TrippOdd / Dan's Diatribe

Learning About Medicine

I'm learning more about medicine via first-hand experience than I'd like to. Being old and fat sucks.

dan on 09.30.05 @ 07:54 AM PST [link] [No Comments]

Fun Flash Game

This is an awesome Flash "Game" that I discovered by using Stumble Upon. It's very similar in concept to the Life Simulation/Game, though it has a different set of rules. I enjoy this kind of thing perhaps a bit too much. I messed around with it at home last night for well over an hour and 1/2.

dan on 09.29.05 @ 11:25 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Exactly.

Exactly spot-on.

dan on 09.28.05 @ 10:51 AM PST [link] [No Comments]

I Know This "Dates Me"

I know this "dates me" but it is funny.

Thanks to Chris Purdum for pointing out that I'd linked to a frame set, not the image I was referring to.

dan on 09.27.05 @ 09:25 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

A Visual History of Computer Languages

Check out this awesome Visual History of Computer Languages!

dan on 09.26.05 @ 05:38 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

IT Conversations - Converstion with David Temkin

This looks interesting. It's an episode of IT Conversations where David Temkin, CTO of LaszloSystems (makers of OpenLaszlo) is interviewed. From the IT Conversations page:

Before AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) had a name, there was Laszlo Systems, a software tools developer using AJAX-like methods along with with Macromedia's Flash player to deliver richer Web experiences. David Temkin tells us why he chose the Flash player as a platform. Laszlo went open source and chose IBM's Common Public License as it was flexible enough to fit their needs without curbing commercial use.

David plans to leverage rich client environments other than Flash Player, such as DHTML, Java and .Net and shares his about thoughts about Eclipse, the recent Adobe/Macromedia merger, refactoring the desktop user interface and calendar interoperability. He also explains why Flash is not an ideal platform for mobile devies and desktop applications and compares Laszlo Blog Boxes to widgets in Apple's Dashboard and Yahoo's Konfabulator.

It looks like the IT Conversations site has been streamlined a bit... I was able to download the mp3 without having to jump through hoops. Thumbs-up on that one, Mr. Kaye.

I was piddlefarting around with OpenLaszlo a few months ago, and was basically on the cusp of doing something useful with it... but got sidetracked (of course). I found that the documentation was a bit too sparse for my liking. OpenLaszlo needs a good solid tutorial that walks one through creating a simple application that includes non-trivial bi-directional client-server communication (maybe like a blog editor or something). Most of the samples send simple parameters to the server and get an XML response back. Most of the stuff I'd want to do aren't uber-complicated, but it'd be helpful to have some of that spelled out in a decent, well-written tutorial.

While I like OpenLaszlo overall, I find myself caught up in trying to figure out how to do things that seem like they should be simple, or at least documented somewhere other than in sample code.

While yes, I could spend a couple of thousand dollars to go to one of their training seminars, I'm not gonna. I'd consider writing said client-server sample app tutorial, but a) I don't have the time, b) I'm not really a big enough Laszlo fanboy, and c) I don't think I'd want to deal with the nitpicky comments from internet folks. I dunno. Right now I'm busy working on learning to Think In Java.

Actually, I wrote a simple thing to play around with Laszlo forms and to look at the server response. Perhaps I'll post that sometime soon and see how bad the razzing is.

dan on 09.25.05 @ 01:11 AM PST [link] [No Comments]

StumbleUpon: The New Web Crack?

StumbleUpon looks like it could be the next web surfing crack... and highly addictive crack, perhaps as treacherous as the still-outstanding and useful del.icio.us. Basically, it's a browser extension that hooks into a community system, and allows users to leave comments/review web sites that they run across. If other folks have StumblUpon installed, they'll be able to read your recommendations/comments. Like del.icio.us, it's basically a social bookmarking application, but it looks like StumbleUpon may have taken the concept a bit further. I've signed up and have just started checking it out.

dan on 09.24.05 @ 10:28 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Damn You Apple...

Damn you Apple, for parting me from my paycheck. I just had to buy one of your snappy newfangled Nanos today. Now my coworkers hate me even more.

Here's an interesting article about things I plan not to do with mine. (The complete ArsTechnica article starts here.)

dan on 09.23.05 @ 05:25 PM PST [link]

Nano Commercial Parody

This parody of the Apple Nano commercial made me chuckle.

dan on 09.23.05 @ 11:54 AM PST [link]

McKormick is My Hero

I can't explain exactly why, but McKormick Astley is my hero. To quote a friend... "I like the cut of his jib." Every conversation I've had with him (via e-mail), almost every blog post, and every one of his podcasts gives me the "I'm not alone in the world, there are others similar to me" feeling, and not because the details of our lives are that similar, but more along the lines "I think similarly." Perhaps it's the whole "misery loves company" thing, but whatever.

While I've generally had my head in the sand in regards to podcasting lately, I'm still listenin' to McKormick's "As Evidence That I Exist, WHYME: Worst Music You've Ever Heard, and Super-Dave Slusher's Evil Genius Chronicles (I seed 'em on Bittorrent AND I wear my t-shirt regularly). Of the three, McKormick's is the most personally resonant.

