Monday, June 16, 2008
Where does the H come from in the word Whiz?
Warning: I’m about to bitch.
I have a small software addon company that develops products that are primarily wizard based so that the end user's hand is held so they can get it right. Every now and then people email me about my company or products ( which all end in wiz i.e RDBwiz, HolidayWiz, etc) and they spell the wiz part as WHIZ.. I guess they didn’t notice that the wiz was short for wizard, and no where in the word wizard is there an H. So I ask, where does the H come from in Whiz? I did some research on the word whiz and I found that this word is not the same as wiz or wizard, In fact whiz refers to noise making or urination. So these people that call my products whiz, are they saying my products are loud, noisy and pissy, and they are still are interested in buying them? After pondering on it for a little while, I believe that these people are one of the following:
1. They are that ignorant to pay attention how I spell my product names.
2. They are incapable of spelling.
3. They are oblivious to the world around them.
4. They have smoked so much pot that they actually do see extra letters in words, like the H in wizard.
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
X Marks the Spot: The scary first step towards OS X
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Back in December 2007 I purchased a new Mac Pro and installed vista 64 via boot camp 1.0 because it was cheaper than a Dell Workstation. I used Vista 99.5% of the time and after 3 months the Vista indexing service had aggravated and frustrated me so much, that when my C drive died, I naturally blamed Vista. As its indexing service was the one who was eating my hard drives for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I also feel that this service makes vista much slower, but if you disable the index service you have no way to search for files or search in outlook 2007, making life real hard. I also felt that with Vista, everything had been moved around, icons were missing, and I was constantly reading sentences to find where the network settings where. I felt as if I was having to learning a new “pretty” OS that was not as stable as its predecessor. So since I was going to have to load all my software on the machine again, I took a chance, a chance on Apples OS X 10.5 AKA Leopard that came with my Mac Pro. It felt a bit like moving out of my parents house, so much responsibility in an unknown area, but did I really want to move, life was so good as I was in a comfortable place, but vista had made it uncomfortable, kind of like some patents do on their kids when they want them to move out. So I began to move what data I could off my crashing hard drive, and began looking for the OS X counter parts to applications and settings that I had grown use to working everyday in Windows. The big apps were easy, Office and Adobe CS3 Suite both install and work on Windows and OS X. We use Microsoft Exchange for email. I was able to get Entourage ( the Mac Outlook) to work with Exchange with little effort once I had the right settings from our Exchange hosting provider. So since there are some differences, I decided to document in my blog the differences that I noticed. I am sure I will not catch all of the difference but I will do my best to document which applications I use on windows and their counter parts on OS X, keyboard shortcuts, various settings, features, advantages and disadvantages. Just so I am completely clear, I used Apples OS back in High School, I think it was either 7 or 9, (the Macs that were all in one before iMacs) and I have been using windows since Win 3.1. I will decided to name these documentation blogs “X Marks the Spot” as I’m moving my digital life to X, and hopefully there is something wonderful buried under the X.
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Dear Windows, I'm leaving you.
Dear Windows, I'm leaving you.
It's been a long time since I have used a computer that didn't have windows on it but the days of using you as my primary OS are coming to an end. I recently bought you a nice powerful machine for you to run on, a MAC Pro, as I have always wanted, but your newest version doesn't run any faster than the previous version did on my old hardware. I made the jump to dual booting between OS X & you. But while this new Vista version of you has provided many hours of stability you have provided more than I could have ever imagined in confusion and endless hunting for things that you decided to move for no good reason. All of this has just added to more stress that no one needs. Your search feature is the biggest piece of crap I have ever used. You go on and on reindexing the same thing you did the day before, but offer no results that are useful when I need your help. Goggle Desktop works better than your built in indexer, although I refuse to install it. You are constantly eating my hard drives for lunch and I am tired of trying to listen to MP3s only to have them broken apart like I am listening to winamp on a Pentium 1 because my hard drives or so taxied with your endless indexing that its hardly ever available. You have actually shown me a side of yourself I have not seen in a long time, as side that I thought you had left behind. The blue screen look, and honestly I don't like it. I tried to work it out with you but even after seeking updated and even service pack 1, I just don't see anything different now than from the day I bought you, hoping that you would become mature & something wonderful, but you have let me down. So I am sorry to say, I am leaving you. It is going to take me a few months to move all my stuff out and get situated in my new place but I think it is for the best. I will still see your older brother XP but only on a Virtualization, as needed basis.
Good Bye Windows, it has been real.
