ComputerZen.com - Scott Hanselman's Weblog - ASP.NET Params Collection vs. QueryString, Forms vs. Request["index"] and Double Decoding
Well written and useful too!
Friday, December 17, 2004
Monday, December 13, 2004
Laptop Arrived!!!
just wonky: Laptop Ordered
I received the laptop on Friday. All I can say is WOW!!!
Its mighty big, no doubt. You definitely pay attention when picking it up due to the shear size. But the screen is incredible, and it is so fast! The size is very noticable, but isn't bothering me at all. It feeks very solid and well put together. Runs fairly quiet and speakers sound great.
PCTorque was very good, the transaction went smooth. Only minor issue, was only 2 power supplies arrived instead of the three I ordered - they say they are going to take care of it (and at this point I don't doubt them at all).
Spent pretty much all weekend with this beast, and am feeling like it was money well spent. And yes, this post is being made from it :)
I received the laptop on Friday. All I can say is WOW!!!
Its mighty big, no doubt. You definitely pay attention when picking it up due to the shear size. But the screen is incredible, and it is so fast! The size is very noticable, but isn't bothering me at all. It feeks very solid and well put together. Runs fairly quiet and speakers sound great.
PCTorque was very good, the transaction went smooth. Only minor issue, was only 2 power supplies arrived instead of the three I ordered - they say they are going to take care of it (and at this point I don't doubt them at all).
Spent pretty much all weekend with this beast, and am feeling like it was money well spent. And yes, this post is being made from it :)
Team System Community Technology Previews (CTPs)
Team System Community Technology Previews (CTPs)
I'm eagerly awaiting MS Team System.
I found out about it researching components for what basically would have ended up being a custom equvilent to MS Team System.
Team System will try to bridge the worlds of developer, tester, project manager into a unified view of running software development.
I'm eagerly awaiting MS Team System.
I found out about it researching components for what basically would have ended up being a custom equvilent to MS Team System.
Team System will try to bridge the worlds of developer, tester, project manager into a unified view of running software development.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Oracle 10g Release 2 to support the CLR
Oracle 10g Release 2 to support the CLR
Recently bought the WilsonORMapper to cut down the number of stored proceedures we are writing, but I still think this is good news!
Recently bought the WilsonORMapper to cut down the number of stored proceedures we are writing, but I still think this is good news!
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Implementing a Cruise Control 'Force Build Only' Schedule
Implementing a Cruise Control 'Force Build Only' Schedule
Implementing this at work now, as time allows. Marc's blog entry makes it easy.
I'm now working on getting the web projects page able to force a build, passing in a parameter to the nant script.
Implementing this at work now, as time allows. Marc's blog entry makes it easy.
I'm now working on getting the web projects page able to force a build, passing in a parameter to the nant script.
Parents were here for Thanksgiving
Had a grea visit with my folks over thanksgiving.
Tension was much less than the last time they were here. Jess and my mother seem to be finding terms they can live with :)
Nothing exciting while they were here - shopping, reviewing stuff for the wedding, and eats (good eats).
Tension was much less than the last time they were here. Jess and my mother seem to be finding terms they can live with :)
Nothing exciting while they were here - shopping, reviewing stuff for the wedding, and eats (good eats).
Bought a House!!
Ok so this is an expensive month. ;)
It looks like Jess and I bought a house, in Lawrenceville NJ.
We're in the process of closing now.
It looks like Jess and I bought a house, in Lawrenceville NJ.
We're in the process of closing now.
Laptop Ordered
I ordered a new laptop from PCTorque. Its a Sager 9860.
3.4 Ghz P4 with HT
2GB Ram
2X 80GB 5400rpm SATA in Raid 0
256Mb Go6800 PCI-X video
8X DVD+- R DL
Should be sweet. Hopefully it will ship by the end of this week, making it likely I should have it before heading to Canda for Christmas (leaving on the 19th).
