Binary Expressions

From the “Apple” menu click on “About this Mac”.

Microsoft Windows

1. Got to the Windows Start Menu and click on “Run” or press Windows Key+R.
2. In the input field type without quotes “cmd” and click on the “Ok” button. If your are running Microsoft Windows ‘95/’98/ME replace “cmd” with “command”.
3. Now at the command prompt type without quotes “ipconfig /flushdns” and the press the “Enter” key. You will then receive a success message.
4. Close command prompt by typing without quotes “exit” or clicking on the “x” at the top right of the window.

Mac OS X

1. Open the “Terminal”.
2. Type in the “Terminal” without quotes “dscacheutil -flushcache” and press “Enter”. If you are running Mac OS X older then 10.5 you must type without quotes “lookup -flushcache”.

Background Knowledge

When opening an application one may desire to have the application maximized or minimized. The solutions listed below are the most reliable means to achieve this for all Microsoft Windows versions.

Solution #1 – Shortcut

Create a New Shortcut

1. Right mouse click on an empty area of the desktop.
2. Left mouse click on “New” -> “Shortcut”.
3. Left mouse click on the “Browse…” button and select a desired application.
4. Once you have selected your desired application, left mouse click on the “OK” button.
5. Left mouse click on the “Next” button.
6. Type in the desired name of the shortcut and left mouse click on the “Finish” button.
7. Continue on to the “Edit Existing Shortcut” instructions below.

Edit Existing Shortcut

1. Right mouse click on a shortcut and left mouse click on “Properties”.
2. Left mouse click on “Shortcut” tab.
3. Under “Run”, select desired window setting, “Normal window”, “Maximized” or ” Minimized”.
4. Left mouse click on the “OK” button.

Note: If you do not have the “Run” property on the shortcut, then follow the “Create a New Shortcut” instructions.

Solution #2 – Command Line

Maximize

1. At the command line type without double quotes, “start /max c:\Windows\notepad.exe”. Replace “c:\Windows\notepad.exe” with desired application.

Minimized

1. At the command line type without double quotes, “start /min c:\Windows\notepad.exe”. Replace “c:\Windows\notepad.exe” with desired application.

Background Knowledge

Your Nintendo Wii will no longer power on. You may also notice the light on the power button maybe lit and then turn off when pressed.

Solution #1

1. Unplug the Wii power adapter from the back of the Wii and from the outlet/source.
2. The Wii power adapter must be unplugged at both ends for 2 minutes, no less.
3. At this stage it’s best to unplug/remove all accessories including controllers, memory cards, game discs, and cables.
4. Ensure all cables/wiring all not damaged in an shape or form. If indeed there is a cable/wire that is, replace it. Also ensure your power outlet/source is operational.

5. After 2 minutes have passed, plug the power adapter back into the back of the Wii and power outlet/source.

   If the power light comes on, plug the sensor bar into the back of the Wii and press the power button to turn the system on to see if it still works. Repeat this process for each accessory. If you discover one or more accessory causes the system to not be functional have the accessory replaced or repaired.

Solution #2

If by now you have not been able to power on your Nintendo Wii system please consult the link below or contact Nintendo’s customer service.

Source: Nintendo Customer Service – Wii Power Problems

The following links load a flash file that will report what version is installed for Adobe Flash and Adobe Shockwave.

Source: Version test for Adobe Flash Player

Source: Test Adobe Shockwave & Flash Players

1. Go to Profiles
2. Click on Advanced
3. Highlight Active profile
4. Click on Menu and select Edit
5. SMS Text/Phone/MMS etc.
6. Select Tone
7. Ring Tone: Change as desired
8. Volume: High/Medium/Low
9. Click back button
10. Select Save

I oddly just realized now that Mozilla Firefox is not handling client-side image maps correctly as it should with a DTD of XHTML 1.1 Strict in text/html. I will not go into test cases unless one finds it necessary as everything has been laid out in the two links below. However, why has this not been resolved or is there a proper solution to this matter? I have not been able to find a answers and oddly this issue has been brought up back in 2001. One would think enough time has past.

Any explanation, comments, or help would be greatly appreciated.

Source: Image map handling
Source: Bug 109445 – Referencing a client-side image map declared with id attribute doesn’t work in text/html (usemap)

Background Knowledge

I’m running PHP v5.2.9-2 with SQL Server 2005 Express on Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2.

Error Message

Warning: mssql_query() [function.mssql-query]: message: Unicode data in a Unicode-only collation or ntext data cannot be sent to clients using DB-Library (such as ISQL) or ODBC version 3.7 or earlier. (severity 16)

Solution

Specify the database columns within your database query (select filed1, field2 from foo). Avoid doing queries with the wildcard (*), select * from foo.

Source: PHP Manual on MSSQL_Query()

“If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.”

Jim Rohn
Motivational speaker and author

An example of a basic MSSQL (Microsoft SQL Server/SQL Server Express) query using PHP.

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$szQry = "SELECT column1, column2 FROM foo";
$szDBConn = mssql_connect("host","username","password");
mssql_select_db("database_name", $szDBConn);
$saResults = mssql_query($szQry, $szDBConn);
while($obResults = mssql_fetch_row($saResults))
{
   echo $obResults[0]." ".$obResults[1];
}
mssql_close($szDBConn);

Comments/description of Example

Line #1

SQL statement that will be sent to the MySQL database server.

