Posts by Reverend Jim

It's like using an index at the back of a book to get the page (address) of a particular topic. Instead of scanning the book looking for the topic you just get the address from the index and go directly there. You can add an index for any field (or combination of fields) but with every index you add there is a penalty in that it requires extra space for the index and extra processing time to maintain the index.

As I understand it, DARPA initially developed the first internet to create a communication grid that could not easily be shut down and now it seems the biggest complaint that government has with the internet is that it cannot easily be controlled. Kind of ironic, don't you think?

Perhaps because Microsoft has defined progress, not as a more secure, more efficient or easier to use operating system, but as more profits for Microsoft.

It gets better. It's a "free" upgrade if you are running 7 or 8.x but there are certain things you must pay extra for. Windows Media Centre? Extra. You like solitaire? Sure, you still get a free version but if you want to play without ads you have to pay $1.49 (or there abouts) per month. The Start Menu (after a fashion) is back but by default it streams content (including ads) and does not have anywhere near the functionality of the Windoows 7 Start Menu. You want privacy? Forget it unless you

1. have the Enterprise version
2. disable a dozen or more settings in a dozen or more different places

For the first point, there is a setting that says "disable" but if you choose that in any version other than Enterprise, Windows just says fuck you and re-enables it.

Never underestimate human stupidity. A while back a security company showed how vulnerable a government building's compter system was. This was after the IT department claimed that they were bullet-proof. What high-tech technique did they use? They left USB memory sticks on the ground in the parking lot. Curious employees, on finding the sticks, couldn't resist plugging them in once they got to their desks.

I tell my father-in-law the danger of downloading and installing software. And every three months or so I have to wipe his system and restore a good image because he has pooched his laptop with a thousand or so pieces of adware, spyware, malware, etc. from downloaded software.

Recently he got a pop-up from his anti-virus software warning him that the website he was trying to go to was a known source of (paraphrased here) bad shit and stuff. I asked him what he did in response and he said "I clicked GO THERE ANYWAY".

Now go back and reread my first sentence.

Try

worksheet = workbook.ActiveSheet

There are a number of services that offer file sharing/syncing via the "cloud". The free versions come with limitations on file size. As well, DropBox suffers from security issues in that encryption is done at the server meaning that any files you upload can be made available to the authorities by court order. SpiderOak encryption is done at the client which is more secure, but again, storage space is limited.

In all cases, you are dependent on the availability of a server over which you have no control.

You are likely familiar with BitTorrent which received more than its share of bad press because of its abuse in piracy of music and videos as well as cracked software (and the viruses that tagged along). BitTorrent, however, has also gotten wide use for distribution of Linux packages. Traditionally, BitTorrent required a server to manage the sources and connections. With BitTorrent Sync, no third party server is required. And, like traditional BitTorrent, sync speed is actually improved as the number of computers in the cluster increases. BitTorrent Sync always uses the shortest path available which means that for computers on the same network (for example, in your house connected to the same router), internet access is not required.

As with traditional BitTorrent, files are logically broken up into segments. Only differing segments need to be transmitted so that when small changes are made to large files, the entire file need not …

You may also want to have a look at this code snippet.

I had just finished reading a rather long article on a topic I find interesting. It had to do with the destruction of local community due to the increasing number of people who would rather "connect" via facebook, twitter, texting, anyway, it seems, other than in person. Whem I am in a restaurant I see people at tables who would rather text than converse with others at the same table. I was recently at Carnegie Hall listening to a magnificent new composition by a Hungarian composer. From the balcony I couldn't help but notice several people who had their faces buried in their iPads. Sad. Here at the cottage on Lake Shebandowan we used to have a connected community with frequent social functions at the community centre. That has come to an end, mostly because the younger generation no longer feels connected to the community.

Yes, my comment may have been not to your liking but it was prompted by these recent experiences. Obviously I also make use of technology to connect to people beyond my immediate sphere but I limit it pretty much to this forum. I do not pretend that Facebook Friends are the same as real friends.

My closing phrase "you should try it" was, on reflection, not entirely appropriate and I apologize for that. But I think you might have been a little more eloquent in expressing your opinion than just calling me an a$$hole.

By default, the Excel app is open invisible. It will only show if you set Visible to True.