3.4 Ghz P4 with HT
2GB Ram
2X 80GB 5400rpm SATA in Raid 0
256Mb Go6800 PCI-X video
8X DVD+- R DL
Should be sweet. Hopefully it will ship by the end of this week, making it likely I should have it before heading to Canda for Christmas (leaving on the 19th).
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Tablet
In other news I'm getting to play with a tablet pc while I'm at the confrence.
Its working well - great size and battery life. Really like not carrying around paper, and the ability to easily convert text. Downside:. Logging in to take notes.
Its working well - great size and battery life. Really like not carrying around paper, and the ability to easily convert text. Downside:. Logging in to take notes.
From odyssey
I'm down in florida at the plumtree odyssey confrence.
Jess is with - a much needed vacation even if she is a little bored while I'm in sessions.
Its interesting that plumtree is aligned with what I've been promoting at work. Specifically investing in both .net and j2ee.
I'm still solidly beleiving that java is dying, I just don't see it outpacing .net. Specifically even with 1.5, java is still behind 1.1 .net, let alone 2.o.
I've created a decision discussion doc that I'll post here once I get back, outlining some of the approach.
I'm enjoying tapping into the energy of the confrence, and getting some time to reflect and brainstorm. Lots of new idea's.
As always I'm feeling spread to thin at work. I'm re-examining what I can delegate, but it really comes down to building team cohesion on objectives and goals.
Jess is with - a much needed vacation even if she is a little bored while I'm in sessions.
Its interesting that plumtree is aligned with what I've been promoting at work. Specifically investing in both .net and j2ee.
I'm still solidly beleiving that java is dying, I just don't see it outpacing .net. Specifically even with 1.5, java is still behind 1.1 .net, let alone 2.o.
I've created a decision discussion doc that I'll post here once I get back, outlining some of the approach.
I'm enjoying tapping into the energy of the confrence, and getting some time to reflect and brainstorm. Lots of new idea's.
As always I'm feeling spread to thin at work. I'm re-examining what I can delegate, but it really comes down to building team cohesion on objectives and goals.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Notebook
I'm weighing the advantages of getting a new laptop.
Currently I have a Sony V505. Its small and light and has pretty decent battery life. Stylish too.
However it sports a king size (not!) 12" screen, a 1.8Ghz "M" processor, and 512mb ram. WiFi is a PC card sticking out the side.
All in all its a great little machine, but it sucks at doing any "heavy lifting". Coding, gaming, or any sort of multi-tasking is next to impossible.
This has me looking towards a beefier system. Most likely a VoodooPC Envy:780. 17" wide screen, 256 MB ATI 9700 video card, 60 gb - 8mb cache 7200 rmp HD, and a P4 3.2HT and under 9lbs! Only problem with it? Price! About $4000!
Ouch.
I'll aleast wait till the 9800 video card is available.
Currently I have a Sony V505. Its small and light and has pretty decent battery life. Stylish too.
However it sports a king size (not!) 12" screen, a 1.8Ghz "M" processor, and 512mb ram. WiFi is a PC card sticking out the side.
All in all its a great little machine, but it sucks at doing any "heavy lifting". Coding, gaming, or any sort of multi-tasking is next to impossible.
This has me looking towards a beefier system. Most likely a VoodooPC Envy:780. 17" wide screen, 256 MB ATI 9700 video card, 60 gb - 8mb cache 7200 rmp HD, and a P4 3.2HT and under 9lbs! Only problem with it? Price! About $4000!
Ouch.
I'll aleast wait till the 9800 video card is available.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Dawning Of the Holy Wars --- Again
The dust is finally begin to settle here, the bloodbath of the holy wars between Java and .NET here are winding down. The winner is clear at this point, although there is still some stalwart hold outs on the opposition.
Yesterday a final blow was throw by management - recognising .NET victorious by suggesting my group develop a web center of excellence over the next few months. This center of excellence will be responsible for setting and maintaining the rules of engadgement for creating web applications on the .NET platform. Java will be forced to follow in the foot steps of .NET.
