Not so bad.  Calling a virtual pure function using a pointer to the abstract base class, or calling  it before the derived class has been initialized (in the constructor of the abstract class for example), is a no no.  I did the latter.

Here is Microsoft’s explanation:

No object has been instantiated to handle the pure virtual function call. This error is caused by calling a virtual function in an abstract base class through a pointer which is created by a cast to the type of the derived class, but is actually a pointer to the base class. This can occur when casting from a void* to a pointer to a class when the void* was created during the construction of the base class.

And an explanation and example of the exact thing I did:

   /* Compile options needed: none
   */ 

   class A;

   void fcn( A* );

   class A
   {
   public:
       virtual void f() = 0;
       A() { fcn( this ); }
   };

   class B : A
   {
       void f() { }
   };

   void fcn( A* p )
   {
       p->f();
   }

   // The declaration below invokes class B's constructor, which
   // first calls class A's constructor, which calls fcn. Then
   // fcn calls A::f, which is a pure virtual function, and
   // this causes the run-time error. B has not been constructed
   // at this point, so the B::f cannot be called. You would not
   // want it to be called because it could depend on something
   // in B that has not been initialized yet.

   B b;

   void main()
   {
   }

I  recommend:

FeedDemon for Windows
NetNewsWire for Mac
GoogleReader for a  web-based reader.

There are even Microsoft Outlook plugins that can download and place new posts in Outlook.   Newsgator,  owner of FeedDemon and NetNewsWire offers one, though it is not free.

I ran into the following error message on the PS3 while trying to connect to TVersity:

Media Server Error: DLNA Protocol Error (501) has occurred.

This thread lead me to this solution on the TVersity site.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure I want one.   I did not run out and buy an iPhone.  I never thought it was worth the price of the monthly cell + data plan.  For sometime now, I have been watching TV shows and movies on my MacBook Pro; Cassidy has too.  She is always borrowing it on weekends to catch up on the network shows she doesn’t have time during the week to watch.  We settle in, in our favorite place on the coach, or in our bedroom, put on some headphones and have a close-up immersible experience on the laptop.  So the iPad is in effect, our second “laptop” but in a form factor that is better tailored to that personal intimate experience on the coach.  It’s not a small laptop, it’s a big iPod Touch (oh, we have 3 of those in the house).  It does not run Mac desktop software, but instead runs iPod apps plus the software that comes on it.

A pleasant surprise was the price!  I feared it would start at $1000 but the WiFi-only model starts at $500 for the 8gig model, $600 for 16gig and $700 for 32gig.  It will be available in March. In April the Wi-Fi + 3G version comes out and will be priced $629, $729, and $829.  Again there’s that data plan for 3G which I feel I can live without.

We just got back our XBOX that was freezing up. Turns out Microsoft was willing to fix it free of charge because it was a Core system.  This system has already been sent in for the red ring of death.

This first Core XBOX I bought used, was a huge bundle. It came with a hard drive, wireless adapter, driving wheel, a custom Gears of War metal carrying case, lots of games, controllers, wireless headset, charging units, Memory Unit.

Microsoft sent a replacement unit which has a new Serial #.  On boot up I had to answer some first-time questions as a brand new system.  I didn’t have any problem with my XBOX live profiles (FrostySlam and  SuperSlam2)  because I keep those on MUs so David and I can play on either one of our two systems.    If  I had kept our XBOX live profiles on the hard drive, it would have been another story.

Tonight a friend called because he had just gotten back HIS XBox  from the Microsoft repair center, but after connecting his Hard Drive his XBOX Live gamertag was missing.  I suggested he needed to recover the gamertag.  I researched a bit and found out why he had to do this.

When you download content, the content is registered to the gamertag that downloaded as well as to the XBOX that it was downloaded on.  That means ANYONE can use the content on that XBOX, like extra map-packs to Call of Duty or Arcade games (without having to connect to XBOX Live).  In addition, you can re-download and use that content on any other XBOX as long as you are logged in using the gamertag that downloaded the content.  That works out great for us because an extra purchase can be used by both David and I as long as we download on one XBOX, then take the gamertag to the other and download and  use it there.

In addition, it seems that the gamertag is also somehow tied to the xbox on which it was purchased.  So simply replacing the hard drive isn’t going to allow the gamertag to be active on that xbox, hence the need to recover a gamertag on a new xbox even though you connect the hard drive that had the gamertag stored on it.

My friend, having the worst luck, ran into one more problem as he was recovering his gamertag on the new XBOX. He got the message “cannot find a storage device or not enough space to recover game tag”.  He needed to go Settings…Memory…Gamer Profiles and delete his XBox live gamertag (it showed up THERE) because it was apprently corrupt.  That allowed him to recover his gamertag again.

