From Julian Treasure’s TED talk: 5 ways to listen better:
The acronym RASA to help you become a better listener:
Receive: Pay attention to the person talking
Appreciate: Making noises that lets the speaker know that you are listening and receiving their message (oh! ok! yes!)
Summarize: Saying “So….”
Ask: Ask questions afterwards
Had some issues getting a SqlCmd variable working with the :r SqlCmd command.
Here is how I got it working finally:
:setvar databaseScriptFolder "C:\My Folder\"
:r $(databaseScriptFolder)"test script.sql"
If your .Net 4 web-apps fail to load, or you do not get .Net 4.0 options for websites under IIS7, then it maybe because your .Net 4.0 installation has been corrupted and it probably just needs to be repaired.
Here is one symptom: Under ISAPI and CGI restrictions for the IIS web-server, Asp.Net v4.0.xxxx does not show up.
Here is a simple command to run the repair:
%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\SetupCache\Client\setup.exe /repair /x86 /x64 /ia64 /parameterfolder Client /norestart
It took about 15 minutes to complete on my machine.
And after the repair, all the enteries showed up:
Or this post could be named “where is IISApp.Vbs script go in IIS 7?”
If you look at the Windows Task Manager, you may see multiple w3wp.exe processes running:
So how do you determine which one is running which website? In IIS 6, one would use the IISApp.vbs script to get that info. In IIS 7, there is a new executable called AppCmd.exe. This file can be typically found under the “c:\windows\system32\inetsrv” folder.
To determine which W3Wp.exe process is hosting which website, simply run the following command: AppCmd list wp
I kept getting an installation error with Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with an error code of: 8024200D.
I tried the Windows Update Readiness Tool multiple times, as well as restarted my computer multiple times. None of that helped.
Finally, I found the download page, from where you can download the entire installation package (http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=5842). After downloading the almost 1GB package, I was able to finally get SP1 installed successfully.
The installers based on your platform are (you need to validate that you have a genuine copy of Win7):
windows6.1-KB976932-IA64.exe
windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe
windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe
More info: Steps to take to make the SP1 install go smoothly: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2505743
Yes, Windows Phone 7 will support multi-tasking with the Mango update.
To check it out, just press the back button for a couple of seconds and you should see a screen that displays all the applications currently running.
To kill an app, select it from the multi-tasking screen and then hit the back button. (The windows button will continue running the app in the back ground).
I recently was having a discussion with a friend regarding whether meal breaks were paid or unpaid. Since my first job at a start-up in Montana, I have always worked at a minimum 8.5 hours a day. So did everyone else at the company. I always assumed that meal breaks were unpaid. It just makes common sense, because you can use that time for anything: eating, personal chores, etc.
But my friend disagreed, saying that lunch breaks were compensated periods and so one had to only work 8 hours (that included the 1/2 hour meal break).
Obviously I had to figure out what the law says about this topic. According to the DOL page, I was correct. Federal law does not provide for compensated lunch breaks: http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/breaks.htm
Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks. However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes), federal law considers the breaks as compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the work week and considered in determining if overtime was worked. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time, that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer's rules, and any extension of the break will be punished.
Bona fide meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes), serve a different purpose than coffee or snack breaks and, thus, are not work time and are not compensable.
For more information read the Title 29: Section 785.19.
Meal breaks are compensated only if you are not completely relived of your duties during the break (think of a receptionist that answers phone calls during their lunch). But if you are relieved of your job duties and you didn’t do anything related to work, then you don’t get compensated.
Although Federal law does not require lunch breaks, some States do. But none of theses States require that lunch breaks be compensated. (Typically in these States, you need to work for at least 6 hours to qualify for the mandatory 30 minute unpaid break time). Some of these States are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, and West Virginia.
See Colorado Dept of Labor and Employment: Breaks and Meal Periods and 7 CCR 1103-1 (Colorado Minimum Wage Order Number 27)
Colorado’s law does specify that:
Employees shall be permitted to fully consume a meal of choice “on the job” and be fully compensated for the “on-duty” meal period without any loss of time or compensation.
I am not 100% exactly what is meant by the above statement, but it seems to me, that you are allowed to eat and work at the same time and in that case, the time is considered to be compensated.
My Thoughts: More often than not, I work while I am taking my lunch break. Its because I am running a software build, reading up on some research, etc. But I almost always consider that time as unpaid time and hence will at a minimum work 8.5 hours a day. Its just easier that way, because apart from work, I need to spend time heating my lunch, or I am sometimes reading news, or speaking to someone or taking care of some personal errands (and when taken with the sum of other personal interruptions that occur throughout the day, I think it’s a wash).. In my opinion, it’s the ethical thing to do.
Disclaimer: I am not an attorney. Nor do I know law. This is just my opinion based on a discussion with a friend and some Googling I did.
The weirdest requirement of owning a TomTom GPS device: If you have multiple devices that you use at the same time (eg: one for your car and one for your wife’s), then you can only have one device registered to an email account at a time.
How PAINFUL!
Even worse, I had a TomTom device a long time back. I bought a new one in January of this year and it was working with my original computer without a problem. But since I got my new laptop, TomTom Home 2 continuously recognizes my XXL 550 device as a TomTom One device. The biggest problem with that: I had registered a LifeTime map update service for my XXL 550 and it no longer gets picked up by my TomTom Home2. So I am unable to get the latest maps.
Now, I have to spend time calling the customer service department (which is not open on a sunday) and get a solution for this. I just hope they have a solution, cause I paid good money for the LifeTime map service for my XXL.
You would think that the TomTom account would allow you to register multiple devices and that you could manage your subscriptions through their web-portal, but No! none of that is possible. You would think that the TomTom Home 2 software would automatically determine the device attached to the computer, use its serial number to determine what kind of TomTom device it is and also show you the different services associated with the device – again, not thought of! Without both of these basic features, my recent experience with the device has been very frustrating.
 |  |
| TomTom web-portal shows my active device as XXL | TomTom Home 2 shows the currently connected device as TomTom One and the “Change Device” option never enables itself – EVER! |
Hopefully, the customer service call ends up being less frustrating.
