Cross-posted from my Chinwag blog.

I was working late when the news started to come in about the earthquake in Haiti. The sense of something major unfolding on an unimaginable scale reminded me of listening to the radio as I heard reports of the tsunami.

What can you do? Put your hand in your pocket. Done.

Next up, spread the word using the channels at your disposal. For me, one of these is using the advertising space on Chinwag.com for worthy causes. We've helped Do The Green Thing in the past and using the space to help promote donations is a no-brainer.

I did a lot of searching for banners to use, as I'm conscious of copyright and keeping everything legit when there's money involved. I tried Twitter to no effect and then through LinkedIn, was pointed in the direction of Oxfam Ireland who have a page full of banners (congratulations to their comms team for turning this round so quickly).

Unfortunately, none of them fit the size used on Chinwag (MPU - 300x250), so I've mustered my meagre design skills (and that's probably overstating the case) to create a banner that'll have to do in the meantime:

This banner and the one on Chinwag are linked through to Disasters Emergency Committee (the UK organisation that coordinates numerous charities):

http://www.dec.org.uk/donate_now/

So, apologies on the copyright front. And apologies to designers everywhere, please feel free to use the Photoshop PSD or do create something better and share it here in the comments, or anywhere in fact. I'll catalogue them on Chinwag if it's helps spread the word.

Oh, and as President Clinton put it, "give money".

[Warning: For those not of a technical bent, what follows will be as dull as the dullest, tepid dishwater you can imagine, so probably better to venture to something more interesting.]

Every so often, I'll decide to tinker with a bit of code to extend my knowledge and see if I can still knock up anything that'll work on ye olde Interwebby. Inevitably, this involves spending far more time setting up an environment than actually producing anything.

As I tend not to make notes (v. bad habit, I know) and then forget how it worked, I've resolved to write up little blog posts as an aide memoire for the next time. If they help someone else in the same predicament, marvellous. The steps below worked for me, but it's always a bit of a gamble that the process is actually what you're supposed to do.

So, after much time spent with Mr Google, a number of dead ends and some very useful posts, this is how I managed to get my setup (Mac OSX, Eclipse, DbEdit, SQLite) working. If you've spotted errors, or have any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Step One - Download JDBC Drivers

Firstly, you'll need to find and install a JDBC driver for SQLite. The one on the Zentus website did the trick:

• SQLite JDBC Driver Homepage
• SQLite JDBC Driver Download

Save the sqlitejdbc-v053.jar to a memorable directory, I created a jdbc drivers folder in the Eclipse application folder. Just remember where it's saved.

Step Two - Install JDBC Driver in DbEdit

Fire up Eclipse and open the DbEdit perspective using the menu:

Windows > Open Perspective > Other... > DbEdit

DbEdit provides the option to install new JDBC database drivers when you create a new database connection, which is step three:

Step Three - Install Create SQLite Java Database Driver

1. Select the Connection option from the main menu bar at the top of the page, a dialog box will pop up
2. Give your new connection a name e.g. SQLite DB
3. Click on the drop down for JDBC Driver field, if an SQLite driver is available, select it and skip to step four below
4. OK, so you need to install the SQLite driver downloaded above, click on the Classpath tab in the dialog box
5. Click on the Add Archive option. Find the driver you saved in that directory and click OK, then click Apply.

Step Four - Create Database Connection

This is where things got painful for me. The format for the JDBC Server was a right little sod. Thanks to the clues on this page, I finally figured it out.

1. If you're following the step above, switch back to the Common tab in the dialog box by clicking it
2. Select the SQLite JDBC driver, if you've used the one above, it'll read org.SQLite.JDBC
3. Now, you'll need to enter the Server URL, which will take one of the formats listed below
4. Click OK. There might be a prompt for username/password, I'm not using one so could click OK.

