ZDima.net

Often in ASP.NET application we see a code which looks like this one:

This code is not safe enough and the second statement can generate a NullReferenceException sometimes. There is no guaranttee that a cached object will stay in the cache between two calls. After the first call it can be deleted either by garbage collector or by another thread to refresh cached data.

So to overcome this problem rewrite the code using as operator:

via Dmytro Shteflyuk

Windows only: Google has released a simple one-purpose application that lets you upload multiple documents at once to a Google Docs account, as well as add right-click uploading options for all the document types accepted by the free online office suit. Before the free app's release, meant to show off the Google Docs API, your best bet for posting multiple files was through email, but even that had a 500KB size restriction and only worked with certain document types. Not much more to say—it's a simple, effective tool, and it seems to work pretty quickly. Google Docs Uploader is a free download for Windows only and requires .NET Framework 2.0.

Web site Cookthink turns your cravings into reality, matching recipes with cravings by ingredient, cuisine, dish, or mood. For example, if you were to head to the site aching for something—anything—that will hit your "basily" mood, just tell Cookthink that's what you want and it'll give you a handful of recipes designed to satisfy that craving. You can give Cookthink more than one requirement to meet your craving, and it does the standard recipe-by-ingredients lookup as well, so in all it's a one-stop shop for finding meals based on what you have and what cravings you're looking to satisfy. Most of the recipes, I should add, look mighty tasty.

Information Week has posted a thorough walkthrough guide for anyone interested in taking their Linux customization to the next level by creating their own distribution, whether for installation or running from a live CD. Among the topics covered are customizing and rebuilding Knoppix or Puppy Linux, as well as building from the ground up with Linux From Scratch (LFS) or Gentoo. Those less inclined to work (and sit) through a lot of compilation and package-choosing can try something like rolling their own Ubuntu CD, but this kind of guide makes for a great, geeky weekend project. Thanks Jeremy!