Entries from October 2007 ↓
October 11th, 2007 — PHP, Technology
Here's a great thing I learned about MySQL today:
SQL:
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CREATE TABLE newtable LIKE oldtable
Will create a copy of the table along with structure and keys (primary keys, auto increments etc) but not the data.
This is perfect solution to create new tables based on an existing one - we use it to create a new database for every customer that signs up on a project. We go in a loop of the list of tables, and use the CREATE TABLE statement to duplicate the table in a new name. This works across databases too (assuming you have permissions).
Of course, if you wanted to get all the data, you can do something like:
SQL:
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CREATE TABLE newtable LIKE oldtable;
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INSERT INTO newtable SELECT * FROM oldtable;
The full CREATE TABLE syntax is here.
October 9th, 2007 — Business, Experiences, Recommended Reading
Ok, I knew choice has a cost. And also that we've got too many choices these days. But this was a very interesting video about the Paradox of Choice from Barry Schwartz at TED.
I showed this video in our Monthly Review Meetings today, and was present to the plethora of choices you and I have everyday. Was thinking about the choices I have in making the bedroom furniture. Bed, Wardrobe, Dresser, Flooring, Color, Accessories - and so many choices in all of them. It's like 20 years ago, you either took a Godrej iron cupboard or got simple shelves and shutters done using wood. Today, I reviewed designs from Ikea catalog and various other online sources, I checked with 4 carpenters, saw more furniture catalogs before coming up with a design. And I still want to get things perfected.
Expectations have increased. Satisfaction has decreased.
It was much better, back when it was worse!
Less is more. The secret to happiness according to Barry are low expectations!
Watch the video!
October 8th, 2007 — Misc, Technology
His name is “Max Kor”. He’s from Israel.
He was made using Maya and Mental Ray.
No, that doesn’t mean his mother’s name is Maya and his father’s name is Ray. Mental Ray is Autodesk’s high-performance rendering engine for generating photo realistic images. Maya is Autodesk’s integrated 3D modeling, animation, effects, and rendering solution. Combined, they made Max; and many others.
Surprised? See some more on Sujeet's blog! I was stunned when I saw them!
October 6th, 2007 — Meanings & Explorations
Data can be enlightening! What would happen if you started tracking these things?
1. How much money you spend per month?
2. How long you spend talking to your family per month?
3. How much time did you spend working on the thing you say is your “passion” last month?
4. How far you walk every day? How much do you exercise?
5. How much you read NOT from a computer?
6. How much time you spend organizing your life (bills, etc)?
7. How much time do you spend commuting?
8. How much time you actually work at work?
9. How much time you spend watching TV per month?
10. Which of your goals you accomplished last year?
When I started thinking about them, I was saddened! But I am going to keep the list alive and review it every month!
This list is taken from Ramit Sethi's blog, with minor edits! Thanks Ramit!
October 5th, 2007 — Technology
One of our clients suggested Jing for creating videos that will help us track bugs better. I hesitated initially but after using it for a while, I've just fallen in love with Jing! With Jing you can easily capture your screen (and audio) and share it with others. It's very intelligent, works efficiently and is beautiful!
If you want a screen capture tool and want to do visual conversations, this is the tool for you!
