jQuery Support on IRC is on Freenode August 29, 2008 3:55 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, JavaScript, Programming, Technology , add a commentFor those looking, jQuery JavaScript Library support on IRC is on the Freenode servers at #jquery.
add a commentJS Prototype Support on IRC is on Freenode August 29, 2008 3:52 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : JavaScript, Programming, Technology , add a commentFor those looking, Prototype JavaScript Framework support on IRC is on the Freenode servers at #prototype.
add a commentYUI Support on IRC is on Freenode August 26, 2008 10:39 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Technology , add a commentFor those looking, YUI (the Yahoo Developer Network User Interface Library) support on IRC is on the Freenode servers at #yui.
add a commentHas my Google Calendar been compromised? August 26, 2008 8:37 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Security, Technology , 1 comment so farThis morning as I looked at "My calendars" of my Google calendar I noticed one I did not remember creating. Not in "Other calendars" but in "My calendars" sat Paddy Daly. Since I quit using Google Calendar regularly a while back, I decided to see what notes I’d made about this Paddy Daly calendar I created. But I didn’t create it! And the creator made no notes. The calendar creator is punapaddy at a yahoo.com email address and a Hawii timezone. This makes no sense. There appear to be no events on the calendar either. I do seem to have the ability to delete the calendar.
Who is Paddy Daly?
Paddy Daly, {1888-1960} sometimes referred to as Paddy O’Daly, served in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence[1] and subsequently held the rank of Major-General in the National Army in the period 1922 to 1924. [Source, Wikipedia]
So is this some form of vandalism? Political protest or activism? How did it get on my calendar and what security hole in Google Calendar do I need to close?
1 comment so farCan you rely on Twitter for breaking news? August 21, 2008 10:56 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, News, Of Interest, Technology , add a commentTwitter gets the word out and fast! Twitter can spread news quickly because the news comes first hand from those experiencing it, concise (140 characters), and directly from their finger tips to a potentially worldwide audience. However, the ability to receive that breaking news has much to do with how well you, the reader, can process the stream of data; how many people you follow; and what subject/focus group captures your interest.
How many should I follow?
In the beginning we commit to following a few. "I don’t understand how people can follow hundreds or thousands. I’ll follow 10 or 20." That is how I began my Twitter experience. Today I follow 555 (yes, like the timer). A quick sidebar, if you follow 10 people who Tweet once a week each you will have a far different Twitter experience than following 10 people who Tweet once an hour. Too often we think of Twitter in "numbers of followers and following" when really it should be "ratio of following to tweets produced by those you are following." Back on topic, If you follow a small number of people your Twitter experience will be one of intimacy and learning great detail about those people. Your experience is narrow and deep. If you follow hundreds of people or thousands, your experience is wide and shallow; however, you experience a pulse like a life force on the common thread that ties those people together. If those hundreds of people are all in the tech industry, you will know what is happening in technology the instant it happens. If those hundreds of people are in the entertainment industry, you will know the gossip and dealings of Hollywood, Broadway, etc as it happens. If those hundreds are politicos, you will be informed more quickly about politics than others. And if those hundreds are locally connected, say all from Knoxville, then you will know about the happenings in your local area more rapidly than others. Of course topics bleed over. Those you follow could be local people that are into technology and politics. If those hundreds or thousands are diversely unrelated, you will get noise.
How to process the information?
Twitter’s power is in its SMS interactions. Okay, not so true. Twitter’s power is the community, the people, the audience; however, adoption of services like identi.ca, which stands to give Twitter the most fierce competition, has been slow due to lack of SMS integration. If you follow hundreds of people and something newsworthy happens, your phone will beep so quickly that you cannot possibly follow the conversation. Although SMS is very powerful for Twitter, it is cumbersome when the action is occurring. Watching Twitter in a browser is tedious and requires taking your attention away from other activities such as your job, family or playing solitaire. Using a program catered to Twitter is the best way to get the most from Twitter. For me, that program is Twhirl. Twhirl can connect to multiple Twitter accounts, Friendfeed, Identi.ca, Seemic and anything that commuicates with XMPP (and if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, most people don’t). Twhirl sits in the background and in my peripheral vision I see its little stream move along. When I take breaks I scan it for keywords. In certain circumstances I get a ping with an alert to say it needs my attention. For the most part, I can stay connected without being distracted. And if it ever becomes a distraction, I turn it off. The problem with programs like Twhirl becomes its ease, addictiveness, and amusement. On a whim, I can send a nonsensical out and often it is directed to a single person but rather than making it a private message, I inadvertently spam 550 people (or in Barack Obama’s case 64,140 people). Of course, maybe those 550 people want that level of interaction. For me, that remains my unanswered question, "what do these 550 people want or expect?"
What subject matter belongs in Twitter?
