How-to-Twitter and How-to-Make-a-Scene

I need a How-to-Make-a-Scene video and here are two videos to inspire me:




How Do You Use Twitter? from biz stone on Vimeo.

Caribbean Pirate by George Patience

Caribbean Pirate by George Patience

George Patience was a naive painter working out his shed in The Ferry, Little Exuma, Bahamas. I was a visitor in The Ferry making a documentary movie on boat builder and natural marine scientist Clarence Fitzgerald. I boarded on the couch of George and Gloria's tiny bungalow for 6 months in 1969. George painted using acrylic colors.



Even in those days, The Ferry had a very narrow bridge that serviced this tiny community at the Northwest end of Little Exuma island. Zoom into the map and notice the few dwellings at the cut between the islands, about 1/3rd of the way from Forbes Hill, Great Exuma to William's Town, Little Exuma.

Walter Lawson Brigham, R.I.P.

Walter Lawson Brigham work jeep

Walter was my friend. Walter was a master craftsman, boat builder and pillar in the community of Shelter Island NY. I enjoyed sailboat racing against Walter and his son Lawson at the Shelter Island Yacht Club for many years before we worked together. In 1972, Walter was my construction partner on the first house that he ever built and the first house I ever built at 10 Chequit Avenue. This house I designed for my father, Henry Nelson Bull and his wife, Janet Scellen. There are many stories I could tell you about Walter. I recommend you ask the locals as they can tell you even better ones.

Here is a rule that Walter taught me, "Measure twice and cut once." Whenever I admire the lines of boat, Walter will be with me.

Obit: The Suffolk Times

Useful LINUX Links

Here's a few helping me now become a better LINUX administrator. In high school I used to punch IBM cards to get things going. They were my punch cards held together with a rubber band, now that's security. Where are those punch cards?

Administering your Linux system at http://alien.slackbook.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=linux:admin

An A-Z Index of the Bash command line for Linux at http://www.ss64.com/bash/

Useful introduction to Linux Command at http://linuxcommand.org/index.php

Magpie RSS - PHP RSS Parser

I like the Magpie RSS - PHP RSS Parser, a "XML-based RSS parser in PHP. Supports most RSS versions including Userland RSS and RSS 1.0. Supports modules and namespaces magpierss.sourceforge.net/"

I used it to parse the Hollywood-USA.mobi Showbiz News page at http://hollywood-usa.mobi/news.php

The news source is the movie industry standard The Hollywood Reporter RSS news feed.

However, note when you look at the source file of the feed itself at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thr/news that the RSS feed authors added html tags and other conten of no interest to me. So I used 'explode' in this fragment of PHP code below to trim the string:
require_once('magpie/rss_fetch.inc');
//
$url = 'http://feeds.feedburner.com/thr/news/';
$rss = fetch_rss( $url );
//
foreach ($rss->items as $item) {
$title = $item['title'];
$description = $item['description'];
$pieces = explode("<", $description);
print "$title ".$pieces[0]."";

In earlier attempts I was working with 'lastRSS 0.9.1' "Simple yet powerfull [sic] PHP class to parse RSS files. by Vojtech Semecky, webmaster @ oslab . net with Latest version, features, manual and examples: http://lastrss.oslab.net/"

Welcome to Provide Support Live Chat then gatlineducation.com

A log of a frustration that slowly works itself out. My chat to continuing education at CUNY got picked up by software support of the company providing the chat client.