A little background before. I am a Java developer, err... well I was a Java developer. I worked at a software development house as a software engineer and release engineer where the release system, and the core product was written in Java. Even the version of Corba was the java implementation. From advanced coding, to tweaking jvm performance options, and solaris kernal parameter tuning.
Then I went on to a financials company and did Java development there too.
However I ended up in an ASP/VB environment here, and that was just painful. Then we inherited legacy systems on different platforms such as seeker, cold fusion, and domino. It was horrific. After elegant designs in java I had been tossed into a world of spaghetti, interoperability nightmares, and mangled development practices.
Rapidly as we could we moved to .NET, as a logical progression from ASP/VB. Standardizing on .NET, retiring other technologies as soon as they occured. We transitioned into a component based frame of development and now are moving to framework based development. We have a clear end game in mind - Service Orient Architecture, with solid yet agile development practices.
Meanwhile Java development here plugged along, some strong development, but not much evolution.
My goals since being here have to recognise the value proposition Microsoft puts forth: inexpensive, advanced, fast development platform. Probably the best IDE out there overall. Inexpensive server cost proposition. Easy/inexpensive developer requirements. True object oriented platform. Large framework library to leverage. Multitude of components available.
Reading the following article:
JDJ Opinion: "Java is Back!" (SYS-CON)(Printview)
made me realize that Java indeed is dying a slow death beyond the walls of this company.
Looking forward the challenge will be to keep the heat on innovating development techniques and capabilites and leading the wave of changes that will realize increased integration, reduced development time, and increased software quality.
The one area of concern I have with .NET is its adoption in integration suites by middle tier vendors. Things like document approvals and routing solutions.
Recently I was disappointed on an request for proposal, that only one vendor's solution was .NET based (adobe) and they were planning on moving to J2EE for their next version.
So the holy wars are on. Microsoft .NET has one the battle of web application development here, all that remains will be to begin to move middle tier vendors to the platform for consistancy and it will be time to look at the next holy war.
What will it be? I'm not sure. Oracle VS Sql Server?
Yesterday a final blow was throw by management - recognising .NET victorious by suggesting my group develop a web center of excellence over the next few months. This center of excellence will be responsible for setting and maintaining the rules of engadgement for creating web applications on the .NET platform. Java will be forced to follow in the foot steps of .NET.
A little background before. I am a Java developer, err... well I was a Java developer. I worked at a software development house as a software engineer and release engineer where the release system, and the core product was written in Java. Even the version of Corba was the java implementation. From advanced coding, to tweaking jvm performance options, and solaris kernal parameter tuning.
Then I went on to a financials company and did Java development there too.
However I ended up in an ASP/VB environment here, and that was just painful. Then we inherited legacy systems on different platforms such as seeker, cold fusion, and domino. It was horrific. After elegant designs in java I had been tossed into a world of spaghetti, interoperability nightmares, and mangled development practices.
Rapidly as we could we moved to .NET, as a logical progression from ASP/VB. Standardizing on .NET, retiring other technologies as soon as they occured. We transitioned into a component based frame of development and now are moving to framework based development. We have a clear end game in mind - Service Orient Architecture, with solid yet agile development practices.
Meanwhile Java development here plugged along, some strong development, but not much evolution.
My goals since being here have to recognise the value proposition Microsoft puts forth: inexpensive, advanced, fast development platform. Probably the best IDE out there overall. Inexpensive server cost proposition. Easy/inexpensive developer requirements. True object oriented platform. Large framework library to leverage. Multitude of components available.
Reading the following article:
JDJ Opinion: "Java is Back!" (SYS-CON)(Printview)
made me realize that Java indeed is dying a slow death beyond the walls of this company.
Looking forward the challenge will be to keep the heat on innovating development techniques and capabilites and leading the wave of changes that will realize increased integration, reduced development time, and increased software quality.
The one area of concern I have with .NET is its adoption in integration suites by middle tier vendors. Things like document approvals and routing solutions.