I've mentioned arrays before. To set the column headers you might do

Dim headers() As String = {"Prop ID", "Arrival Date", "Departure Date",
                           "Booking Date", "Room Type", "Rate Plan",
                           "Rate", "Payment Type", "Guest Name", "Group",
                           "Source"}

For col As Integer = 0 To UBound(headers)
    xlWorkSheet.Cells(1, col + 1) = headers(col)
Next

Just a thought - I think you would be better off parsing the numbers as integers rather than strings. To get the two "parts" of a number you can do

num Mod 1000   'for num = 98765 this results in 765
num \ 1000     'for num = 98765 this results in 98

This works for any positive integer and you don't have to worry about substring errors.

The flight simulator was in the building that the plane crashed into.

You might want to have a look at BitTorrent Sync. It will sync data between computers without requiring a server in the cloud. Your data never appears anywhere but the source/target computers.

Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway - With Me in It.

If the government outlaws tactical nuclear missiles then only criminals will have tactical nuclear missiles.

That should point out exactly how insane the "if the government outlaws guns..." argument is. By definition, if the government outlaws anything then only criminals will possess it. Otherwise what would be the point of having any laws?

I recommend that you use something like Microsoft Word (which does have grammar correction) to compose your posts, then use copy/paste to submit the post.

For some projects I can see costs ballooning but the long gun registry should have been almost off-the-shelf. Person buys gun, gun and person go into registry accessible by all law enforcement. That's almost boiler plate database. Our control centre, on the other hand, had to control 15 hydro-electric generating stations, 2 thermal and 4 diesel. Add to that converter stations at each end for HVDC plus dozens of distribution stations. Add to that the software for scheduling outages, matching line voltages and frequencies, software for interconnection to other control centres throughout the American mid west. Now add in analysis software for optimizing generation and water flow. That includes massive databases for management of 4-second resolution data on close to 9000 status points and 10000 analog points. And even that only covers about 70% of the system.

That's for 64 million. There's absolutely no way you can fuck up a gun registry database to the tune of 2 billion without a massive amount of corruption.

By the way, on the previous AGC/SCADA system, the project's head engineer was told that the company's IT department would be maintaining the software (but would not be on 24x7 standby). His response was (in perhaps more PC language) "no fucking way". Everyone associated with the system maintenance was brought directly under his control. That allowed him to manage costs and scheduling.

It's all political. We built a state of the art, hurricane proof building for our control centre and filled it with state of the art computers and custom software to control our provincial electrical grid (generation, transmission and distribution). It went live in November 1998 and cost 64 million. The federal government created a Canada wide long gun registry. It cost over two billion. There's no way you can convince me that some political hacks and their friends didn't make a shitload of money that they weren't entitled to. It doesn't matter if the software works well, or even at all (Obamacare website, anyone). All that matters is that some people got rich(er) who didn't deserve it and the rest of us all got a little bit poorer.

"I don't fear computers. I fear the lack of them."

Isaac Asimov

You can't tell puns to kleptomaniacs. They take things, literally.

Here is a walkthrough from Microsoft.

I'm not patting myself on the back. I'm simply speaking from the point of view of someone who, over the last 35 years has seen an awful lot of sizzle but not a lot of steak to go with it.

You have every right to be offended, just as we have every right to our opinions.

It reminded me of season 1 of Silicon Valley where, at the tech gala, every presenter claimed that their software would "change the world". BUT WAIT!!!, if you buy now you can get TWO world changing software packages for the same low, low price of just three easy payments of $19.95 (a $400 value). Order now.

You are not using IIF correctly. You can not execute statements within an IIF. For example

Dim a As Integer = 1
Dim b As Integer = 2
Dim c As Integer = 3

IIf(a = 1, b = 7, b = 8)

b will still have the value 2, however, if you do

b = IIf(a = 1, 7, 8)

then b will have the value 7. You could rewrite your statements as

If Me.cmbwkdays.SelectedItem = Nothing) Then
    Cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@DayNos", "N/A")
Else
    Cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@DayNos", Me.cmbwkdays.SelectedItem)
End If

or you could do

Dim temp As String = IIf(Me.cmbwkdays.SelectedItem = Nothing, "N/A", Me.cmbwkdays.SelectedItem))
Cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@DayNos", temp)

Also, I counted twice but it looks like you have 29 field names and 29 AddWithValue statements but only 28 "?".

