I just managed to fix a really weird bug in SQLEditor. The problem was that when ever you drew a connector between two fields all of the lines would get drawn slightly thicker. This gave a really odd visual effect.
It turns out that the connector lines were using a slightly thicker line style and that the thinner default line style wasn’t being reset correctly when drawing function completed. This then meant that all future lines were drawn in a thicker line style.
I’ve sort of just got back from a really wonderful trip to the Lake District (google map). It was great to get away from technology (mostly) and the demands of work. I really enjoyed the holiday and if you ever get the opportunity to visit that part of the country, do it. Windermere is a really great place to visit.
We spent all day doing outdoor stuff, the walking in the area is amazing. The views are amazing and although the weather was a bit wet, the walking is great. We were hoping to do some sailing as well, but the weather proved a bit difficult in that area, but we did get in a motor boat hire and several trips across and around the lakes. We also went horse riding, which is something that I haven’t really done much of, but I enjoyed it immensely.
There was also great food at various resturants and several ruthless board games (mostly monopoly).
Everyone was really friendly and the people running both the Windermere and Ambleside youth hostels couldn’t have been better.
I’m already hoping to go back 🙂
[edited to improve structure]
Recently I was reading an Article that was talking about venture capital funds and their need to rapidly invest or return big sums of money that they have sitting in their bank accounts. The VCs apparently either have to invest the money (about $25 Billion) OR return the yearly management fees on the money (about $3 Billion). The catch is that the money doesn’t have to be invested wisely or responsibly, it just has to be invested. The theory then goes that this will lead to another boom similar to, but perhaps smaller than, the 2000 boom.
Whether this will happen is difficult to guess, but a thought did occur to me as I was reading the article. Booms, bubbles and bankruptcies can be a way of comercially funding things that need to be built but aren’t, strictly speaking, viable in a financial sense.
There are lots of examples of this, the internet infrastructure is one and the British railway system is another. In each case investors were enthused with the idea that vast fortunes could be made in the chosen area, the investors where driven into an investment frenzy and the infrastructure was constructed (typically at vast expense). The bubble then collapsed, but crucially the infrastructure was still there and still usable. A bit of restructuring and some fiancial fiddling and now there is lots of shiny new stuff.
The investors of course have lost their money by this stage, but hopefully the more speculative investors have sufficient reserves and everyone should always be following the key rule:
Never invest money in a risky venture that you can’t afford to loose
I suspect that this topic has been written about already so I’m currently doing research to see if there are more examples of it.
includes a steam-train chase, several laser gunfights and an original score by a full symphony orchestra. Not bad considering his total budget was £20,000.
I’ve been thinking recently about music buying. When I can buy music online from the iTunes music store why should I want to buy it in a physical store? With the online store I can experience a sample of any track and get to listen to the music immediately. If I buy it offline I have to carry it home, convert it to mp3 and only then can I listen. I suppose a music store offers some browsing capability and there are some music stores where they have friendly staff who can offer suggestions, but I don’t really tend to see that kind of customer service very often and the browsing that experience online is often superior, especially with recommendations from other users.
So what is my conclusion? On the surface the online services have every advantage over the bricks and morter store. Unless the bricks and morter stores work very hard to catch up they’re going to fall behind. But where can they go? Bookstores are introducing cafe’s and relaxing chairs, but does a cafe make sense in a branch of HMV or Virgin? I suppose I can see a bar, maybe, but a cafe?
With bookshops I actually enjoy going to browse, but then with books you can really browse, reading the books as you go. No music store offers the ability to sample all of the music in the store, although it doesn’t seem insurmountable as a technical challenge, so maybe that is one direction to go in.
But I become increasingly disappointed with physical music and DVD stores. I go and then I wander around for a while looking vaguely for something worth buying. So I suspect that more of my business will be heading online unless something drastically changes.
Binary Thoughts is back!
I probably should have remarked on this before, but Dhruba’s weblog “Binary Thoughts” has reappeared. He was moving servers so it went down for a bit, but it has now returned. Which is really great news.
Plus of course the fact that the presentation of Binary Thoughts is so much better than Angus Thinks that the comparison really isn’t funny. Curved corners are definitely in right now and the theme and extras are much better.
If you need a ready reference for Lumberjack Jargon there is a page at wikipedia that offers such useful, everyday phrases as:
Why not use one or more of these phrases in conversation!
I went out this evening to a pub (McEwans brewhouse) and had a really great vegetarian shepherd’s pie. It had a 5 bean chilli base, topped with mash and covered in cheese. I really want to try it at home, since I’m getting bored of some the recipes I’m currently using.
It was served with a side of garlic bread. I definitely would have it again, because it was really good.
My current thoughts on this are:
Bean and Chilli mix
Fry onions and add tomato paste. Add drained beans and chilli. Simmer
Potato Mash
Cheddar cheese topping.
Completing the dish
Put the bean mixture into a small oven proof dish. Add the potato on top, then cover in cheese.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or so.
I’m going to give it a go later this week.