Recently I was disappointed on an request for proposal, that only one vendor's solution was .NET based (adobe) and they were planning on moving to J2EE for their next version.
So the holy wars are on. Microsoft .NET has one the battle of web application development here, all that remains will be to begin to move middle tier vendors to the platform for consistancy and it will be time to look at the next holy war.
What will it be? I'm not sure. Oracle VS Sql Server?
Monday, August 09, 2004
Thanks to Kirk Allen Evan:
"Our Team is Hiring Microsoft Evangelists"
These positions sound amazing. Specifically the architect role right here in NJ!!!!
Basically it sound like what I do everyday at my current position, but for a much larger scale. Very Cool!!!
I showed the description to a friend of mine, and he stopped, and said, Rob - this is the job for you.
So that confirmed it - time to dust off the resume and send it in.
I wasn't even remotely thinking about a new job....
Even if it goes no where, just knowing the position exists is awesome. I haven't been excited about a job prospect in a very long time.
These positions sound amazing. Specifically the architect role right here in NJ!!!!
Basically it sound like what I do everyday at my current position, but for a much larger scale. Very Cool!!!
I showed the description to a friend of mine, and he stopped, and said, Rob - this is the job for you.
So that confirmed it - time to dust off the resume and send it in.
I wasn't even remotely thinking about a new job....
Even if it goes no where, just knowing the position exists is awesome. I haven't been excited about a job prospect in a very long time.
WilsonDotNet Home
WilsonDotNet Home definitely needs some review - some excellent concepts here.
Also checking out this suite, for work, but am shying away from it.
Definitely looking to introduce callbacks, and drag and drop/dock into our development capabilities next year. Personalization on the drag and drop stuff to keep it where the user put it for thier next session.
Also people are going to what to find out what the common customizations are, and make it the default.
Also checking out this suite, for work, but am shying away from it.
Definitely looking to introduce callbacks, and drag and drop/dock into our development capabilities next year. Personalization on the drag and drop stuff to keep it where the user put it for thier next session.
Also people are going to what to find out what the common customizations are, and make it the default.
Friday, August 06, 2004
let it blast
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Monday, August 02, 2004
impressive coding
http://weblogs.asp.net/okloeten/archive/2004/07/31/202656.aspx
This is too cool. Inspired by old AsciiArt this guy wrote a program to convert an image to HTML.
Wow the power of CSS!
This is too cool. Inspired by old AsciiArt this guy wrote a program to convert an image to HTML.
Wow the power of CSS!
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Resumes
I used to think resumes were pretty much of a much. But now for the second time in a year, I have a stack of more than a dozen on my desk, and I can tell for certain they aren't of equal caliber.
Some people manage to convey enthusiasm, and depth of experience in their resume. Others drone on and on about their work history in such a way that puts me to sleep and makes me wonder what they actually have been doing all this time.
Remember your audience for your resume: the poor manager with too few resources and precious little time, desperately trying to fill a position in time to make a project deadline (or three positions as this case may be).
Another pet peeve is someone that puts a skillset on their skills inventory that doesn't appear anywhere in their work history.
I created a simple rating system. 29 questions I'm looking to be able to feel comfortable about the answers to by going through your resume, a phone interview, and face to face. It needs some revision to balance "comfort" with "technical ability", but it seems to work so far.
All this said if you are a great (but humble) .NET programmer shout at me and I'll put you in touch with a recruiting firm I can hire from. My email is the toplevel domain (my name) of this URL at gmail dot com.
Some people manage to convey enthusiasm, and depth of experience in their resume. Others drone on and on about their work history in such a way that puts me to sleep and makes me wonder what they actually have been doing all this time.
Remember your audience for your resume: the poor manager with too few resources and precious little time, desperately trying to fill a position in time to make a project deadline (or three positions as this case may be).
Another pet peeve is someone that puts a skillset on their skills inventory that doesn't appear anywhere in their work history.
I created a simple rating system. 29 questions I'm looking to be able to feel comfortable about the answers to by going through your resume, a phone interview, and face to face. It needs some revision to balance "comfort" with "technical ability", but it seems to work so far.