Steve:
I need a computer system administration course. I am responsible for over 15 web sites on 5 servers scattered with different Internet Service Providers in the North East USA. I want to improve my casual practice to provide best quality service to my customers. Please recommend a course. Thanks, Steve
Call accepted by operator Irene. Currently in room: Irene.
Irene:
Hello Steve
Steve:
Hi
Irene:
You reached a wrong support line, sorry. We offer a live chat software for websites.
Steve:
The chat server for CUNY was being balky
Steve:
and kept giving me an error message ' Please fill all required fields ' when I had filled out all required * fields
Steve:
Irene, are you still there
Irene:
Sorry, which company are you trying to reach? We are a software development company, we offer a live chat software for websites, but we are not related to our customers who many be using the software on their websites
Steve:
http://www.gatlineducation.com/citytech.cuny/industrial.htm is using your software and doing a poor job of it. Why do you think that is????
Irene:
Sorry, we can't help. Please try contacting that company directly by e-mail or by phone, we are not related to them. We offer the live chat software software and we can only support our customers in questions related to our service.
Steve:
I am going to recommend that CUNY (City University of New York) discontinue doing business with your company because the software you have delivered them is flawed and I was seeking tech support from a live operator and although you are there you are unable to make the stretch to help me.
Irene:
Could you please provide some more details about the problem you have with our software?
Steve:
I know you are not related to CUNY but your company logo and link were on the bottom of the form on the page URL I just sent you. I presume there are no live operators at CUNY now because the school is on winter break. However, that is not the message that I receive from their site. I just get a confusing loop that resulted in you getting this first message that was intended for CUNY.
Irene:
I have just made a test call to them, everything is working fine. Please, make sure that you fill all the required fields: department, name, last name, question, e-mail and contry
Irene:
*country
Steve:
did all that...should I send you a screen grab of the properly filled out form
Irene:
Yes, you can use the "Send file" button below the header of your messenger to send the file directly in chat
Steve has sent a file. Click cuny-live-chat-NG-20090112.tiff (323 KB) to receive the file.
Irene:
This form is not related to our live chat. This is their form on the page, that gives you the "Please fill all required fields". Please, contact them directly
Steve:
If you notice on the bottom of the image that I have two button choices 'Register now' and 'Admissions chat' and the problem occurred when I choose Admissions chat. Therefore your live chat is associated with the form.
Steve:
Are you saying there is no connection....
Irene:
The button is just below the form, it is not related to it. I guess that the "Register" button is related to it, since it says "- Registration -" above. If you press the button, you will see the form that is related to our chat. If you fill the fields in the appeared messenger, everything should work fine
Steve:
I did. I filled out all the fields correctly. I think there is some cross talk between forms and submit and poor user interaction design. If try this again with them I feel certain that I shall loose my communication link to you as the session IDs and cookies are now intertwined...I imagine.
Irene:
Just try to press the button without filling the registration fields. To connect with their representative through our chat you will need just to fill the fields in our chat form, after you press the chat button
Steve:
Okay, I'll try it again and if we get disconnected...thank you. - s
Irene:
The messenger will open in a separate browser window, so the connection won't be lost. Please, let me know if the problem persists
Steve:
Okay here goes
Steve:
No good....I'm sending you another screen grab.
Steve has sent a file. Click cuny-live-chat-NG-20090112.2.tiff (178 KB) to receive the file.
Irene:
You need to select the department, it is also marked with a star
Steve:
You mean I need to select the Admissions Department, when there is only one department on the screen. Hmmmmmm.... I'll try that
Irene:
Yes, this is how it is specified in their messenger
Steve:
If there is only one department then your software should pre-select the button in my humble opinion
Irene:
Thank you for your call. Have a nice evening!
Irene has left the conversation. Currently in room: Steve.
.....
and finally the chat with "Our Help Desk" at http://www.gatlineducation.com
Steve:
I need a computer system administration course. I am responsible for over 15 web sites on 5 servers scattered with different Internet Service Providers in the North East USA. I want to improve my casual practice to provide best quality service to my customers. Please recommend a course. Thanks, Steve
...
Welcome Steve! Please wait for our admissions counselor to answer your call.
Call accepted by operator Philyssa. Currently in room: Philyssa, Steve.
Philyssa:
Hello!
Steve:
did you understand my message to start this chat
Philyssa:
If you click on this link you will see all of our course offerings in the IT field. http://www.gatlineducation.com/inttechdes.htm
Philyssa:
Under each course name you will see a brief description. If you see what you think will apply to you then just click on the courses name and it will send you to that courses website, where you can view all of the details that are available for that course.
Steve:
I already read the listing and there are several interesting courses but none that specifically address my needs to become a better system administrator.
Philyssa:
One moment...
Philyssa:
Microsoft Certified System Administrator Plus 2003 (MCSA+)
Steve:
CompTIA™ Linux+/LPI Level One Certification Training - GES 902 -- 300 hours is close but aimed at beginners. I am mostly self taught and perhaps beyond the beginner stage and I don't see a value to become a CompTIA Linux+ certified
Steve:
Hmmm...I would prefer Linux as I am running various brands of Linux is running on each of the servers.
Philyssa:
Ok, so our Linux course is what you're interested in today?
Steve:
How much is the cost of CompTIA™ Linux+/LPI Level One Certification Training - GES 902 course? And can I save money by getting it without the certification?
Philyssa:
May I have your zip code, please?
Steve:
10002
Steve:
Instructor Bio: Terry Ladouceur is a veteran of the Online Instructional Team at Academy Online.
Philyssa:
Borough of Manhattan Community College is our partner school that would offer this course online to you and issue the certificate of completion to you in the mail after you successfully complete this course with a grade of 70% or higher. Here is the link that you would need to click on to register online for this course, http://www.gatlineducation.com/bmcc/design.htm The cost of this course is $2195.00.
Steve:
Is it possible to telephone or email the instructor in advance
Philyssa:
I can forward your contact information to one of our admissions counselors and they can contact you back, but I cannot give the course instructors contact infomation out to a non registered student.
Steve:
Please forward the information. I just took the demo quiz and scored 80% which is a pass.
Steve:
Is there a book associated with the course?
Philyssa:
Good for you, maybe after you take this course you'll score a 100!
Steve:
How can I measure the value of the certificate? For example where are job postings that mention that they need this certificate. I need to rationalize this expense to my family, my partners.
Philyssa:
The materials included with this course are:
Linux Course book
Access to an online IT Library
Steve:
The Linux Course book is mailed to me?
Philyssa:
All materials are included. The cost of materials will be covered by your tuition. GES will ship all materials via UPS ground service upon registration.
Steve:
Okay on the course materials.
Philyssa:
The certificate of completion that you will receive for completing this course is issued from our accredited partner college. It does not state that the course was an online course.
Steve:
Understood....do you a link for me that shows job openings that request this certification in order to qualify to apply?
Steve:
I'm okay with online learning although I've never tried it.
Philyssa:
No, I do not have a link like that, but you can go to careerbuilder.com and check out what they have on their site about this career field.
Steve:
Okay. Thank you for your time this evening. - Steve
Philyssa:
You're very welcome! Thank you for using our live chat feature!

