iPhone review

1:37 PM C: Josh, you actually there?

me: Yo

Yup

1:38 PM C: question about the iPhone for ya...you had one for a while right?

then went backk to the bb?

1:39 PM me: Si

And I have my review sitting 50% done on my blackberry, prolly not even worth finishing

Si, currently on a curve

1:40 PM C: why did you give up on the iphone? Was thinking about getting one, but i use my bb all freaking day...run a business off it...probs with the ihpone? i need something that can stay with me 16 hours a day

1:42 PM me: 1. Awful battery life, just awful

Which was compounded by the fact that 2. There was no push email

So, I had it set to pull emails all the time, making it even worse

But even if I set it to every hour or manual, it was still really bad

Email interface was really bad too, no way to just go next unread or anything

1:43 PM Took like 5 touchscreen steps to do what I do in one keyboard shortcut

C: hmmm.....maybe i'll stick with the bb then

5 minutes

1:48 PM me: What I found was, the stuff it does awesome, it does REALLY awesome

Example, I installed an app that did movie times

1:49 PM It used gps to find my location

Found local times

Gave me rotten tomatoes reviews

And gave me a link to a trailer that loaded up over 3g

It was super slick

Problem is, I never even NEEDED to do that, that was just me fucking around

The things I wanted to do all the time, email, calendar, tasks

Those all sucked

So I'll stick with my blackberry

Plus I get to tinker with it, which I'm sure you know the pros and cons of such actions

But at least I get that choice

1:50 PM C: coll...thanks man...appreciate the advice

1:51 PM me: No problemo

1:52 PM Maybe I'll just copy and paste this onto my blog

Haha

C: lol...if you correct my spelling errors mofo

1:54 PM me: I'll protect your name, if there's anything I know it's how to get around the legalities of the unauthorized biopic

C: hahahha

Vimeo is the devil

So, I should be studying for my organization behavior exam on wednesday, which obviously means I have found every excuse not too, including working on the site redesign, cleaning the house, and of course just browsing vimeo. And of course, that means I have some more wicked awesome to share.


Metamorphosis from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

At the rate I'm going I will probably just start learning how to program in processing to avoid reading my text anymore.

Yahoo Weather Widget

Here's a weather widget I made for work using the Yahoo Weapther API RSS feeds, this should be enough to get you started. Also, the filenames I used are weird because at work I can't reach out and grab stuff, we have to copy the RSS files down (probably better form on our part anyway), which is why I used the array's and the weird filename variable instead of just calling the RSS feed from Yahoo. The feed is available at http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=87117 if you're interested in taking a look.

Hopefully I cleaned it up enough to be usable if you're interested. If you got feedback let me know.

Javascript:

var current_spot = 0;

    var nameList = ['Location 1','Location 2','Location 3'];

    var zipList = ['87117','87112','87124',];

    function sendRequestWeather(doc,sync){
            delete xmlobj;
            xmlobj = null;

            // check for existing requests
            if(xmlobj!=null&&xmlobj.readyState!=0&&xmlobj.readyState!=4){
                    xmlobj.abort();
            }

            try{
                    // instantiate object for Mozilla, Nestcape, etc.
                    xmlobj=new XMLHttpRequest();
            }
            catch(e){
                    try{
                            // instantiate object for Internet Explorer
                            xmlobj=new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.XMLHTTP');
                    }
                    catch(e){
                            // Ajax is not supported by the browser
                            xmlobj=null;
                            return false;
                    }
            }
            // assign state handler
            xmlobj.onreadystatechange=stateChecker_weather;
            // open socket connection
            xmlobj.open('GET',doc,sync);
            // send GET request
            xmlobj.send(null);

    }

Javascript:

function stateChecker_weather(){
            // if request is completed
            if(xmlobj.readyState==4){
                    // if status == 200 display text file
                    if(xmlobj.status==200){
                            // display XML currentprofile
                            myWeather = xmlobj.responseXML;
                            myWeatherLocation = myWeather.getElementsByTagName('yweather:location');
                            myWeatherConditions = myWeather.getElementsByTagName('yweather:condition');
                            myWeatherForecast = myWeather.getElementsByTagName('yweather:forecast');
                            displayWeather();
                            current_spot = current_spot + 1;
                            //setTimeout("sendRequestWeather('87112.xml')",1000*5);
                            if(current_spot != '14') {
                                    filename = '/weather/xml/' + zipList[current_spot] + '.xml';
                                    myFunc = "sendRequestWeather('"+filename+"')";
                                    setTimeout(myFunc,1);
                            }
                    }
                    else{
                            alert('Failed to get response :'+ xmlobj.statusText);
                    }
            }
    }

Javascript:

function displayWeather(){

               var tbl=document.createElement('table');
               tbl.width = '92%';

               for(var i=0;i<7;i++){
                       var lastRow = tbl.rows.length;
                       var row = tbl.insertRow(lastRow);
                       var cell = row.insertCell(0);

                       switch(i){

                               case 0:
                                       //var textNode = document.createTextNode(myWeatherLocation[0].getAttribute('city'));
                                       var textNode = document.createTextNode(nameList[current_spot]);
                                       cell.className = 'wt_head';

