Logo for the blog

The other day I was goofing around in Adobe Illustrator, so I thought that I would take ten minutes (8 minutes 27 seconds, but whos counting) and come up with a logo for Adventures in Real life. Of course I was stuck on a coding issue, so that was at the forefront of my thoughts when I started the design. The other influence was the cool little lego guy icon that Channel 9 is using. Let me know what you think.

Deadlines and Approvals

We just made our deadline. It took way to many nights working in to the wee hours of the morning. So tomorrow we will have a soft launch and next week we will have the full blown launch. It's been mentally and physically exhausting. So you would think that I would be proud, right? Not so much. I am glad it is over. It is one of those projects that change how things are done for the better. However those are the projects that take the most energy to get done. Not only do you have to get the work done, (Which was huge effort) but you also have to change the way that people think about how they do their job. That is really the difficult part. People think you are taking some freedom away from them. Which in part is true, but you are giving them time back. This project in essense took the technical part out of the equation, leaving just the creative part. So anyhow it is done. I am glad! Now I just want to get my my pajamas and watch some movies.

The other thing that happened today is we got approval on a project that we have been wanting to do for two years. After so much work just to get an approval, it feels like a victory. And in truth it is just the begining. Going to have to take a vacation soon.

The Browser Wars

Well it seems that the War of the Internet Browsers has started again. I know that some people would say that it never ended. While I admit that is true, the fighting wasn't as fast and furious as it is starting to get now. So what has changed to make this happen? A couple things, Mozilla/Netscape have had a couple of big leaps forward in their browser. Netscape 7.2/Mozilla Firefox 0.9 has been released and has been warmly received. It's a great browser, I love some of the features it has, such as tabbed windows. Which lets you have one window up with different web pages in each tab. This is such a desktop space saver that it has been adopted very quickly, by everyone but Microsoft. Of course those that Love Microsoft Internet Explorer, and want tabs can use MyIE2. It's a nice IE based browser that uses tabs. If your use to using keyboard shortcuts when you are browsing, you are going to have to relearn them for this browser.

So what is the fighting about? It's about standards of course. Mozilla has worked harded to be very standard compliant with the latest HTML, XHTML, CSS specifications from the W3C. And of course Microsoft's still in development version of IE has, supposedly taken some liberties with the specifications. This is a lot of talk on Channel 9 about this. Web Developers are asking the Microsoft team if they even care about them and their needs.

Walmart the Retail version of a Casino

Yesterday Morning I was up way to early. So I figured since I was up that I would go run some errands. One of them was to pick up a couple things at Wal-Mart. Like I said it was pretty early, in fact it was still dark outside. The Wal-Mart we go to is open 24 hrs. So when I walked it, you could smell the in store McDonalds getting ready for the breakfast crowd. You could see the stockers filling up the shelves and it hit me. Wal-Mart is the Retail version of a Casino. I looked around and didn't see any clocks on the walls. I walked a little farther into the store and noticed that from the lighting you couldn't tell if it was day or night. The more I thought about it, the more similarities I saw. It got me to thinking, now I know that casinos will play music that has subliminal messages in it that says "lose, lose, lose". I wonder if the music they play in Wal-Mart has subliminal messages saying "spend, spend, spend".

First Ride to the Park

Yesterday the Little Boy and I had our first bike ride to the park. We had a couple of things to do before we could ride. I needed a tube for my bike, and we both needed a helmet. So we headed off to Wally-World (walmart) and picked ourselves out a couple of nice helmets. When I was a kid, we never wore helmets. We just didn't even think of it. However in California there is a law that was passed a couple years ago that says, 'if your under 18 years of age, you are wearing a helmet'. Of course, I have to have one too, I need to be a good example to the Little Boy. So now with helmets in hand we head to the bike shop to get my tubes.

