We launched a Facebook application for AutoTrader.com today. It's a relatively simple application, but was built with extensibility in mind, so we can add quizes, questions, answers, etc. without much work. It's not the largest undertaking, but definitely something to be proud of.
What Kind of Car Am I?
Erin's said that I don't describe tech things very well to non-tech people...and she's probably right to some extent. A couple months ago, I tried to explain the could to my aunt and it don't think I got the point across. Anyway, I saw this article on NYTimes.com and it gave an descent outline of data centers and the could.
“In reality, the cloud is giant buildings full of computers and diesel generators,” Manos says. “There’s not really anything white or fluffy about it.”Article, Photos
Humorous deck I saw on TechCrunch:
A few weeks back we had an awads party at work. With this economy it was a low-budget affair, but was just as fun as anything we've done in a while. Oh, yeah...Did I mention it was prom themed? Not what I would have chosen, but I got through with a tux-tee handily.
USB Ultrasound device coming to a Windows Mobile phone near you?
Did I ever mention that I worked with these two professors on a Capstone project at Wash U? We developed a USB-powered harmonic ultrasound system. Prof. Zar had the imaging software and Richard was the professor for the hardware design class. It was my by far my favorite hardware class at Wash U.
I've been looking around for a nice Google Tasks widget for the Dashboard but so far have only found this neat AIR based widget.
The show was great. It's really interesting to see radio performed. It makes me excited to take advantage of the weekly tapeings of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and possibly catch a performance of Prairie Home Companion sometime. Here's an excerpt from the show description in case the website comes down.
Ira Glass will host an actual episode of the radio program, performed onstage by some of our favorite contributors. Dan Savage, Starlee Kine, and Mike Birbiglia will tell stories. David Rakoff and Dave Hill will conduct a ‘special investigation.’ Plus a new cartoon by Chris Ware, additional visuals by Arthur Jones, and a very special appearance by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
One of the things I've been thinking about all week is how I could build a quick and easy site for everyone to share memories about Grandpa. I've wanted to experiment more with App Engine after SXSW and the Google developer day. Last night I combined the two and created an App Engine site where memories can be saved and photos can be uploaded. It's in really rough form with a few bugs due to half implemented features, but hopefully I'll have time to actually finish it off (or at least work on it some more).
It's written in the Python version of App Engine, but I just signed up for the Java version as well.
http://michael-lanyon.appspot.com/
My Grandfather passed early this morning.
UPDATED:
Early Saturday morning Grandpa passed out from what we later found to be a mild heart attack. Thankfully Grandma was awake and heard him fall. He was taken to Skokie Valley Hospital and was being moved to the ICU when I found out what was happening. Erin and I went to see him on both Saturday and Sunday. Early Monday (like 2:30am) he passed.
He was in good spirits on both Saturday and Sunday, talking about the price of gas and what the weather was like. At one point Grandma was going through some of the hospital's things and found a really large comb. Grandma exclaimed, "Look at the size of the comb. Now all you need is the hair!"
So it's official now, I'll be getting a Mac for work. A MacBook Pro arrived from the Toronto office for me today. Nate's just begun to set it up, but hopefully I'll have it for the weekend. I've only used a Mac for short spurts before, so it'll be interesting to use it like I'm gonna keep it.
Sweet!!!
