musings from a snowstorm....

Question of the day…

2009-09-26T06:53:47Z

When you tell Hyper-V Manager to “Delete Snapshot Subtree…” how do you know if it’s started doing anything? Or if it’s still doing anything? Or if it’s done doing anything?

(I guess that’s more than one question. but they’re all related.)

I’m trying to collapse a huge snapshot subtree that I created as I was building out and adding demo content my Team System 2010 Hyper-V image.

I told it to delete the subtree, but I cannot tell that it’s done anything.

Hmmm…

Welcome back (to me)

2009-09-26T05:52:45Z

Hi Dear Reader.

Eons ago I kept my blog over here on http://blogs.msdn.com/jblizzard, but then moved to my own site, http://snowstormlife.com/blogs/bliz.

This evening, on a lark, I looked back here and yes, my old blog is still working, and I was even able to retrieve my old password.

And just over six years later I’m adding my next post. This is so random.

Things have changed just a bit since my last post here in September, 2003. At the time I was a developer evangelist, living in Bothell, Washington, covering the PacWest district (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho), and spreading the cool news about .NET.

In 2004 we moved to Vancouver, Washington, just outside Portland, still working as a DE. I got to know Scott Haneslman, Rory Blyth, and a bunch of other cool Portland people really well, and even helped start the Portland Nerd Dinner.

In early 2005 I switched jobs, moving into a Developer Solutions Specialist role, and moving across country, back to Tampa, Florida, my almost home town. Back in Portland, Rich Claussen took over PND duties, and Jason Mauer earned the DE job. In Florida I got to know Joe Healy, Russ Fustino, and Jeff Barnes really well.

Flash forward to August of this year, and I’ve switched back to a technical role and my technical roots, now working as a Developer Technical Specialist, kinda close to what I was doing as a DE. We’re still living in the Tampa area. Life is good. Quent Herschelman took my old job, and is now the Developer Solutions Specialist around here.

If you want to see the gory details of what’s happened during the past six years (but, why would anyone want to do that?), take a peek at SnowstormLife. (Part of the past 6 years I used dasBlog and WordPress. Some of those entries are still buried in the depths of those systems, still waiting to be resurrected. One day.)

bliz

My new blog home at www.snowstormlife.com/blog

2003-09-21T04:54:00Z

I must be crazy. I've left the safety and warmth of http://weblogs.asp.net to move out on my own. No longer will my posts be displayed on that central page, ready to be viewed by the masses.

Nope, I'm now on my own, but using .Text as my blog engine.

Why? Just for kicks. I created snowstormlife.com as a place to put some sample code that has to be ready for the real world. Through my hosting company (www.webhost4life.com) I also have SQL Server databases. So, my sample code cannot just use “uid=SA;pwd=;“. I feel much better already, just by making that change.

If you want to read my old posts, you can take a look at them on http://weblogs.asp.net/jblizzard.

All my new stuff will be posted here, to http://www.snowstormlife.com/blog.

Hope to keep seeing you.

bliz

See you at the Boise NETDUG meeting Thursday evening...

2003-09-18T05:50:00Z

During the general meeting, Cory Isakson and I will be talking about state management for web sites. After the general meeting the MCAD SIG will meet. See you there!

Cool shirt....

2003-09-18T04:19:00Z

Last month I though I saw a cool geek shirt with the slogan “got msil”. Turns out that the shirt didn't say that. But now David Scott has created a real version of the shirt. Be the first geek in your user group to get one! Very cool...

Finding things...

2003-09-13T03:07:00Z

Heh. Someone out there needs to know what to do in a snowstorm. How do I know? Well, weblogs.asp.net now has a cool stats section that shows referrers (thanks Scott!). Someone did a Yahoo! search for “what to do in a snowstorm” which returned one of my posts: “Do that newsgroup thing…” So remember, the next time you're stuck in a snowstorm... post to a newsgroup. :o)

A cool thing (or perhaps not) is that my post on “"403 Access Forbidden" when attempting to create an ASP.NET web project” has been referred to a ton of times by people looking for answers. Hopefully I added some value with that post.

Agility...

2003-09-13T01:37:00Z

Scott Stanfield from Vertigo Software gave a talk last night at the Portland Area Dot Net User Group (PADNUG).

He made an interesting comment, with the net of: If you’re going to fail, you want to fail fast. That way you can figure out what went wrong, make changes, and try out something else.

