ParkFinder – An sms app that finds the parks closest to a given location

In preparation for the appsforgood competition, I’m writing a small app called “Parkfinder.” It’s an app to train myself on using sms and google maps to find points of interest close to a given location. I’m writing it on Ruby on Rails 3. And since the primary interface is intended to be SMS, the graphical … Read more

Ruby on Rails Notes: Standard Project Setup

Writing down steps before writing a script… rvm gemset create appname rvm gemset use appname gem install rails –no-rdoc –no-ri rails new appname -T cd appname echo rvm use [rubyinstall]@[gemsetappname] > .rvmrc edit Gemfile add rspec to development and test add haml, sass to all add heroku to development bundle install rails generate rspec:install git … Read more

Birds are Dinosaurs, and Flying Vampire Tadpole Frogs discovered

http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/dino/faq/s-class/dinobird/index.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/110107-new-species-vampire-flying-frog-tadpoles-fangs-science-animals/

Improving Posture Through Exercise

A current goal is to strengthen my core muscles to the point that I keep my back straight all day. Today someone posted on reddit about posture strengthening exercises: http://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/ewrr0/writeup_on_the_dreaded_anterior_pelvic_tilt_or/ So starting today, I’m going to do a minimum of 1 set of planks and 1 set of bird dogs per day. My most successful … Read more

Indian programmer discusses website security vulnerabilities

Indian programmer discusses how Indian websites are full of security vulnerabilities.

Why Google’s maps stand out more than their competitors

http://www.41latitude.com/post/2072504768/google-maps-label-readability

Gift Certificate For Alabaster & Chess

I just made the first version of a gift certificate for Alabaster & Chess. The gift certificate is a pdf file made on a mac. I did it manually this time and it took about an hour and a half including time spent thinking about the look and how to actually generate the file. Here … Read more

Full utilization of productive hours

As interesting projects keep coming my way, the main thing I seek to learn is how to make good use of my time and stick to the “no more jobs” goal. The Alabaster & Chess website is making progress, but the main hiccup is getting scanned images and a full list of what the options … Read more

Goa

In Goa. Just had a delicious juice at some shack on the water. To- do: Nothing.

Shaved head

Shaved my head. 110 rupees. So much nicer not having hair again.

Today’s to-do

Plan out day and make planning phone calls spend 2 pomodoros on alabaster & chess website – making store more closely mirror the current live site. spend 3 pomodors on jbd product export Meeting w/ LH tomorrow around 5 pm. He’ll pick me up on his way to airport Meeting w/ AD Friday around 4 … Read more

Time Management in India

I’ve been having a string of happy, productive weeks in India. I’m attributing a lot of it to yoga, lack of stress, interacting with people I like, and changing time management techniques when ever the shine starts to wear off.

Website for Alabaster & Chess is going well

Going with Magento looks like a good option for this website. There are some details related to my implementation of the code the first go around that need to be corrected, but other than that, things are good. I’ll be migrating to “bundled products” shortly. This experience of doing serious work on the website from … Read more

Alabaster & Chess Store and Inventory System – Magento all the way

Going with Magento. After spending an afternoon with it, I’ve already got it most of the way to where I need it. Sent links over to Eli and waiting for his feedback.