So we get to the bike shop, locate the tubes, now business is taken care, of and the Little Boy and I can peruse the shop. Instantly we are magnetically attracted to some very nice bikes in our sizes. The one the little boy likes is a very nice aluminum trike, and I pick a very nice aluminum bike. After ten minutes of looking and wanting, and the Little Boy trying to take a test ride on the one he had picked out we decided that it would be financially responsible of us to pay for our parts and go. On the way out we see the new Trek Medone, which is the bike Lance Armstrong will be riding in the Tour de France. So I am looking up at it in awe, and the Little Boy reaches out and spins the rear wheel (Gasp) and he says "Cool!". That rear wheel cost more then both of our bikes combined. It made me laugh, I would of never reached out and spin the wheel, I knew how much it cost. He doesn't know dollar signs. So one wheel is just as good as another. And he was right, it was cool! On the way to the front a salesman asked us if we needed any help. I said, "I need to get my stuff and go before I buy something big and my wife divorces me", to which he said, "hey, stay awhile". Anyhow we got our stuff and headed for home.

Once we are home we get to work on changing out my tube and getting our new helmets fitted and adjusted. Everything it working good, everyone is safe, so we are off. The goal is to make it to the park and back. The park is about five blocks from the house on very residental streets. So here is how it played out. My plan was to keep The Little Boy between me and the curb. I would act as the buffer between him and any traffic that we may happen upon. He would start to pedal, so I would get in the pedals (my bike has toe-clips, I am so glad I didn't go with clipless, it would of killed me on this ride), then he would pedal about 20 feet, and the stop and make the "errrt" stopping noise when he was stopping. We did this no less then 15 times. This is when we (me) came up with our riding matra, "Pedal, Pedal, Pedaallll". Now this isn't to be said loud in an unkind fashion. It must be chanted in a comical tone to receive the desired results. Which is the Little Boy pedaling further than 20 feet before stopping. So about 10 to 15 minutes after we started we got to the park. Granted when I walk to the park it takes 5 minutes, but it was a victory none the less.

Now that we made it to the park we would ride around a little. Our park has a very nice paved path that is just perfect for kids to ride their bikes around. We made about 4 loops. After each loop we would stop at a picnic table and have a drink from my water bottle. I showed the Little Boy how it works, and it just tickled him. I am going to have to get him one for his very own. (especially if Cheetos are involved in the snacking process). After our 4th victory lap around the park My Beautiful Wife pulls up and tells us about a yard sale just a couple of house down. So she parks in front of the house, and gets out, and Calls to the Little Boy, and I right there next to him chatting our matra got him to ride not stop to her. Which was almost 200 feet away from the park. Sure I only had to pedal four times, but it was four good ones and I was proud. We looked at the yard sale for a little bit, and then decided (it was lunch time, our tummies decided) it was time to go home and get something to eat.

The Little Boy was really pumped up for the ride home. He looked and me and said, "Let's ride fast". With the pace that we had going to the park, I took this to mean lets go 40 feet before we hit the brakes and make the "errrrt" sound. However to my surprise he pedaled a good two blocks before needing a little rest. Once rested he said, "Let's ride fast", to which I replied "I will ride as fast as you can go". And he would pedal (I would let off the brakes and coast) for a good little bit, and then need little rest. Lets face it, it is tough when you are little to pedal or walk any distance with out a little rest.  Anyhow we turned on to our street, and the Little Boy was just about done. With a lot of coaxing we got to the house. The poor Little guy didn't have the strength to pedal up the driveway. So I go off and helped push him up and in. He got off, sweating, and panting, ready for some rest. I got off, mentally more tired than any ride I had ever been on, but didn't even get winded. All and All one of the best rides I've ever been on.

Microsoft to Sell Anti-Virus Software

An article from Rueters is claiming that Microsoft will start developing their own AV (anti-virus) software. Microsoft is saying that their anti-virus program will be sold as a separate piece of software their operating systems. This is another step towards the "Trustworthy Computing" campaign that they started in 2002.

