Jim Pendarvis

Let a new nightmare begin

2012-01-12T04:42:00.001-05:00

So I am gearing up to re-write an application that is well over 10 years old. During this process we have chosen to clean up the database as well, and this is where I started looking. During my research I found that the application as over 230 tables available to it, of those 112 are never referenced in code (remember – during that time “in-line SQL” was a big benefit). In continuing the research, I discovered that 83 of the 112 are never referenced in stored procedures either – and most of them had data in them. So I have these tables with data but without any interaction with the application. To make matters worse, 82 tables – both reference and not referenced in code – have no data in them. So this is my new nightmare.

River City GiveCamp

2012-01-02T09:05:00.001-05:00

Well, I have signed up to participate - as a developer – in the 2nd River City GiveCamp located down in Richmond, VA. This is going to be a completely different experience for me because it well be the first time I get to do the work for the non-profit. I did participate in the Philly Givecamp but I was more of an advisor and less of a developer so I am hoping to do some work this time.

12 days of Geekmas

2011-12-16T20:41:00.001-05:00

12 – Comic Books

11 – Coffee Mugs

10 – TeraBytes

9 – USB Ports

8 – Gig of RAM

7 – Development Tools

6 – Star Wars Movies

5 – Flatscreen monitors

4 – Virtual Machines

3 – Smart Phones

2 – Twitter Accounts

T-1 line for the home office

31 days of January

2011-12-07T19:17:00.001-05:00

So I am thinking that I am going to use the month of January to learn a new .NET 4.0 class. Then I am going to write what I learned, at least this way I can keep my blog up to date.

Continue Learning, even if you are not currently using it

2011-10-15T07:58:00.001-04:00

Recently I attended the NoVACC and I got into a conversation with a fellow technologist. During this conversation I express my concern that technology was passing me faster then I learn or use it (I work in an office that is still using Windows XP, Visual Studio 2008, IIS 6). He asked, “ Then why learn this stuff if you can’t use it for at least 3 years”; hence the reason for this post.
I am working on a SharePoint 2007 project in which we have to remote our application to the virtual SharePoint Server. Normal when we create our applications we create our POCO (plain old CLR objects), then our Data Access Layer (using Stored Procedures naturally) then our user interface, and of course this is how we test our applications. But unless you have SharePoint Server running on your machine or you remote into the server you can’t test.
I know many developers would say that we needed to do TDD (Test Driven Development) but we work in an environment that useless they can see something tangible it was not real. But I remembered a session I took at the Richmond Code Camp that was on unit testing. I did a little research, knocking the cob webs off, and put together a testing project. With the DAL already complete, I can run my tests and show the customer something when they ask – “What have you been working on?”. This gives us a way of making sure that the data we are expecting back is actual what we are getting back.
The moral of the story, even if you can’t use what you learn today you never know when it is going to come in handy. Keep learning

Code Camp Presentations

2011-10-09T07:59:00.001-04:00

During the first two weekends in October I had the honor at speaking at the NoVACC and RichCC. My presentation was an “Intro to Windows Phone 7” and it seemed to be received well. We were able to walk through the different templates that are provided, show how we bind data, navigate between pages and even gave some information on MVVM (which I need to learn A LOT more about).

I would like to thank everyone that attend the session. I would love to hear your thoughts, comments and concerns about the session. It is truly the only way that I can improve as a speak.

Metric Century Complete

2011-09-18T09:52:00.001-04:00

(left to right: Walter Brown, Jim Pendarvis, Buchanan Dunn)

Yesterday morning I participated in my first organized bike ride - the St. Mary’s Century - and even though I did not set biking speed records I did complete the metric century, which is about 63 miles. This morning I am a little sore in the knees but I feel pretty good, as a matter of fact, I might play soccer this afternoon.

The course was a ride through beautiful St. Mary’s County, hence the name, with rides passing Amish run farms, down to islands, and a “few” challenging hills. We had people coming from the Virginia and Pennsylvania area, and I am sure others but those are the one I heard. I had the privilege of doing this ride with my Uncle and a fellow technology enthusiast Buchanan Dunn. We were able to complete the course in just under 4 hours and 30 minutes, and I did it on a bike that was about 30 years old and borrowed. I guess if I continue to ride I should buy my own, I’ll let you know what I get – if I get one.

If you would like to see the course, I have in on my runkeeper.

Wealthy , the trickle down does not work?

2011-08-24T04:21:00.001-04:00

Over the past few years; all I hear is that the rich people need to be taxed more. As a matter of fact, Warren Buffett published an article, Stop Coddling The Super Rich, in which he said that he only paid just under $7 million. His argument is that he makes money from money, he is an investor, so his percentage is lower then someone working for their money. The question is, what did he do with the money he did NOT give to the government? If I had to guess I would save he invested it or bought stuff. Him investing that money means that someone else is making a commission off his transaction, they are taking their paycheck and purchasing items from companies that have employees, who in turn take their paycheck and purchase more product – I hope I am clarifying how this trickles down.

A couple of years ago; a congressperson was on the floor arguing against extending the “Bush Tax Credits” and he put on a really good presentation with graphs and stats on what the rich people could do with the money if they did not pay the difference in the taxes. One of those items was something like and new $250 purse everyday for the next ten years. I got to thinking about this argument and that would be AWESOME? If you were the owner of that company, how many more employees would you have to hire to keep up with these rich peoples spending. Now that you have all these new employees, they are going to need daycare so guess what, the day care’s have to hire more people. The transit system may have to hire more people, because they are now using the public system. Grocery stores are buying more supplies to keep up with the everyday persons spending.

So, wealth itself might not trickle down but when the wealthy are spending money more jobs are created. When they are not spending the money people are losing job, and it is always going to be the little guys. So even though they are not directly hiring their spending causing the hiring.

T–6 weeks and counting

2011-08-06T18:31:00.001-04:00

So I have been training pretty hard the past three weeks, getting ready for the St. Mary’s Century. This is a bicycle road race here in St. Mary’s County (like you could not figure that out on your own) that has three different levels of competition. As a personal goal, if I make the ride without being sent to the hospital I win no matter what place I come in across the finish line.

Many times people will get others to sponsor them during their ride, and I am kind-of asking you to do the same thing. So here is how it’s going to work. I want you to pledge an amount for every Kilometer that I ride, to a non-profit that you choose. I am going to donate $1 for every kilometer that I ride to Autism Speaks.

You message me and let me know which organization that you are going to donate to and the amount per kilometer. Every organization that receives a pledge will be put on the back of the shirt that I am going to wear during the ride. I was thinking about something like “Riding for the following organization” and then putting the ribbon on the shirt.

If you have any questions please message me and we’ll see if we can answer them together.

Remember you choose the amount and the organization and I do the riding.

The three levels are:

35 Miles (56 kilometer)

65 Miles (100 kilometer)

100 Miles (161 kilometer)

Cycling

2011-07-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

Well, last week a co-worker gave me his road bike, to borrow and train with, and I took it out on Saturday. During this ride I was able to complete just under 21 miles in a little over 89 minutes. Now, considering that the elevation reached 170 feet and the longest stretch of anything considered flat has maybe a quarter of a mile, I think over 14 MPH it pretty good.

So this is what I am planning for the rest of my training, on Monday and Wednesdays I am go to ride for about 10 miles. I am going to ride that as fast has I possible can, kind of my sprints and then on the weekend I am going to ride what I rode the week prior plus 5 miles

Let's see what happen

From 0 to 100 miles

2011-07-14T15:28:00.001-04:00

Well yesterday I posted on Facebook that I signed up for the St. Mary’s Century. I am not sure what I was thinking at the time, but I have already committed to riding, so now I have to start training. Here is the problem, my bike is gear toward off-road riding and I have not ridden further then 3 miles in about 10 years. Not to mention I have not ridden at all in about 2 years (unless you count going up the street and back). So what does that mean, well I have two (count them 2) month to prepare for a 100 mile ride (they say race, but if I live I win) and the prep starts tonight (7/14/11) at 17:00 (5pm) with a light 16 miles to Leonardtown and back. I am going to track my ride using my RunKeeper app on the Droid. So let see what happen.

Garden Update

2011-07-02T14:18:00.001-04:00

Well, about a month ago I planted some vegetables – for the first time. I planted 8 bell peppers, 4 cucumber, 4 green zucchini and 6 tomato plants. I am using the side of my house and build a raised bed to put everything in. But I had a problem, I think I put to much in the small ( 4’ x 4’ ) area. I am growing the cucumbers vertically and we are starting form little cucumbers. We also have 4 tomatoes and 2 female pods in the zucchini…but what I am really excited about are all the potential cucumbers. I swear I saw at least 15 cucumbers that I’ll be eating in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

I went and showed the wife, and guess what – she wants a larger garden next years so I am going to take my son and we are going to build some raised beds. I am going to plot out what we are going to grow next year, I am also going to grow some lettuce, garlic and onions this winter. I am going to start planting my seeds at the end of July.

Project Progress

2011-06-24T20:36:00.001-04:00

Well, a few months ago I tweeted about a potential project. I believe it said something like, “I’ve been asked to be part of a Sharepoint project, should I accept or run” well come to find out I really did not have a choice I got put on the project anyway but not has a developer, I am the database architecture. Guess what, I have NEVER put a database together.

So I am attending meeting, and listening to the customers wants and needs. I soon realized that this project is a bit bigger then what Sharepoint is designed to do; but also realized that we HAD to use it.

So as a team we decided to build the application outside of Sharepoint and use some of it’s functionality. So, I am creating the database without Users or Users Roles; the tables (these properties are going to be inherited from SP). Once we have this information then we can figure out which elements the user has permission to.

Bad Jim...Bad

2011-06-13T08:22:00.000-04:00

Looks like I have not updated since, look like April. Bad Jim, very bad! To be honest, I have been working and looking at a project that I want to create at home. I am not going to say to much about it, because I am hoping to sell it. I have been working on a garden. I have 8 bell peppers, 3 jalapeno, 1 habanero, 4 squash, 4 cucumber, and 8 different tomato; I might have put to much in the raised bed. I need to finish the stairs, that I started three years ago, that connect our house deck to our pool deck.

We are planning a trip to Florida, going to see Micky and Minnie. We are also going on a day trip to Williamsburg and Bush Gardens.

The youngest is leaving elementary school, graduation is Thursday.

I hope that my next post is a little better, but I felt I need to post something!

What have I learned about me?

2011-04-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

For many years now, like me whole life, I have had issues with keeping on task and attention. I have been able to manage these "problems" for a good deal of my life, but over the past few years I have noticed these "problems" becoming more intense (might not be the right word, but I hope you get my point). Now as I tell you this, understand that I do NOT agree with the labels - ADD or ADHD. My reason is simple, it's over used and it's a way for some to avoid the real issues - if there are real issues to begin with. So what did I do?

First thing I did was scheduled and appointment with a neurologist, Dr. Beena Shah, in California, MD. She performed a complete physical on me, including my families medical history. She requested that I get an MRI, this came back clean, and a sleep deprived EEG, which showed no "abnormal" activity. (I was just happy that them found activity and my brain - told you I had one mom). So neurological speaking, I was fine, but I really knew I had something going on. So the next step is where it gets interesting, I think.

There is this local company, Personalized Therapy, LLC , that a few months back, starting offering what's called "neurobiofeeback". If you unfamiliar with this type of therapy, don't worry may people are. Think about it like this - if you have a puppy and everytime you take the puppy outside you ring this bell and wiring is going to take place in the puppy brain that ringing the bell mean going outside and going to the bathroom. So that is neurobiofeedback, it's wiring connections in the brain that are missing or not connected properly and they making the connection correct.

So, on Monday April 18, 2011 I went to there office and had my brain mapped. They placed, what looked like a shower cap on my bald head and then the computer was able to read my brain activity. The whole thing took about 45 minutes and I got the results yesterday..so here we go.

With my eyes closed they found that my LoAlpha was Hi and my LoBeta was also Hi. They believe, off of this test, that I am a "Strong Potential Match" for the following: Hyper-arousal, Attention, Decision Making, Motivation, Procedural, & Spatial Sequence and a "Potential Match" for these: Verbal Sequencing; Tone Sequencing, Auditory Tone Processing, & Passive Aggressiveness.

With my eyes open it was not much better - truefully, it was worse. They found the the Delta, LoAplha, HiAplha, LoBeta and Beta were all HIGH. When it came to the "Strong Potential Match", they removed - Hyper-arousal & Spatial Sequence - because they are not availble, but added short term memory and verbal sequencing processing(I was upgraded from the "Potential Match" I got with my eyes closed). Then the "Potential Match" we add Event Sequencing and Auditory Verbal Sequencing and remove nothing.

So where do we go from here, well I am going to schedule my biofeedback sessions and see what happens. Do I believe in ADD or ADHD now? Not in the way that the "psychiatrist" want us to believe, but there is something about seeing how your brain is working - or in my case not working, that could make you alter your way of thinking. I just hate when "psychiatrist" use objective tests to push drugs on small children.

T–13 days and counting

2011-03-19T09:31:00.001-04:00

Well, here we are just 13 days away from the second annual Southern Maryland Givecamp. Even though we don’t have the number of volunteers that we had last year, I just know that this years event is going to be better then last years.

So why are we not getting as many people this year? Good question, and if I had to guess – this is completely a guess – I would say that people wanted to participate in the inaugural event because there was nothing like it on the east coast. Now the east coast has at least 7 givecamps, and this is a very good thing in one aspect but bad in another. On the good side – local charities in that region are getting technical help that they normally would not have received. On the bad side, and more selfish side, the technical community how has a choice, travel to Southern Maryland or find something closer to home. (and if I were being completely honest, I would have chosen closer to home also). I am extremely grateful to the individuals that are still willing to travel 2+ hours to participate, you are a special group of individuals. This does not mean that the people that live closer are not special, because you are.

So why do I believe that this year is going to be better then last year. This years volunteers, most of them returning volunteers, already have a baseline of how their project is going to go. We are speaking with the individuals in charge of the wireless pipeline and we are more knowledgeable about the CMS we are going to use.