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Friday, May 02, 2008
Gavin Degraw Does it again - Self Titled Album
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I have been a loyal Gavin Degraw fan since I first heard him on Pepsi Smash back in the summer of 2003. I think I was the only person in Baton Rouge, LA that actually went out the day his first studio album dropped. I went to 3 stores before I found the album and bought it for a whopping $19. His whole first album is a classic to be. With such a strong first album, I thought it would be a hard act to follow, and I am sure it was, as Gavin has been working on this album for a few years, we first heard he was working on a new album back in last 2005 and we waited as predicted released dates were set and passed more than a few times. There was actually talk of a covers album in late 2004 but that never happened. The self titled album from Gavin Degraw has been well worth the wait. This sophomore album from Gavin Degraw includes a few songs that we first heard several years ago in live concerts; song like Cop Stop & We Belong Together, while the downloadable concert version of these songs are good, the album versions really make these songs sing. It took me a few listens thru the album to really start to hear the heart of the album but once it grabs you, you know. This is definitely a album I plan on singing along with for years to come. Just don't make me wait as long for the next album.
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Why I bought a Mac Pro vs Dell Workstation.
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To put it plain and simple, cost for value. Dell has become known for having the cheapest & best machines for the money but that day has started to come to an end. It appears that Apple has taken a chapter from Sam Walton’s books and pulled a “Wal-Mart” (which is : cut prices to cut competitors). I priced out the same exact basic specifications Dell VS Apple and the Dell was $918 MORE than a Mac Pro. Hum, Well that’s a no brainer. Especially since I can’t run OS X on a Dell workstation(legally), but I can run Vista on a Mac right out of the box. Mac Pro and their predecessors have been known as work horses, so I know I’m getting a machine that will perform nicely. I might not use OS X that much but I have the option to, so I probably will grow into it. The market share of OS X hasn’t moved drastically but I think the tides are about to change. People want functionality, Vista attempts, OS X delivers.
Apple has a good grip on their marketing and with products like iPhone, iPod, etc they are setting the industries high. Everyone else is just playing catch up. Apples shares have been on a constant upward motion since the early iPod days but I think Apple is the new Google stock.
Why buy a PC that someone threw together, when you can buy a Mac for less? The only thing I would say about buying a mac, is thier memory is overpriced. Memory is easy to install, especialy in a Mac Pro, just buy the memory you need from www.crucial.com for half the cost.
My Comparison : BuyMac hardware
Here is another comparison SystemShootout Updated 5/21/2008 : The one thing that I did not take into consideration is I think the Dell workstation comes with an intergrated SATA RAID controler, the MAC PRO doesnt. OS X has software raid Support, Windows Vista does not.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Stay away from Calloway's Gym in Baton Rouge, LA
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About 2 years ago, I joined a gym right around the corner from my house called Calloway’s Health & Fitness located in Baton Rouge, LA. They required a 1 year contract. I worked out there for a year, then wanted to continue working out there but they made me sign another 1 year contract. So 9 months into the contract I wanted to start working out with some friends that didn’t want to work out at Calloway’s because of the juice bar/steroid atmosphere that its well known for. I found out about the juice after I joined. So I called Calloway’s and requested my membership be canceled, which I felt like was completely legit, they told me that wasn’t possible. I explained that I had been a member for almost 2 years, always paid my bills on time, and my contract was almost up so what was the big deal. They told me that they just don’t do that.. So I wrote a letter, with a month worth payment ($59.95) as a 30 day notice payment. I continued to get invoice every month and I didn’t pay them because I wanted the membership canceled. So on the last month I was due to get an invoice for my 12 month membership. I received a nasty invoice that said I was going to be turned over to a collection agency, which of course I thought was a bit extreme and I definitely didn’t want to happen. So I wrote another letter to Calloway’s Health & Fitness and explained my request again, and included a copy of my first letter, and their nasty invoice. The next day I got a call from Mr. Calloway himself who told me that they don’t let people out of their contracts. Mr. Calloway started asking me questions like “ so what is this letter you sent me” then began to read it aloud to me over the phone, like I didn’t know what the letter said, or he was incapable of reading a written letter without close supervision. He then tried to relate my membership cancelation to him requesting the canceling his truck note. I failed to see how a $25,000+ truck note ( which is a sellable item) compared to the $250 total of my remaining membership. Which I explained to him. He then asked me about what kind of business I was in. I told him a monthly service based business, and we use contacts too but all we require is a 30 day notice to cancel a contract because we feel this is fair to clients. To which he replied, “I don’t have a cancelation policy in my contract, but you signed it” to which I agreed and I said ”that was a poor oversight on my part.” He then almost joyously replied “ well that’s your fault”, like he had won a prize or something. Then told me to “pay the membership in full or it was going to be turned over to collections and I wasn’t going to be allowed to buy anything. “ Which I felt was very threatening. So why do I write a post about this in my personal blog? To hopefully help someone else realize that Calloway’s Heath & Fitness in Baton Rouge, LA is probably not the place for you. If you like being valued as a customer, its definably not for you. I was valued customer until I wanted to cancel my membership, then it was all about the dollar and getting everything out of me that they legally could. Calloway’s Health & Fitness never thought for a second that maybe one day I might want to return, instead they have made sure I will never be a returning customer.
