I guess I can officially call myself a Windows Phone 7 developer. Over the Christmas holidays I had some spare time and started developing my own app for beer home brewers called Pocket Brewer It actually took a while longer than that as I had to learn all the fine points in getting an app polished to go to the Windows Mobile Marketplace so it didn’t get officially published until around February 3rd.
I’m personally very excited about Windows Phone 7 as a developer who spends a great deal of their time in the Microsoft .NET platform. In my day job I spend a great deal of time using C#, Silverlight and web services built in Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2010 environment. What this means is I was able to develop the app in far less time than trying to get up to speed in working in Eclipse for Android or going out and buying a Macbook so I can build IPhone apps. Earlier last year I did take a stab at creating an Android app however it was a painful process because I had to dig for things I usually can go to without a moments thought in Microsoft’s tools. When you’ve only got 3-5 hours a week to spend on something you don’t want to spend so much time digging. I think a lot of good things will be coming for Windows Phone 7 users from all of us .NET developers.
I think it was 2002 when I registered jerryodom.com. I remember thinking about should I buy one or the other and not yet being educated in how all things server worked I didn’t realize I should buy BOTH. Well a few years go buy and jerryodom.com starts getting more and more traffic. Friends and family are finding it on Google for various Baton Rouge, Louisiana, etc things and it’s getting noticed. #1 question was “why didn’t you buy wayneodom.com because you go buy Wayne?”. Good question, so I go to register it and it’s taken.
For years another Wayne Odom owned and didn’t do much with the domain and of course people tell me they tried to go to my website and it was some other guy at which point I explain and we’re back to the question. Well finally with the help of snapnames.com I was able to purchase the domain when the other Wayne Odom failed to re-register it!
So one and all you may go to www.wayneodom.com and yes you’ll still get here. You can email wayne at wayneodom.com and yes you’ll get me. All is right in the world and I’ve managed to correct that error in my life.
One thing I want to start doing with this website is posting a little on software development. I sometimes figure out difficult problems as a software developer and want to remember them or just put them out there for other people to find. A rather vague and not well documented problem I ran in to while deploying a Microsoft Silverlight client based application’s ASP.NET website was a configuration issue having to do with the server’s permissions. When testing the connection for the new application I got a “cannot verify access to path” warning in the “Add Application” dialog. It also gave me the following longer explanation:
The server is configured to use pass-through authentication with a built-in account to access the specified physical path. However, IIS Manager cannot verify whether the built-in account has access. Make sure that the application pool identity has Read access to the physical path. If this server is joined to a domain, and the application pool identity is NetworkService or LocalSystem, verify that <domain>\<computer_name>$ has Read access to the physical path. Then test these settings again.
It still let me setup the website but when I browsed to it I got a different exception from the website. It was giving me unauthorized exceptions. “Access is denied”. It was confusing as I’ve setup websites in the same manner before on the same box and I’m an Administrator. I started comparing configurations and permissions on this application with another similar application until I discovered that the only difference was in the Advanced screen found through the Security tab of the website folder’s properties. The owner name had been set to my name where as typically it was set to the “System” or just the “Administrators” group of the server. I changed this and everything worked. Very confusing and I wish I could identify what in my process was different from the dozens of other times I’ve setup websites.
The people of New Whey recently contacted me and requested I try a sample of their product and post my thoughts. Right when a company asks bloggers to do things like this you can usually be assured their product is good because they’re soliciting feedback. I accepted and withing a week I received 3 vials in the mail. Two were a grape and fruit punch flavored liquid protein mix. No fat, no carbs, no sugars only 42 grams of protein in a curious liquid form. The packaging as you can see from the New Whey website is very attractive and they make an excellent toy for 1 year old babies I found out. However that’s not what you want to hear so back to the subject.
Currently I’m on a rigorous 5 day a week workout at LA Boxing of Baton Rouge. It’s an intense 1 hour cardio burn that leaves you in pain for the rest of the day. I’ve read that providing your body with lots of protein will allow fast muscle recovery so this product was a perfect opportunity to test that. My workout is at 6am and by 3pm I’m in a lot of muscle pain. New Whey’s Liquid Protein provides 85% of your daily value instantly so I had a plan. Tuesday I did my usual workout, went to work and had a light breakfast followed by my fruit punch flavored liquid protein. The taste was shockingly very good. I’ve had liquid protein in the past and couldn’t stand it so major kudos to New Whey for the taste. It went down well and even gave me a satisfaction as if I’d had candy. At the end of the day I didn’t have near the muscle pain I usually have. On Thursday I tried again with the grape flavored protein with the same results. It was very tasty and took the edge off my muscle pain. Really really good stuff.