So, though I may not get my head shaved this year, the most important part of the weekend will take place – helping those organizations that help other people everyday and don’t make money doing so.

I look forward to seeing everyone in two weeks, if you are unable to attend, please send me an email and we hope to see you next year. If you would like to volunteer please goto: www.somdgc.org/volunteers.aspx

The NFL Players choose to decertify…SO?

2011-03-11T19:04:00.002-05:00

So if I am to understand this correctly, the players in the NFL have chosen to decertify their union so that the individuals players can sue the owners, but so what. Am I missing something, it is my understanding that the purpose of an union is to protect their members from unfair working conditions, fight for fair pay for their members, and make sure the members are taken care of when they retire. I believe that the NFL Players Association was trying to do that, so why am I “I don’t care” about this. It’s simple, you hire an agent to negotiate your contract. It is their job to get you the best possible compensation, why do you feel you should get more? Because the league negotiated their contracts with TV and you are not getting a part of that, maybe you should have negotiated that and put it in your contract then. You feel that you are allowed to see the records of your employers, good luck in getting that in the real world if you are working for a private company – which the NFL is.
Are the players the product, sure they are. Should they be compensated for the work that they do, absolutely. But you are the person, or the person you hired, that negotiated that contract and you signed it. I hear that the contracts are not guaranteed, and although this is wrong(cause they can cut a player and not pay him the contract that the club signed – I think this is wrong also) maybe you should get better as a player and consider getting a better agent.
So here is a viable solution. If you want to have a union, it’s time to get rid of the individual contracts, you can’t have it both ways. You have 53 players on a roster (not including the practice squad), it time to put them on a tier system. Each team will be required to have 10 lower tiered, 30 mid-level and 10 high profile players. The union will negotiate the range that each level gets paid, retirement, medical – everything that a normal union is to do. The players will then be paid based upon where they fall and they would have to try and work their way up the ladder. They are still going to make millions of dollars, and we will still have the best players on the field.
Just my thoughts.

Weight Lose

2011-03-06T10:02:00.001-05:00

So here we are, 4 weeks away from GiveCamp, and the weight lose challenge is coming to an end quickly. So this is how I am currently doing:

Neck	16.25"
Shoulder
Chest	45.5"
Bicept	14"
Stomach	44.5"
Waist	43.5"
Hips	45.5"
Thigh	25.75"
Calf	16.25"

Weight	253.2

I am down 15 lbs but this is not going to be enough. I am hoping to lose another 15 before the event. If I could be at around 230 that would be an ideal weight I think.

So I am going to continue working out at 0400, but I am going to add some strength training with the Total Gym that I all ready own.

Southern Maryland Give Camp 2011

2011-03-05T11:19:00.001-05:00

So we are less then four weeks away from SoMDGC 2011, and to be honest we are very excited. Even though I am having difficulty finding those damn Harry Potter costumes, I am still working hard at find them before the event, that and a Henna Tattoo artist. Of course if I can’t find the artist I can always purchase a “Temp” tattoo, you know the ones that you put on your body with water, and should stay on for about two weeks. I might even order a few extra, just because.

As of the time of this writing, we have 47 technical volunteers, this is not enough to complete the work. We have 20 non-profits requesting help, and that does not include that “add ons” that I would like to give them – like some smart phone apps.

We are still looking for sponsors to help offset the costs associated to this event. Our biggest needs right now is a sponsor for drinks, yep those things that people are going to custom to keep them awake.

If you want to help, either as a sponsor or volunteer feel free to contact me @ contact at somdgc.org and ask me any question.

My views on “Same Sex Marriage”

2011-02-20T08:31:00.001-05:00

First, let me state up front that I am a registered Republican. Please don’t stop reading this post because of that, and Republican – please continue to read, although I might not change what you believe you might loosen the grip a little.

I am receiving emails, just about weekly, from the Republican party asking that we “contact your state Senator immediately to tell them to vote no on the assault on traditional marriage” and I’m hear a lot about the definition and the sanctity of marriage.

The “traditional marriage”, basically the way God intended, was for a man and a woman to come together for the purpose of procreation. We all understand the Biology of it, a Man and Man or Woman and Woman can not procreate; but guess what – in a world that is already over populated, I don’t think they want to procreate they just want to be together.

The “definition” of marriage is - according to dictionary.com – “the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies” (Yes I see the one for same sex marriage, but that was added later). But if we really stop and think about where that definition came from, it comes from a man, that read the first book of the Bible and read that God created Adam and Eve; so how could marriage be anything but one man and one woman.

Now the “Sanctity” of marriage is where I get my biggest laugh. The sanctity of marriage is so far gone that we need to ask does it really exists any more. Think about it, the same politicians that are screaming that the “sanctity” of marriage will be lost are the same people that have been married two or three times. So where is the sanctity?

I’ll leave this post with this, on many issues – Gun Control, federal spending, government control, illegal immigration – I am 98% on Republican side. But on gay marriage, why not let them have the same rights as the husband and wife couples, allow them to claim each other on their taxes, and make chooses at the hospital without having to create a living will. Besides, it could also stimulate the economy. Think about it, if they go through a divorce, the attorney is getting paid more, which means s/he is spending more, which means companies are making money which means unemployment is going down. The gay couple should have to go though the same process as the “traditional” couples when considering things like – moving out-of-state, breaking up, having children (adoption), and purchases like cars and homes.

I know I might not have changed your mind on same sex marriage, the purpose of the post is to maybe, just maybe, see the other side – even if for a second.

Community

2011-02-06T08:56:00.001-05:00

For about four year I have been trying to find my “nitch” in the development community. I run a local user group, coordinated a givecamp, attend and speak at code camps, I am always feel like I am NOT advancing the way others developers I know are.Part of the problem stems from not having the advanced developers around me to learn from. So what would you do? Would you continue, knowing that your name is not going to be picked to talk to another user group. Would you go on, even when your talks at the code camps are only getting 5 – 10 people? How about your writing, I want to write technology blog post, but believe that the information that I have does not have enough value. I recently read a blog post on over writing the ToString method in your business objects, it was a good post, but I am thinking in my head that I do this all the time and I know why, I just can’t seem to articulate this in print. I read books, but even those don’t take me to the level that I want to be at.

So what would you do, if you felt like you are not advancing the way you would like?

I can tell you that I am not going to stop going to Code Camp, or GiveCamps or even stop the User Group, but I do wish I could find a mentor, someone that would allow me to learn from them…I think that is going to be difficult to find where I currently live.

Requirements Gathering

2011-01-30T11:19:00.001-05:00

Well on January 29, 2011, we sat down with 9 of the 18 non-profits that are requesting help from this years givecamp. I’ll be posting the video on youtube. Once I finish uploading them, the nonprofit well be linked to the appropriate video(please continue to check because each of these videos is taking 2+ hours to upload). I can tell you this, after watching these videos I am going to bring my tripod the next time I do this.

During this time we had 3 business analyst working really hard at getting the requirement. Our Business Analyst coordinator had a great idea, she created folders in Google Docs and is sharing these folders with the respective non-profits, designers and the business analyst that is taking their requirements. This information is then going to be shared to the assigned technical team lead. They will be able to read the requirements document and choose the best method in filling those requirements.

These folder are also going to be used during the event. It will be a place that we can store information like, hosting company, passwords and other vital information that could help the nonprofits when the event is over.

We would like the technical volunteers to take a moment and review each of the videos, if there is one of the organization that you would like to help please send us an email.

SoMDGC Date has been changed

2011-01-23T07:23:00.001-05:00

Due to some unforeseen circumstances; we are unable to hold our givecamp on the originally scheduled date of March 25 – 27. We have reschedule for one week later – to April 1 – 3, yes I can see that it will be on April fools day.

The decision to move the date was not an easy one, I understand that some people may not be able to attend, for what ever reason. It is my hope that we are announcing this change early enough that 95% of the people wanting to attend can make the necessary changes to still attend. For the other, possible, 5% I do apologize and hope that you will consider attending GiveCamp 2012.

On a more positive note; this weekend we are going to be meeting with the non-profits for the first time. We are going to start brain storming over their wants and needs and might even get something down in write. This information will then be put into a requirements document and then passed along to the development team for review.

POSSIBLE Date change for SoMDGC '11

2011-01-19T12:20:00.001-05:00

    In an attempt to find the "perfect" weekend for our second annual givecamp we may have over looking the possibility that the College would have wanted the same weekend for an event they are hosting. Well it's happen; before our event could be approved another request was accepted during the same weekend. The individuals who are responsible for the scheduling said that it would be extremely difficult to hold both of the events during the same weekend and have asked that we delay our event by a single week. Instead of March 25; would there be any objection to holding our event the first weekend in April.
   By doing so we get an extra week to finalize all those little things. It would also put us a week closer to Mix '11. What does this mean? Well what ever we do to Andrew, it would be likely that it will stick during the Mix event.
    Please reply and let me know if you have an objection. If I don't receive a reply I have to assume that you have no objection. I need a reply no later then January 22, 2011.

Mobile Broadcasting

2011-01-17T20:32:00.001-05:00

So this afternoon I had the honor of seeing my Great Nephew for the first time, he was born yesterday around 3:00 pm – 8lbs 2oz 20” long. I was trying to find a away to show my in-laws - they live out of state and could not make the trip for the birth - their first great-grandchild. Now I could have video taped him and post him on youtube or some other video sharing service, but how can I show the great-grandparents their first great-grandchild live.

I did a quick search on the Driod 2 and found that UStream.com has, not only an app to view Ustream TV, but also a way to broadcast live video. I also found out that this app is available for the IPhone and Blackberry and if you want to keep the video private, you have the ability to add a password to gain access.

To say that the great-grandparents were more then happy would be an understatement. They were able to see him cry, feed and even open his eyes – a little. Great-MeMaw was even able to tell her granddaughter that she need to adjust the bed she was in for better support.

So if you have an event coming up, you know that wedding that the uncle can’t attend or the cousin that is overseas and can’t attend the family reunion, you now have an option to let them participate without really being there. The only problem with this type of broadcasting is that it is only one way, which mean that this is not video chatting.

2011 Goals (not resolutions)

2010-12-31T08:35:00.001-05:00

I have a theory, ever New Years we make resolutions and – for most of us – we leave those resolutions on the side of the road around February. Just the word “Resolution” makes me believe that what I want to change is something wrong with me. Think about it, politicians make resolutions because they believe that the administration before them did it WRONG. There maybe things I don’t like, about me, but that does not make them wrong. So this year I am not making resolutions, I am making goals (yes, I know it’s a play on words – but a goal is forward thinking, resolutions are backward thinking because it’s something I want to change from 2010)

So here are my GOALS in 2011:

1) Lose weight – I am ending 2010 weighing 255lbs, My goal is to lose between 5 – 10lbs per month and be 215lbs. 40lbs should not be unrealistic in 2011.

2) Less Debt- I am not going to say that I am going to be debt free, my goal is to have 10% less debt at the end of 2011 then I do today. Now 10% is not a lot, but it is when you include the mortgage. If we don’t include the mortgage I would like 65% gone.

3) Career – I would like to get my certification, as a MCTS. This means I have to study. So my goal is to study at least 3 hours a week to prep for the 70-515 exam.

4) Education – How can I continue to beat into my sons head – “You have to go to college if you want any type of success in this world!” – if I don’t have a Bachelor's Degree, I do have an Associated but not the BS (yes I am full of BS, but I can’t hang that on the wall). So my goal is to start back up, fall of 2011, and get 9 more credit towards my degree.

5) Community (Technology) – My goal this year is the speak at 4 code camps, and maybe a couple of user groups with topics that would be attractive and engaging. I would also like to see the GiveCamp grow a little and have a few more technical people volunteer.

6) Community (non-technology) –This year my goal is to volunteer at 3 events that have impact on the community that I live in.

Take notice that the only time I mention 2010 is when I state my weight at the END of 2010. It make the term “goal” a little more realistic. So these are my goals for 2011, take some time today and write down your goals. It seems that when we write them down it adds more value to it and may your 2011 be better then your 2010.

