gcnew them arrays!

C++ / CLI managed array initialization:

 

http://blogs.msdn.com/arich/archive/2004/03/17/91343.aspx

 

It works!

Filed under: Uncategorized

Handling stress with stuff doesn’t really work

My friend, Andrew Stitt, reflects on dealing with life’s difficulty:

shove it way far down inside as far as it will go and let it come up in the form of fancy red cars and a mustache later in life

I think that about sums up how men handle stress. This is helped by a recent article in the NY Times about men’s chances in life – including good stats.

 

Filed under: Metathought

My sad hobby

Ok – I admit it.

 

I get some sad humor from conversing with tech support.

 

Not that I unleash billingsgate and upend their dignity, but rather that I quash even their most certain attempts at resolving issues – because I know they are just making stuff up, usually. A symptom of needing to have an answer without having full understanding.

 

Time	Details
06/17/2006 04:37:25PM	Session Started with Agent (Prateek)
06/17/2006 04:37:25PM	Rory Plaire: "This computer will not boot into Windows XP and a reinstall fails at setup."
06/17/2006 04:37:29PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Warranty Support. My name is Prateek and my rep ID number is . May I have your telephone number, along with the area code?"
06/17/2006 04:37:51PM	Rory Plaire: 555 1212
06/17/2006 04:38:26PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you for the information."
06/17/2006 04:39:17PM	Rory Plaire: "You’re welcome"
06/17/2006 04:39:34PM	Rory Plaire: "Will you call or can we handle this on chat?"
06/17/2006 04:39:47PM	Agent (Prateek): "Hi, Rory. How are you?"
06/17/2006 04:40:11PM	Agent (Prateek): "We can surely handle the issue on this chat."
06/17/2006 04:40:15PM	Rory Plaire: "Awesome – it’s a beautiful day here in Oregon"
06/17/2006 04:40:30PM	Rory Plaire: "What time is it where you are?"
06/17/2006 04:40:54PM	Agent (Prateek): "Here, it is 3:10 am."
06/17/2006 04:40:58PM	Agent (Prateek): "Sunday."
06/17/2006 04:41:16PM	Rory Plaire: "whoa – that’s, ah, early"
06/17/2006 04:41:32PM	Agent (Prateek): "Yes…"
06/17/2006 04:41:35PM	Agent (Prateek): "Please give me a moment to pull up your account information. Meanwhile, I would like to inform you that you might get an invitation to participate in a survey at the end of this session. You will be asked to rate our interaction on a scale of 1 to 9 with"
06/17/2006 04:41:43PM	Agent (Prateek): "As per our records you have a Dimension 4600 system with Windows XP Professional operating system. Is this the system you are contacting us for today?"
06/17/2006 04:41:59PM	Rory Plaire: "alright"
06/17/2006 04:42:00PM	Rory Plaire: "yes"
06/17/2006 04:42:04PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:42:06PM	Agent (Prateek): "Could you please elaborate the issue you are facing with your Dimension system?"
06/17/2006 04:42:11PM	Rory Plaire: "i’m contacting you on behalf of the owner"
06/17/2006 04:42:23PM	Agent (Prateek): "May I have the name of the owner?"
06/17/2006 04:42:31PM	Rory Plaire: "he is using my help to get it done"
06/17/2006 04:42:38PM	Rory Plaire: "Professor"
06/17/2006 04:42:49PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you for the information."
06/17/2006 04:42:54PM	Agent (Prateek): "Not an issue."
06/17/2006 04:42:56PM	Agent (Prateek): "Could you please elaborate the issue you are facing with your Dimension system?"
06/17/2006 04:44:02PM	Rory Plaire: "sure"
06/17/2006 04:44:19PM	Rory Plaire: "so, the machine was working fine and then one day it was reboot"
06/17/2006 04:44:47PM	Rory Plaire: "afterward, it would not boot and would get stuck at the boot screen with the blue progress bar (it is XPSP2)"
06/17/2006 04:45:06PM	Rory Plaire: "so I boot it into both safe mode and Last Known Good"
06/17/2006 04:45:18PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:45:20PM	Rory Plaire: "both times the machine freezes"
06/17/2006 04:45:52PM	Rory Plaire: "at safe mode, it freezes after loading the Mup.sys driver – which is when Windows XP enumerates ACPI information on the machine"
06/17/2006 04:46:15PM	Rory Plaire: "so i figured it must be due to a corrupt BIOS cache of enumerated devices"
06/17/2006 04:46:41PM	Rory Plaire: "I did an Alt-E Alt-F Alt-B combo to reset the BIOS – no luck"
06/17/2006 04:46:51PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:47:01PM	Rory Plaire: "I also flashed with the latest BIOS rev – from A09 to A12"
06/17/2006 04:47:06PM	Rory Plaire: "also no luck"
06/17/2006 04:47:22PM	Rory Plaire: "Finally, I did a backup and decided to reinstall Windows XP from disk"
06/17/2006 04:47:31PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:47:59PM	Rory Plaire: "it freezes after loading all the drivers and starting windows to resume the graphical part of setup"
06/17/2006 04:48:38PM	Rory Plaire: "i removed all non-essential hardware and tried a different keyboard, since a faulty keyboard can cause freezes like this sometimes – still no luck"
06/17/2006 04:48:59PM	Agent (Prateek): "Rory, the drivers are not installed during the windows XP installation."
06/17/2006 04:49:14PM	Rory Plaire: "so – now i’m out of alternatives, and wonder if there’s something else to try"
06/17/2006 04:49:28PM	Agent (Prateek): "They are installed after the operating system has been installed on the system."
06/17/2006 04:49:29PM	Rory Plaire: "yes – the stock windows dirvers"
06/17/2006 04:49:39PM	Rory Plaire: "the ones setup uses, not the OEM drivers"
06/17/2006 04:49:48PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:50:20PM	Agent (Prateek): "Rory, may I know if you have the system with the issue near you?"
06/17/2006 04:50:45PM	Rory Plaire: "it is not"
