Why, because I'm going to buy an Apple.  Yeah, you heard me, I'm going get one.  Ok, so maybe that isn't a good reason why Safari is going to become the browser of choice.  However Jeff Lynch definitely lays out a few more legitimate reasons in his blog entry "Why Safari May Become the Browser of Choice!"

ReSharper 4 isn't out but there are nightly build.  If you're a hard core enough geek, go and grab the build and get exponential power of...  ReSharper 4.  In a nice Agile like way it states in the entry "ReSharper 4 Nightly Builds - Are You Geek Enough?", that it will be ready when its ready.  Thank you, please don't hurry crap out to market.  That would be bad!  Even though I'd also suspect that beta builds of JetBrains ReSharper are probably better code than 90% of the stuff that comes out to market as full releases.

Make sure to hit up both links from that entry about 3.0 support and of course the nightly builds page.

The last article for this keeping up entry of mine, is Boodhoo's article over on Code Magazine's site, "Individuagility".  The main points of this article I all to often assume are things anyone doing anything remotely development related would do.  I've been incorrect about this far too many times.  The main things that I always find myself implementing far too often are;

1. If you’re not using source code control, stop reading this right now and go and get your code into a source control repository.
2. Get a continuous integration server in place. This is essential if you want to get yourself working in a more agile fashion.
3. Set up automated build scripts to work in conjunction with your continuous integration server. As a small victory, see if you can set up a build that will automatically deploy new builds of your application for you.
4. Start learning an automated unit testing framework.  ...and like Boodhoo and many others, mine also is mbUnit.
5. Get some design patterns knowledge.
6. ...the last point I really dug from the article is really hard core and philosophically vital, "Now let me make the last and most important point: Become a student of your profession."  Boodhoo is 100% on the money with this idea.  One MUST admit and stay the course for their entire career if they expect to get to and maintain confidence and capability in the profession.  The developer world is NOT for the feint hearted, the un-driven, or the "I just want a job I can have until I retire" mind set.  If those are what you want, go drive tractor trailers, buses, or something of that sort.  Being a software developer will NOT be a good idea for you.

So Boodhoo, Jeff, and Ilya Ryzhenkov I send thanks for the ongoing great write ups, blog entries, and articles.  Keep up the good work. 

Hello Blogosphere,

This is my short rant on two words that drive me nuts and often make fairly educated people sound stupid.

It reads, "- Produce well architected, efficient SQL within a complex data model. Demonstrate ability to troubleshoot database performance problems in applications written in ADO.NET, and VB.NET using SQL as the backend for data access."

I'm not sure if I should even be very judgemental about someone using the faux word "architected" or "architect" as if it where a verb.  It just drives me nuts though and I'm no grammar Nazi.  It's just like the other faux word "irregardless".

For some context, that these words usually imply a lack of English acumen, please read on.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irregardless has the faux word "irregardless" defined.  But what does it have written about this word?

"Irregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements ir- and -less. It was probably formed on the analogy of such words as irrespective, irrelevant, and irreparable. Those who use it, including on occasion educated speakers, may do so from a desire to add emphasis. Irregardless first appeared in the early 20th century and was perhaps popularized by its use in a comic radio program of the 1930s."

So now we know, it is not a word.  Public speakers use it to show emphasis?  I know enough people that laugh, chuckle, and sometimes outright point out the problem with the word to public speakers.  So how about you public speakers up the ante a bit and stop using faux words!

For the faux word "architected", just think of it like this.  One would not "architect" a "architecture".  This is exactly how it is being used.  So the next time you're slaughtering and beating the poor word architect by forcing into verb usage, think about what architecture you might be building and ask yourself why you're picking on the poor architect.

So the next time one is writing, try to think through real word usage.  We humans have enough communication issues as it is, we don't need extra help by overloading word usage even more than it already is.

Thanks,

ME

I officially joined the effort for the Windows Live Writer called smugmug4writer for Smugmug, currently maintained by Chris Patterson.  I've found myself using the plugin so much while writing entries that I finally decided I'd contact him and see about doing some additions.  If any readers use this application, make sure to leave a comment or three about what additions you might like.

