http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/Random disconnected diatribes of a documentation engineeren-USTelligent Evolution Platform Developer Build (Build: 5.6.50428.7875)http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/27/i-cant-yell-any-more.aspxSun, 27 May 2012 07:09:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10309817Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10309817http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/27/i-cant-yell-any-more.aspx#comments<p>I suppose it just shows how poor my business skills are. If I ran a hugely successful business directory company called "Yellow Pages" and wanted to extend it to the web, I'd have kept the name and made the web pages yellow. Instead, they changed the name to "Yell". I guess it works to some extent in that it's a verb so you can "Yell for a plumber", in the same way as you might Google or Bing one. But why, at a cost supposedly running into six figures, have they just decided to change the name again?</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/27/i-cant-yell-any-more.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10309817" width="1" height="1">Wordshttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/20/i-can-see-your-house-from-here.aspxSun, 20 May 2012 07:04:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10302160Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10302160http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/20/i-can-see-your-house-from-here.aspx#comments<p>Talking to an acquaintance over email the other day, I was taken aback when he asked me when I'd exchanged my old car for a new one. As I hadn't, I asked what had prompted this inquiry. He lives at the other end of the country and hasn't ever been to my house, but he'd happened to wander virtually down our street on Google Street View (he knows my address) and seen a visitor's car parked on my driveway. So I thought it would be interesting to ask what else he could discover about my house and lifestyle, in particular from a security and privacy point of view.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/20/i-can-see-your-house-from-here.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10302160" width="1" height="1">OOFParanoiahttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/13/planet-earth-recorded.aspxSun, 13 May 2012 07:02:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10302158Alex Homer1http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10302158http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/13/planet-earth-recorded.aspx#comments<p>This week marked the start of a much hyped new BBC TV series called Planet Earth Live. Of course, being nature lovers, we had to tune in. Let's face it, who could fail to be tempted by a program that promises to reveal the intimate lives of wild animals, and is presented by two of our most lovable TV starts (neither of which, unfortunately, are wild animal experts - but that's just a minor detail).</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/13/planet-earth-recorded.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10302158" width="1" height="1">OOFMultimediahttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/06/hands_2D00_off-labs.aspxSun, 06 May 2012 06:19:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10294633Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10294633http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/06/hands_2D00_off-labs.aspx#comments<p>It seems to be a general rule now here at p&amp;p that every guide we produce must have an associated set of practical examples so that users can get their hands (and keyboards) dirty playing with the technologies. It's almost like we're worried that our readers won&rsquo;t believe the stuff actually works; or might think text of the guide was dreamed up by the marketing department during one of their going forward, 360 degree, base-touching idea showers.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/05/06/hands_2D00_off-labs.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10294633" width="1" height="1">DocumentationGuidanceCloudhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/29/drowning-in-drought.aspxSun, 29 Apr 2012 06:14:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10294631Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10294631http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/29/drowning-in-drought.aspx#comments<p>Perhaps all countries, states, and regions are naturally capital-city-centric, but it's not often I am brutally reminded of that fact here in Ye Olde England where nowhere is very far away from anywhere else - at least in geographical terms. But, here in the wilds of rural Derbyshire, it's becoming increasingly clear just how far away we are in practical terms from the rest of the country.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/29/drowning-in-drought.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10294631" width="1" height="1">OOFWeatherhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/22/meandering-meanings.aspxSun, 22 Apr 2012 06:38:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10291123Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10291123http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/22/meandering-meanings.aspx#comments<p>I bet you didn't know that the word "Wikipedia" actually means "fast child". And that the towns of Pendle Hill in Lancashire and Bredon Hill in Worcestershire both have names that mean "hill hill hill". No, neither did I until I bought Mark Forsyth's book "The Etymologicon" (which, incidentally, means "a manual for one who studies the history, and change in form or meaning, of words").</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/22/meandering-meanings.