I used to go and sit on the beach at Brighton and dream, and now I sit on the shore of human life and dream practically the same dreams. I remember about the time that I mention – or it may have been a trifle later – coming to the distinct conclusion that there were only two things really worth living for – the glory and beauty of Nature, and the glory and beauty of human love and friendship. And to-day I still feel the same. What else indeed is there? All the nonsense about riches, fame, distinction, ease, luxury and so forth – how little does it amount to! It really is not worth wasting time over. These things are so obviously secondhand affairs, useful only and in so far as they may lead to the first two, and short of their doing that liable to become odious and harmful. To become united and in line with the beauty and vitality of Nature (but, Lord help us! we are far enough off from that at present), and to become united with those we love – what other ultimate object in life is there? Surely all these other things, these games and examinations, these churches and chapels, these district councils and money markets, these top-hats and telephones and even the general necessity of earning one’s living – if they are not ultimately for that, what are they for?

Edward Carpenter

@rproffitt - the code I suggested allows all of that. It says only to disallow any ENTER keys if already at the max allowed. All other keystrokes are still allowed.

@satyam_1 - please explain how the code does not meet your needs and I will try to modify it accordingly.

You need to use the same variable for the return value as well as the test. You used responce to save the result but your test uses reply. Another possibility would be

If MsgBox("Are you sure you want to Logout?", vbYesNo, "Confirmation") = vbYes Then
    Unload Me
    frmAuthentication.Show
else
    exit sub
End If

If you make a mistake, own it. When you apologize, make it sincere. Trust me, I've had a lot of practice at this.

I suppose you have already noticed this but composing a query by concatenating multiple strings is just butt ugly. For one thing you have to keep track of where to add single quotes and where not to.

The first thing I can suggest is to use the full INSERT syntax in which you explicitly state the column names as in

INSERT INTO tablename (fld1, fld2, ... fldn)
    VALUES (val1, val2, ... valn)

The second thing is to use Parameterized Queries. Please refer to the Sub btnSQLDB_Click.

Because you are using SqlClient you can use named parameters that are not dependent on position. If you copy your TextBox values to appropriately typed local variables appropriate delimiters will be added automatically.

If you use Parameterized Queries then you don't have to worry about what delimiters to use.

It's a small seven-legged marsupial.

When used as a single statement

iNumber = 1

assigns 1 to iNumber. When used as a conditional it evaluates to a Boolean which is actually 0 or -1 so

If IsNumeric(iNumber = 1) Then

will always evaluate to True no matter what number you compare iNumber to. One alternative is

Dim iNumber As Integer = 1
Dim sNumber As String = InputBox("Enter a number", "Numbers Only", iNumber)

If IsNumeric(sNumber) Then

    iNumber = CInt(sNumber)

    If iNumber >= 1 And iNumber <= 5 Then

        For i As Integer = 1 To iNumber
            Me.Controls("GroupBox" & i).Visible = True
        Next

    Else
        MsgBox("Enter only numbers from 1 to 5")
    End If
Else
    MsgBox("Enter only numbers from 1 to 5")
End If

@ddanbe - let's take a hypothetical. You frequent an adult book store, or perhaps a bar, or even make weekly visits to a psychiatrist/therapist. Every entrance/exit to these establishments is captured on camera. These activities are all perfectly legal but do you want a record of these visits kept? For the time being the images are anonymous unless someone actually reviews the video but what about when face recognition becomes universally used in conjunction with your drivers licence photos. Now, instead of nameless comings and goings the computer can automatically log every entrance/exit. At some point there will be a record of every step you take. There's a big difference between "someone might see me" and "there's a permanent record and eventually someone will see this".

It's a funny thing about the people who always tell us "if you haven't done anything wrong then you shouldn't mind...". These people whould be the first to object should we start snooping in their private affairs.

Since the thread title is Health without being more specific, I thought I'd post this amusing commentary...

I have a few unrelated suggestions.

