Install Not Required

Open a brand new computer, start the browser, access a website, and finally close the browser. No more 5-hour reformat process, only to then have to install ten or more applications which can each take quite a while. Now you just access the application by URL and login. That’s it, nothing to install, no keys to enter – just register, pay if required, and login. Now you are not tied to a single machine, but instead can use any computer device that has a browser. Also, beyond just not needing to install anything, you also always have access to the latest and greatest version of the application, even if this does allow companies like Google to keep their apps in perpetual beta.

View Source FTW

The internet would not be as fast and open if it weren’t for the simple fact that HTML – and its modern partners CSS and Javascript – is delivered to the user in its source format. Most web developers even today get their start by looking at other sites, learning from them and copying their markup and code. I seriously hope that the web continues to stay open with the majority of websites and web applications using plain-text (not binary) markup and code. While I am one who appreciates the capabilities that Flash, Java, and Silverlight give developers, it seems that having a single, open environment that every device implements will be extremely useful. Hopefully a concept of viewing the source is still available amongst the changes and innovations.

Google and their Apps

Google has really redefined how we think about the web, especially for developers as they have pushed HTML 5 forward and Javascript to new levels of performance. While I do think Google will be visited by the Department of Justice in the next year or two, I still can’t help but love every successful solution they have created. Their office suite is decent, but its killer feature, of course, is the ability to collaborate in real-time, and it’s extremely useful. Google Voice has changed how I receive voice mail and text messages, the chat history in Gmail chat has come in handy more than once, and I have been using Google Reader to easily read through hundreds of blogs. It’s undeniable that Google will remain a leader in the browser ecosystem.

Cloud Computing and Synchronization

It’s great to be able to post my photos to Facebook and share them with anyone in the world, or upload a document to Google Docs and edit it with another person. Keeping a local copy of your data is not only smart, but is something I think will be a standard practice even if others say you’ll just store everything in the cloud. I believe that synchronization is key ingredient and differentiates from the cloud computing of the past – namely thin-clients and dumb-terminals – by utilizing computers as smart-clients. Applications have started to utilize these mechanisms to bring offline capabilities. Solutions like DropBox or Microsoft’s Live Mesh are bringing synchronized storage solutions to the world. With these solutions you now have access from any connected computer to applications and data, but also high performance computing from your synchronized machines.

Javascript and its Frameworks

Coming from an academic background, I found Javascript to be a little under-powered when I first started developing websites, but now realize that it’s mostly the DOM that’s the problem. Even five years ago it was still just a scripting language. However, it has matured and grown up into a very powerful language that is breaking out from its dynamic HTML past. Incredible frameworks have been written – jQuery being my go-to tool of choice – that abstract away browser differences and make working with the DOM mostly tolerable. After Google came along with V8 in Chrome, the other browsers followed to make Javascript fast enough to emulate Flash. Even server developers are testing out Javascript end-to-end to allow writing functions that work on both the client and the server. Overall, I’m surprised how much I enjoy the language and it only gets better each day I use it. There is still a long road ahead for HTML, CSS, and Javascript to catch up to the performance that Flash or Silverlight can bring, but it’s catching up quickly with Canvas, <video>, local storage, and even 3D APIs that can be accessed using Javascript. It’s time to embrace the fact that Javascript is here to stay and one must either get on board or watch as the train leaves the station.

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#5 Window Dressing

Ironically, one of the features I love about owning a Mac is that you can also run Windows at the same time using virtualization. I wish the opposite were true, but alas Apple holds the keys to Zion close to its chest. Just having the option to run Windows makes the purchase of an Apple machine much easier, as I know that the same machine can be used for anything I would need OSX, Unix, or Windows for.

#4 Quality

Most people regard Apple as the ultimate example of product design and quality. I have to agree – the products feel like quality and look like something you’d want to show others. Apple really is a status symbol amongst the younger generations. They also put User Experience first before anything else, and this is why they have captured the hearts of consumers. The quality that their products have helps to retain value and offers their consumers products that resell at close to the original new price, which actually eliminates the effective “tax” you pay as a premium over other products.

#3 Unix

After OSX came out I began to look seriously at the Mac platform, but didn’t really take it seriously until the Intel transition. After experimenting with many Linux distributions I have decided that while Debian (and the Ubuntu shell) is still my favorite, I really enjoy having a beautiful modern user experience that OSX gives me while having the ability to access a full featured Unix system. I can finally use git natively with ease along with all the powerfully simple Unix commands for editing, searching, and much more. It really is close to an ideal setup with form and function.