Populating ListControls

2010-12-19T12:00:00.001-05:00

I was reviewing some code that I had written some time ago and had every intension of going back and refactoring. The code in question looks like this:

Drop Down List Populator
private void BuildLists() {
   BuildReferenceDropDownList(ddlLocation, ReferenceType.Location);
   BuildReferenceDropDownList(ddlBeltType, ReferenceType.BeltType);
   BuildReferenceDropDownList(ddlBusinessUnit, ReferenceType.BusinessUnit);
   BuildReferenceDropDownList(ddlAgency, ReferenceType.Agency);
   BuildReferenceDropDownList(ddlOrganization, ReferenceType.Organization);
 
 }
 
 private void BuildReferenceDropDownList(DropDownList ddl, ReferenceType referenceType) {
   List<Reference> refItems;
   refItems = referenceAdapter.GetAllByType(referenceType);
   foreach (Reference r in refItems) { ddl.Items.Add(new ListItem(r._shortAndLongName, r._referenceID.ToString())); }
 
   PrependDefaultDropDownListItem(ddl);
 }
 
 //-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 protected void PrependDefaultDropDownListItem(DropDownList ddl) {
   ListItem li = new ListItem("-- Select --", "-1");
   //li.Selected = true;
   ddl.Items.Insert(0, li);
 }

and I had another area in the code that looked like this:

Check Box List Populator
private void populateWants() {
   List<Reference> _refPAWant = new List<Reference>(); // Holds all PAs sought by user
   _refPAWant = _paAdapter.GetAllByUserIDAndType(user._employeeID, ProfessionalAttributeObjective.Seek, _professionalAttributeType);
 
   buildCheckBoxList(cblGoalsWant, _refPAGoals);
   populateCheckBoxList(cblGoalsWant, _refPAWant);
 }
 
 
 private void populateHas() {
   List<Reference> _refPAHave = new List<Reference>(); // Holds all PAs possessed by user
   _refPAHave = _paAdapter.GetAllByUserIDAndType(user._employeeID, ProfessionalAttributeObjective.Offer, _professionalAttributeType);
 
   buildCheckBoxList(cblGoalsHave, _refPAGoals);
   populateCheckBoxList(cblGoalsHave, _refPAHave);
 }
 
 
 private void buildCheckBoxList(CheckBoxList cbl, List<Reference> refItems) {
   foreach (Reference r in refItems) {
     cbl.Items.Add(new ListItem(r._shortName, r._referenceID.ToString()));
   }
 }
 
 private void populateCheckBoxList(CheckBoxList cbl, List<Reference> refItems) {
   foreach (Reference r in refItems) {
     if (cbl.Items.FindByValue(r._referenceID.ToString()) != null) { cbl.Items.FindByValue(r._referenceID.ToString()).Selected = true; }
   }

After looking through this code I realized that the private void BuildReferenceDropDownList – from the drop down and the private void buildCheckBoxList – from the Check Box were almost identical, the only difference between the two was the argument being pasted in, the dropdown was receiving the dropdown control and the checkbox was receiving the checkbox control. Another minor difference was that the Dropdown had an added item at the beginning of the selection.
Once the gerbil in my head started running and I realized that both of this object derive from the ListControl object(ButtonList, ListBox, & RadioButtonList also derive from ListContol), it made my job of refactoring this a lot easier. I created a single method that accepts a ListControl and the Generic List in as arguments , then returns a ListControl back to the control that called it:

List Control Populator Method
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using Models;
 
namespace GenericNamespace
{
    public class ListControlPopulator
    {
        public ListControl PopulateList(ListControl dll, List<Reference> reference)
        {
            if (dll.GetType().Equals(typeof(DropDownList)))
                dll.Items.Add(new ListItem("-- Select --", "-1"));
 
            foreach (Reference r in reference)
            {
                dll.Items.Add(new ListItem(r._shortAndLongName, r._referenceID.ToString()));
            }
 
            return dll;
        }
    }
}

Look at line 11, here I am checking the type of the listcontrol being past into the method and if it is a dropdownlist I am able to add the line to the Drop Down.
To call this method we made the code look for the dropdown like this:

Dropdown List Control - Now
ListControlPopulator ddl = new ListControlPopulator();
private void BuildLists() 
{
    ddlLocation     = (DropDownList)ddl.PopulateList((ListControl)ddlLocation, referenceAdapter.GetAllByType(ReferenceType.Location));
    ddlBeltType     = (DropDownList)ddl.PopulateList((ListControl)ddlBeltType, referenceAdapter.GetAllByType(ReferenceType.BeltType));
    ddlBusinessUnit = (DropDownList)ddl.PopulateList((ListControl)ddlBusinessUnit, referenceAdapter.GetAllByType(ReferenceType.BusinessUnit));
    ddlAgency       = (DropDownList)ddl.PopulateList((ListControl)ddlAgency, referenceAdapter.GetAllByType(ReferenceType.Agency));
    ddlOrganization = (DropDownList)ddl.PopulateList((ListControl)ddlOrganization, referenceAdapter.GetAllByType(ReferenceType.Organization));
}

And the Checkbox Control look like this:

Checkbox List Control - Now
ListControlPopulator ddl = new ListControlPopulator();
    private void populateWants() 
    {
      List<Reference> _refPAWant = new List<Reference>(); // Holds all PAs sought by user
      _refPAWant = _paAdapter.GetAllByUserIDAndType(user._employeeID, ProfessionalAttributeObjective.Seek, _professionalAttributeType);
      cblGoalsWant = (CheckBoxList)ddl.PopulateList((ListControl)cblGoalsWant, _refPAGoals);
      populateCheckBoxList(cblGoalsWant, _refPAWant);
    }

What made this easier was that fact that all of the look ups were centralized in one table, which means that List<T> is a single business object. I am going to research and see if I can accept any List<T>. So if you happen to have a single Business Object that is populating all of our ListControls consider using this. Of cource if you have a better way, please share it I am always looking for an easier way of doing something.

Northern Virginia Code Camp

2010-12-12T11:44:00.001-05:00

I had the privilege yesterday(Dec 11, 2010) and attended the Northern Virginia Code Camp, or #NoVACC on twitter. While my focus today was on the MVC - with a session on Blend - the part the of this event that I’ll remember most is the charity that the Northern Virginia Code Camp sponsored - “Teardrops 2 Rainbows”. According to their opening paragraph on their website: “Teardrops to Rainbows (T2R) is a recognized 501(c)(3), organization based in Fairfax, Virginia which provides support, services and financial assistance to area children with cancer and their families. T2R plays an active role in helping families through the many stages of treatment for a life-threatening illness.”

This organization really touched my heart when I heard what they do, when I saw the videos, it permanently pierced it:

They showed a different video then this one, and if I get the video URL I’ll do another post, but this one should be enough to touch your heart.

If you could find it in your heart this season to give a little, or a lot, they are extremely happy to accept donations, but if you want to make your donation go ever further, the Capital Area .NET User Group has found corporate sponsors that are willing to match donations made via the CapArea.NET. Please contact Scott Lock if you would like to have your donation go further.

Although this post is focused on the charity, I believe that a thank you is due to the organizers of the event. You guys did a GREAT job and I hope to see you again in the spring (God Willing).

Southern Maryland GiveCamp 11 - Charity Possible Selections

2010-12-09T07:08:00.001-05:00

On December 8th, 2010 the Southern Maryland Give Camp Committee gathered in a coffee shop and talked about the non-profits that are requesting our services this time.

I would like to take this time to see if there is an organization that can help out "The Diaper Drive". This non-profit did request help from us; however, they are located in Minneapolis,Minnesota. Because of their location in relationship to ours, it would have been extremely difficult to service their needs properly. So if anyone in that area is putting on a givecamp, please message me and I'll give you their contact information.

After reviewing the applications last night we found out that we may have a lot of interesting work. Some of this work includes SmartPhone development, volunteer tracking software and of course a few website. We had a few requests for "Learning about Social Media", things like twitter and Facebook fan pages and a couple of logo's.

This is a list of possible charities, we are going to gather their requirments - to make sure we can do the work in the weekend - then make our final selection.

Sotterley Plantation
The Arc of Southern MD
Southern Maryland Chapter - American Red Cross
Maryland Resource Parent PTSA
St. Mary's County Resource Parent Association
Discover U Children's Museum
St. Mary's County Child Advocacy Center
Bay K9 SAR
SLS Ministries Inc.
Optimist Club of Tall Timbers, 2nd District
Mattawoman Watershed Society
Town of Indian Head's Rail Trail Outreach Committee
Christmas in April*St. Mary's County
Lexington Park Baptist Church Awana Club
Southern Maryland Center for Independent Living, Inc. (SMCIL)
Pets On Wheels
Tri-County Youth Services Bureau
Greenwell Foundation
Charles County Technology Council
Charles County Children's Aid Society

Our business analysts are going to be taking the month of January to gather their requirements and we'll use the month of February to put our development teams together. I sure hope we can help them all, and the best way we can do this is with your help. If you would like to volunteer, please visit our website at http://www.somdgc.org/ and click on the volunteers page.

The greatest gift you can possible give is your time.

Southern Maryland GiveCamp '11

2010-12-01T06:45:00.000-05:00

It's December 1st and, I hope, everyone is getting into the Holiday spirit. I have been working hard at getting my outdoor Christmas decorations up and working and this as really put me, yes me, in a good mood. Today is also the day we start reviewing the application that we received for our 2nd annual SoMDGC (Southern Maryland GiveCamp). I'm excited because, not only do we have 19 potential non-profits hoping that we choose their organization, but I also have a great committee that is helping me this year. Starting today the Non-Profit coordinators are going to start reviewing the applications, some time this month they should be in contact with the representative and next month we start gathering requirements.

After looking at the requests; it looks like we have 10 new website, 8 donor/volunteer Data Base, an Intranet, and to expand one website(yes I know this is more then 19). I also have some very exciting ideas for some of these applications, if you want to know then you'll have to sign up as a volunteer.

Calling out to sponsors:
Putting on an event like this takes a lot of time and money, time I have - money I do not.

These are some of the items we are going to need to make this event successful:

Friday Night Dinner
Friday Night Snack
Saturday Morning Breakfast
Saturday Afternoon Lunch
Saturday Night Dinner
Saturday Night Snack
Sunday Morning Breakfast
Sunday Afternoon Lunch

Caffeine - In the form of Cola, Coffee, 5 Hour Energy, Red Bull - you get the idea
Water
Paper Plates, Plastic forks, knives and spoons, Napkins
Fruit - Apples, Bananas, and Grapefruits

These are some of the items we would like to give away to each volunteer:
Shirts
Pens
Lanyards
Laptop Stickers
Coffee Tumblers

These are some of the items we would like to raffle off at the end:
I don't want to say want we are thinking, but last year we gave away:

32GB Zune
E-Readers
Flip Video Recorders
TV
Software from different vendors
2 X-box 360's
and alot more

Central Maryland Code Camp

2010-11-06T16:34:00.001-04:00

I would like to take a moment and thank everyone that organized the CMAPCC. The amount of work involved in putting together one of these event has not gone unnoticed, your group did a great job.

During this Code Camp I had the honor to give a presentation on using the Extensions Manager for Visual Studio 2010. Although there was very little code in the presentation, the features that some of these free tools provide are priceless.

We first spoke about Snippet Tool. This tool allow you to highlight code, right click and export this code out into a snippet. By creating a snippet we could take a format and use it across multi projects. The best part of this tool is probably for code speakers. We create and test code before taking it to User Group or Code Camps. Now we can extract that code, create the snippet, and use it in a blank project. This is ONLY supported in VS 2010.

We next spoke about Ghost Docs, this tool allow you document your code using XML. The benefit of using a tool like Ghost Docs are the tool tips generated when implementing a class. You’ll be able to gather more information from the comment, then from the class name itself. Though this is supported by all versions of Visual Studio except 2002 and before.

The final tool we spoke about was the Productivity Power Tools, this tool is the most powerful tool that you could put into our Visual Studio 2010 tool belt for FREE. There are 14 different features and the best thing I can say is download it and play. See how this tool will help you in your development.

If you would like the presentation and code for the Add-In, please feel free to download it from here

Richmond Code Camp X

2010-10-09T21:16:00.001-04:00

On October 9th, 2010, I had the privilege of speaking at the Richmond Code Camp. Although I did not have as many people attending my talk as I would have liked - the important thing about giving presentations is that - the people that do attend learned something, and I would like to think that they did. I gave my presentation on Extensions Managers, where to find , and how to use them. Then because I had enough time, I went and created a very simple add-in function that people can use.

If you are interested in the presentation and code please go to: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/FallCC2010

The gauntlet has been dropped.

2010-10-09T16:46:00.002-04:00

As many of you know, I have had a weight issue. About 13 years ago, about the time I quit smoking, I started gaining weight and I am now hovering at about 263lbs (For those people that knew me in high school, yes that is double my weight). I needed a way to get motivated to loose this “spare tire” hanging over the newly purchased belt.
During the weekend of October 9th 2010, I attended the Richmond Code Camp. At this event I ran into a friend and fellow geek Kevin Griffin. A few months ago he was talking about losing weight as well, I ask how he was doing with this and he said “Not so well”. This got the gerbil in my brain running in it’s wheel and I posed the challenge. We are going to work at losing weight until SoMDGC which will take place at the end of March. The individual that loses less weight, based on percentage of weight, well have to wear a Harry Potter costume on the second day of givecamp.
The challenge got bigger when I was speaking on the Community Megaphone Podcast, when the Co-Host, Joel Cochran, asked if anyone else could participate. Natural Kevin and I agreed that more people could, and then Joel started to waiver back on whether or not he wanted to do this. I made a comment about not being afraid of a former “Army” guy and he committee to the challenge.
So now we have three people participating in this challenge, which means that two of us are going to be wearing a Harry Potter costume. We will add a poll to the SoMDGC in a few months asking which costumes we should wear.
Just another reason to attend SoMDGC !!!!!!

Richmond Code Camp

2010-10-08T08:23:00.000-04:00

On October 9, 2010, I'll have the privilege of speaking at the Richmond Code Camp. My topic is "Extension Manager" and the premise of the talk is looking at some of the available extension that are available to Visual Studio that make our development lives a little easier. I am also hoping to have enough time to show an easy "Comments" Add-in, one that you can create and use at your own office.

Southern Maryland Give Camp 2011

2010-10-03T11:57:00.001-04:00

A month ago we started accepting applications from non-profits that would like our help at the 2nd annual SoMDGC and I am pleased to report that we currently have 5 applications. This is about where we were last year so I am not stress to much about it. The really exciting part is that we have 10 (not including the planning committee) volunteers that have signed up and I have not even, formally, announced that we are looking for volunteers. I'll have to send an email blast to everyone that participated last year that we are formally looking. I have been get some great input from last years volunteers and even been given contact information for sponsorships. This information is going to make this years event, bigger and better then last years.

I know that we are 6 months away from this event, but now is the time to start thinking about it. If you would like to donate your time for worthy causes try and find a givecamp in your local community. I know that Microsoft is working with the GiveCamp national organization on developing a National Day of Giving. This is happening in January...we considered changing the date to January, but thought better of it. Why, you might ask, simple. Here in Southern Maryland we never know what the weather is going to be like, we have had days in January that got to over 70, but we have also had days when we got 13" of snow. I am not willing to risk the safety of the volunteers and non-profits that would be driving in this possible weather. There is also the possibility that everyone get here and then it snows and we are snowed in for a lot longer then the weekend. So we'll stay with our March date.

