Random Blahgging - Everything

CodeSmith SchemaProvider for VistaDB 3.0

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 00:09:47 GMT

Just released this today - it yet needs a bit of work; the only major part not completed are the methods that provide metadata for stored procedures (mainly because I don't need this feature at the moment, so it was the lowest on my list of priorities), which I am planning on finishing within the next two weeks.

You can download it at www.sapientdevelopment.com.

Job Openings at STG

Your DisplayName here! — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:28:28 GMT

The company I work for is hiring - whether you are a project manager, senior-level Java developer, Microsoft application developer or a web design/usability expert, Software Technology Group has something for you.

I have worked for STG for over 2 years now and can tell you that, without a doubt, working for STG has been one of the highlights of my career.

MochiKit Port of ThickBox 2.1

Your DisplayName here! — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 18:02:53 GMT

For the last client I worked for, we extensively modified a MochiKit port of a well-known 'Lightbox' implementation so that it would utilize IFrames - the users of the application loved it because they were used to primitive JavaScript alert and confirm boxes, and since a modal dialog was still the appropriate thing to do, it worked well.

A short time later, I found ThickBox - seems to be a much better implementation of this now-common technique, and I thought it might prove useful to have a MochiKit version of it in case I decide I want to use it (it is built on jQuery, which I don't personally use or care for, notwithstanding the library having a few useful constructs that I would like to see ported over to MochiKit).

In porting this script, I tried not to 'improve' it at all; i.e. I left nearly everything as-is with regards to naming conventions, use of certain constructs that I would like to improve, etc. and leave it up to you, if you choose to download it, to make any changes you see fit. Of course, any bugs you find would be great to know about, as well as ideas for enhancements, etc. and I will probably update this when I get time, because I would like to do things much differently (maybe I am smoking crack, but this whole idea of connecting to things based on the value of the 'class' attribute of a tag just seems stupid to me...).

My port of ThickBox isn't perfect and I did it as quickly as I could because I wanted to get it into the hands of those smarter than I - that means you. There are places in the code that are inconsistent and I will be working on that, but for now it does the job and should be a good starting point for those that find this useful.

Download ThickBox for MochiKit.

Buying Books

Sat, 28 Feb 2004 12:14:28 GMT

One of the things I have learned in the last few years is how to buy a book about any given programming subject. That may sound odd, but here is an example of what happens when you don't know how to buy a book - you end up writing a review for it that sounds like this one:

"This book is cheap, but you get what you pay for . . . The index only goes up to "W", so you won't find XML mentioned anywhere. I wanted to know how to load XML into a datagrid, but this book didn't get me any closer. The book focuses almost exclusively on the datagrid control (so a more apt title would be 'Datagrid Kick Start'). You won't even find much (if anything) on listboxes, combo boxes, checkboxes, or radio buttons. It's always possible that these topics are mentioned somewhere in the book but not in the index." (culled from this place)

Okay, I agree - sometimes book titles are not chosen well. But I rarely assume that the title of the book is necessarily reasonably indicative of the contents therein. Why? Because, like this reviewer, I have found that some books are not all I expect them to be. There is another key. Sometimes I read reviews written by people who had bad expectations to start off with, and it seems that they are destined to blame the book and the author rather than admit they had not done the research needed to determine if the book was a good fit.

Here is what I do before I buy a book:

Read all of the reviews I can about it online - at Amazon, B&N, Bookpool, usenet, etc.
Ask my peers at work/school/church/standing-in-line-at-the-grocery-store/etc. if they know anything about it
Ask myself "have I read anything by this author, and if so, did I like that book?!
Take a gander at the table of contents and the index, if possible.
Honestly ask myself about my expectations and whether I really think the book is a good fit, rather than simply hoping it is

These steps, not necessarily in that order, usually help me successfully match a book to my needs. If others did the same, I think there would be fewer people dissatisfied with the books they buy. Now, that is by no means to say there are no bad/horrible/worthless books out there - there are. But I see so many books that *are* good get bad reviews because the reviewer was obviously neglectful in the due diligence department.

vi!

Wed, 28 Jan 2004 10:39:51 GMT

Found this on a website of a vi lover - emacs is for wimps! :P

Statement of purpose & mullets

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 23:35:14 GMT

Okay, my intent for starting this blog are many, but primarily, it will serve as a place for me to record, for my posterity, things I learn with regard to technology, as well as my thoughts on the same, and just about anything else I deem fit (rather ambiguous, but I like it that way!). For example, I must say that I need to own a Mullet Wig, because mullets are such an integral part of American heritage. If you were alive during the ‘80s, there is a good chance you had a mullet. I had one, though it was small and short-lived, owing to the fact that it made my neck sweat. When I told the barber to cut it off, he seemed astonished – “Are you sure?!” Was this barber trying to give fashion advice, trying to save me from making a regrettable mistake? Possibly. I have never regretted it, and I hope he can look back and remember me as one who could see the demise of the coolness of mullets before most others, and that I was a pioneer in that sense. Yes – I cut off my mullet when they were still “in.”