The other day I was struggling with generating XML data from a database I was working with. After talking with a co-worker, he mentioned using Transact-SQL and the “For XML Explicit” options related to a query. I managed to do what I needed, but it felt like I was making my way through the jungle with a small plastic knife, instead of a machete. So I looked at how to accomplish this task using the .NET Framework’s DataSet, DataTable and DataRelation classes. Continue reading →
Today, I received an email from someone who was not able to use my JavascriptSerializer example to parse out some JSON text. It took me several minutes to realize what I was doing wrong. Here is the JSON text in question: Continue reading →
Last Saturday, I got a text from my daughter asking me how much it would cost to replace the fan on her laptop (a 4-year-old Dell Inspiron 1420). Being the cynical cheapskate that I am, I figured that the fan would probably cost more than the laptop itself. I ended up cleaning the cooling fan filter which seems to be doing the trick. But along the way, I managed to review, refresh and use the command line C# compiler that comes FOR FREE with every instance of Windows. Here’s what I did.
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Like many of you, I was looking forward to watching the 2012 Olympic competition taking place in London. Since I enjoy watching some of the more “obscure” sports (e.g. fencing, rowing, etc.) I was prepared to go on-line and watch these events (replays, actually) on some website, or other.
NBC Olympics requires a Cable Subscription
Unfortunately, it seems that NBC cornered the market for on-line viewing of the Olympics. Worse, you can only view these events if you are a cable television subscriber (which I am not). This didn’t seem right to me so I wanted to voice my concerns to NBC. But, being the sneaky bastards that they are, here too I was foiled. Continue reading →
For the last three months, I’d been doing some Microsoft Dynamics CRM administrating. If you read my previous post, you’ll see that I was not enjoying things. Well, Microsoft Dynamics CRM has won the battle of wills. I have decided to move on to more (mostly) familiar ground and do some e-Commerce programming. So… what went wrong? It’s complicated, but here goes. Continue reading →
As you may have read in my other post Too Many Changes I recently got a new job.
In this new job, I will be the Administrator of an installation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Customer Relationship Manager). The Microsoft CRM product is a popular product in which there are not a lot of choices for larger companies. It has some interesting features. But mostly, it has been a series of one frustration after another for someone who comes from a programming background. I do realize that most of my frustration has come because I have not yet learned how to do what I may be wanting to do. But still, there are problems with CRM that are truly problems. Where to start….. Continue reading →
For the last three years, I’d been working in Roseville, California. Nothing too unusual there, except for the fact that I’d been living in Fresno; about three hours away by car. In fact, although I’d been living in Fresno for the last 20 years, or so, I’d been working elsewhere since 2005. The reason for this is that there are a number of limited opportunities in Fresno and for one reason or another none of them were “right” for me. Continue reading →
Happy New Year!
I finished the year with some big changes. After living for over twenty years at our last location, we’ve moved to a new part of our home state. There are several reasons, but mostly, we’re moving to be closer to my work. But there are challenges. Continue reading →
Like many of you, I have been seeing a lot of coverage regarding the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. Although, I sympathize with the main goals of the movement (that the current corporate culture is not constructive toward building a better, stronger America), I have been put off by the inclusion of some groups that are essentially “professional protesters.”
Pepper Spraying Students at UCDavis
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A while back I created a page that offered an example of how to parse JSON objects using the .NET JavaScriptSerializer class. It was a mess. It has now been updated. Continue reading →
