New Backsplash

Spent some time in the last week installing a backsplash in my condo. I was surprised at how much of a pain in the butt it was. The main problem I had was cutting the tiles on the tile sheets. Thankfully I didn't have to do much of this type of cutting comparatively, but it still really slowed things down.

Lessons learned:

• Take an hour early on and plan out the whole layout.
• Use clean bucket when mixing grout.
• Sanded grouts are easier to work with than non-sanded.
• Get a nice tile saw to cut through tile sheets.

Looks pretty good, huh?

How to move an off-screen window back on-screen

With anybody who hooks up external monitors or uses multi-monitor displays, I'm sure you have encountered the situation when the window / program you are trying to access is outside of the visual display area. I've figured out a way over the years to quickly bring the window back in the display area. Here is how you do it:

1. Right-click on the window you are trying to access and click "Move"
2. Hit any one of the arrow keys on the keyboard. (This will lock the window to your mouse cursor)
3. Move your mouse around to bring it back within the display area.

I'm not sure why hitting an arrow key on the keyboard has this effect, but it does work and is alot faster than resizing your desktop or restarting your computer.

Finding large files wasting space on your computer

Vista's Folder explorer now has a "Stack View" option. Stack view organizes the files in the current display based on whatever Stack View options you choose (irregardless of whether the file is in a folder). One of the options for Stack View is "Size". So, all you have to do is open your root C drive and choose from the file menu View -> Stack By -> Size. Vista will group your hard drive files based off their size and give you the results.

(Great way to figure out which files are using up your hard drive space!)

Software Explorer in Vista

It has been awhile since I have blogged.... not because I haven't had the time or dont want to, but more like having something useful to say. I started thinking and since I'm a software professional, maybe I should share some of the more useful things I have learned / figured out over the years. As such, here is a cool one - Software Explorer in Vista.

What is great about this tool is the information it displays as an alternative to hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del and going to the task manager. (Great for trying to figure out why your computer / internet is running so slow)

Here are the things that are really useful:

• You can see and disable all startup programs that run when Vista starts. (great for killing malware apps)
• You can see more information about the running applications than Task manager displays. i.e. "Ships with Operating System", "File path"
• You can see which programs are access the internet and to which IP address.

Very useful little tool. I'm just surprised it isnt more visible in vista. Here is how you get at it:

1. Open Start->Control Panel -> Windows Defender
2. Select "Tools"
3. Select "Software Explorer"
   

Certifiably... smarter

Well, it is finally done. I've finally finished my full Microsoft Certified Application Developer path. My test was 2 days ago on Wednesday and I had been reading the SQL 2000 book in my free time for a couple of months. With about a week to go, I start really dedicating my time to it... all free time including skipping soccer games (a really big deal!) I had gone through the book about 4 times altogether and had taken a few practice tests so I felt pretty good going in; but I was worried about the time limit. (100 minutes for 44 questions)

The test itself was more of a ridiculous sort of test than anything. The questions they ask you are specific to the syntax of the language and the nuiances of the language (aka gotchas) What bugs me about that is that those are the first things you forget. From my experience, the concepts are more important... when it comes to the details it only takes a few minutes to look it up online. During the test it was taking me a bit longer than I anticipated to figure out exactly what they were asking so I was stressing out a little bit. In the end, I ended up with an 87% which isnt too terrible but I felt I could probably have made that a 97% if I had another hour. (many of the questions were simply too long to figure out in the time frame)

Anyways, overall i'm extremely satisfied with the results and glad I took the test. I feel a better grasp of the language and have a better idea of how SQL will interpret and execute my code....which makes me a better programmer.

Now... onto a new challenge.....hmmmm.....

In need of some good elbow grease

Boy, just when I thought soccer was hard on the legs.... God enlightens me by showing that it can be hard on the arms as well.

I was having a pretty good game tonight. After watching my team play in a tournament over the weekend I was ready to get my ankle brace back on and stretch out the lungs. Everything was going good until about 30 minutes in when I was trying to dribble the ball. The ball got a little caught up in my legs and my toe got stuck on the ball. This happens every once in awhile... no big deal. You fall down and then get back up again. It is a turf field as well so the surface is fairly soft to fall on. This time though, when I fell my arm must have gotten caught under me in the fully extended position because I felt my elbow strain under the full weight of my body falling down on it. I didnt feel a pop or anything but my elbow ligaments were pulled farther than normal and it hurt quite a bit. There isnt much swelling and no discoloration so that is good.

For all my soccer enthusiasm, I'm left with an arm that hurts to move paired with my existing bum ankle. At least there is a bright side to it.... I have something to blog about!!!

Been forever since I have blogged!

Boy, I think I need to get a more exciting life because it seems like I have nothing new to talk about. (Or maybe I just need more readers because the only people that read this are the same ones that know what is going on) Doh!

Well at the very least I can post some links to some cool stuff. Check it out-

• BMW that can change shapes
• Dog that can throw and retrieve
• Car that can run on water