You might want to replace the multiple declarations of prop## with

Private prop(30)

This would allow you to replace

prop01 = tbxProperty01.Text
lblProperty01.Text = prop01
prop02 = tbxProperty02.Text
lblProperty02.Text = prop02
prop03 = tbxProperty03.Text
lblProperty03.Text = prop03
prop04 = tbxProperty04.Text
lblProperty04.Text = prop04
prop05 = tbxProperty05.Text
lblProperty05.Text = prop05
prop06 = tbxProperty06.Text
lblProperty06.Text = prop06
prop07 = tbxProperty07.Text
lblProperty07.Text = prop07
prop08 = tbxProperty08.Text
lblProperty08.Text = prop08
prop09 = tbxProperty09.Text
lblProperty09.Text = prop09
prop10 = tbxProperty10.Text
lblProperty10.Text = prop10
prop11 = tbxProperty11.Text
lblProperty11.Text = prop11
prop12 = tbxProperty12.Text
lblProperty12.Text = prop12
prop13 = tbxProperty13.Text
lblProperty13.Text = prop13
prop14 = tbxProperty14.Text
lblProperty14.Text = prop14
prop15 = tbxProperty15.Text
lblProperty15.Text = prop15
prop16 = tbxProperty16.Text
lblProperty16.Text = prop16
prop17 = tbxProperty17.Text
lblProperty17.Text = prop17
prop18 = tbxProperty18.Text
lblProperty18.Text = prop18
prop19 = tbxProperty19.Text
lblProperty19.Text = prop19
prop20 = tbxProperty20.Text
lblProperty20.Text = prop20
prop01 = tbxProperty01.Text
lblProperty21.Text = prop21
prop22 = tbxProperty22.Text
lblProperty22.Text = prop22
prop23 = tbxProperty23.Text
lblProperty23.Text = prop23
prop24 = tbxProperty24.Text
lblProperty24.Text = prop24
prop25 = tbxProperty25.Text
lblProperty25.Text = prop25
prop26 = tbxProperty26.Text
lblProperty26.Text = prop26
prop27 = tbxProperty27.Text
lblProperty27.Text = prop27
prop28 = tbxProperty28.Text
lblProperty28.Text = prop28
prop29 = tbxProperty29.Text
lblProperty29.Text = prop29
prop30 = tbxProperty30.Text
lblProperty30.Text = prop30

with

For i As Integer = 1 To 30
    Dim seq As String = i.ToString("D2")
    Dim tbx As TextBox = Me.Controls("tbxProperty" & seq)
    Dim lbl As Label = Me.Controls("lblProperty" & seq)
    prop(i) = tbx.Text
    lbl.Text = prop(i)
Next

or, …

Breakfast - my potato and onion pancakes
Lunch - my seafood/clam chowder
Dinner - my Satay pork and stir fried veggies

How about "fresh frozen"? It's either fresh or it isn't.

My wedding ring.

I wonder what a person who believes that should be done would say if they, or someone they loved, was on the receiving end of it. I think that would change their viewpoint drastically!

As I mentioned, I had a close friend who made that decision. When I was much younger I believed that doctor assisted suicide should be legal. In 2009 I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After two surgeries (I have now officially been cut from ear to ear) and two courses of radiation I have been told that the cancer is treatable (for now) but not curable so the possibility that I may face the "should I stay or should I go" decision is quite real. Having said that, I still firmly believe that doctor assisted suicide is an option that should be available to me.

So you can stop wondering.

Awesome opportunity. We just spent 8 hours driving to the cottage and we were both wishing we had a self-driving van. Congratulations on the PhD. It's well deserved.

That depends on your jurisdiction no doubt.

Good point. I think by most standards, Europe is far ahead of Canada and the US on developing policy.

It would be somewhat alleviated by requiring the authorisation to perform the lethal procedure be granted by a professional from another hospital or outside agency

Perhaps it would help if the doctor signing the authorization did not have access to the name of the doctor or facility that would be performing the procedure.

What you call "assisted suicide" is what is usually termed euthanasia when done by medical professionals.

That is completely false. If a doctor (or anyone for that matter) kills a person without express consent it is called murder. If it is done with express consent it is called euthanasia. If the doctor provides the method by which the patient terminates his/her own life then that is doctor assisted suicide. Withholding medical treatment (passive ending of a life) is not the same as hastening death by active means (injection, etc).

There have been concerns raised that by legalizing doctor assisted suicide we start on a slippery slope which leads to family members pressuring ma and pa to end their lives so the kids can grab their inheritance or avoid taking care of elderly and troublesome parents. That is exactly the reason that we have to determine (to the best of our ability) that the decision is being taken for acceptable reasons.

when hospitals or insurance companies see it as a cheap way to get rid of expensive to treat (read, non-profitable) patients/customers and try to bully/force them into signing up for being terminated.

