Windows 7

After many years of resisting change and always picking the 'Classic' options when available on a new Windows setup, I have taken the plunge.

Microsoft has definately come up with a winner in my book. While it certainly takes a little getting used to the new GUI and there are some frustrations with the 64 bit OS not being compatible with some of my hardware, overall this was a very smooth install and I am pleased with the results.

I am enjoying my web server with sql 2005 with windows 7 ultimate. The speed is fast, the built in options with Windows 7 are good (I really like movie maker), and the GUI makes it easy to navigate (after a while of figuring things out)... I also will say that it is nice that Microsoft did not criple Windows 7 features like they have in previous Windows versions. That has been another nice surprise with the upgrade and my utilization of some less than standard features of the OS.

The other really nice bit I will say is that disk defrag now will allow scheduling of multiple drives easily without creating funky tasks and setting each drive to run at a given time with some guarantee of no overlap. The new system is MUCH enhanced over that.

The down side... There are still a lot of security pop-ups. I get tired of authorizing software that I clicked on. It is too bad they cannot distinguish between software that is programatically initiated and software that is initiated by clicking directly with the mouse. For those software started programs, I actually appreciate the security warning, however, for things that I click with the mouse, the extra window takes time and has no true value.

ASP System Login Working

YEAH!!! After a long time struggling with my ASP.NET configuration I have finally completed a working connection between the server and my website.

Thus, the site now allows for authentication which I will utilize to increase the content available and restrict certain content to those authenticated at certain levels. I will also be able to allow friends to create an account such that I can know who they are and have conversations.

Now on to the next phase of development with the login! Slowly but surely I am getting all of this working!

Website Overhaul

After many months of the same thing, I am working to overhaul the site. You will note some changes. While things are not 100% the way that I would like them and they way they will likely stay, the site is quickly becoming more user-friendly, easy to administer, and more up with the current times of web development.

The new site features aspx menu driven content, breadcrumbs, template utilization, and most importantly is built on the principles of utilizing cascading style sheets to allow for rapid adjustment to the site as needed.

Hope you like it!

Potty Today

Parenting just got better! Yesterday Welsey crossed a real milestone. It was the first day of perfect potty. Wesley not only went pee pee but also poo poo and more importantly started to tell me when he needed to go. I was so proud of him I couldn't begin to express it.

Now the real trick will be to build the sustainability and to get ready for the frustration of constantly looking for a potty while we are out and about-- it was all worth it though. The cat and mouse playing stubborn and waiting him out finally paid off. I thought it was never going to work.