All this said if you are a great (but humble) .NET programmer shout at me and I'll put you in touch with a recruiting firm I can hire from. My email is the toplevel domain (my name) of this URL at gmail dot com.
Friday, June 25, 2004
A freind of mine from Austin, Tx is visiting. Actually he's living in Detroit right now, but I know him from Texas.
Today I'm splitting out early (legitimately - love summer hours!) and we're heading down to AutoShowInMotion in Philly (Bethlem actually). Should be cool to get to buzz around on the track in a corvette, hummer and the like.
This evening I think we'll head down to philly to tear it up a bit. Jess isn't very happy about it as she won't come as she has to work tommorow and its not her thing. I understand she's torn from wanting me to have fun and show my buddy a good time, but at the sametime wanting to be selfish and have me with her all evening. I'd rather she just came out and went home a little early. Oh well I don't go out very often so I'm not really concerned.
I finally had a little time to catch up this week - got upto speed on some dot net stuff and some more previews of whidbey. Won't be using msbuild likely though - won't be able to align it well with our Java efforts (nant and ant are much easier to work with for both).
I also started a little hacking on a BSP (bastard side project). It appears that my on the fly design skills are up to snuff but I've forgotten alot of c#/ado stuff in the last few months. My bsp will progress slowly I guess.
Today I'm splitting out early (legitimately - love summer hours!) and we're heading down to AutoShowInMotion in Philly (Bethlem actually). Should be cool to get to buzz around on the track in a corvette, hummer and the like.
This evening I think we'll head down to philly to tear it up a bit. Jess isn't very happy about it as she won't come as she has to work tommorow and its not her thing. I understand she's torn from wanting me to have fun and show my buddy a good time, but at the sametime wanting to be selfish and have me with her all evening. I'd rather she just came out and went home a little early. Oh well I don't go out very often so I'm not really concerned.
I finally had a little time to catch up this week - got upto speed on some dot net stuff and some more previews of whidbey. Won't be using msbuild likely though - won't be able to align it well with our Java efforts (nant and ant are much easier to work with for both).
I also started a little hacking on a BSP (bastard side project). It appears that my on the fly design skills are up to snuff but I've forgotten alot of c#/ado stuff in the last few months. My bsp will progress slowly I guess.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
2 weeks go by...
No lack of intrest just lack of time... Why do things always seem to be busier than the previous week?
This week is going to be quieter than last! Really....
The Parents Visit
It would have been great except Mom and Jessica couldn't come to terms with each other. We did get down to the King of Prussia mall, and to Palace of Asia for Indian food. All in all a good visit - despite the war between the girls...
The computer saga
I ordered a 160GB SATA HD from my computer (Samsung model with 8mb of cache -silent and fast!). Only problem was I meant to order the same drive in regular IDE - my motherboard doesn't support SATA.
Options:
1 - return drive, wait a week or so. Lose 15% (~$15)
2 - purchase SATA PCI card for ~$45 at local computer store, CON: want computer to be quieter (need less components for better airflow)
3 - new motherboard that supports SATA ~$90 (ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe)
So I ordered the new motherboard and it got here fast (NewEgg rocks!).
Problems getting it booting off the SATA disk (trying not use old drives) - no NTLDR found. Windows Install painfully slow - WinXP Pro disk cracked causing read errors - but it works.
All of a sudden no more booting. Lights on, fans on but not posting. Dead video card?
Went to bestbuy and bought a Radeo 9800Pro (128MB) for $250. ouch.
Didn't work - atleast I get to return the new video card (I like my Ti4400 for now - maybe this fall I'll get a new card). Must be processor or ram.
Ordered new processor (XP 2600+), and Ram (Crusial PC2700). Thanks again Newegg. Hope its the processor thats dead - atleast then I'll have a gig of RAM instead of 512...
Yep its the processor. Boot up - right into windows - no NTLDR error!
