The links below are a collection of blog posts, articles, tools, tips and basically anything that caught my eye which I want to keep for future reference. If you're looking for a blog devoted to sharing useful links then you should check out Jason Haley. The links listed below are the ones that I particularly liked or found valuable. Take 'em or leave 'em, but here they are...

Applications & Tools

• CopySourceAsHtml (CSAH) - A handy little Visual Studio plug-in (2003 & 2005) to copy source code with syntax highlighting and line numbers as HTML.
• NMock - A tool that dynamically generates mock objects via reflection at runtime (found via Peter Laudati).
• Rhino Mocks - Another (better?) tool that dynamically generates mock objects (found via the same Peter Laudati post).

Fun Stuff

• Electronic Road Signs and Me - A hilarious story that drives home the point to never write down your passwords. It's also an idea for a good prank.
• Microsoft College Recruiting video (via Gretchen at JobSyntax) - A funny ad with Ed Helms from the Daily Show that cameos my campus, Redwest!
• The Mac Parody by Hunter Cressall - A hilariously cathartic sketch about how a Mac crashes [original site here].
• WaiterRant - I just found this site via Raymond Chen and couldn't help but spend 30 minutes reading his stories. Good, entertaining stuff!

Interviewing & Resumes

• How to Write a Killer Resume (for Software Engineers) - Common sense advice from Niniane Wang, a developer at Google who also used to work for Microsoft. Found via JobSyntax.
• My favorite interview question (via Jeff Atwood) - Sketch out a software design to referee the game Monopoly.
• Stuff the applicants are doing that make my job harder (by Heather Hamilton) - Initially a rant, but Heather gives some very good tips for putting together a resume and how to make sure that recruiters can actually read/use it!
• The Elevator Speech: Marketing U - Make certain your resume has a 60 second elevator speech that grabs attention! As someone who is periodically responsible for reviewing/recommending resumes this is good advice that everyone should take to heart. Seriously.

Performance

• Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability - Written by Microsoft Patterns & Practices group. Available online, pdf or in print. Found via OdeToCode.

Personality

• Tips on becoming a better listener - Merlin Mann of 43 Folders gives a summary of tips from various sources.

Software Development

• .NET 1.1 to 2.0 Migration - Peter Laudati, a developer evangelist for Microsoft, gives a great overview of what is involved in the migration process.
• Authenticate (forms based) against an NT Domain in ASP.NET - Without using Kerberos!! - Pretty self-explanatory...
• Choosing the Right Type of Exception to Throw
• Code Naming Conventions, The Series (Intro) - The first post introducing The Igloo Coder's new series.
• Code Naming Conventions, Local Variable Naming - The second post in The Igloo Coder's series.
• Code Naming Conventions, Module Variable Naming - The third post in The Igloo Coder's series.
• CodePlex (beta) - Microsoft's new site for open and shared source developers to host and manage projects. Sara Ford talks about it more here and here.
• Examine an Exception in a Catch() Block - "use the debugger variable $exception provided by the Visual Studio.NET Debugger to examine the exception in a catch block"
• HttpHandlers - Learn Them. Use Them by Karl Seguin - A good explanation of why, how and where to use HttpHandlers.
• Login Control + CAPTCHA - Scott Mitchell (from 4GuysFromRolla) demonstrates how to implement a login control using CAPTCHA in ASP.NET 2.0 (with Jeff Atwood's free .NET CAPTCHA control)
• Patterns and Practices Guidance Explorer for ASP.NET and .NET (free!) - A free tool supplied by Microsoft to
• Standard Microsoft Icons - Yes, use them in your applications...for free!
• The Power of the DIV & other Block elements - An example of maintaining size in an ANCHOR tag.

SQL

• Bulletproof SQL Change Scripts Using INFORMATION_SCHEMA Views - I have always used the system tables...until now.
• Some of my favorite INFORMATION_SCHEMA utility queries - Some very interesting usage of the view.