Line #2

MSSQL database login credentilas; host (127.0.0.1), username and password.

The “host” is the server name or IP address of your database server. If your host has multiple instances the “host” value would be formatted like so “foo\bar”. If your using SQL Server Express the “host” name locally would be “.\SQLEXPRESS”.

Line #3

Select database using the login credentials provided above.

Line #4

Send SQL statement to database.

Line #5-8

Fetch results returned back from the SQL statement. I use a while loop to enumerate through each row of results returned. If you know only one row is going to be retunred the while loop is not necessary.

Line #9

Close database connection.

Background Knowledge

It appears this depiction of the Canadian political left and right originated as far as I can tell by johnnyslow [at] gmail [period] com around the end of the 2005. I recently heard the below of what I’m reposting on Charles Adler radio show.

I was so impressed by this analogy I had to post it for others that may have not read it yet.

Classic Version

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or
shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

THE END

The Canadian Version

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. So far, so good, eh?

The shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like him, are cold and starving.

The CBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper,
with cuts to a video of the ant in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food. Canadians are stunned that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty.

The NDP, the CAW and the Coalition Against Poverty demonstrate in front
of the ant’s house. The CBC, interrupting an Inuit cultural festival special from Nunavut with breaking news, broadcasts them singing “We Shall Overcome.”

Jack Layton grants in an interview with Mike Duffy that the ant has gotten rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his “fair share”.

In response to polls, the Liberal Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper
Anti-Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant’s taxes are reassessed, and he is also fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as helpers. Without enough money to pay both the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. The ant moves to the US and starts a successful agribiz company.

The CBC later shows the now fat grasshopper finishing up the last of the ant’s food, though spring is still months away, while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant’s old house, crumbles around him because he hasn’t bothered to maintain it.

Inadequate government funding is blamed, Bob Rae is appointed to head a commission of inquiry that will cost $10,000,000.

The grasshopper is soon dead of a drug overdose, the Toronto Star blames it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity.

The abandoned house is taken over by a gang of immigrant spiders, praised by the government for enriching Canada’s multicultural diversity, who promptly set up a marijuana grow op and terrorize the community.

THE END

This invented compare and contrast parable of the ant and grasshopper is the best way of discussing the political right and left.

Source: Charles Adler On The Edge
Source: Ralph’s World

Background Knowledge

I have Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 with the following optical media drives. The system is approximately one year old.

• Manufacture: LG
• Model: HL-DT-STDVD-ROM_GDRH20N
• Firmware version: 0D04

• Manufacture: LG
• Model: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H73N
• Firmware version: B103

Problem

There are two issues I’m experiencing all resulting in the fact that windows explorer is not refreshing the drive contents and/or drive volume label. Both issues occur on CD/DVD reader and CD/DVD writer drives. As well I’ve tried multiple discs from ones I’ve burnt to discs that were commercial produced and these discs all work fine on other computer systems.

1. My Computer/Windows Explorer is not refreshing the CD/DVD drive contents.
2. My Computer/Windows Explorer is not refreshing the CD/DVD volume label.

Issue #1 – Drive Contents

One of two scenarios occur. One, at times if I’m taking a disc out of one of the drives and then put another one in the contents of the drive is not refreshed or Windows Explorer will prompt to format the disc even though the disc is not blank and has been fixated (closed disc).

Two, after burning a CD/DVD I am rarely ever am able to view the contents of the disc via Windows Explorer. Again I’m prompted with a dialog to format the disc even though the disc can not be blank. Oddly again both issues are gone when I view the contents of the drive via the command prompt.

If I eject the CD/DVD out of the drive using Windows Explorer not pressing the eject button on the drive itself then putting the disc back into the computer usually allows me to view the contents of the disc within Windows Explorer.

The only reliable way I’m able to see the current contents of a given CD/DVD is by using the command prompt.

Issue #2 – Volume Label

The CD/DVD volume label rarely appears correctly within windows explorer. If it does by chance, it is then stuck with that volume label until I reboot Windows Vista. Trying to refresh by pressing F5 does not help. Even if I eject the CD/DVD from the either drive by pressing the eject button on the drives themselves or clicking on eject with the mouse the drive label still shows/appears as if there is a CD/DVD in the drive.

The only reliable way I’m able to see the correct volume label at all times is by using the command prompt.

Solution

I’m not aware of any solution, only work a rounds is doing one of the following list below. However these work a rounds are not perfect nor practical/logical. Even using an alternative application to Windows Explorer I still found issues of the correct volume name of the disc. Even if a disc was not in the drive it would still show a volume name. Although at least if you accessed the drive it would refresh the contents of the disc.

• Only use “eject” button within Windows Explorer and not on the physical drive.
• Use the command prompt to view contents of the disc and volume name.
• Use an alternative application to Windows Explorer such as FreeCommander or Xenon File Manager.

I’ve anyone has a solution that works 100% and allows the use of Windows Explorer please feel free to post your solution under comments.