                               break;

                               case 1:
                                       var image = document.createElement( "img" );
                                       image.setAttribute( "src", '/weather/images/'+myWeatherConditions[0].getAttribute('code')+'.gif' );
                                       image.setAttribute( "border", "0" );
                                       image.setAttribute( "alt", myWeatherConditions[0].getAttribute('text') );

                               break;

                               case 2:
                                       var textNode = document.createTextNode('Current Conditions:');
                                       cell.className = 'wt_bold';
                               break;

                               case 3:
                                       var textNode = document.createTextNode(myWeatherConditions[0].getAttribute('text') + ', ' + myWeatherConditions[0].getAttribute('temp') + ' F');
                                       cell.className = 'wt_reg';
                               break;

                               case 4:
                                       var textNode = document.createTextNode('Forecast:');
                                       cell.className = 'wt_bold';
                               break;

                               case 5:
                                       var textNode = document.createTextNode(myWeatherForecast[0].getAttribute('day') + ' - ' + myWeatherForecast[0].getAttribute('text') + ', High: ' + myWeatherForecast[0].getAttribute('high') + ', Low: ' + myWeatherForecast[0].getAttribute('low'));
                                       cell.className = 'wt_reg';
                               break;

                               case 6:
                                       var textNode = document.createTextNode(myWeatherForecast[1].getAttribute('day') + ' - ' + myWeatherForecast[1].getAttribute('text') + ', High: ' + myWeatherForecast[1].getAttribute('high') + ', Low: ' + myWeatherForecast[1].getAttribute('low'));
                                       cell.className = 'wt_reg';
                               break;

                       }

                       switch(i){
                               case 1:
                                       cell.appendChild(image);
                               break;

                               default:
                                       cell.appendChild(textNode);
                               break;
                       }
               }

               document.getElementById('weather_container').appendChild(tbl);
               var h = document.createElement('hr');
               h.size = '1';
               h.width = '75%'
               document.getElementById('weather_container').appendChild(h);

       }

Javascript:

// execute program when page is loaded
    window.onload=function(){
            // check if browser is DOM compatible
            if(document.getElementById&&document.getElementsByTagName&&document.createElement){
                    // load XML file
                    sendRequestWeather('/weather/xml/87117.xml',true);
            }
    }

I love this.

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
- Buddha

Yesterday, my friend logged onto my computer and when she opened up Firefox started to make fun of me a 'lil bit for having the "Buddhist thought of the day" on my iGoogle homepage. Granted, at the time the thought wasn't very good, but this, this is why I keep it. What a smart guy.

My Code of Ethics

The following is the final paper I just turned in for my ethics course, let me know what you think.

Joshua Rivera
05/05/2008
MGMT 308
Albright

Personal Code of Ethics

Initially, I had a hard time coming up with my personal code of conduct. It seemed like it might be easy as I wrote out short notes like “Don’t steal”, “Have integrity”, “Don’t do this generic bad thing”, “Do this generic good thing”. But it didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel satisfying, and it didn’t feel like me.

So I scraped it, because my code of ethics should evoke me like nothing else could.

I spent time analyzing why I didn’t like those kinds of generic ethical statements, and I decided they are too “clean”. They aren’t realistic; they are black and white in a Technicolor world.

The one thing I know I will keep with me from 308, is that ethics is not what you say, it is what you do, and anyone who says they won’t lie, that they won’t ever take a shortcut, that they won’t ever use their works printer because it’s free and it’s convenient, those people are all going to fail at upholding their ethics, because they aren’t views that are practical, and they are views that challenging to hold oneself to on a consistent, day to day basis.

I let these realizations sit in my head one evening, and when I got up in the morning and groggily got ready to face the day, it hit me. I have a billboard near my door. It holds tickets to events I’ve gone too, bills that need to be paid, take-out menus to restaurants. It’s the last and first thing I see when I leave and enter the house. It also holds index cards with quotes I’ve enjoyed, things that I live by. That’s when I realized, those are my ethics, these statements that I enjoyed so much I put them up as a daily reminder. They are me, and I try to live up to them daily.

So here are a few of my ethics, as they have been unknowingly collected over the last eight years.

"I like to exceed expectations. Or fail to meet them spectacularly."

- Chris Knight, Real Genius

This quote is interesting because it seems to mean a much different thing to me than it does most people. To me this quote is about my self-expectations. It’s about how if I am not trying to exceed my expectations for myself in everything I do, that is failing spectacularly. I am a big proponent of self-actualization, of taking personal progressions in everything I do. Every project is a building block for my next one, I don’t start from scratch. I add to what I have already done. I refine it. To not attempt to exceed expectations, to be dormant, to be satisfied, that to me, is a spectacular failure.

