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Thu, Aug 13 2009 15:00

The idiots at Pitney-Bowes

I keep getting phone calls from Pitney-Bowes every three to six months or so trying to rent me a postage machine for $x per month.  Every time I tell them that I send out maybe one business related letter a month.  If that.  Maybe two a...
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Thu, Dec 11 2008 18:07

Java Takes Down the Network

Java Takes Down the Network is a fascinating story about a timed, intermittent network outage. In this case though I can't believe they still had coax Ethernet cabling. Well, actually I can. Jim, who I've mentioned before, stated that when his...
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Thu, Dec 4 2008 15:26

Unusual software bugs

Thanks to fellow Access MVP Graham R Seach for showing that these kinds of bugs really do have a name. And that it's not just me. " Unusual software bugs are a class of software bugs that are considered exceptionally difficult to understand and...
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Sun, Nov 30 2008 16:36

A Training Issue

A Training Issue <chuckle> Folks much younger than me won't necessarily get this one as they've never seen punched cards. I recall a client nearly thirty years ago telling me how they'd lose data if the tapes snapped. They'd splice...
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Wed, Oct 22 2008 21:27

Tales from the Interview: The Receptionist Test

Tales from the Interview: The Receptionist Test This is brilliant if you are hiring a tech support person. A friend, we'll call her Sheila, was telling me of how she worked in a telephone call centre and after a number of months was promoted to screening...
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Thu, Oct 2 2008 23:55

An amusing, errr interesting, list of Honorifics

Need a list of the possible honorifics for your database? All the possible combinations of Mr/Mrs/Ms/Dr/etc? See Harrods.com Account Registration and click on the Title combo box. I'd never heard of Begum before. Where is Adm and R. Adm? And what...
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Thu, Sep 18 2008 20:24

Stunningly weak Yahoo password security

I was wondering just how the hacker got into Palin's account so easily. "Rubico claimed the actual intrusion into Palin's account was a relatively easy matter. It began after Rubico read news accounts claiming Palin used gov.palin@yahoo.com...
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Sun, Aug 31 2008 18:22

Application Rewrites after Acquisitions: How Large Software Companies Destroy Startup Value

Reading Application Rewrites after Acquisitions: How Large Software Companies Destroy Startup Value made me think of a decade or two ago how Computer Associates were famous for the same thing. Then later it was Symantec. One comment I read somewhere,...
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Thu, Aug 28 2008 22:34

Minor milestone

According to my Google Groups profile I have a little more than 35,000 newsgroup postings. Now they're not all Access related of course. But then I have some postings to the comp.databases.ms-access newsgroup under an older email accounts, ttoews...
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Mon, Jul 14 2008 10:14

The Laptop Drive of Shame

The Laptop Drive of Shame <chuckle> Fortunately I've never done that. However twice I've left the power adapter home. Well once at the motel room so no big deal. But once I left it at home and went out of town. So I had to have it placed...
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Sun, Jul 13 2008 23:18

Googling your first name

Needless to say I have a lot of hits with my commonly used name - Tony Toews. However you need to enclose the search in quotes otherwise you'll get a Canadian politician and a Canadian hockey player. Neither of which are a close relative. Undoubtedly...
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Wed, Jul 9 2008 11:53

... hit the big green TRANSMIT button.

... hit the big green TRANSMIT button. You know, to transmit it over the stockroom’s intercom. The Free Bird Database . So nice to read that lack of testing backups isn't a problem only in this century. Or indeed the last forty years.
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Tue, Jul 8 2008 17:46

No indexes on a 2.2 million record table?

Hastening an Inevitable Now this is truly ridiculous and very worth of a WTF page. This page also illustrates how CPU speed isn't that important. 150 Mhz systems. Hard drive speed is where you should be spending the money on a server. RAM is also...
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Mon, Jun 30 2008 20:59

The Detention Wizard

The Detention Wizard - In this story I blame the school for clearly not choosing a competent software developer. This app has so many problems it's frigging unbelievable. And regretfully it's an Access based app so it perpetuates the stereotype...
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Sat, Jun 28 2008 17:06

Access made the Daily WTF

Error'd: It Happens fourth item down. The Subform wizard. And yes, these kinds of mistakes through Access do bug me. However I'm so used to them I just keep on going. It is clear to me that the testers used short object names. And I, for one,...
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Fri, Jun 27 2008 13:01

DailyIdea.tv: Why a Geek Will Steal Your Girlfriend this Year

DailyIdea.tv: Why a Geek Will Steal Your Girlfriend this Year
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Sun, Jun 15 2008 14:28

$499 1.5 m RJ45 network cable

The AK-DL1 is a "digital audio reproduction" cable. Note the word digital. There are either 1s or 0s going down the cable. No analog signal of varying intensities or "nuances". Another link - The Joy of Tech - Why premium cables cost...
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Sat, Feb 23 2008 17:42

How to Identify Bad CIOs in Their Natural Habitat

An interesting article. How to Identify Bad CIOs in Their Natural Habitat Thankfully I've seldom done any work for an outfit with the need for such a title.
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