CheckedListBox Mutual Exclusive Selection

I thought that this would be a simple property setting in the CheckedListBox, but no I guess not. I assume that the individual only wants to select one item, and that item should be both selected and checked.

Here's how I did it:

private void checkOnlySelection(CheckedListBox cbox)
{
Object selectedItem = cbox.SelectedItem;
if (selectedItem == null)
return;
for (int i = 0; i < cbox.Items.Count; i++)
{
Object o = cbox.Items[i];
bool match = o == selectedItem;
cbox.SetItemChecked(i, match);
}
}

Just call this method in the SelectedIndexChange event handler and it will do the trick.

Career Aptitude Tests - Nature vs. Nurture

If they ever develop a really good test for career aptitudes, what correlations they would find? Gardeners <-> biologists, mechanics <-> computer programmers, waiters/tresses <-> actors/actresses? But every waiter is an aspiring actor so it would be hard to separate nurture vs. nature. Are they called waiters/resses because they're all waiting to become actors/tresses?

Orange Peel Plant Food

Cut up orange peels added to the soil really give house plants a growth spurt. Grapefruit and lemonade also work, but not vinegar, so it's something in the citrus (vitamin C?) and not the acidity.

Blues and Folk and Rap

Blues, folk, and rap are pretty similiar. Structured chord progressions, and in the foreground, the guitar solo is speaking for blues, the singer's voice is speaking for folk, and the rapper's words is speaking for rap.

Media Sync Problem on Blackberry

I tried to use the "Media Sync" on the Blackberry Desktop software and got an error

Media Services are Not Available.

You need to turn on mass storage mode from the connected Blackberry device to use this feature. This may require you to reconnect your device.

Here's a link on the blackberry site for a fix.

In theory, yes. But when the device reset, and I clicked on "Media Sync", I once again got the "Media Services are Not Available" message. Maybe next time I'll get a Nokia or Samsung (IPhones are cool but way outside my budget until I get off my contract).

The article then says to go to Microsoft Support and look up KB 297694. This has a hotfix -- for Windows XP only. I've got Windows 7. And the "Contact Us" link doesn't actually have any specific category for technical issues - only one for non-technical issues, instructions to contact your manufacturer, or specific categories (like IPhone) that aren't related.

Now I'm not only getting the runaround within a company, they are coordinating their runaround strategies to send me to another companie's runaround department.

Someone suggested just going back to version 5.0. Having worked in this industry, I can guess what happened: the guy who wrote the software and understood it moved on to another job, within or outside the company, and the new programmers are being managed according to the latest approach (structured programming? agile? foobarius?) and no one really knows how the software works.

bizspark

I finally got my site www.sym3d.ca done, and applied to the BizSpark program offered by Microsoft at www.Bizspark.com It's a handy program that gives you cheap access to Microsoft software, and contact with venture capital and business partners.

To apply, you need a business site, and a non-free email account. Most hosting services give you some email addresses associated with the site for free, and google apps gives you a free version restricted to 50 users. I used the hosting service discountasp.net which offered a year of hosting for $90.

Long Arrow and the Lost Amulet

When something goes wrong do you try and escape by fantasizing you're someone else? This morning I got home and couldn't find my keys in my pocket.I was going to have to backtrack and try and find it. So .. this is my tale.

Long Arrow sighed with relief as he arrived at the camp. He reached down to touch his amulet for reassurance ...what? Where was his amulet. With a sinking heart he remembered the clinking sound along the trail some miles back .. could he have dropped it?

He was cold and hungry .. but without the amulet, he could not enter his camp that was magically sealed against intruders not bearing one of the amulets.

Steeling his will for the long discouraging journey back, he stripped his gear down to the essentials to make for a lighter trip. He unloaded the goods that he had brought back to the camp and put down the tools and gear he would not need for this trip. Speed was of the essence, lest another warrior or demon spirit come across the amulet and pick it up.

Swiftly but carefully retracing his path, he started his relaxed, ground-eating lope. He tried to visualize where he had heard that sound ..was it where the path approached the Dundas rock?

The miles faded into a blur but With a sinking heart he was fast approaching the Dundas rock and had not yet come across the amulet. He would have to continue his journey further, all the way to the trading post. Perhaps he had dropped it there before loading up for the trip back.

Grimly he tried not to think of the consequences if he could not recover the amulet. Without the amulet, he would have to try and survive until another warrior returned to the camp with an amulet. But all the warriors had left for the day and would not return until nightfall.

The trading post appeared around the bend, and he ran inside. The proprieter asked him "Back again Long Arrow .. did you forget something?"

"I've lost my spirit amulet .. has anyone turned it in?"

"Sorry, we don't have it"

Suddenly Long Arrow felt something brush against his thigh. His amulet! It was caught on a thread from his jersey. Feeling a little foolish he stuffed it into his pocket and prepared for the trip home, but much more lighthearted. The trip would be easy knowing that he would be able to enter the camp at the end.

(although I felt pretty dumb then)