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10291123" width="1" height="1">OOFLanguagesWeirdWordshttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/15/it-feels-like-ive-been-snookered.aspxSun, 15 Apr 2012 06:34:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10291122Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10291122http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/15/it-feels-like-ive-been-snookered.aspx#comments<p>Probably the most memorable comment from a snooker commentator was Ted Lowe during a Pot Black match in the late 1960s. Acknowledging the fact that in those days many viewers didn't have a color television, he helpfully noted "for those of you watching in black and white, the pink ball is next to the green". Question is: can I stay on the ball when I'm writing in black and white?</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/15/it-feels-like-ive-been-snookered.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10291122" width="1" height="1">DocumentationGuidancehttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/08/who-ate-all-the-pi.aspxSun, 08 Apr 2012 06:09:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10284485Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10284485http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/08/who-ate-all-the-pi.aspx#comments<p>Here in the UK, you have to wonder where our next generation of developers and programmers will come from. What has changed over the past twenty years that seems to be destroying the curiosity and passion we used to have for learning about computer language theory, algorithms, and programming techniques? Maybe it's a topic that is just too remote from modern life and young people's aspirations?</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/08/who-ate-all-the-pi.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10284485" width="1" height="1">SoftwareLanguagesHardwarehttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/01/the-rule-of-it-depends-.aspxSun, 01 Apr 2012 06:52:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10273456Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10273456http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/01/the-rule-of-it-depends-.aspx#comments<p>It seems odd that, in order for a rule to be valid, there has to be an exception. According to the well-known phrase "the exception that proves the rule", this must be the case. Yet watching a TV quiz show the other week, I was amazed to discover that one of the rules I've applied most days of my working life as a writer is actually completely wrong.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/04/01/the-rule-of-it-depends-.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10273456" width="1" height="1">DocumentationLanguagesArchitectureWeirdhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/25/does-online-shopping-deliver-the-goods.aspxSun, 25 Mar 2012 06:04:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10274681Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10274681http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/25/does-online-shopping-deliver-the-goods.aspx#comments<p>It's fairly obvious that the Internet is changing everything. For those of us involved in the computing industry, that's no surprise - we're the people driving most of the changes. But it's recently become even more evident just how far-reaching the changes are; driven in part by the global financial crisis and the resulting effect on corporations, businesses, and retailers.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/25/does-online-shopping-deliver-the-goods.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10274681" width="1" height="1">FoodOOFS+Shttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/18/hybrigation-complete-feedback-required.aspxSun, 18 Mar 2012 07:04:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10284481Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10284481http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/18/hybrigation-complete-feedback-required.aspx#comments<p>So at last we've finished the &lt;a href="<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/hh871440.aspx">http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/hh871440.aspx</a>" target="_blank"&gt;Windows Azure hybrid applications guide&lt;/a&gt;, and it's out there ready for anyone interested in integrating cloud-hosted applications with on-premises services and partner applications. OK, so it's taken a little longer than originally planned but it is more comprehensive than originally envisaged, and incorporates a great deal of input from teams inside Microsoft, and advisors and reviewers outside the company.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/18/hybrigation-complete-feedback-required.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10284481" width="1" height="1">DocumentationDesign PatternsGuidanceS+SArchitectureCloudhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/11/so-where-does-stuff-come-from.aspxSun, 11 Mar 2012 07:23:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10272347Alex Homer1http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10272347http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/11/so-where-does-stuff-come-from.aspx#comments<p>You regularly hear about the disconnect between real life and people's perceptions of it. For example, it seems that two thirds of inner-city school kids don't realize that the contents of their beef burger comes from cows, or that they make bread out of the tall, pale brown, grass-like stuff growing in fields. However, is this really a problem? Do we need to know where stuff actually comes from?</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/11/so-where-does-stuff-come-from.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10272347" width="1" height="1">NetworkS+SCloudWeirdhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/04/prequally-empirical-numeric-confusion.aspxSun, 04 Mar 2012 07:08:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10267272Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10267272http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/04/prequally-empirical-numeric-confusion.aspx#comments<p>Our son went to the cinema this week to see Star Wars Part 1 in 3D, and I was tempted to go with him. I can remember seeing the original Star Wars movie when it was released in 1977, and I thought it would be fun to see it again. Except that it seems I'm out of touch with the way movies work these days because the one I saw isn't actually Part 1 any more.