I have several thoughts about this subject. First virus creation is at an all time high, and they are spreading across the internet faster and faster everyday. It makes sense that the AV and Patch management become a more intergral part of the OS (Operating System). Not just Microsoft's Operating Systems, but all of them, Apple, Linux, freeBSD, all of them. Anti-virus will be just as important as disk management and memory management. I person doesn't have to know how a mouse or keyboard work to use them, the same thing goes with AV.

Lets just say hypothetically that Microsoft is successful in securing all of their Operating Systems and users. (I know this is really a stretch, but lets just go with it) The virus writers will turn their attention to the other Operating Systems. While the users of non-microsoft OSs are usually more technical, it is still a lot of work to keep a workstation, patched and the virus definitions up today. Truthfully, why should we have to spend time everyday updating our machines? It seems to me that technology is far enough along that all operating systems to a certain extent should be self-healing. Currently IBM server running AIX claim this, but isn't this need more on the desktop arena than in the server room?

Now lets go back to the 95% of the computer population that is running a Microsoft operating systems. Most of these people are office or home users. They use their machines for spreadsheets, documents and email. These are the people that are at a higher risk. These are the people that need to have a machine that updates itself, and auto-hides emails that could be viruses. Shouldn't these be the systems that are self-healing?

There is another barrier to AV protection that is usually over looked are inital and ongoing costs. When people buy a new computer, they usually get McAffe, or Norton loaded and ready to go with a 90 day subscription. Of course 90 days go by and the users forgets to purchase the subscription or can't afford it. So now there are machines that have AV software on them, but the definitions on them are so old that the software is close to useless. So why can't the subscriptions be either included in the cost of the new PC? Why can't their be a 10 dollar a year subscription for AV? I personally know of people that are using older machines, because they can't afford new once, and can't afford to spend 100 dollars a year on AV. However 10 dollars a year, is down right cheap. Everyone should be able to afford that. 10 dollars from 100 people, will always be more then 100 dollars from 2 people. So the software companies won't be losing money, and the comsumers are protected.

Stupid Google Tricks

If you go to google and type in ".NET" and click on the "I'm feeling lucky". So where do you think it would go? Microsoft site, some .NET developers blog? Nope none of those. It goes to the PHP.NET web site...Pretty funny huh?

Lost and Found

Did you ever find something you thought was lost and would never see again? That just happened to me this morning. I found something that made me very nostalgic. It isn't a toy from my childhood, or a picture. Its my work. Work that I thought I would never see again. My first pages as a "Webmaster" back when I started. My first site that I designed and impemented from start to finish. I found them. Where, where else on the web. The Wayback Machine of The Internet Archive. I have worked as a consultant doing sites for clients, in house html specialist, web developer, web master, and currently I am a Sr. Web Developer. So I have grown as the internet has grown. It's so nice to take a look back at my web developement baby pictures as it were.

2.6 Miles

So I made it 2.6 miles today before I got a flat. I was going for 3.8 miles. Which distance from my house to my Mom and Dad's but alas I didn't get there with out a ride. That is okay, I will make it next time and I was smart enough to take my cellphone with me this time. You know what gets me is I use to not even be warmed up till 4 miles into a ride. Today however I am a little sore just from the 2.6, well I will work back up to it. We were always better in our memories anyhow right?

Paceline

Paceline is the new fan site for Lance Armstrong and the USPS cycling team. If you don't know who Lance Armstrong is in, short he is an amazing cyclist, the best american cyclist in a decade. If that isn't enough he was diagnosed with cancer, beat it and has since won 5 tour de france titles. Lance has a new commercial with Nike that is just outstanding. Check it out.

