Registry Reflection (WOW6432)
Supporting 32-bit & 64-bit applications can be a bit hairy. In regards to the Registry, Windows 7 washes it’s hands of the Registry Reflection business previously supported.
Toddlers & Pom Poms
I attended Cassidy’s first cheer competition. There were High School Teams all the way down to toddlers 5 years old. There is something fundamentally wrong with seeing a 7 year old with thick bright blue glittery eye shadow and thick bright red lipstick, a bow in her head, and no front teeth!
XCode and Static Libraries
I was having trouble adding a static library dependency to my Universal project in XCode. Here are a few articles on the subject.
Code Sharing Via Static Libraries And Cross-Project References
Fantastic place to catch movie trailers
Apple has trailers in HD up to 1080p. They are gorgeous. Watch them in 720p on your computer.
Other HD Trailer sites: MovieFone, Yahoo Movies,
Kristen does football too!
If you don’t see the embedded YouTube clip below then go here.
Malware from MP3 files
The Microsoft antivirus software I installed yesterday detected some malware in some MP3 files that I had on my computer. They came from a friend and were of spanish music.
Here is the warning I received:
Here are the details of the TrojanDownloader:ASX/Wimad.BD malware that was found. In Summary:
TrojanDownloader:ASX/Wimad.BD is a detection for malicious Windows media files that are used in order to encourage users to download and execute arbitrary files on an affected machine. When opened with Windows Media Player, these malicious files open a particular URL in a web browser. The sites contacted, and files downloaded by TrojanDownloader:ASX/Wimad are variable, and may change over time and from instance to instance of this trojan downloader.
It seems your computer can not be compromised unless you ignore warning messages that clearly state something is not right.
I use to use LimeWire but no longer do. You have to be very careful when you download MP3 files or anything else from untrusted sources.
Free antivirus software from Microsoft
I never understood why Microsoft would leave the job of securing their OS to 3rd parties. They recently made available a free antivirus program called Security Essentials. Not to be confused with their Defender program that has been out a while, and that only dealt with malware. I had been using and recommending the free and capable Avast program but I am now migrating to Microsoft’s offering. Not that I know it is better but I am hoping it is good and it is more convenient and integrates better than Avast.
Windows 7
I updated my work laptop from Vista Ultra to Windows 7 Ultra. I downloaded the install from MSDN. I first downloaded and tried upgrading to Windows 7 Pro but that didn’t work and I got some very unfriendly messages when I tried running the Setup program (something about a DLL not being made for this version of the OS). Trying to boot from the CD was simply ignored. I then tried with the Windows 7 Ultra image and it booted fine.
It took about 4 hours to upgrade. So far I like the performance and the look and feel. I couldn’t wait to leave Vista. The only gripe so far is that they turned off the Quick Launch toolbar where all my shortcuts were and which I depend on. Not cool at all. They’ve reworked the taskbar and the ability to “pin” any program to it. All that is fine and good and I’m sure I’ll like the new functionality, but that was really rude to not have a migration path for my quick launch shortcuts. They could have very easily created a new toolbar containing my quick launch items. As it were I had to search and find out how to get my quick launch shortcuts back.
Raising Your Child to Be a Champion in Athletics, Arts and Academics
I may have to check out the book written by Wayne Bryan, father of the professional twin tennis doubles team. Here is what the New York Times Magazine article of Aug 30, 2009 has to say about it:
which stresses, among other things, the importance for a parent of not stealing a child’s thunder. It reads as a manifesto for a sensitive and low-pressure form of hothousing. Wayne spells out very specifically how a parent should approach his child after a match. “First, let your child come to you . . . ,” he writes. “Remember, this is her gig, not yours. You say you want to share her glory? No! Let her friends go up to her and share her moment.” And win or lose, the script is the same: First question: Do you want water or Gatorade? Second question: Where do you want to get something to eat? Third question, if the child is 16 or older: Do you want to drive or should I? “It’s really that simple,” he writes. “If the child wants to talk about the match, you listen. But don’t critique. . . . Your role is to minimize pressure, not create it.”
I have to constantly remind myself to not push my kids in sports further than they want to go. Cassidy has creative talents but David and Kristen have athletic talents that they are currently unmotivated to pursue and nurture. Maybe something will click and one day they will actually ask ME to help them rather than the other way around.
Can Levi Buy an Xbox With His Own Money?
I enjoy reading Steve Yoder’s Wall Street Journal column that he writes with his son Issac and now also with Levi. This morning the column addresses video consoles in the house. The train on that one has left the station in our home. We bought a classic XBOX when David was only 6! I actually was not for it at the time but did not feel strong enough to put up a fight. We now own 2 XBOX 360s and a PS3. No WII and I have no desire to get one, but I’ll probably lose that battle eventually. The battle I’m fighting now is holding out on texting for our phones (Cassidy & David have cell phones) which I expect I will soon lose. I feel the same way about texting as Steve feels about game consoles. The way kids use texting (most of the time) is a huge waste of time and it teaches them to be less social.
Levi makes the argument that it is his money and Steve replies it is not about the money but about the idea of owning a console and deciding he doesn’t want that distraction in the home. I think that is a reasonable reason not to own a console. Levi brings up the fact that his older brother was allowed to keep a used Nintendo that didn’t work too well. Steve argues that he allowed it because it didn’t work consistently. That’s not a very convincing argument. Whether it worked at ALL or not, the message sent was that game consoles in the home are OK…then…but now they aren’t.
Game consoles are pure entertainment just like watching TV. I happen to believe there is nothing wrong with mindless entertainment. Just like ANYTHING, the problem comes in excessive use of any form of entertainment be it TV, drinking, computers, comic books, etc. Yes it’s hard to constantly monitor and restrict activities like TV or game playing but nevertheless, I believe that’s what you need to do.
Do we do a good job of restricting TV/gaming in our home? Not good enough. Which is why even though we choose to allow these “distractions” in our home, I wouldn’t condemn someones choice to disallow either of these activities in their home. The only question I have for Steve is does he disallow computer games, portable game players, iPods, MP3 players or other electronic devices that could serve as unnecessary distractions? Since there is not a TV in their home, I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was yes.