Latitude and Longitude calculations

TV Infomercials, Zip Codes and The Haversine Formula

Distance between locations using latitude and longitude

Determining if point falls within a polygon where point and polygon is defined by lat/long coordinates

Zip Code database

At SourceForge

The Zip Code Database project exists to provide US Zip Codes in
their entirety; latitude and longitude coordinates included! See the
home page for the distance calculation algorithm.
 

Atlas. Microsoft’s AJAX

Of course Microsoft can’t ever leave a technology alone and just use it, they have to put their spin on it. For AJAX that "spin" is ATLAS.

Atlas Tutorial

ASP.NET Atlas

Microsoft’s Virtual Earth

API Profile: Microsoft Virtual Earth
Virtual Earth: MSN’s answer to Google Maps
Creating your first Virtual Earth Page
Creating your first Commercial Page
Via Virtual Earth, all things Virtual Earth
Virtual Earth standard map control use requirements
Virtual Earth Commercial map control use requirements
FlashEarth
MSDN Doc

C# Express

C# Express only targets .NET 2.0.  You can not use it to build applications that run against .NET 1.1. From the Microsoft support site:

13. Can I develop applications using the Visual Studio Express Editions to target the .NET Framework 1.1?
No, each release of Visual Studio is tied to a specific version of the .NET Framework. The Express Editions can only be used to create applications that run on the .NET Framework 2.0.

Website Design

The DO’s and DON’T’s of Web Design
The Biggest Web Design Mistakes of 2004
60 Free Web Templates
Open source templates from OpenDesigns
Kelsey’s Definitive CSS Galleries List

CSS Library

I threw rocks down the garbage disposal

If you leave Dad alone, you have to expect a few mishaps.  The kitchen is Mom’s domain.  If I try to cook, I quickly become frustrated because I can’t find stuff.  I usually stick with leftovers and frozen dinners when I’m left alone like I was this week during spring break.   I also try to keep the kitchen tidy and cleanup as I go.  There is also invariably at least one booby trap I have to negotiate when I’m left alone in the house and linger too long in places (like the kitchen).  It’s like the old Peter Sellers Pink Panther movies when he comes home and Cato is hiding somewhere ready to pounce on Clouseau. 

The other night as I was leaving the kitchen I saw a cup, actually, a sippy-cup with no lid, so I quickly picked it up and dumped the contents into the sink.   Thanks Cassidy.  Who thinks to check for rocks at the bottom of a cup filled with water in the kitchen?  If you have kids, you should. I guess.

BTW, my disposal doesnt’ work. Big surprise huh?  The rocks were all flat and small, like wood chips.  I thought I was clever using a piece of bread, balled up to retrieve pieces I couldn’t get with my hand. But I can feel one stubborn rock stuck on the side preventing the disposal from spinning.

Venting about XBOX

Whew!  Asking to speak to a supervisor can often be the beginning of a stressfull conversation.  Fortunately tonight turned out well.

I got an email from XBOX Live today. It began:

Dear Customer,

Your subscription to Yearly subscription to Xbox Live is
scheduled to be automatically renewed on Friday, April 14, 2006…For this subscription you will be charged
$49.99 per year, plus applicable taxes. Unless you cancel your subscription
before it ends, you will automatically renew to the currently selected renewal
subscription type at the then current price…

I bought my XBOX, Christmas of 2004.  I signed up for a free trial to XBOX Live but canceled it at the end of the trial.  Don’t you hate it when a credit card is required to get something "Free"?  They don’t charge you but they just put the onus on you to cancel and if you forget, you know what happens.   You don’t want to give them your credit card number but if it’s something you really want to try, you don’t have a choice so you take a chance and give them your number.  You know how excited you are when you first get your XBOX, of course you want to check out the online service.

Okay, so someone screwed up at XBOX Live.  When I called this evening they had a record that my account was viewed the day before the 1-year subscription started, but no record of a cancellation.  I never thought about it again until I received the email today.  So I called. They don’t let you cancel through the web or email.

The person I spoke to was pleasant and said upfront she wouldn’t be able to refund my $50 when I asked but that she could go ahead and cancel the subscription (again) and put me through to a supervisor afterward.  OK.  After canceling, again she was very up front and told me I may have to wait but that she would be on hold with me and would check back in 5 minutes.

Well I only held for about 2 minutes and when she came back on she said "Good news. I’ve been authorized to refund you your money."  Sweet. 

I really didn’t want to be upset at Microsoft.  I still have an XBOX 360 to buy and the new XBOX Live service to try.  The main reason I’m not an XBOX subscribe is that David is only 7 and he doesn’t need more reason to play the XBOX more than he already does.  I hear great things about the new service, the free downloads the game matching system and now there isn’t a bad experience with XBOX Live to give me pause about trying the service again one day.

Way to go Microsoft.  I still think it’s cheesy that you require a credit card for a trial but the fact you send out an email prior to "automatically" renewing the service shows you’re not too evil and do care about your customers.

Integrating with Google Earth

Chris’s Simple Intro

Google Earth KLM Tutorial – The Google Earth KML Document details everything you need to know to create and share information with the Google Earth client

Remaining invisible in your writing

Found this nice post via Scoble about "remaining invisible in your writing"