Unto the pure, all things are pure

Thirty-five years ago, I traveled Europe on a rail pass as a student. Recently, we planned for a trip as a family of three. We almost bought the Eurail Pass - €576+€490x2 - but at the last minute we decided to drive. The main reason we found the Eurail Pass not suitable was that despite the high cost, nothing can be a be planned with any degree of certainty. In France, the number of seats available for Eurail Pass holders are limited and nobody could say how limited. With such unknowns, it was difficult to book hotels. The other main reason was that lots of time would be spent waiting at train stations to catch connections. As we flew into Amsterdam, we booked a Hertz car from Schipol Airport. The total rental bill for sixteen days worked out to only €483.96. Hertz Rental Record (ignore pen marks) Notice that there is a Location Service Charge of 18% or €61.01. I didn't see it till I got home. From my experience with Hertz in the US, this is usually because the car is re...

After five minutes on the famed autobahns , you get a full realization of the often quoted " you are more likely to die from an auto accident than an airplane accident " or " commercial flying is safer than driving ". First of all, the lanes are a bit undersized. For a saloon car, there is about a meter left on each side for most parts of the network. Next, the traffic is heavy! This is probably due to the complete lack of tolls. If you are on the outer lane to pass another vehicle, you have less than 10 seconds to complete your job, because that is the time when another vehicle will come charging down behind you. Tailgating is dangerous, but at the same time you hate to be traveling too "slowly". So passing often is a necessary evil. And it is a sheer act of terror. Most of the time, it is necessary to pass at about 130kph. At that speed, and with a high sided truck about a meter next to the right, the fluid mechanics sent my rental car sligh...

Smart phones and tablets are so last decade. New features have already plateaued, and everyone who is anyone or no one, 5 years old or 100 years old, has, not one, but a couple. Samsung and Apple are resisting the race to the bottom, and still winning. I don't miss a thing with a sub-$200 full-price Asus 5.5" full HD LTE phone. It is no more about which phone is more capable, because they are all similar. It's about how you use them, just like this .

All the world's problems will be solved, if only people do only the things they are qualified to do. In any area of interaction, one of the most frustrating experiences is when you encounter some idiot in a position of authority or power.  It is an unmovable roadblock.

The answer: use SQL Server 2012 Moving a SQL database to and from your PC to SQL Azure used to be a horrendous nightmare.  With the new functionality in SQL Server 2012 and the Azure portal, this is now a breeze with just a few clicks.  You are not required to learn or understand data-tier applications or BACPAC, the underlying method used in the import/export. This article assumes you already have an Azure subscription up and running. The functionality in SQL Server is actually the SQL Server Data Tools . However, it is totally invisible once it is installed. Download it here . Deploying An On-Premise SQL Database to SQL Azure  Let's start with moving a database from your PC to Azure. First of all, your on-premise database can use only those features supported by SQL Azure . To deploy a database in SQL Server 2012 is pretty easy and fast.  In SSMS Object Explorer, right click your database and select Deploy Database to Sql A zure... under T asks: ...

Last week, we discovered a nest being constructed by a bulbul. It was located among some creepers just under the roof of the porch. Nest when about half done.  See the yellow-vented bulbul? The construction work was done solely by the female bulbul.  The male partner kept a distance, providing some form of air cover.  Hundreds of trips were made, each time with a little material. Bulbul struggling with the construction material.  It took many attempts for it to get this piece of tissue off the barbed wire. Now you might understand the etymology of birdbrain . When about half done, the bulbuls caught the attention of a female koel.  This was about ten times the size of the bulbul. Female koel gazed fixed at the bulbul's nest And tagging along as consort was a male koel.  One day, I found the male koel pecking an object on the ground.  On closer look, it was an egg.  But it must belong to some other bird, perhaps a kingfisher, as the...

[For a chronicled metamorphosis of the Painted Jezebel, see here .] There is this crazy event where astronomy enthusiasts attempt to spot all 110 Messier objects in one night . I can see about ten different types of butterflies flying around at the same time where I live.  I thought it would be interesting if all ten could be photographed in one day.  It looks impossible, especially with a cheap lousy camera , and the butterflies in constant motion, stopping for rarely a second each time. So what you see here is just a lazy attempt over different days.  The only criteria is that I have to be no more than 30 feet from the external walls of my apartment.  All pictures taken at 3 Mpixels or less and not touched up. If you know the names of any of these creatures do share the information.  Current ones identified with help from Commander, Raj and Simon.  Thanks. #1 Leopard Lacewing ( Cethosia cyane ) #2  Blue Pansy ( Junonia orithya ) #...