06/17/2006 04:51:14PM	Rory Plaire: "i was hoping to get another option or two and when I’m there next, to give them a go"
06/17/2006 04:52:12PM	Agent (Prateek): "Rory, we need to have the system near us so that we can perform some troubleshooting steps on it."
06/17/2006 04:53:11PM	Rory Plaire: "ok then, if that is needed – if you give me the issue #, i’ll write back when i’m there with a laptop"
06/17/2006 04:53:11PM	Agent (Prateek): "Rory, may I know what is there on the screen when the system freezes after starting it up?"
06/17/2006 04:53:21PM	Agent (Prateek): "Sure."
06/17/2006 04:54:36PM	Rory Plaire: "just what i said – the boot up screen with the blue progress bar in normal mode, and the list of loaded drivers ending with Mup.sys in safe mode"
06/17/2006 04:55:13PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:55:41PM	Rory Plaire: "oh, the same screen shown in Normal Mode is also shown when "Last Known Good" is started"
06/17/2006 04:55:44PM	Agent (Prateek): "Rory, may I know if you formatted the hard drive of the system having the issue."
06/17/2006 04:56:17PM	Rory Plaire: "i did not"
06/17/2006 04:56:48PM	Rory Plaire: "just flashed the BIOS, reset with Alt EFB and tried to run setup"
06/17/2006 04:56:49PM	Agent (Prateek): "In that case formatting the hard drive will definitely help resolving the issue."
06/17/2006 04:56:59PM	Agent (Prateek): "No, that is not enough."
06/17/2006 04:57:13PM	Agent (Prateek): "We need to format the hard drive to get the issue resolved."
06/17/2006 04:57:19PM	Rory Plaire: "i don’t think so, since the issue is apparent in setup"
06/17/2006 04:57:35PM	Agent (Prateek): "I am just giving you the steps for formatting the hard drive."
06/17/2006 04:57:39PM	Rory Plaire: "in setup, the file system is not accessed"
06/17/2006 04:57:48PM	Rory Plaire: "and a format just rewrites the file system"
06/17/2006 04:57:57PM	Agent (Prateek): "That is the reason."
06/17/2006 04:58:25PM	Rory Plaire: "please explain how the file system is preventing proper setup"
06/17/2006 04:58:45PM	Agent (Prateek): "Please do the hard drive format. It will resolve the issue for you."
06/17/2006 04:58:52PM	Rory Plaire: "it will not"
06/17/2006 04:58:59PM	Rory Plaire: "what if it doesn’t"
06/17/2006 04:59:03PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 04:59:16PM	Rory Plaire: "look -"
06/17/2006 04:59:22PM	Agent (Prateek): "On that case we will have to further troubleshoot the issue."
06/17/2006 04:59:25PM	Agent (Prateek): "*in"
06/17/2006 04:59:32PM	Rory Plaire: "the file system structures – the NTFS MFT – is rewritten by a format"
06/17/2006 04:59:50PM	Rory Plaire: "i’ve put the hard drive on a nother machine to copy the files off"
06/17/2006 04:59:58PM	Rory Plaire: "the file system is fine"
06/17/2006 05:00:25PM	Rory Plaire: "the file system isn’t even accessed by the setup routine i ran of the XP disk"
06/17/2006 05:00:31PM	Agent (Prateek): "In that case we need the system having the issue with us so that we can perform further steps."
06/17/2006 05:00:37PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 05:00:38PM	Rory Plaire: "it freezes before it even boots into that part"
06/17/2006 05:00:47PM	Agent (Prateek): "Ok"
06/17/2006 05:01:09PM	Rory Plaire: "alright – so when I get the issue # and return to the machine i’ll write back"
06/17/2006 05:02:23PM	Agent (Prateek): "I have included your case # 1234 to reference our interaction today. Please keep this number on file; it will assist you when contacting Dell in the future."
06/17/2006 05:02:32PM	Agent (Prateek): "Is there anything else related to Dell hardware, I may help you with?"
06/17/2006 05:02:42PM	Rory Plaire: "not at this time, thanks"
06/17/2006 05:03:06PM	Agent (Prateek): "You are welcome."
06/17/2006 05:03:11PM	Agent (Prateek): "Are you satisfied with the level of support provided to you on this interaction?"
06/17/2006 05:04:19PM	Rory Plaire: "well, you were polite and I very much appreciate that"
06/17/2006 05:04:25PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you."
06/17/2006 05:05:02PM	Rory Plaire: "i am somewhat discontent with not getting an immediate answer, like, say from a knowledge base search you can do internally or whatever, but I understand that you need the machine"
06/17/2006 05:05:21PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you."
06/17/2006 05:05:25PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Warranty Support online Chat, have a great day!"
06/17/2006 05:07:28PM	Agent (Prateek): "I am ending this chat due to the long period of inactivity as I am not getting a response. If you have been trying to communicate with me, please try closing the chat program and start again. Have a nice day. Goodbye."
06/17/2006 05:07:36PM	Rory Plaire: "you have an issue &"
06/17/2006 05:07:46PM	Rory Plaire: "i’d like to refer to is"
06/17/2006 05:07:49PM	Rory Plaire: "*it"
06/17/2006 05:08:48PM	Agent (Prateek): "I am sorry but I was not able to understand you last message."
06/17/2006 05:08:53PM	Agent (Prateek): "Please explain."
06/17/2006 05:09:20PM	Rory Plaire: "Sorry – I’d like the issue number or case number so when I contact support again I can refer to it."
06/17/2006 05:09:55PM	Agent (Prateek): "Please note the case number : 1234"
06/17/2006 05:10:02PM	Agent (Prateek): "I gave this number before also."
06/17/2006 05:10:24PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Warranty Support online Chat, have a great day!"
06/17/2006 05:10:35PM	Rory Plaire: "Ah – right – sorry I missed it"
06/17/2006 05:10:46PM	Rory Plaire: "thanks – have a good morning!"
06/17/2006 05:11:01PM	Agent (Prateek): "I It is all right"
06/17/2006 05:11:09PM	Agent (Prateek): "Thank you."
06/17/2006 05:11:30PM	Agent (Prateek): "And a Good Night to you."