Your interests will dictate your Twitter experience and make it far different from someone else’s Twitter experience. I believe Twitters fall into 4 categories:
- Exhibitionists, Voyeurs, Gossips - These are the folks that will send/read a stream of messages about the minutia of daily life
- News feeds - These are the folks alerting the world about their experiences with the California fires, or the next big event. These are the newspapers getting the headlines out. These are people like myself alerting others that the Interstate is at a stand still.
- Topic Specific - These would be people sharing information about a particular subject. Unlike news feeds these will often include back and forth discussions about the topic.
- [addition to original post] Spammers - People taking advantage of the tendency to follow those who follow you simply to draw attention to a product or website. The Twitter staff and others are trying to minimize the ability for people to spam through Twitter.
A fifth category could be utility such as how The RedCross has used Twitter to make accessing the Safe and Well database easier. By following a topic specific group of people, you will get a pulse on the latest news regarding that topic. You will be in the know. By using a program like Twhirl, you can have multiple Twitter accounts simultaneously following different topic areas. Or by checking Twitter Search (aka Summize) you can quickly be updated on a particular subject matter. So yes, I think that you can rely on Twitter for breaking news. I think some misinformation is likely to come with the speed at which Twitter delivers that breaking news, but Twitter (and main stream media) will be quick to correct the misinformation.
add a commentWow! Tomorrow’s animated movies will rock! August 20, 2008 8:09 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Interest, Programming, TV / Movies, Technology , add a comment add a commentOverthinking the problem August 18, 2008 12:36 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Programming, Technology , add a commentAs a programmer, I solve problems. For my clients and myself it is important that I solve the problems as efficiently as possible with the caveat that the efficient solution must be scalable and have enough foresight as to cost effectively allow for unpredicted modifications in the future. A trap that developers fall into is overthinking the problem.
Imagine walking out of your house and realizing right as the door closed that you left your keys beside the television. Your mind races. You get all MacGyvery and start looking for a paperclip to use with your pocket knife as a makeshift lock pick. You ponder knocking out a window pane or lowering yourself down the chimney. The schemes escalate and become more elaborate. This is how a programmer overthinking the problem creates unnecessary levels of complexity which can lead to buggy code. The solution could be as simple as checking the other doors to see if one is open or getting the spare key from the neighbor. Or even more simple, doing a sanity check by confirming that the key is not in your pocket. Perhaps you didn’t even lock the door which is now the subject of your ornate plotting.
How can a programmer prevent overthinking a problem and wasting time?
- Sleep! Sleeping on a problem gives the mind clarity. Sometimes we dream the solution and sometimes the break is enough to see the error in our ways.
- Take a break! Similar to sleep, a diversion such as juggling, exercising, breathing fresh air, or working on a different type of problem can jolt our minds into seeing a simpler solution to the original problem. I highly recommend getting away from the computer but don’t abide by that myself. Often I will solve a sudoku puzzle or write a blog post to shock my mind into seeing a different solution.
- Talk to peers. Other people’s input is often helpful in seeing a solution. With programming, like many aspects of life, there can be many solutions to the same problem and others can inspire us with their approach to solving the problem. If you work by yourself like I do, find peers online with IRC or Twitter.
- Outsource. If a problem is being very difficult, give it to someone else. They may find it less complicated and it frees you to work on something different.
Using the same techniques writers use to alleviate writer’s block can cure coder’s block. Now I must return to the problem that I overcomplicated by overthinking it.
add a commentSon to preschool - Twitter covers it August 13, 2008 10:22 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Daily Life, Education, Health, Technology , add a comment
Toddler introduced to preschool. They grow so fast! 1 hour ago from txt
lasthome I remember when he was just an Easter egg 
1 hour ago from twhirl in reply to djuggler
bobmissy07 @djuggler The Feral Child? 43 minutes ago from web in reply to djuggler
RussM @bobmissy07 As some commenter said to @cathymccaughan, he’s not feral — he’s free-range. 38 minutes ago from web in reply to bobmissy07
bobmissy07 @russM Sorry, I get those confused sometimes. Guess I should hope that the restaurant selling freerange chicken doesn’t do the same, right? 32 minutes ago from web in reply to RussM
lasthome @RussM I think he’s a LOLkid. 30 minutes ago from twhirl in reply to RussM
RussM I think @lasthome nailed it. 20 minutes ago from web
Note: Don’t mind the time stamps. This was hard to type. I understand why people screenshot their Tweets.Timestamps fixed.
Update: For those wondering about the Easter egg comment, when Cathy was pregnant with Evan, Easter 2005, we painted her belly as an Easter egg (and a couple of other parts as flowers) then published the photo. The resourceful can find the picture on Flickr.
add a commentDailyWTF August 5, 2008 6:33 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : PHP, Programming, Technology , add a commentI wrote this piece of rocket science last night:
<select id="birthdateyear" name="birthdateyear">
<?php for($byear = date("Y",time()); $byear >= 1901; $byear--){ ?>
<option value="<?php echo $byear; ?>" <?php if($birthdateyear == $byear) echo "selected"; ?>><?php echo date("Y",mktime(12,1,1,1,1,$byear)); ?></option>
<?php } ?>
</select>
And that is why you shouldn’t code tired.
add a commentToday’s basic HTML question August 4, 2008 11:07 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : HTML, Programming, Technology , add a commentCan <optgroup> be nested within <optgroup>? Is the following example legal?