Possible format for JDBC SQLite Server URL:

jdbc:sqlite://dirA/dirB/dbfile
jdbc:sqlite:/DRIVE:/dirA/dirB/dbfile
jdbc:sqlite:///COMPUTERNAME/shareA/dirB/dbfile

As an example, on the Mac that I'm using the format of the URL was:

jdbc:sqlite://Users/myuser/Sites/test/test.sqlite

which is the full path to the SQLite file. I haven't tested it, but on a Windows machine, it would most likely be:

jdbc:sqlite:/DRIVE:/dirA/dirB/dbfile

which in a real-world example, might look like this (N.B. I haven't tested this):

jdbc:sqlite:/C:/Documents and Settings/Sam/Sites/Test/test.db

I hope this is useful for anyone else who is sitting at their computer barely the resisting the temptation to throw it out the window.

After a hefty amount of procrastination this Sunday, who knew washing up could be such an engaging pastime, I got down to some heavy-duty email inbox clearance. To while away the hours and stem the rising panic of hundreds of unanswered emails, I delved into the calming, erudite and other- worldliness that is BBC Radio 4's, From Our Own Correspondent podcast.

Alongside the whimsical insights into the lives of others around the world, was a piece by Kevin Connolly about baseball. Now, I'm a cricket fan with a proud record of attending all the Twenty20 Cup Finals. OK, maybe a fair-weather fan, so shoot me, it helps me relax, as does the day-long refreshment that such events require. And I like baseball, too, despite only having managed one match so far.

However, the prospect of a rather special second match looms. After the excitement of the Digital Mission to NYC that Chinwag is running in mid-September, a trip is lined up to take in the penultimate Yankee game at Yankee stadium. Looking forward to it? You betcha.

So, baseball. A bit like rounders? A gauche version of cricket?

Well, yes, perhaps, but did you realise how much baseball has affected the day-to-day business jargon? As Kevin points out in the podcast, check out how the workplace lexicon owes more than a passing debt to the diamond:

• Taking a "baseline position"
• Prudent folks are "Covering all the bases"
• Getting to "second or even third base" (ok, less business, probably)
• Surprising ideas come from "left field"
• Wacky suggestions are "off the wall"
• Ideas are "pitched"
• If there's a delay, why not take a "rain check"

Who knew? And there's probably more besides. Consider the comparison with cricket. There's certainly been times when a "sticky wicket" has made life difficult, and I often claim to be "stumped" and sadly, being "bowled over" is an all-too-rare event, unless I'm really getting carried away.

The big daddy boss of the workplace phrase, often motivational, never intentional, is Gus Hedges from Drop the Dead Donkey. Sadly, Mr Google wasn't much help in finding a comprehensive list of his (well, the writer's) mastery. If I get a chance I'll try and compile a list, those that remember the show will know what I mean.

Update: I got slightly obsessed and dug up as many posts as I could. For your delectation, I present the corporate stylings of Gus Hedges. Let me know if you spot any more or leave a comment below.

[Pics: courtesy of wallyg and jeffreyputnam]

Sometimes, just sometimes, an expletive is called for.

When you've stubbed a toe. When the server you tried to re-boot remotely doesn't work and an unnecessary trip into the office is required. When the credit card company fails to send you a replacement for the nth time. When you fancy cheese on toast and you've run out of cheese. And bread. When you're trying to work from home, and market researches decide to call at 5 minute intervals throughout the day. When you're in a rush to get to the shops and some friendly soul has introduced a screwdriver to your car's tire.

I could go on, but you get the gist. So, two little tidbits, I couldn't help but share.

Firstly, from The Onion. A tour de force as always. Such panache. Such a potty mouth. Probably NSFW, but depends on your office.

And finally, a witty, sweary ditty from sometimes controversial comedian, Sarah Silverman. Her boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, has a talk show in the US and at the end of the show often takes a pot-shot at Matt Damon, saying they've once again run out of time to speak to him on the show. This is Matt Damon's response, with a little help from Silverman. Not entirely what you expect from such a straight guy, oh, and not entirely NSFW either...