How to code in WRT for Nokia E71 Location of device

I am writing this for myself to keep track of the steps I took to learn "How to code in WRT for Nokia E71" and the outside reader may discover something useful too.

Task: Within WRT application discover the location of the Nokia E71 device (at NYC:Cutlass studio for example) and send that information as GET request to http://touchtonetours.com/hollywood-usa/delta.php?lat=40.716500&lon=-73.989000 to display the page you see on the cell phone micro-browser.

Story:

1. The AccuWidget example is useful to see how you can local weather information via an RSS feed from line 91 of accuwidget.js [var url = "http://rss.accuweather.com/rss/liveweather_rss.asp?metric=1&locCode=" + locationCode;] however the device user must supply the location code from either a menu or special knowledge. I found the interface clunky but that is often expected with example scripts.

2. Check out http://code.google.com/p/prototypewrt/ for some very useful and good looking examples that help me understand the javascript better. In particular, load accordionDemo.wgz [http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz] on your Nokia E71 or whatever device and see an elegant tab solution. Sadly, no device lat/lon help here.
(Forum.Nokia.2008 Code Example Challenge = Web Runtime (WRT): Dou Yongwang (Dougcn) from China is awarded the prize for a series of well-documented examples on how to use the Prototype JavaScript library to create nice widgets, using, e.g. accordion.)

Mac OSX Trick 1.1: Download http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz onto your desktop. Bluetooth > Send file... to your Nokia E71.