#2 GarageBand and iLife

Recording music from a keyboard isn’t too difficult, but GarageBand makes the process simply enjoyable. I am finally able to record and edit without hassle. There’s a lot more that you can do with other instruments, voice, and audio loops, but I just appreciate that it came pre-installed and does what I need. I’m also using iPhoto a little bit (still deciding between Google’s Picasa) and when I take video I use iMovie because it feels almost like the other professional software applications but without the complexity and cost.

#1 iPhone Development

The main reason I took the plunge and purchased an Intel MacMini was for my interest in getting started developing for the iPhone, which I proceeded to immediately take apart and upgrade to 4GB RAM (which I highly recommend). Developing with XCode on the Mac is not my first choice, but it’s the only option. I probably wouldn’t have started using OSX if not for the iPhone, but it’s been mostly a good experience (after modifying many of the keyboard shortcuts). With the new virtualization tools and boot camp, I think my next computer purchase will be a Mac so that I can enjoy all three major systems on one machine without rebooting.

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#5 Custom Build

Not long after learning what a computer was I found out how to take them apart, upgrade the memory and processor, and ultimately build an entire PC from scratch. It’s one of the great aspects of the PC market, as opposed to Apple, is being able to choose from a wide range of components and parts, which also means lower prices due to competition. There was fun in figuring out how powerful a computer my money could buy. It seems that this era of hacking together a machine is slowly coming to an end as the computers of today are becoming more specialized and built in smaller form factors.

#4 Inexpensive

Compared to an Apple computer of the same exact hardware usually the PC can be bought for close to half the price. It’s difficult for me to pay the Apple Tax, as many call it, when I’m a power user in the Windows world. This is definitely one of the reasons that I’ve continued to build and own a PC over a Mac. Some argue the quality of the Mac’s parts are better, and in some cases it’s true, however you also can’t get a top of the line component for the Mac since you have to go with the limited options Apple gives you.

#3 Gaming

Most computer games on the market are geared for PC, and more specifically, Windows and DirectX. This is a fact and any self-respected gamer will confirm this. I can still remember fiddling with the autoexec.bat file to get the Sound Blaster audio card working for the X-Wing Star Wars game. I remember getting Doom from Software Etc and being amazed by the graphics, leading me to reading 3D Game Programming books and attempting to make a video game. Thus gaming is a big reason why many including myself own a PC.

#2 Choose Your Own Programs

Once Windows became dominant in the marketplace, the application developers followed closely behind, eventually developing millions of programs – many of which were not very good and similar in function. This gave users a lot of choice, which we now know can lead to a lot of decent, but not great, products. Compared to the Mac where I can hardly find a program

#1 QBasic

In 4th grade I learned how to program a little turtle with a language called Logo, which sparked my interest in what I later learned was called programming. At the time we were just trying to make cool art.  A year later I started learning QBasic, reading the help documents to learn the language which Windows was founded from, and have been a programmer ever since. After QBasic I fell in love with Visual Basic/C++/Interdev and finally, Visual Studio 2005-2010. I’ve always wanted to know how everything works, and this pushed me into learning to love telling a computer exactly what I wanted it to do.

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2008 Overall Goals (ie: Resolutions):

• Determine my career focus Just started my new full-time position as a Web Developer
  
• Ski 30+ days Jan-May Got in all my skiing needs during the season!!
• Reduce Balance on Credit Cards to zero by June now probably Nov
• Lose weight to achieve goal weight of 185 lbs (~30lbs to go – Christmas did not help)
  • 20lbs to go – going home where lots of home cooked meals are provided does not help
    
• Attend a Video Games Live concert. I still need to document this awesome experience.
• Continue keeping Inbox @ zero. No more than 10 emails ever in the inbox last six months ;-D
• Get rid of anything I don’t need (give to goodwill or auction off on ebay) In time for the move in 2 weeks
• Vox once a week or 50 times (these include only substantive posts with real content)
  • Not sure exactly how many I’ve completed (approx 19), but definitely behind schedule.
    
• Complete first professional version of tranbonium.us, and my personal site stevetranby.com
• Finally for once and for all determine and organize my online identities (merge and split where necessary)
• Enjoy each and every day! Enjoying it for sure! Still a whole 5+ months to go though.

2008 Development Goals: I didn’t really do well here, I guess I had too much fun outside enjoying the weather that Colorado has to offer.  I really should Vox about some of that stuff, eh?  Plus with the new job and a few trips I didn’t take the time to research anything in particular.  I hope that work actually lets me get back on schedule.