Code I am asked to refactor

2010-09-28T06:38:00.003-04:00

So how many times have you heard this question " Can you help me? " I was asked recently to help on a project that is to be turned over to the client by the end of October. My tasking was to take this page and make it cleaner, add an email process and add dynamic headers to the gridview which is populated by an uploaded EXCEL Spreadsheet - seems simply enough right. Well this is part of what I started with - mind you this code is already LIVE, we are turning it over so another contractor can maintain it:

The first thing I notice is the number of private methods do the same thing, with one minor change - the name of the stored procedure being called:

    private void insertFundingWhereProjectExists()
    {
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("dbo.sp_insert_funding_where_project_exists", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        conn.Close();
    }
    private void insertFinancialImport()
    {
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("dbo.insertFinancialImport", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        conn.Close();
    }
    private void updateProjectTopicNoField()
    {
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("dbo.updateProjectTopicNoField", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        conn.Close();
    }
    private void import_financial_obligated_funds()
    {
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("dbo.import_financial_obligated_funds", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        conn.Close();
    }
    private void import_financial_planned_funds()
    {
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("dbo.import_financial_planned_funds", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        conn.Close();
    }
    private void truncateFinancialImportData()
    {
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("dbo.sp_truncateFinancialImportData", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        conn.Close();
    }

Now I am asked to improve the import process itself. They would like the import to work and not be dependent on the EXCEL Headers...this is what I started with:

private void insertXLSData()
    {   DataSet ds = (DataSet)Session["ds"];
        conn = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DB"].ToString());
        command = new SqlCommand("sp_insertFinancialImportData", conn);
        command.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
        conn.Open();
        SqlParameter TopicNo = command.Parameters.Add("@TopicNo",SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter Topic_Title = command.Parameters.Add("@Topic_Title", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter TPOC_Code = command.Parameters.Add("@TPOC_Code", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter Primary_Sponsor = command.Parameters.Add("@Primary_Sponsor", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter Seconardary_Sponsor = command.Parameters.Add("@Seconardary_Sponsor", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter Endorsing_PMA = command.Parameters.Add("@Endorsing_PMA", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter TPOC_Name = command.Parameters.Add("@TPOC_Name", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter TPOC_Phone = command.Parameters.Add("@TPOC_Phone", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter TPOC_Email = command.Parameters.Add("@TPOC_Email", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter FY08_Obligated = command.Parameters.Add("@FY08_Obligated", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter FY08_Planned = command.Parameters.Add("@FY08_Planned", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter FY09_Obligated = command.Parameters.Add("@FY09_Obligated", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter FY09_Planned = command.Parameters.Add("@FY09_Planned", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter FY10_Planned = command.Parameters.Add("@FY10_Planned", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        SqlParameter FY11_Planned = command.Parameters.Add("@FY11_Planned", SqlDbType.VarChar);
        //int i = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count; i++)
        {
            TopicNo.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["TopicNo"].ToString();
            Topic_Title.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["Topic Title"].ToString();
            TPOC_Code.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["TPOC Code"].ToString();
            Primary_Sponsor.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["Primary Sponsor"].ToString();
            Seconardary_Sponsor.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["Seconardary Sponsor"].ToString();
            Endorsing_PMA.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["Endorsing PMA"].ToString();
            TPOC_Name.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["TPOC Name"].ToString();
            TPOC_Phone.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["TPOC Phone"].ToString();
            TPOC_Email.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["TPOC Email"].ToString();
            FY08_Obligated.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["FY08 Obligated"].ToString();
            FY08_Planned.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["FY08 Planned"].ToString();
            FY09_Obligated.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["FY09 Obligated"].ToString();
            FY09_Planned.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["FY09 Planned"].ToString();
            FY10_Planned.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["FY10 Planned"].ToString();
            FY11_Planned.Value = ds.Tables[0].Rows[i]["FY11 Planned"].ToString();
            command.ExecuteNonQuery();
        }
        conn.Close();
}

If you are releasing code like this, please stop - find a local user group in your area. Take advantage of the free training available at Code Camps and the videos on ASP.NET

For clarification, the individual who wrote this has only been working in .NET for about 3 year. I know this person and like him/her, s/he was rushed when putting this together, then removed him/her before s/he could refactor. My purpose is not to embarass this individual and I hope that if s/he reads this, s/he understands that I am writing this for educational purposes.

Printing Data-Windows using PowerBuilder as a Web Application!

2010-08-24T19:38:00.002-04:00

With the assistance of Sybase, we were able to resolve one of the two issues I have been having in converting this application over from a client/server application to a .net web application, and that is the print issue. I am writing this because after months of researching I found nothing online to help me, I am NOT saying it is not out there, I am saying I did not find it.
So this is what I have: first we need to make sure that we have the GhostScript properly installed on the server. This third party tool is essential for taking your datawindows and converting them into a PDF. The next part of this process is, in my opinion, a little corky. After you click on your standard print, and the “Please wait” dialog box leaves the screen, you need to look in the upper right hand corner of the Browser area, you know – below all your taskbars. In this corner you’ll notice a new icon (I have two icons the one for “Exit” is always there) , click the one that references PDF’s.
By clicking this button you’ll notice a file that has the same name as the data window that you are trying to print. What has happen is a temporary PDF file as been written to your server. This dialog box shows you all of the datawindows that you are requesting to print and they have converted them to a PDF.
Now you must select the file that you want to print by clicking the file name, it should be a hyperlink to the PDF and this will open the Adobe Reader and now you can print to your locate printer.
I am not sure if this is a Sybase or GhostScript process but it is the one that works. I would love to know if there is an easier way, but after two weeks I am just glad it is working.

Starting the journey?

2010-08-21T07:23:00.003-04:00

A few months ago I was part of a Twitter debate over certifications (ie: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS), Microsoft Certified IT Professional MCITP), or Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)) I argued that these Certifications were extremely valuable to an individual starting out or right out of college, but someone with 10 plus years should not have to get the cert. I am not going to retracted that statement, but I am going to start studying for my Certification. I broke down and purchased the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft® .NET Framework Application Development Foundation, Second edition. Many of the items are refreshers and they should be. By the end of this year I’ll have purchased the second book and hopefully have past my first test – I don’t do well on tests, never have.
So why the change in heart. As I stated earlier, I don’t believe that you need that certification if you have 10 plus years in development – when it come to the work environment. Now; I also believe that it adds some creditability to you as a presenter. I am wanting to to get out into the community more and speak about the more advanced aspects of the tool/s I use. If I am going to a new User Group, they have no idea who I am and these certificates may give they a better feeling that I might know a little something.

Continued Issues

2010-07-27T11:12:00.001-04:00

If you have read any of my prior posted, you are aware that I have the "honor" of developing software using a product from Sybase known as PowerBuilder. Around the beginning of July I found out that I was getting a newer machine, still using Windows XP SP3, but I would get Windows Office 2007 pre-installed. Because I was getting a newer machine, this also meant that I had to re-install all of my development tools. About this time I also found out that Sybase as placed an "end-of-life" of PowerBuilder 11.5, which means that I must upgrade to PowerBuilder 12. This is a good thing, cause PB 12 now has intelisense and intergrates with Visual Studio 2008 SP1, but this is also where the problem comes into play. When I try and install the SP1 I continue to get an error, so I placed a troubleshooting call into Microsoft and was given the following information:

Thanks for your email.
In researching the error, log file and log files from uploaded test results, the install is failing with Microsoft office update Which is used in the tools of Visual Studio.

There are many blogs out there for this issue, from adjusting the registry to uninstalling office and reinstalling after Visual Studio SP1 is installed.

Error code 0x80070643 is a failure with Windows Update not completing a file download and not with the service pack itself.

Please clear out the %temp% folder: start>run %temp% and delete as many temp files as possible or all prior to install.
Download a fresh copy of VS90sp1.

Error 0x643

Please first ensure that the windows Installer service is running:

XP: Start --> Run --> "net start msiserver" --> [Enter]

If that doesn't work for some reason, the second way is with Windows Services Manager

a) XP: Start --> Run --> "services.msc" [Enter]

b) Scroll down and find "Windows Installer"

c) Right click on it and choose "Properties"

d) On the properties page, make sure the "Startup type" is set for "Automatic"

e) Confirm the "Service Status" is "Started"

f) Click "OK"

Then, once the Windows installer service is running, please attempt to download a fresh copy

Awesome, I now have something in place that I can use - WRONG. It seems that we are unable to un-install the Windows Office 2007 because of the way it was bundles and shipped. So I am unable to install PowerBuilder 12 because SP1 is needed. I am also unable to use PowerBuilder 11.5 because of the "end-f-life" tag that was placed on it. So if you have any suggestions on how I can install SP1 please let me know, I NEED MAJOR HELP.

Couch to 5K

2010-07-26T20:18:00.001-04:00

Ok, so a friend of mine told me about a website, Cool Running, which shows how any person can go from sitting on the couch to running a 5k in 9 weeks. I started that journey today. According to the website – day 1 means: “Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.” so I started my walk at 3 mph and I was “running” at 5mph. So this is what I am going to do, every other day I’ll work on this and the days I am not “running” I am going to use the “Total Gym” that we purchased over 3 years ago.

Nice Visual Studio 2010 Extension

2010-07-09T19:55:00.002-04:00

Are you a presenter at user groups or code camp? Are you writing code during your presentation – you should be? As developers we practice writing the code, making sure that code we write is correct and once we have it right we’ll copy it and put it in a separate file that we’ll open and pull from so we get the code just right.
There was a project we could use that would allow us to create our own snippy. This tool made our lives a lot easier, well guess what, there is now an extension that you can add in Visual Studio 2008 or 2010. The tool is called Snippet Designer and extremely simply. Highlight the code in the .cs or .vb file, right click and select the “Export as Snippet”, add parameters if needed, change the name, then click the save button.

Windows Phone 7

2010-07-06T17:09:00.001-04:00

Last week I downloaded and started to play around with Windows Phone 7. I made the mistake of saying that I would give a presentation to the Southern Maryland .NET User Group on mobile development and more specifically, Windows Phone 7. So I downloaded the CTP and just started to try and figure it out, boy was that a mistake. What I should have done, and what I’ll do from this point on, is gone to Scott Guthrie post on creating a Windows Phone 7 App. By going through his example I was able to get a better understanding of Windows Phone 7 and I believe that I have the general understanding of how Windows Phone 7 works. This by no means implies that I am a Mobile phone developer, but I can give a pretty good presentation. I was trying to be cute and use a twitter API I found, you may have used it yourself – Twitterizer – which is a really nice product that I have used in the past but does not work so well with the Silverlight Windows Phone 7 API. I’ll continue these postings as I find things people may have an interest in, until then, enjoy what you code and code what you enjoy.

Philly GiveCamp Day 1 and 2

2010-06-05T19:12:00.002-04:00

I was assigned last night to two projects, “Weed and Seed” and “Light of Hope”. I guess I defaulted to the Project Manager and the “SiteFinity” go to guy, which is excellent cause I have five people working these project and I would probably just get in the way.
So last night I created three projects and uploaded two of them. I finished around 2300 and we called it a night.
Woke up at 0630 and decided that I would make my way over to the conference room and making sure that everything was working properly.
Day two started off with a bagel and – Yes I ate it – fruit. My team members started filtering in at around 0830 and they started jumping right into the content. We were waiting on the designer to come in with his changes. The designer arrived around 9:30 and had the designs for both of the websites. I created a custom theme for each website and uploaded them to their respective websites.
The developers were finished with both websites before 1700 on Saturday and a few of my teammates are planning on staying home tomorrow. We even had a couple of Java developers that worked on the Sitefinity websites and made a comment on how easy it was to pick up and work with.
Basically I am sitting here able to write a blog and update some of the Admin credentials on each of the pages. Even though I am not developing I am happy that I made the trip. I was able to show 10 developers how to use Sitefinity and some of the capabilities. I was also able to train so of the nonprofits on how they could maintain their website in the future.

This summer

2010-05-24T20:39:00.001-04:00

This summer it is my “plan” to get some of the training provided to me done. I also found out today that one of the benefits of my company 24/7 e-reading material(5 chapters a month) and some of them are in an MP3 format, which is nice cause I can’t read.

June is fast approaching and I signed up to help the Philly Give Camp. I’ll be in Philly, really in Malvern, during the first weekend in June. I am kind of excited to find out which project I am going to be assigned to and how we are going to accomplish it.

Also in June, my son Patrick is graduating from middle school. This is an exciting time from him, not only because he will be embarking on a new adventure, high school; but my in-laws are coming up special for this event.

I am also planning a trip down to Myrtle Beach – where the in-laws currently live – a spending about a week. This is a trip we normally take and we enjoy every moment. We normally go to the Putt Putt, which our youngest enjoys mostly and I am hoping this year to get back to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

We might attempt a day(or two) trip to Hersey Park, we went last year and it was so much fun the boys are asking to go back this year.

So I guess those are the trip, subject to change however the wife chooses, for the summer. It might not be a lot, but we do have the pool in the back yard and I could always going swimming.

Converting my PowerBuilder app to .Net

2010-05-15T08:30:00.001-04:00

A couple of posts again I blogged about, in my opinion, some advantages in using the Visual Studio over PowerBuilder’s IDE. First let my state that I don’t hate PowerBuilder, I worked with this IDE for over 10 years . Let me explain why I angry with Sybase and PowerBuilder in general.

Has I stated in an earlier post I am converting a VERY OLD PB app into a new Web Application using PowerBuilder 11.5. During this conversion everything went great, except a few of the screen were not displaying data. It was not that the data was different, it was not showing up on the monitor. I did not understand what happen, the application was not failing, I did not receive a comply or run time error. Come to find out, it has to do with how the objects on the page are being layers, the group box had been brought to the front. So on May 12th I posted the following Newsgroup post:

I have some windows that are not converting to a web app correctly. After looking at the pages it looks like the group box on the screen is not defaulting to be behind the tab controls. IS there a way to set this so the group boxes are behind the tabs?

To me, this seems like a start forward question, I wanted to know if group box had a property of BringToFront so I could set it to false. (I did look but could not find anything). As of today(May 15th) no answer.