Mac OSX Trick 1.2: By right mouse click duplicate the file http://prototypewrt.googlecode.com/files/accordionDemo.wgz that you have just downloaded. Now the file reads 'accordionDemo.wgz copy' so double click the file. The file un-zips and there is a folder with all the components of the WRT (.wgz). Open the folder and launch index.html and see the same micro-browser functionality on your Mac OSX browser. Investigate the code.

3. If I wanted to solve my task by J2ME + Google use link J2ME Google Maps API for useful future exploration. Java ME Location API without Google map.

4. Eclipse + WRT plugin, someday I'll be friends with Eclipse.

5. Arghhh, read entry #7, "...you cannot use location and other system functions through WRT in S60 3rd Edition devices." from Accessing GPS location using WRT - Developer Discussion Boards -- I will solve this tonight!!! Time for Plan B!

6. Wait CS001161 - Obtaining location information WRT on S60 5th Edition may have the beginnings to a solution.

7. Okay, time to bring closure to this. Useful description of Web Developer's Library 1.3 > Guide to Web Developer's Library > Library contents to return to later. Good Location Acquisition API: API description.

8. Check out example Location Service API example from library.forum.nokia.com Web Developer's Library 1.3 > Web Runtime API reference > JavaScript Service API reference > JavaScript Location Service API. I built the WRT and it did not produce location results on my Nokia E71. My conclusion: this is reference document and not a practical example for January 9, 2009.

9. My solution to finish this submission to NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge Americas due today is http://touchtonetours.com/hollywood-usa/delta.php that looks nice on the Nokia E71.

delta.php

References:
NAVTEQ Global Challenge
forum.NOKIA.com
Map24

Plan B:
The user writes his/her address into my E71 micro browser form. By some PHP script my server looks up some service like geocoder.us: a free US address geocoder (find the latitude & longitude of any US address - for free ... Free lookups are throttled by your IP address to one request every 15 seconds.) that returns the address as latitude and longitude. I drag take the lat/lon through more PHP and finish the task. I have used a variation of Plan B in 2006 for LBS game Hot-n-Cold, semi-finalist in NAVTEQ Challenge.

AIG Blunder and letter to Secretary Paulson

Dear Secretary Paulson,

Although this event was probably calendared in advance and the venue required a substantial deposit, the AIG executives who headed out on a St. Regis retreat acted irresponsibly.

Since AIG is so confused about their priorities, I believe your office should publish the proceedings of the retreat as well as publicly list the attendees. I recommend your office use the AIG blunder as an example to them and other bail out companies of misbehavior that can not be condoned.

I do not want a purge and I do not want socialism. Instead give the struggling mismanaged business leaders clear guidelines on the proper business ethics you expect. I look forward to the future of responsible free enterprise.

[1. My note on October 10, 2008 to Secretary Paulson was prompted by http://act.truemajorityaction.org/]

[2. Since I imagine Secretary Paulson or his aides having little time to read my electronic missives I share this with the reader here;-]

Storm Mapping

Wunderground.com provides some useful weather maps. Note the approach of the Tornado Vortex Signature of the storm that is overhead now in Greenport NY. The URL that also includes the notation of lightning strikes is http://www.wunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?zoommode=zoom&num=6&delay=15&scale=0.750&noclutter=0&ID=OKX&type=N0R&lat=41.07141495&lon=-72.35475159&label=Shelter%20Island%20Heights,%20NY&showstorms=10&map.x=366.5&map.y=230¢erx=402¢ery=226&lightning=1&smooth0&showlabels=1&rainsnow=0

= Tornado Vortex Signature : = Hail


This was an animated .gif so try the URL for the full effect.

SMS Enablers

A possible 5,000 text messages in a one hour event need to be projected onto the screen for audience to enjoy. How am I going to make that happen? Below are notes to myself and impressions of several services that I discovered. These are MY thoughts and NOT a complete investigation so any mistakes and misrepresentations are my misunderstanding. Go to the sites yourself, contact the contacts and do your own assessment.

