evolution creations
when you put your mind to it, anything is possible
Refreshing HTML Page and Google Analytics Integration
Mar 22nd
Lets say you want to create a subdomain, and then route it to a completely different webpage after a predefined length of time, but you want it to execute the Google Analytic code to be able to then track the transaction. How do you do that?
New WIKI!
Mar 22nd
For awhile now I’ve been adding technical docs to this blog in attempt to both retain knowledge that I find over the ages, but also to share with the wider community and partipate in the conversation.
In an effort to better facilitate this, I have a new Deki wiki solution that will be used to house all the existing articles, as well as future articles. I hope that you find this a better solution as I have found so myself and participate in the wiki to make it better!
Update and append to end of string in MSSQL
Mar 17th
How do you take a string in an MSSQL table and append another string to the end of it? To do this, you can run a bit of SQL such as:
update tablename set Columnname = Columnname + ‘newstring’ where id = X
So if you are say updating a column that is a URL and you want all instances in the table to receive a new value at the end of the URL, your query might look like:
update url_table set urlfield = urlfield + ‘&additionalfield=true’
Rob Thomas – Little Wonders
Mar 14th
This has to be one of my favorite songs from my all time favorite movie, Meet the Robinsons.
T.I. Road to Redemption – A surprising production from MTV
Feb 14th
Once in a while, a TV station like MTV who has previously been known to do nothing but reality shows that are geared to the lowest common denominator and of the poorest taste considering the day and age that we live in, will break through and provide something to the viewing audience that really shows that it’s a station that not only has star power through it’s ability to command any Hollywood star, but also to leverage those contacts to produce something really worthwhile.
I don’t say this often, as I have come to think of MTV as the filth that has become the degeneration of our generation and future generations to come, but there is a new show that my wife DVR’ed the other day that I reluctantly watched today, that is T.I.’s Road to Redemption.
What makes this interesting is the story behind this series. Apparently T.I. was brought to trial by the ATF for possession of weapons that were in violation of his previous felony conviction. With this, if the Federal government won a conviction, he could face up to 30 years in prision for those possessions. Apparently he made a deal with them that before March/2009, he would complete 1000 hours of community service–if he was able to do this, he would only face 1 year and 1 day in prison–if he failed to do so, he could face the full term. Obviously it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that the decision he made was clearly the best one, but wasn’t so obvious was his move to have MTV produce a show where he goes after 7 teens at risk to the streets and to help them understand what they are doing and the life that they can come to expect.
I have to admit, although I don’t agree with T.I.’s life decisions, to take the extra time on top of his 1000 hours of community service, to help these troubled kids, really gives me hope that Hollywood hasn’t been completely lost to the scum that is what we believe it to be. With people who are too into themselves and what’s in it for them, instead of looking out and using their star power and influence to help those who would be their fans and people who can be influenced by direct interactions with them.
I’ll be interested to see how things progress in the future shows, but for now after watching the first episode, I am impressed and give T.I. credit where credit is due for the work that he is doing. If he is able to complete this community service and have any impact on the kids he is helping, that should earn him a pass to get out of jail free. That is more than what you can say others in similar positions in either Music or Film have done for kids who are clearly at risk.
Error when installing SQLTools
Feb 4th
When you first install SQLTools, you receive an error message:
SQLTools.exe – Unable to Locate ComponentThis application has failed to start because OCI.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
To fix this, you will need to install Oracle Client 10g Express Client. Once this is installed, you’ll need to try to launch SQLTools and it should open for you then.
Inserting string with an Apostrophe in MSSQL
Feb 2nd
When you try to use an insert statement in MSSQL and the string contains an apostrophe, such as:
insert into test_table set destinationfield = ‘Sometime’s’ where id = 1
Obviously test_table equals the table that holds the data, destinationfield equals the field in the table that is going to get updated, and id would equals the unique identifier of the row that is going to be changed. When you try and run this you will always get a SQL error. To get around this, you want to use double quotes:
insert into test_table set destinationfield = ‘Sometime”s’ where id = 1
You’ll notice that in the first example there is only one single quote at the end of the string. Just adding another single quote will allow the insert to go through.
EagleEye – Bad movie or diamond in the ruff?
Jan 25th
We just got EagleEye on BluRay from Netflix, and I have to admit, I was skeptical because of Shia LaBeouf and whether or not he could handle this type of role. We’ve seen this type of movie before, remember Enemy of the State. As we get into the new digital age, we look at setting presidences where none exist before. Our society is one of a letigious foundation, but how do we deal with these new frontiers and protecting that which we hold to be true. Freedom of information and personal freedoms can be shut down at what cost to national security and the protection of the whole?
While LaBeoufs acting wasn’t all that great, the story line was fairly good (up until the ending). The whole reason the Aria needed LaBeouf was because his twin brother locked the system out of going through with its end of days similation. Isn’t it odd that such a powerful computer can’t break through layers and layers of encryption, but can easily hack into every system from cell phones to traffic to video cameras, etc? Seems a bit far fetched. Lets just say this one I will pass on adding to the collection!
StarGate Atlantis Over but not forgotten
Jan 25th
So last week the final episode of Stargate Atlantis aired. To much shagrin it was actually fairly bland but a bit fantastic–the wrath getting a ZPM and building a super ship? I would have liked to see some of the personal relationships getting wrapped up, such as between Shepard and Tala, or Ronin and his new flame (they elude to this by her appearing at his bedside at the end of the episode). Also putting Atlantis back on Earth puts the future of Atlantis not in the Pegasus galaxy but in the Milky Way? Ah, well, it’s over, I’ve yet to see a good Scifi series come to an end (heck look at Sliders and what a mess that was–they couldn’t even bring back Jerry O’Connell in the last season!).
Keeping your G1 screen from scratching
Jan 25th
It’s been a few weeks after I got a G1, and one area of the phone that really has me going is the screen. Not only is it brilliant and clear, but since you use it for practically everything on the phone, the tendency for it to get scratched up is fairly good. When you first get the G1, there is a plastic film that is over the screen, and for those who are gettin G1′s, I’d recommend that you leave this on for the time being.
But what do you replace it with? The answer to that is an Invisible Shield by Zagg. I did a bit of research, and what I wanted was to protect the screen with the least amount of added weight, and least amount of reduction in terms of touch sensitivity. I’ve tried hard cases for other phones (Motorola Q), and in my experience, it was more hassle than it was worth and the added weight and size made the PDA less attractive. There are hard cases for the G1, and if you are the type that wants to protect the whole phone in a vein attempt to keep it looking good, than good for you! But for the rest of us who realize that the phone’s exterior is meant to be used, the Invisible Shield is the answer for you.
From the manufacturer’s information, this is the same material that is used in military applications to coat the edges of helicopter blades–tough stuff to say the least. The manufacturer also claims that the material is scratch proof and won’t add added weight to the device or decrease functionality. All lofty ambitions, but the proof is where the rubber meets the road and test this myself.
So we finally got the covers for our phones (Samsung Dash and T-Mobile G1), and I installed them this morning. From some reviews I have read, the installation process was very painful. If you follow the directions, the hardest part I found was to align the covers properly on the device (had to do the Dash twice because it had different cutouts than the G1 that just covers a square screen. Unlike other reviews, on both devices, I didn’t have any problems with bubbles under the screens, and in 12 hours, the screens had dried and everything looks good.
Not only does the cover seem to eliminate scratches, on the G1 the touch screen is just as responsive than before. Also it doesn’t decrease the screens brightness or cause bad reflections under light. All in all for the cost of the cover, definitely a worth while investment!
Explore Badlands
Tempest Keep
Twilight Duo (10 player)