As I waited for an answer I continued; I figured the next best thing would be to set the visible property to false. Simple enough, only now I can’t update any of the datawindows. I get the following error:

I posted again: Just a simple question:

Has anyone gotten this error before?

No Answer.

Are these easy questions, maybe, but when you are “under the gun” you don’t have time to waste. I am just a team of one so I can’t ask questions in the office. I need to rely on the on-line community for answers, and I just don’t feel like I am getting that. When I use the VS IDE, there are other in the office using this and if they don’t have the answer I go to my on-line community and get the answer.

Could it be that I feel this way because of so few people – in my general area – that us this and I can’t just walk up and ask questions. If I were to be honest, that is a strong possibility.

Let me end this BLOG on a positive note for Sybase and PowerBuilder. Had they not release this version, which takes the code and converts it to C#, the time it would have taken to convert this application to the web would have taken about 3 years, with this tool only about 6 months – so far. This is a huge time saver if you have large projects that were done in PowerBuilder and you now HAVE to convert to the web.

Dot Net Nuke CMS

2010-05-13T16:32:00.001-04:00

With this CMS I needed a little help to get it set up on my local box. The person who helped me set up also gave me a very quick run down of how Dot Net Nuke (DNN) worked and some of the features. This post took a little longer then I wanted it to, mainly because I’ve been working on my deck, so I have not been able to geek out like I want to. That being said, I have been playing with the DNN framework lately and there are some thing I like and some that I don’t.

Let’s go over the things I enjoy about DNN. First, and probably the most important, DNN community edition is FREE. That is right, you get this really nice community edition free all you have to pay for is the hosting and domain name registration – which you would have to do any way. They provide you with a basic layout, a place for your header, footer and 4 areas in the middle or content area. DNN offers a variety Modules that can be added and easily modified. User registration is built in along with user roles. As an Administrator you have the power to grant individuals the rights to modify any single page on the website.

Now for want I don’t like. It seems extremely difficult to create a website on your local machine and deploy to a hosting service. With DNN you create a single instance of the application and can build multiply “portals”. What happens when the “portal” is the single application that you want to give to your customer.

Powerbuilder vs Visual Studio

2010-05-13T08:39:00.001-04:00

PowerBuilder is a tool that I work with. I started using PB back in version 3. "flashback"remembering when software was distributed on the 3 1/2" floppy and we would remove locking mechanism so we would not overwrite the content"/flashback" I was excited about working with a "truly OOP language". Today, PowerBuilder is on version 12.x and has taken the steps necessary to move their code to the .net platform, sound good right - wrong. Let me explain why Visual Studio is a better tool to use when creating a .NET application.

First - intellisnse. According to wikipedia: "IntelliSense is Microsoft's implementation of autocompletion, best known for its use in the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment. In addition to completing the symbol names the programmer is typing, IntelliSense serves as documentation and disambiguation for variable names, functions and methods using reflection." I can't tell you how many times this feature as gotten my butt out of a jam. When work with PowerBuilder you have to know all the methods that are associated with an object.

But probably the most important reason I use VS over PB is because of the community. In the VS community we continue to educate ourselves and we do so without charging people to attend. How you ask, with user groups and Code Camps. Now I know that there are event that charge but there are so many events that don't, I consider this a benefit. We also try and help other developers, for free. Microsoft has a program known as the "MVP" program. If an individual receives the honor of this award it is because s/he has taken time out of their schedule and helped other developers with their Microsoft products. I know that if I have a question and I ask one of them I get an answer. Does Sybase have a simulair program, I think so, I see some professionals on the Newsgroups; but here is the problem - I have personally added questions to the Sybase Newsgroup and not received a reply. If it is believed that this is a chargable question you might not get a response, your question will just sit there. That just would not happen in this community - or at least it has not happen to me.

I'll give Sybase credit for their DataWindow.NET application. This tool, by itself, would make a developers life easier in the reporting tools area. So if you are looking for a reporting tool that integrates very nicely with VS - Datawindow.NET is an excellent choice.

In my humble option, if you are going to design/create a web site, and you have to choice between VS or PB I would highly recommend VS.

Central Maryland Code Camp

2010-05-11T17:17:00.002-04:00

The code we did during our session:
https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ProjectName=JRPendarvis&ReleaseId=4348

Sitefinity CMS

2010-04-26T15:25:00.002-04:00

My first CMS is going to be Sitefinity. A fellow geek had written a blog on his experience with Sitefinity, David Makogon did a write up on installing this CMS, so if you are planning on using this CMS I would recommend starting with his blog.
I did download and installed the software and started playing around with the different templates.
No matter which template you use the modules are all standard, each of them come with the News, Blogs, Newsletters and many others. Creating a “page” is extremely simple and you are able to customize the look based on the template you select or the ones you create using ASP.NET. Some of the features I like is that I can create the website locally on my machine and deploy to the web hosting service later. This is extremely easy to maintain the website as well. Individuals are able to keep their content up to date with having to hire a web professional. I would recommend hiring one though, if you plan on doing anything outside the standard functionally.
There are a few draw backs that I noticed. The first is the cost, not many individuals or nonprofits can afford the $900 cost that is needed for Sitefinity. However; this is minimal for a mid to large company. The next little problem was that Sitefinity does not have a “Form” builder. There is an easy work around, create a “Google” account and then use their Docs. Google Docs has a form builder that you can embedded into as HTML on the page and the results are saved into a spreadsheet. To change how the website looks you need to have someone that knows CSS, which is something that a novice could learn – if they had time.
Moving the application from the localhost to the web is easy also. You need to FTP the files up to your host, create a backup of your database, then recover the backup on your host.
So if you have little IT experience, have the $900 and want something that is professional looking and easy to maintain Sitefinity is an excellent option.

I am getting a divorce!

2010-04-22T19:12:00.002-04:00

I have come to a point in my life that I realize that I am unable to continue living the life that I am. I am no longer happy, I am missing out on a lot of different parts of life. This divorce is going to cost me money, but not anywhere near the money that the past 15 years has cost me. So, on May 1, 2010 I am going to divorce – McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Roy Rogers, Popeye’s, KFC, Taco Bell, China Harbor, Bon Buffet and any other fast food restaurant. I am tired of you slowing me down, taking my money, you leave a negative maker on my life and I am sick and tired of dealing with the mess you bring into my life.
I am giving you one week to get your things together and get out of my life completely. I will not be stopping by for a “quickie” – drink or salad. I wish you the best of luck in your future, however; we are finished.

CMS compare

2010-04-14T20:33:00.001-04:00

First I am going to say that I have very little experience working with the Content Management Systems that I am going to be testing.

I was the coordinator of the Southern Maryland Give Camp, during this event I STRONGLY that the developers used one of the CMS’ available. The two that I recommended were Sitefinity by Telerik and Dot Net Nuke(DNN). DNN is a free CMS (community edition) and Sitefinity donated their license to any nonprofit that had their website done using their CMS.

Before this weekend I did not use any of these I also find another one that I am going to evaluate. The third in this process is Graffiti by Telligent, which is now an open source.

I am going to spend about a week with each and then blog about my experience with each. You might ask why I am doing this, well I signed up as a developer for the Philly Give Camp so I want to go there with better understanding of which CMS might be best for whichever project I get put on.

I am going to start with Sitefinity…here we go.

Give Camp Sponsors are Fantastic

2010-04-03T09:55:00.002-04:00

My last blog was dedicated to the volunteers, now I must take this time to extend the thank you branch and acknowledge the companies that made our event financial possible. Even with the greatest people, which we had, working on these projects we could not have feed over 100 volunteers with corporate backing.
Naturally we need to start with the venue; the St. Mary’s College of Maryland was a prefect venue. They opened 5 classrooms for us to work in, as well as the auditorium for our training & open/closing ceremonies.
Microsoft gave us a grant which allowed us to purchase all the swag and a few of the giveaways at the end of the event. The also provided us with the Best Damn DE on the Planet, G. Andrew Duthie, who had his head shaved into a Mohawk for our event.
Lockheed Martin also gave us a grant. With this grant money we were able to purchase all the food, drinks, fruit and the rest of the giveaways at the end of our event.
SMARTCo was extremely generous, they gave each nonprofit a rebuild computer. SMARTCo offers discounted computer repair.
DiscountASP.NET, not only are they going to host our website – www.somdgc.org – for free but they are also hosting ever non-profits, that used ASP.NET technology, website for free – for life.
Telerik, this corporation gave us two licenses of their “Telerik Premium Collection for .NET” then turned around and gave the non-profits licenses to their SiteFinity CMS.
Elite Beatz donated all the tables and chairs that we used throughout the weekend. They were also going to sent up a 40x40 tent, but the weather was 70+ degree and sunny so I asked that they not set the tent up.
The Charles County Tech Council, they allowed me to come to their month meeting and speak to a group of people in Charles County, from this talk we got three of our nonprofits, 2 cases of 5 hours energy drink and a Zune, which we gave away to one of our volunteers.
O'Reilly not only came through again with the books and e-books, they also sent coaster, which everyone got. So they provided giveaways and swag…nice
Intertech purchased our pens that everyone retrieved, they also gave us some really nice coffee mugs that were used as door prizes.
LL Photography, she was there the whole weekend and took some very nice photos of the event. She has posted them on her face book fan page but is going to send the un-watermarked images to individuals that request them.
Dot Net Nuke, there at the end some people wanted to use DNN as their CMS – well Dot Net Nuke sent us a couple of reference books and a lot of Frisbees, which helped break-up the day.
Food was another big part of our weekend and the following companies were a huge reason we were able to feed so many people all weekend long.
Long John Silver in Lexington Park gave us 50% discount on Friday Night’s Dinner.
Spyro Bagels gave us a 50% discount, so we got Saturday and Sunday breakfast for the price of one.
Computer Management purchased our Saturday lunch.
Papa John's in Lexington Park gave us dinner on Saturday night.
Olive Garden in California, MD not only gave us a discount but also gave us a huge donation for our Sunday lunch.
Quality Street Catering gave us 10 cases of water.
Precise Systems gave us 5 hour and Red Bull.
I am pleased that so many companies help make this event successful and I would encourage everyone to use them. Make sure that you tell them you are there because they help with the Southern Maryland Give Camp.

Give Camp Thank You

2010-03-31T21:18:00.003-04:00

Well we had our lessons learned meeting last night (March 30, 2010), with the volunteers invited, nothing personal NPO’s, I was trying to make sure the the volunteers could speak technical. I am going to transcribe the lessons learned and post it into a wiki on our website, hopefully by the end of the week. Now that this portion is complete I feel I need to acknowledge a few people that made this event successful. So in no particular order here we go.
First I need to thank my family for being so understanding about me wanting to do this. I love you more then you'll ever know.
I would like to thank Dr. Dave Kung of the St. Mary’s College. Dr. Kung (Dave if you meet face-to-face) took my “cold call”, he listened to my idea and thought that it was important enough to approach his supervisions. Dr. Kung was instrumental in getting us the facility and worked with me setting up all the rooms so the volunteers could work comfortable.
Next thank you goes out to Ariel W., this young lady took time away from her family and came back to the college early so that we could have our event. Ariel spent almost all day sitting in the common area, trying really hard to get homework done, but then someone would ask her to do something, she would stop what she was doing and accommodate their needs. I really don’t believe we could have done this weekend without her.
Ms. Lacey M. not only was our official photographer she was a huge part of our setup. She help with the registration and even helped with the shopping and picking up the food.
Now for Ms. Dorothy B., this lady took time away from her family and spend the whole weekend with us, she took her personal vehicle to get every meal that we ate. She woke up early Saturday and Sunday to make sure that she was at Sypro Bagels at 6:45, when they opened, to make sure we had our food bright and early.
Our non-technical volunteers are next. These individuals went around to the classrooms, cleaning up the table, emptied the trash cans, they would bring drinks and snack to where our teams were working. They would also make sure that the coffee was always fresh and fruit available, some of the volunteers ate “healthy”.
Lastly, I want to thank the technical volunteers. This may sound a little cliché, but we truly could not have done any of this without you doing the work that you do so well. You took on a project that would take most people months to complete and did it in less then 48 hours. Your professionalism and work ethics is second to none. From the bottom of foot to the top of my “bald” head I thank you over and over again.
I’ll be working on posting these lessons learned and I look forward to working with all you next year, this was truly the most rewarding professional experience of my life. It’s been said that when you meet and interact with other people, you put your personal imprint on that person, during this weekend we each placed our imprint not only on each other but 18 organizations that, I believe, will be grateful for many moons.
I am going to post my thank you to the companies next

HOA Meeting

2010-03-27T13:19:00.001-04:00

On Thursday March 25, 2010 our BOD had their community meeting. Big deal, right; well right. You see, members of this current board were part of a smear campaign against the original BOD; which I am proud to say I was President of. The current members would walk around to the neighbors and make comments like, “The Board is not going to listen to anything we have to say”. The original BOD was even accused of being a Dictatorship. Again, so what? right? Well it seems that what the current Board is trying to be a Dictatorship. “What are they doing?” you might ask. Well here are a few comments that were made. “We are trying to find a reasonable place to have our meetings, some place that is not so far for people to attend. Maybe we could have it in a court or in someone's basement or garage”. Really, someone’s basement. When I said that they can’t do that, the “attorney” on the Board make the comment:”There is nothing in the By-Laws” and she is right, there is nothing in the By-Laws because it is in Maryland State Law. It states in Section 11B-111.4 subsection (b) of the Maryland Annotated Code: ”Subject to reasonable rules adopted by the governing body, lot owners may meet for the purpose of considering and discussing the operation of and matters relating to the operation of the homeowners association in any common areas or in any building or facility in the common areas that the governing body of the homeowners association uses for scheduled meetings. “ do you see those words “common areas”, someone basement is NOT a common area.

I know this sounds like I am bitter and maybe I am, but not because I am no longer on the Board…I told many people that I would like to be off. I am bitter because for three years I felt that this once great neighborhood has been split because the members on the current Board were making comments that were unfair. As it stands right now, only one neighbor on my street really associated with the family, but when we first moved in and before the Board position, we spoke with everyone all the time. I have not changed but something did and I believe it’s the people who walked around, getting neighbors to sign their proxy over to them and making these comments that brought all this on.

