CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-17 22:53:16 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Interesting...

Just sent out the Alpha Testers link to someone and they keep getting a 404 error from Google.  Looks like some features aren't quite stable yet with the Google Play Developer Console.

2013-05-17 22:22:12 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I laughed at the first paragraph, priceless!

2013-05-17 19:39:05 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

That moment when the code you wrote to update a TextView dynamically turns out to update the ButtonText instead...

Some days I just don't deserve to touch a keyboard...

#stupidprogrammingmistakes  

2013-05-17 16:57:56 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Apparently, I fail hard at Google-fu today.  Anybody familiar with Java and Android care to answer what is most likely a silly question?
EDIT: Nevermind. I figured it out.

The issue was a problem reading from a text file and splitting on double newlines ('\n\n') to place strings into an ArrayList.  In languages like Python I'd simply do something like this:

file = open("text.txt")
strings = str(file).split('\n\n')

In Java I ended up with something like the following:

InputStream file = getResources().openRawResource(R.raw.text_file);

Scanner text = new Scanner(file);
text.useDelimiter("\n\n");
String quote = getQuote(text);

// getQuote(Scanner text) {
   List<String> array = new ArrayList<String>();
   while (text.hasNext()) {
       Stringparagraph... more »

2013-05-16 21:05:51 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Hanging out with the goddess :)

2013-05-16 19:42:19 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

[Fun with Android Studio]


I decided to give Android Studio a shot seeing as how it's based on +JetBrains +IntelliJ IDEA Community edition and I already use +PyCharm at work and for personal development projects.  I really like it.  It feels familiar, hasn't crashed on me at all (yet), and unlike Eclipse, doesn't feel clunky to use on a laptop.

The integration is awesome and it's not hard to follow the tutorials on the +Google's Android Developer's site even if they are written with Eclipse in mind.

I'm still not sold on Java as a language, but the more I think about it, the more I see it as worth putting some time into.  Who knows? Maybe my boss will come up to me one day and ask me to take a look at our Android App's code (a very real possibility for the very near future).  It would be worth it to at least have a base ofknowle... more »

2013-05-16 15:25:24 (18 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

Really? It's offensive to people when I call my wife "Goddess"? It looks like the argument is "that's blasphemous".

Let me guess, if I were to call her "babe" then that would be demeaning as I'd be referring to her as if she were a child.

If I call her "honey" have I just offended bees and bee-keepers worldwide?

Also, I'm not going to stop calling her "Goddess", she understands what I mean when I say it and that's what's important.  I can think of a lot worse pet names that are used by people on a daily basis that deserve just a tad bit more attention...

2013-05-16 14:53:35 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Here's what part of my walk from the office to the bus stop looked like today.  The sun is trying to come out full bore, but the clouds are being stubborn.

I really like Stavanger, it's easy to appreciate the scenery here.

:)

2013-05-16 11:15:56 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

New Hangouts "bug":

A regression in chat: Formatting is not working in messages.  Underscores don't italicize, dashes don't strike-out, and asterisks don't embolden text. 

When they rolled it out initially, I made heavy use of it for emphasizing portions of text (and I make extensive use of the feature in my G+ posts)., but now, no text formatting.

Yes, I sent feedback through the app to Google already :)

2013-05-16 05:55:58 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

[I like it!]


Maybe their's something wrong with me, but I really like the styling motif that Google is going for.  With the new layout for G+, you can definitely see the migration toward "tiles" like in Google Now on mobile.  While it's a similar concept to what Microsoft attempted with Metro UI, I think the execution is much better, partially because of the milder color scheme and the fact that everything is matching up across services.

Anywho, up until today, I had never used the "Instant Mix" functionality of Google Play.  I actually like the selection it gave me. :)

2013-05-15 21:17:16 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

I got to hang out with my goddess and our princesses today! The youngest one wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get a screenshot with her in it, but at least everyone is smiling :)

2013-05-15 16:15:49 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Watch  #googleio2013  live via YouTube :)

2013-05-15 14:59:40 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

[An anniversary]


On this day in 2001, I enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Private First Class (E-3) and an Infantryman at the age of 17.  That was 12 years ago.  I was Honorably Discharged 19 May 2009 as a Sergeant (E-5), also as an Infantryman.

After 8 years of service, including two deployments in Iraq and a few smaller ones elsewhere, and after 4 years of being out, I still have a hard time understanding/dealing with civilian life.  The plus side is that, despite the lack of effective help from the VA and other veterans organizations, I have an awesome wife, two wonderful daughters, and a few others with whom I'm close that have helped me to reign myself in when my "bad days" have crept up on me.

To those that have helped me to keep my focus and face my own issues to the point where I can celebrate the (personal) victory that this day and the19... more »

2013-05-14 12:06:01 (17 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

def some_method(self, *args):
    ... some logic...
    row = result_that_looks_like: [(item1, item2, item3, item4)]
    row = [str(y).strip() for i in row for y in i]
    return row

Yeah, that just happened. Nested for...in loop inside of a list comprehension.  There's always a way :P

2013-05-14 09:01:22 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Hooray!

My chrome LavaTube II shipped today along with my clearomizers and e-juice.  Ten days from now, I'll be restocked :)

2013-05-13 16:45:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

[Updates!]


I haven't used Codecademy in months, but I like to keep up with what's going on with it (it's one of the few email newsletters that I enjoy seeing).  Here's the latest newsletter showcasing an update to the UI.  I like it a lot, they even chose a color scheme that I would have picked anyway.

On thing I really like is the addition of the API courses.  A lot of people read through a few programming books, write some simple scripts/programs based on the idea of extending the scripts/programs that were used as examples in said books, and then ask "What do I do now?"  I think the addition of the API courses is great because it gives new programmers several ideas as to what their next steps could be and how to go about getting started.  It's a great springboard in my opinion.

