The only thing better than something cool like the BrainGate Neural Interface is something even cooler Betterhumans >(Thinking Cap Lets Users Move). After reading about the first experiment, I went to the Internet, looking, frankly, for investor information about the company. While they may be a good investment, depending on their strategy and plans for the future, the second article points out that their 'new stuff' is already 'old hat' [pardon the pun]. An invasive brain implant would certainly be trumped by a 'brain wave hat'. This is some cool stuff, and along with this article about robotic limbs I first heard about from Mike's List, I would have to say that Christopher Reeve might certainly have been right about the chance of parapalegics to one day walk again.

Ho hum - I've yet to do my taxes - even though the government owes me money. Pretty silly for me to not rush out and get them done - but it just seems like such a pain in the butt. Interesting how we put off the things we could be done with, and end up enduring more stress because of it. Such is the life of the procrastinator.
I was just looking at the CompTIA Network+ exam - I thought maybe I'd go back and complete a couple of certifications. Then I saw that the exam costs $270 to sit for. Wow - that's a little bit steep for taking an exam! Especially an exam that wouldn't mean much to my career at this point. Should I have that much extra money sitting around, I don't think I'd spend it on that.

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Someone was looking for the ConnectionString for GoDaddy ASP.NET development. In my code, I use this:
myConnection = New OleDb.OleDbConnection(Application("connectString"))

And in the Global.asax, under Application_Start, I have this:
Application("connectString") = "Provider=SQLOLEDB; Server=myserver; Database=mydatabase; UID=myusername; PWD=mypass;"

Obviously, if you have GoDaddy's service, you have to create your database from your account page, and fill in your values for myserver, mydatabase, myusername and mypass. The myserver value is the fully qualified domain name (ending in secureserver.net) and mydatabase is probably of the form DB_XXXX.
So, if you were looking for help, there ya go (feel free to email me, too).

I put the connectString in as an Application variable so that it would be available from any page, since I need to connect from a variety of pages. ASP.NET has three different objects that are good for storing your variables, the Application object, the Session object and the ViewState object. To store values in any of these objects, you use Session("myvariable"), Application("myvariable") and/or ViewState("myvariable").
The ViewState is stored (and hashed) on the client as a hidden form field [ergo it's not secure, subject to client tampering], but has the added value of being able to store values over long periods of time.
The Session object begins with a user's first request to your ASP.NET application. The session is maintained through a session cookie that IIS exchanges with the client application. It's default timeout is 20 minutes. If the client does not accept session cookies, it won't work for your client. After 20 minutes of inactivity (no requests or form submissions by the client), anything you store in the Session will be thrown away. The Session object values is secure because it's stored on the server, but be aware that it is remotely possible for a user to hijack the session from someone else.
The Application object is good for storing what you might consider to be global values, such as application-wide definitions like a database connectionstring, etc. These types of values might be used in your application frequently, but storing them in an Application() object will allow you to change it in one place.

So, Is my Blog HOT or NOT? The people who brought you the original Hot Or Not have extended it to Blogs. If you like my blog (or not), feel free to rate it by clicking the link.

I used to be an administrator at a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) called Fox MUD. It's a network server program written in C that allows many people to log in and play a Role Playing Game (RPG) in text mode. Part Zork, part Everquest, it is probably one of the most addictive things invented on the Internet next to the World Wide Web. I gave up admining at Fox because it was affecting my school-work, and it faded away due to low popularity and a waning administration.
Another admin and I have started looking for our old backups of the MUD to perhaps bring it online again, just as a hobby/project. I know there were one or two things I wanted to try my hand at, such as interprocess communication, and exec'ing shells off the game to start child programs, funneling the input/output streams to the game....
I found a backup from 2002, but I'm working on getting one more recent than that. Wish me luck.

A news-worthy footnote: Buried within a news article regarding Israelite preparation for pulling out of the Gaza Strip, there was a secondary news item. It said that an army investigative team has recommended that Israel change its policy of demolishing the homes of the families of suicide bombers, because it believes that this action is only inciting them to more violence. Um.... duh?! It took an investigative team to figure out that class punishment only incites more rebellion? Granted, the shitty thing about suicide bombers is that you can't punish the assholes - they're already dead. But punishing their families won't bring them over to your way of thinking. That was just an assinine policy, my friends. The only way to punish suicide bombers is to ensure that they are not treated as heroes. To make them a martyr against viewed evil is to incite more to join their ranks. Turning the other cheek is not an act of cowardice, but the act of ignoring the actions of others who do not qualify for your consideration. The war of words is sometimes more powerful than the war of guns. I wish Ghandi were here.
The article said that Israel has destroyed 666 homes of Palestinian families, and that now they're going to stop. Well, here come the biblical prophets!!! Anyone who doesn't recognize this number from the Revelation of John? Does anyone think they stopped at this number on purpose? Perhaps some journalist is playing a joke on us? I'm almost tempted to write Sharon a letter asking that he destroy just one more house so that the number won't hang over their heads for the world to over-analyze.

I'm working on a second ASP.NET application (The first one is going to be my Pictures page redacted - Im moving the slideshow application into a SQL database backend with a DataGrid.. )
This second application grew out of Tic Tac Toe, but will eventually be a chess application - I'm going to create a centralized repository for the ultimate chess repertoire. Using the power of the Internet, I will offer a server-end repertoire that ppl can play against, and enter new moves to...with commentary, etc. It will be my gift to the Internet (heheh). Anyways, you can watch the application unfold at this link. Right now its a simple Connect-4 app, because I was working on analyzing diagonals.

Does stuff like this make you jealous? Why must we be stuck with average intellect? Why can we not key into what creates these abnormalities and train our own minds to follow after them? A 3-year old in Mensa - He is able to process information so quickly that in a few years, he'll likely have more knowledge than any of us reading this page... I've always felt competitive about the ability to quickly gain knowledge. It was the one thing that I could always delight in. Even for its own sake, with no applicability, knowledge has always been the one thing that I lust after, which is why I enjoy the ever-changing field of Information Technology. I'm so jealous of this kid. I can only hope that he uses his abilities to better mankind. Openly, I admit that bit of ego that I believe that I would use such skill more wisely.
Feelings of mortality and age overwhelm me. Reading about such a thing can almost bring me to feelings of depression, knowing that I will never be able to match the capabilities of this boy. Instead, I find myself less and less capable each day, having already peaked and begun the downward slide that will end in senility. Father Time, though art the cruelest of the gods.

Cure for Cancer is AIDS: Allow me to bring to your attention this article in Wired News: Altered HIV Attacks Mice Tumors - It seems scientists have genetically altered the deadly AIDS-causing HIV to attack metastisized melanoma cells in mice. This is some innovative stuff! Using the mechanisms of one deadly disease to attack another is an awesome prospect. I'm glad that the scientists who are working on this stuff are so innovative. Using one enemy to destroy another is something we're used to seeing in the political arena, but applying it to biology. Genetic research is really paying off!