MyMiniCity.com
Posted by matt
Lo
and behold, a site that (gasp) doesn't require each user to sign up and authenticate
in order to use the site. Granted, the site doesn't do much, and has no real reason
to require security, but it's just plain nice to be able to get right into the guts
of a site without having to type a password, click "remember me," or even click
the "Log In" button since browsers remember passwords these days.
When you create a city you're given a blank plot of land in the country of your
choice. Every time a new IP address hits your you.minicity.com URL, a new "resident"
is added to your city. I'm not sure what point, if any, this site has, but you might
like it. Click here
to visit the city of Finazzo.
How to buy a goat for those in need
Posted by audrey
Here's how: go to the Food for the Hungry Christmas Catalog where you can find out about the amazing
gifts you can give for people - things that will literally change their lives. For
$20 you can buy a kid a school uniform, without which he would have no opportunity
to even try for an education. For $25 you can give a family a fruit tree that will
provide food, nutrients, and a source of income to ward off hunger, disease, and
devastating poverty. $50 will build a latrine in Cambodia that will do worlds of
good in the fight against ravenous diseases caused by poor sanitation. Or how about
paying for health insurance for a family for an entire year for only $25! Or saving
a child from the preventable ravages of malaria by simply purchasing a bed net to
guard against mosquitoes - for only $20.
This is only the start. Think of it: one less jazz CD or Body Lotion gift set under
the Christmas tree this year, in exchange for providing strength, health, opportunity,
and livelihood for someone who very much needs it. Take a look and see what you
can do.
Learn a word, save a life
Posted by matt
This
site was sent to me a few days ago, by my friend Jesi with whom I studied abroad
in Mexico in 2003.
The site's basic premise is that of a dictionary matching game. You're given
a word (in English) and 4 possible answer choices. To score correctly, you
must select the answer that is a snynonym of the boldface word you're provided.
The best thing about this site is that it can help you justify all those hours wasted
at work: for every correct answer, 20 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations
to help end world hunger. It's not procrastination, it's philanthropy!
To check it out, go to FreeRice.org.
You might just discover an addiction that causes your mouse finger to become tumescent
(swollen).
Script#!
Posted by matt
For those of you with your finger on the pulse, this is
probably old news.
But this is my website, and I just found out about this, and I think it's cool.
Go ahead, send me a message. If I'm online, and if your computer-generated message
ID number looks remotely cool, I might respond.
This Windows Live Messenger window uses Script#, a sort of client-side version if
C#. To read more about it, go to Nikhil Kothari's blog.
I realize there's not a lot to this post. I voluntarily let neat code steal the
thunder from my semantic repertoire and extreme modesty.
Oh well. Happy Thanksgiving.
Oh, one more thing. Go buy a bunch of stuff from Amazon.com for super-cheap the day after Thanksgiving. Click here.
Saturday softball, Pats vs. Colts, and and why (I think) Windows Live Search is
better
Posted by matt
This weekend balanced out for me athletically.
On Saturday, I played softball with my friend David and some members of his church.
Through some cruel conspiracy of the fates, I was playing first base (I played right
field in elementary school...deep right field). I typically like to
think I'm fairly athletic, and I'm pretty sure everything would have worked out
well if the glove I was using wasn't the exact same glove I had used during all
those lazy afternoons staring at lady bugs wondering when some poor misguided 2nd-grader
would hit one far enough in my direction to become relevant. The glove was
about 5 sizes too small, and that fact, coupled with the diameter of the
softball, made for a very butterfingered firstbaseman that day.
On Sunday I watched the Pats-Colts game at my buddy Jason's house on his parents'
giant TV. I've been a closet Patriots fan since I've known Jason, because,
coincidentally, that was the last year the Rams did anything even remotely worthy
of any respect. There were a lot of bogus penalties, but the Pats pulled
it out 24-20. Maybe now the question of "Peyton or Brady?" has a little more
evidence towards an unequivocal answer.
Lastly, here's a quick little prop about the one product that, in my opinion and
experience, Google comes in second place. I love Google, and I use pretty much everything
they make available (that's free, anyway). Lately I've been doing a lot of
Photoshopping, both to actually try and master the tool, and for fun (the cool little
image you see at the top of this article was Photoshopped). Since I rarely
have the images I need on hand (and I probably speak for most here), I frequently
have to use Google Images to find something appropriate. Lately, however,
I've been using Windows Live Search (for images only), due to the typically higher
relevancy of my search keywords, and the literal avalanche of images returned.
