Private Sub GetMessages()  1
         Dim db As LinqChatDataContext = New LinqChatDataContext()  
  
         Dim messages = (From m In db.Messages _  
                         Where m.RoomID = Convert.ToInt32(lblRoomId.Text) _  
                         Order By m.TimeStamp Descending _  
                        Select m).Take(20).OrderBy(Function(m As Message) m.TimeStamp)  
  
  
  
         If Not messages Is Nothing Then  
             Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()  
             Dim ctr As Integer = 0    ' toggle counter for alternating color  
  
             For Each message In messages  
                 ' alternate background color on messages  
                 If ctr = 0 Then                       sb.Append("<div style='padding: 10px;'>")  
                     ctr = 1  
                 Else  
                     sb.Append("<div style='background-color: #EFEFEF; padding: 10px;'>")  
                     ctr = 0  
                 End If  
  
                 If message.User.Sex.ToString().ToLower() = "m" Then  
                     sb.Append("<img src='Images/manIcon.gif' style='vertical-align:middle' alt=''>  " + message.Text + "</div>")  
                 Else  
                     sb.Append("<img src='Images/womanIcon.gif' style='vertical-align:middle' alt=''>  " + message.Text + "</div>")  
                 End If  
             Next  

  
             litMessages.Text = sb.ToString()  
         End If  
     End Sub