baudrunner's Blog

I finally decided to create my own blog on the site. The fact that I can point to it from any source via a URL is a great feature that can come in pretty handy when I'm making an introduction, either online or otherwise. I'll try to keep the posts up-to-date when I can.

These days I keep pretty busy looking for something to do to generate more income. When I'm not doing that I am studying web development using the free downloadable Microsoft Visual Studio Express packages, along with SQL Server Express and the SQL Management Studio. These are fully featured and have the potential to create a great ASP .NET enabled site just like this one, although I think VBulletin is largely written in PHP. I've added the AJAX controls and the AJAX Toolkit control extenders to my Visual Web Developer Express and I've been studying all the ASP .NET and VWD video tutorials that I can get my hands on and following right along with the IDE. My Alt-Tab keys are getting a real workout! But what an absolutely awesome concept - unbelievable what you can accomplish with so little customized code. Only problem is, while I can see the results on my own computer after compiling a project, my personal web space with my service provider will enable only straight html with embedded Java, nothing fancy like ASP or even PHP, apparently. For that matter, I'd have to upgrade to XP Pro just to be able to deploy any website I create with all the fancy tools I have, not that it would make any difference. Well, you get what you pay for, I guess. If I wind up creating a really serious site I would have to pay for hosting on a .NET framework enabled server with the Microsoft Front Page 2000 server extensions installed. In case you're all wondering what I'm talking about, take a look at the URL of the web pages you browse while tinkeling around on the web. Occasionally you will run across a fancy site with a lot of bells and whistles and notice that the startup page is not html or php, but quite often titled Default.aspx. That is an ASP .NET enabled web site. To see all those features you would have to have the .NET framework installed on your own pc, and that's what that's all about. I'll bet you didn't think you were going to learn anything today, did you?!

Anyway, I still wander around the web looking at the stars (not the celeb kind!) and wondering about the how and why of it all. If you have been dilligently reading my posts on the TOE then you'll know where I'm coming from. I think I have it all almost figured out and I'm happy with it so far. Of course, nobody will ever be allowed to make that claim, otherwise what's the point? A lot of physicists would be out of a job.

My signature, "There's nothing permanent except change", pretty much sums it up. My life's up and down like a roller coaster, never a dull moment, just occasionally depressing. Just today the last five numbers on my 'Encore' numbers for the Super Seven Lottery last night read 90654. The last five winning numbers read 90634. I would have won a thousand bucks. Ah, well. At least I get a free go at another shot. Again. *sigh* and groan.