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
NBC poorly Copies its own Idea in new series CHUCK
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This Summer started sad in we saw the end of one of the most successful Sci-Fi series ever, Stargate SG1. But NBC pulled a new show out of their hat, called Burn Notice, which aired on USA. Burn Notice was so successful on Cable and Satellite TV that is was #1 for the last 8 weeks of the shows running, and since been signed for a second season. Since Burn Notice is a Summer Series, there will be no episodes till next summer 2008, but it looks like NBC is trying to squeeze this new idea to death by creating copy cat series and airing them on the networks main airwaves. CHUCK which Aired last night on NBC has all the makings of Burn Notice, Narrated by the Main Character, and two sidekicks who are spies who he doesn’t know how much to trust ( 1 male ,1 female), and a few others similarities. But the writers are really reaching in chuck, in that the main character has all of the United States top secrets stored in his head that were somehow downloaded but he works as a best buy geek squad like employee, please those people are not that smart to have that much information put in their heads. Much Love for Adam Baldwin, as I see he is trying a different network out after FOX canceled a little show called, Firefly, after a mere 14 episodes, but at least there was a movie to end it all. I personal don’t see CHUCK surviving 1 season but I am just one viewer.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
How to Wall Mount a SonicWall TZ170
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I like things tidy, so I have mounted all my network equipment in a closet so that its out of site. I never understood having a cable modem sitting on my desk with a router. Anyway, one of the many pieces of my network is a SonicWall TZ170 Router. After much searching and calling the sonicwall people I was unable to purchase a wall mounting bracket for my model so I made my own. Granted its not the prettiest but it works and its out of sight so who cares how pretty it is. Supplies you will need :
4 1" cup hook hooks
4-12 3" rubber bands
The picture says the rest. The only thing I would make sure you notice is the placement of the hooks on the bottom , if they are to far apart the firewall will slip out. And its probably a good Idea to replace the rubber bands every 6-12 months.
After I came up with this. I thought to my self, this was a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a wall mounting bracket, if they even made it.
UPDATE 7/1/2007: I recenlty installed a TZ170 SP ( the wireless version of what I have, and the mounting bracket for the TZ170 SP is compatable with the TZ170, so if you want to get the proper hardware, it is avaliable, althought the sales guys at sonic wall dont know this, so just trust me and get it. here is a site the sells it: http://www.sonicguard.com you want product code SNWL-WMB
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
How far did I run? Map it with Google Maps.
My father in-law, who is an avid runner, recently showed me a really cool web site (http://www.mapmyrun.com/) that allows you to use Google Maps to figure out how far you have run or will run (if your a big planner). It features a calorie counter, and mile markers. The site also allows you to create a user account and save the path for sharing or future reference. I used the site to plot out one of my normally running routes and it was perfectly accurate. Defiantly a great tool. It sure beats having to get in the car and drive your route using the in car odometer.
Happy running!
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Friday, January 26, 2007
XM Radio Now Playing
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I love XM Radio, but I listen to it thru a DirecTV receiver plugged into a set of speakers so I don't have to leave the TV on all day and run to the TV every time I hear a good song playing to see who it is. So I developed a .net 2.0 program that runs in my system tray that tells you want song is now playing on your XM radio. This application is not really practical for everyone because XM radio devices, DirecTV& the Web based XM player tells the user the songs information. But if you sit at your computer all day and listen to XM thru DirecTV, it might be practical for you.
Here is a screen shot of what the program looks like in minimized mode. It also remembers songs that you like to a file so you can go back later and purchase the MP3 from iTunes or your preferred Digital Music seller.
The program also features a configuration panel so you can pick your favorites channels and quickly change to them when you change the XM receiver. If anyone is interested in this little program let me know and I will put it up for download.
