December 2nd, 2009 Rusty
So I decided, “I’ve played guitar for more than 20 years (I’m so f-ing old), I should probably learn to read music.”My very first musical exposure (other than church choir, where I tried really hard to sing like a girl) was 7th grade required music. Before that, nada. Around 3rd grade, I whacked the hand bells during practice in the choir loft (that place has a name, I just can’t remember), once, and was severely punished - hence the end of my interest in church music. In middle school, however, I chose the violin (it was either that or choir - band was full by the time I made my selection). There were several dozen violins, 15 cellists, and zero upright bass players. Not only did my strings teacher encourage me to play the bass, she pointed out that there more than a dozen basses that I could use and I could, in fact, take one home since no one played the bass. Having something unique to play (plus the benefit of not having to beg for the money to rent a violin) helped me into something that would change my life. Several Metallica bass lines later and I was losing my pajama bottoms to get my hands on a guitar. Having to get around the guitar lick to transcribe the bass line was like asking a child to eat the green beens that were strewn around his piece of birthday cake. Point is… I learned the basics of reading music before convincing my uncle Dick to lend me his mid 70’s Gibson ES125 and his Polytone mini Brute jazz amplifier from the same year. Interestingly enough, this is the first time I’ve ever considered that in context. He lent me his first real axe and amp. Wow… (I still have and play them, 20 years later (I’m so f-ing old)).Then it was on to ACDC and Guns and Roses. You certainly don’t have to learn to read music to learn that pure vintage rock and roll treasure. C’mon, think about the intro to “you shook me all night long” and tell me a teenage boy guitarist wasn’t in absolute heaven?20 years later and I’ve got my kids (yes, ‘kids’ Oh I am so f-ing old”) in bed and I decided that I’d learn to read staff music. Why not? I figured I’d just devour what I could find and work through each piece until I made zero mistakes and then move on. I started on site #1 and I powered through the notes on the first string and it wanted to move to the second string but I hadn’t had but two plays through so I googled “notes on the first string” and found this inaccurate guitar lesson. SOMEONE please let me know if I am mistaken. However, the image below… 
is E, F, A, A (nooo?)So the tab, [0,1,3,3]… is WRONG….It should be [0,1,5,5), right?just checking…
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October 11th, 2009 Rusty
This is going to be another short and very to the point post.
When installing Umbraco on my local development machine, I was unable to load WebResource.axd or ScriptResource.axd and asp.net ajax was dead in the water. I found several forums describing the same problem with a myriad of potential fixes including web.config settings and repairing the dotnet framework 3.5 sp1.
I finally decided that I should install the site from scratch and was successful in correcting the issue. When I compared configuration, I found one setting that was incorrect in the original installation.
I use directory urls for seo purposes so I set a wildcard mapping in IIS to allow asp.net to process all requests. There is a checkbox to "verify that file exists". Ensure that the checkbox is NOT checked. If it is, then the above files will fail.
Another several hours I cannot reclaim. Dern.
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April 21st, 2009 Rusty
I haven’t blogged for a very long time. I’ve had lots to say. Unfortunately, when I finally threw in the towel on Vista and went back to Windows XP, I recalled just how crippled that OS was for serious development. So I upgraded to Server 2003, a very stable, functional and reliable OS (except for a weekly corrupt lock issue form VM and tortoiseSvn but that is besides the point).
No LiveWriter on any stable OS’s. period.
I can do everything I need to in Server, at least for Windows development, except blog. Windows LiveWriter installer, in their product team’s infinite wisdom, will prevent installation on Windows Server OS. It works FINE if you can get around the c0ck-block and install a hacked version of Windows LiveWriter but then plug-ins won’t find the install. That is a huge problem because most of what I blog is code. That nifty code plug-in that formats gorgeous c#? …sorry, doesn’t work if you back door LiveWriter.
What about that sweet Mac you carry around with you?
I decided it was time to blog again and looked into Ecto, once again. Unfortunately, it remembers that I once launched it (never actually tried it) and will not allow me to launch it now. That’s foolish, illuminex, really. I think it would be sufficient to just irritate me with a launch screen reminding (begging) me to pay the measly $20 every time I launch it. Or allow one blog post and then close the app with a “please buy” notice. Anything except preventing launch. You must be taking lessons from Microsoft.
