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I've been ignoring the blog.

On the BizTalk front, if anyone is interested in providing thoughtful comments on existing and new content, drop me a line c/o this blog.

Other things:

  • It is cold and rainy around Seattle. After living here a year, it doesn't seem so bad.
  • Eskimos have a dozen words to describe the different kinds of snow, from soft and wet to dry and icy. I think Seattle-ites have a similar vocabulary for the rain, from "meh" to "can I borrow your boat"?
  • T. S. Eliot may be a contender for Patron Poet. How can we ignore The Wasteland?
  • I need to tweak the documentation program to include orchestration pictures and to not use WMI by default. Turns out you need plenty of rights to hit WMI, primarily because it is possible to crack out passwords and other secrets (like which "a-list" stars are attending TomKat's wedding).
  • Visual Studio Team System looks cool, but I haven't had time to dive in. Does anyone out there want to help me understand the best way to use it with BizTalk Server 2006? I'd love to write something up.
  • Office 2007 is pretty slick. Yeah, that's kinda like saying your new Kenmore Washer is pretty slick...its a washing machine for crying out loud. But as far as daily appliances go, Office 2007 is (subjectively) easier to use than 2003 -- and the UI doesn't get in the way.
  • On a related note, Microsoft's desktop search works better now. It actually found emails in my 2 gig archive quickly and with decent accuracy. Beats outlook 2003.

Some questions:

  • Won't someone port Tempest 2000 from the Jaguar to XBOX Live Arcade? I'm looking at you, Jeff Minter.
  • Don't forget Alien vs. Predator. I owned a Jaguar for this one and Tempest 2000. I still own a Jaguar for those two games. When the history of video games is (re)written, let it include chapter and verse about the awesomeness of Tempest 2K and AvP.
  • Does anyone rent Buckaroo Banzai? I wonder what its Netflix numbers are.
  • Did you waste bags of quarters on Gorf? Yeah, I stunk at it yet still blew more quarters than I care to remember playing Gorf at the Mr. Gattis pizza joint about 12 blocks from my house. They had two machines -- Gorf and Centipede. The Centepede had a gummed-up roller ball. I'd forego extra toppings on my pizza so I could afford a couple extra games... 

eof