Filed under: Entertainment

I like this new DSL speed

Finally some fast DSL to sustain my downloading habit. As you can see, I need this level of capacity, or I can’t get my fix of betaware fast enough. I download these monstrosities regularly, and gettin’ it done in 1/4 to 1/6 the time helps.

 

Plus, the faster line was cheaper. I’m now saving an extra $15 a month. Figures they didn’t tell me about it… I happened upon it looking at hosting options for DigitalCommons.

Filed under: Metathought

Code Generation in DataSet designer doesn’t change project namespace workaround

.Net adds a bunch of useful features, no doubt. Sometimes they trip over themselves though.

 

Take, for example, the "global" namepace. This allows you to create "namespaceless" code and probably has some benefits, though I wonder what they are (perhaps they aren’t necessarily for C#).

 

When you create an ASP.Net project, your code is placed in the "global" namespace. This is fine, because mostly you don’t care. However, it can cause problems. For instance, when you have an ASP.Net page called "Login", the generated class becomes "Login". In the code-gen which results in the classes that imlement your ASPX pages, there is no way to distinguish the Login class with the Login control which also exists in the global namespace. You get an error during runtime – "CS0030: Cannot convert type ‘ASP.login_aspx’ to ‘System.Web.UI.WebControls.Login’" and it shows the invalid cast which was generated: "((Login)(this)).AppRelativeVirtualPath = "~/Login.aspx";".

 

One of the ways you get around this is giving your code a namespace, which, in my estimation is a good thing to do to begin with – otherwise you will get runtime issues like these. And runtime issues are never good, especially when you can push those issues into designtime. This is where the problem noted in the title comes in. The DataSet designer isn’t aware of the namespace you give your code. There is no way to change the namespace of the project like in 2003. This is a step backward, VS folks.

 

The only real way around this is to put the DataSet in a separate project. I ended up doing this.

Filed under: .Net Basics

Time accounting in the Baha’i Calendar

I’m writing an implementation of System.Globalization.Calendar to account the Baha’i method of tracking time, and it is an interesting challenge. The big question is how to implement accounting for something that isn’t counted. The 4 or 5 days before the last month in the calendar (the remainder of which is filled up with 19 months of 19 days totalling a full solar year) are considered "outside of time" and not part of the calendar. But yet, they are days, and so they are counted as days… I love it when the mystical and the technical collide – the result is philosophy and reality. Construe _that_ as you wish, I’m not implying any specific causality.

 

Another interesting observation is that the first year of the Baha’i calendar, year 1, which started on May 23 1844 CE, is not a full year, since year 2 began on March 21 1845 CE. I wonder what this says about the last year of the calendar… and, when do calendars end?

 

 

Filed under: Metathought