Tod1d's Thought Process

• Stumbled upon: TimmyOnTime; a time tracker that works via IM. http://is.gd/wZCE They need to move "help, FAQ" to top of page. Too hard to find.
  
• A File Manager in MooTools, looks nice, maybe you will like the link: http://is.gd/x02v
  
• Having tons of fun with Burnout Paradise PC demo. Too bad, it's only a 30 minutes long. http://is.gd/x5vb
  
• Looking for a document diff plugin for Notepad++. Found "Compare Plugin" http://is.gd/2xdY
• A decent summary: Maintaining state in ASP.NET: Know your options http://is.gd/xuQB
  
• A more in depth look: Nine Options for Managing Persistent User State in Your ASP.NET Application
  
• Finished reading How to Win Friends & Influence People. A very satisfying read. Just the right length.
• Open Source or Die – The *Real* Future of Graffiti? (via @mhinton)
• #dotnet software developer position open in Bloomington/Normal, IL area. http://is.gd/zB9a
  
• Great Thinkers on Self-Education: John Holt http://tinyurl.com/oqplc4 via writingjamie
• Working on my Windows Live Writer install package. Just about done. Then I will need to submit to WLW plugin site. http://is.gd/zHcn
• Been having a lot of fun playing TrackMania Nations with my 9yo son. Fun racing #game. You can play it free. http://www.trackmania.com/tm/

• Trebuchets are harsh mistresses http://tinyurl.com/cy44sa via @codinghorror
  
• Constructing NetworkCredential from WindowsIdentity so I can interact with web service that requests ICredentials http://is.gd/vrrR 
• ToRead: An Unschooling Manifesto http://bit.ly/18eWNI via @TravisSeitler

• BrandonTurner Suggested that I allow the users of my Windows Live Writer plug-in to specify fewer than 20 tweets and that I should add a border.
  
• Follow the Swine Flu in Real Time With Google Maps http://rly.cc/Va0Nr
  
• Speaking of Swine Flu, if you have never played Pandemic, the board game, your missing out.
• I love the "timer" feature of the iPhone Clock app. I use it for work and play. Suggestions on how to use it for work http://is.gd/uUIz
• A coworker refers to his desktop icons as "acorns". Had to think of him when I saw this free icon set http://ping.fm/s1I9s via RussAdams

If you are interested in leading the Bloomington .NET Users Group, please contact Jesse Baird. He is stepping down as president and is looking for a replacement:

Hey BNUG, I have officially decided that I am going to be looking for someone else to run the user group.  My life's activities have increased with a new kid, longer hours at work, and a ton of traveling this summer and I have not been able to dedicate the attention that is needed to keep the group going.  Excuses, excuses, I know, but it just doesn't make it high enough in the priority list until I am scrambling toward the end to throw together a meeting.  We actually have been getting larger attendances in recent months so I don't want to let the group down because of my actions (or lack of).  I have been struggling with this decision for months hoping that I could get back into a groove with all the things going on but my time commitments seem to have increased instead so I am in the process now of reducing several other things as well so I can be home with my family.  Anyway, that is the story.  

If there is anyone that would be interested in leading the group please let me know and we will begin a transition phase asap.  If I don't get any responses then I will unfortunately have to let the group end.  I will send out another email in a couple weeks either way.  

Currently the May session is going to be canceled because originally it was supposed to be the same topics that became those MSDN/TechReady events that I sent you an email about a few days ago.  

Thanks!!

 Jesse has been a great leader and he will be missed.

• Finding references on how to format strings in SQL Server Reporting Services 2005 using Textbox Format proprety http://is.gd/tFNp
• LEGO Rock Band is official http://tinyurl.com/cgtxzz
• Doing research on Smallestdotnet http://www.hanselman.com/smallestdotnet/
• Roku digital video player now offers HD movies and TV shows from Amazon VOD. Engadet has hands on review: http://bit.ly/4cth8
• If I keep plugging away at this Windows Live Writer plugin, I am bound to get it done. I hope.
• @mhinton has agreed to test out my Windows Live Writer plugin.
  
• @BrandonTurner Let me know that the only "issue" I need to be aware of, when developing my Windows Live Writer plugin using .NET 3.5, is that the end-user may not already have it installed, since Windows Live Writer only requires .NET 2.0.
  
• My Windows Live Writer plugin inserts your recent tweets into your post.
• How do we broadcast our current status, recent victories, future goals to our internal clients (from department heads to VPs)?
• Jogging my memory of Information Radiator from Cockburn's Crystal Clear: http://is.gd/tXxA
• RT @shanselman: Great post. Read it twice. Learning and Understanding: http://bit.ly/b9dlw

• Checking out Query Express. Free Query Analyzer look-alike that is only 100KB. http://is.gd/l4WW (via shanselman)
• Exception-Driven Development: It's not a question of if you will ship with bugs, but how quickly can you fix them. http://is.gd/sVzM
• Why twitter clients don't matter - http://tr.im/j7yG

• I want a simple 2 dimensional key/value container. Brushing up on the C# HashTable http://is.gd/sztE
• @davidmmorton Thanks for suggesting the Dictionary<TKey, TValue> as alternative to HashTable. WIll try and keep in mind.
  
• @balexandre Thanks for sharing your e-commerce solution findings. I will keep Magento and Shopify in mind for future projects. It looks like Magento is free and open source. Shopify appears to be a hosted solution that you pay a monthly fee for. Neither are ASP.NET e-commerce solutions.
  
• @balexandre Recommended Black Magic Twhirl theme/skin. To change your Twhirl color scheme, click on the Twhirl logo in the top left of the window and that will open those options. I don't understand why they just didn't place it under the "Configuration" button. Seem unintuitive to me. Don't make me think!
  
• How Twitter Was Born http://ping.fm/0BtqN

• @BrandonTurner Pointed me to the Twitter plugin included with the Windows Live Writer SDK for an example of how to store user credentials securely when creating a WLW plugin.
• Learning about Adobe AIR runtime. Sounds a bit like the .NET framework. http://is.gd/1qK
• Unsure what SET ARITHABORT ON means. Sounds unhealthy and possibly illegal in some states. http://is.gd/sddA
• Dear Visual Studio, When I accidentally ctrl+x an empty line of text please don't replace what's already in my clipboard w/ an empty string.
• @BrandonTurner Confirmed that there is not a way to edit the blog post title via a Windows Live Writer plugin. It has something to do with preventing plugins from screwing up content