09/27/2010 11:05 PM -
for those of you who can't be bothered to stream my customarily beefy hd project videos, i've updated the home office page. head on over and take a read.
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09/22/2010 12:06 AM -
previous parts:parts { 1, 2 }part 3parts { 4...6 }part 8 (i don't know what happened to part 7. not worth posting, maybe?)parts { 9...12 }
project complete. behold its glory:
Post.aspx?Title=The+Great+Monitor+Refresh+of+2010%3a++Project+Complete
09/19/2010 12:54 PM -
if you get this error upon datacontext.submitchanges(), go into your dbml file and set updatecheck=false for the fields that were changed within your data session. you can find the specific problems within datacontext.changeconflicts.
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09/16/2010 10:16 AM -
if you ever have a problem with linq to sql submitchanges() not submitting changes, see if you're doing your operations on an object you pulled out of a control. for example, if you databound an iqueryable or ienumerable of type mytype, and change the mytype within the control's selectedindexchanged event, your changes aren't updating in sql because the change operation is occuring against the new instance of the object. instead, run a query to retrieve the object back from the datacontext object where the control's valuemember (or whatever you have, ideally the table's unique id). boom, your changes are updated.
Post.aspx?Title=LINQ+SubmitChanges()+not+Submitting+Changes
09/15/2010 06:42 AM -
here i say part 11, but the math says it's really part 12.
Post.aspx?Title=The+Great+Monitor+Refresh+of+2010+-+Parts+%7b+9+...+12+%7d
09/13/2010 01:04 PM -
if you see "rob kraft inc" on your credit card statement, that's burger king.
if your descriptive text doesn't clearly explain who you are, don't be suprised when people do chargebacks. had i not googled "rob kraft inc", i never would have known. i've never done business with any company by that name that i saw.
of course i didn't do a chargeback because i was able to figure out who it was. just saying, pick a descriptive text that people will recognize, and you'll save money.
Post.aspx?Title=ROB+KRAFT+INC
09/13/2010 10:03 AM -
blue lights set upcontinued ruminations on plans over next two daysgeneral project updatewiring complete
Post.aspx?Title=The+Great+Monitor+Refresh+of+2010+-+Part+8
09/12/2010 06:44 AM -
i am way too lazy to transcribe all these into text.
part 4a
part 4b
part 5a
part 5b
part 6
part 7
Post.aspx?Title=The+Great+Monitor+Refresh+of+2010+-+Parts+%7b+4...6+%7d+-+Day+5
09/10/2010 04:36 AM -
continuation of the great monitor refresh of 2010, parts { 1 , 2 }...
four days ago, i ordered six asus 24" 1080p widescreen monitors. five of them went through kansas and are now in a holding area in commerce city, colorado. the other one, for some obscure reason, was routed through orlando, fl. in what way is florida a good way to get from tennessee to colorado? as a result, that monitor was delayed a day and is currently estimated to arrive on saturday.
so one shipment was divided into two parts, resulting in a partial delay. despite having a truck available on a direct route.
further, the monitor stands i ordered were shipped on the same day from ontario, california, and were also delayed. these were actually delayed all the way until monday, which i suspect is because ups elected to route them through missouri. in what way is missouri a good way to get from california to colorado? as a result, i can't have my awesome setup with two rows of three monitors per row until monday.
therefore my total wait time will be a week. with three day shipping.
thenceforth, i'll have to do a phased implementation:five monitors. experiment with both portrait and landscape modes, one row of five across. will probably throw in one of my existing 22" screens just to even things out.six monitors. same deal.six monitors mounted on vesa stands. mission accomplished.at least i know the process is underway. my vision is days away.
i also went into a bit of a rant about the different aspect ratios of the different monitors and tvs, and what happens when you diverge from accepted ntsc standards. that is to say, when technologists fail to communicate, we're left with band-aids when what we really need is surgery.
i tend to go off on tangents, which would technically make this line a sub-tangent.
with the old westinghouse removed from the pivot area, the only remaining non-height-adjustable screen is the tv, which is a bit higher. so i raised the other three screens to match the height of the tv's viewable area. in so doing, i discovered that i like having extra space under the monitors. to that end, i'll probably have the finished solution suspended thusly. i will never buy another westinghouse again; they died quickly and in an unusual manner.
