Today's rant (wow, 2 in a row)

I hate it when people use the word "and" when speaking numbers. The word "and" is to be used once and only once when speaking a number and that is in place of the decimal point. The number 250 is NOT two hundred and fifty, it is two hundred fifty. I know you all think I am crazy, but think about the way you were taught to write checks. You were taught that you write the number and you use "and" before the cents. Same goes for speaking any number. The "and" should only be used as the decimal separator. Let's all try as Americans to correct our poor speech.

Could this be a reason hybrids aren't flying off the shelves

I have to admit, I found out about this from a different blog, but had to check it out on my own. I took two screen shots from autoweb.com today showing the overview of two Honda Accord models. Granted, there are dozens of Accord models, so it is hard to compare different models, but even a simple comparison makes it obvious why people aren't jumping on the wagon.

Notice the MSRP for the top (normal) and bottom (hybrid) cars. Now check out the mileage. Is it really worth the $10,000?

See photo here

Does your date not get formatted in a GridView?

I've run into this problem twice now, so I guess I should write it down. If you are trying to format a BoundField in a GridView control to a specific date format, then you must turn that BoundField's HtmlEncode to false.



This is explained here:

http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/productfeedback/viewfeedback.aspx?feedbackid=b00b3ec6-e8fa-4f4d-b1e9-39162abc847b

Today's pet peeve - i.e. vs e.g.

I hate it when people use i.e. and e.g. interchangeably. This Q&A was taken from dictionary.com.

Q. What is the difference between i.e. and e.g.?

A. I.e. means "that is" (to say). E.g. means "for example."

I.e. is an abbreviation for Latin id est, "that is." E.g. is for exempli gratia, "for the sake of example." So you can say, "I like citrus fruits, e.g., oranges and lemons"; or, "I like citrus fruits, i.e. the juicy, edible fruits with leathery, aromatic rinds of any of numerous tropical, usually thorny shrubs or trees of the genus Citrus." In the first sentence you are simply giving an instance of a citrus fruit; in the second you are giving an explanation. E.g. simply indicates an example; i.e. specifies, explains. Compare: She loves to read non-fiction, e.g., reference books and how-to books vs. He had one obvious flaw, i.e. his laziness.

http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/i/ie-eg.html

Boycott Howard Stern

Is it possible that Howard Stern can complain any more? I spent the final months of 2004 listening to non-stop complaining about GW Bush. I get it that you have an opinion, but I got it the first 3 hours. Then I spent the final months of 2005 listening about how terrestrial radio was dead and that satellite radio is the future. Now, there is no doubt that satellite is the future, but when? How long did cable take to become standard in the household?. I remember as a kid (25 years ago) that cable was just taking off. Maybe my view was different coming from a small town, but I don't think that cable became standard until much, much later. Now I hear that he is complaining about his fans not making a huge exodus to satellite. Are you kidding me? Not everyone wants to waste $13 bucks a month on something they can largely get for free. Commercial free music? Try an iPod. Talk radio about anything? Try NPR and FreeFM and your local channels. Oh yeah, and there's a little thing called AM. There's good content there too. I, for one, will not be switching to satellite any time soon. And certainly not for Mr. Stern. Sorry for you east coaster's, but Adam Carolla is quite funny, and a pretty good replacement.

So please join me in boycotting Howard Stern. Don't buy it. Don't subscribe. And tell your friends to get off the bus too. I've had enough of this whiney, self-indulgent old man.