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Problems with Microsoft .Net Framework & applications – 1.1 vs 2.0

01/15/2007 / Matt / 1 Comment

I had to reload my machine yesterday (story here). It was not fun. In the process of installing applications I came across a peculiar issue with Microsoft’s .Net Framework which didn’t appear to have much documentation, so I’m documenting it to save others with this problem time & effort.

In reloading my machine there were a few applications that required the .Net Framework 2.0 from Microsoft. I then attempted to install Sony’s Sound Forge v8 to find that it will only run using the 1.1 version of the framework. So there’s a problem: different applications requiring different versions of the .Net framework. I already had 2.0 installed, could I install 1.1 and be able to run all the apps I need? The answer was suprisingly simple: YES!

Microsoft in a fit of surprising sanity & intelligence designed the .Net framework such that

applications requiring 1.1 will only call 1.1, while applications requiring 2.0 will only call 2.0
each successive version is standalone as to avoid DLL hell

It blows my mind that for once Microsoft did something right! Now if they could just apply this to Vista or Office 2007 the world would be a better place…

Monty is getting back to normal

01/14/2007 / Matt / 0 Comments

Just a quick update tonight that we’ve successfully weaned Monty off the anti-nausea medication, and he seems to be keeping food down on his own now. He has also returned to his normal crazy-ass self. He’s still on his antibiotics for a few more days, so it looks like he’s making a quick recovery. Will we know what was wrong? Probably not. He’s got a follow up appointment on Wednesday and I anticipate he’ll get a clean bill of health.

Man’s best friend and my Friday night

01/13/2007 / Matt / 0 Comments

Monty had his vet appointment last night. I think ideally we were both hoping that we would go in, they’d be able to diagnose his severe stomach flu-like symptoms, and we’d come home and he’d be better. Unfortunately, thats not quite how last night played out. Two hours, a battery of several blood tests, x-rays, and a urine analysis, and I’m not sure we’ll ever know what has caused his sudden sickness. But that’s only 1/2 of the story…

They first took him back for a set of x-rays to see if he had an obstruction in his digestive tract. It was good to see everything looking ok from the outside, and other than a large gas pocket in his stomach (which is par-for-the-course for this stink bomb anyway) that came back normal.

Next up they drew blood to run some tests. 10 minutes later the doctor came in and scared the living shit out of us; according to the results, Monty should be comatose with acute diabetes & liver failure. I give her credit for realizing something wasn’t right, so they ran a second blood test as well as a urine analysis to rule out diabetes. The 2nd blood test came back in within the norm except for one value: Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT). ALT is an enzyme considered liver-specific in dogs and cats. It is used as a screening test for liver disease but will not diagnose the disease itself. You may also see an increase in ALT when there is damage to liver cells, skeletal muscles, the pancreas and the muscles of the heart.
Insert shock here. Could Monty really have liver disease, or did he just get into something that his liver is working overtime to get out of his system? Luckily the liver is one of the most resilient organs in the body…
At this point we were given a choice: take him to an emergency vet for overnight observation, or have him prepped to be observed at home. We chose to give up our Friday night, so they gave him a shot of B vitamins, a camel hump of fluids on his shoulder to be absorbed to combat dehydration, and a shot of some anti-nausea medication. We also received some antibiotics & more anti-nausea as a prescription to take home.

As soon as we got home he wanted to eat. We gave him several small meals of some wet food all of which he wolfed down. We stayed up with him until almost 1am and he appeared MUCH better than he had the previous evening, so we were very positive going to bed. I woke up around 5am to Monty puking on the carpet, which in all reality is better than the 4 or 5 times i woke up Wednesday and Thursday night to puking.

So I guess right now we’re taking baby steps. He started on his antibiotics last night, and has continued to eat and drink this morning. He seems much perkier and more himself today running around like a crazy dog, so we’ll update his condition later tonight.

How to tell you are getting old

01/12/2007 / Matt / 0 Comments

I can really tell I’m getting old. I used to be able to go out during the week and not worry about having a few drinks or missing my bedtime for a few hours. Not so much anymore…

Christa and I met up with “the girls” last night for some drinks at Gusoline Alley in Royal Oak. Although we were only out until 11:30pm or so, getting up this morning at 6:30am was not the highlight of my week.

I can remember staying out all hours of the night and only getting a few short hours of sleep before getting up in the college days. How naive I was to think I could keep doing that. Now I become a crotchety old man if I don’t get my full 8hrs of sleep.

The joy of animals

01/11/2007 / Matt / 1 Comment

Between Bailey the “awkwardly acrobatic” Cat & Monty the “if I eat this will I get sick?” Dog I’ve cleaned up more spilled coffee & puke piles in the past 24 hours than I have in the past year.

