For the last nine years, I have been paying my local newspaper (The Toronto Star) $14 a month for twice-a-week delivery (Saturdays and Sundays). I'm finally at a point where I can cancel my newspaper delivery for good. There are no more reasons to get it any more.

It's not like I read the paper. I rarely have the kind of time to spend the 45 minutes or so it takes to flip through a newspaper and read the interesting content within.

The only three reasons I subscribe to a newspaper are:

1. Comic strips
2. Movie listings
3. TV guide

For this, I have been paying $14 a month. I no longer need #1 - I visit www.dilbert.com to get my fix. I no longer need #2 - my cell phone, for gosh sakes, has movie listings when I need it. And I visit www.toronto.com to get listings when I am home.

That leaves the TV guide. That's a tough problem to get around - my wife watches a lot of TV and likes to read the TV listings to let her know what interesting things will be on. (Basically, she plans her TV watching in advance.) Now, the digital cable box gives TV listings, and so does Channel 5 -- but those only show what is on now, not what is on next Wednesday. I could go to www.zap2it.com, but my wife doesn't use the Internet and even find the online services awkward and inconvenient. They are not easy to use.

That leaves TV Guide. Either you need to pay $1.50 at a retail store to get it (no cheaper than the newspaper), or get it delivered to your home for $.90 a week. It seems a bit expensive for what it is -- about $.10 of paper, plus $.20 of postage.

Many, many companies have access to this TV listings data. TiVo, zap2it, Channel 5, my digital cable box, newspapers... I wonder how much it would cost to get access to this data. Would people be willing to get a PDF file via email with a weeks worth of TV listings, ready to be printed? For $0.25 a week or $12 a year? I would pay for such a service - print the listings for my wife or leave it by the TV.

The Internet is all about giving people access to information on their terms. Magazines such as TV Guide, which are simply repositories for information, should be prime targets. It can be done better. Maybe I should try to do it better?

I spent a few hours today studying for my next MCSD .NET exam: 70-315. One event that caused me to have so much free time is that we are getting our condo painted, and so I can't wander too far from home or for too long. So here I sit with my laptop studying like a college student. It's fun actually.

So, first let me give credit where credit is due: Amit Kalani has written some excellent study guides for the Windows and Web exams. I love doing examples - since I spend the majority of my study time working with .NET and not just reading about it. And the Kalani books have plenty of examples.

I have purchased the Transcender for the next exam already, although I have not had time to use it yet. I think I will try and get through the Kalani book before testing my knowledge with Transcender.

Of course, it's entirely possible to take the exam after studying only the Kalani book, without the help of Transcender. But I think having the exam simulation software allows me to honestly assess my skill level, gain confidence, and reinforce my learning over and over.

I can't wait to take the next exam. I think I'll book it soon.

Some time back, I created a Amazon.com Listmania! list of the books I've written. Since I have never posted the URL anywhere, I figured now would be a good time to do so.

Buy early, buy often.

It looks like I might venture over to the “dark side” and co-author a book on J2EE.

Here are a few interesting articles I have found to help re-acquaint me with that world:

• Introduction to J2EE
• J2EE Web Tier Technologies
• Implementing Business Logic with J2EE

I hate to sound like a shill for any one company or product, but today I purchased a Transcender exam simulation and bought a Microsoft MCP exam voucher, for $100 off the retail price. I love saving money.

If you use this link, I will earn $5 as well. Good deal all around!

Microsoft Transcender Cert Pack - Pro

I took the “Developing and Implementing Windows-based Applications with Visual C#.NET and Visual Studio .NET” exam this morning and passed with a 920!

Whew. That's one load off my shoulders.

I should try to take the Web-based Applications exam soon too, before all that knowledge escapes from my head...

I am scheduled to take one of the MCSD .NET exams this morning - “Developing Windows Forms Applications with C#”. (It's getting late -- I should get some sleep.)

Wish me luck!

A Seattle-area photography student is interrogated twice within 3 months for taking pictures of public landmarks, even after showing the officers a copy of the assignment written by his professor. Why is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security paranoid of dark-skinned people with cameras?

This account is a must read.

BrownEqualsTerrorist.com