Time to start Riding

This afternoon I got my bike back from the shop. It's a 1990 Centurion Le Mans. It's a very nice bike and I have had it since it was new. It's almost hard for me to believe that this bike is 14 years old. I've put a lot of miles on it, and it still rides great. I put it into the shop to get a tune-up and the bar tape put on it. I use to ride a lot. Everyday I use to get up and at least ride 8 miles or so, and then get ready for school or work. The last 5 or 6 years it has been in the garage. It has been patiently waiting till I have had time. Time to ride it, time to take care of it, time to just get on the road and pedal.

My goal is to start riding at least three times a week. Being in IT for 7 years now, I have the typical IT body type. I admit I need to lose a couple of pounds (my ego won't let me write down the real number but it is over 2). So apparently sitting in front of a computer all day and eating nachos and drinking vanilla coke one after another isn't as healthy for you as once thought.  Who knows, I may actually build up to riding to work one of these days.

Security Summit Resources

Michele Leroux Bustamante, who did an amazing job presenting all of the sessions at Tuesday's Developer Track of the Microsoft Security Summit, has just posted the Resources for the sessions. Check out her blog at dasblonde.net. She has some great insights into ASP.NET, Web Services and Security.

Guaranteed or Your Money Back

Matt Warren has a great post on what it takes to be a multi-post a day blogger. The fact that he had 6 posts on monday and three on tuesday points to the fact that he knows what he is talking about.

I've been Quoted!

I've been Quoted! The company that makes the rockin CMS we use asked me for a quote about their product. And guess what, They've used it. Check it out, its in the sidebar. The whole product quote I wrote is on the testimonials section.

Security Summit

Today was spent in deep learning on security. I had the pleasure of attending the Microsoft Security Summit in Anaheim today. It was a very good event with content that hit the mark. Most of the information was things I have already learned but it was a very good refresher. Buffer Overruns, Cross-Site Scripting, SQL injection Oh, My.

Everything I had as far as emails and printed materials about the event said it was to start at 8 o'clock sharp. Now I really don't like to be late, but due to traffic, I didn't even get to the parking lot till 8am. So I speedwalk into the building and get registered, get my agenda, and the keynote didn't start till 8:30am. I reallized that Msft really understand IT.

The keynote by Mark Valentine, address the continuing security focus that Microsoft has made and plans to keep. This was shown in several of the demos shown. The SP2 for Windows XP really demonstrates that. They have really developed a user interface that makes Windows Updates, Anti-Virus and Internet Firewall (soon to be called Windows Firewall) easy for home users to use. It is always going to make firewall rules for the corporate end a lot better to, as admins will be able to create domain and standard firewall rules. That will make it so people on your network that have laptops that they take home every night (like myself), won't be bring in malware and viruses back into the network.  Micorsoft also showed off the SD3 Framework, which means, Secure by Design, Secure by Default, Secure in Deployment. The other thing that was mentioned is that after the trustworthy computer email from Bill Gates came out, they stopped all forward progress on Windows 2003 Server and started the SD3 model. Apparently all Developers at Microsoft have to read "Writing Secure Code" before they are allowed to touch on stitch of code.

I took the Developer track of the Security Summit. This was a day well spent. Michele Leroux Bustamante taught all four sessions. She is a Microsoft Regional Directory for the San Diego area. She did an amazing job of keeping the material entertaining. I told 14 pages worth of notes from the sessions. After I get a chance to decipher my own writing (not always easy) I will share some of the nuggets I gleamed from the event.

Highlights

• Code Access Security Explained
• Storing SQL ConnectionStrings encrypted ( and still be able to use them in your application)
• Strong Names for Assemblies.
• Sand Boxing Components
• Security settings in ASP.NET
• Using the SQLAdapter and SQL parameters to fight SQL injection attacks.

If you get a chance to get to this event, do, the more you know about security the better you can sleep.

Simpsons: Map of Springfield

Saw this on Scott's Blog and had to blog it.

"This is so funny I was literally crying Seriously, spend some time exploring."

