Around this time last year I invested in a cheap-and-cheerful Dynamode BR-6004 Wireless Router and a LinkSys wireless PCI network card. This was to allow my children to access the internet from their bedroom without me having to run cables through the house.
The downside to this was the built-in four port hub. For some reason there was a noticeable delay when accessing the internet when directly wired in to the hub. This meant that for browsing the web the my kids PC felt faster than the directly wired one.
I'd never found a way around this, but as the actual download speeds were OK it was something I was willing to put up with.
There were some other issues with the router. One of them was that you had to run Internet Explorer in order to configure the modem. FireFox or Konqueror just wouldn't work correctly with it.
None of this was reason enough to ditch it so I've stuck with it, albeit slightly annoyed that the kids had a better browsing experience than I did, and I was paying for the damn thing!
Last week however a colleague gave me a second hand SiteCom WL-025 Wireless Router that he no longer wanted. Although on paper it should be a worse router than the Dynamode one, in practice it works a damn site better. The network delay has gone, network encryption works better (even if it supports less protocols), the web configuration works with Firefox, and the network connection speed appears faster too.
Friday, 14 March 2008
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Stranger than fiction
You just can't make this stuff up. Apparently a women in Kansas spent so long on the toilet that her body molded itself to the seat.
From the article:
From the article:
The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.
“We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,” Whipple said. “The hospital removed it.”
And they say that men spend too long on the can. . . . .Rant Time!
Those of us in the UK will be aware of this, but for those of you who are not from our fair land we've just had the annual celebration during which the Government finds new and exciting ways to devalue our currency. This is known as "The Budget."
The tax on fuel has, of course, been increased. This will inevitably cause the price of all other consumer goods to rise too as the cost of transporting and manufacturing them increases.
Apparently this is the Governments way of safeguarding the environment. I guess what they mean by that is that eventually no-one will be able to afford to buy anything and will starve to death. After the population has been reduced enough there will be less people to produce pollution.
Result!
The tax on fuel has, of course, been increased. This will inevitably cause the price of all other consumer goods to rise too as the cost of transporting and manufacturing them increases.
Apparently this is the Governments way of safeguarding the environment. I guess what they mean by that is that eventually no-one will be able to afford to buy anything and will starve to death. After the population has been reduced enough there will be less people to produce pollution.
Result!
Taking the rough with the smooth
Blogging gives you a whole lot of freedom. As someone who in real life works for a newspaper (albeit in an I.T. role) I can appreciate the fact that as a blogger I have complete control over what I write.
Admittedly there have always been ways of doing this. A couple of years ago I could have started a fanzine which, if I was lucky, would have reached a hundred or so people a month. With a blog I can reach that many people in a day.
It is the same with programming. Back in the day (pre-internet) most of the stuff I created would have ended up either being sold through the small-ads of a computer magazine or via a budget software company. It would have reached maybe a couple of thousand players. Publishing it myself for free doesn't make me any money, but on the other hand has reached many thousands of people.
One of the high-spots of doing this is getting positive feedback, either in comments or via email. I've had my fair share of both, but don't let that put you off telling me how great I am! Someone telling you that your game is one of their favorites, or that they really enjoy reading your blog is the payment that we are after.
On the flip side however are the people who don't like my stuff. This can be damn depressing, but as I remind myself "You can't please everyone."
When it comes to the games I take negative comments very seriously, as long as they aren't just "your game is bad, and you should feel bad". Just telling someone who is giving you something for free "you suck!" doesn't help anyone.
If they tell me what they don't like and why, then it gives me something I can look at improving. Changing someones mind about a game by fixing what they hated about it is the biggest challenge you can face, but can certainly improve the quality of your output.
The same goes for blogging. Hopefully over time you find your own voice, and maybe an audience to go with it. If you take the time to read what people say, and take notice of constructive criticism, then you can improve the quality of your output.
Just remember though, that behind every blog post and every bit of freeware software is a person. Be constructive when giving feedback, not destructive. Who knows, they might thank you for it!