Southern Maryland Give Camp is Over

2010-03-26T05:45:00.001-04:00

Over the weekend of March 19th, 102 volunteers filtered through the doors of the William Schaeffer building down at St. Mary’s College. Why? The first East Coast givecamp. During this time we had over 50 developers working hard on 18 different local area nonprofits projects. Watching the projects come together at the end was extremely heartwarming. I watched teams seem to just slide along, with plenty of input from the nonprofits, and finish without issue and a very happy customer. I also saw some projects that had little input from the nonprofit struggle. After everything was over, I heard of one of these nonprofits getting very irate with the lead developer because of some little things that were not included….and I mean little things. The important thing that I would like to say is that 15 of the 18 projects were complete, this was big. I have had a little time to reflect on the weekend and even though I am pleased at overall outcome of the event, I must say there are things that can be improved on. I am going to wait til after our “Lesson Learned” session on Tuesday to see if what I think is what other’s are thinking. There are many “Thank you” that I need to send out and I am going to write thank you letters to all our sponsors.

Give Camp Progress

2010-03-14T10:47:00.001-04:00

Well, today is Sunday and we are 5 days away from our first give camp. Today I am burning the discs that have the standard software that we may need. We still need to purchase a few things, but I am going to wait until Thursday night before I buy them. I am going to be sending to the “team” leaders their assignment along with the username and password for our host. My hope is that when the charities/nonprofits leave on Sunday, their websites will be fully functional and live. I know that it might be a lot to ask but I know many of the people working on these projects and if any one can get them finishes I know these people can. I am going to make sure that I am there shacking the hand of EVERY person that volunteered for the event. Thank You Thank You Thank You.

T-1 week and count

2010-03-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

Well, we are a week away and I am still looking for developers. I am SO hopeful that during this last week the developer community is going to realize that they have nothing better to do that weekend, so why not. I am receiving items that our sponsors want added to the goodie bags, so I am stuffing bags. I have a friend of mine that is going to let me use their pulling trailer, because yes there is that much stuff that I have to take to the event. To be honest, the wife is a little less then happy about all the boxes in the computer room. I was able to speak to the owner of Long John Silver on Great Mills Road, if we are able to get them our order by 5:10pm on Friday the 19th, they are giving us a 50% discount, no our volunteers are not paying for this. I also received an email from the manager of Olive Garden and we are going to speak today about what we are going to have on Sunday the 21st. The shopping and giveaways are being finalized. I think I have done all that I can.It's now up to the volunteers to work their magic, and from the bios they gave me, it's going to take very little magic, because these people are AWESOME.

T –2 weeks and counting

2010-03-05T07:30:00.001-05:00

Well to be honest; I am really starting to give nervous. We have 14 days before our event and I am still 25 volunteers, with 22 of them needing to be developers, short of what I feel we need to complete all 19 projects. I don’t know what to do, I have been ordering food for 150 people, same thing with the swag that everyone is getting. I am really not worried about the amount of stuff purchased, or the food ordered; my concern is the nonprofits/charities. How are we going to finish them correctly and in a timely manner. What are we going to do if we are unable to finish and deliver something of value to these organizations who give all year long and ask little in return. The purpose of this event was two fold. First, give the nonprofits some much needed IT work and second I wanted to bring people together in a unique way. I am scared and I’ll admit it. I am taking any and all ideas to help get developers out to our event. Leave a comment.

T – 3 Weeks and counting

2010-02-26T08:30:00.001-05:00

Well, we are 3 weeks away and I am starting to get REALLY worried. At the point that I wrote this, we have 72 volunteers and we need 28 more technical volunteers in order to have 3 developers on each project. We have swag that each volunteer is going to be receiving, and I have paid all invoices that I have received. The grant application has been finished, so now we should be getting additional money for the event. With this money we are going to be able to purchase coffee makers, ice tea makers, and some VERY nice give away items on Sunday. I am still working on Friday night dinner and Sunday lunch, but just what we are going to have, we have the funding for them. I am planning on a conference call on Tuesday with the developers that we have signed up and I am placing individuals with their respective teams.
I am also planning on re-writing the application and I might put it up on codeplex so all the new givecamps that are starting up have a nice baseline. The Cleveland Code camp has do one in the ASP MVC framework but I want to use the new WebFormsMVP I heard about on Scott Hanselman’s podcast (www.hansalminutes.com). Naturally I am going to wait for this event to finish first, but before we do this again next year I wan this done.
Well, til next week, enjoy.

Save the Web Form and still separate concern

2010-02-23T20:47:00.001-05:00

This afternoon I was listening to one of my “Geek Idols” Scott Hanselman (twitter @shanselman) who hosts a weekly talk show about technology at http://www.hanselminutes.com/. This weeks topic was “A different way to do ASP.NET WebForms with WebFormsMVP” and I got to thinking, this is not new – I have been doing this kind of development for the past three years, I use a presentation layer in my projects and implement an interface in the code-behind so the view only renders the output, but I listened anyway and even though the concept was not new their approach was. It seems that some very smart people down in Australia came up with a way of making this even easier. So I am going to download these DLL’s and play with them. I might have to come up with a presentation that I can do at an upcoming Code Camp or CodeStock(next year)…I’ll call it “WebForm’s – Let them live with MVP” what do you think?

Continue to learn

2010-02-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt like Forrest Gump at a Mensa conversion? I know I have, many times, mostly when I attend these day long training sessions known as “Code Camp”. I remember attending my first code camp in Richmond, VA – I want to say it was the Spring of 2004. When I was done with that day my head was spinning, I realized that there was so much that I did not know about the technology that I was working in I was almost afraid to go back to work because of how little I knew.

Since my first “Code Camp” I have attended 2 more in Richmond, 1 in Reston, and another in Central Maryland – two of them even made the mistake of letting me speak, yep Forrest was up there talking and people were listening. I had submitted my application to speak at this springs Richmond Code Camp, but I had to pull out because I have a DJ gig that day.

The point I am trying to make is a simple one; The only time you’ll know nothing is when you stop learning.When you learn something let others know what you have learned. Pick up a book and read it, read a blog, write a blog, attend user groups or even the “Code Camps”.

So why am I writing this; good question and the truth is I have been posting blogs lately about the Microsoft E-Learning course I have been taking. In general I have been reviewing them with my opinion. I also blog about the upcoming GiveCamp that I am trying to put together. Once these events and trainings are complete I am going to start blogging more about the work that I do. I understand that most of what I am going to write about has already been written, and to be honest that is why I have been hesitant about writing a blog anyway. But I now believe that I am not going to get better at what I do until I share what I have done. By sharing this I can receive input from others who are better then I am. They can, if the choose, guide me to a better solution and if I am lucky I might help someone else, someone who might feel like Forrest Gump.

Microsoft E Learning IV

2010-02-21T13:58:00.001-05:00

So today I have chosen Course 6672: Working with Data Binding in Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 Applications. This course was “OK” at best. For some reason the training sessions still want everyone to place the datasourceobject directly on the markup page itself. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t grasp the reasoning why we, as developers, would want to put the much with the UI. I enjoyed the LINQ session and how we general bind the data to grids, list control, drop downs. I also enjoyed them speaking of a feature that not many people speak about and that is the “Repeater” feature.

T – 4 weeks and counting

2010-02-19T05:40:00.000-05:00

I made a mistake, yep I sure did, I wrote down all the things that still needed to be done and OMG there is still a lot of things that need to be purchased and done before the event. I did find out that we have more money coming in which is going to be VERY nice. This is going to allow me to purchase some big ticket items that are going to be given away to a volunteer at the end of Sunday. With the items that are going to be given away I believe I am going to make it “Must be present to win” rule and trust me you’ll want to stick around for what you could win.

We are thinking of having Chick-F-La for Friday nights dinner, but I forgot that any one practicing Lent is not able to eat meat, they can have fish but no type of animal meat. The wife had a really good idea and I think I am going to use it, we have a Long-John Silver, so anyone that anyone does not wanting the chicken we can go there for them. I am not forgetting the vegetarians and vegans, I’ll have fruit and salad there most of the event and Chick-F-La offers a fruit platter that we’ll be getting.

I want to do something special for Sunday, that is the day that everyone is going home and some people will be traveling 4 plus hours. We have a new Olive Garden restaurant opening on the 22nd of Feb and I am wanting to contact them and see what their best price is.

I am getting a little nervous; I am afraid that we are not going to have enough developers to complete all the projects. We have only 28 days left and still need 30 developers, so if you can find it in your heart to help these 19 nonprofits/charities please sign up at www.somdgc.org. I promise that we’ll feed you, we have plenty of coffee and caffeine and snacks through out the event. Besides, were else can you go and say that you were part of something that helped all of these organization in 48 hours.

Tasking Client/Server to .NET

2010-02-18T20:39:00.002-05:00

On August 10th, 1998, I was hired as a Senior Developer for CDSI. My tasking was to build and maintain a GOT’s program that would help the Comptrollers Office spread their budget down to a very specific level. To do this we had a team of three and I was the newest member on the team, so when I got their the development tools was already selected, requirements completed and the project was already started.
The tool of their choose was PowerBuilder Version 4.x – shortly after I got there we upgraded to PB 5 – and we are using an Oracle backend to hold our data. When I inquired about their reasoning behind using PowerBuilder they informed me that they choose this because it was a “true” OOP (object oriented programming) language. We were also permitted to embedded the SQL right into the code, that was one of the “benefits”. Another feature, and probable Sybase’s best feature, is the Data Window. Data Windows are a very nice formatting tool, very similar to Crystal Reports – only better.
The problem comes into play today and we are trying to convert this into a web based application. Data-Windows has a feature that these products can be incorporated into .net but trying to put that data-window into an AJAX tab-control and I get an error stating that “False” can not be sent on the property “RightToLeft” So I can use the functionality but not the way I want to..I am not happy. Do I change the UI so I can take advantage of the functionality that I have or do I change the way the application was written and write it correctly.
I guess the best thing to do is to take advantage to the functionality that I have and change the UI. I would like to write about how to convert embedded SQL into something that is designed more like how we would do it now.

Microsoft E Learning Part III

2010-02-17T18:33:00.001-05:00

Ok, so today’s lesson is “Implementing Personalization, Common Layout, and Themes in ASP.NET 3.5”. I know, I know – this technology has been around for some time, why is it now that I am just getting around to learning this? Good question and one that I hope can be answered quickly, I work in a government building and the development that we do can have zero flare, it must have standard colors and standard fonts. For this reason, going out on the own and learning this seemed like a waste of time and effort. That being said, I still work for them but I know that I need to expand my knowledge base, so here I go.

I did like this course, and what I like was that they were not trying to show me how to create skins or themes, or even the Master Pages. What they did show was something that we has developers do, we implement them, we use them and it showed us how to use them properly. This course was nicely set up with good information. The videos that they did show were informative and engaging. I enjoyed the lab at the end, but anytime you let a developer play with code, we are going to be generally happy.

Microsoft E Learning Part II

2010-02-15T14:37:00.001-05:00

This time I am taking Course 6676: Creating Controls for Web Applications in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. This course is also suppose to take 2 hours and prepare you for exam 70-562 TS.They have a prerequisites of three years of Visual Studio developing, monitoring, and debugging Web applications. I think this is a little high. An individual should be able to grasp these concepts with 6 months to a year of experience. I am not saying that these people are going to be going in on Monday and start writing user controls without issues, I know plenty of “Senior” developers that still have some difficulty writing User Control, even I still have to use a reference guide on something, but I still believe that this course not so difficult that you need three years.

There are a few times, at least once, I noticed that the information being displayed was incorrect. It’s a very minor thing, but I know that in the C# world we don’t use or have the “me.” notation, we use the “this.”

I really enjoyed the part on Mobile development and how we can develop to mobile devices. I am never have the need to create mobile applications, at least with the job I currently have, but I might one day want to venture out and start creating one.

The lab in this course was a lot better then in the last course I took, mainly because I was writing code, adding files, deleting files and editing the code.

Microsoft E Learning

2010-02-13T09:07:00.000-05:00

Alright, I just found out this week that part of my MSDN subscription volume licensing allows me to take E-Learning course from Microsoft. I selected the Course Collection that I wanted to take and after a few phone calls, found out that the collection I selected was not one of the available “Free” collections. I did find that in the “My Subscription” there are 10 course that I could take for free. Free learning, I am going to take advantage of this, so I scrolled down and selected my first course “Course 6679: Implementing Separation of Concern Using Model-View-Controller in Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 Applications” MVC, a new way for developing web applications – can’t be a web site – must be an application. The directions say it should take about 2 hours – which it did - and there are some videos and labs – both VB and C# – and at the end they had a little scenario that you interact with. I did enjoy the course but I have a small problem with it. The course was designed using the MVC framework 1.0 Beta. If a person goes into this course having the non-beta version or never having seen the Beta version, they are going to be confused. There is no code-behind for the “Views”, some of the really nice features are not highlighted with the Beta release. The instructor in the videos did say that there is on code in the code-behind, but he also said that there was information that needed to be there. I did get something out of the course but I had to remind myself that I was watching a video and reading text based on the Beta version not the Released version.

T – 5 weeks and counting

2010-02-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

During the past week we got slammed hard by over 18” of snow. That might not sound to bad, but that on top of the 28” we got the week before and you can understand why so many people in the Southern Maryland area was going crazy with cabin fever.

So about the GiveCamp, as of this morning - February 12, 2010 - we have 68 volunteers which is just about where I thought we would be at this point. My goal has always been 100 volunteers, and it looks like we are going to get close to that number.

We were able to secure hotels accommodations for individuals that wanted them at the local Hilton. That contract was sent to me and I am trying to get some terms changed, but I understand that we already had a person book a room.

