologies, creativity is no longer about which companies have the most visionary executives, but who has the most compelling 'architecture of participation.' That is, which companies make it easy, interesting and rewarding for a wide range of contributors to offer ideas, solve problems and improve products?"

2006-03-09T18:08:00.000-06:00

Code Highlighter

Nice code highlighter when you need to include code in a blog, in a html doc, etc.

using Solar.System;

namespace MyWorld.LostInSpace
{
    public partial class WhatNext : ToInheritOrNot
    {
        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            // Hello World !
        }
    }
}

2006-03-08T23:58:00.000-06:00

How to Change the Internet Explorer Window Title

I always found the title in Internet Explorer annoying. I'll likely blank it out or put somthing shorter.

To Add a Custom Internet Explorer Window Title
Using Registry Editor, add a String value named Window Title to the following key in the registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

2006-03-08T21:07:00.000-06:00

Cannot copy very large files to a Guest Windows XP shared folder

Bottom Line: Don't copy files more than 1.2GB when using Shared Folder. Not sure why Microsoft limited Virtual PC's features this way. If the file is large, break it into chunks, copy to the VM then reconstitute. Another option is to zip the file and as long as it is less than 1.2GB then you can copy to the VM then unzip inside the VM environment.

2006-01-05T08:21:00.000-06:00

Thought Leadership - according to the blog author is "a person or company that actively promotes and discussed ideas that are relevant to their peer-base. That by talking about a topic you become a leader in that topic. Their statements are often assumed to have the experience and knowledge behind them to support what they are saying."

He goes on to say that 'though leadership is still leadership,' that one must be fair and balanced and that leadership still has to be 'earned.'

Feel you have insight into some subject matter or wish to have an open discussion with others with a similar interest, then start a blog.

Some advice from the author:
- Start a blog
- Start small
- Create a publishing calendar. Make sure one publishes content on a regular basis. Instead of blogging at every whim, keep a log of articles you wish to publish so as to have content ready to publish on a regular basis.
- Know your audience. Not sure how this happens if you don't have a way to interact or get feedback from the audience. Perhaps the next one is the key.
- Turn on Comments. I've never turned on comments, thinking that people will post 'junk' messages. For genuine articles of interest (not rants) I've never seen 'negative' comments, except as contructive criticism and the author seems to suggest the same
- Write a guideline for what is right and wrong even if it obvious and enforce the guidelines

Well I don't consider myself a 'thought leader', but I'd certainly like to see if others find any of my rants of interest. So today I'm turning on comments.

2006-01-04T13:47:00.000-06:00

O'Reilly Network: What Is Web 2.0

Interesting perspective on Web 2.0
- Web IS the Platform
- We control our own data (and content)
- Services, not packaged software (good luck Microsoft)
- Architecture of 'participation'
- Highly scalable (when was the last time google.com was down?)
- Remixable data source and data transformations (until there are data standards, data needs to be easily transformable and 'mixable' for specific needs)
- Software should be 'agnostic' of device
- Harnesses 'collective' intelligence (right now it is hidden in blogs, emails, text files, spreadsheets, and in people's heads, etc.)

2005-12-21T22:50:00.000-06:00

Foreign and Primary Keys

Interesting perspective. Agree perfectly against the notion of multi-field primary keys. The notion of 'non-semantic' primary keys makes sense, though on rare occasions we end up using semantic primary keys. Really like the idea of calling the Primary key field {Table_Name}_Key instead of {Table_Name}_Id. There tends to be confusion on occasion with the '_Id' column (i.e. Company_Id or Product_Id), because they sometimes have real meaning in the business context and it may not be sequential numbers starting at 1.

"KEYS are only for relating tables. They aren't data items. They don't have to look good, or be sequential, or otherwise meaningful because PEOPLE don't ever see them.

There is NEVER a reason to design a database with compound keys or semantic data."

2005-12-19T12:50:00.000-06:00

DotNet Ajax Frameworks - Ajax Patterns

A list of Ajax Frameworks

2005-12-19T11:34:00.000-06:00

Using prototype.js v1.3.1

This could have some interesting uses on a portal and web development in general.

Mumblings (not meant to be understood by others):
- Refresh portlets without posting back w/ progress status
- Reinforces that development should be around content (microcontent). No more pages
- More web services. Does Ajax object support WS-formatted SOAP call?

2005-12-19T09:44:00.000-06:00

High-level Best Practices in SCM: "High-level Best Practices
in Software Configuration Management"

2005-12-16T17:37:00.000-06:00

MSDN Nuggets

Short video recordings from MSDN UK on various topics, including Windows Communications Foundation.

2005-12-16T17:17:00.000-06:00

WinFX Harmonics: Firefox for ASP.NET 2.0 Developers Video Series

"This series is for ASP.NET 2.0 developers who want to enhance their ECMAScript (JavaScript) skills and see how the powerful web development suite known as Firefox as simplify their lives as much as .NET 2.0 Framework does. In the series I use Beta 2 of Visual Web Developer 2005 and Firefox 1.0, but everything should be good for the final version of VWD2005 and for Firefox 1.5."

2005-12-16T16:19:00.000-06:00

Google Homepage API - Developer Guide

The Google Homepage API presents some interesting ideas that can be applied to ASP.NET WebParts. The API is very simple and apparently has no dependencies to any particular technology (ASP.NET, Java, etc.). Just code plain old HTML/JavaScript. A WebPart could be written to use Google Modules.

2005-12-12T17:39:00.000-06:00

New Web Project Model Option Coming for VS 2005:

Finally they recognize they made a mistake and plan to provide a solution in a few weeks. How could Microsoft just assume that we don't want to build a web project into a single assembly?

"1) All code within the project will compile into a single assembly (that gets built and persisted in the \bin directory on each compile).

2) All files contained within the project are defined within a project file (as well as the assembly references and other project meta-data settings). Files under the web’s file-system root that are not defined in the project file will not be logically considered part of the web project. You will also now be able to define classes and types anywhere in the project structure (there is no longer a need to define them under app_code)."

2005-11-20T19:12:00.000-06:00

The new ASP.NET 2.0 compilation model may not work for everyone. I'm a bit dismayed at Microsoft because many developers are having to jump through hoops in order to create a single dll out of their web project like in the ASP.NET 1.1 model.

Fritz Onion has compiled some good notes on his Wiki on this topic:
ASP.NET Applications without Web Projects

Related info:
New Compilation Modes in ASP.NET 2.0
Precompilation In ASP.NET 2.0

2005-11-17T15:27:00.000-06:00

Software that lasts 200 years

We need to start thinking of building sofware like we build roads and other infrastructure... 'build to last'.