Thushan Fernando Uncut

I had a friend ask me about an ASP Debugger today, so after talking for a little while I promised to email him a few things when I got back into the office. Just when I had a tick, I thought I’d google the bastard to see what results I’d find – as I havent done ‘classic ASP’ development for quite sometime – I shudder to think writing like that again.

Anyway, fired up a new window in firefoxy, CTRL+L, {TAB}, type in ‘ASP Debugger’ without the quote. What do you get?

What, you reckon I'm a virus? How dare you, just WHO do you think you are.

What the, however this only occurs searching through the firefox where as the normal google search doesnt seem to worry.

Well I’ve been a bit lazy with teh bloggin lately. I took two weeks leave to spend some time in the motherland (Sri Lanka) attending weddings, home-comings and visiting the relatives amongst a bit of chillaxing. I have to admit, whilst I haven’t talked much (openly) about the civil war, its clear that things are definately moving along.

Security is incredibly tight, the drive from the main airport down to my aunt’s house (and previously where we lived) in Moratuwa via Galle Road was incredibly tight. We got checked close to 5 times along the way – can’t be suprised really, I look real dodgy (with a wierd accent). Even at 3-4am (when we left the airport) every 200-300m there was atleast one army officer loaded awaiting any threat.

Drivers are recorded in a log – license/ID’s checked, passengers are also checked (in my case my passport was checked as I dont have a national ID card), sometimes they even checked our bags. Thankfully, in the time I was there, no issues occured. The majority of the people seem to have a chilled attitude about the war, hopeful for a brighter tomorrow and peace & harmony for all ethnic groups there.

However last night it seems the LTTE has managed to fly two planes and hit some targets in Colombo. Which is rather disappointing considering they are now tucked into a 90-100 square km block.

Right now, I’m sitting at KLIA inching towards boarding time, so I better run off.

…and you know it.

We were up till the wee hours of the morning awaiting the broadcast of the inauguration of Barrack Obama, The President of the United States. What an event and if you couldn’t make it dont fear, Microsoft – using their PhotoSynth tech – have a cool view of the area from the many happy snappers on the day.

Things are looking bright, his speech was impecable and inspiring (compared to The Bush) all of which you can read at your leisure. Not only can he give rivetting speeches to inspire a nation (can you see I’ve got some pointers from him?) but he can belt out some dance moves too – again, lets compare that to The Bush. All in all it seems the americans have had a ball which is a seachange from the most depressing farewell party given to Bush and his posse.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West – know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. – A fragment from The President’s Speech.

I have a good feeling about this one

A tribute to one of the greatest known comedians of our time – who just happens to also be apparently the President of the United States of America.

David Letterman – George W Bush Moments

Finally, proof that like all comedians, he too can take the piss out of himself – at the Radio & TV Correspondants Dinner. We’re still waiting on the popup book George or ‘how dubya got his groove back’!

Bush may have burnt the economy, dragged the Americans – and subsequently the British and Australians, into an unnecessary conflict, escalated and brought into reality the Big Brother that Orwell predicted and destroyed millions of lives around the globe, but he kept us entertained. He even thinks he’s done the world good, while we can argue till the the troops fighting The War on Terror comes home on the merits of what he thinks, I think all that needed to be said has been said.

To wrap it off, one more video from MadTV.

“So I analyzed that and decided I didn’t want to be the president during a depression greater than the Great Depression, or the beginning of a depression greater than the Great Depression.” –George W. Bush, Washington D.C., Dec. 18, 2008

“People say, well, do you ever hear any other voices other than, like, a few people? Of course I do.” –George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2008

“They misunderestimated me.”

“I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that — in which there’s a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the — of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House.” –George W. Bush, referring to White House chef Cristeta Comerford while meeting with Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Washington, D.C., June 24, 2008

Just under half hour ago Microsoft released the Windows 7 Beta 1 for public viewing, hurry in and get on the wagon because it can only fit 2.5Million people.

Grab a copy whilst its still hot from the direct links below, from TechNet Evaluation Centre or the Windows 7 home and your personal key from here (currently down).

Download: Windows 7 Beta 1 (x86) | Windows 7 Beta 1 (x64)

No doubt the servers will be are being hammered, alternatively, you can use your Microsoft Connect, MSDN, or TechNet for subscribers and testers.

IMPORTANT:

If you do download the Windows 7 Beta and you have a healthy collection of MP3s, make sure you download the patch that was released to fix a serious bug that may cause your MP3s to stop working. This is all documented in Microsoft Knowledgebase Article 961367. Download links for x86 and x64.

Enjoy!

UPDATE (8AM Australian EST – 10/01):

“Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to Microsoft.com properties before we post the public Beta today. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the Beta, and will be in touch once the Beta goes live.”

A refreshing new episode of the Simpsons came out last night, amongst the highlights was the spin on the “Apple subculture” and the ‘coolness’ of it all. It pretty much summed up my thoughts on the whole elitist crowd of sour Apples.

From the clip:

You’re all losers.

You think you’re all cool because you buy a $500 phone with a picture of a fruit on it? Well guess what? It costs $8 to make and I pee on every one.

I have made a fortune out of you chums, and I’ve invested it all on Microsoft. Now my boyfriend Bill Gates and I kiss each other on a pile of your money.

- Bart Simpson as Steve Mobs

Bart You legend, summed up my thoughts exactly. Following that speech you can see the inspiration from the 1984 Apple commercial following.

The embedded version appears below as the Youtube version has been yanked, this is from DailyMotion thats still kicking.

It also touched on the touchy subject of Muslims in these uncertain times.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few days you would have heard about the shocking development in India (Mumbai – India’s business capital) come face to face with an onslaught of terrorism. Thankfully today, the commandos have successfully brought an end to the 3 day seige.

According to reports, upwards of 60 young men entered Mumbai in small inflatable boats on Wednesday night, carrying bags filled with weapons and ammunition, and spread out to nine locations to begin their attacks. Lobbing grenades and firing their weapons, they entered hotels, a railway station and several other buildings, killing scores and wounding even more.

…

Mumbai disaster official R. Jadhav told AFP that 195 people had been killed and nearly 300 injured in the battle, which began when the dozen or so militants split into groups to attack multiple targets across the city, including the main railway station and a hospital.

TV channels described the attacks as “India’s 9/11″.

But I came across a post on the Boston that shows (at times quite graphically) the extent of the chaos.  Surreal and unbelievable that such attrocities can be carried out in the name of a religon or ideals.

For a deeper look at the situation, see the article on TheAge titled Mumbai: attack on all fronts.

Now thats what I call skills, Gymkhana encapusulates everything to show your true skills in handling a car – in this case a MY06 Subaru WRX STi. Damn I miss my MY03 STi – not that I could pull _any_ of those styles of driving (except maybe a half-assed powerslide).