I received a couple of emails this weeks from people wanting to start a givecamp. One was from New England and the other was from Atlanta. The NE GC has a date set in June and the Atlanta one is just starting to talking with others and seeing if there is an interest. I am not sure how my name and the Southern Maryland GiveCamp got involved but I am really happy they are asking for my help.

On Feb 11, 2010, I submitted my topic to the Richmond Code Camp. If you are unfamiliar with the RCC, or any CC, this is a day long event where developers come together and hear what other developers are doing. I sent my request, I was going to speak on the VS 2010 MVC2 framework. After submitting my request I got a phone call from a possible bride to DJ her wedding on the same day. What a dilemma, go make money or go learn. After this winter and the electric bills I think I need to take the money.

I was able to download Visual Studio 2010 RC and installed it on my Windows 7 Home Premium Virtual PC. I am hoping to start playing with it this long weekend and I might even blog about it, depends on the “Honey-Do” list. I also want to convert my HOA’s website to a DNN website. Then I could transfer control over to someone else and let them update the site.

Continue to move forward

2010-02-01T18:34:00.000-05:00

As we continue to count down the days to the first Givecamp on the East coast I am getting more worried about the mistakes that are going to be made. I am not so foolish to believe that no mistakes are going to be made, but because this is the first one I guess I am trying to make it as prefect as possible. Today I received the tee-shirts and lanyards. The lanyards look really good but the shirt did not come out the way I wanted them to. I was hoping for the logo to be on the front of the shirt and they were printed on the back, I was hoping for full color and it's only in black. Do not get me wrong, it looks really nice but these are the little things that I was hoping to avoid. I did get a 20% discount on the shirt because they were printed on the wrong side, so I guess that is one positive out of this.
I also received word today that the Fairfield Inn is going to let our out-of-town participates stay at their hotels for a price of $109.00 per night.

I still need a few food sponsors for the event, but things are coming together.

T -8 weeks and counting

2010-01-22T07:22:00.003-05:00

Just realized that we are 8 weeks away from the largest event that I have ever been part of. I am happy to report that things are starting to fall into place, I ordered the shirts this morning, along with Lanyards and the promotional bags. I got a great idea yesterday from Chris, he is the guy who came up with the givecamp idea, to cold call headhunters and recruiters about sponsoring food at the event, so I started making those calls yesterday and I'll be make more of them next week. I also asked a dear friend of mine, John, to help out. His job is to make sure that I am not forgetting things...you know like paper plate, cups, my brain.

We still have 52 people that we need to sign up for our event. This is going to give us our 100 people and enough to make me shave my head bald and Andrew Duthie shave his head into a mo hawk.

Please know that I know I am going to make mistakes with this event, so when you make suggestions on how it could be better next year, please don't be to hurtful.

SoMD Givecamp

2009-12-21T10:13:00.003-05:00

We are three months away from, what I am hoping, a historical event at St. Mary's College. According to the givecamp cookbook, which can be located at http://www.givecamp.org/givecamp-cookbook/ we are to start recruiting developers. Being that this is the holiday season, I might be better off waiting until after the New Years before I start attending more user group meetings. I need to finalize the PowerPoint presentation that I'll be giving when I attend. I am also going to try and give the presentation via live meeting or UStream. I need to make sure that we get more sponsors so we have plenty of things to give away during the event.

I had the honor of being interview last week for an article that is going to be printed in the St. Mary's Enterprise some time during the Christmas week. I also heard from a few of the charities that we'll be helping about the same article, I am really excited to read the story. Once it is published I'll post the URL on our Twitter and Facebook Fan Pages.

Southern Maryland GiveCamp

2009-12-11T07:18:00.004-05:00

Well, not all the organization have been assigned a business analyst, the reason, we don't have enough. What does this mean, well basically it mean I have to contact them and gather their requirements myself, hurray for me, but this was my idea right. I have assign I believe 14 of the 20, so that only leaves 6 to do. I might send them an email asking them to write a paragraph or two about what they are wanting to accomplish.

I received an email from another local newspaper and after the interview he told me they were going to run the article in their Christmas paper, so hopefully we'll generate more sponsors and volunteers this way.

One of our sponsors requested a breakdown for how their money is going to be used, I did supply them with a proposed breakdown and informed them that it was contingent on whether or not we received food sponsors.

It seems the closer we get to the event the more work is involved. I am hopeful that everything I read is true - "This is the most challenging thing I have ever done, and the most rewarding"

Southern Maryland Give Camp

2009-12-04T17:59:00.004-05:00

Well we've spoken to all the nonprofits/charities and it looks like all 20 applications seem to be simple enough to complete. Starting Monday Dec. 7, 2009 the business analysts are going to start contact each nonprofit/charity to get more detailed requirements. It's my hope that we can have all the requirements gathered by mid-January. I also spoke with a catering company today, they are going to provide a quote early next week. This is going to be the lunch/dinner on Sunday, I would like to have something better then subs or pizza for the last day. Next week I am going to start speaking to companies about sponsoring our event, I have learned that the best way to get sponsors is to go in and have a face to face conversation with someone in charge. I am hoping to get at least three done.

Southern Maryland Give Camp

2009-12-01T08:14:00.003-05:00

Today we stopped accepting applications from nonprofits/charities and ended with 21 requests. Now the fun really starts, each person needs to be contacted so that we can gather a little more information about the project they want accomplished. Then we need to select the projects that can be scoped out for the weekend time frame. I hope to get at least four or five done per day over the next 4 days. When the organization are selected; a business analyst is going to take over and gather the more detailed requirements. Team are going to be assembled in February and team leaders are going to be assigned. We still need sponsors for food and drinks as well as some minor things like plates and plastic ware. We need bins for recyclable items(cans, paper plates, printer paper). We also need give away items, thing that the volunteers would enjoy taking home, not to mention the developers to do the work. So basically there is still a lot of work that needs to be done and only 3 1/2 months to get it done in.

True sarrow

2009-11-06T12:29:00.003-05:00

I found out yesterday morning that a very dear friend of mine passed away. She went into the hospital on Oct 14, 2009 with H1N1 symptoms. I had not see this friend in over 20 years, but I still had a lump in my throat when I found out. Has far as I knew; this young lady did not have an evil bone in her body. I never came across anyone that had anything negative to say about her. The only thing logical that I can come up with is that she was not meant to be tied down in one location, her wings were meant to spread joy and love and now that she is not confined to the earthly body she can do that. I am a better person for knowing this lady, her voice will forever sign in my heart.

Southern Maryland Give Camp

2009-10-14T13:01:00.002-04:00

Well as of today, Oct 14, 2009, we have 8 nonprofits sign up requesting help from our givecamp. The biggest reason we doubled in requested was because of the article written about the event in The Recorder, a local newspaper in St. Mary's county. With this number, I believe that we can have a successful givecamp. Would I like more, sure, but I am not going to consider canceling this event now. I still need to secure the venue, but once that is done I can work on the food and other items needed for this event. I also have a feeling that once we have the venue secured more volunteers will sign up because they will know where they are going.

Central Maryland Code Camp

2009-10-07T08:41:00.003-04:00

The 2009 Central Maryland Code Camp is going to be held on November 7th, 2009 at the Loyola University. If you have never been to a code camp, I would recommend going. Most of the speakers are excellent, and sometimes they make a mistake and let me talk. But to be honest; that is what code camp is all about. It's an opportunity to network with other developers and see different styles. What I enjoy is the different levels that are offered - I don't feel like Forrest Gump at a Mensa convention.

Southern Maryland's Give Camp

2009-09-27T18:49:00.003-04:00

After prayer and a long thought about whether or not I should host a GiveCamp in the Southern Maryland area I decided to go forward with the event. I am beginning to think that this was a mistake. Not because of the amount of work involved but because I am feeling like there is little interest. The Southern Maryland Give Camp has been live for over 2 weeks and we have 5 volunteers and 3 non-profits, this is really kind of sad. I have contacted all the local newspapers, local radio stations and the DC area television stations and not a single one has contacted me or given out our information. This is the first event like this on the East coast and I am having a difficult time getting the word out that this event is going to take place. We did get some good news this week, we got our first sponsor and we are really excited about receiving the software. So how am I going to get the word out about this event? How can I get the technology community excited about donating their time and talent? I am not afraid of hard work, but unless we get some momentum on this project we many need to cancel it....and I really don't what to do that.

President Obama's Health Care Reform

2009-09-10T06:50:00.005-04:00

President Obama delivered his plan to reform health care to the joint Congress and American people last night - September 9, 2009 - trying to sway people in Congress to back his bill. I just thought I would jot down my thoughts as well.

Not related to the Bill -

1) I was NOT impressed with (R) Rep Wilson from South Carolina. I understand that you apologized for yelling out during the Presidents speech, but that does not negate the fact that you were completely disrespectful to the Office. You may not like the man holding the Office but you better respect it.

2) I did not understand why some on the Right were waving a copy of the bill. If there are parts of the Bill that you don't like tell us want it is, show us why. I found this act immature and pointless.

About the Bill itself - I'll be posting remarks from Mr. Obama's speech and placing them in ""
1)

"Here are the details that every American needs to know about this plan:"

Mr. President, I am not afraid of what I know I am afraid of what other items are going to be added to the bill that I don't know about.

"it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most."

"There may still be companies that refuse to do right by their workers"

There are many companies out there that can't provide health care. But let's be honest, health insurance is a benefit provided by the employer. Under this reformed plan, health insurance well now be mandatory. How is this still a benefit?

"That's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance"

Really - this one statement by itself should make you say no to this bill. Mr. Obama tried to compare the health insurance to auto insurance with this comment: "just as most states require you to carry auto insurance." The problem sir is that driving is a privilege and the insurance is part of that privilege. Life is a gift and if I choose NOT to insure that gift it is my right as an American not to. The government does not have the right to tell me what I have to have, this is where "Socialism" starts.

"But we cannot have large businesses and individuals who can afford coverage game the system by avoiding responsibility to themselves"

Are you saying Mr. President that you know what is best for me. That the government can do a better job then I can with my life.

"the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."

Thank you but as long as hospitals are not permitted to question the immigrants status how can you stop the illegally from being part of the bill?

"Without competition, the price of insurance goes up and the quality goes down."

I completely agree with this comment, where I have an issue is where it is being regulated. The individual States need to get these insurance companies in there. It is the States responsibility not the Federal governments. Mr. President you used Alabama has an example of where competition is needed, because as you stated "almost 90 percent is controlled by just one company". So if the government run program comes - and it the government vs this one company it that true competition.

"But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can't find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice"

Mr. President - you can have it both ways. You can't say that we'll be required to have insurance and then say you are giving us a choice.

These are the 8 major point - some I agree with many I question and disagree with.

My final thought on this was when the President used Social Security & Medicare/Medicaid has success stories and evidence on how we worked together to get these items past. I completely agree it did show how we can come together but let's be honest these programs are not successful.

Richmond Code Camp

2009-08-25T10:48:00.003-04:00

The week of August 16, 2009 I found out that I was selected to speak at the Richmond code camp on October 3, 2009. I am going to be speaking on "Getting away from the drop & drag data controls". My goal is to teach people how to modularize their code.

Half way

2009-07-27T10:24:00.019-04:00

As my train approaches the - what I hope to be - half way point of my life I must reflect on the past 40 years.( I turn 40 on the 9th of August)

Born in Iowa two weeks late - according to my mother -in August 1969. I should have known that there were issues in my life, because the day I was born Charles Manson's followers were killing people in their homes.

Childhood (before the age of 10) was spent in Owosso, MI. I don't remember a lot of events that took place in Owosso but here are a few that I do.

I remember running and falling and the rock that I fell on went into my side.
I remember my dog - Bruiser - a German Sheppard and my mother’s dog - can't remember name - but she was a French poodle.
I remember coming home one day and asking mom where dad was and getting the talk about mommy and daddy not living together any more.
I remember my Aunts – Suzy and Jo Jo – living with us.
I remember a dream I had when I was a little kid about my mom trying to kiss my father and her turning into mustard - I found out later that it means I wanted them to get back together.
I remember the drive to Maryland and mom picking up hitchhikers between Michigan and Maryland.
I remember moving into grandma's house and the bunk beds my Uncle Bud made for Johnny and me.

Preteen and Teenage years we lived in Charles County the whole time. I went to two different Middle Schools - Ben Stoddert and General Smallwood - and one high school - Lackey High - they changed the name so it is now Henry E. Lackey.

I remember living in two different homes in Indian Head and one in Waldorf.
I remember walking to school with my friend Tommy Tucker.
I remember fishing in the pond in St. Charles - I am glad we did not eat those fish.
I remember the open field between the town homes and the A & P in Indian Head where we played baseball.
I remember playing football at the Indian Head Elementary school in the snow and mud.
I remember playing soccer with the Dulin's and Coombs' family.
I remember playing basketball with Chris Hoover and the Poole's.
I remember setting up Renee Dickerson with my best friend Mike Morton in the 7th grade.
I remember playing badminton at my grandparent’s house until 10 o'clock at night with Jimmy Talbott.
I remember my first real job - People's Drug in Indian Head.
I remember have a bike thrown at me by my best friend because he thought I was trying to steal his girlfriend Marcy.
I remember being a freshman in high school and tryouts for the soccer team.
I remember failing classes in high school and having to repeat some of those courses.
I remember my first acting gig - South Pacific - I was an officer and an enlisted man.
I remember sing in the chorus with Grumbine, Milstead & Saunders.
I remember working at Burger King in Bryans Road - closing shift and some of the things we did.
I remember my first car accident - flip the car on 210 in Indian Head.
I remember hearing about classmates that parish before they graduated.

