michael coates, a pragmatic evangelist
June 9, 2011 Leave a comment
In 2006 (at the time of this post), we don’t know in which state the Simpsons’ Springfield resides. Thanks to Dan Cameron (who uploaded it to Flickr), there is a fully-detailed map of the city itself.
In 2007, 14 Springfields coast-to-coast participated in a contest, and Vermont won. See the USA Today article: “Jubilant Vermont town hits a Homer”.
Original Post: November 19, 2006
June 9, 2011 Leave a comment
Thanks to Connor for pointing me to Orbit on 2dplay.com.
This game is a bit addictive; the idea is to launch your comet away from the spheres (that represent planets of varying gravitational strengths). Avoid crashing for as long as you can.
Original Post: November 19, 2006
June 9, 2011 Leave a comment
This is a utility to create a custom Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) screen saver with which you can amaze your friends and terrorize your IT enemies.
Get it from TechNet: BlueScreen Screen Saver v3.2.
Original Post: November 14, 2006
June 8, 2011 Leave a comment
You may remember “Duck Amuck”, where Daffy Duck is tormented by a cartoonist (who later turns out to be Bugs Bunny).
Well, here’s the internet age equivalent: “Animator versus Animation”, by Alan Becker. This is a Flash-based bit of art (converted to a symbol) that escapes from it’s box and turns against the editing interface with hilarious results.
Original Post: August 18, 2006
June 8, 2011 Leave a comment
A little lofty, a little whimsical. I’m on a plane at the moment, working on a strategic outline. Of course, my mind wanders and I start reflecting on technology at large.
I remember the daze when (roughly in time order from when I encountered / mastered them):
Of course, I’m showing my age. Naturally, I left a few out (on purpose; stimulates the discussion). What do you remember?
Original Post: June 21, 2006
June 8, 2011 Leave a comment
Thanks to Sternest Meanings, which hosts an anagram bot. Some fun ones from off the top of my pointy little head:
‘microsoft pragmatic evangelist’
anagrams to
‘Castigative comforter sampling.’
.. does this mean a sampling of scolding yet comforting statements?
‘michael coates’
anagrams to
‘A choicest male.’
.. this one does NOT need explaining 😛
‘I do my Sudoku puzzles in ink’
anagrams to
‘Dizzy up melodious skunk in.’
.. I should have quite whilst ahead.
Original Post: May 29, 2006
June 7, 2011 Leave a comment
I just finished a project producing scripts and demos for count ‘em: lucky 13 videos for Windows Azure AppFabric. I managed to spend more time in Visual Studio than I have in years .. and it was actually quite fun.
These videos target the breadth developer and get you off on the right foot with "An Introduction to Windows Azure AppFabric”. From there, we introduce several new services, highlighted below.
Windows Azure AppFabric Cache
The AppFabric Cache is a distributed, in-memory, application caching service for Windows Azure and SQL Azure applications. The cache provides applications with high-speed access, scale and high availability to application data. The service requires no installation or instance management, and can be resized dynamically to meet your needs.
Windows Azure Service Bus Topics
Topics enable one-to-many message delivery and filter rules which ensure delivery to relevant systems in a publish / subscribe model. Topics are provisioned in code, requiring no installation or instance management.
Windows Azure Service Bus Queues
Queues enable your application to be more resilient by providing an always-present receipt location for messages, even if the receiving listener is offline. Queues can also load-level your application when traffic spikes occur, or load-balance .the application to improve processing performance.
Windows Azure Service Bus Relay
The Service Bus Relay supports Service Remoting: a way to expose on-premises services so they be called by Cloud components, and One-Way messaging, a means to send to one or many recipients.
The video series includes both “what is” and “how to”pivots, complete with code samples so you can try these new services out for yourself. Visit the AppFabric Demos Channel on CodePlex.
June 7, 2011 1 Comment
So, I got to thinking. If I were to list the ten songs that had touched me over the years, what would they be? “Favorite” isn’t really a strong enough term, but you get the idea.
As I compiled the following list, I found myself pointing out (to myself, mind you) that:
The list is not in any particular order, nor is it complete (you’ll note there are only nine songs). That wasn’t because I couldn’t think of a tenth; it was because I realized that I had other music that was important to me, and I felt I should do some prioritizing before finalizing the list. Then I realized: my life is not over; I’m entering another important chapter right now. Like “life, the universe and everything” (thanks to Douglas Adams), the list is subject to change:
Stay tuned to this space, and please comment with your favorites.
Original Post:May 2005
June 6, 2011 Leave a comment
I posted “What is "Lorem Ipsum"?” back in 2005, as it was one of those “things” I stumbled across and wanted to share.
Now I’m hooked: Check out the Fortified and Extra Strong Lorem Ipsum Generator. This is an enhanced (I guess that’s where ‘fortified’ and ‘extra strong’ come into play) generator, providing Lorem Ipsum in a variety of dialects (including L33tsp3@k).
Original Posting: October 12, 2005
June 3, 2011 1 Comment
In my non-technical (but still computer) time, my son and I started on a Microsoft game called Freelancer, as I’m keen to get him off of FPS and into games that involve more strategy and problem-solving. It’s an interesting RPG, where you do have a bit more control over the story than you’d first expect.
As to strategy, I have to ask: Myst or Zork anyone? Note: the Zork link has free downloads of the first three text-based games (what is a grue, anyway?).
Original Posting: June 13, 2005
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