Scott Hanselman

UPDATE: My response to the many thoughts offered regarding this post is in the comment section below...Thanks to all who joined in.

I found the maps off this link (via Chris Sells) very interesting when put next to each other.  I find this very telling, as 9/11, Iraq, Health Care, Social Security, Gay Marriage, all these things, haven't changed the way the country thinks. This NYTime Columnist says it well when he says 'This was not an election. This was station identification...We don't just disagree on what America should be doing; we disagree on what America is.' There's always been city-folk vs. country-folk, born-again vs. other faiths, left vs. right, but this is getting more fundamental.

2000 Vote Map by County

2004 Vote Map by County

It's interesting that 2nd Amendment is touted as crucial and immutable to many people, but the separation of church and state is eroding (Faith-based Inititives, 'In God We Trust' on our Money, the 10 Commandments in Courthouse)...of course Islam would feel as if we're on a Crusade, a non-Judeo-Christian President could never be elected in this country. 'Mr. Candidate, do you pray?' 'Hm...not so much. I'm more of an analyst.'

Can you see Al Gore praying?
Why is prayer important to a president?
Do we need a mandate from on high to run a country?
Does Greenspan pray on an interest rate decisions?
Could I be elected president if I came out and said 'I'm not a fan of hunting?' 'Why, not killing animals for sport is un-American!'

I understand why Fear (the primary motivator of the last 4 years) would cause people to revisit their faith, but faith should always be balanced with thought. People like Bush for the fact that he 'has conviction, and stands by his decisions' - but isn't it learning from your mistakes that makes you a better person?

I wish we had a leader who thought, who inspired spirited, not spiteful, debate and discourse, who was wise and thoughtful, and had more MIPS than I.

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Proverbs (ch. I, v. 20-22)

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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I picked up a new mouse today and I'm digging it.  It's called the "VerticalMouse" and I'm wondering why I didn't think of it myself.  Before today I used a Microsoft Optical Wireless, a Microsoft Optical (Thumb) Trackball and a Wacom 4x6 tablet, all at the same time.  I have them all attached to a four point USB hub, and I'd switch from one to the other as I started to hurt.  However, this mouse is comfortable enough that I'll probably start using it all the time. 

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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You know there are some software products that are just too cool NOT to share.  CodeRush is one, many are mentioned on the Ultimate Tools List, and MaxiVista is another.

MaxiVista is a "virtual networked display adapter" that lets you use any machine you've got as a second (or third!) monitor! Here's how I use it.

I love MaxiVista so much that MaxiVista is helping me spread the word with an exclusive 30% off deal. How's that for the power of blogging? Spread the word with this HTML line below:

ComputerZen.com: Get 30% OFF MaxiVista - This will end on 11/7!
** This promotion has ended, but you can still try and buy MaxiVista! **

This takes MaxiVista from an already low $50, to around $34! If you've been holding out to buy it, just give up those eight mocachinos and go for it.

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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Steve Swartz, an original COM+ Architect, now an Indigo Architect (who hasn't blogged it seems, in a while) had this to say when presented with some FUD around Indigo and its place in the world. (emphasis is mine)

I would want to differentiate between what Indigo actually is and what I might think of as ideal programming practice.

If you want to pass complex object graphs by value across tiers, you will be able to in Indigo. If you want to share types between client and server, you will be able to in Indigo. If you want to deploy proxy classes in MSI files, you will be able to in Indigo. If you want to marshal around references to service instances, you will be able to in Indigo. Each of these techniques involves additional coupling of one sort or another. Theoretically, minimizing coupling is good. Didactically, people who are teaching other people to program will always take a hard line against coupling. Practically, in the real world there’s always some coupling: how much is a matter of taste and situation.

When you speak about Indigo as a manifestation of a programming ideal (service orientation), it sounds as different from the existing products as a [pneumatic] nail-driver is from a hammer. In fact, Indigo as it feels under your hands is quite similar to the existing technologies.” 

- Steve Swartz in a private listserv 10/2004

About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

About   Newsletter

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