I'd have listed Illinoise! too, but a) their t-shirt is white, b) I just can't get over the fact that Janet made Pete throw out his Playstation, and c) they've gone the way of the TrippOdd podcast... they're missing in action. Yeah, that's right... leave it to me to lead by example.

dan on 09.23.05 @ 11:32 AM PST [link]

At First I Thought it Was a Joke...

The FBI is joining the Bush administration's War on Porn. And it's looking for a few good agents.
Last month, the bureau's Washington Field Office began recruiting for a new anti-obscenity squad. Attached to the job posting was a memo from FBI headquarters to all 56 field offices, describing the initiative as "one of the top priorities" of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and, by extension, of "the Director," Robert Mueller.
From: SFGate

At first, I thought it was a joke, but then I realized it was actually in the San Francisco Chronicle. It's apparently only a short matter of time until we're all required to wear our American Flag/Fish Emblem armbands. 51% and counting...

dan on 09.21.05 @ 03:50 PM PST [link]

Web Page Screenshots

Yet again, I've been directed to a whoopass web thing thanks to David Bisset. He'd posted a link to this list of essential Firefox extensions which directed me to ScreenGrab, which is whoopass!.

Basically, it creates a screen capture of the entire contents of a Firefox window. Why am I making a big noise about this? Because it actually works, unlike a ton of other things I've tried.

Note: The image above has been significantly reduced, just to give a quick idea of what it does. A picture is allegedly worth 1,000 words.

dan on 09.21.05 @ 03:25 PM PST [link]

Stent No More

No more stent, and I'm quite pleased about that. I was literally asked if I'd like to "keep it as a souvenir," and y'all should be quite thankful that I said no, otherwise you'd be looking at a picture of it right now. I'm pretty damn happy to be rid of it.

dan on 09.19.05 @ 07:34 PM PST [link]

Mini Software Review: LEGO Digital Designer

I found a link to the LEGO Digital Designer on Andrew's blog and decided to give it a spin. While it's conceptually very cool, the actual application itself is a bit kludgy and awkward.

It's easy to get started and actually "make something," but the default piece sets are limited; you only get x many of each piece. Why place artificial limits on users? I got the idea that it might be possible to create your own custom piece sets, but it wasn't immediately obvious, and since the overall app leaves a lot to be desired, I just didn't feel it was worth the effort to futz with. Overall, the application feels "dumbed down" to be useful to the under-10 crowd. I'm pretty certain, however, that the under-10 crowd is more saavy and capable than this software gives them credit for being, and they're likely more than capable of dealing with a more robust application.

The absolutely genius part of the application is that once you create a LEGO model, you can view building instructions (which didn't seem to work for me), and print out a parts list, which you can buy from LEGO's online store. Truly brilliant marketing/selling. No, I'm not kidding or being sarcastic... it's quite a brilliant way to go about developing sales. Provide entertainment and value; make it simple to purchase customized building sets. That's this piece of software's best feature, hands down.

An annoyance however, that I believe is tied to this brilliant marketing, is that pieces in the software are only available in the manufactured colors. So, if you want a black rocket fin piece, sorry. I can understand the design decision, but just because I understand it doesn't mean I have to like or agree with it. Nothing looks lamer that rockets built from non-matching components.

Overall, the application is worth a download to check out and play with, but I don't think it's something I'll end up using more than a few times, and that just for its novelty value. Well, I'm going to forward a link to it to the marketing guy at work, since he'll appreciate the overall concept, and I'll be touting it as a good example of how to build smart selling into a software application.

There are other software LEGO design packages (not necessarily created/approved by LEGO) that are apparently pretty nifty, and maybe some day I'll get around to checking some of them out. Here's a quicky list, in no particular order: Mike's LEGO CAD, LDraw, Track Draw (for LEGO train track layouts), and LPub.

While the software representation of LEGO building is really hip, nothing compares to the tactile feel of the physical bricks themselves... especially when stepping on one during the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom.

dan on 09.17.05 @ 11:27 AM PST [link]

Apple and CompUSA Fail to Make a Sale

Apple and CompUSA failed to sell one of those hip, sexy, well-engineered, and great-sounding Black 4GB Nano mp3 players to me today... because they were out of stock.

CompUSA went a step further and also didn't sell a digital camera that they prominently had on display... wanna wager a guess as to why? That's right... out of stock.

Honestly, I don't know whether I'm happy or sad about this turn of events, because my desire to impulse purchase wasn't met, yet my wallet is still is full as it was before. This gives me time to cool off and reevaluate whether I need to upgrade my mp3 player (I really don't... I'm still really happy with my 1GB iRiver.).

dan on 09.16.05 @ 10:45 PM PST [link]

FreeMind

Yay! There's a new-to-me release of FreeMind, which a useful "mind mapping/outlining" programming that works well on both the Mac and the PC.

dan on 09.15.05 @ 05:18 PM PST [link]

DavidBisset.com and PocketMod

One of the most consisent and reliable sources I've found for neat web stuff is: DavidBisset.com. He frequently posts links to really hip things like PocketMod, which is a Flash-based tool to create a little booklet/organizer dealie.

I know two really fabulous links don't make up for almost three months of blogging inactivity (though I have been periodically blogging elsewhere), but it's a start!

dan on 09.15.05 @ 12:01 AM PST [link]