Like any project on CodePlex you need to setup the utility to get the code out of their TFS (Team Foundation Server) Source Repository.  This is done with some tools Brad Wilson and crew are responsible for.  There is also another solution offered by Teamprise to connect to CodePlex Projects.

To download the tool for working on one of the CodePlex Open Source projects swing over to the CodePlex Open Source Project titled "CodePlex Source Control Client".  To grab the Teamprise client swing over to their site.  You'll also need to go pick up a free (as in beer) license for use.  It is subject to "approval" and all but I think they're still sending them out to CodePlex users.

Once I downloaded the Teamprise Client I went to connecting up to the project.  First off go to the actual project page on CodePlex to find the specific details for connecting.  The connection details are located on the right hand side of the "Connection to Source Control Server" section.

I got the Teamprise Explorer downloaded and installed.  Received my key also and entered that.  The first thing that pops up is the login details screen.  The odd thing is the _cp is stuck on the end of the username regardless of what the CodePlex username you have is.

The next that will pop is an activation screen.  I just hit auto-activate and it took care of this itself.

Below is the display of what the full screen looks like.  If you click on the root of the project (the $ symbol) in the Source Control section of the Teamprise Application below and right click...

...this menu will appear.  Here you'll see what are generally the standard options for access to TFS.  First things first, set your working folder for TFS.  This is the area where the code will be put.

The working folder will prompt as below, click on Browse and select a directory.  I highlighted where I've added the specific directory that I want my code to be placed in.

Next I right clicked on the root again and selected Get Specific Version..., the reason being that I don't trust TFS with the simple Get Latest Version command.  I've been rubbed wrong by its performance and behavior in the past.  So I like to play it rough with ole' TFS.

The next screen gives the standard options for getting a specific version.  Since there is nothing in the directory then I figured nothing needed selecting (here's to hoping TFS behaves as designed).

Next the application begins getting the latest files.  Notice that the notification dialog is rather boring and plain.  The real info is now displayed in the application, which has lost focus, but shows the active status down in the lower right hand side.  I've highlighted it below.

After all is retrieved the files are no longer shadowed out in the Source Control area.  Navigate to where you placed them in the directory structure on your machine and you'll find that they've been downloaded accordingly.

...now get started on some open source CodePlex Projects.  I've explained it, so ya aint got no excuse do ya! 

So over the next few weeks and days I'll be pushing out a new development process, methodology and helping extensively with the consulting roles here at work.  My main goal is to make us FAST and to maintain quality and expand that.  One of the best ways to come upon mankind is of course, the Toyota way!  With that in mind I stumbled upon the Kanban Process Template for TFS, which we happen to be using (TFS, not Kanban).  I hope that I can also bring this into the work environment and gain even more productivity and gains in efficiency!  Go check it out yourself if you're into the efficiency of doing things right, well, and downright top notch.

On another note, the ole' gritty Portal Project that came out a long time ago has been updated too.  Utilizing .NET 3.5 and such it is now looking pretty cutting edge.  Go check it out too on CodePlex.

As I start my WebTrends blogging I also have stumbled onto some other analytics products and social information applications.  These help in general daily activities a LOT!  One that my buddy Eric Sterling showed me recently is Xobni.  Xobni basically keeps track and ranks all the e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and a lot of other information, then provides via a side bar a summary of that.

Just a few screen shots of the various capabilities.

This image is of the sidebar, with the To-Do Bar minimized right the the side of it.

This is the analytics screen for outlook.  Analyzing the inbound e-mail, frequency of traffic, etc.

I got my WebTrends Account Welcome E-mail with all of the information needed to get connected and start working with the On Demand Analytics Web Application.

At some point I want to get a Visitor Intelligence Cube/OLAP Reporting Web Application setup too, but for now I'm just going to work on the ole' site as is and get everything tagged appropriately.  In this blog entry though I'm going to go over real quick the basics of how easy it is to have a WebTrends Account setup.  In a later entry I'll cover tagging the site for tracking purposes, tagging strategies, and other topics of the actual tracking that WebTrends Analytics performs.

