I have had to automate some thing with native SQL Server and found a couple of good links for running a DTS package and sending mail from a stored procedure. Here are the links:

http://www.sqldev.net/xp/xpsmtp.htm
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.php/10894_1459181_1

Additional Code after the jump
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I have to say windows Vista has nothing compelling for me to upgrade. I upgrade primarily because I have client who would ask about it so I have to get ahead of them. Either way I updated my Fujitsu 4010 Tablet to Vista Ultimate and it has been nothing but hassles. MS took away SMTP server (so had to find a free server -- used Mercury), SD card Driver does not work (cannot write to cards or see cards greater than 1G) and bluetooth is a nightmare (Toshiba's drivers are only demo even if obtained from Fujitsu). I finally found a site that documented how to do it using MS Bluetooth drivers. Thanks to Arne (http://www.theunwired.net/?itemid=3574). A summary of his article after the jump.
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After a very busy couple of months (dissertation proposal, grant final report, phase 2 proposal... and many other family things), I felt like I should post something. I found a good article on Barack Obama. Im not sure our country is willing (let alone ready) for a serious (can we take Jesse Jackson, Alan Keys, or Al Sharpton seriously as real presidential candidate) black presidential candidate (or a woman for that matter but because of Hilary Clinton's money THAT may yet be interesting).

I came across a good non ranting article that talks about it.... and the comments are even more enlightening. For the record, while I like Obama (based on the little I know) I really wished he had waited to run, for two reasons. 1.) the next prez has a ridiculously difficult and risky (from a legacy perspective) job getting the country out of the mess it is currently in. And 2.) I am not yet convinced Obama is experienced enough to navigate the complexity of politics at that level, given the current world climate. Anyway here's the link:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/feb/03/society_sees_it_obama_black/

Found a good site that does lots of different DNS lookups as well as a spam database look up. Queries most of the major blacklists.

http://www.dnsstuff.com/

seems it all comes down to training. When I have a minute more I will try some of these techniques.

http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~tanguay/memory.htm

WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW..... been working on my dissertation proposal. Boy is it alot of work. In any case, its written now... only have to defend. BTW did I mention that the new spell checker in Firefox is muuuhhhnnneeeeee?

Dale Purves M.D. is a researcher investigating human vision and he believes that vision is a reflex. Moreover he thinks that what we see is actually a synthetic representation of what we think we see based on our own memories and previous experiences. here is a snippet from Duke Univ medical news:

Basically, say Purves and Lotto, their evidence demonstrates that what humans and other mammals see is a reflex response to the accumulation of possible sources that a given stimulus has turned out to be in past experience. This way of generating vision explains why visual perceptions are often at odds with physical measurements of the underlying objects -- the angles and line lengths of a simple geometrical figure, for instance.

For example, he said, it is impossible to know whether a given amount of light reaching the retina signifies a highly reflective surface in weak illumination, or a weakly reflective one in strong illumination. Since the amount of light and therefore the effect on the retina is the same in either case, the viewer's perception cannot be a simple "report" of the amount of light reaching the eye from the surface in question.

"What we see has to correspond to what is really out there -- the shiny surface or the dull one," says Purves. "If that weren't the case, we would all be in deep and continual trouble with respect to the responses we make to retinal stimuli."

...

Ironically, Purves explained, this central problem identified more than a century ago has taken a back seat in the twentieth century, primarily because of rapid progress in anatomical and neural recording techniques that have proven enormously successful in determining how the nerve cells in the visual system are wired. Despite the scientific success from using these techniques, said Purves, the successes have not kept the implicit promise that understanding the detailed wiring of relevant parts of the brain will lead to a general theory of vision.

For more check out Purves's Lab's URL: http://www.purveslab.net/seeforyourself/

I have been trying to find a way to write faster, as I find myself writing much much more than I ever have in my life to date. I have read some things about getting into the zone take usually 30-40 minutes. And then recently I came across this Article about 48 minutes being the magic number. My take is you have to find your own sweet spot... unfortunately I have nto found mine... I seem to do well with randomness.. I mean hell, how would I even know.

Overheard in New York... its about conversations that were overheard somewhere in New York. Madness....

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/

Having been down this path before and understanding the implications of taking venture capital, I found this quote very appropriate:

Hal Vogel, president of Vogel Capital Management, predicts: "That kind of money doesn't come with strings, it comes with ropes and chains attached."