Just buy it, dood, you say? Well, I’m sort of “not able to use credit cards” if you know what I mean. :-/
Solution – VM with XP
I read the Ecto vs LiveWriter smackdown and I realized I had all I needed. It seems so silly but, in reality, its why I switched to Mac in the first place.
When I code, I code. If its Windows, its Server. I don’t want extra software installed unless it directly applies to the art of coding.
When I blog, I am blogging. I might download photos and try software and exhibit all kinds of consumer behavior that will very likely introduce spinning icons and the inevitable need to rebuild the OS. I only need about 500MB to blog with so fire up an isolated VM for blogging and be over it. That XP machine I configured to try to code on? Its now my blogging computer. Yes, I fire up an entire computer just to blog. Well, a virtual computer. Nonetheless, how beautiful is that. Its like having a house to live in with your family that stays clean and fresh and a second house where you keep your exercise equipment and your old beer signs.
For the Adventurous
I’d gotten spoiled with my Mac because it hasn’t hiccupped in more than a year. I’ve been able to reduce to just one instance of Windows Server for my Windows programming duties and everything else works on the Mac. If that were a real goal of mine, I’d try Msi Install for Windows LiveWriter. Actually, I WILL try to install that and see if plug-ins work after that. I have Visual Studio ad everything I need on my XP instance so I can pull a quick bug fix without firing up my fat behemoth of a server VM. I should have the same convenience the other way around. However, this XP Instance boots in less than 30 seconds. LiveWriter will be in my startup items from now on.
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March 19th, 2009 Rusty
I have blogged NONE for a very long time. We’ve been crazy busy at Ockham Research building our killer apps.
I discovered something today that I thought might be of value if anyone is still checking this blog. In Asp.Net MVC, when you request a url, the route engine looks up the appropriate controller and action for the request. Assuming a match is found, the controller’s action is executed and your code is called therein. At the end of your action logic, you will typically render a view. You do this like so:
return View( "SignUp" );
Since a while back (Preview 2?), The Microsoft team allowed us to use convention and omit the name of the view
return View();
That was great! So much easier and aligned with the idea of letting consistent behavior reduce verbosity and repetition. One gotcha caught me today…
public ActionResult CalledAction()
{
if( someCondition) return SomeOtherAction();
}
public ActionResult SomeOtherAction()
{
return SomeOtherAction();
}
In that above snippet, the CalledAction has a condition where a different action’s behavior is desired. You can call RedirectToAction and cause a round trip but the code as written will not behave correctly. The "SomeOtherAction()" method will render the "CalledAction" view. Bummer. Somehow I thought there was a reflection map that was initialize on startup that would recognize where the call came from and select the view. Turns out the Route manager pre selects the default view when he calls the initial action.
If you want to do what I proposed above (some might argue that its not good practice), you have to explicitly name your view.
…
return SomeOtherAction( "SomeOtherAction" );
}
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January 6th, 2009 Rusty
Recently, I reiterated a problem I have been having with file corruption from TortoiseSVN while running on Windows Server 2003 under VMWare Fusion. I am writing now because I have nothing better to do other than wait for chkdsk to finish on my Windows VM. Yep, happened again. I updated VMWare to the most recent version, as requested by the support person. He then had the audacity to mark my issue resolved! He closed the ticket.I use tortoiseSVN regularly on bare hardware Windows Server 2003 with no issues, ever. I also have absolutely no issues with this computer running any other programs. If there truly was a hard disk issue, I would see it elsewhere. If this was a tortoise problem (entirely), I would see if on other servers. It seems as though it occurs when I copy files from my mac to the vm. When I do that, I have to change permissions on the copied files. Today I copied an entire directory. I usually copy one file at a time.Assuming I can recover once again, I may try a controlled experiment. If I can reproduce this, perhaps I can get some resolution… Or maybe it really is time to consider Citrix.
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November 10th, 2008 Rusty
Hey San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company, you have the best coffee
That is a genuine compliment from the bottom of my heart. Your coffee ROCKS! Your mocha rules the land of beans. Even your soy milk stands alone (how DO you froth it like that and make it taste just like the good stuff?)
Hey SFCRC, please fix your North location
On N. Highland Ave. in Atlanta, there are two SFCRC locations. One south of Ponce and the other north. The south one is nice but its further from my house. For some reason, I like the north atmosphere better. The north location would have me there twice as often, spending twice my money, if the following were remedied:
- the stench from the coffee roaster in the basement completely ruins any chance of enjoying the outside air. It smells like burning grease. (not a problem inside)
- there are only two power outlets in the whole place. Rumor has it the owner has stated he doesn’t want people with laptops there. Really?