TextMarks.com is my top candidate. Check out what you do with PHP on this developer page
http://www.textmarks.com/dev/docs/apiclient/php/?ref=devsb
Try an SMS to short code 41411 followed by a two letter state code like "az" for Arizona. Here is the useful code that creates the response you will see on your cellphone.
http://www.textmarks.com/dev/docs/etc/stateinfo/
TextMarks has an impressive TextMark Management Panel with options that range from Usage Stats, Configuration (of course), Developer Extension (nice, I'm still a llittle confused howtake best advantage here) to Share/Promote (includes a GET TSHIRT for wearable promotion--bravo).

Widgetbox guided me to TextMarks via useful page http://www.widgetbox.com/tag/sms so check here for lots-o-widgets-sms.

winksite got into this mix by colleague recommendation. They are useful to create a quickie cellphone web page. And the audience could post to the screen through a cellphone page if those 16 year olds all enabled Internet access on their mobile devices--NOT. See http://winksite.com/site/site_profile.cfm?susid=24779 to see how my colleague shrunk Cellphonia aka Cellphonia.org (I need to get around to re-directing the URL or redoing the home page et cetera).
Regarding SMS, winksite is not doing it now.

Mozes.com was an early SMS front runner candidate for me. But they never responded to my email or phone inquiries. I don't think anyone is there there because their code is not triggering. See http://wiki.mozes.com/developer/index.php/Gallery to understand the potential that intrigued.

msgme.com is another top candidate. It was recommended by a colleague associated with WHERE.com where [pun] I have GPS cellphone applications to finish ;-|. Message Me aka msgme by Waterfall Mobile seems to be carefully pursuing a SMS marketing platform model that precludes the customization that I require. However, the msgme focus and alliance with the carriers may so reassure my clients that they are willing to overlook the user experience issues, to be determined.

That's all for now. I've got ready for the proof-of-concept demo.

Cheers, ;-)s

Winky Dink

Winky Dink rediscovered. I'm cogitating a Help Winky cellphone game. Stay tuned.

Proper closure

I often struggle to find the proper closure for email or snail mail letters. So here is a quickly researched list for my future reference.

Always,
Best,
Best wishes,
Cheers,
Fondest love, (Princess Diana?)
Hugs,
Love,
Mahalo, (Hawaiian for thank you)
Regards,
Regretfully yours,
Sadly,
Sincerely yours,
Thank you,
Thanks,
Warm regards,
With every good wish,
With respect,
With kindest regards,
Yours faithfully,
Yours in haste,
Yours truly,

and in my search I discovered freesampleletters.info that provides useful free sample letters for a variety of correspondence.

Domains - Reality check 2008 June 04

Domains(24) in various states of deployment:

AZONES.COM
BLACKGLASSESLIKECLARKKENT.COM
CELLPHONIA.ORG
CTLSS.COM
FOOKIE.MOBI
HOLLYWOOD-USA.MOBI
HOT-N-COLD.MOBI
HOT-N-COLD.NET
MIGRARE.ORG
PET-PALS.COM
PETPALS.MOBI
PET-PALS.MOBI
RATRACEUSA.COM
REPORTSONTHEGO.MOBI
SALESHUNT.MOBI
SALESHUNT.NET
SALESPITCH.MOBI
TERESESVOBODA.COM
TOUCHTONETOUR.COM
TOUCHTONETOURS.COM
VUSEUM.MOBI
VUSEUM.ORG
VUSEUM.NET
WETOPERA.ORG

Domains(8) abandoned:

BULLANDSONS.NET
CUTLASS.TV
DIGITALGEPPETTO.COM
GOGREENPORT.COM
FONEOUT.COM
PHONETAGGING.COM
SMARTSTUFFANDGOODIDEAS.COM
TOUCHTONEREALTY.COM

SMS + Fookie

Following up on a colleague's suggestion, I may want to marry Fookie with an established SMS service. Mozes is the first one I begin to explore in my own meandering way.