After High School
I remember the flight from BWI to Illinois - starting boot camp.
I remember the bus ride to Tennessee for Navy Training - and screwing it up.
I remember my first heartbreak - Kelly Calaway breaking up with me.
I remember my first naval assignment - and screwing it up.
I remember the other relationships I was in – and screwing them up.
I remember being fired from jobs.
I remember being served with paternity papers - Scary day finding out you have a five year old.
I remember my wedding day.
I remember cutting the umbilical cord when our son was born. (Pat)
I remember my first family vacation to Florida - this was also the first time I met Jamie(first biological son)
I remember my wife yelling at me when our second son was born. (Ry)
I remember Pat having his tonsils removed.
I remember Ry being diagnosed with autism.
I remember Pat making the Honor Roll - which I never did; really proud of him.

As I write this I have reflected on a lot of negative – and some positive – things that have happened in my life. When I started those events that I "screwed up" I wanted to follow a different path in life but all of those "screw ups" are part of my make-up; they are why I am what I am today. Had I been "successful" in any of those other paths I would not have been married to the same wonderful woman for over 14 years. We would not have two terrific boys who show me a different reason everyday why they are amazing. I would not have the career or the emotional and material items that I have today. I would like to thank all of the people that have been kind to me over the years, we may have disagreed on some issues but when it was all over you were still kind. I would like to thank everyone who was not kind also - because of you I understand that not everyone has a kind heart, that life is fair (that's right, we all get screwed) , I have a thicker skin because of you...I still don't like you but I forgive and thank you for teaching me something and I am better because of you.

I write these things hoping that you’ll reflect on your own life. Realize that everything that has happened in your past is why you are what you are today but it doesn't define your future.

If you ever felt that I was unkind to you I hope that you forgive me - even if you don't like me.

As we continue this path of life:
Take responsibility for your actions - and your actions only.
Take credit for your actions - and your actions only.
Don't dwell on the past but learn from it, because you can't change it.
Don't gamble on the future but look forward to it, because circumstances change.
Walk with confidence, head up, chest out!

WebCamMax

2009-07-13T06:30:00.006-04:00

Being the coordinator for the Southern Maryland .NET User Group and have 10 or few people show up for our meetings I need to come up with a better plan on getting our information out there. I heard of some companies that would permit us to broadcast - for free - our meetings. Now being a member of INETA we are entitled to a free license of Live Meeting. This is awesome, but it requires people to download and install another application that they are only going to use a few times a years. I was looking for something that I could embed directly into our website, where people could go to our URL and watch the stream live. I found that ability at UStream . Now that I had the ability to transmit video across the net, now I need to let my viewers see what I am doing on the screen.

I was reading UStreams online help file and they recommended WebCamMax. So I went to their website, download their free 30 trail version and started playing. The first feature that I wanted to make sure worked was the ability to transmit screen - check, then the ability to record - check. Now that I had the client set up I needed to make sure it was working with UStream, so I went to my UStream account and they provided a dropdown, so I could transmit either my webcam or the WebCamMax feed - very sweet.

Now that I have the basic features needed for my user group I went and played with WebCamMax, and this is where the fun starts. If you are away from your broadcast and don't want people to view old broadcasts or a blank screen - you can set your WebCamMax to stream a photo directory. Now all those photos are transmitted over the internet - please be careful on the images you place in this folder; you could also show old movies.

Now let's say that you want to have a little fun when transmitting live. WebCamMax can place you in different locations without leaving your couch. Really neat, you just take a snap shot - without you in the picture - select your backdrop and now you are magically broadcasting from the beach. You want people to think you have a dinosaur head; you could do this as well.

I only had one problem with WebCamMax, last night I was on a video call – via Skype – and noticed that my image was stationary. I asked the person I was speaking to if I was just an image or a video feed – he told me I was just an image. I needed to go and start WebCamMax in order for the other person to see video. Since I never had to do this before I would like to see that I don’t have to do it again, other then this small issue WebCamMax is an excellent piece of software that I highly recommend.

The cost is minimal, less then $50 for a lifetime subscription or try it out for six months for under $20.

US Government Owned

2009-06-01T05:37:00.004-04:00

So let me get this correct, two major US owned car companies are now going to be, at least, partially owned by the US government. Can anyone please tell me anything that the government has run that they have not run into the ground.

I was asked early today - June 1, 2009 - "Why EXACTLY would you be scared?"

So let me see if I can answer this question.

1) Is it not true that a government that runs industry is a "Socialism" country?

2) The government now has a say in which kind of cars can and can't be made - Supply and Demand are gone.

3) The government now has a say in the materials used to make the product.

4) The government now has a say in where these materials are purchased.

5) The politicians are fighting for "their" district to get the work.

6) The cars are going to meet "government" standards?

Really - when you are part of ever aspect you can set those standard where ever you want.
Here is what really surprises me, when President Bush went to the American people and said that we need to privatize Social Security, give each individual an opportunity to take control of their own financial future people were outraged. But no one has a problem with President Obama governmentizing the auto industry.

Windows 7 install

2009-05-17T07:18:00.004-04:00

Let's just say that my experience was less then thrilling. The first problem I ran into was my DVD burner was not burning DVDs. The problem with that is the download comes in a ISO file format, and the only device capable of reading an ISO format is the DVD player. I was able to download a free copy of Clone Drive which created virtual DVD drives. Now I am able to install Windows 7. I clicked on the Setup.exe file at about 4:15 pm on 5/16/2009, when I went to bed at 10:30pm, the same day, the installation was still not complete. I am going to say it is because I only have 1GB of RAM which is the minimum. During the install I was informed there were two incompatible pieces of software on my system, interestingly enough, both were Microsoft products - Lifecam and SQL Server 20005.

Class Reunions??

2009-05-06T05:14:00.009-04:00

2 years ago my graduating class celebrated 20 years away from the strange time known as high school. This gave us a chance to catch up with people we had not seen in a long time, and I was able to show some others that I was not the complete loser they thought I would have turned out to be. My question is this, "Are class reunions really necessary today?" With the number of people on the social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter we are able to keep up with just about every classmate we want, and even some of those we don't want, to know about. It seems that everyone is updating their status and uploading photos of themselves, their children & for some - grandchildren. We know where most of the people live, work and what they do, because they post it on line. We know who keeps in contact with whom, and if we are friends with them, know what you two are talking about. We are able to keep up with people who live across the country and even those who would not have the time or resources to attend a class reunion. Most of us have the people we want to "catch up" with in our friend list or we follow them twitter.

These websites offer a great deal more then just the social connection, we are able to grow as humans because of it. We are able to communicate better then we did back in high school because we have to take the time to "read" what our friends posts, even if we disagree with it. We can't interrupt what they are saying, we have time to process their thoughts, we have time to think and then we can respond via the written word - which they will read has well. We learn to be more patience, because the person we are communicating with may not be able to respond as quickly as we would like. We learn "things" about each other, and even if we disagree we learn to accept them for it because we realize that they have not changed, this is the same person we have been friends with all along. We learn "things" about ourselves when we accept those "things" our of friends.

In a way we are having a "class reunion" just about everyday we log-in into one of these social networks. The only thing that we are missing is the ability to hug or shake hands of the other party; that and the great parties that go along with it.

I am a product of public education. If you find any typographical or grammatical error please feel free to point them out and I'll attempt to correct it.

Data Access Layer

2009-04-16T11:15:00.005-04:00

Now that I have completed the Business Objects it's time to tackle the DAL(Data Access Layer).
Generally speaking, when you create your DAL start simple.

Using snippy I created a personnel snippy that looks like this:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.Common;
using Model;
using Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary; // Download from here
using Microsoft.Practices.EnterpriseLibrary.Data;

namespace DAL
{
public interface I()
{
List<> getAll();
void insert( args);
void update( args);
void delete();
}
public class (): NombersConnection, I()
{
Database db = createDataBase();
String sqlCommand;
DbCommand comd;
IDataReader reader;
List<> items;
item;
public List<> getAll()
{
reader = runQuery(db.GetSqlStringCommand(""));
try
{
while(reader.Read())
{
items.Add( this.getRecord(reader));
}
}
finally
{
reader.Close();
}
return items;
}
public void insert( args)
{
throw new Exception("The method or operation is not implemented.");
}
public void update( args)
{
throw new Exception("The method or operation is not implemented.");
}
public void delete()
{
throw new Exception("The method or operation is not implemented.");
}
private () getRecord(IDataReader reader)
{
throw new Exception("The method or operation is not implemented.");
}
}
}

Notice there are four (4) methods in the interface.
1) getAll - used to retrieve all records from a single table.
2) insert - used to insert a single record into a single table.
3) update- used to update a single record into a single table.
4) delete- used to delete a single record into a single table.

There is a little work that you'll need to do to complete the cs, this is used as a shell.
Now I could have do a SaveAs of an old DAL class, but the problem with that is if you forget to change one of your Business Objects, it will still compile and you won't know there is an error.
Once the phase is complete I'll start looking at the code and hopefully start converting this part.

Creating the Model

2009-04-14T07:28:00.004-04:00

Has I am converting the Powerbuilder Application to Visual Studio I start going through the steps I would normally take when creating a new application. The first thing I do is create the database, but because this is an existing application this step is already taken care of for me. Here is the problem, there are over 200 tables...this is going to be quit a lot of Business Objects I'll need to create for this. I would recommend, if you are using an existing database, checking to see if the table is being used, if it's not don't worry - right now - about creating its model.

Visual Studio 2008 make creating Business Objects much easier....

In VS 05 and earlier we needed to create models like this.

public class UserInfo
{
private string _firstName;
private string _lastName;
private string _fullName;
private DateTime _dateOfBirth;

public UserInfo()
{
}

public string Firstname
{
get { return _firstName; }
set { _firstName= value; }
}

public string Lastname
{
get { return _lastName; }
set { _lastName= value; }
}

public string Fullname
{
get { return _lastName + "," + _firstName; }
set { _fullName= value; }
}

public DateTime DateOfBirth
{
get { return _dateOfBirth; }
set { _dateOfBirth= value; }
}
}

This should like something you have created in the past.

Today in VS 08, Microsoft has simplified this

public class UserInfo
{
public string _firstName{ get; set; }
public string _lastName{ get; set; }
public string _fullName
{
get{ return _lastName + "," + _firstName; }
set;
}
public DateTime _dateOfBirth { get; set; }
public UserInfo() {}
}

That is it. You should notice that the return and value settings are now implied. You can still expand the getter or setter, like we did in _fullName. But you can't argue the fact that this model is much easier to read

Visual Studio 2008

2009-04-13T10:09:00.003-04:00

Well, we finally got the VS 2008 Professional Edition at work and I am having trouble installing the product. Not because of the Setup process but because of the way the people partitioned the machine. I am hoping that the convertion from PowerBuilder to VS is going to be easier using the 2008 tool. We'll see

Update....the install has finished and and using it now.

Converting Powerbuilder to .NET

2009-04-02T10:09:00.004-04:00

PowerBuilder 11.x has a fantastic feature, it allows PowerBuilder developers to deploy their old applications into .NET 2.0 framework applications - either windows based or web based. There is one small problem with this "feature", the code you are writing is still Sybase code. A major disadvantage, I believe, is that the code generated by Sybase is not available for you to alter or even review (I know there are tools out there to do this). If you have an old PowerBuilder application I would recommend trying to rewrite the app and use DataWindow.NET. This tool gives the developer the ability to reuse all the Data Windows you created, the easy of use is amazing and the code you are writing is minimal.

I am going to "attempt" to rewrite an Enterprise Level application and I'll post the progress here. If, when reviewing my code, you see a better way please feel free to suggest them.

Weight Lost

2009-01-29T11:28:00.001-05:00

Iraqy War

2008-12-14T11:28:00.005-05:00

Here we are, 37 days away from one of the most historic events in American history. On January 20th, 2009, the first black American will be sworn in as President of the United States. As part of his campaign, Mr. Obama pledged to "end the war in Iraq". As an American I am asking you, Mr. President elect, to finish the job before we leave. Please sir, read and learn from our past. In 1979 the Russia invasion to place in Afghanistan, the Americans did the right thing when we gave them the weapons they needed to protect themselves. The mistake we made was not staying in the area and making sure it was secure, we left and the Taliban came in. If we leave Iraq before this area is secure then history will repeat itself, a terrorist group will occupy the area and start plotting against the American again. Even if you disagree with the war, you can't argue the facts. I promise you this, if Mr. Obama ends this war before it should be ended there will be another terrorist attack on American soil before 2014.

The Mortgage "Crisis"

2008-12-11T07:16:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I got into a friendly online debate with an individual who has different political views then I do. I do enjoy a healthy debate. His take was that the money spent on war could have been used to help with Katrina or the "mortgage crisis" and this got me thinking. I find it amusing that when people are in trouble they look to the government to bail them out. Last night, Dec 10, 2008, the Congress passed a bill that well help the big three auto companies - but is it our problem they can't run the company properly. When Sears declared bankruptcy, did they run to congress and ask for help, and they have just as many employees has these three companies do. There is something major missing, it's called accountability. People today are losing their home in foreclosure, not because of the government, but because of them. The government loosened the guidelines, did the banking industry have to loosen their - nope. When the banking industry made these programs available to the general public, did anyone put a gun to their head and make them sign the papers - nope. When you look at the papers and it tells you that you could have a monthly payment of $5000 per month and you only make $60,000 per year you have no business signing that Note. You and you alone are responsibly for your financial problems. You signed ever credit card application that you have, you signed the notes on ever car you drive, and the house you own.

I have personally lost 55% of my 401K retirement, is this the governments fault also - nope it's mine because I made the choice to put them in aggressive stocks. I have about $3,500 in credit card debt, is this the government responsibility - nope it's mine.

Right now everyone is going through difficult time, but unless you are willing to step back and take responsible for what you do and stop blaming others for choices you make then you'll never amount to anything.

New Website

2008-06-24T05:21:00.000-04:00

I have opened www.pendarvisphoto.com. This is where you see the shots that I have taken. Some of them are password protected, but if I have permission to use their image I'll open that folder to everyone.

New

2008-04-08T10:32:00.000-04:00

I have chosen to expand part of my JP Pros business. Now we offer photography as well as DJ services. I am trying to stay busy on the weekends with more then cutting grass, painting the house, cleaning the yard. So here is to new endeavors.