Admittedly there have always been ways of doing this. A couple of years ago I could have started a fanzine which, if I was lucky, would have reached a hundred or so people a month. With a blog I can reach that many people in a day.
It is the same with programming. Back in the day (pre-internet) most of the stuff I created would have ended up either being sold through the small-ads of a computer magazine or via a budget software company. It would have reached maybe a couple of thousand players. Publishing it myself for free doesn't make me any money, but on the other hand has reached many thousands of people.
One of the high-spots of doing this is getting positive feedback, either in comments or via email. I've had my fair share of both, but don't let that put you off telling me how great I am! Someone telling you that your game is one of their favorites, or that they really enjoy reading your blog is the payment that we are after.
On the flip side however are the people who don't like my stuff. This can be damn depressing, but as I remind myself "You can't please everyone."
When it comes to the games I take negative comments very seriously, as long as they aren't just "your game is bad, and you should feel bad". Just telling someone who is giving you something for free "you suck!" doesn't help anyone.
If they tell me what they don't like and why, then it gives me something I can look at improving. Changing someones mind about a game by fixing what they hated about it is the biggest challenge you can face, but can certainly improve the quality of your output.
The same goes for blogging. Hopefully over time you find your own voice, and maybe an audience to go with it. If you take the time to read what people say, and take notice of constructive criticism, then you can improve the quality of your output.
Just remember though, that behind every blog post and every bit of freeware software is a person. Be constructive when giving feedback, not destructive. Who knows, they might thank you for it!
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Keyword Frenzy
Hello.
You may be wondering about the large number of keywords for this post.
Well, there is a reason for that.
I'm trying to see if more keywords means more hits to this entry. Usually I'm fairly frugal about how many labels I add to each post, so I'm curious to see if that strategy is a good one or not.
It is worth noting that the most labels you can have is 20.
The results, as usual, will follow.
P.S. - While you are here why not have a look around - maybe you'll find something you like?
You may be wondering about the large number of keywords for this post.
Well, there is a reason for that.
I'm trying to see if more keywords means more hits to this entry. Usually I'm fairly frugal about how many labels I add to each post, so I'm curious to see if that strategy is a good one or not.
It is worth noting that the most labels you can have is 20.
The results, as usual, will follow.
P.S. - While you are here why not have a look around - maybe you'll find something you like?
SQL Induced Brain Death part 2
I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and thankfully this time it wasn't an oncoming train.
I've finally managed to get the correct data out in a usable format and generate the reports that our accounts department required (reconciling the net number of newspapers sold, grouped by route to market and taking into account discounts and returning the correct revenues). The SQL query used is a bit of a beast (and takes half-an-hour to run) but it at least returns the correct result set.
Now I can sit down quietly and have a head-ache!
I've finally managed to get the correct data out in a usable format and generate the reports that our accounts department required (reconciling the net number of newspapers sold, grouped by route to market and taking into account discounts and returning the correct revenues). The SQL query used is a bit of a beast (and takes half-an-hour to run) but it at least returns the correct result set.
Now I can sit down quietly and have a head-ache!
Monday, 10 March 2008
SQL Induced Brain Death
It isn't too often I find myself praising Microsoft's software, but when it comes to SQL, Microsoft's admin tools reign supreme (although MySQL's tools are catching up).
Sadly, today I've been using Sybase's SQL server, which although it is a good database product, it stinks big time when it comes to the management tools.
So this afternoon has felt a bit like stepping back in time ten years, to a time when all SQL code was written by hand instead of dragging links in a graphical environment, and testing the results meant exporting a text file for another program to deal with.
Sigh.
This makes dealing with complex queries more of a hassle than it needs to be, and accounts for the feeling of brain death that I'm now enjoying.
Sadly, today I've been using Sybase's SQL server, which although it is a good database product, it stinks big time when it comes to the management tools.
So this afternoon has felt a bit like stepping back in time ten years, to a time when all SQL code was written by hand instead of dragging links in a graphical environment, and testing the results meant exporting a text file for another program to deal with.
