Mai 2005 - Posts

• Should Raikonnen have changed his front right tire?

  One of the big questions after Sunday's race was "Should Räikönnen have changed his front right tire?".  I side with Kimi and Ron Dennis in saying "No".  Had he stopped, his race would have been busted and he'd have received maybe four points for a fifth place or so.  By continueing he kept safe his chance of a victory.  Too bad the gamble didn't pay off, though.  And to those saying "dangerous": we are talking about Formula 1 here.  The sport is inherently dangerous.  It was a calculated risk to continue with a flatspotted tire, but I think it was a justifiable risk.  Those who don't like danger should consider moving to golf. Posted Mai 31 2005, 08:31 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Formula 1

• Threat Modeling Web Applications

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnpag2/html/tmwa.asp Posted Mai 31 2005, 08:30 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• Browsing and reading e-mail safely as administrator

  http://msdn.microsoft.com/security/securecode/columns/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dncode/html/secure11152004.asp Posted Mai 31 2005, 08:30 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Computers

• More Avalon

  Two other interesting posts about Avalon: A guided tour Embedding/Reading resources Posted Mai 31 2005, 08:25 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• 3D in Avalon

  Two very interesting-looking articles about doing 3D in Avalon, 3D for the rest of us part 1 and part 2. Posted Mai 31 2005, 06:58 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• Avalon is the way to go!

  I've been reading a couple of Avalon blogs lately, considering to write my HeroQuest programs in Avalon rather than manipulate high-resolution graphics.  The post that finally dragged me over to the Avalon camp, without any chance of ever going back, is this one.  An Avalon version of playing cards.  Pay special attention to the magnified version. Posted Mai 31 2005, 06:31 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming, Gaming

• ASP.NET Development Helper

  Nikhil Kothari (co-author of the book about ASP.NET server controls (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you might as well skip this post ;-) )) is working on a tool for ASP.NET developers: a plugin for IE. Posted Mai 30 2005, 02:55 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• Developing as non-admin

  I think it's a good thing to develop as a non-admin, for reasons pointed out here.  So I have been doing it, successfully, since a couple of weeks.  Here are some resources for those who want to try it. The MSDN article that outlines the necessary steps, both for Windows XP and Windows 2003. An entry in Mario Spuzta's weblog regarding Windows 2003 with Service Pack 1. Posted Mai 30 2005, 02:51 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• GP Europe

  The Grand Prix of Europe turned out to be more entertaining than I expected: a first-corner incident (isn't it time for another really big first-corner pile-up like Hockenheim 2003?), some off-track excursions by the leading guys and of course Kimi's problem with his right front tire which led to a dramatic climax. Some thoughts: It's a good thing the tires are "wired" to the cars.  Without that, Kimi's right front tire would have slammed into the cockpit and he would very probably be dead. Niki Lauda critized the tire-rules, saying that Kimi's accident was caused by not being allowed to change a tire with a flat spot, leading to the accident.  I want to point out that there was a very good reason for the one-tire rule: there were a lot of accidents last year which were caused by tires that were too soft: Coulthard in Spa, Alonso and Ralf Schumacher in Indianapolis. The real "swallowing" moment for me was Massa's front left tire damage.  A strain of rubber had detached from the tire, but not completely.  Result: the strain slapped against the front wint several times a second.  Within the course of a single lap, the strain managed to cut right through the front wing.  Talking about the extreme forces that were excercised there ... Posted Mai 30 2005, 10:26 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Formula 1

• Indy 4: 2 out of 3 ain't bad

  According to this article, both Lucas and Spielberg have approved the current script for Indiana Jones 4.  Now all that remains is the approval of Harrison Ford, who reportedly hasn't read the script yet. Don't hold your breath, though, because Spielberg has two more movies on his plate before he can take on Indy 4.  And I suppose Lucas will be busy setting up his Star Wars TV Series. Posted Mai 30 2005, 07:36 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Star Wars

• GP Europe preview

  Tatjana and I attended a wedding yesterday, so we are both rather tired today.  The race had better be interesting, or we'll both fall asleep watching it ... Posted Mai 29 2005, 11:48 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Formula 1

• Longhorn not based on .Net after all?

  There's rumour that Windows Longhorn won't be based on the .net framework after all.  Read more about it (and the positive sides of that decisions) here. Posted Mai 27 2005, 10:35 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• MCP!

  Today, I successfully completed the Microsoft Certification exam 70-316 "Programming Windows Forms Applications using Visual C#.net and Visual Studio".  I can now call myself MCP.  The next exam I'll tackle will be the Web Forms exam (70-306 if I remember correctly).  The quest to become Microsoft Certified Solution Developer has started in earnest! Posted Mai 27 2005, 11:58 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• Give me a keyboard without markings ...

  ... and I can still type.  That's what I've been saying for years about my ability to type blind.  That typing course my parents paid for me during my school time were probably the investment in my future with the highest return of investment. Anyway, it seems other people feel the same way about keyboards without markings, and now somebody is actually producing such keyboards.  If only they would have an "natural" version of it too - I would buy one instantly. Posted Mai 25 2005, 08:21 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Programming

• GP of Monaco

  Yesterday's Grand Prix of Monac wasn't too bad for a Monaco Grand Prix.  It wasn't as thrilling as last year's race, but not as boring as the procession two years ago. Things started  to get interesting towards the end, when Alonso's tyres were almost at their end, and the Williams guys tried and succeeded to overtake him.  Montoya tried as well but we didn't get to see much of that since the camera decided to follow the Raikonnen's last two laps.  Good camera work throughout the race except those final laps. I am surprised to read today that both Barichello and Ralf are criticizing Michael Schumacher for his overtaking manoeuvers in the final lap.  Methinks both of them should remind themselves that the race lasts until the final lap is finished, and not one second earlier.  Barichello was simply caught out sleeping, and Ralf should know better than to cross the straight with a car right behind him. Posted Mai 23 2005, 09:28 by Dirk with no comments Filed under: Formula 1