We got an estimate for our patio about 4 years ago but we never got around to actually getting it done. We finally got it done a couple of weeks ago. It looks great and we can actually put this space to use now!
Before
After
Carson’s first season of T-Ball and Soccer finished tonight. Carson did very well and likes both sports. I think T-Ball is his favorite, though. He can’t wait to play hockey in the fall.
Carson and Heather at the parents soccer game.
Carson on second.
Last night I downloaded SQL Server Express 2008 (CTP version). Everything went well until I tried to find the Management Studio IDE. It was nowhere to be found. So I tried to connect via the Management Studio 2005. Unfortunately, I received a message stating this version of Management Studio could only be used with SQL Server 2000 or 2005. By now, I am a little frustrated so I googled why Management Studio 2008 was not installed. I found out that Management Studio 2008 is not included with SQL Server Express 2008 (CTP version) setup. Why? I have no idea. It seems this would be a must-have for this installation.
After I uninstalled SQL Server Express 2008 (CTP version), I installed SQL Server Express Advanced, which includes the Management Studio 2008. I will share with you on how to successfully install SQL Server Express 2008 with Management Studio 2008.
My only issue during the installation was Windows PowerShell was not installed on my system. The picture below displays the Failed status next to Windows PowerShell.
If you click on the Failed link, the screen below will appear. You will need to download and install Windows PowerShell.
When the Windows PowerShell installation has finished, you can click the Re-run button to complete the Setup Support Rules. The status for Windows PowerShell should be Passed and the Next button should be enabled.
You can now choose the Features you would like to install for SQL Server Express 2008. You need to select Management Tools - Basic under Shared Features to have Management Studio 2008 installed.
I will not walk you through the rest of this installation since you can visit Microsoft’s site for those instructions. I hope this helps with your installation of SQL Server Express 2008.
My resume on this site was originally a word document. I lost that version of my resume since I wiped my hard drive. Fortunately, someone I work for had a copy of my resume. But then I got to thinking why not just put it in HTML since it is on the internet. So I had an HTML version of my resume which contained a style sheet to make it look pretty. This was nice and I moved on with life.
Then I discovered an online career management site, VisualCV. This is an easy and great online tool to build your resume!
You can choose from a number of content modules to organize the content on your resume. You can move these modules to place them at a specific spot. My favorite module is the Skills module. This module allows you to add your own skills and then rate your skill level with each skill.
I also like the fact that I can now have one resume online!
Every year my in-laws have a pool party on the 4th of July. Each year is more fun as our kids and their cousins get another year older. This year was the first where it was countless hours of jumping off of the driving board and doing all sort of cool tricks.
Family Photo
Carson Surfing
Another Carson Surfing Attempt
I wasn’t planning on going to the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club this past weekend but my wife had the opportunity to get some tickets from a co-worker. The tickets were good for entry into the event and access to an event tent with FREE food and drinks.
My wife and I went on Saturday even though the weather wasn’t very good. There was still a great crowd (although not like the PGA crowds). The leaders played great despite the weather. It’s really amazing how easy these players make the game of golf look.
On Sunday, I took Carson since we only had two tickets. When we got to the main gate at Interlachen, I was informed that kids 17 and under get in for free. So I called home to tell Heather they could come down to the Open if they wish. We agreed to meet at the main gate at 3:30 pm. Of course, Heather and Amanda were right on time. We enjoyed the next couple of hours watching the final groups play the 17th and 18th holes.
Heather and I with the trophy!
The Detroit Red Wings have won the Stanley Cup! It was a great series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens remind me of the Edmonton Oilers in the early 1980’s. They both had great young talent but didn’t know what it really took to win a Stanley Cup.
In the end, the experience and skill of the Red Wings was too much to overcome.
About a month ago, I installed Ubuntu on my laptop as a second OS. Vista Home Premium was the original and workhorse of the two OS’s. I have fell in love with Ubuntu so I decided to clean my laptop of Vista and install Ubuntu 8.04 as my only OS. During each install of Ubuntu, I noticed that setting up wireless can be a pain. I will share a few quick and easy steps to get your wireless and Ubuntu working.
My wireless lan controller is from Broadcom so these steps are specifically for this controller.
First, open and terminal and type the following code:
This will update your system with all the available packages.
Second, go to System –> Administration –> Synaptic Package Manager. Search for b43-fwcutter and install it. This will install the firmware for your wireless card.
Finally, go to Connect to Wireless Network and enter the necessary information.
That should do it. These are the steps I have followed each time I needed to setup wireless for Ubuntu. Please let me know if this does or does not work for you. Good luck!
Since I have been a Microsoft developer for the last 12 years, I haven’t paid much attention to Linux or the open-source community. I have been unhappy with Vista for a little while and I wanted to expand my technology knowledge so I installed Ubuntu on my Vista laptop, which makes it a dual-boot laptop now.
I have been very impressed with Ubuntu. It has been very fast in comparison to Vista or XP. Ubuntu starts up or re-boots in a minute compared to a 5 minute start-up for Vista on my laptop. I love I can start my laptop and I don’t have to go get a cup of coffee while I wait for it to start.
I love the Synaptic Package Manager that contains a ton of applications to install. I have installed a number of applications this way, which makes it quick and easy. I have everything installed that I need with the exception of Visual Studio. I even have a Linux version of Internet Explorer installed, which I need for a web application that I use for my business and it only runs in IE.
One minor flaw that I see with Ubuntu (or the open source community in general) is the installation process is sometimes not very easy. I think this is one major reason non-technical people are not willing to give Linux a try.
Ubuntu has a great community forum and my experience in the forum has been very positive thus far. I would encourage all new Ubuntu users to use this forum to get their questions answered quickly and accurately.
In my support of Ubuntu, I will soon be ordering a Dell laptop with Ubuntu. The price of my laptop is much cheaper than if I got the same laptop with Windows. This allows me to spend more money on upgrades such as memory and more hard-drive space.