Windows update: Service pack 1. Reboot. All hotfixes. Reboot. Driver Upgrades. Reboot. DX 9 Reboot Media Player & Bios flash. BSOD dance. (if you didn't know by default WinXP reboots when a BSOD is hit, if it occurs on boot up you end up with an endless boot->bsod->reboot cycle - be sure to turn this feature off!)
Reflashed bios back to original (download on laptop, burn to cd, boot off Win98 cd run of Cd rom). Still BSOD dance. Reinstalled Windows XP from Kirts cd - but my key wouldn't allow me to "activate", ended up using my cd dumped onto my usb harddrive to "upgrade". Added SP1 and service packs but not Windows media player or the bios update.
Endless hours I didn't have in vain. $100 upgrade ended up costing about $300 ($250 I still need to get back by returning the video card). Turns out the NTLDR error was occuring because the motherboard was trying to boot off the USB harddrive -urgh.
In the end though it was worth it - the computer is MUCH faster now!
School
Accounting for managers is much more difficult and time consuming than the marketing and finance courses were. I finally think I turned a corner upon completing this last assignment though - finally enough knowledge built up to get things to fall into place. 3 assignements down, 5 to go.
This week is going to be quieter than last! Really....
The Parents Visit
It would have been great except Mom and Jessica couldn't come to terms with each other. We did get down to the King of Prussia mall, and to Palace of Asia for Indian food. All in all a good visit - despite the war between the girls...
The computer saga
I ordered a 160GB SATA HD from my computer (Samsung model with 8mb of cache -silent and fast!). Only problem was I meant to order the same drive in regular IDE - my motherboard doesn't support SATA.
Options:
1 - return drive, wait a week or so. Lose 15% (~$15)
2 - purchase SATA PCI card for ~$45 at local computer store, CON: want computer to be quieter (need less components for better airflow)
3 - new motherboard that supports SATA ~$90 (ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe)
So I ordered the new motherboard and it got here fast (NewEgg rocks!).
Problems getting it booting off the SATA disk (trying not use old drives) - no NTLDR found. Windows Install painfully slow - WinXP Pro disk cracked causing read errors - but it works.
All of a sudden no more booting. Lights on, fans on but not posting. Dead video card?
Went to bestbuy and bought a Radeo 9800Pro (128MB) for $250. ouch.
Didn't work - atleast I get to return the new video card (I like my Ti4400 for now - maybe this fall I'll get a new card). Must be processor or ram.
Ordered new processor (XP 2600+), and Ram (Crusial PC2700). Thanks again Newegg. Hope its the processor thats dead - atleast then I'll have a gig of RAM instead of 512...
Yep its the processor. Boot up - right into windows - no NTLDR error!
Windows update: Service pack 1. Reboot. All hotfixes. Reboot. Driver Upgrades. Reboot. DX 9 Reboot Media Player & Bios flash. BSOD dance. (if you didn't know by default WinXP reboots when a BSOD is hit, if it occurs on boot up you end up with an endless boot->bsod->reboot cycle - be sure to turn this feature off!)
Reflashed bios back to original (download on laptop, burn to cd, boot off Win98 cd run of Cd rom). Still BSOD dance. Reinstalled Windows XP from Kirts cd - but my key wouldn't allow me to "activate", ended up using my cd dumped onto my usb harddrive to "upgrade". Added SP1 and service packs but not Windows media player or the bios update.
Endless hours I didn't have in vain. $100 upgrade ended up costing about $300 ($250 I still need to get back by returning the video card). Turns out the NTLDR error was occuring because the motherboard was trying to boot off the USB harddrive -urgh.
In the end though it was worth it - the computer is MUCH faster now!
School
Accounting for managers is much more difficult and time consuming than the marketing and finance courses were. I finally think I turned a corner upon completing this last assignment though - finally enough knowledge built up to get things to fall into place. 3 assignements down, 5 to go.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
working away
Yesterday and today are relatively meeting free - a great and unique rarity!
I'm utilizing the time to work through some of the paper work I need to ackomplish for some upcoming project proposals.
