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Fired up WineX 4.0, aka Cedega, to play some Tribes 2 tonite.  What an amazing accomplishment - it runs perfectly, and fast to boot!

Running Windows games under Linux: one more reason never to dual-boot.

I discovered a deadlock in some code using the ThreadPool to do some database connectivity tests.  It turns out that some of the database code in the .NET framework uses the thread pool to get database connections.  This results in deadlocks when spawning too many threads trying to open database connections.

Microsoft needs to add a parameter to the QueueWorkItem method that specifies the approximate number of additional threads needed by a work item.  This could ensure that the appropriate number of threads were free before starting the item.

Looks like it’s back to the custom thread pool implementation again….

Here’s some home-grown Adblock patterns for your enjoyment (save as “adblock.txt” and use the import option on the Adblock preferences screen):

[Adblock]
http://*.atwola.com/*
http://*.atdmt.com/*
http://i.cnn.net/*.js
*/partner_backlinks.js
http://*.googlesyndication.com/
http:/*.imrworldwide.com/*
http://*.questionmarket.com/*
http://*.bluestreak.com/*
http://images-aud.slashdot.org/*
http://ads.*.com/*
http://*.tribalfusion.com/*
http://*.serence.com/*
http://*.burstnet.com/*
*advert*
http://*.tangozebra.com/*
http://ads.*/*
http://*.doubleclick.net/*
http://*.adtech.*
http://*.subsitesadserver.*
http://*.msads.net/*
http://us.a1.yimg.com/*/a/*
http://*.cecash.com/*

I try to block ad network URLs versus pathnames - there’s only so many sources for ads out there. Thankfully the sites listed above seem to provide the majority of ads that I’ve seen.

The goal is to be able to read a few of the sites I visit each day without the annoying/flickering ads.

I have no sympathy for webmasters that make their living solely from ads. When ads were small (!) banners at the top of each page, they were annoying but livable. Once they doubled the average size, started adding multiple ads along the sides, putting rectangular ones in the content and scattering little ones all over they lost any chance of keeping my support.

At least most blogs are ad-free for now- that’s where the content is anyways. I won’t hesitate to unsubscribe from anyone that tries it, however.

An interesting comment posted by one of my readers:

Blocking ads is very nice and all, but you do expect most websites to provide free content don’t you? For most content websites, advertisements are the only way to cover their bills (and maybe even make a little profit). If you and everyone else block these advertisements, content websites will either have to close or go paid-subscription only. Would you like this? I think not, so how about uninstalling that Adblock extension, and viewing a few advertisements now and then?

Dennis assumes that I have some moral obligation to view ads on a site because I am viewing the site itself.

I managed to find an interesting article on Google Groups that sums up my position pretty clearly:

An expectation of revenue on their part is not a commitment on your part.

Personally, I fast-forward through all TV ads on my PVR and block 99% of web ads with Ad-block  I don’t really see how I’m obligated - morally or legally - to view ads on a site’s page to support a tenuous business model.  As well, it’s been legal since the 70’s for me to tape live TV with commercials and watch it any time later sans-commercials.

When it becomes illegal for me to leave the room while watching Fox I might become a little concerned.

I managed to get the majority of the wood cuts done for my MAME cabinet today.  It took about an hour to mark each piece out, then about two hours of clamping the aluminum guide and running the circular saw.

Before I started the project, I never would have guessed how much work it would turn out to be.

The last cuts are going to be the cabinet sides.  Fortunately it’s better to cut both sides at the same time - this ensures that even if you make a mistake the cabinet sides will still match.