For example, I might type "doctor" into Google, and the third (and last on page
1) row of results has a great picture of a tiller nicknamed the "Dirt Doctor."
Live Search, on the other hand, has nothing remotely goofy until the 11th row down
(and that's a robot from Dr. Who). Another great design feature I like is
how, with Google Images, each image has a minimum of 3 lines of text underneath
showing the 'alt' information, dimensions and file size, and top-level URL.
I'll check the statistics, but I think when most artists and other creative types
are looking for images, they need to find the right image first, then worry
about details such as dimension, color, etc... With Live Search, you get more
images crammed into the same real estate, which dramatically increases productivity
over the long run. The last thing I like, which is just plain good usability,
is the AJAX Microsoft uses to keep returning results. With Google, I have
to page through a bunch of results first (by clicking the page numbers at the bottom
of the screen), then, if I actually do find something
I like, I can get about the business of transforming it. With Live Search,
I just keep scrolling, and more results keep coming if I need them. Not only
do I have to click less, it keeps network traffic down (sorta).
And that's that. Tune in next time for the next pseudo-technical, pseudo-pointless
tirade that helps you waste time at work.
Back from Brazil!
Posted by matt
I think I've finally got my head screwed back on straight
after the last two weeks sitting on the beach and not really thinking about anything
in particular. The first leg of the journey started auspiciously enough, when
my carry-on was discovered to have just a few milliliters of water more than the
federally-imposed 3.4 oz volume restriction and I had to wait in line 20 more
minutes to go through security again.
The flight to São Paulo was as uneventful as could be expected, and included,
at no charge, a Brazilian woman with what were possibly the worst-behaved children
in the world. The baby even made sure I was drooling in my sleep before it
woke me up somewhere over Venezuela with its bawls. Since Jess and I were
flying different airlines down (due to different frequent-flyer plans), the plan
was to meet up at international arrivals. What a fun little airport Garulhos
is: they have not one but two international arrival gates, leading
to a delightful hour-long session in which Jess and I crisscrossed the airport looking
for the other.
Thankfully, we did fly to Recife together, and when we arrived Rachel was
there to greet us and shuttle us off to our hotel that first night. For some reason,
Rachel thinks an expensive hotel will impress the hell out of me, so that night,
Jess and I stayed and the Park Hotel, right on the beach. I hesitate to use the
word "expensive," and it certainly didn't break the bank, but when there are so
many more affordable options available it just seems like a sin to pay for a hotel.
Anyway, since we couldn't exactly switch on the spot, we decided for one night it
would be ok and we'd find something better tomorrow. Meanwhile, the high-rise,
AC-ed ocean view was a pleasing departure from crying children and the omnipotent
aroma of BO.
The next day, pursuant to a game-time decision, we jumped a bus to Porto de Galinhas,
a resort town roughly 68km south of Recife. Among Brazilians and international
connoisseurs alike, it is said to posess some of Brazil's best coastline.
I had been there a few times in 2005 and decided the time time was right for a comeback
tour.
We stayed in the Pousada Beira-Mar (Seaside Inn in English),
a charming little place with hot water, cold AC, a 50-ft commute to the Atlantic
Ocean, and a tomcat we affectionately named "Bigballs." (I guess Bob Barker
has yet to gain popularity in Brazil.) Our days there were simple: we
got up, ate the included breakfast, and went off to the beach to drink the cheap,
ice-cold beer and see what the vendors had in stock for us that day. Some
of our better acquisitions were, in no particular order, Jess' henna tattoo of a
hummingbird, queijo coalho (seared cheese on a stick covered in honey and
oregano), espetinhos (the best shish kebabs in the world), a hand painted
tile depicting a sunset, and
two skeleton-fish made out of branches that had washed up on the beach (which would
later cause Jess to be held up in U.S. Customs--apparently they were a "weapon").
During our second-to-last full day in Porto, we took a jangada (read: a
waterlogged,
barely seaworthy old plank driven by a toothless crone) out to the piscinas naturais,
or natural pools. When the tide is out, fish and various other sea life become
trapped by the abundant reefs, and pools form where people can skin- or SCUBA dive
and see fish literally inches in front of their faces. And of course, the
toothless old crones are whipping fish food at you in all directions, laughing hysterically,
so we can "get a better look" at the fish.