[ComputerZen.com - Scott Hanselman's Weblog]

Google Stats

Google.com has become synonmous with internet search engine. It has even become a verb among the techie group. "Oh I just googled that!". So with all of this popularity, have you ever wonder how much information they get from their users on what they search? It does make sense to capture that information, with more and more information you can build better and better search algorithms. Google has a program called Google Zeitgeist (I have no idea how you pronounce that). The information displayed is simply amazing. It is like webtrends on steriods. I found this link by looking at the googleblog. Which I thought was pretty fitting as they are the fine people that own blogger.com. It's nice to know they believe in what they own.

Reality TV has gone too far..

So I am really starting to think this reality TV thing has to stop. I just read about a patent that some TV producer dreamed up for a show.  The concept:

A child adoption proceeding is conducted in the form of a television game show and online media event, wherein couples compete against each other to win legal custody of the child. Adoptive parents are selected using a vote-by-phone and/or Internet voting scheme, together with 24-hour surveillance of the prospective parents, which enables television viewers and Internet users to inspect prospective parent-contestants in detail before voting for the winning parents. The present invention overcomes inequities of state-run or private adoption agencies, permitting a fairer selection process while providing greater time and access to observe a pool of prospective parents.

This to me is just wrong. There are a lot of couples that have a lot of love to give and can't have children of thier own. They have a good heart and want to give a child that is not "their-own" in the biological sense a better home, a better live, hope. So what do we as the viewing audience do to these poor souls that have love to give and good hearts. We have them humiliate them on national TV to prove to audience that they are as good and kind as them seem. Lets make them compete against other people like themselves and see if it gets nasty. People that would watch a show like this are the same kind of people that watch car racing to see the crashes. What is wrong with the world that this can be granted a patent. I am sure it will be on FOX next session.

I have a better idea for a reality TV show. Let's call it, "Bad Family to Good Family".  It's really an easy concept. Lets get the same people that would be on Jerry Springer for a six pack of bud, and have 8 children by 8 different partners. The same people that view children as a punishment for getting drunk and having sex. Now we offer these people a keg of beer and per child. Of course they won't be able to refuse this offer. Now we take the children and give them to good loving families and watch them blosom in to the good and intellegent people the can be. That's it!

Of course this would never fly. It is a heart warming concept, and those are never put on TV. Also there are too many legal issues. For some reason the breeders have all the rights, which prevents their children from having the right to a good life in a loving home. So the breeders will continue to breed, and the childless parents will continue to long for a child to love, and the children of the breeders will desperately wanted to be loved. And the breeders, they will have their "kid" get them 'nother beer from the fridge.

Coding and Parenting

There was a post on slashdot about "Parenting and a career in Coding". Here is what I came up with on that subject

Leave the house and get home from work at the same time. I take the train to work, so I have to leave a little earlier. So I leave the house at 6:50am and they come and pick me up at 6pm. Our boy knows what time to get me and he looks forward to seeing me as much I as look forward to see him. The consistency is great for them. And even if you have to work afterward it's a great break that does refresh you.

If you have to work late, work from home. I know this is sometimes hard to do, but I get more done at home where others can't bother me.

Dont miss story time.  This does so much for our little boy and a great deal for me. The half hour or so that you are away from the code helps you to clear your head a little bit. And reading your little one is an amazing thing. You should never miss it.

Do something with them during blank stare time. You know that time where you are just staring at the screen and can't think or type.

Show them that computers are fun. I wrote a little IE wrapper for our boy that goes to four sites. Bob the Builder, Sesame Street, Disney and Yahooligans. We play on the Bob the Builders Site and have a great time. You would be amazed how fast they get it.

Follow your nose. If the diaper needs changed, change it, your Wife will think are the greatest man to ever walk the face of the earth, and you have done something to help take care of the little one.

Never miss the good night hug and kiss.

Never underestimate how much you can get done when they are asleep.

Birdeye View

Check out the Pigeon Kam. (Warning may caution motion sickness)