One of the ways to guard against that is to ensure that those medical professionals who are assisting with the decision do not have a stake in the outcome.

The "slippery slope" argument has been used by various groups to oppose anything that offends their morals. For example, allowing same sex marriage will eventually …

It's already legal. We euthanize animals all the time. Be more specific and show us that you have put some thought into the matter.

I was just in the Hardware & Softwre Chat. Here are a few lines

Mon 1:31  pm savedlema I see Reverend Jim here...you have answered so much of my difficult questions on VB.NET...Thank you so much.
Mon 2:04  pm savedlema nobody is here..time expired?
Mon 11:06 am DaveAmour Hi
Mon 11:25 am Reverend Jim Glad I could help.

Just scanning the log quickly, the eyes see Mon Mon Mon... and it isn't immediately obvious that one or more weeks passed between Mon 2:04 and Mon 11:06. Would it be possible (and reasonably easy) to modifly the chat log display code to add a spacer of some sort to indicate a large gap in time? Perhaps something like

Mon 1:31  pm savedlema I see Reverend Jim here...you have answered so much of my difficult ...
Mon 2:04  pm savedlema nobody is here..time expired?

--- gap of 6 days and 7 hours

Mon 11:06 am DaveAmour Hi
Mon 11:25 am Reverend Jim Glad I could help.

Or possibly a line with the date/time the log resumed if the last displayed entry was on a previous day

Mon 1:31  pm savedlema I see Reverend Jim here...you have answered so much of my difficult ...
Mon 2:04  pm savedlema nobody is here..time expired?

2015-05-18

Mon 11:06 am DaveAmour Hi
Mon 11:25 am Reverend Jim Glad I could help.

I think some indication that the conversation has been paused/interrupted/discontinued for an extended period would help.

I'm running Visual Studio 2010 on Windows 7 Home Premium (all updates installed). I created a sample project named 'PerryTest' and copied ID3TagLibrary.dll to the source folder. I added the dll to the References. I added the following code

Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

    Dim mp3 As New ID3TagLibrary.MP3File("D:\My Music\Alice Cooper\Alice Cooper - Schools Out For Summer.mp3")
    Me.Close()

End Sub

then put a breakpoint at Me.Close(). With a Watch on mp3 I saw the expected properties with no errors or warnings.

I've Got Tears in My Ears From Lying On My Back In My Bed While Cryin' Over You composed by Harold Barlow.

The version I remember was recorded by Homer and Jethro.

In my experience when you do an upgrade install you end up with pieces of both systems scattered about higgledy-piggledy. You'll effectively get a mish mash of both with a lot of wasted disk space. My advice is to take a disk image of your current system then wipe it and do a fresh install of Windows 7. I don't know how your system is partitioned but my suggestion is roughly

70 meg C partition
remainder to D partition

Once you have a base Windows 7 system installed and configured with all Windows 7 updates applied, relocate the following folders from C to D

My Documents
My Music
My Pictures
My Videos
Downloads

Reinstall the disk imaging software (Macrium Reflect has an excellent free edition) and take an image of the C partition. Now install your "must have" applications (I would include cCleaner). When you have your system configured and updated, run cCleaner and take another image (this one will be temporary). The last step will be to do a disk "freeze". One of the many updates you will have installed will be service pack 1. You'll never want to uninstall this so by doing a "freeze" you will clean your system of the uninstall files. To do this, open a CMD shell as Administrator and type

C:
CD \
dir
DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /SpSuperseded
dir

This could take upwards of 30 minutes to run so don't panic. And if you DO panic, that's why you did …

No problem. Glad we were finally able to get on the same page. Feel free to post follow-up questions.

That's easy enough to do

Private Sub btnSend_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnSend.Click

    ListBox2.Items.Clear()

    For Each item As String In ListBox1.Items
        If item.Contains(TextBox1.Text) Then
            ListBox2.Items.Add(item)
        End If
    Next

End Sub

That will copy all items containing the string in TextBox1 from ListBox1 to ListBox2. If you want an exact match then use

If item = TextBox1.Text Then

If you want a dynamic version (ListBox2 updates while you type) then see this thread

There is a manual method for creating a shortcut that will run with Admin access (bypassing the UAC prompt) here.