The nights had the same lazy mindset: most times we just walked around, feeling
the sea air on our skin and window shopping in the various artisan outlets.
One night we met a hippy named Hector who is Colombian by birth, but now spends
his days traveling the world with nothing more than a Rasta hat and a board for
displaying his craft. After telling us he believed that all humans were light,
he gave Jess a complimentary ring he created on the spot out of a coil of thin-gauge
wire, then invited us to an impromptu party with the rest of his hippy friends on
the beach.
After 4 great days in Porto, we returned to Recife, where we were planning to hang
out with Rachel, do some shopping, and attend Régia's wedding. We hit
alot of my old haunts, and I even took Jess to see my old apartment building.
The doorman still remembered me, which I thought was kind of cool considering he
was about 110 when I was there last time. We watched a soccer game
in a local bar, and made sure to scream and yell at the same time all the other
Brazilians did lest we get stabbed for inadvertently supporting the opposing team.
That Saturday was Régia's wedding. The setting was lovely, far outside the city limits and high up on a hill.
The sun had set long ago, and the secluded grounds where backlit with a variety
of greens, yellows and purples for a very rainforest-y feel. The priest spoke
slowly enough that I was actually able to understand quite a bit and map it to a
Catholic ceremony in English. Only one thing needs to be said about the reception:
PAR-TAY. Régia's dad (who ended up drunk as a skunk) was in charge of
the whole thing, and all I know is I must have drank an entire bottle of Johnnie
Walker by myself that evening. The waiters had one objective, and that was
to keep the glass of every single person in the canopy (which I secretly named the
"Wed Shed") full to the point of overflow. We started with the obligatory
champagne, then moved to red wine, and I decided "When in Rome" was a good philosophy
here and drank whiskey like the rest of the Brazilian men. A band was playing
a pretty good mix of Brazilian pop and American crowd-pleasing crap like "Stayin'
Alive," so we had some material to work with on the dance floor (albeit not much).
Our last day, we had dinner at a great local churrascaria. A churrascaria
is the Brazilian version of a steakhouse except the steaks keep coming forever unless
you explicitly tell them to stop. No less than 15 different cuts of meat kept
coming at us, and when coupled with the extensive sushi and salad bar, it was probably
the best meal I've eaten all year.
Now I'm back, and while I wasn't happy to leave, I am glad to be back. I know that leaving wasn't permanent and I'll be back soon, but for now there's work to do...
ADORE-or-IGNORE at Paws in the Park this weekend!
Posted by matt
This weekend, ADORE-or-IGNORE
has been given a great opportunity to appear at "Paws in the Park," a free event
for pet lovers of all ages. The event is taking place in Stephens Lake Park
in Columbia from 9am-3pm. There will be lots of events, the full list of which
can be seen here. We don't really
have a booth or anything, but we'll be there with a digital camera and a signup
sheet. The plan is, anyone who wants to join can fill out the sheet, which has room
for all of the same stuff the website would ask for (like username, animal name,
etc...). Interested pet owners can pick whatever username they want, and we'll create
their accounts later that day. We've even got little slips of paper where we'll
write your username so you don't forget it. The event is sponsored in part
by Columbia Second Chance.
New features added!
Posted by matt
I don't have much time, but I've gotten a few new cool things on here. First
of all, I've got some selected photos from my travels up on the Media page, and
a rudimentary navigation system (it's hard-coded at the moment...php forthcoming).
Sometime in the near future, I'm planning to make the full-resolution images available
for download. I've also added a sort of a "blog vault" that will basically
archive all my old posts. It's still manageable at this point since I've only
got, like, 5, but as it grows I'll probably have to make that database-driven too,
if for no other reason than so I don't go insane. Anyhow, hope you
like it; if you do, shoot me an e-mail. Cheers!
A September Wedding, M2 style...
Posted by matt
This weekend I saw two of my best friends get married...to each other. Adam and
Erika, both former trumpet players in Marching Mizzou, tied the knot right here
in Columbia in front of, well, most of their fellow M2 alumni as well as many current
members.