It’s all just calories
There is a basic fact of life that we burn so many calories, kilo-calories (kcals or Calories) to be precise, in a day. Also, every 3500 kcals in deficit or excess is a pound lost or gained, respectively. This allows me to calculate my Calories my body burns by just living. I used The Daily Plate online tool to calculate that at my current body weight of 215, and being lightly active throughout the day, my body burns about 2650 Calories a day. So without getting to technical, I need to get around 1700 net calories to lose 2 pounds each week, this accounts for burned Calories from exercise as well).

Now focus and perseverance comes into play, once the “diet” starts. 1700 Calories worth of food is not very much, especially if eating unhealthy food. So focus is needed in order to not eat too much during the day, and perseverance is needed to not give up if you do have one day where you consume too many Calories.

Here are some tips I have come up with to help me remember, and maybe help someone else out there!

My 5 Tips (for weight loss)

1. QualityH2O – Drink water, and lots of it, well don’t go overboard. Your body can get confused between hunger and thirst, so you might as well make it much easier for you to know when you’re actually hungry. Weigh yourself at the same time with as close to the same circumstances as possible. Water weight definitely affects how much you weight, so the best time to weigh would be in the morning as it’s probably the most consistent in terms of amount of water in your system.
2. OverUnder – Over estimate the amount you eat, and underestimate your exercise. I find that by putting 2 servings down instead of 1.75 or even 1.5 I am better off when I eat the small handful of peanuts or a couple chips that I don’t count or forget about. Same goes with exercise, forget the bike ride to the gym, or the walking or stair climbing done while out shopping. This tip is to help you lose slightly faster.
3. LessButMore – Instead of doing 45+ minutes of exercise 3 times a week, try doing 30 minutes or less daily. I find that I can burn about 400 kcals in about 30 min, depending on your weight and type of exercise your numbers will differ. That 400 cals will help me to burn almost an extra pound a week, or allow me that weekend dessert.
4. KeepFocus -  Have reminders of your goal weight, motivational quotes, photos, or any other thing that will help  you stay focused. It might even help to put something on the refrigerator. It also helps to have a partner, for motivation, and to help keep you accountable. You might notice differences in the first few weeks, but it will take at least a month before any significant measurements will change.
5. Clog – Keep a daily calorie blog. Use whatever works for you, I prefer online tools. I really enjoy using The Daily Plate (TDP) as it has a rich database of foods and exercises. It allows you to track calories, body measurements, weight, and more. YOU MUST keep track of your progress so you know when you are succeeding, faultering. It will also serve as a device to keep you motivated to stay at your new weight, as you know how much work you did to get there.

I hope this helps; I’m only 5 days into my journey, and already I’m feeling better and more confident that the weight will come off and stay off. I’m already at 212 pounds. Remember that there is water-based fluctuations of +- 2.5 pounds (on average), and also muscle weighs more than fat, so don’t be alarmed if you gain a few pounds first (due to exercise) before you start losing it.

The last thing I’ll leave is that this is a good way to slowly lose those pounds as you can only lose a couple pounds a week without changing too many habits. Just eat less, or exercise a little more. You will have days where you go way over your alloted calories, but just hang in there and rest assured if you stick to this guide and use these tips you should have a better chance at succeeding in the long run, it is all about the long-term.

2008 Overall Goals (ie: Resolutions):

• Determine my career focus
• Ski 30+ days Jan-May
• Reduce Balance on Credit Cards to zero by June (Loan payments kick in then!)
• Lose weight to achieve goal weight of 185 lbs (~30lbs to go – Christmas did not help)
• Attend a Video Games Live concert.
• Continue keeping Inbox @ zero.
• Get rid of anything I don’t need (give to goodwill or auction off on ebay)
• Vox once a week or 50 times (these include only substantive posts with real content)
• Complete first professional version of tranbonium.us, and my personal site stevetranby.com
• Finally for once and for all determine and organize my online identities (merge and split where necessary)
• Enjoy each and every day!

2008 Development Goals:

• 1st Iteration of my development operating system. Create a VMWare image to share.
• Finish OmniStatus for the sake of finishing it, then create a version in flash and silverlight for testing.
• Develop or further development of 5 open source project of my own
• Get involved with an open source project like Drupal or CakePHP, etc.
• Develop a web service based business

I’ll keep you posted on how I’m doing with these goals through limited Vox posts, twittering, and info on my actual websites.

