I came across the following example in Inside T-SQL Programming, which I am digesting at the moment.  Actually it is credited to Steve Kass (technical editor):

SELECT OrderId, OrderDate
FROM dbo.Orders
WHERE DATEDIFF(day, '19000102', OrderDate) % 7 = 0

This query is to answer the question "Which orders were placed on a Tuesday?".  The query isn't particularly magic, but the idea behind it is as close to the zen of T-SQL as I can remember seeing:

There are 7 days between any two Tuesdays.  If we know one Tuesday (like the 2nd Jan 1900) we have all the Tuesdays since.

What a great mindset to take with querying.

Listening To:   Places like this, Architecture In Helsinki

Problem:

Sorry Adobe, parentheses are valid characters in a path.

Solution:

Luckily the work around is quite easy...

Check the 8.3 name of the x86 Program Files path in this listing:

c:\>dir /N /X
 Volume in drive C has no label.
 Volume Serial Number is BA64-04DE

 Directory of c:\

28/08/2007  01:04 PM            30,469 DXCORE~1.LOG DxCoreInsaller.log
27/08/2007  07:24 PM    <DIR>                       inetpub
28/08/2007  01:26 PM    <DIR>                       NVIDIA
28/08/2007  01:44 PM    <DIR>          PROGRA~1     Program Files
28/08/2007  01:42 PM    <DIR>          PROGRA~2     Program Files (x86)
27/08/2007  09:41 PM    <DIR>                       Users
28/08/2007  01:45 PM    <DIR>                       Windows

Creative Suite 2 will install and work if you actually type in the 8.3 name for the x86 Program Files path, like:

C:\Progra~2\Adobe

I wonder who is next...

Listening to: Northern Substructures compilation

First, some breif background:  My motherboard went belly up, electronic burning smell and all.  Power supply was suspect too.

So time to go shopping!

The new motherboard is the ASUS P5K Premium.

For the CPU I went with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600.

An important goal for me was this build was Virutal PC performance, and I am pleased to report it is doing just fine.

The WEI score is up to 5.3, broken down as follows:

The most important change for me was installing the 64 bit edition of Windows Vista Ultimate.  So far I've not had any dramas with drivers and only the odd run-in with apps.  For this I have started a new category on my blog:  Who sucks at 64 bit.

It would be remis of me to not mention the great help that Kernel at KNK Professionals was.  He went to great lengths to make sure I had the hardware that I needed.  All while his wife was giving birth to their first baby!  Highly recommended.