• Ten Dev tools I am currently using.

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    December 1, 2010 /  Uncategorized

    Steve said we should make a list of our current top ten dev tools, so I figured it would be a good exercise. I am currently Working on C# ASP.Net MVC apps, so my toolset revolves around my current work.

    1. Visual Studio 2010 Professional. I spend a great deal of time in this IDE.

    2. Editpad Lite. I am not sure how any dev can get through a day without their favorite text editor constantly open. I have been using this text editor since the 90s and it is always installed on all of my window’s machine, even at home.

    3. Microsoft SQL sever Management Studio. We use SQL server at work so I spend a bit of time in this tool. I am an ORM guy so I am not writing tons of stored procs, but it comes in handy for ad-hoc queries and data transfers. I do tend to use the built in sever explorer in Visual Studio a bit more than my peers.

    4. SQLDBDiff – until .net gets a good Migrations solution, and I do know that the entity team is working on it with thier code first model, I still need to Diff my DBs before moving changes to prod. This one is far from the best but it works and it’s what I am currently using.

    5. Firefox/FireBug/YSlow/Selector Gadget/JQuerify/Javascript consol. The web dev ecosystem around Firefox makes programming jQuery/css/JSON/AJAX a lot easier.

    6. JetBrains TeamCity. Continuous integration server. Integrates with our ancient VSS, runs tests, does full builds. I probably makes coffee and biscuits as well, just haven’t switched that on.

    7. Stackoverflow.com Been there since the first podcast “6 to 8 weeks” before the first beta. It’s ok to use Google to query for programming issues, but click on the stackoverflow link if you want an answer to your question now.

    8. Browsers – ie 8 with dev tools, Firefox with tons of plugins, Chrome and sometimes safari. Programming for these browsers so they are used all day every day to see how things are going with my apps.

    9. Open Source. Where would my apps be without it. Jquery, elmah, nuget, wordpress. I am sure the list is endless.

    10. IM. Having instant access to programming peers around the world to bounce ideas off of or share code snippets is great.

  • Vilano Memorial Day weekend swell has been fun.

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    May 25, 2009 /  Surfing

    Judging by the shear numbers in the water I am not sure that the fact that Vilano has been breaking is a secret anymore. We have had a week of strong onshore winds leading up to a new moon high tide. Starting as early as Thursday evening when the winds were still 25+ Kts, the waves have been fun and the crowds have been insane.

    I see Mike is now on a Firewire. Kai happened to be in town to get the first half of the swell before flying out Saturday. I even saw Chewy both Saturday and Sunday morning. Lots of kids came over from the other beach(Is it not breaking over there), and tons of guys came down from Jax(Arghh). I didn’t see any problems though, as I think everyone was just stoked it was so fun.

    There were tons of Photos Taken (Thurs, Fri, Sat) and even a Video (Vid By PG). So if you were not there(I don;t believe you because it was so crowded) you can see how it was. One thing the photos and vid does not show is how much fun everyone was having.

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  • Nerd Dinner ASP.Net MVC Sample App Crashing Visual Studio 2008

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    April 16, 2009 /  ASP.Net, MVC, Visual Studio

    I am working on my second ASP.Net MVC application. I am planning on following the Repository Pattern as presented in the Upcoming Wrox Book/ Nerd Dinner sample app.

    I downloaded the Nerd Dinner Sample app to look around and every time I tried to look at a View or a Partial View, Visual Studio 2008 would crash.

    I found this blog post form the VS team:
    http://blogs.msdn.com/webdevtools/archive/2009/03/03/hotfix-available-for-asp-net-mvc-crashes-with-azure-power-commands-resharper.aspx

    that points to a fix:

    https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=16827&wa=wsignin1.0

    It Worked!

  • Where have all the surfers gone?

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    March 20, 2009 /  Surfing

    Here it is Spring 2009 and we are finally starting to see warmer water (>65ยบ) and after about 8 weeks of nothing (Jan-Feb) we are starting to see some multi-day swells from large Lows off to our distant Northeast.

    But the line-ups are rather empty.

    I have some ideas.

    I have noticed since this new online world of surf reporting, that lineups are only packed when popular surf reports:

    1. Forecast correctly
    2. Hype the upcoming swell
    3. Report that it is great when the swell gets here.

    If they miss one or all three of these, no surfers in the lineup. Of course it’s hard to call this group “surfers”.
    I have tracked about three swells this year that originated from large Lows near Bermuda. Watched the Ocean Prediction Center forecasts. Looked at the Windscat maps. Watched the buoys to see the swell forming and start moving this way. Then a few days later when the swell shows up, the lineup is fairly empty.

    Maybe I am just lucky and surf when everyone is surfed out. Or maybe I am not surfing the best spots. More likely the major surf reports missed the Low forming didn’t check the distant buoy and got caught sleeping when the swell snuck in under some local wind. By the time the swell was happening it was too late to inform the masses.

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  • The Surfer Closest to the Curl has the right of way.

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    February 15, 2009 /  Surfing

    I have been surfing Vilano since 1983. It’s a special place and there have been tons of great surfers to call Vilano their home break. Vilano has an arena like set up the way cars park along the hill and surfers are about 100 ft away. When the waves are good at Vilano people come from the Southern beaches, Jax Beach and lately the Flagler College dorms, creating a large crowd.

    Growing up surfing these crowds at Vilano has taught me plenty about rules. Unlike random no-name breaks were it’s just a few friends sharing some waves, named, exposed brakes like Vilano have several levels of rules. Whether you’re learning the standard set of understood rules or you have advanced to learning the vague tribal-like rules of locals you will find your place in the lineup or it will find you.

    Does it ever appear that someone is not breaking any rules but is catching three times as many waves as everyone else? It’s most likely that they have completely mastered the rules and know some that you don’t. They may know where to line up to catch the best peak. They may be a really strong paddler and can sit a little further out. Basically knowledge and experience at one spot can really boost your chances of being that guy.

    After 26 years surfing the same beach break, I hope to utalize this space to capture some stories about great surfers and great sessions. Most of all I hope Vilano wakes from it’s dormant state to allow us to catch a few more wedging peaks.

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