- the wireless is spotty. I can actually live with that but I thought I’d mention it. For a while it was down. I’d recommend you check your sales records during those couple weeks. Seriously. I’ll bet its telling. Don’t forget, it took us a couple weeks to determine that it was fixed. I’d measure that last 7 days where the wireless was not available compared to 7 days at least three weeks past when you restored service.
Again, the BEST coffee. I love the place. I BUY ALL MY BEANS THERE. At least I do when I can work. Sorry, trying to remain positive but my day has been less productive than it could have been and now I am wrapping up. So… great job on the beans and the brew, man. Now stop hating on laptop totin’ yuppie scum and let us give you MORE of our money.
Install some outlets (near the floor under the tables, that would rock) and fix that wreaking stack of smoking stench coming from your basement.
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September 10th, 2008 Rusty
Gotta do what you gotta do
While there are several posts online recommending complete disregard for jury summons, I don’t have stones for that. I also have a propensity for getting in trouble when others breeze right on by. If, on ten occasions, I am pacing with nine other people speeding, the cops will pull me over, ten out of ten times. Additionally, I believe there are few things as inefficient as state government and I really don’t want to contribute negatively to the overall system. Finally, If I find myself on a jury someday, I would want someone like myself to be available for that selection even though I detest having to be a part of something so inefficient and poorly executed. At its core, its this jury of peers that makes our government "of the people" and I would find it immoral to shuck this responsibility. Of course, I still hope to never be summoned again.
Pain Avoidance
Getting There
The address is 185 Central Ave.
Get a ride, Avoid Traffic
If you can get a ride, I recommend it. Marta constitutes as a ride. If you are driving, avoid the Interstate. My Google Maps got me close. You’ll see quite a lot of people entering a building on the West side of Central Ave just north of Mitchel St.
Arrive Early, Avoid Lines
Get there early. When I arrived, there were hundred of people standing in a coiling line. Its like airport security except you can leave your shoes and belt on and there are a lot more armed police there to take you down if you get out of line.
I can only assume that 20 minutes would have saved me a lot of standing and being barked at by the officers greeting the assembly.
Once upstairs, there is another line to wait in. You’ll be checked in and can proceed to your seat.
Getting Connected
If you brought a laptop, as I did, there are tables. There is "free public wifi" but my mac couldn’t connect to that. However, there is also another strong, non-secured signal. I had no problem getting connected.
Power is at a premium. If you sit at a large table, there are a couple of outlets. Bring a compact power splitter (surge protector) and you’ll be a hero.
Settled In
Ok, so getting there and getting to a seat was not a lot of fun. I felt very bad for the people sitting on the floor and standing through announcements and "the video". However, everyone was so very polite and respectful that I almost felt privileged to be there. In this forum, every person is genuinely appreciated and no one makes any claims that the system isn’t flawed. In fact, they joke about it. They make you realize that the flaws are, in fact, the strength of our system. Its that malleability in our government that empowers change. On the other hand, change is definitely needed in the juror recruitment process. It is inexcusable to call over 400 people into a room with fewer uncomfortable chairs than jurors and then make them all sit there, all day, while highly compensated lawyers abuse their role as legal representation and disregard the cost of unpreparedness both to the court and the individuals who should be at work, school or with their children rather than doing absolutely nothing all day.
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September 10th, 2008 Rusty
I have may directions I could go with this. I could talk about an experience I just had with an individual who I had a disagreement with. I could generalize the concept and talk about how most of us believe narcissist are the stereo-typical, upturned nose character who is fully aware of their superiority complex. Instead, I’ll personalize it and share what I’ve learned in hopes that someone might identify and grow from it.
Hello Narcissist
I used to have a very hard time with relationships. My usual M.O. was to fall victim to some oppression, then to become a pesky antagonist to the oppressor, then I’d suddenly find myself saving the day and I would briefly be the hero. Of course, I’d then find myself persecuted for over-achieving and I would, once again, be oppressed…
For this cycle to succeed, I needed triangles. I needed someone to hate on and someone to confide in. I needed an ally and an enemy. I usually found myself, conveniently, between two existing foes.
