Welcome J.D. Taylor to the wonderfull world of WiFi

I spent some time this evening with J.D. buying an 802.11g access point/router, and getting it set up. Sweet.

Accessing Properties of User Controls

I've forgotten how to do this enough times now that I'd better write it down. There aren't many posts on the Net explaining this technique, so I'll post it here for my own benefit (if not the benefit of others).

If you want to access the value of a control, say a drop down list or multiple select box, that is embeded within a .NET Web User Control, here's what to do:

1. build the user conrol (.ascx page) and add the webcontrol -- select box -- you're interested in to the user control;
2. add two properties -- to get the selectedItem.value, and one to get the selectedItem.text
3. add the newly created user control to a ASP.NET page;
4. IMPORTANT: if you keep all your user controls in one directory within your web project, you must add that directory with the dot notation syntax ie: "using project_name.custom_control_directory;"
5. initialize the user control in the code behind page (aspx.cs) of the page that consumes the user control. This step is not done for you by Visual Studio, the user control must be added manually ie: "protected custom_control_ID custom_control_variable";
6. the user control properties are now available

Helpless

So it turns out I'm a Neil Young fan and I didn't know it. I also happen to be a Leonard Cohen fan -- didn't know that either. I discovered both of these artists while listening to K.D. Lang's latest album "Hymns of the 49th Parallel." (I'm still not a K.D. Lang fan though..., at least nothing more than this one album).

I heard K.D.'s version of Neil Young's "Helpless" while driving the convertible from Cardston to Hillspring for this year's First of July celebration -- it may have been the open blue sky or the grain fields, or the wind blowing across my face, or all of them combined -- but I was hooked from the first stanza.

I think I've listened to the album at least a dozen times in the last two days...

My Token "First Post"

I'm 30 today. Had a nice day. Played some hockey with Kevin at the Crowfoot YMCA; had dinner with some close friends and family. Erin made me some angel food cake, whip cream & strawberries.