The third vial was a product called BetaNOX Ultimate Energy that I was a little apprehensive of taking. The packaging is all lightning and electricity to really let you know it’s the ultimate energy. I took it before my Thursday workout since that’s when I’m usually dragging pretty good. I usually don’t take energy drinks like 5 Hour Energy, etc because they make me feel like my heart will jump out of my chest. BetaNOX is better than 5 Hour Energy and if it’s available in Baton Rouge I will be recommending it to the other people in my fitness class who do take these sort of things. I felt more energized, more focused but my heart didn’t race the same way it does on other drinks. Further I was able to work a little harder with a fewer stops for lactic acid burn than usual. It’s also a very good product.
I feel like New Whey has great products which is why they freely solicit criticism from bloggers like myself. Another big plus from my point of view is that their products can say “Made In USA”.
Over the weekend I was looking for something to eat delicious. I’m trying to watch what I eat so I’m big on cooking my own things right now. Well I found this great beef stew recipe which is awesome served on it’s own without rice. It really eats almost like a very hearty beef and vegetable soup. I loved it and ate it for 4 of my meals this week. I’m losing weight for a weight loss challenge at work and this hasn’t seemed to hurt me much. The only real carbs in there are the potatoes and since I’m not on “no carb” just “lower carb” it worked out. Give it a try at the link above. I repeat it here so I won’t lose it but the lady who submitted it added lots of detail.
Ingredients
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
2 cups water
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth, undiluted
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 small potatoes, quartered
6 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cold water
Directions
1.In a Dutch oven, brown meat in salad dressing over medium heat. Add the next 10 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Add the potatoes, carrots, green pepper and onion. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Combine flour and cold water until smooth; stir into stew. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf before serving.
I’ve been dieting for around a week and a half now. I’ve been posting a few recipes and after it’s over there’ll probably be dozens. Garlic roasted broccoli is one I’ll eat even when I’m not dieting. Here’s the recipe:
-Fresh broccoli head cut up in to pieces
-2 to 4 cloves of garlic sliced
-Olive oil enough to lightly cover everything
Roast in the oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes in foil wrapped around but leaving slightly opened. You only wrap around the foil to protect from burning. Cook till tender.
Slice bell peppers into 1/3 inch strips. Remove the seeds & ribs from jalapeno and finely diced them. Heat oil in large skillet and add bell peppers and saute over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes or until peppers are tender. Stir and adjust heat to prevent burning. Add jalapenos and cook on low until all tender. Do not burn. Season and chill in refrigerator.
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
4 large bell peppers.(red, green yellow)
3-4 jalapenos or 6 serrano peppers.
salt & spice to taste
heat up olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sprinkle with garlic powder, seasoning, salt and onion powder. Saute for about 15 minutes on each side or until juice runs clear.(cooked chicken)
3 tablespoons olive oil.
4 boneless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
serve with: steamed broccoli, spinach or squash.
Combine spices on a plate and roll the chicken in the mixture coating them well on both sides. Grill chicken on cast iron pot or griddle until cooked through. Top with salsa for more flavor.
4 Boneless chicken breasts.
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 1/4 teaspoon basil
serve with: steamed broccoli, tomatoes, walnuts
so 2011 I’m doing the weight loss challenge at work. Currently I weigh right around 173ish pounds and work out 3-4 times a week at a local gym called LA Boxing. I’m in great shape and probably near the best shape of my life with the exception of a high body fat percentage due to getting out of shape. I’d resolved to lose down to 155 pounds this year anyway but the extra incentive of beating everyone at work at something and making around $300 by winning the challenge makes it more interesting.
In the past attempting to diet always came down to “what do I eat”. When you’re on a diet you don’t feel like imagining what to eat and that can lead to weakness so I’m putting together a list of things I can eat and restaurants and specific meals I can eat. It’s my hope that these will give me some extra push to lose that 20 pounds I’m gunning for!
Pre-made foods:
Lean Cuisine
low fat vegetable soup
Healthy Choice Steam In
Restaurant List:
Ichiban – Miso Soup, Fish.
Whole Foods Restaurants
Chili’s Guiltless Salmon (500 calories)
Serops Express
vegetables
Olives
Broccoli
Asparagus
Artichokes
Spinach
Salad greens
Tomatoes
Brussels sprouts
Peppers – green, red or yellow
Okra
Onions
Radishes
Mushrooms
Gourds- cucumbers and squash
Zucchini
Pumpkin
fruit:
Apples
Apricots
Citrus fruits like lemons
Raspberries/blackberries
Blueberries
Strawberries
Cantaloupe
Mangoes
Watermelon
Cherries
Muskmelons
Cranberries
Nectarines
Currants
Oranges
Damson plum
Papaya
Peaches
Grapefruit
Pears
Grapes
Pineapple
Honeydew
Pomegranates
Prunes
Dry Snacks:
Raisins
Whole Grains
Meats:
egg whites
water packed tuna fish
chicken breasts
juice
V8
green tea
Day to Day Additives and Spices
Salsa
lemon juice
Snack Food
Cherry Tomatoes
Raisins
fruit bowl or veggie bowl
yogurt
oatleal