leaving this space will go hand in hand with my new lighting layout.
i"ve taken my four clamp-mount desk lamps and mounted them under the desks in such a way that they project a very light blue aura across the frosted glass surface. this of course is an artifact of my desire to have lighting under the desk for hardware access. for a coincidental side effect, i'm quite pleased with the result.
but wait, there's more!
you remember my blue lights from the previous home office setup video, don't you? well, they'll be bundled up together to generate a blue haze emblazoned across the back wall. the intensity will be obscured behind the monitor setup, leaving me with the peripheral soft haze. the lights will then project shadows of the plants, which should lead to some interesting effects on the ceiling and opposite walls.
so to summarize: some monitors today; all tomorrow; full setup monday evening.
the end is nigh. the end of waiting.
Post.aspx?Title=The+Great+Monitor+Refresh+of+2010%2c+Part+3
09/06/2010 11:51 PM -
text writeup below. low bandwidth users: remember, you can select a low-quality version of the video. good stuff herein. video split in twine to bypass youtube's arbitrary 15-minute upload limit. so here's the video version in my typical auditory rant format. below these are my typical maximally verbose text format. funny how much smarter i sound when i type.
part 1 video:
part 2 video:
hear ye, hear ye; the great monitor refresh of 2010 hath commenced.
i've been playing with multiple monitors for over a decade, since the mid to late 90's. during that time, i have collected and made use of myriad monitors in a variety of aspect ratios, resolutions, shapes, and sizes. unfortunately, they've never quite matched. when i was younger, i simply couldn't afford to buy six matching monitors. when i was older, i wanted to wait for the price of the nice ones to come down a bit. in the interim, i had been left with what has come to be a characteristic conglomeration of assorted makes and models. nothing lined up. it was unabashed chaos, and for a considerable span of time, i was perfectly comfortable with utter chaos being my modus operandi.
that simply wouldn't do.
in april 2009, i decided to put an end to that repeating pattern. i bought two dell 2208wfpt monitors, expecting to buy four more over the course of time with the great monitor refresh of 2009. as anticipated, i indeed proceeded to phase 2, in which i discovered the model (and in fact the entire line) had been discontinued. alas, the great monitor refresh of 2009 met its entirely avoidable downfall.
i had failed.
however, in the words of one anonymous 21st-century philosopher, the only true failure is accepting failure. i was left with a mere iteration of my ongoing heterogeneous configuration. that is to say, i still had a hodgepodge of assorted screens; just different ones. my continually evolving workspace had reached an apparent impass. my progress stifled by the inevitable cancellation of a beloved product line, i vowed to buy in volume thereafter to avoid being doomed to repeat my own history.
yet my troubles weren't done with me.
they don't make 'em like they used to. my oldest three monitors have died in the past few months, having provided loyal if wonky service for years. the phenomena had such suspicious timing i would suspect an omen or sign if i believed in such superstitious hokum. instead, i took it as a motivational technique brought on by sheer luck. after all, something had to push me over the edge or i'd never do it. when the first died, i replaced it with a tv i wanted anyway. when the second died, i figured maybe i could live with five for a while. when the third died and left me with a piddly four screens (only three of which are technically monitors), i could tolerate the pattern no longer.
the time had come.
theretofore, henceforth, and thuswise, i took to the internet to find a suitable replacement. this time i would indeed buy in bulk. finally, i would have my nirvana and achieve the vision that has propelled my ui ponderings for a score halved. thusforth, i have ordered six asus ve245tl-p 24" 1080p widescreen monitors. big, high resolution, and numerous. i chose to revert to my previous and somewhat infamous 2x3 layout, in whence there were two rows of three screens. to accomodate this and improve the layout by perfecting the z-axis alignment, i also picked up three dual monitor desk mounting brackets.
my vision had come to fruition.
no more alignment mismatches. no more resolution inconsistency. no more problematic layouts incited by the band-aid that is my mo. i've just thrust my home office into the enterprise scale of things; and it is good. the internet's wild guesses lead me to believe the hardware will arrive as early as this friday. the problem with having a day off on national holidays, of course, is that everyone else has the day off too. sigh.
and the layout will be?
with the dozens of work area layouts i've experimented with over the decade(s), i've gained signif
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