The following was the banner screen for a Forum that I had on Delphi Internet. I found this while searching for some files this past week.

Brings back lots of memories...

                     Welcome to the Haunted House Forum!
                                         ~

          ~
          ~                ~
         / 
~       /                     ~            ~                     ~
       /     
      /                  November is National Aviation History Month ~
     ----------
    I [] []    I       ~          October 1995:
    I     /   I                 Friday the 13th
    I   /     I           Rocky Horror 20th Anniversary
    I /                           Halloween!
    I---                   ~
    I      []   I            Chat with our Special Guests!
    I           I  Enjoy your Cappuccino with THUMB every morning a 7am!
    -------------  Tell your Horror Stories to LADY_CASPER every night!

Has anyone ever registered for Winzip? Almost every customer that I goto I always see the WinZip expired screen. So, why doesn't anyone register for it? Well I guess its not worth the $30+ registration fee.

Microsoft was nice to include an unzip application in the latest version of Windows. Which is a good idea. Even Apple has an unzip program as part of the operating system.

If your looking for a good cheap replacement for WinZip, here's a couple of choices for you:

• Freezip
• Stuffit Expander
• Zipeg for Windows

Be a smart developer and put FreeZip in your toolbox, and learn how to Quickly Uninstall Winzip. Then add it to your resume and watch the leads come in.

In case you haven't notice, Walgreen is quietly getting into the consumer media business. No they aren't setting up a Music store to compete with Apple and Amazon. What they are doing is selling blank DVDs cheaper than Staples and Circuit City.

I know Walgreens isn't the first place you would think of when you shopping for DVD-R disks. When you think of Walgreens you usually think of a drug store that sells various items such as Tylenol, Band-Aid, and Shampoos. Well it appears that Walgreens wants your electronic business too!

Last week Walgreens had 50 packs of TDK for $14, or $.26 a disk. Not a bad deal on quality DVDs. This week Walgreens has 25 pack Sony DVD-R or DVD+R for only $8.99. Yet another good deal!

Compare this what the large electronic stores are selling:
Best Buy -(No advertise deal this week.)
Circuit City - Memorex 25pk $6.99
Staples - Memorex 100pk $24.99

If you are looking to purchase blank DVDs you should check out the Digital Media FAQ. They have a list of the various dvd manufactors and the quality of their DVDs media. A very useful shopping guide for consumers.

This is important since poor quality DVDs may result in a lot of "coasters," which are DVDs that didn't get burn correctly. So, are you really saving money when you buy cheap DVDs if 20% of them don't burn right? What's the reliability of the ones that did burn?

Also better quality DVDs will last longer than cheaper counterparts. I have been burning CDs since October 1999 when my laptop first crashed and I lost almost all my data. Since then, I do regular backups of computer files and photos. Occasionally I'll do a "double backup" on really important files since as Photos or Documents that I don't want to loose. This is because while I might be using a good DVD/CD the disk might get damage because I didn't store it correctly.

The "best" DVD manufactor is Taiyo Yuden and you can usually find a good deal at SuperMediaStore.com or at Meritline.com. Most people don't need to have to highest quality DVDs, but it might be good to use these for photos or to back up online music purchases. I would suggest ordering a 50 pack and having it available.

With hard drive media being so cheap, does it really make sense to burn DVDs any more? That's a question someone posted in the dealmac forums. Well, that's a topic for another blog. In short, it depends on what you are backing up, how frequently you need to access it and how you plan on using the data.

The following is a SQL Query I wrote on April 27, 1999 for PlayLiveGolf.com. This was single sql query was designed to determine a tie breaker in an 18-hole online golf tournament.

The results of this query is important since the difference between winning and being in second could cost someone several thousand dollars.

This was never fully tested since PlayliveGolf.com never was launch since the founders were caught up with some legal issues with the SIC

SELECT a.user_id,b.username, a.t_game_score FROM tour_instance a, golf_user b WHERE a.tournament_id= 2 AND a.user_id=b.user_id ORDER BY a.t_game_score,a.hole18_score, a.hole17_score, a.hole16_score, a.hole15_score, a.hole14_score, a.hole13_score, a.hole12_score, a.hole11_score, a.hole10_score, a.hole9_score, a.hole8_score, a.hole7_score, a.hole6_score, a.hole5_score, a.hole4_score, a.hole3_score, a.hole2_score, a.hole1_score, a.hole18_putt, a.hole17_putt, hole16_putt, hole15_putt, hole14_putt, hole13_putt, hole12_putt, a.hole11_putt, a.hole10_putt, a.hole9_putt, a.hole8_putt, a.hole7_putt, a.hole6_putt, a.hole5_putt, a.hole4_putt, a.hole3_putt, a.hole2_putt, a.hole1_putt, a.hole18_drivedist, a.hole17_drivedist, hole16_drivedist, hole15_drivedist, hole14_drivedist, hole13_drivedist, a.hole12_drivedist, a.hole11_drivedist, a.hole10_drivedist, a.hole9_drivedist, a.hole8_drivedist, a.hole7_drivedist, a.hole6_drivedist, a.hole5_drivedist, a.hole4_drivedist, a.hole3_drivedist, a.hole2_drivedist , a.hole1_drivedist