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/03/04/prequally-empirical-numeric-confusion.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10267272" width="1" height="1">OOFMotoringMultimediaWeirdhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/26/writing-its-easy.aspxSun, 26 Feb 2012 07:04:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10267271Alex Homer3http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10267271http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/26/writing-its-easy.aspx#comments<p>I've decided that, next time I write a book, I'm going to put everything on page one and make some obvious errors as well. I'm not convinced that it will actually do much to make the book any better, but it will save the reviewers a lot of headaches. And probably make it easier for the publisher too.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/26/writing-its-easy.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10267271" width="1" height="1">Documentationhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/19/my-guides-got-duff-guids.aspxSun, 19 Feb 2012 07:40:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10264356Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10264356http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/19/my-guides-got-duff-guids.aspx#comments<p>It started with Windows XP Media Center Edition, continued through Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, and now extends into Windows 7 Ultimate Edition. Are we sadomasochists, or is the pain of keeping our glorious multi-media, big screen experience worth it? Do I really need another computer in the house, with the accompanying palaver of monthly patches, backing up, and general tweaking? So far, the answer has just about been yes, though sometimes it's a very close call.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/19/my-guides-got-duff-guids.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10264356" width="1" height="1">OOFMultimediaWindows 7http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/12/try-try-and-try-again.aspxSun, 12 Feb 2012 07:37:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10264354Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10264354http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/12/try-try-and-try-again.aspx#comments<p>There are some seemingly simple phrases that trip so easily off the tongue, but end up leaving you tongue-tied. Or, if not physically entangled, then tied in knots both architecturally and programmatically. Our intrepid little band of developers and writers just encountered an interesting example of one of these disarticulating phrases: namely "reliable messaging".</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/12/try-try-and-try-again.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10264354" width="1" height="1">SoftwareNetworkArchitectureEnterprise LibraryCloudhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/05/whats-the-point.aspxSun, 05 Feb 2012 07:10:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10263740Alex Homer2http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10263740http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/05/whats-the-point.aspx#comments<p>My wife will tell you that I'm really not very good at getting the point of things. I mean, when it comes to making typically vital choices such as whether I want brown sauce or ketchup on my sausage sandwich, I can't see the point of long-winded pondering and tortuous decision making. Just put brown on one half and ketchup on the other. In fact if there was a competition for getting the point, and she made me enter, I probably wouldn't even get the point.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/02/05/whats-the-point.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10263740" width="1" height="1">FoodDocumentationWeirdhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/29/an-enduring-documentational-experience.aspxSun, 29 Jan 2012 07:56:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10260013Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10260013http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/29/an-enduring-documentational-experience.aspx#comments<p>Unless you write books or guidance for long-lived technologies, such as assembly code programming or software design patterns, the products of your IT documentational effort tend to have a somewhat limited shelf life. There's always a new version of ASP.NET, Linux, J2EE, or C# just around the corner, ready to be released into the wild a month or so after you finish your latest magnum opus. I know this only too well from eight years of writing books about Active Server Pages and ASP.NET.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/29/an-enduring-documentational-experience.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10260013" width="1" height="1">DocumentationGuidancehttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/22/the-non_2D00_political-third-way.aspxSun, 22 Jan 2012 07:14:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10258908Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10258908http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/22/the-non_2D00_political-third-way.aspx#comments<p>One of the major advances in politics in recent years has been the evolution of &ldquo;The Third Way&rdquo;. You know the kind of thing: Given a choice between two approaches to a problem, neither of which are politically palatable, politicians invent a &ldquo;third way&rdquo; that relieves them of the requirement to choose either of the two undesirable outcomes. Of course, in reality, there are only two realistic options, and &ldquo;the third way&rdquo; usually involves doing nothing that resolves the issue or makes any real difference.