When updating to the newest Google Earth yesterday, the installer asked if I wanted to also install SketchUp. Wow, it is sooo coool. It just makes 3D stuff like, how you think it should. Working through the tutorial was a blast.

Some serious thinking went into that application. I am looking forward to sketching up my new house when we move in. In preparation, I was playing with build L section buildings, and eves, etc. Some things take non-linear think to-do, but still, it’s very cool.

I like the X-ray mode, seeing through like it is perspex, and the sun/time of day/year shadow is pretty cool to.

So:

+30 points for @Last Software for writing SketchUp

+5 points for Google acquiring @Last Software and making a free version

-2 points for the PHB that insisted on making the installer viral

On a side note to Google application installers, it would be nice if they stopped ask “Do you want to make Google your default IE search” as I don’t use IE, and I would prefer the app’s where not so viral. In fact I hate any installer that offers to change “other” applications, so that my user experience would be more “optimal”. If I’m installing your app, it’s your app I want, not my other app’s tweaked, so don’t ask, just leave them alone.

I purchased Free Stuff Inside! by Seth Godin for my birthday and read it (like all good books) in a weekend, and like all good books, that was a few weeks ago. I promptly brought it to work so I could blog about it, and it got lost in the list on important stuff.

But do not let such a weak opening put you off this book, as it is a gem. Having no clue what the book was about, other than having herd good things of Seth from other blogs, I found the book intriguing from the start. A good sign. I was very pleased to discover the book is about making things (projects) happening in your company, and how to go about this task. It was a sign from the gods, because this seems to match perfectly with work. Our company is owned by two parent companies, with our (company) objectives not matching some of the objectives of the people we interact with the parent companies, thus clashes on what and how things should be done happen. Now I do not have to deal with mismatch presently, but it does help to understand the tactics used my others to get things done, and will help in the future when I want to make things happen.

I have decided to host my coab SVN repositry on Google Code, as it provides off-site backup, and I don’t feel the code has any trade secrets.

While there are parts of the code that shame me deeply, I am not too concerned as this is a work in progress. I would prefer to get the project further along, so feel this will help that goal.

The project is coab - Curse of the Azure Bonds, you can browse the code, or download it.

Also of interest is the Wikipedia Curse of the Azure Bonds page.

Well YouTube is good for something, and that is watch tumbling video’s, but this one takes the Nija cake

. Best part is 1:10 into the video.

From a few peoples blogs I found Weird Al’s White and Nerdy video/song. Both are equal parts of brilliance.

I showed Michaela at home last night and we ended watching Weird Al videos for about half an hour.

In order of ROTFL:

White and Nerdy

Eat it

Amish Paradise

Sega Begins*

Like A Surgeon

Gump

Fat

Smells Like Nirvana

Christmas At Ground Zero*

Living With A Hernia*

I Love Rocky Road*

*Found once went searching, In fact I found so many when I went search that I had to stop watching them, just so I could post this. He certainly has been a busy boy.

Well I’m not expecting to rock anybodies boat with that earth shattering statement. But a VB project is truly an evil beast. At some point the Microsoft VB developers must have thought “we can force upgrades by linking to whatever version we find on the dev PC”. The effect of this is that one of our legacy app’s that pushes data into a Access 2000 db, current requires Access 2003 if you launch from the VB app, compared to only needed Access 2000 if you double clicking the .mdb from explorer.

This is evil, and comes from the mind set of “solo developers” hacking apps. It has taken a while solve so my build scripts don’t brake due to the .dll layout/versions changes as different people (just two of us really) check in changes. I’ve taken to coping the .dll to a sub directory of the project, and manually inspecting the project file to check VB has not changed .dll location, after/before check-ins.

Now I know the cause of the problem, I can fix the app to use the Access 2000 .dll, and then use the Access 2000 Run-time installer, but only when full Access 2000 or 2003 is not installed, because it changes how the other two installs work. Grrrrr.

I am very much looking forward to migrating some tools/apps to a unified solution whether that is C++, MFC C++, Delphi, or .Net. They are all much better platforms than VB.

Last Friday and Saturday was the New Zealand Interclubs, and we where hosting the event down at QEII. The primary result we can fifth equal in the A grade, out of seven teams. Two team completely beat us PX Just Right and SP8’s the next two teams beat us but the games where very close and the score difference come in lucky breaks. Many time we where in the oppositions goal, and just couldn’t complete the transaction. The last two team we beat

I learnt (via setting up) the scoring computers and TV displays, and spent a lot of time on Saturday on the score desk, as our ranking meant we where not in the semi’s. I also did some water referring, and some chef referee.

The party on Saturday night was a blast, and the clean-up went quickly. 100 pizza’s where ordered from Big Pizza’s, and that many pizza box’s stacked looks huge. Music was provided by Wolfman Entertainment, and he keep the mood buzzing and the dance floor packed.

The bruises haven’t all healed, but they are fading.

As I can see how to add new categories via Live Writer, I am writing this enter to create a new one… But this doesn’t have anything to-do with Underwater Hockey.

Well something fell out of the sky today, and I missed it. People at work heard a bang. I got IM’ed by Mark asking if I’d heard it. People around me heard it. Michaela was at school when it occurred, and all the school parents were excited.

Meanwhile stuff.co.nz went from a short bulletin, to a “eye witnesses account” of university students sunning them selves, and an old man, who confused it for a 9-11 attack.

Breaking news at hand, I am now pleased to displaying our latest artist’s impression of the meteor….

Update: The original, and more useful stuff article is here. Also the artwork is by Amal, not Mark.

Steve Irwin has died, and that in it’s self is sad. Sure he was doing what he loves, but from a family perspective it makes me sad to think of his kids been fatherless.

I have read detailed descriptions to how it happened, I can image that parts that where not described, but I know for sure I don’t want to see it happen. So times gross things happen, standing on nail, hammer in the face. You see it happening, it shocks you as much as the victim, and you deal with the results, and move on. But you don’t afterwards, think, oh, lets watch that in slow motion. So for me the idea that Channel 10 might release the footage of Steve been injured, and thus dying, it’s just all very puzzling, who do they think wants to see it, and of the people that do, what kind of reasoning do they have? Is it the kind of person/reasoning we want to encouraged. I think not. On the radio this morning, they said Steve had previously said keep record if something goes wrong, and I understand, because if you make it through, then you have some great near missing footage, but actually seeing the incident that kills someone, it’s just not the done thing.

I hope Channel 10, do the right thing.