There’s nothing better than snuggling up with a puke breath dog in bed…

Update:

Monty is going to the vet at 5pm today (01/12) as he hasn’t been able to keep anything down for 24 hours.

Detroit Revival: Midtown

01/09/2007 / Matt / 0 Comments

Detroit is in the midst of a revival, and while the wounds of years of neglect & rot will take some time to heal there truly are measurable strides that the downtown corridor is slowly returning to life.

Just today I discovered an article in the paper about the resurgence of a neighborhood of spectacularly concentrated poverty & blight: the Cass Corridor.

Cass Corridor 2002

Years ago, the Cass Corridor was Detroit’s Chinatown. In the past few years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the area for development. Lofts & trendy boutiques have sprouted up amidst the shells of abandoned buildings. Students have returned to consider the area residencies. The area has even been fashionably renamed “Midtown”, although the Cass Corridor stigma still remains.

It’s always great to hear good news coming from Detroit!

Mystery on Rural Road: Woman Found Dead

01/08/2007 / Matt / 2 Comments

Original article from The Hamilton Spectator:

Police hope an autopsy scheduled for today will help unravel the mystery of how the partially clad body of a woman ended up in a bush area on the edge of Powerline Road West, near Copetown.
The body, which bore no obvious signs of trauma, was discovered around 11 a.m. yesterday on the north side of Powerline Road West between Highway 52 and Field Road. Acting Staff Sergeant Kevin Stanley said the body had been there for a day or two.

Many of those reading this blog know of the location where the body was found. This is all we really know at the moment, and you can bet we’re all following this story…

Body Found on the Farm

Update:

The body of a woman found last weekend on the farm property has been identified as a Hamilton woman last seen Friday January 5th. Police are calling it a “suspicious death” but so far have not used the word “murder”.

Matt’s secret to awesome burgers

01/07/2007 / Matt / 0 Comments

Some of you have been over and had the Matt-burger-experience.
Here’s the delicious secret:

1 lb ground sirlion
1/2 red onion, diced
palmful of Montreal Steak Seasoning (to taste)
2-3 Tbsp red wine vinegar (to taste)
2-3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (to taste)
splash of lemon juice

Mix the ingredients in a bowl until all of the liquid is absorbed. Form into 3 patties. Grill 2 minutes per side on high heat to sear in juices, then ~3-6min per side on low heat to cook to desired doneness.

An overly metro blog post

01/05/2007 / Matt / 3 Comments

Yah, I’ll admit it. I bought an iron last night. It’s either a sign I’ve grown up, or that the apocalypse will be coming around next week. In any event, if you have a job requiring business or business casual attire, you need an iron. It’s just a fact of life, and I’m over it.

We’ve been using an iron that may have been made 15 years ago that was given to us by Christa’s parents (thanks!) when it was discovered they had more irons in the house than people who iron. It did the job for what we needed if for and life went on.

Last weekend in a spectacular display of athleticism and coordination, Bailey the Cat decided it might be fun to jump the length of the basement and land on top of the ironing board. He made it to the ironing board but didn’t take into effect his 15 pound weight & the laws of physics, so the ironing board, and the iron came to a crashing halt on the floor. The cat was ok, the iron was not.

ooooo, a new iron! After using up all my non-wrinkly clothes yesterday I figured it was time to do some research and pickup a new iron.

When did ironing become so high-tech, or for that matter expensive?? Did you know you could spend $150 on an iron?? For that price it better just do the ironing for me…

After reading some reviews on Amazon, checking some local stores, and pulling out a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond, I settled on a $50 Black & Decker Digital Advantage Iron which i got out the door for $40.

I used it for the 1st time this morning and I’ve got to say I should have done this a long time ago. While it doesn’t do the work for me, it makes my work a lot easier. It heats up within 20 seconds, has a nifty digital temperature readout & setting, and steam steam steam!

So if enjoying my new iron is overly metro, so be it.

Welcome 2007

01/03/2007 / Matt / 1 Comment

Well I don’t know what happened, but 2006 is over and 2007 has begun.

We recovered from ushering in the New Year on Monday by watching all of Season 1 of Six Feet Under. Great show!

Unfortunately so far this year, I’ve proceeded to continue getting sicker and sicker daily since coming down with a cold last week, so I’ve been less than excited about being awake in general.

I think the biggest news at this point is that between Christa, myself, & Jacqui, we have all resolved to give a great big group effort to quit smoking. Tonight will be 48 hours as near as I can tell, and since I can’t speak for anyone else, so far so good.

Still waiting on that workout resolution to happen however…