All of this was made clear to me when I sought therapy to deal with relationship issues that I couldn’t make sense of. It astounded me how quickly the psychologist was able to identify patterns in my past that were so logical and so repetitive. She was able to tell me more about my family and growing up then I was able to tell her. Of course, she is a practicing Ph.D. psychologist for 22 years teaches at GSU and Emory University School of Medicine has worked with the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. Experience matters.
What she did, rather than tell me what was up, was give me a book. Trapped in the Mirror.
In this book, many painful scenarios are illustrated in which one individual behaves in a way that is passive-aggressive and emotionally abusive to the other. In reading the review on Amazon, you’ll find those who feel the book is spiteful and depressing and those who feel the book is enlightening. I fell into the latter group. I couldn’t finish the book. It was too familiar, too emotionally challenging to relate so well to these relationships. What I did read was enough to establish a pattern of behavior that I could now identify and explain.
Not your momma’s narcissist
When considering narcissism, most of us think of the person who walks in the room and acts like they own the place, talks down to everyone around them, and behaves like Napoleon returning home from successful conquest. The truth is that most people afflicted with this condition manifest it by "organizing their lives around denial of negative feelings about themselves" rather than demonstrating superiority. The truth is that most narcissists will outwardly appear to be very humble. They will speak of self sacrifice and the greater good. In the process, however, they will blind themselves to any consideration for their actions and how they affect those around them. They get so good at it that they become incapable of observing themselves or the perspective of others. Its as if they could stab you in the face and then absolutely believe it wasn’t them who did it.
To break the cycle or be consumed by it
Earlier I said that I was a narcissist. I’m actually more of a recovering narcissist. Once you are aware of the condition, you have the capacity to break the cycle. You have to work hard to put yourself in other people’s shoes. You have to accept burdens that you’d rather discard in order to prevent history repeating itself. You have to learn to recognize triangles and dissolve them fast.
Today I tried to handle something by directly addressing a problem that I thought could be resolved with a simple communication of my perspective. Narcissist behavior number one. I then brought another individual into the conversation to validate my position. That was both narcissism and triangle making. Finally, the whole thing dismantled and a snowball of dysfunction began to form.
The only ting left for me to do is ride out the storm. I find comfort in the fact that I can realize this was completely my fault and I made several judgement errors.
I watch my son grow and I see in him glimpses of myself and of my brother and I wish so badly to have a richer relationship with him when he is my age then I have with my parents. I believe I can create that reality but I have to constantly remind myself that I am predisposed to repeat history and every step I take must be a deliberate one that is not shrouded by my own, narrow, personal perspective.
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September 5th, 2008 Rusty
I’ve been on google chrome for 1 day(s) now. The whole office has pretty much switched. Its amazingly fast. In fact, my post about SugarCRM slowness can now be amended to state that SugarCRM with Google Chrome is awesome!Its unbelievable what a remarkable difference this new browser makes on a site that was completely unusable before.Considering that Salesforce.com would have cost us appx $400/mo for our small shop, I am quite pleased with the way two free apps came together to save us alot of jinga.We’re also using Google Apps for Domains so Google is now on both sides of our CRM. wow, scary.
Tags: Google, SugarCRM
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September 2nd, 2008 Rusty
A good friend of mine has been an Obama supporter since before he was in the news. I can tell you that Obama has been "the news" ever since. We, via a partnership with the news analytics experts, track news volume. Obama being talked about 3 times the volume of his competitor is just same old, same old. Its remarkable, but its normal for him. I normally don’t say much about politics because I dislike them all so much, I choose to disengage.
Obama is a great leader
When I saw him speak for the first time, I was definitely impressed. In fact, I was inspired. I feel as though he has the capacity to make a difference in this world and will certainly be a driving force in our near and not so distant future. However, is he qualified to lead or country? I know, its been asked and the McCain camp is beating it to death. Well, is he?
What has he actually legislated and what success can he present as proof of his candidacy? I finally found reference to his tax plans. He will raise taxes. He’ll leave lower income people pretty much alone. They are having a hard enough time. Those people who are managing to grow and produce, they get a stick in the nuts.
The top tax bracket would go up to 39%. So, make $100,000. Before you see it, Uncle Sam takes $40,000, leaving you with $60K. That’s an awful lot of the pie. For a family of 5, it breaks down to 0.12 remaining for each member of the family with 0.40 pouring down the IRS gullet.
There’s the numbers. Should we keep squeezing or does it look like the problem is perhaps in the utilization of these funds?