I initiated contact (for me, since I work for WebTrends this a bit different than what it would be for most) and discussed getting an Analytics account setup for my blogging.  We then started the process of getting the account setup and a little later I received my introduction e-mail.

Once I received the e-mail I logged in to get my site started and just to peruse the basic links that are sent in the introductory e-mail.

The first time login requires a quick acceptance of terms and then off to the main page.

On the main page (shown above) you will find the navigation menu on the left and the content area on the right.  The left area has each of the purchases & available applications listed;  Analytics Reports and Dynamic Search.  At the very bottom is the Administration Bar.  The Administration section is the configuration area for practically all of the features in the various WebTrends Applications.  I'll have something in my next WebTrends Entry related specifically to setting up and configuring the initial account.

In the Welcome E-mail links to some very important information is available.  The support and documentation areas of the On Demand Application.  The WebTrends On Demand Support area provides links for downloads, release notes, and a quick start guide that should be a required quick read.

The other links go straight to the documentation.  This area has extensive documentation on tagging, advanced configuration, SmartView, installation and configuration, a guide to web analytics, and a whole bunch of other good reads.  As before, I suggest a lot of reading be done in this area for anyone using WebTrends Analytics.

Stay tuned for my next entry.  I'll cover the basics on setting up a profile and data source for the nitty gritty of getting at the numbers.

Quote of the Day:
Perhaps the best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
--Dean Acheson

So I was finally getting back around to reading a few of the blogs that I do.  One of the blogs I check out semi-frequently is Brad Abrams.  I regret it has been so long because he has a few entries that are must reads.  The first is Framework Design Guidelines for LINQ and the second is about some Great New Silverlight Control Skins.

Also if you haven't checked it out, go read up on the DropThings Project.

So that is it for my keeping up today.  Got some code to write so back in it.

I've never had to actually utilize the custom extension build provider or http handler in .NET since way way back pre-2.0.  Well that came up again and I went to messing with it and came to the conclusion that it is slightly different now.  What I had to do to get HTML pages to build and render as HTML just like ASPX is below.  Kind of funny trying to get build-able HTML to render HTML?  There is some type of paradox or something there.  doh!

First I added the httpHandler below with the buildProvider.  That was it, nothing else to configure really.  When deploying make sure the server (IIS) handles this correctly.  Other than that, to create *.aspx pages out of *.html pages this is it.

<system.web>
  <compilation debug="true">
    <buildProviders>
      <add extension=".html" type="System.Web.Compilation.PageBuildProvider" />
    </buildProviders>
  </compilation>
  <httpHandlers>
    <add verb="*" path="*.html" type="System.Web.UI.PageHandlerFactory" />
</httpHandlers>

Now when you're creating these HTML / ASPX pages there are a few tricks to simplify things.  First off, don't select HTML out of the menu of templates when you are creating new pages.  Instead create the *.aspx pages just like you normally would, the difference is, you just rename the file.  That way all of the properly placed markup is in the file for you already, and if you want to select a custom master page you can do so and not have to worry about the markup either.

With some of the things I'm doing with ASP.NET MVC I think this would be a grand idea also, as the restful services, clean paths, and other things are used, developers should also nix the *.aspx extension and just run the things as *.html.  Since really, that is the way it was meant to be, and that is what it's all about!

I got to thinking about my work patterns and what I've been getting accomplished.  It far exceeds what I thought I would be remotely doing 10 years ago, even 5 years ago I've blown away my wildest "reasonable" expectations of the future.  In some cases I've clean knocked down my "dream scenarios" of what I wanted to be doing in 5 years.  The only problem now as I move forward at light speed is, what's up for the next 2 years, 5 years, and beyond.  It always helps to live in the here and now if I know which here and now I want to live in, and to know that one needs to know which direction they're going.  The irony of rockers always saying, "ya gotta live in the here and now!"  What a paradox.

