Recent notes

• Europe post is coming soon, but not here - I need to have my journal handy
• Mr Malcolm was born!
• Job recruiters who sound like frat guys on my voicemail do not get return phone calls
• Cranberries apparently make my stomach hurt and this was a sad fact to learn
• Since using baking soda and vinegar to wash my hair it stinks when I blowdry so I may have to stop
• Apple cider vinegar is an excellent conditioner despite the unpleasant odor (which goes away when my hair is dry)
• I am soooooo freaking bored at work
• I may go back to Quest in a month or so if they can pay me appropriately
• An offer with Unisys is vaguely possible

SQL - Searching by first letter of record example

To search by the first letter of a last name in a table called Contact:

SELECT * FROM CONTACT
WHERE SUBSTRING(LASTNAME, 1, 1) = @SURNAMELETTER

Stops

I have to set stops from now on! I'm down over 16% on MOS. I should have tapped out around a 5% loss, tops. Damn it!

Life

• Went to the Radiohead concert last night with the Bowmans, the Taylors, and our friend David. Awesome show, excellent weather, great people watching.
• Signed up for knitting class which starts in late August
• Start next belly dance class tomorrow
• Started new strength-training exercise class at my gym. Can hardly walk because my hamstrings are so freakin tight. Going to keep with it though. Group fitness classes are good because I'd never make myself work that hard otherwise.
• In talks with old employer about coming back
• About to begin talks with Unisys for possible QA, home-based opportunity

Environmentally friendly draino

Enviro-friendly mixture to unclog a drain without unleasing toxic chemicals which may later polute our water supply.

From here:

Pour about ¼ cup of baking soda into the drain and then add about ½ cup of white vinegar. When it stops “bubbling,” follow up by pouring in a big pot of boiling water.

Dance classes

Pablo and I have completed Beginner Salsa I and II. We are not continuing because his Fall semester classes begin next month. It was pretty fun but challenging. I don't really like Salsa music so that kind of ruins it. hee hee

Bellydancing, on the otherhand, I am continuing. I just completed my 8 week beginner class and start another 8 week session next Tuesday. I like that music so it is a bit easier to get into. Wee hoo!

Chicago trip recap

• Stayed at the W Chicago Lakeshore - Too expensive for my tastes but it was fabulous. The service is excellent, lots of ammenities and perks. Unfortunately, the guestroom we had employed a shuttered opening from the bathroom to the bedroom and the bathroom door was thin, woven strips of wood. This means no privacy! Oh well, still cool.
• Ate at the Chicago Diner, as usual, for lunch Saturday.
• Dined at a restaurant new to us called the Green Zebra and loved it. It is a vegetarian menu though it also includes some fish. Brad got the Weep salad and the Crispy Tofu. I got the Thai Carrot Soup and the Curried Potato Potstickers. This was some of the tastiest food I've ever had.
• Went to a pub which was super cool called Five Star Bar. My brother would love it. Rather, my brother would love the waitresses.

More interview questions

• Current projects
• Performance reviews
• Code reviews
• Role of Business Analysts
• Emphasis on test-driven development
• Organizational units

See original list here.

Development life cycle

From us.sogeti.com

Married!

Fun with emails

Me: Do you guys have a boombox?

Dad: Um, no, I sold it in 1987. If you need one, call Mom and she'll pick one up. Do you need some Hammer pants to go with it?

Learned at work today

Enabling sorting of a gridview control (easy luckily):

Dim ds As New DataSet
'Call data method to populate dataset
ds = objData.whatever()
GridView1.DataSource = ds
If SortExpression <> "" Then
'Apply a sorting filter if applicable
Dim view As DataView = ds.Tables(0).DefaultView
view.Sort = SortExpression
GridView1.DataSource = view
End If
'Bind the data
GridView1.DataBind()

Fun with emails

me: Tonight will be fun. It's the last dance of my single life!!! We need special, commemorative hair pats [this is a dance move dear reader].

Pablo: I don't think your life is really going to change all that much after this weekend. GEEZ! I've already got a routine in the works in my lil' head.

me: Whatever - I will instantly gain 15 pounds. And my voice will develop a higher-pitched whining tone. I hear I might also feel like watching Oprah too.

Pablo: So, you will turn into Peg Bundy.

me: Basically.

Personal care au naturale

I tried the hairwashing natural alternative linked in yesterday's post with mixed results (wash with baking soda, rinse with apple-cider vinegar). My hair isn't exactly clean, but it is clean enough. It's like having "day-two hair." There is a large section on the top-back of my head which is of questionable cleanliness. The rest is clean, that part not so much. Also, my hair smells slightly of vinegar. Not enough for anybody else to smell, but I catch a whiff every now and then. It was particularly noticeable when heat-styling with my flat iron this morning. Things that may possibly have gone wrong:

• My water is too hard
• I didn't use enough baking soda
• I used too much vinegar
• I had too much product in my hair
• I needed to wash twice (which I do with conventional shampoo)

On the upside my hair is very shiny and the texture is good on the clean parts. The vinegar smell was only strong when my hair was wet and is a non-issue dry. It was easy to comb through after my shower without any tangles. My hair definitely was conditioned. I'm not surprised since I've always heard beer was a good rinse. Since apple-cider vinegar is also fermented I guess it makes sense that it would work too.

So, I'm going to try it again to see if I can't get it right. Then I'm moving on to deodorant.

Note: this might be a good routine if I plan on wearing my hair in curls - as the day progresses, a natural wave is forming and there is a bit of volume on the ends.

Natural alternatives for personal care

Call me what you want ('dirty girl' is my fave) I'm seriously considering natural, homemade personal care products.

• Hair washing
• Deodorant (Sarah maybe we can split a batch!)
• Teeth

Things to ask at next employer interview

• Leadership/PM's role in application development - hands on vs. independent; can I expect an architect to lead and develop plans?
• Application architecture (tiered? converted from older technologies?)
• Technologies most often used
• DBA's role
• Standards - how are they complied with? verified?
• Quality control and testing
• Number of hours average developer works each week
• Number of hours supervisor works each week
• Amount of interaction, team-focus
• Work area - isolated vs. close together
• Opportunities for certification/education and emphasis on this area

Stock note

Note: If a stock goes up an unusual amount before noon, take profits (i.e.: RRC went up 8% between 10 and 11 am last week then after noon fell hard)

Things I learned at work today

1. Can pass querystring values into sql reporting services data parameters without any extra code as long as they have the same name. SQL Reporting Services tutorials
2. Can override control properties set in skin file by using "StyleSheetTheme=" in the page directive instead of "Theme=". This assigns the same hierarchy as CSS formatting.

Ideas for things to do in Chicago

Going to Chicago July 18 - 20. Below are some ideas of what to do while we're there:

• Chicago Diner (for sure)
• Lincoln Park (bring swim clothes!)
• Chicago River historical/architecture cruise
• Check out apts Hawthorne House 3450 N. Lake Shore Dr
• Check out apts 3000 N. Sheridan Sat 10a-5p
• Check out apts 3260-3270 N Lakeshore
• Superior 110 building sales center (motivation/dreaming) 747 N. LaSalle, 3rd floor Sat & Sun 12p-4p
• SoNo residence sales center (also dreaming, but fun) 1454 North Dayton Sat & Sun 12p-5p
• Chicago Spire sales center (there is a theme here) NBC Tower 455 North City Front Plaza Drive 18th floor (Water & N Columbus) Sat & Sun 11a-5p

The Internet's First Ever Morrissey Dedicated Shop

Awesome.

http://www.viva-moz.com/