Mozes SMS Service Raises $5m
Feb 21, 2007 ... SMS call-and-response service Mozes will announce in the morning that the company has raised $5 million in series A venture funding from ...
www.techcrunch.com/2007/02/21/mozes-sms-service-raises-5m/ - 72k

How do I create a keyword?
Go to our marketing site at campaigns.mozes.com and create a new account. When you complete registration, you'll see the option to "Get a Keyword". Click on that button to get your own Mozes keyword.

So I created "fookie" as a keyword and now I have my own new page to administer:
www.mozes.com/fookie

And then I created a personal identity to check on my campaign. Will this become a popular site for lucky chat? Stay tuned fortunate reader......

Other SMS channels to explore:
sms.ac
waterfall mobile
et cetera

Today's Featured Widget from Clearspring.com

I never heard of Clearspring before reading, "I would create a flash widget (i.e. using Wijering's or Flow Player's open source flash players) and encapsulate it with Yahoo's, Microsofts, Apple's or Adobe's (AIR) widget platforms. You can do a lot of this with Clearspring.com's APIs." from a posting to Meetup.com [newtech-1] list. The UI is a little busy for my taste, however an occasional Dilbert read boosts my spirits.

Odin's one good eye

The cellphone camera is Odin’s one good eye. The cellphone is a magical device connected to the Internet, a technology that is often portrayed as a cloud. Odin’s wife spins the cloud.

---

The 7th century Tängelgarda stone shows Odin leading a troop of warriors all bearing rings. Valknut symbols are drawn beneath his horse, which is depicted with four legs.

Inspiration source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tangelgarda_Odin.jpg



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FriggSpinning.jpg

Outbound Asterisk calls

For sometime I've been noodling with Asterisk and I now have three boxes chugging away in the iCloud. But I never enabled outbound calling. I shall use this post to chart my progress:

2008 April 14 - The great customer service from connect.voicepulse.com reminds me that I need to install a SIP softphone on my Debian Linux box.
- X-Lite from CounterPath and VoIPer (I can't find their URL) are two SIP softphone candidates.
- After I add the softphone, I will add an extension in my Asterisk dialplan to the SIP softphone that inturn will make the outbound call.

[to-be-continued]

Hosting Notions 2nd Qtr 2008

Comparing email & voip/Asterisk & web hosting providers

- I like Lylix.net [voip/Asterisk]
- Check out an outfit in LIC called SpecialAI [voip/Asterisk + web]
- I currently host some with Carpathia that provides scalable video streaming
- I'm ready to look beyond dreamhost
- The only host i've really been happy with is RimuHosting
- I'm very fond of Laughing Squid
- http://reviews.cnet.com/web-hosting/
- rackspace "fanatical support" is pretty comprehensive.
- I've had great luck with www.mailstreet.com for outsourced exchange/outlook, etc.
- Exchange means intermedia.net i am hosting with them more than a year and zero downtime and good support.

Bull at ITP visits Shawn's class

Who is Steve Bull?

WHERE.com and Game Park

Peak under Game Park hood + my coding method:
/jin/index.php
mapID=9 test.gamestatus.php
comments in jin

- Nokia N95 WHERE Jad/Jar is available in the Nokia 'Download' catalog
- WHERE contest
-- Begins on March 11th, Deadline for submissions is April 28th
-- Top prize is $5,000 and a presentation to the AT&T mobile team
-- Runners up will win cash and GPS-capable mobile phones
-- All good contenders get considered for distribution in WHERE on over 50 handsets across 6 carriers

References: JSR 179 jcp.org Nokia Sun

Nokia N95 Version Info

Key in *#0000# on opening main menu of your Nokia N95 and you will discover the device firmware version details. Mine are

V 10.2.006
22-08-07
RM-160
Nokia N95 (19.01)

I'm not sure AGPS is crunching number within and I want to optimize the N95 GPS capabilities in el Canyons de Nueva York. I imagine any tuning will help. Naive; maybe. So I'll be taking this unit to my local

Nokia Flagship Store
5 East 57th Street
New York NY
(212) 758-1980

to get the firmware upgrade gratis. That is, if the unit is still under warranty. Stay tuned.