Blog Entries

Windows 7

brettsker@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

So, I kind of was excited for Windows 7. I just had a feeling the maybe, just maybe Windows 7 could redeem itself and be comparable to the other superior operating systems out there.

Today, when installing it, I was less than thrilled with the process. I had 2 DVD disks sent to me by HP. Following instructions like a good little boy didn't work o [...]

Ward Mission Leader

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0100

In addition to my calling as Elders Quorum Missionary Committee Chairman, the Bishop has also asked me to serve as our Ward Mission Leader. I feel a little bit overwhelmed, but am confident that I will be fine with the help of the Lord.

This week happens to be a busy one for me as Ward Mission Leader: PEC, then Missionary Correlation with the Missionaries, then we are h [...]

New Company

brettsker@gmail.com — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100

So, with the economy struggling so much and my company not able to make payroll for several months, me and a couple friends started a new company!

Basically the idea is to help small and new companies to get the work done that they need, for much less the price of hiring employees. However, we didn't want it to be like contract work, where the work may be sub par due to a lack of vested interest. So, although we do some project based work, we are focusing on long-term deals [...]

Wheres Matt?

brettsker@gmail.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Seriously, are you one of the, like, 2 people in the world who haven't seen this video yet?

The series of videos that have this guy named Matt doing a dance are the worlds most watched internet videos. This one I am posting has over 21 million views on YouTube. I think they are awesome!

So the story goes like this: This guy quits his job and starts traveling. As sort of a memento to the places he visits, he would do this lame little dan [...]

Hilarious Bug Fix

brettsker@gmail.com — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Came across a bug fix from Microsoft that got me laughing:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/168702

Problem: Cant import Oracle data into Excel:

Solution: AND I QUOTE:

"Move Your Mouse Pointer
If you move your mouse pointer continuously while the data is being returned to Microsoft Excel, the query may not fail. D [...]

the Mormon channel

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

The church finally made a 24/7 radio station. Its available streaming online, on HD radio and other sources. Check out the website at http://radio.lds.org/mc/eng/

Unfortunately, I think they were getting too much traffic when I tried, since the streaming radio did not work for me. I checked with other streaming radio stations on the net, and they seemed to wor [...]

Regular Expression Quick Reference

brettsker@gmail.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

No matter what language I am programming in, regular expressions always seem to come in handy. Below are some commonly used items, and if I have some time later I will post some examples.

^ start of string
$ end of string
[a-z] letters a-z inclusive in lower case
[A-Z] letters A-Z inclusive in upper case
[0-9] numbers 0-9 inclusive
[^0-9] no occurrences of numbers 0-9 inclusive
? zero or one of the preceding character(s)
* zero or more of precedi [...]

Easter Message

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Amazing how some videos become viral on the internet. The Church posted a video created partly from Elder Holland's address in General Conference, and it quickly spread on the internet. This was my favorite talk in Conference, check out the video:

Create Google Sitemaps

brettsker@gmail.com — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Most websites these days create dynamic pages based on data in a database. To be indexed in Google or other search engines, Google bots need to know where these pages can be found. There are a few ways to create your xml sitemaps for your website. This blog will describe some of the ways that I have done it, then give a recommendation.

Using only MySQL (small sitemap),

{chilicode mysql content}

/*script to create sitemap to submit to google*/
SET SESSION [...]

Word of Wisdom vs. A Glass of Wine a Day

brettsker@gmail.com — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

I have finally decided to put some of my thoughts and findings down in relation to the "glass of wine a day" thinking that is becoming more and more prevalent. Disclaimer for those who don't want to read the whole blog: I don't dispute that moderate amounts of alcohol can be beneficial, but I am going to show why I still believe it is [...]

The Hand of God

brettsker@gmail.com — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time."

This amazing image is "a very young and powerful pulsar, known as PSR B1509-58, or B1509 for short. The pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star which is spewing energy out into the space around it to create complex and intrigu [...]

Consider the Lilies

brettsker@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

From the Gospel of Matthew:

6: 25 ¶ Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit un [...]

MySQL vs MSSQL

brettsker@gmail.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This is not intended to be an expert analysis or scientific comparison. This is just my personal observations and experience with working closely with each database solution. My company migrated from MSSQL 2005 to MySQL 5 and the following are some the areas I have noticed differences.

Performance

The first thing I noticed between MSSQL and MyS [...]

Health Care Schmealth Care

brettsker@gmail.com — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Somebody has got to do something about the cost of health care! I injured a toe in basketball last month, bad enough that I had to go to the after hours insta-care. They had signs all over the place touting their "$60 flat rate for all services." I asked the receptionist about it. "Its only for those w [...]

Updating the Site.... again

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Yes I am updating the site... again. I have the blogging portion complete, so I made the site live. If you are looking for something on the old site, it is still up and functional here: old brettpeterson.us site

The Economy

brettsker@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The economy sucks. Everyone knows that. It seems like everyone knows someone close to them that has been laid off. It is a scary time in America!

I read a column in the paper today that shows just how bad it really is. Who would have thought 10 years ago that a fast food restaurant would have thousands of people [...]

Article on Prop 8 backlash

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Found an interesting article on the backlash after prop8 in California: Sore losers won't let go in California

By Lee Benson

Deseret News

Published: December 1, 2008 Here's what I don't get about California and the recent Proposition 8 vote: Why all the commotion over yet another passage of yet another marriage amendment

Scared

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Poor little Olivia got really scared on Halloween because of some decorations and costumes. Ever since, she has talked about "Monsters" and sometimes gets really scared. While I don\'t like that she gets scared alot, (I think she has a hard time with shadows at night) I actually love having her run to me for protection!

Free Internet!

brettsker@gmail.com — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

I have been following an auction by the FCC for some time now (I thought Google would have it by now...) but I am still excited about it. Basically, the FCC is auctioning off a huge chunk of airwaves and mandating that the winning bidder set aside a quarter of the airwaves for FREE INTERNET with pornography filters. The FCC wi [...]