What are you all going to do for this upcoming year of 2008?

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!

• Keep 2 rolls near the toilet, 1 in the dispenser and 1 right next to the toilet somewhere not directly on the floor (you don’t want it to get wet – keep in a plastic bag if necessary).
• Keep a small set of rolls (e.g: a 6-roll bag) under the sink, or somewhere in the bathroom out of sight if possible.
• Keep a larger set of rolls (e.g: 6×6-roll bags) in a storage closet or under the stairs.
• Any time any of the stores runs out you replace it from the next large store.

Geek Explanation:
This is similar to how DNS works, your local system has a hosts file or local dns cache. This file allows your computer to know the IP address of a domain name that you have recently looked up. If it can’t find the data in this local cache, your computer asks your ISP for the information. If the ISP doesn’t have the info you need then your computer will ask the internet (ie: the root domain servers) and get the information if it exists.  Your computer then copies this information into it’s local store for later use.  Of course each level of cache can “time out”, like running out of TP rolls, in which case it must go to the next large store of domain name entries.

Layman Explanation:
Similar to having a spare tire in your car. If you get a flat somewhere you definitely don’t want to resort to calling a tow truck (or yelling to your roomate to get you another roll of TP). This is why the spare tire was invented, or rather why it exists in the first place. After you use the spare you immediately go and get a replacement tire. Then your spare becomes the backup again.

It just makes sense doesn’t it? Always replace your backup, not the original!

I also realized that this works with so many products, you should start using this philosophy everywhere! I use it mostly for products I can buy in bulk.  I go to Sam’s Club once in a while and purchase paper items, and other handy things to well have on hand (pardon the semi-pun). Or shampoo and soap, when you run out you should have a new bottle ready to replace the one that ran out. Then go to the store immediately, or within the week to replace the backup or spare bottle.

~Have a great day!

Shopped Til We Dropped

The first day we shopped for most of it rising early at 9:00 to get started, and I read Harry Potter #3 when I could instead of shopping, or took care of the little nephew carting him around in the stroller and trying to keep him entertained.  One of the interesting stores we went to at the end of the spree, IKEA, it is a crazy huge store laid out with Swedish efficiency guiding you along a single one-way path through the displays of the items laid out as they’d be in your home, then to the next level where there were all the smaller items you might buy (I bought a coupld CD boxes that seemed light but strong.) and finally to the last level where you get the heavy items like desks or whatever and they give you different carts for each of these levels.

Mega Mall Entertainment

After this great adventure, we went to none other than America’s largest mall (or used to be, not sure) we like to call the Mega Mall, but its scientific name is The Mall of America. It’s a huge 4 story mall with an indoor amusement park inside the center. We basically just ate there for supper, and took the little guy on some rides.  He had a blast, smiles across the board and giggles to each successive trip around the schools bus that takes you around like a ferris wheel but much faster.

The Lucky Night

After we ended the excitement of the mall my brother and I went to the Cantabury race track. It was dollar night so we entered, and each got a hotdog and soda for just over $5, what a great deal.  My mom had given us some money, and more than we needed, so we gladly used it to bet on each of the races.  We watched 5 races and my brother had success on all but the first race betting on the winning horse and banking a winnings of around 40 bucks!  I wasn’t doing so hot, I missed on the first two races, and then won a small amount on a high odds horse getting 2nd, missed again on the fourth race, but the last and final race for our night there I bet an exacta box on horses 1 and 6, which meant that I need both of those horses to come in 1st and 2nd, in either order, and sure enough after a photo-finish replay by the judges, horse 1a (there were two horses “1″ and “1a” for the price of one) came in second to horse 6. I banked a solid $33 on that bet of $4, not bad eh!

The Water Park of America

The next day brought with it a little bit of extra sleep, then a trip down to some lake in MN which had a bike and running path around it.  My brother and I set off to run the loop, about 2 miles, while my mom and sister took the nephew to get some food. After we finished our little workout we ventured over to the Waterpark of America where we got to have a blast …

The unluckiest night of my life (really) !

After having so much fun shopping, going on rides, winning money, and splashing down waterslides I was treated with something nobody would ever dream to ask for. I’m talking of course about full projectile vomiting and diareha for 5 to 6 hours during the night while trying to get some sleep.  If that were not enough the hotel we were staying in decided to loose power twice, both at times of terrible inconvenience.

Finally we drove back up to the lakes where I could relax, get some good rest, and get some of my strength back ;P