Archive for February, 2007
Biloxi or Bust 5
The java professor is going over a program we might be creating this week. It is a random number generator, but is being used as a craps game. So, two random numbers between 1 and 6. Then getting the sum of both numbers to place against a set a rules.
Because he is phrasing this as a casino game, all I can think of is gong to Biloxi this weekend. 
My wife got another press weekend at the Beau Rivage for a new show they have going on. This will be the first time we have been back since Hurricane Katrina.
From what I have heard an seen in the news during that time, the entire area was devastated. Road were completely gone, places where homes used to be looked as if they couldn’t possibly be usable land, much less residential. I also remember reading the beach area being pushed back several hundred yards in areas. I am sure these things have been replaced, and the beaches have been repaired, but I am still curious as to what the area looks like now.
I am also interested in seeing what they have redone to the hotel since the last time we 
were there. The Beau Rivage is one of the nicest casinos in the area, but given the way they operate, they can only make it nicer than before. The incentive is to prove to the area they can come back. It is an even bigger incentive for tourist areas because it shows the nation that the area is rebuilding and is ready for business.
Of course, I am also looking forward to the show, and the after show party. That is always a lot of fun. Free drinks, free food, and plenty of both. The free brunch buffet is awesome as well. I am a little torn about going this time, however, because I am doing some computer work on the side this week, and I have thought about taking that money to gamble. I know I shouldn’t, but at the same time, I really don’t ever gamble, and I thought it would be fun to do some this time a round. Maybe some craps?
links for 2007-02-26
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Free apple icons
Programming on the Macintosh
I have been working on some code for a program due tomorrow. I have having some trouble with the loops but I will get it figured out tomorrow. The GUI and listeners are already in the code and are working fine, but I feel if I keep working on the code tonight I am only going to do more damage than good.
In related news, I am downloading the latest build of BootCamp for my MacBook Pro. It has been out for a while, but with all of this coding, I really need to be doing it on Windows instead of my Mac. Not because I can’t code on the mac in Java, more because the professor compiles everything on a Windows XP machine, and last week that bit me when my program wouldn’t compile properly on windows. Playing it safe this week.
I have a bunch of links that will get posted later tonight, or early in the morning tomorrow. Lot’s of really cool Web 2.0 type sites that I ran into today. Keep an eye out for that.
links for 2007-02-25
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Full chrome case for the 5G iPod and the 2G nano
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Nifty ways of hiding all of the wires running under the desk.
More Bad Weather in Montgomery
The weather tonight is about to turn bad. There is a large string of storms that most of the Midwest and central portions of the nation are seeing right now. In the northern part of the nation, they are seeing blizzards, sleet, and freezing rain. In the southeast, we are receiving lots of rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. Hail in most of the storms.
This storm system is supposed to hit around 2am. I am going to try to stay up for it. I have always been amazed with weather. Even the most routine of events have been fascinating to me.
I only hope this doesn’t turn out to be like the November 15th storm of last year. Several tornadoes touched down in Montgomery. That was the day the fun zone was destroyed. Fingers are crossed on not having to blog about another bad weather system causing major news.
Update - The weather system that was moving in the area started to break up not long after I posted this entry. The weather moved over, and by the time it reached us (around 3 or 4 in the morning) there were no strong cells, no warnings, and no strong activity. I guess crossing my fingers helped.
New Weather Channel Interactive Map 4
I was going through weather.com today to keep up with the weather heading our way. Normally I put my zip in, go down to the map, and without even looking at the map, I click on map in motion. Today, that changed. I see a link for interactive weather map. Here is what it looks like.
As you can see, it offers an interactive top down map, similar to other services like Google maps. This one is based on Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. The map does exactly what you would expect. Zoom in, zoom out, pan, change from a road map to a satellite map. Here is an example of it zooming into the pink colored portion of the radar.
With this new map, it allows users to zoom into their area of the state, or even their part of the city, to see where the weather is, what to expect, and given the animation, maybe even estimate how long it will be until it hits.
The transparency function allows users to fade the radar overlay in and out. This is very useful to see exactly what the storm is, and then, fad it out a bit to see exactly where it will be.
The animation is a nice feature, but it is still clunky. It takes time for the animation to load, and then it is hard to tell how much motion (read: time!) is happening. I love the new layout, the functions are great. and with a little more tweaking, this can be a rock solid platform to view weather maps.
ACTE Regional Competition 2
I have just finished judging at the Alabama Council on Technology in Education competition. I was placed in the area of Video Production. I am much better suited with judging Web Development, but I can handle video. Some of the competition simply did not show up. They were not prepared and did not show any involvement. There were two that stood out of the crowd. Those came from the two magnet schools in the area, Brewbaker Technology and Booker T. Washington.
Their videos were complete, vibrant, had effects, but not so many effects they were ugly. The production value of both was top notch. The video from Brew tech had great camera angles, music, and was fun to watch. The video of BTW was much longer, but content oriented. Their goal was to create a promotional video about the school for prospective students. There was obviously much more time and effort placed on this video. Although it was not as much fun to watch as the Brew tech video, the content was king, and in the end, earned them 1st place.
I am about to walk into the award ceremony. BTW doesn’t know they have won yet, but I know they deserved the win for the amount of work, and thought that went into their production. From what I have seen today, the state wide competition will be fierce, and high quality. The state competition will be held in late April and is the competition for the top two winners in every category, from every region in the state.
Did I sell my soul? An AdSense Confession
Today I placed AdSense code on my website. Don’t worry. This isn’t to make money, or to become one of those link bait sites. All I really want to do is offset the cost of my domain and hosting. It doesn’t cost much to run them, and really I shouldn’t need advertising to pay for something that an hour of work will pay. I guess I am curious. I guess I just wanted to see why everybody wants to use Google to give them money. I think what I am really trying to see is just how profitable AdSense really is. I haven’t sold my soul! I say this because I haven’t placed ads on the main pages. I have only placed ads on the permalink pages. If you read this and feel sympathy, you should click on an ad. I haven’t had any clicks, and won’t click them myself. So. There you go. I am not a money hungry linkbaiting blog whore.