If you are going to fail, fail fast. Then get on to something new.

Cool thought.

He said this during a discussion about the number of lines of code it takes to write a program. He said that lines of code are like inventory. And just as less inventory on hand can make a business more agile, fewer lines of code can make a software project more agile.

I tend to agree, unless reducing the lines of code turns it into obfuscated code.

He also showed one of the patterns from the patterns and practices group at MS – the Data Access Architecture Guide (DAAG). By using the DAAG he was able to reduce the # of lines of code in his data access layer significantly.

Things like the DAAG and the .NET Framework itself can help reduce the number of lines of code you have to write. There’s so much built in. After the user group meeting ended, at the bar across the street, Rory said he didn’t know how many times he’s written a particular routine, then he discovered that that very thing was built into the System.IO namespace.

It all makes programming fun. Write fewer lines of code. Get paid more. Have a blast. Have fun with the .NET Framework.

[Bliz thought patrol: OK. THIS IS STARTING TO SOUND LIKE A COMMERCIAL. TIME TO STOP BLATHERING.]

Now that's the way a Pocket PC Phone should work!

2003-09-12T00:27:00Z

I upgraded my sorry Pocket PC phone's operating system to Pocket PC 2003 and a new radio stack. Bingo! Home run!

Connectivity issues are a thing of the past. I can finally use IM on the thing. And it synch’s with Exchange automatically every 10 minutes (I set the schedule). And I can confidently reply to e-mail and know that it will get sent.

It’s snappy, dependable, and it has a cool new game that comes with it!

Good job, mobility team.

What's in a name...?

2003-09-12T00:22:00Z

Quite a bit. Otherwise, why would a grown man, driving to work in his car, have tears coming down his face while listening to names being read by children? September 11, 2003. Two years later, and it still seems just like it was yesterday.

Portland .NET User Group meeting tonight...

2003-09-11T19:39:00Z

See you there!

Top 10 reasons...

2003-09-11T15:24:00Z

For using the .NET Framework....

Getting certified...

2003-09-11T01:31:00Z

So how did you prepare to take a certification test? Did you use the MS Press study guides? Exam Cram series? Other non-study-guide books? Hands-on experience? Sample exams? Newsgroups? MSDN? GotDotNet? Quickstarts? WWW.ASP.NET? Other? Did you buddy-up with anyone or go it alone?

What worked for you? What didn't work for you?

Just curious...

Follow up: So far, the comments I've received all say that practical experience beats the study guides every time. I found that to be true, too. I opened one Exam Cram book for about 15 minutes before I re-took 70-300. The other tests I took to pass the MCSD .NET I did without specific studying for the tests. (There was plenty of time in MSDN Library, newsgroups, and getting my hands dirty in code, though.)

I do think the study aids do have their place, though… if nothing than to help focus your studies before taking a test.

What do you think?

Chicago, hear me roar...

2003-09-08T23:37:00Z

I’m sitting through day 1 of a 2-day planning session, with about 100 people in attendance. If I see another presenter get up and say the words “I know you can’t read this slide…” I believe I’ll scream. (Everyone in the Chicago area, keep your ears open, because it will happen.)

Please, please, please, if you ever have to give a presentation, be prepared.

E-mail and Pocket PC phone. OK for reading, poor for replying...

2003-09-05T19:38:00Z

After using the PPC phone for a while, I've decided not to use it to reply to e-mail. Connectivity is the main issue. Sometimes the thing syncs up without a problem. Sometimes I can't connect at all.

What's most frustrating is when it quickly and effortlessly connects and pulls down e-mail.... then I type a reply (tap a reply -- kinda like morse code)... and then I click to sync and send my reply. Can't connect. It's very annoying. And it's happened so many times that I've decided to use the device as a reading device, not a writing device. I still like the larger screen form factor over the smaller smartphone screen. But I'm not going to use it as an input device anymore.

If I see an e-mail that requires a quick response, the integrated contacts feature is super. I can call the person back and address the issue.

Pocket PC Phone and MSN Instant Messenger...

2003-09-05T19:29:00Z

This one has me stumped. I never have been able to connect to my IM account from my PPC phone. I “tap here to sign in” and the phone connects to something, but I never can get logged in. Big bummer.

Anyone able to get it working? Any secrets?