Friday, April 29, 2011

jQuery Custom UI JS File too Large for IIS 7?

I just burned roughly 2 hours learning that Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit IIS (7.5) can't serve a fully loaded jquery-ui-1.8.12.custom.min.js file (which is around 208k). The only solution I've found so far was to split the file in 2 and serve them separately. This issue is NOT specific to a particular version of jQuery UI.

If you know a better solution, please do share with the rest of us.

Symptom: REALLY slow loading page which results in an error that can be found on the dev console. Using IE9 Dev tools, Network profiler, I was able to see the "pending" status of the file which wasn't getting served properly.

Solution: I used UltraEdit to break the file in 2 and in my app I load both files in the correct order so that the Core components load first (in case it matters).

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Logic you shouldn't use in regards to nuclear safety.

This will be another short one because there's not much to say, but I think this bit does need to be said.

"The nuclear incident in Japan makes me less sure about the safety of nuclear energy." Aparently a recent poll found that an insane FOURTY PERCENT of Americans agreed with this statement.

Let's put this in perspective but first we must make a point clear. The nuclear incident in Japan has EVERYTHING to do with the people who designed, built, and ran the facility (material choice, location, maintenance, etc..).

If we replace the phrase of nuclear energy with "car", the word incident with "crash", and to bring the idea home, Japan with "California" then let's see how much sense this logic makes:

"The car crash in California makes me less sure about the safety of cars." Based on the logic represented in the first statement, the 2nd should be just as valid but we all know that's beyond far from true. We all drive regardless of the fact that car crashes do more harm collectively across the US than the nuclear incident in Japan has done there.

Why the double standard? Also, why not just look at the bigger issue, the people who maintain the plants? Go do your own research on US Nuclear Incidents and you'll find that it's not the technology that should be a cause of concern, but the people who design, build, and maintain it.

By the way, for those of you living in California (Southern CA in particular); did you know that you live VERY close to a nuclear facility? Personally, I used to live within 30 minutes of it and frequently saw it as I traveled on the I-5. You can learn more about it HERE and see it below.

Oh yeah, here's one for you. Notice how much detail you get if you zoom in on these maps (or Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton where the facility is located) then consider how much harassment you receive from the TSA when flying. Doesn't seem quite balanced does it? You'd think someone would make it more difficult for a terrorist to get so much detail and such a good layout of CRITICAL infrastructure if the US Government is going to harass its own citizens so much when they're using a commercial service THEY PAID FOR. *face palm*


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Here's one more location to consider in the context of my last point (I used to be stationed here and can confirm that this is a LOT of detail and far more than someone would need to get themselves somewhere they shouldn't be).


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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

1.3 Million US Veterans to lose VA Eligibility

Can someone please explain this government rational to me? "Let's work on a national health care system, but strip VA benefits from 1.3 million veterans." Talk about ass-backwards.

Yes, that IS my entire blog entry on the topic. I just don't think elaboration is needed because this is so simply stupid.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The facts about Android, hardware, locking, and carriers.

Gasp. Bootlocking is the devils work. Why the hell would u make a device based on open sourced code if ur gonna lock it up? Just clearly state it voids the warranty and let us have our fun.
Here's a real example relating to the DroidX. Verizon wanted to give us movies on demand via Blockbuster. Blockbuster told VZW that their content would have to be secure and their app would be guaranteed to remain on the phone (marketing, brand awareness, etc) which in theory means a locked down device. So VZW has to get with Moto to figure out how to prevent users from gaining root.

In reality our devices are locked almost entirely for "our good" but then again "we" represent a very small fraction of users that would rather have something like a bare-bones AOSP ROM that runs fast and does what we want, rather than have Skype or Blockbuster (or Motoblur, Touchwhiz, Sense, etc...) and "we" don't represent a large enough group for the carriers or manufacturers to risk their networks or support for things to change at this point. Hopefully over time our numbers will grow and we

They are not going to continue to subsidize (give us phones at a low cost in exchange for contracts) high-end smartphones AND intentionally leave them unlocked. It's bad business and "open-source" has NOTHING to do with it.

The whole "it's not open if the device is locked" argument is also a load and I'm shocked to see some of the people out there trying to push it. Android is open-source. You can download the source, modify it, build it, and put it on a device. Period, end of story. Not being able to put it on hardware of your choosing is all together another issue and if people are being realistic, not a surprising one. It should be no more expected that Apple would open up their hardware to Android than Moto would open up theirs to "your" version of Android. They all have their reasons (both stability and business/marketing) to lock them down. There are already companies out there building Android devices intended to be open hardware to appeal to folks just like us ( http://synapse-phones.com/ is the first I know of ).

Bottom line? Stop trying to convince yourself that the manufacturers are locking your devices when the ones really responsible are the carriers and they have good reason to do it. Also, realize that Android running on locked hardware doesn't make Android any less open source. You have the ability to find and use hardware of your choosing to run Android as you see fit, with any changes you'd like so long as the hardware was intended for that purpose (and frequently more often since most device get rooted and flashed anyway).

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Dealing with adults that don't act like adults.

So there is this individual that I encounter regularly online despite my best efforts. I try to avoid this person because after becoming involved with an organization that plagiarized material belonging to me (and recently suggesting THEY would take legal action against me), they seem to think the worst of me with nothing to base it on (except blatant lies they've even effectively caught themselves in, or been called out on by people that represent them).

This isn't really about THAT person, but "that" person. We all have one in our lives I think. No matter what we do they can find fault, place blame, create problems, etc.. I actually have another and sadly this other one is in my life because I and my wife tried to do a favor for a friend. It's backfired to the point that a major investment (5+ years of my life) has been at risk on many occasions and I fear it may be getting worse because "these" people do things based on some alternate reality and as a result, I can never tell what's coming next.

A kind gesture is met with disdain, childish, malicious words, and an overall attitude that can only be delivered by an adult that thinks like a child. You know what I mean? Things are said and logic used that couldn't be conveyed by a child, but the lack of logic and thought processes behind it are not representative of a mature, adult mind.

Most adults can use humor to overcome awkward situations and it's often said that imitation is the best form of flattery. Put the two together and at the least, you'd expect two adults to have a good laugh, then walk away. Bring in one of "those" people though, and it just starts another war.

In my case "this" person LOVES to go on about how mature they are, how they'll take the "high road" (made me think they must have meant the road taken when 'high', heh), and then bad-mouth me and the organization I represent. In the meantime, this person is a civil servant responsible for children in our city and is quite literally worshiped by children online for their "contributions", which are always WAY less glamorous than in reality, but that fact is never rectified.

I just can't wrap my brain around how people like this see the world, I can't avoid "these" people in two instances, and so I don't know how to deal with them. It seriously feels like I'm trying to reason with lunatics. In both cases, they operate for profit (though in one case, they might dare argue otherwise despite the public evidence to the contrary). In my case, I operate at a constant loss, and for the good that they are profiting from. You'd think that alone would be enough reason to quite with the silliness. That's sound logic though so it doesn't apply.

Sigh..... I'm rarely at a loss, but this is definitely one of those times.  :(

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