Capture the path of the executing batchfile

I have a batch file for doing some automated deployment magic. It calls other batch files via relative paths. The problem with this is that it doesn't work if you call the batch file from a different directory.

Once I started looking I came across this litte gem %~dp0.

%0 is the name of the batch file.
~dp gives you the drive and path of the specified argument.

You can then get your batch file to run from its own directory as follows...

pushd %~dp0
... do batch file stuff
popd

nice css bargraphs

See some nice CSS bar graphs here

Nice java script visual effect

Here is a nice 'show the big version of a pic' effect for web apps.

Lego has come of age

Check out the new lego Mindstorm products. Robots that can sence colour, movement, noise, tone, pitch, ultrasound, stepping motors with 360 position sensors... All with bluetooth control.

This is the first time I have felt that I was born a generation too early :) Lego is officially a big boys toy.

Seaside in action

An alternative to the Ruby On Rails framework is a smalltalk framework called Seaside. Seaside has been around for much longer than Rails, but as yet has not experiences the same degree of rapid uptake.

A great example of how powerful this framework can be is a fantastic web app that is currently under development called DabbleDb. The aim of the app is to allow Spread Sheet users to create real db application instead of using Excel. What I like most of all is the way they perform automatic migration of existing data as you change the schema. All this is achieves with a very simple user interface and no need to understand databases. Here is a video of a demo where they create a todo list application in no time flat. I have seen another than has the 'split the name into first and last name' that they mention in this clip.