Currently I'm working diligently on Web Analytics at my current employer WebTrends, and I might add they're doing a great job and I'm having a blast working on the various projects I'm contributing to.  I'm also working on several side projects, as anyone that speaks to me outside of work knows, and they've gotten to a place were I'm actually focused again and not under the gun.  For the last few weeks, WebTrends, life, side projects, and the lack of getting a single beer to just slow down and unwind was about to leave me unwound.  It seems, when it rains it pours, is definitely a truism.

finally though, things have wound down a little bit and I've taken today and tomorrow as a vacation day.  My plans are to get things straightened out and see what direction I'm heading on a few of my side projects, think about my heading for WebTrends, and just things in general.  I'm also intending to get that beer and just unwind Friday night with the regular crew of .NETters and other PDXers that I normally chill with.  So if you're reading this, drag yourself downtown to Berbatti's or Bailey's this Friday night and come and have a beer or three and let's talk.

Other than that, the remainder of this entry is just collections of rambling thoughts and odd conversations here and there.

My WebTrends Strategies

First off, I'm going to have a ton more blog entries based upon my work from a technical aspect at WebTrends.  I'll also probably write more about the directions the various teams and I will push forward technologies for implementation for existing and new customers.  With the momentum we're building these days we're going to have some huge, and awe inspiring projects in the very near term.

One of the projects that I'm working on is checking out various partnerships and how we can integrate even better.  One of the things I'm really stoked about is working with SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) and prospectively more work with SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services).  On that note I'm starting to check out what is going to be coming down the pipe with SQL Server 2008 and how we can build things that currently work with SQL Server 2005 but will easily migrate to 2008.  Most reporting services and integration services work seems like it will be a fairly straight migration path.

In addition to this I have a brown bag lunch team that I meet with and we're working on some secret stuff.  Hopefully we'll be able to release it to the world in about 1-2 months.  That you'll just have to stay tuned for.

Personal Projects or Coterie

The groups of people I've been working with and organizing in my spare time is growing.  Hopefully we'll be a truly full fledged team that can develop at the drop of a dime (figuratively).  We're definitely getting stronger and the more connections I'm making the easier it is to put together full fledged projects in extremely short order.  It is truly amazing what can be done with multiple, extremely high level, competent people.  We're not missing any of our John Galt Persons (Yeah, it IS an Atlas Shrugged reference).

Code Projects and Efforts

The other thing that I've actually wedged a little time back into my day for is the ASP.NET MVC.  I do believe this can definitely take a ton of projects by storm and allow for a massively more maintainable and prospectively easier to scale web applications.  But we'll see as time moves forward, so far, things seem to be pointing in the direction I'm thinking they'll head.

I'm done rambling on now, I'll be back with topical content soon enough, but for now all I wanted to do was just to sit and reflect for a few and get a bearing.

[RANT ON]

Open Letter to Microsoft...

I am thoroughly pissed at how ineffectively IE7 handles standard CSS, HTML, and ECMA Compliant JavaScript.  It is absolutely atrocious.  I recently put together a site that is compliant (it works in EVERY other browser out, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and even Konquerer) to these standards and now am stuck with IE7's mystical "it doesn't work" problems.  It places invisible "somethings" over things on certain web forms that won't allow them to function because one can't click on them.

In addition to that, on sites that REQUIRE IE, such as SharePoint and other Microsoft related sites Internet Explorer routinely just crashes.  No flash, no active x, just regular old CSS, HTML, and Javascript.  BWAM! CRASH! THUD! KUPLUNK!  Even Visual Studio 2008 produces tons of compliant CSS and HTML, and even Javascript, that IE7 doesn't particularly work well with but Firefox, Opera, and Safari work spectacularly with.  What gives?

Please Microsoft.  You dev tools are top notch, the languages (C#, F#) are great, even the OSs are ok, and the usability on many tools is definitely pretty good (re: Office 07) - but PLEASE fix the blasted browser already.  I, along with thousands of other developers around the world, are sick and tired of this non-sensible mess.  It's easy, just fix it.  There are thousands of MS employees, SOMEBODY should be able to fix these problems.

Thanks,

[RANT OFF]