I have always been very interested in solar energy. The sun is a very powerful resource of which we, as a planet, are simply not taking full advantage. A few years ago I calculated the equipment needed to supply 100% of the electricity requirements by my home. The cost was rather astounding and enough for… [Read More]
Ahh… Fresh!!!
Note from JD: This post is in regards to the first sailboat that I owned (this one). Somehow, some diesel fuel and gotten into the bilge and the smell got old REALLY quick. I tried the PureAyr product that I wrote about here and I can report that it definitely works! I sprayed it on nearly… [Read More]
So you want to be a Developer?
I have been a software developer for over twenty years. This industry has been very good to me and I am thankful. I suppose it is not unlike any other industry – there have been lean years and years of plenty. However; like it or not, computers are here to stay and nearly everything is… [Read More]
Rejoice!
Rejoice – what a distant though. My life is in turmoil and my mind is in a terrible state. I am worried about everything, want to “fix” everything – there is no “peace”. My Bible reading today took me to Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness… [Read More]
XML Serialization
This is a continuation of this post regarding binary serialization. This time around, we are focused on XML Serialization, that is serializing an object to an XML document. That is, taking an in-memory instance of a class and “formatting” it as XML. Why would we do this? Simply to store the object somewhere (file, column in… [Read More]
Out of Gas?
There I was motoring along in the channel into Marco Island, FL and pop, bang, shudder… stop. No more noise!! Hmm, says I. This is probably not an ideal place for a breakdown. I walked to the bow, tossed the anchor over and started scratching my head. I could not believe I was out of… [Read More]
Samsung Galaxy S 4G Android Phone
I upgraded my old T-Mobile Dash phone a few weeks ago. So far, I really like the Galaxy S 4G. The specifications of the Galaxy are like all new computer products – better than what was available yesterday, no surprise there. The screen is very bright and vibrant (colors are awesome) and the functionality of… [Read More]
Compassion
Compassion – what an easy concept, what a difficult thing to practice. I read a book a short while ago that discussed the concept of seemingly repeating coincidences turning out to have deep meaning and/or importance. These coincidences can be anything from thoughts, to words, to subjects we here in discussions/speeches, to things we see… [Read More]
Object Serialization (binary)
Object Serialization is an interesting subject as so many developers have never had to deal with it. In very basic terms, serialization is simply converting an object to a different format. We know that an object is an instance of a class and nearly always it is stored in memory (invisible to most developers). We get into… [Read More]
LED Lights #2
I tried the led lights that I wrote about here. The results were mixed. LEDs are particular about postive/negative poles. It seems that automotive “1156″ bulb style fixtures on my boat are wired incorrectly for the LED bulbs. Bummer – strike 1. The good news is that this is fairly easily fixed, just requries a bit… [Read More]