This is one I know I put into practice daily at work. I started out making small applications, and then I went larger. I started out with one language, and then I learned another, and then I combined them. I learn about new technologies, and I work to implement them, and each project is a progression of those past dealings. Most of the time my projects would be able to reach completion with current technologies, but I would rather push the envelope of what is expected and what is expected of me.

On top of that, I keep communication open with my managers to keep me pushing the envelope. I don’t want to allow myself to get lazy; I go out of my way to force a symbiotic relationship of progress.

"Success will be the best revenge"

- Dilated Peoples

Everyone has and will be wronged in their lifetime. I find what someone does after that shows their true character. It’s very easy to get caught up in the moment, the disgust that comes with someone purposely doing bad by you. In those moments, I choose to focus on myself and what I did wrong to get in that situation, how I screwed up to let myself get taken advantage of. I then work to fix these things, and continue on in improving myself. Forcing myself to move up, to better myself, is a infinitely more satisfying than bringing someone else down, no matter what they might have done.

For example, in the past I have had a falling out with roommates. After getting screwed over they still tried to provoke me into more arguments and more incidents. Rather than letting that get to me, I allowed that energy to feed me in a productive way. Rather than allowing them to provoke me or trying to get back at them, I got to work on getting a raise and putting the paperwork into getting a mortgage, getting myself more secure both professionally and personally. It was far more rewarding than any of the alternatives, and I suspect that will still hold true in the future.

“Never offend with style when you can offend with substance.”

- Sam Brown

I love this quote because I believe it fits the world we live in, it fits real experience, and it reminds me to be consistent and thoughtful in what I do. To say that you will never argue with someone, or that you will never have differing, and possibly, offensive opinions is unrealistic. This quote however, reminds me that in every one of these situations, in everything I do period, it is important to be substantial in my arguments, to have knowledge and research, to be well prepared. Having an argument with someone is fine; to not back your opinion up with material information is disappointing personally and for everyone involved.

In class, when discussing the innovation matrix, we talked about how when implementing an innovation, it may be in opposition of the work of those who came before you or may still be there. That's why in my paper and my filled out innovation matrix I noted that it is good to run evaluations on the work before and point out what the negative and the positive outcomes of those changes would be. This is a way to both be knowledgeable about the subject at hand as well acknowledging what came before. Someone may still be upset about what you are saying, but there is little recourse when what you are saying is well researched and logical.

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.”

-Bruce Lee

My old roommate used to simplify this quote into “Flow like water”. This quote is about two things to me. One coming into any situation with preconceived notions, either about people or events, and letting them shape things in a way they shouldn’t. It’s also about being realistic and responsive to the events around me. It’s impossible to plan for everything, but I try to do my best to react to what is happening in coherent and thoughtful ways.

“Search out the answer before asking others”

This is a huge pet peeve of mine, and therefore I do my best not to be hypocritical about it and follow thru with it myself. Asking questions, is fine, and should be encouraged. Opening a dialog helps people learn and reinforce their positions and knowledge. But not going out and doing at least a tiny bit of research before asking the answer to a question, especially a commonly asked one is, in my opinion, one of the most annoying things a person can do. I cannot count how many times I have been asked simple questions about syntax, and when I ask “did you look at the documentation” the answer is always no. When running into problems and asking questions, I always remember to try and look it up first, reminding myself that it will take just as much time for me to search out the answer as it will for someone else.

“Give someone a chance”

I have been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of this and feel a responsibility to keep the cycle going by giving others chances similar to those I was fortunate enough to receive. I know that I followed thru on this at least three weeks ago when interviewing candidates for a position at work. We had two qualified candidates, one with a couple years of professional work, and one with nothing but academics under his belts. I gave my recommendation to the academic; based on the fact he appeared to have so much more passion about what he was doing than the professional. He deserved the chance, and I was glad to be able to help him along.

“Chance never helps those who do not help themselves.”

-Sophocles

Along those same lines, personal responsibility goes a long way. Taking the steps, making the phone calls, reading the books, going to the interviews, all of these things show drive and determination that I hope to display. I don’t want handouts, I want a helping hand. I want to work my way up and get a break when I have earned and deserve it.

___________________________

In order to be accountable for all of this, I have shared and discussed my ethics with friends and family over the last couple of weeks while developing this paper. Making sure everything I listed are things that at the very least, I attempt to put my best foot forward on. I am going to do my best to keep this dialog open with everyone I am in communication with, and especially at work where we have to use our best judgment on decisions daily. I have also decided to make this paper available with my resume and portfolio on my personal website, allowing everyone, and especially prospective employers, to read up on it ahead of time and hold me accountable for what I say and do.

To clarify, I don’t believe this encompasses everything I believe I do; I don’t believe any document could ever represent a person both accurately and completely. But I believe these seven points really are things that I believe and will work hard to uphold in present and future work. I think they are all realistic, and importantly, I think they are all very ‘me.’ I hope to add and modify this as I get older, adding new beliefs as my experiences grow and my worldview expands.