Looking forward to this coming weekend - Memorial day - Long weekend! Woohoo. My parents will be visiting from Friday night through Tuesday - should be lots of fun.
I'm utilizing the time to work through some of the paper work I need to ackomplish for some upcoming project proposals.
Looking forward to this coming weekend - Memorial day - Long weekend! Woohoo. My parents will be visiting from Friday night through Tuesday - should be lots of fun.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
the Silent Week
No posts this week. Eriely silent?
This week I gave a presenation to a group of abotu 200 people about the direction I have my group moving in about web application development.
In the presentation I covered why these techniques were required, what gaps there were, how we were addressing the gaps currently, and where we were going in the future.
Technology wise I focused on .NET and Plumtree, but mentioned Websphere parallelism and tools like DataDynamics ActiveReports and Coalesys PanelBar and WebMenu.
The presentation went fairly well - I feel I handled the Q&A at the end very strongly.
I also like the fact that it helps me keep my team focused on realizing the goals we have set forth.
Additionally we have a big project thats a go, as well as 7 more to estimate formally.
Went to a AA ballgame last night - Jessica's boss had purchased a luxury box at the game to celebrate the 200th new home sale by his company. We had a great time.
My parents are coming to visit next weekend as well - should be a great time. Probably going to get them to King of Prussia mall, as well as out for Indian food for something different.
This week I gave a presenation to a group of abotu 200 people about the direction I have my group moving in about web application development.
In the presentation I covered why these techniques were required, what gaps there were, how we were addressing the gaps currently, and where we were going in the future.
Technology wise I focused on .NET and Plumtree, but mentioned Websphere parallelism and tools like DataDynamics ActiveReports and Coalesys PanelBar and WebMenu.
The presentation went fairly well - I feel I handled the Q&A at the end very strongly.
I also like the fact that it helps me keep my team focused on realizing the goals we have set forth.
Additionally we have a big project thats a go, as well as 7 more to estimate formally.
Went to a AA ballgame last night - Jessica's boss had purchased a luxury box at the game to celebrate the 200th new home sale by his company. We had a great time.
My parents are coming to visit next weekend as well - should be a great time. Probably going to get them to King of Prussia mall, as well as out for Indian food for something different.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Weekend
Had an excellent weekend overall, even if my desktop decided to misbehave. It looks like something in the ide raid controller. Since the harddrives(3) are the loudest part of my desktop if they start acting up I may well just grab a S-ATA PCI card and newe S-ATA silent harddrive. I like finding excuses to get new toys ;)
Kasey the yellow lab had an excellent weekend. It was full of playing, annoying me (is it time to play yet? is it? is it?), and eating REAL bones (a pig femer and a Mamoth bone). Her behavior is getting much better as she matures a little - I'm impressed with her intelligence and she's only 8mo old.
Saturday night I had hibachi for the first time. I enjoyed to cooking style, however the food nearly killed me. Perhaps I'm exagerating slightly but it wasn't pleasant. Its suspected that I may be alelrgic to MSG.
Saw TROY on Friday night. Good movie. Brad Pitt did a great job, and it was an excellent production. No complaints, although I'm not raving either. Definetly worth seeing in the theater if you enjoy that sort of pass time.
Began working on my presentation for this thursday also - starting to get nervous, but excited at the material at the same time. I'm going to cover three main topics - IT industry (direction, undercutting, and outsourcing), my group and our response and alignment, and .NET/Plumtree.
Kasey the yellow lab had an excellent weekend. It was full of playing, annoying me (is it time to play yet? is it? is it?), and eating REAL bones (a pig femer and a Mamoth bone). Her behavior is getting much better as she matures a little - I'm impressed with her intelligence and she's only 8mo old.
Saturday night I had hibachi for the first time. I enjoyed to cooking style, however the food nearly killed me. Perhaps I'm exagerating slightly but it wasn't pleasant. Its suspected that I may be alelrgic to MSG.
