With MySQL v3 out of the way, and MySQL 4 and 5 being used everywhere now (and if you have not upgraded to the latest stable .. shame on you) I think it is time to point out that you can use MySQLi for your code, software and sites. This blog is to inform you about MySQLi and give you information so you can decide to upgrade and if you have already to perhaps use it on your vBulletin installation.

Through the last summer and especially the last few months I’ve had a bit of a rough spot when it comes to my finances. And I won’t go into detail to ensure that I won’t bore anybody with the specifics, but .. now that the holidays are over it’s time to revisit my pile of bills and my small pile of income. Since it’s January 1st today I guess this could be my new resolutions. Getting my financing in order.

Yes! The HDDVD Box with the four Die Hard movies has arrived. And it’s the 31st of December today, which means that we are enjoying enduring an evening of old classic movies or Christmas movies, and top100-everything lists on TV, speeches and musicals before we start having fun with friends and family, set of fireworks and get drunk. Not me! I got Die Hard *grin*

At this moment I can not browse the web without running into a Top X list, and some are fun or nice to read, but the majority of them are just made without any thought. For example, there was an article on Digg about top25 movies from 2007, but a good handful were all made and released in 2006. But ok, maybe the author meant the ones he’s seen in the last year. What I haven’t seen yet is an Apple Top 10 list of products and services they offer through their stores. So I guess here it is. Yes, I am not doing any research either. I am going to wing it, but I will try to provide some arguments why I made the pick.

The categories are Software, Services, Accessories, iPhone, iPod, Laptops, Computers, Underdogs, Failures, and Rumored.

## spoiler ## And if you think ‘damn this blog is long’ let me spoil it for you. The winners in my eyes are for handheld devices and iPod, and media experience the iPhone, no doubt. And as computer system the new 24″ iMac has no competition. ##spoiler##

In the last few years I have hosted the vBulletin Fans Chat Network over at irc.vBulletin-Chat.com and we have grown quite a bit. We are still what is to be considered a small chat network, but we are an open network, have a flexible group of staff and have a growing group of supporters and chatters.

Each year I review the situation and decide whether to stop or continue with the chat network. After all, I pay it out of my own pocket or use the few donations we receive. And it could be that we’re paying too much for too many services when we perhaps only need half of the resources. Or, we might have grown so much that we need to double our set up and increase capacity. To just name a few questions I ask myself when the time is there again to make that decision.

The latest upgrade to Mac OSX is 10.5, which is Leopard. An awesome operating system, but with a few little issues. It has a lot of cool new features too such as the awesome Time Machine.

However, we all know that with great powers comes great responsibility. Apple is new to playing with time. At this point they can travel back in time, but not forward (I am sure Steve Jobs will make it happen in the near future). Going back in time turns out to be risky. Many TV shows and movies have mentioned that the same matter and energy can’t exist in the same space and time (or something like that).

Yep, it’s that time of the year again: Christmas!

So I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and have a great time with your family.

My Mac Pro has a bunch of hard drives right now, and I have been adding, swapping, and removing drives the last few months. It was time for me to get a bit more organized and I think that’s a great tip for everybody. It gives you a much better understanding of what is on your computer system.

You might think “What is so hard about finding stuff on your hard drive”, well .. let me give you a simple example: Your browser might store downloaded files on your Desktop, while you have an OS ‘Downloads/’ folder, or perhaps your torrent client stores it in ‘programs/client/downloads/’, making it a bit annoying having to browse around while a single link on your desktop to your ‘Downloads/’ folder might make it a lot easier for you.

“Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we’ve got no place to go: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!”

Yes! I woke up today still a bit ill from my little flu, but felt the dry air immediately, the frisky morning, and it being quiet outside. This can only mean one thing: Snow! (well, it’s more frost then snow, but shuttup)

During the summer my parents got a pair of kittens, a brother and sister. Now that the weather is getting colder the cats are trying to figure out where they belong on the farm. In the barn with the other cats and animals, or in the house where my parents live, with the other cat and the dog. Uhm .. the brother has no problem fighting back and staying in the barn, but the sister gets a good beating and eventually decides to stay outside. That’s fine, sometimes she can go inside and sometimes she stays in the barn, but my parents noticed she stayed outside all night. And with the temperature dropping to freezing point, and with the beating the kitty gets from the other cats and the little dog, they’ve asked me kindly if I wouldn’t mind a new kitty. Who doesn’t want a lolcat?