<select>
<optgroup label="A">
<optgroup label="1">
<option>Outlinepart1</option>
</optgroup>
</optgroup>
</select>
Answered! Optgroups may NOT be nested per HTML4 specification.
add a commentProgramming self into corner July 28, 2008 10:52 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : CSS, Programming, Technology , 3commentsWith programming, over thinking a problem is a common pitfall. Sleeping on a problem often results in a quick solution for the mere fact that you quit thinking about the issue long enough to see the simpler solution. As we contrive our Rube Goldberg devices to solving programming challenges, we become like plumbers simply adding more pipes to divert the water to the end result. Quickly we paint ourselves into a corner and waste valuable time. I am there right now on what should be some simple css.
If I have a <tr> that has a class <tr class="foo"> and the <td> within the tr has an <a href> how do I style the anchor?
Before anyone jumps on the "Don’t use tables" bandwagon, this is semantically correct because the output is tabular data.
The solution should be tr.foo td a { }. But nothing changes. CSS is not magic; not spooky. CSS is relatively simple, and fun! But hiccups like this drive me to the brink!
3commentsI understand the Wii fit! July 24, 2008 3:45 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Publishing, Technology, Touchy Subjects, Video , 1 comment so farWatch this NSFW video titled Why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit and you’ll understand too!
Now the real reason I linked to the video: Views: 5,362,590 in two months! Holy cow! That’s called "going viral!" If Youtube was paying $5 for every thousand views (as suggested in Business Week) that one minute, nine second video of a girl in her panties swinging her hips would be worth $26,812.95!
How does it get viral? Emailed, social networks, links from sites like Asylum.com (AOL) and Popurls.com. This one in particular is being passed around so much that you almost have to work to not see it. Getting content to go viral is the dream of most content producers such as bloggers, video makers, podcasters, and so forth. But only one viral piece can bring down your servers and net you very little money. Figuring out the secret to getting content to regularly go viral is how people quit their day jobs and make their living blogging. Is it the underwear? Am I wearing the wrong underwear when I type?
Joystick Division interviews Giovanny Gutierrez who works for Tinsley Advertising to see if this one minute video was a marketing stunt.
Now even though the president of the company told me this is just a private video you posted with your Tinsley account, I’m not fooled. Admit it: you’re a part of a clandestine, Nintendo-sponsored viral marketing campaign!
The whole thing was just an idea I had for a spec viral video. I came up with the idea because that really is my girlfriend (not my sister like many have assumed), she loves Wii Fit and even more, looks hot doing it. [Source, Joystick Division, Q&A With the Man Behind "Why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit"]
So he did pre-meditate it going viral! That’s powerful. The LA Times even picked up the story. Here’s a great spoof video!
1 comment so farMy Twitter followers have left! July 23, 2008 5:43 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Communications, Technology , add a commentI just looked at the number of people following me on Twitter. I used to have many more following me than I was following. Now 60 people less than the number I follow are following me. My friends abandoned me! (or the spammers went away) I can only assume that in allowing Twhirl to stay in a visual part of my second monitor today, which encouraged Twitter to act as a chatroom instead of notification board, that the number of Tweets I made drove a large group of people away! I am sure that all the localized Knoxville tweets, family tweets, non-topic specific jokes, and overwhelming lack of technical or political relevance had nothing to do with it. I’m a Twitter abuser!
Update: It’s a Twitter bug!
add a commentYour AJAX book recommendations please July 23, 2008 11:38 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : AJAX, ColdFusion, Programming, Technology , add a commentIf I was going to buy ONE AJAX reference book to add to my library of dust collecting, quickly antiquated computer references, which AJAX book would you suggest? And by the way, does anyone need a copy of Ben Forta’s ColdFusion Application Construction Kit for version 3 of CF?
add a commentSpam Karma open source or die die die July 23, 2008 10:06 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Programming, Software, Technology, WordPress , add a commentIn case you missed the announcement, Dave who developed Spam Karma is no longer going to make changes or update the code. Instead he has released it as GPL v.2 and created a Google Code repository in hopes that some talented people will pickup where we he leaving off. I wonder if we Spam Karma users had actually donated money toward his efforts if he would have continued.
Spam Karma puts Akismet and other spam fighting tools to shame. I think in all the time I have been using Spam Karma, I have had only one false positive. I get false negatives on trackbacks but that is because it was only recently that I realized I could change the settings for how Spam Karma handles trackbacks so I’m still making adjustments.
I also found Dave’s comments on a WordPress replacement very interesting. Specifically he notes, "If you look at it, blog systems are over 10 year old now. Their UI have barely evolved since the first versions. … There is a bad need for a groundbreaking platform that would get rid of ten years of accumulated UI habits."
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