Problems updating GAE SDK 1.3.0 - 1.3.1

Since quite a while my Google App Engine Development server keeps complaining that there is a new SDK version out there which I should utilize. Nice hint but actually I'm wondering why I need to care about this one as I'm using the SDK within the Eclipse plug-in which seems to be configured to check for update. But neither the Plug-in nor the Eclipse update manager found the new SDK.
Only solution so far it to download the current version of the SDK from download page, unpack it at convenient place to live and add it to the App Engine Plug-in in Eclipse (Navigate to Window-Preferences-Google-App-Engine and add it there - make sure that it is marked as default SDK).

Seems to be working pretty well and I'm looking forward to try the new features like Query Cursors which are indicated to come as part of the new release (release notes). Will keep you posted on this.

First Geocaching experience

An old friend of mine got recently a GPS navigation device as a present for his birthday - such a tiny thing which you can carry while you are hiking or such. Comes along with some pretty usable hiking maps - really cool stuff.

Last time we met, he reported on his new hobby - geocaching. Pretty much the same thing like the "Schnitzeljagd" we are used to play a kids. Someone hides something which all the other try to find. Our days the location of the secret is posted on a dedicated website (see www.geocaching.com) and the whole community can try to find the secret. As a reward the happy finder of the secret get the honour of success by leaving a line in the logbook and reporting back the found in the community website. More detailed description can be found at wikipedia.

Sounds like a great opportunity to kill time and have a reason to explore areas you would never touch without a reason. As I'm not the proud owner of such a GPS navigation device - beside the car navigation which comes a little bit bulky. But in our days almost all the nice mobile phones come with a build-in GPS. I took my Vodafone H1 and pimped it with the vlkgps application. A little bit brittle and not that straight forward to use, but working. Might well be depending on the combinaten of the device and application.

All together it was great fun and we made a nice snow walk, but we think of improving the tooling. I'm thinking of getting a Android Phone anyway. This might be working better ....

Sharepoint Wiki to Media Wiki

Document format conversion is always a mess. Right now I'm looking into a Sharepoint Wiki ( bare with me but that's what it is called but It does actually not feel like a wiki - anyway) which needs to be migrated to MediaWiki (:-)).
Still struggling on how to do that. Open Office offers some export to MediaWiki functionality which might well be usable for the initial import. Only I'm missing the ability to export e.g. word-format from sharepoint wiki. Any hints?!

Warning Strike - Opportunity for a refreshing walk

Hey this time something new. Instead of having delayed trains we do have a token strike which prevents me from doing the last 1/10 of the way via the tram. Nice opportunity for a refreshing walk in the drizzle. Good to get rid of the muscle ache from soccer last night and the same time I could socialize with a colleague of mine.
Should have taken a picture. Instead of cabs queuing in front of the main station, we had a queue of people which were desperately waiting for a taxi.

Hello World

That's the first blog post - hopefully just the first of a long chain of upcoming interesting stuff. Let's see how this is going. I expect myself to blog stuff around computer science, technology, traveling, sports and public transport system in Germany and random other fun stuff.