Connecting to a WRT54G with a HP iPAQ 110

  • October 4, 2008
  • James Skemp
After playing around with settings, I was finally able to access my wireless network with my HP iPAQ 110. Here's what I did. Under Wireless > Wireless Security, set the model to WEP, setting a passphrase and generating keys. Make sure your wireless is enabled. Once the network shows in your iPAQ, set the Authentication to Shared and the Data Encryption to WEP. Select the key index and enter the key equal to the Default Transmit Key from the WRT54G.

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Brief Notes on Essential C# 3.0: For .NET Framework 3.5 (2nd Edition)

  • August 16, 2008
  • James Skemp
I'll be updating this as I read, but the date/time of the post will remain the same. This will by no means make up for a reading of the book - Essential C# 3.0: For .NET Framework 3.5 (2nd Edition). (Link to my review will be posted once I finish the book.) I work primarily on the Web, so that will be my main focus from reading this book. Some chapters may not be present here, depending upon what I think is note-worthy at the time.

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On the purpose of life (with a bonus on the meaning of life)

  • July 10, 2008
  • James Skemp
It's been a while since I've written a philosophical piece, so please be kind. Two necessary definitions First, we must begin with definitions1 of the key words in our topic. life: 1 a. The property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism. 1 b.

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Collection down after opening - resolution

  • June 16, 2008
  • James Skemp
We've been running into an issue, off and on, with ColdFusion MX 7.0.2 having issues with Verity collections. During one of our nightly jobs, two Verity collections are purged, through ColdFusion, and then re-built.  Sometimes this will bring the collection down, resulting in a message like the following. Collection down after opening (10) Using the mdvdk executable, you can get some information about the collection, and even bring it back up.

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Dynamic user-controlled layout in a CMS

  • May 25, 2008
  • James Skemp
This article is meant to hold some of the thoughts that I've been having about allowing a user to control the layout of a page, in particular for use within a content management system (CMS). The system would need to be able to support a user creating templates easily, but hopefully without the use of tables. In the CSS Advanced Layout Module, there is a draft specification for Template-based positioning.

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On New York

  • May 24, 2008
  • James Skemp
This article contains my own opinionated opinion only. Why do most crime dramas take place in New York? Why does New York, along with Hollywood, think that they are the center of the United States? Of all the states and cities, New York is probably the most ego-centric, after all, how many cities share the name of the state that they are in? (Low-blow.) What follows is more questions, than answers, that stem from my thoughts on New York.

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Can A Good Man Do No Evil? Is Zatoichi A Good Man?

  • February 23, 2008
  • James Skemp
Pre-emptive clarifications First, by a 'good man' we specifically mean here one who is truly good. By 'good' we mean one who, by their actions, attempts to decrease the amount of evil. By 'evil' we mean those actions which are disruptive towards a social, unified, ordered, society. For example, murder, theft and pillaging. This by no means exhausts all potential issues with the below, but if one assumes the common definitions, it should make sense.

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Quick and dirty conversions to FLV (Flash Video)

  • February 23, 2008
  • James Skemp
I purchased a Casio EX-Z1200 a bit ago, which I've been playing around with. Overall, I've been very happy with it, however, it outputs movies to the MOV format. While this seemed great for Apple, it wasn't the best for me. After testing out QuickTime Pro (7. something) and Ulead Movie Wizard 3.2 SE VCD (which came with the camera), I was about to settle for less than I hoped for.

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Who really wins when ads are added to free content?

  • December 22, 2007
  • James Skemp
Ramblings at this point. I probably won't clean them up, but I might.  Ars technica has a post, Microsoft patent could force downloaders to view commercials, regarding advertising before the playing and/or downloading of online content. Microsoft's patent application, titled Enforcing Advertising Playback For Downloaded Media Content, describes systems that are based both on tokens and DRM which would prohibit playing a media file unless its accompanying advertising is viewed.

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Notes on Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason: I. Transcendental Doctrine of Elements: Second Part. Transcendental Logic: Introduction

  • December 17, 2007
  • James Skemp
The following are notes to the Introduction of the Second Part (the Transcendental Logic) of the Transcendental Doctrine of Elements of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. For the months of December 2007 and January 2008, I'll be reading the Critique and writing notes as I go. For all citations, I am using the edition published by Palgrave Macmillan (ISBN 1-4039-1195-9), and translated by Norman Kemp Smith. The following article covers pages 92 to 101 of this edition.

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