Saw TROY on Friday night. Good movie. Brad Pitt did a great job, and it was an excellent production. No complaints, although I'm not raving either. Definetly worth seeing in the theater if you enjoy that sort of pass time.
Began working on my presentation for this thursday also - starting to get nervous, but excited at the material at the same time. I'm going to cover three main topics - IT industry (direction, undercutting, and outsourcing), my group and our response and alignment, and .NET/Plumtree.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
I like thursdays...
I was not looking forward to a weekly meeting this morning - blah!. I got there and it was actually a pretty good meeting, even if it was 30 minutes longer than required.
One client is a pain, they refuse to do any upfront design, or think things through. Then when things work as expected they panic and want us to undo them, which would take a considerable amount of time and effort and would be pointless.
Good news on my automated build/release initiative front: getting an almagamated source repository may not be an issue after all. Additionally one of my staff did a great job taking something that extra step for me - a welcome relief.
Jessica is great - starting to go a little nuts on planning but not to bad :)
Other good news - my RIM pager that I was sure I had lost, and I put in a request for a new one is found.
Pretty good Thursday, even if its 6:30pm and still at work.... 11hour day, no wonder I feel I got a fair bit accomplished.
One client is a pain, they refuse to do any upfront design, or think things through. Then when things work as expected they panic and want us to undo them, which would take a considerable amount of time and effort and would be pointless.
Good news on my automated build/release initiative front: getting an almagamated source repository may not be an issue after all. Additionally one of my staff did a great job taking something that extra step for me - a welcome relief.
Jessica is great - starting to go a little nuts on planning but not to bad :)
Other good news - my RIM pager that I was sure I had lost, and I put in a request for a new one is found.
Pretty good Thursday, even if its 6:30pm and still at work.... 11hour day, no wonder I feel I got a fair bit accomplished.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
places
Jessica went and looked at the Palace yesterday, but was concerned that it was a little too large ornate for our tastes. Also concerned that the construction might not be completed, so we'd probably have push out to end of April 2005... the search continues.
build/deploy
I'm pleased with the CruiseControl.net/nAnt integration. I have it working for 3 projects now and its doing exactly what its supposed to.
Next tasks will be to do a few more of the projects, and work on a task to register a MTS dll.
I'm also looking at our version control system - currently VSS, thinking we may need to upgrade to CVS, subversion, or BitKeeper in the future.
Next tasks will be to do a few more of the projects, and work on a task to register a MTS dll.
I'm also looking at our version control system - currently VSS, thinking we may need to upgrade to CVS, subversion, or BitKeeper in the future.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
synergy
I'll admit I feel like I trying to push a really heavy object up a hill.
Recently a reorg occured here at work, and my team got shuffled up, some of my best team members went to another manager, and I ended up with an almalgamation of a few groups.
The reasoning for this is to try to find the synergies from the groups and build some alignment amoungst them and their development processes.
Some of this is pretty clear, while in the same technology (ie .NET or Java) but gets more complicated looking accross more technologies such as Broadvision and Domino.
I'm trying to get back focused on improving our development standards - focusing on build, release consistancy, as well as automated unit testing.
To this end I'm trying to get CruiseControl.NET, nAnt, and nUnit working cohesively for a number of applications.
Recently a reorg occured here at work, and my team got shuffled up, some of my best team members went to another manager, and I ended up with an almalgamation of a few groups.
The reasoning for this is to try to find the synergies from the groups and build some alignment amoungst them and their development processes.
Some of this is pretty clear, while in the same technology (ie .NET or Java) but gets more complicated looking accross more technologies such as Broadvision and Domino.
I'm trying to get back focused on improving our development standards - focusing on build, release consistancy, as well as automated unit testing.
To this end I'm trying to get CruiseControl.NET, nAnt, and nUnit working cohesively for a number of applications.
yep, another blog on the web
musing of thoughts and the weavings of my life. The lines between work, hobbies, and life blurred and mirrored together.
Just Wonkey.
Just Wonkey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)