When I was younger, I thought nothing of pirating software. The copied CDs and scrawled serial numbers are still in the bottom of my wardrobe. Copies of Office still run on computers, replete with their illegitimate serial codes, stolen software used daily to write documents and calculate totals.

Around four years ago I started using Linux, deleting my pirated copy of Windows XP a year later. Since then, my software has been fully licensed and I no longer think nothing of piracy¹. Several aspects have come together to change my view.

Today, I implemented a feature in my home-brew site publishing system that has been on my list for some while.

I had been relying on Transmit to synchronise my local copy of dx13 with the server, but this was becoming untenable. The Transmit approach would compare the entire site with that on the ftp server. There are several hundred files and folders in the site to examine, meaning that the synchronisation process took a long time. Secondly, it would often fail with the server refusing more requests¹.

Our trip to Spain was split into four mini-breaks: Granada, Cordoba, Seville and, finally, Cadiz. We spent four nights in Granada, Seville and Cadiz and two in Cordoba. Each place had its own charm, and I’d recommend each as well worth visiting.

A Taster

Granada, Cordoba and Seville were very hot. Cadiz, being next to the Atlantic, was less so, though still toasty throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Spaniards, it seems, are not all that great at catering for vegetarians, as virtually all dishes on offer, besides ubiquitous mixed salad and spanish omlette, contain large helpings of meat. Fish is also a prominent offering.

I’ll be away in Andalusia for two weeks. Hopefully I’ll be able to take some lovely photos to further aid those who wish to stalk me via pictures of my past.

I have begun to use .net version 2.0. So I’m only two years or so behind the cutting edge, but that’s how rock and roll I am.

Anyway. One of the features of C# 2 is generics. These allow one to specify a placeholder for the type of an object (say one to be placed in a list or a method parameter) which is then filled in at compile time based on the types actually used.