Abby and Win’s Blog

* UPDATE: I’ve decided to move this category onto my Blogspot account - http://w1n78.blogspot.com

Jay-Z Dead Presidents
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=487W_vBeGFQ[/youtube]
For my first post on Music Video of the Day, I gotta do Dead Presidents by Jay-Z. This was the time when quality music came from the world of rap. I chose this video because he is one of the first rappers that got me listening to rap, not to mention one of my favorites. There’s 2 versions to this song. The first version is this video and can be found on the original Reasonable Doubt (1993 and I still have the original tape - hehe), the second can be found when they re-released Reasonable Doubt (1996).

The chorus is from Nas - The World Is Yours. Check out the last part of the video where they’re playing Monopoly. Around the table, there’s Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G, AZ, just to name a few. Great video, great song, enjoy!

By the way, this is one of the first video that I can remember that clearly displays a luxury car (Lexus GS300/400) within the video.I hope you will enjoy this new category on my blog as much as I will be posting on it. Lots of great videos on the internet, specially the rare and old ones.

I haven’t been to my local library in many years, in fact I think the last time I went to one was back in high school. They have embraced technology and is now more convenient to use their services. They have added and are using updated computers. Also, you can now use 1 library card for multiple libraries within the same county. For example, with one library card, you can access services from all of the libraries in San Bernardino county. You may transfer books from other locations for a small fee. I may be wrong on these services not existing before but at any rate they exist now and I’m happy they are. I had to get a new card since they don’t have my record from before. I will probably be using my card more often now. I even got a card for the 2 libraries near work. You can also go on their websites and login to your account. Your username is your library card and the password is the last 4 of your phone number. This may be different for your library but as far as San Bernardino county and Downey/Santa Fe Springs, California, they apply.

I encourage you to check out your local library. I’m impressed at what they have done. And membership is free!

I recently had to transfer over some databases from MSSQL Server 2000 to MySQL. Unfortunately, the date format that MSSQL keeps is MM-DD-YYYY HH:MM:SS am/pm. MySQL uses YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (24hour format). For example, 8/14/2007 5:00:00 PM (MSSQL format) and 2007-08-14 17:00:00 (MySQL format). In MySQL, we can use the date_format(). But what is the equivalent for MSSQL? That would be the CONVERT(). This is how you would use it.

Here’s the query to run on MSSQL:

SELECT CONVERT(VARCHAR(40),[date_column_name],120) AS new_date_format FROM [table_name]

The “new_date_format” is the column name that will display the MySQL formatted date. This should also work if you have a column that stores datestamp and a column that stores timestamp.

You can find a list of expression values from http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187928.aspx. Hope this helps somebody.

Today Apple held a conference at their Northern California headquarters. As expected, they unveiled the redesigned iMacs and keyboards. They also released the new versions of iWork 08 and iLife 08. I’m really excited to see the new features iLife has to offer. I’m trying to download the video now. It’s over 20 minutes.

A disappointment though comes from their .Mac update. I really wished they made this a free service. But instead, they increased the capacity (1GB to 10GB for single account and 2GB to 20GB for family). They also have a web gallery now and supports photos and videos. They also increased the upload size from 10MB to 20MB. All this I have no need for. I just simply like the synchronization between multiple Mac and for $99, it’s not worth it. Oh well, I’ll keep wishing or hope that an open source alternative will come soon.

Here’s the timeline:

• July 15th: Went to an Apple store and had a genius look at it. He created a ticket and suggested to ship the laptop to the repair center.
• July 17th: Box to send the laptop in came via DHL (free)
• July 18th: I shipped the laptop via DHL (free)
• July 19th: Apple receives it and a diagnostic is performed (Texas). They found the problems and is waiting on a part they ordered
• July 26th: Repair is complete and shipped
• July 27th: Delivered to my house

Here are the parts that were ordered/replaced:

• 593-0290 CBL,TEMP SNSR,RT FINSTANCK,M1
• 593-0233 CBL,TEMP SNSR,HEATPIPE,M1
• 646-0315 DSPL,15.4″,WXGA++,AG,AUO,M1

Total time I was without my laptop was 9 days. I’ve called a couple of times to get a status report but they knew as much as what the website told me (https://support.apple.com/repairstatus/). I purchased the AppleCare plan. I normally don’t but whenever I get laptops, it’s a must. With desktop computers, it’s easier and more cost effective to repair. Laptops are a different story. All in all, it was a trouble free experience. I just wished they lent me an MBP while they repair mine. I was going through withdrawals. I borrowed an old PowerBook G4 from work, but it wasn’t the same. It also ran OS X 10.3.9 and was slower

After they replaced the parts, I noticed it running a little cooler. There’s about a 10-14°F difference. It still gets hot but not as much as it did. It’s more tolerable now. I’m just glad my MBP is back.