Joe Stagner and others have produced a long line of how-to jumpstart videos on learning ASP.NET AJAX and the community supported AJAX Toolkit control extenders.  Video 3 of 72 , How Do I: Use the ASP.NET AJAX CascadingDropDown Control Extender, has some errors that may cause some newbies to get hung up on learning these tools, which is a shame.

First off, I'm a C# developer, and the videos are written from the VB.NET mind set.  If you're like me, you'll need to note that the "shared" VB keyword is functionally the same as the "static" keyword in C#.  You'll also need to take note that the method call QuerySimpleCascadingDropDownDocument returns an array of CascadingDropDownNameValue objects, so you, like I, may miss the fact that he's returning an array from the methods GetDropDownContents and GetDropDownContentsPageMethod.

The big issue that I and apparently others came across is the fact that upon running the application as demonstrated, the dropdowns will be populated with the error message:

[method error 500]

The fix is simple: in the HTML, you must define the ServicePath as follows:

...ServiceMethod="GetDropDownContents" ServicePath="~/CarsService.asmx"...

Note the "~/" at the beginning of the ServicePath.  Without this, the service will get called, you can step into it, yet the results will be an error. 

You know, like learning how to play 32nd not fills on a 3pc drum kit.  5min.com has all sorts of great sub-5-minute tips & tricks, not only about learning instruments, but how to play chess, how to understand pot odds, or how to make a really bad presentation.

Note to self: time to hit the practice pads.

Since I just did an aviation post, I might as well keep the good times rolling.  More than anything, this post is a reminder for me: Quiet Technologies' Halo headset has gotten rave reviews from any private pilot trying them on.  They offer passive noise reduction vis-a-vis in-ear monitors, rather than the alternative, which is a giant bulky headset which usually runs 1.5-3x the cost of the Halo.

At the price, it might not be beatable, and the fact that they're likely a ton more comfortable than can-style, they'll likely be the product for me, at some point in the future.  Extra bonus, you can keep your hat on while wearing them.  In Phoenix, that alone is worth the price.

I was presented with an interesting site that rents out and mails videos direct to the customer, providing a postage-paid envelope for returning the video.  Sound familiar?  It's not Netflix, but AVNac.com, self-billed as "Aviation's video rental store."

What I find interesting about this service is that there are many markets that offer videos which Netflix does not cover.  Aviation is certainly a good example, where thousands of films are produced annually for training, but there are other groups that produce niche videos, including dance and music instruction. 

Bravo to AVNac for filling a void, but I wonder if it wouldn't be better to rent some of these products and view them online?  Seems like a better revenue model to me.

I came across a great "article" (is that the right term for an audio segment which is also available online?) on David Swensen.  Swensen manages Yale's endowment, and has managed success even during these trying bear markets, realizing an average annual return of 17.8 percent over the last 10 years.

David Swensen's book, Unconventional Success, has received complaints for being a very dry read.  That's unfortunate, because the message seems to be a good one:

• invest broadly in index funds (avoiding other mutual funds due to their built-in cost structure)
• rebalance your portfolio to match your goals as often as you can while still avoiding fees
• do it yourself, avoiding costs associated with account managers

Swenson suggests the following portfolio:

30% Domestic Equity (VTSMX, TINRX)
20% Real Estate (VGSIX, TCREX)
15% US T-Bonds (VFISX, TCTRX, VFITX, TIORX, VUSTX)
15% US Treasury Inflation Protected Securities "TIPS" (VIPSX, TCILX)
15% Foreign Developed Equity (VGTSX, TIERX)
5% Emerging Market Equity (VEIEX)

The only challenge (that I'm reviewing) is the above portfolio requires an initial investment of ~$60k, since the minimum buy in for VEIEX is $3,000.  Doing the math the rest of the way up yields a starting investment of $60k.

The folks at The Motley Fool agree in general terms.  They say, simply, "Buy an index fund."