A few posts on the subject: 1 2 3

Thought I would post some here for future reference.  Emoticons you can type are referred to ascii emoticons as opposed to icons that are inserted in email or IM.

From  WindWeaver:

HAPPY, SMILING, LAUGHING
:-)     smiling; agreeing
:-D    laughing
|-)      hee hee
|-D    ho ho
:->     hey hey
;-)      so happy, I’m crying
:’-)     crying with joy
\~/     full glass; my glass is full

TEASING, MISCHIEVOUS
;-)      winking; just kidding
‘-)       winking; just kidding
;->     devilish wink
:*)      clowning
:-T      keeping a straight face

AFFIRMING, SUPPORTING
:^D    ”Great! I like it!”
8-]     ”Wow, maaan”
:-o     ”Wow!”
^5      high five
^        thumbs up
:]       Gleep, a friendly midget who wants
to befriend you
(::()::)   bandaid; offering help or support

UNHAPPY, SAD
:-(    frowning; boo hoo
:(      sad
:-<    really sad
:-c    really unhappy
:-C   really bummed
&-|   tearful
:’      crying
:’-(   crying and really sad
:-|     grim
:[      really down
:-[     pouting
\_/    "my glass is empty"

ANGRY, SARCASTIC
>:-<   angry
:-||      angry
:-@    screaming
:-V     shouting
:-r      sticking tongue out
>:-<   absolutely livid!!
:-,      smirk
:-P     nyahhhh!
:->     bitingly sarcastic
TRYING TO COMMUNICATE
:-&    tonguetied
:-S     incoherent
:-\      undecided
:- I     "hmmm..."
:-,      "hmmm "
:-#     "My lips are sealed"
:-X    "My lips are sealed"
:-Y     a quiet aside
:-"      pursing lips
:-W    speaking with forked tongue
:( )     can't stop talking

FEELING STUPID OR TIRED
:~/     mixed up
%-)    braindead
(:I      egghead
<:-I    dunce
=:-)    hosehead
:-]      smiling blockhead
:-[      un-smiling blockhead
|-O    yawning
|-I      asleep
:-6     exhausted; wipeout

SURPRISED, INCREDULOUS, SKEPTICAL
:>    What?
:@   What?
:Q    What?
:-o   "uhh oh!" OR surprise
;-)     sardonic incredulity
:O     shocked
8-|    eyes wide with surprise
:-/     skeptical
8-O  "Omigod!!"
:-C    just totally unbelieving
|-{    "Good Grief!" (Charlie Brown)

HUGS AND KISSES
: *      kisses
:-X     a big wet kiss!
:-x      kiss kiss
:-{}    blowing a kiss
[]        hugs
(( )):**    hugs and kisses
((((name))))   hug

MISCELLANEOUS
:-*      Oops!
:-I       indifferent
\-o      bored
:-P      tongue hanging out in anticipation
O :-)   angelic; being an angel (at heart, at least)

NEW  EMOTICONS (by Tracy Marks):
][       feeling separate
] [      separating
)  (     really separating
{ }     face-to-face
[ ]      wanting to hug
}xx    kisses
()       feeling in harmony; connecting
] ?     moving away and wondering about you?
[ ?     moving toward you and wondering about you?

From Yahoo Messenger 9:

Sherlock  Holmes ****  Not your normal Sherlock  Holmes. Robert  Downey plays a funnier, grittier, more action packed version.  Jude Law plays Dr. Watson.  One of my favorite actresses Rachel McAdams,  plays his old girl friend.  I bit hard to understand (english accents) and follow for the younger set (I saw it with David) but enough action to keep them interested.

1.  Have Google forward all mail to your primary address.  That way you don’t ever have to login to Gmail and for all  practical purposes, you can use your primary mail to receive and reply to people using your Gmail account.  Of course if you  don’t want people knowing your primary account, they you would login to Gmail  and respond from there.  Setup forwarding by clicking Settings in the upper right corner…select the Forwarding and POP/IMAP  tab…Select forward a copy of incoming mail  to…enter your primary email address…choose what to do with the mail that arrives in your Gmail  account.

2. Take advantage of a little known feature that allows you to create NEW email addresses on the fly!  My email address is alankley@gmail.com.  I can give out alankley+facebook@gmail.com, alankley+anything@gmail.com and those email addresses will be delivered to my Gmail mailbox.  I’ve created quite a few like that when I’m asked for an email address. That way I can turn them off if I start receiving spam or I can setup filters to file them away or forward them.  Not all websites accept an email  with a ‘+’ in it but many do.  Here is the Google Help page on the subject:  Using an Address Alias

If you are concerned about the safety of your information using Google Gmail and Docs, I wrote this post on what I think of that.