So let’s say I invest my .12 of my own earnings in an effort to grow a retirement fund so I don’t have to work until I keel over. Let’s say I manage to put something away and grow it by investing in our nation’s economy. Obama wishes to raise capital gains, any profit made over a greater than 2 year period (ie: long term investment, aka: retirement) to 28%. So, after already being taxed on what I earned, I get taxed again for being smart and investing. That’s stinks. How much longer do I have to work to make up for that?
McCain will be a lot more of the same
Yes, McCain wants to continue with some of the directions that the last office took with regards to Iraq, taxes, the economy. Is that so bad? …really? I know the war has been a big cluster-f#@% but our economy, though weak and in much more danger compared with 5 years ago, is still doing pretty darn well. I say that because I’ve been hearing that a recession, and sometimes even depression, is immanent - for five years! The media proposes that everything is near disaster but then they listen to what Rock stars have to say in between bong hits so consider the whole picture. I don’t personally know anyone who has lost their primary residence due to foreclosure. I know a lot of people who bought way more house than they could afford, including myself. Still there. Many expect it to rebound soon. I do know people who have lost their jobs but they found new ones right away. The European economy isn’t exactly trouncing us so I tend to look globally when there are global issues at hand.
McCain wants to make tax breaks permanent. He wants to leave other things alone. This will likely cause our deficit to continue to grow. Of course, we measure our deficit by a bunch of 19th century voodoo that is no longer any more appropriate than measuring the length of a mile by the instep of some dead British king. So, are we in economic turmoil? Some, yes. Should we respond by taking all the money that productive Americans earn ad give it to government agencies who still operate under the "do whatever I want" patriot act? I know, Obama will protect us from those mean agencies. He’s our hero. Great. But I haven’t met him and I would rather not appoint a government employee to handle my money for the better of the whole over my interests in educating my kids and retiring with enough to keep me eating while my heart is still beating.
Long Term Consideration
I am no expert in finance. I am no expert in politics. I couldn’t tell you a thing about law (except a few ways you should try not to break it).
However, I’ve learned that you should follow the example of those you respect and those whom have proven success and avoid the mistakes of those who deserve no less love but haven’t figured it out. I am not going to listen to the opinion of some techno blogger (me) about whether I should vote for Obama because "I like him". I will, however, be very careful to find someone older than me whom I would like to emulate and try to figure out what they have learned and apply that to my own situation. As much as I like Obama and what he stands for, I prefer to make my own decisions with my money and I disagree with Michelle that ""The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more."
That statement indicates that we foster a culture where we redistribute wealth from great to small in a framework that favors balance and indiscriminate equity. Unfortunately, economics is anything but. A person who invents and builds a remarkable thing should not have to hand over the gains they made so that those who have not risen above can have the same wealth and benefits. No one should have to endure sickness or hunger and everyone should have access to education. We don’t all need iPods and designer jeans. What happens if you remove reward for effort an risk / benefit? Apathy.
History in the Making
I just felt compelled to speak my thoughts on why it is so important to check the government before handing over more control, more money and more of our collective pie. With limited information, I make careful, deliberate decisions. I want you to keep your job. I want you to put your kids through the college of their choice. I don’t want your employer to cut staff after the tax plans "change, change, change" only to benefit the budget of inefficient and ineffective government organizations. We’re all pissed off about some of the things that the Bush administration has been responsible for but we had only one attack on American soil (though it was unbelievable, tragic and massive in scale). We’ve been able to keep other countries in check who thought, briefly, that this was a good tie to test the line. While my family will make half as much as our last generation counterparts made, we still have a chance to make a future for our children that does not include leaving their education and health up to the government. Remember the cost/benefit of everything we do. Raising taxes provides a benefit of more money in government but at what cost? Communist healthcare provides equitable medical benefits to all but at what cost?
I invite rebuttal and please point me to the appropriate resources so I can make an educated decision as I go to the polls. I was very much in favor of Obama in the beginning. But as this unfolds, I worry about how the message has not evolved. I worry about the "feel good politics" and promises that sound like they may be just more empty promises from a man with no really performance to demonstrate. I spent a number of years claiming that I would be a rock star and many people believed me, including myself. I might still record an album and I might even sell some copies but I am now wiser because I have experience behind me. Idealism has its place: in the hearts and minds of our children. We have no idea what they can accomplish. However, there is a good reason we don’t let our children make decisions until they grow up.
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