The reception was at Lenoir Woods, with Dr. MDK himself emcee'ing the
affair. After the opening dance, father-daughter, and numerous "bathroom breaks"
(where the bathroom was the trunk of a Volkswagen filled with ice-cold beer), a bunch of us "old f*cks"
grabbed our horns and started an impromptu "Tiger Rally," cranking out Hey Baby,
the Trumpet Cheer, and 3 & 4. Most of the geezers were in attendance,
including myself, Zac M., Sarita M., Lindsey C., Joe L., and Dave C. on the Tiger
Tuba, and honestly, if their post-M2
playing habits are anything like my own, I was suprised at how decent we sounded.
I heard a lot of high Cs (and a few of them happened to be mine--where the hell
did those come from?!), and we managed
to keep time sans drum major or drumline. Just goes to show...we never needed
them anyway ;). Seriously, though, it really felt good to play those familiar songs alongside my friends again, and hopefully that won't be the last time something like that happens. After the reception, we all headed over to McGinthy's for
"shitty bar night" to close the evening in style...M2 style, anyway.
One month to Brazil!
Posted by matt
Visas? Check. Hotel reservations, money, itinerary? No check. At this point all
I have that lets me know I'll be on a plane to South America in 30 days is, well,
a plane ticket. In my own typical travel fashion, I've decided not to worry
about the specifics and let the details take care of themselves. We (Jess and I) will arrive
as September fades, when the temperatures (and therefore the prices) begin to rise.
We are lucky that in Recife, our destination city in the northeastern state
of Pernambuco, the off-season low rates and ample vacancies generally persist just
a little longer than her A-list counterpart Rio de Janiero. We're planning
on splitting our time between Recife proper (where I have friends) and a small town
to the south whose 18km of beach are consistently recognized as the best in Brazil.
In the Boa Viagem district of Recife, fresh seafood, happening nightclubs, and old
friends await. I realize that though we've kept in touch via e-mail, I haven't
seen Rachel or Régia (my Brazilian friends who did a reciprocal exchange at MU the
semester before I went to Recife) in over 2 years! I can't wait to sit down
and catch up...or to again sample the typically Brazilian staples of fresh suco
(obscenely sweet fruit juice--some made with fruits that don't even grown in North
America), açai com granola (a dish made of liquefied açai berries, guarana,
and bananas, then sprinkled with granola to create a several-thousand calorie bowl
that surfers use for fuel during their long days of catching waves), Guarana Antartica
(a soda made with real guarana extract), and of course, feijoada (a mixture
of meat, beans, and animal fat). Later on, I expect we'll watch the sun set
in one of the many outdoor bars, then head to the clubs for long nights of techno,
forró, and capirinhas (cachaça, lime, sugar, and crushed
ice)...or capiroskas (vodka instead of cachaça). After that, Régia
will be getting married on the sixth of October and honeymooning in Argentina...leaving
us to our own devices.
70km to the south, in the slow-moving yet distinctly vibrant town of Porto de Galinhas,
the rainbow fauna of piscinas naturais (natural pools) beckon to skin divers and
those long days on the beach sipping Skol seem as though they never end. We
will try to stay in a pousada, a sort of Brazilian bed and breakfast where
camraderie is included in the nightly rate. After the free breakfast, we'll
make our way out to the sand and pick out a spot of the day, then after a long day
of baking in the sun and paddling around the pools, it's off to bed in a hammock
or cabin. In the Port of Chickens, the only decisions I'm expecting to make
here are which pousada to stay in and when to call out "mais um, senhor!"
We're back online with a brand new look!
Posted by matt
I decided the last design was a little to psychadelic and decided to go with something
a little more compact. First things first, and that's giving credit where it's due:
This new look is a modification of PixelGreen 1.2, a free, W3C-compliant,
CSS-based website template by styleshout.com.
I typically like to hand-code my own layouts, but I am grateful for those out there
with a better eye for fonts, menu styles, etc... and this stylesheet caught my eye.
So basically, here's what you're looking at: I've scaled back the scope of this
site and basically plan to use it as a blog, online resume, and development environment
for up-and-coming projects. I'd also like to resurrect the "Green" page from the
previous site.
And now for a little "sponsored love": if you like animals, or have any pets, check
out ADORE-or-IGNORE,
a joint venture of mine with my buddy Steve Thompson. You can upload photos of your
pets (or any animal, for that matter) and let other users rate it on a scale of
1-10. While you're at it, my other friend JR is currently piloting a new site for
Missouri classifieds. It's 100% free, doesn't spam you, and you can change your
ads at any time. Point your browsers to ClassifiedsFreeOnline.com.