Technical - General

• Expression Graphic Designer by Microsoft (free trial until 12.31.2006) - A graphics application that appears to be pretty darn powerful, at least to this non-graphics guy.
• Expression 3 Class - 6 online lessons/tutorials for how to use Microsoft Expression Graphic Designer. A must for the graphics-challenged folks (like myself).
• FAT32 - A Brief and Incomplete History by Raymond Chen - Pretty interesting for you techies/geeks out there who used to work with the different Windows file systems (FAT16, FAT32 & NTFS).
• PowerShell IDE - A free editor for PowerShell developed by the folks at ScriptInternals [direct link to download here] Found via Scott Hanselman.
• ShinyPower! - browser for PowerShell's help files (also found via Scott Hanselman).
• Windows Powershell - The new command-line shell by Microsoft [direct link to download page (x86 version)].
• Windows PowerShell Team Blog - self explanatory.

Check out my del.icio.us links for a complete list.

~tod

Application Performance

• ACE Team Performance Checklist - a list of common peformance issues and ways to resolve them.

Fun Stuff

• Bush roasting Bush (video) - Hilarious video of a Bush impersonator roasting President George W. Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents dinner.
• Peter Hirschberg's Home Arcade - A truly amazing personal collection of 1980's vintage video games and pinball machines.

Personality

• TypeLogic - Brief descriptions of each Myers-Briggs personality type.
• Human Metrics Jung Typology Test (free) - Online test to determine your Myers-Briggs personality type. Search for more free tests online.

Software Development

• Atlas - Microsoft's AJAX library for ASP.NET 2.0.
• Atlas Control Toolkit - "a collection of samples and components...to build and consume...client-side 'Atlas' controls and extenders."
• CSS menus gallery - examples of how to create all sorts of menus (text or images) using only CSS and a little bit of javascript.
• F# programming language - provides type safety, performance and scripting on top of the .NET Framework.
• Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative - self explanatory.
• Son of Suckerfish Dropdowns - a tutorial for how to create drop-down menus using only CSS and a little bit of javascript.
• Templates and Guidance - project development plan, vision and scope, requirements, functional requirements, use case, etc.

SQL Performance

• Eliminating the use of SQL Server Temporary Tables for HUGE Performance Gains - A very good description of the difference between derived and temporary tables.

Check out my del.icio.us links for a complete list.

~tod

Applications:

Ad-Aware (by Lavasoft) - removes ad-ware and spy-ware
BLAT for Windows - send email from the command line
Microsoft Anti-Virus - MS's first foray into removing spyware and adware
Spybot - Search & Destroy - removes ad-ware and spy-ware
SysInternals - several useful admin & debug tools
Treesize (& other tools) - Details HDD space usage.

Knowledge Bases:

C# - See my C# specific list here
ASP.Net
JSI FAQ - Tips & Tricks for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003
MSDN Magazine - The Microsoft Journal for Developers
Security @ Microsoft.com - Security updates, recent incidents, anti-spyware & tips for how to be more secure.

last updated: 2.25.2005

Stuff I'm interested in:

Gold's Gym - i'm no musclehead (at 5'9" and 160 lbs.), but I workout 4 times/week

IMDB - internet movie database

MSN Music - personally i prefer MP3s, but a good site to find artists & songs

Option Snowboards - i ride a redline

Poopli - internet sharing for ReplayTV users

Pyramid Brewery - i love their hefeweisen

ReplayTV - digital video recorder of choice for a/v geeks (at least my choice)

Stevens Pass - my local mountain for snowboarding

TeamXbox - decent source for Xbox news

Bens Bargains (rss)

Slick Deals (rss)

TechBargains (rss)

Calvin & Hobbes (rss)

ctrl+alt+del Online

Dilbert (rss)

Halo Babies (rss)

Penny Arcade (rss)

PVP Online (rss)

Think Geek

Bored.com

eBaum's World

Strong Bad

Snopes.com