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Thursday, November 02, 2006
Huge SQL transaction log
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Yesterday I discovered a SQL transaction file that was 7 GB on one of our
servers. Alarmed I immediately went in to truncated the log and compact the
database. so First I ran DBCC SQLPERF(LOGSPACE) to find out how much of the
7GB was actually being used by the transaction. Then I ran "BACKUP LOG db_name
WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY" to delete all the transactions. Then I ran DBCC
SHRINKDATABASE ( db_name, TRUNCATEONLY
) to shrink the transaction log file from 7GB to 1MB, then went in a restricted
the file to grow only to 100 MB.
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Sunday, September 24, 2006
VOIP Through Wireless Laptop
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I recently went to Canada on business and I brought my Packet8 Virtual Office Phone in the hopes of connecting at my hotel. The bad news is that the hotel only had wireless, and no Ethernet connections. So I came up with a way to connect the Packet8 phone to wireless with out purchasing a Wireless-to-Ethernet converter. I connected the Packet8 Broadband Router to my laptops Ethernet port and routed the VOIP through the Laptops wireless. So here is a diagram to illustrate how everything was connected.
So once you have everything plugged in then go to your "Network Connections" and right click the Wireless Connection that is connected to the WAP. Then go to the advanced tab and Check the check box that reads
"Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet Connection" Then make sure to select the correct Local Area Connection that the Packet8 Broadband Adapter is connected to. Click OK to save and you should ready to VOIP over Wireless through your laptop.
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Thursday, September 07, 2006
Remote Desktops Client that really works
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Today I tried to add a new server to my Remote Desktops that list all of my servers that I manage for RTG, but this servers terminal port had been changed from the default, so I tried to specify the port by adding a colon between the ip address and the port number but this returned the error
'The server name cannot contain the following characters: spaces, tabs, ; : " < > *+ = \ | ? , '
So after an almost dead end search I found Royal TS, which is a FREE open source C# .net application that has all the features of both Remote Desktops and the default Remote Desktop Connection client and much more. You can even cauterize the server into groups, which is very helpful. So if you manage many Remote Desktops, i would highly suggest you look at Royal TS as you will probably find it more useful that Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection, or Microsoft's Remote Desktops that comes with the Windows Admin Pack.
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Monday, September 04, 2006
Free XM radio rocks
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We have Directv and they changed the music channels from Music Choice to XM radio, which i must say is really cool. I have heard a lot about Sirius Radio but I don't care all that much for Jimmy Buffet so I'm at no lose going with XM. There are a few channels but the one I love the best is Flight 26 (Direct TV Channel 818).Flight plays all the real music hits and some old stuff from high school (real music = NOT R&B mixed with RAP bull shit). They play alot of adult alternative, is what I think its called.
I think i need to reevaluate my new truck radio ideas to include XM radio, but the monthly cost kinda sucks but that's the new way of making revenue these days everyone does it TiVo, Microsoft, RTG!
So since I have a Directv receiver in my office for recording STARGATE via BTV, listening to XM radio could not be easier
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Sunday, September 03, 2006
ASPupload
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I have this application called ShuttleFile which helps people transfer large files (10MB -1GB) that wont go thru emails. Anyway I use the ASP component ASPupload form persits software and I came up with a way (thanks to peter persits telling me of an undocumented method) to show all of the active upload so I know if its ok to restart the server.
So Here it is.
RefreshSec = 60
Set UploadProgress = Server.CreateObject("Persits.UploadProgress")
SessionString = UploadProgress.WriteDebug
SessionstrArr = replace(replace(replace(replace(SessionString, ". ", "|"), "<BR>", "|"), ",", "|"), "=", "|")
SessionsArray = split(SessionstrArr, "|")
For i = LBound(SessionsArray) To (UBound(SessionsArray)-1) Step 6
PID = SessionsArray(i+1)
format = "%TUploading files...%t%B3%T%R left (at %S/sec) %r%U of <b>%V</b> (%P)%l%t"
bar_content = UploadProgress.FormatProgress(PID, RefreshSec, "#00007F", format)
response.Write(bar_content&"<br>")
Next
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Saturday, September 02, 2006
My Children
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My wife saw my blog and instantly said were are our children's pictures on your blog banner so Im adding a post just for them.
Here is Annabell Lee(sable) & Gizmo(black)
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So finaly I have a blog!
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I'm looking forewared to this. I hae been wanting a blog for a while so I can post my thoughts and idea for google to find and share witht he world. hum, that could be a bad idea, i have some strange ideas some times. oh well we will see. After playing with this blog software its very basic and not what I was hopping for, So I think its good I picked this blog software, as Its open source and i plan on customizing the hell out of it. :) thats what i do.
PS. My spelling is not that great, and if you care, get use to it.
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