COM+ Installation
I am a COM NEWB. I don't really even know what the hell its suppose to be doing. I'm just a pampered .NET guy who's really good at utilizing a framework that does all the hard stuff for you! So when I had to compile some DLLs using COM+, I got stuck and looked for a solution for hours. All I was trying to do was make some code edits, rebuild and deploy to test. Well I was able to compile and register the dll, but everytime I tried to invoke the dll from ASP (Server.CreateObject) the component would fail to initialize. All I could say to myself was that I was registering the component wrong and that I was missing just one more piece of the software puzzle. Thankfully, I was connected to the local wifi network by the river and had access to my network of friends via IM. This is where R-man comes to the rescue with this fine link on how to install a registered dll with COM+. Totally not obvious. I think its strange that the proper way to install a component like that is to click and drag it. Maybe if there was a menu queue somewhere I would have figured it out myself. I kept coming across the Component Services and had an idea that I needed to do something with it, but wasn't really confident or knowledgeable enough to make a move. Thanks R-man!
ROCK BAND TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Rock Band 2 On-Disc Track List:
Artist Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
See the other 70 after the fold...
Google Down?
Is the search giant down? I have tried several search terms and each time, I receive a 404 not found page. Wassup Google! I had to navigate to your competitor for searches, Yahoo! saves the day.
Blog Logo Concept V
Here is another concept for a new logo. The concept includes a sushi chef next out the Japanese greeting “wassupjose”. I selected logo concept III, but have not implemented it to date. I commissioned this concept, because a sushi chef would complement the logo.
Let us laugh at ScooterBoy
He just HAD to update his iPhone the micro-second that the 2.0 patch was released. Now he has a quasi-bricked iPhone. I say quasi because the problem seems to only have to do with the activation process of his phone and doesn't seem to be anything like the PS3 firmware update. Speaking of which, I'm surprised you didn't brick that earlier this week. Anyway, what's it like use analog phones these days?
Werd, I mean Word™
The status quo of testers is to always submit screenshots of their errors in Word. WTF? Seriously people, it's called WORD, not...oh..I dunno...what would be a good name for a program that you could save images in...PAINT? That's right people, Paint...mang. Sans your ability to download the excellent Paint.NET, the original version is still available in your Windows Accessories folder. Saving objects in the inappropriate format can lead to data loss. In Word the image is usually difficult to see and needs to be further manipulated so you can actually see what the test intended to show you. Fortunately, Word does a good job of keeping the original data object in tact, so I'm able to recreate the image in a more friendly image format.
Screenshots are images not documents. Treat them as such.
VB6 is my guilty pleasure
It's true that I'm not a fan of VB6, but I usually focus on writing good code independent of whatever tools might be in use. However, I find myself more often writing what I would consider to be really bad code in VB6 as opposed to .NET. There's just somethign about VB6 that lends itself to long structured methods as opposed to all the abstraction I'm used to in .NET. Sometimes it's kind of nice though...not having to think so much and just making it work. 
Give the Client What They Want
The topic sounds easy enough, but I just fell into the trap. I was doing some new work on old ASP code and part of my tasks were to add Validation Rules to the current service to check for invalid data. Simple enough. I decided, in the spirit of limiting data corruption, I would add some client side javascript to make sure the values were kosher before hand. WRONG! There are two problems with this. The first, I didn't make them Database driven in conjunction with the rules. That means if the rules change, they now have to make the changes in two places. The second, usually there's just a data entry person entering all the data given. They have no idea about how to make the corrections and they dont' care. I should be allowing those people to finish their jobs and then let an analyst come clean up the mess when it doesn't pass server side validation.
Should have gave them what they asked for in the first place. 
Feeling Much Better
There were some cool things about my old project where I met all my fellow others on WassupJose, but there were alot of issues that created static and blockades hindering anyone's ability to actually fix bugs. The last 4 or 5 business days have been fairly kind to me on my current project. Though I've had to reign control of the development processes, the new atmosphere has really been a breath of fresh air. Last week, I was able to succesfully resolve all of my bugs. There are up to 6 testers, though not always testing. This morning after some more testing, a small handful of bugs cropped up all of which I was able to CRUSH within 4 hours of their creation. I was subsequently able to request and push a build by the end of the day for more testing tomorrow. I'm feeling really good about being able to stay on top of the bug rate and the feeling of completion is something I really missed. Just thought I would share that, though I may be stuck on some older technologies, I'm simply feeling much better.
And even though I'm not necessarily getting a pat on the back for working so diligently, being able to make progress with the builds without the MilkMan™ constantly sabotaging them is reason enough to feel good. Making quality software, one task at a time.
Blog Logo Concept IV
Here is another concept for a new logo. The concept includes a sushi chef calling out the Japanese greeting “wassupjose”. This clearly depicts the origins of "wassupjose", which is a play on words and loose translation of "irasshaimase". Comments?
