Monday, December 29, 2003

The Seven Big Problems in High School Google Search It I am currently reading a book entitled, "What Happens When We Pray for Our Families" by Evelyn Christenson.  In it I came across the a quote similar to one by George F. Will recorded here: "In the 1940s a survey listed the top seven discipline problems in public schools: talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothes, not putting paper in wastebaskets. A 1980s survey lists these top seven: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, assault. (Arson, gang warfare and venereal disease are also-rans.)" The quote struck me considerably and I have reflected on it quite a bit especially in conversations with fiends.  It is certainly scary for those of us raising children.  As it turns out the lists lack scientific credibility but regardless, I think it reflects a true trend that is seemingly accelerating. How does one balance raising children that are protected appropriately early on but also responsible once they face such challenges? 2:54:31 PM   []    comment []

Changing Short File Names Google Search It I find "Documents and Settings" and "Program Files" extremely cumbersome names that the OS creates by default.  I am reluctant to change the names (by changing the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileListProfilesDirectory string for example) because some programs my hard code these paths.  Instead, what I would like is to change the short file name from something like "Docume~1" to "Data" or the like.  I located the setsfn.exe program that is able to set short file names.  The command line is as follows: Set Short File Name [Version 1.00]  Sets the 8.3 SFN (Short File Name) for the specified file or folder.  Requires Windows XP or later.  Syntax: setsfn /F:filename [/SFN:shortname] [/Y]  /F:    Specifies an existing file or folder to modify.  /SFN:  Specifies the new short name.  Must be a valid 8.3 format name.  /Y     Suppresses the 'Are you sure' prompt.  /? or -? displays this syntax and always returns 1.  A successful completion returns 0. Copyright 2003 Marty List, www.optimumx.com Unfortunately, this doesn't work on the two directories I specify above because of the fact that they are always in use.  My next attempt is to see whether I can set them during an automatic install. 9:52:54 AM   []    comment []

© Copyright 2004 Mark Michaelis.