Anywho, enjoy :)

2013-05-13 12:57:13 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Have you ever had so much fun at what you're doing at work that your boss has to come in and remind you that it's time to go for the day?

Yeah, that just happened, on a Monday of all days! :P

2013-05-12 19:03:36 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

[Mini-rant]


Sharing some video, picture, poorly worded post, meme, etc is not going to "prove" to my mother that I love her and appreciate her putting up with me for so many years.  It's not going to in any way thank her for instilling certain traits and values into me that are fundamental to how I solve problems and perceive the world around me.

Newsflash! It's not going to have that effect on your mother either.  If she's alive, pick up the phone or go meet her and tell her those things that you'd otherwise use as click-bait in order to gain yourself shares, +1s, "likes" or whatever else you happen to value on the internet that makes you feel so warm and fuzzy.

/rant

2013-05-12 16:09:04 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Somebody beat me to it.  Looks like I can scratch that idea off of my list :P

(See this post if you're lost as to what I'm talking about: http://goo.gl/SVuFM)

2013-05-11 13:22:43 (30 comments, 1 reshares, 11 +1s)

[Today's thoughts and activities]


I've been doing a lot of reading today, specifically, on the topic of user malcontent with certain Linux distributions.  The number one complaint that I've seen (and have heard for several years) centers around updating.  Users don't like it that they sometimes have to go to a distro's website in order to see the latest news that talks about an important change that will require a few steps in order to get around the issue.

This got me thinking: "Why not bring those types of notifications to the user at the command line?"  I don't see any reason why a package manager can't be extended to provide a bit more information to the user, assuming the user will read it.  For the sake of argument, let's say that users really are interested in extra text that might be displayed in their terminal if theykno... more »

2013-05-10 17:06:44 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

[Oh Snap!]

I didn't realize that this actually made it up as I didn't get any notifications.  I visited the site today so that I could make an order and saw this on their blog.

Thanks +Volcanoecigs :)

2013-05-10 12:53:28 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Is memorizing the Standard Library for each programming language that you work with really a metric of a "good programmer"? 

I haven't heard of that one until today.  Good to know >.>

2013-05-10 08:24:07 (28 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Don't try to delete 67,922 emails from your "Linux Kernel ML" label all in one shot.  Gmail will crash...

2013-05-09 20:13:33 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

I have some happy news.
http://theoatmeal.com/blog/tesla_museum_saved

2013-05-09 18:31:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Watching Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing.  I've never seen this one but I've heard it's fun to watch.

2013-05-09 16:34:33 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)

[Today's #ingress  adventure]

I've taken a picture of Hafrsfjord before, but today I thought I'd take a few more.  The funny part is how close to where I live these swords are.  The first time I visited, I didn't realize how close they were because of the route that we originally took.

It was beautiful.  The water was calm, the wind wasn't too strong, and the air wasn't too cold.  I can't wait for +Lynea Tomlinson and the girls to see it in person :)

Here's a wikipedia article on the area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafrsfjord

2013-05-08 18:53:21 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

I'm going to lose myself in some documentation, for fun, for a little bit before heading to bed.

On a related note, some of this packaged app stuff from Google looks interesting... *SQUIRREL!*

:P

2013-05-08 17:58:44 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

It has desktop notifications and isn't just a shortcut to a site.  I like it so far!

2013-05-08 13:04:35 (26 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

That moment when the query result from the database is greater than 4GB and the server only has 1GB of RAM, 70% of which is in use just to be able to run and your script has to run on that server...

Yeah, I've killed this server a few times today due to overloading... I need to come up with a better way of doing this.

2013-05-08 06:04:45 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Rawr!

2013-05-07 19:53:29 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

*snicker*

2013-05-07 17:12:14 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

H/T @EricRietzschel :-)
So THAT'S what the matrix was about!... I always wondered

2013-05-07 15:02:21 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

[w00t!]

I came home to my Norwegian Personal ID Number waiting for me.  I can now get paid and do things!

2013-05-07 14:10:49 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

En vakker dag i Norge :)

A beautiful day in Norway.

Forgive my poor translation skills if that wasn't quite correct. I'm trying :)

2013-05-07 11:27:13 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

I feel like I'm running in "beast mode" right now.  I've been working on a particular issue since yesterday morning and today, not only did I solve the problem, but everyone agrees that my solution more than satisfies the criteria of "it solves the problem, it's fast/efficient, and it's dead simple to read".

When the lead dev looks at your code and the results and says "good lord why didn't I think of that!?!" then you know you've got a right to smile :)

Now to drink some tea and move onto the next task :)

2013-05-06 17:16:27 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Apparently, reading is difficult.*


[*] You get a pass if English is your second, third, fourth, etc language.  Totally understandable if you miss something at that point and I'll not consider it a bother to try and bridge the gap.

2013-05-06 17:10:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

A reminder:

"5. Posts that contain only a link will be removed. Provide a description of what the link is talking about, provide the reason you're sharing the link, provide something you learned from the link, but don't just share the link. Members that continue to post just links without any other content or context provided in their post will be removed. Repeat offenders will be banned."

Sending me an angry email about the removal of your posts isn't going to do anything but waste (your) time.

Also, sending me angry emails stating that you're some big-time developer, revenue increasing recruiter, etc, and that I "shuld[sic] be hppy[sic] that I even choose to grays[sic] the community wit[sic] my presents[sic]" just makes you look like an ass.  Don't do it.

Before you ask, yes, I did get an email containing the quoted text.... more »

2013-05-06 05:47:57 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Starting another wonderful week :)

2013-05-05 20:12:33 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

The emerald road :)