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/22/the-non_2D00_political-third-way.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10258908" width="1" height="1">DocumentationGuidancehttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/15/that-what-was-demonstrated.aspxSun, 15 Jan 2012 07:05:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10255903Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10255903http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/15/that-what-was-demonstrated.aspx#comments<p>It's been a long time since I studied particle physics in my spare time at university. However, as it looks like the clever people at CERN will soon be publishing photos of their new baby - the delightfully named Higgs Boson - I thought I ought to get caught up with some background theory so that I will be ready to fully appreciate the revelations around their new arrival.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/15/that-what-was-demonstrated.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10255903" width="1" height="1">OOFGuidanceWeirdhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/08/hands-up-if-you_2700_re-doing-hybrid.aspxSun, 08 Jan 2012 06:38:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10246493Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10246493http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/08/hands-up-if-you_2700_re-doing-hybrid.aspx#comments<p>After several months of diligent dappling with documentation, comprehensive confrontations with code, and seriously systematic study of system architectures, we've managed to toss together most of the content for our upcoming guide to Windows Azure hybrigation techniques. "Integrating with the Cloud on the Windows Azure Platform" covers all kinds of aspects of hybrid application design and implementation, and we've even got some code to prove it all works.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/08/hands-up-if-you_2700_re-doing-hybrid.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10246493" width="1" height="1">Design PatternsGuidanceArchitectureCloudhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/01/leaping-to-conclusions-2012.aspxSun, 01 Jan 2012 07:25:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10250272Alex Homer1http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10250272http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/01/leaping-to-conclusions-2012.aspx#comments<p>After my resounding success predicting that 2011 would finally see the lingering and painful death of JavaScript, and that the interface of Windows 8 will consist solely of one large Flash animation, it's time to apply my unerringly accurate predictional capabilities to this squeaky clean New Year. So if you aren't quite sure what 2012 holds in store, read on...</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2012/01/01/leaping-to-conclusions-2012.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10250272" width="1" height="1">OOFSoftwareHardwareWeatherWeirdWindows Phonehttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/25/observing-boxing-day-twice.aspxSun, 25 Dec 2011 06:48:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10250156Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10250156http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/25/observing-boxing-day-twice.aspx#comments<p>I just found out that, fifty years ago, somebody told me a lie - though I suppose I can't really blame him. Let's face it, when you ask your grandfather a question to which he doesn't know the answer, but he feels he really should (and you are of a suitably gullible age), making up something plausible is probably the typical response.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/25/observing-boxing-day-twice.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10250156" width="1" height="1">OOFWeirdhttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/18/how-much-is-that-stamp-on-the-website.aspxSun, 18 Dec 2011 06:25:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10246488Alex Homer0http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10246488http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/18/how-much-is-that-stamp-on-the-website.aspx#comments<p>How about we start this week with a short quiz: What do you reckon is the most common thing that visitors to the Royal Mail website will be looking for? I'll give you a clue: Christmas is coming and it's likely that you'll be sending out lots of items using the old-fashioned "put it in an envelope and stick a stamp on it" delivery method, rather than the email approach you use the rest of the year.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/18/how-much-is-that-stamp-on-the-website.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10246488" width="1" height="1">S+Shttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/11/welshest-wales.aspxSun, 11 Dec 2011 06:49:00 GMT91d46819-8472-40ad-a661-2c78acb4018c:10244569Alex Homer2http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=10244569http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/11/welshest-wales.aspx#comments<p>One of the nice things about working for a UK company but being on permanent assignment to a US one is that you get twice as many public holidays. While I'm not sure we want a Black Monday here in Little Olde England, maybe we could come up with some excuse for celebrating Thanksgiving. Perhaps without the turkey. Even though it's a moveable feast (the fourth Thursday of November) it usually coincides with our wedding anniversary, so it's a great opportunity for a few days away.</p>...(<a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexhomer/archive/2011/12/11/welshest-wales.aspx">read more</a>)<img src="http://blogs.msdn.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=10244569" width="1" height="1">OOFTravel