Sigh.
This makes dealing with complex queries more of a hassle than it needs to be, and accounts for the feeling of brain death that I'm now enjoying.
Sunday, 9 March 2008
Not quite a Geordie
Originally I come from Teesdale, which could be described as the place where the Geordie becomes the Tyke, although perhaps you shouldn't say that to anyone living there! In case you don't know the difference, a Geordie is from Newcastle (and the immediately surrounding areas). A Tyke, however, is from Yorkshire.
Teesdale was part of Yorkshire up until 1974 when it became part of County Durham, so I can say that I was born in Yorkshire (more or less) but raised in County Durham.
My home town is a small market town called Barnard Castle, which was originally right on the border between Yorkshire and Durham. The border between the two areas was marked by the River Tees.
Barnard Castle was on the Durham side of the border, directly opposite on the other side of the river is the town of Startforth. Although this is now seen as part of Barnard Castle it was originally an entirely separate town.
The two towns were divided by the river, and the fact that one town was in Yorkshire and the other in Durham, but as far as distance goes, less then 20 meters separated them.
If you are in the North of England then Barnard Castle is certainly worth a visit, not only for the Castle itself (or rather the ruins of the castle) but also for the Bowes Museum - essentially a French-style Chateau in the middle of the dales.
If you want to know a bit more about Yorkshire then hop on over to the official Yorkshire Dales website.
Teesdale was part of Yorkshire up until 1974 when it became part of County Durham, so I can say that I was born in Yorkshire (more or less) but raised in County Durham.
My home town is a small market town called Barnard Castle, which was originally right on the border between Yorkshire and Durham. The border between the two areas was marked by the River Tees.
Barnard Castle was on the Durham side of the border, directly opposite on the other side of the river is the town of Startforth. Although this is now seen as part of Barnard Castle it was originally an entirely separate town.
The two towns were divided by the river, and the fact that one town was in Yorkshire and the other in Durham, but as far as distance goes, less then 20 meters separated them.
If you are in the North of England then Barnard Castle is certainly worth a visit, not only for the Castle itself (or rather the ruins of the castle) but also for the Bowes Museum - essentially a French-style Chateau in the middle of the dales.
If you want to know a bit more about Yorkshire then hop on over to the official Yorkshire Dales website.
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Blogger / Blog*Spot Blues
I'm guessing that you probably heard the wailing and gnashing of teeth that accompanied todays unscheduled Blogger meltdown.
If you check out the Blogger help forum it was full of very annoyed bloggers who were unable to access their blogs or administration areas.
Now, things like this can (and do) happen on any system, and shouting at the people trying to fix it does not help resolve things. One thing that I feel would have helped would have been an official announcement made sooner and in a visible place, such as on the front page of the Blogger dashboard. This would have prevented the firestorm of complaints that followed.
Blogger is a free service (and a good one too) so let's not blow a couple of hours of downtime out of proportion, and give the good folks at Google a chance to resolve things properly.
Template Changing Time
The more observant of you will no doubt have noticed that the look of this site has been changing over the past couple of days.
I've been experimenting with the templates feature of Blogger to try and get something more to my liking. Hopefully I'm pretty much there now, but will be tweaking the current three-column view to try and make it adjust to whatever resolution you are using.
Once I've finished I'll post the template so you can use it as the basis for your own template.
Before I finish, a quick word of warning: some of the more unscrupulous bloggers out there provide templates with their own code embedded into it (so you end up hosting their web links / sign up code). So just be careful, OK?
I've been experimenting with the templates feature of Blogger to try and get something more to my liking. Hopefully I'm pretty much there now, but will be tweaking the current three-column view to try and make it adjust to whatever resolution you are using.
Once I've finished I'll post the template so you can use it as the basis for your own template.
Before I finish, a quick word of warning: some of the more unscrupulous bloggers out there provide templates with their own code embedded into it (so you end up hosting their web links / sign up code). So just be careful, OK?
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