Today we pushed a huge update to GetGlue.com. I’ve been working on this update non-stop for the past two weeks and I’m hugely proud of the result. Of course this was a team effort to get the final product out the door but personally I feel very accomplished that my hard work is now viewable by all.
If you have some time today and want to try something new and fun I strongly suggest you sign up and enjoy the brand new website I helped create.
I haven’t had a lot of time to play with it but what I see so far I like.
The updated design is minimalistic and stays true to the other design updates Google’s been applying to their other products. Google Reader even seems to load a little bit faster which is a huge win in my opinion.
Some people are upset about the layout of the new sharing options and how it blatantly promotes Google+ sharing. To that I say: big deal. If you can help your own product in any way you’d do the same.
The main issue I was worried about when the re-design was announced was that the usability of Google Reader would decline. Ater using it for one day I find my speed at reading through hundreds of RSS items to have not slowed in any way.
Today iOS 4.2 was officially released. This brings the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad all up to date with the latest version of iOS. This is particularly exciting news for me with my iPad. The biggest change I’m welcoming with this update is multi-tasking on my iPad. Before this update it was cumbersome and difficult to switch between apps. It required exiting the current app, going to the home screen, and then opening the new app. With iOS 4.2 I can be in one app, double click the home button, see a list of previously opened apps, click on the app and switch directly to its window. If you haven’t upgraded your iDevice yet I heartily suggest you do so now.
Hello everybody. Three things I’d like to make note of today:
1) Long overdue for an update, my About page has now been revised with more current and relevant information. With the new edit I hope I – the person – will be more understandable from the position of a stranger, and more accessible. I figure it never hurts to have more friends, so why not present myself in a friendly and approachable manner? I am particularly partial to the Care Bear picture I took at the end of the page. Let me know your thoughts in this post.
2) I’ve rearranged the display of my content somewhat. I’ve moved the links to my archived posts to the bottom of the page, added a neat calendar widget, and changed up the top navigation bar to post topics that I update more frequently.
3) I’ve added a small Google AdSense block on the right side of my blog for two reasons: 1) I would not mind making money off my blog and writings and 2) I want to gain experience and understanding of how Google AdSense works.
Aside from that I hope you enjoy reading my words. They take me some time to write, but hopefully you’ll enjoy reading them for a lot longer.
P.S.: That door knob picture is by me. Hope you like it .
WordPress 3.0, the blogging software that runs this blog, has been officially released to the world – and I have never been more excited.
When I clicked over to the official WordPress blog on Thursday afternoon (which I have been doing every day religiously for the past two weeks) I grew extremely giddy to see the new post read: “WordPress 3.0 “Thelonious””. I was practically jumping in my seat itching to update this blog and begin to play with all the new features that WordPress 3.0 offers. Unfortunately I had a Psychology quiz in two hours that I had to keep studying for. I managed to practice a level of self-restraint that I didn’t know I had.
After my Psych quiz was over and I was finally alone at home I upgraded this blog to 3.0. And then life kicked into overdrive on Friday leaving me with no real time to play until today.
As you can no doubt see I’ve changed the theme of my blog yet again. I have chosen the new default theme for WordPress 3.0 named Twenty Ten. It’s a very clean theme: very easy to read, highly functioning formatting of the website, and it takes advantage of the new features WordPress 3.0 offers. I am going to perform a few tweaks and twirks (I don’t think that word exists) in the near future to get the theme performing as I want it to. I think you’ll agree that it’s much easier on the eyes than the previous theme.
So WordPress 3.0 is out and I am just unbelievably excited. Click through to see a video which highlights some of the best new features WordPress 3.0 has to offer. Continue reading →
Today was the second day of my summer school. Last night was my first class, going from 6pm till 9pm in the evening. I thrive on these night-time classes and activities. I am most assuredly a night-owl by design and not practice.
Yet today was such a bother. And it was all a bother due to the morning. Because I had my second class this morning. My second class begins at 8:30am. In the morning. I don’t think I will ever get over this fact. I haven’t woken up this early for school since High School – and even then, I rarely went to my morning classes.
I set my alarm for the lovely time of 7:45am after persuading myself that I would be able to wake up and eat breakfast with enough time left over to be on-time. This argument held true – I walked into the classroom at the stroke of 8:30am. However the way in which I woke was anything but delightful.
I have only the vaguest of memories of how I woke up this morning. I don’t even know if I woke up due to my alarm clock or because my body wanted to wake up by itself. How don’t I know? Because in the middle of eating my morning oatmeal I hear my alarm clock going off. I think it went off at 8:00am – meaning I hit the snooze button – but I can’t be too sure.
Aside from the lovely oatmeal I ate (two packets of insta-oatmeal – one isn’t enough) the only other salient memory I have is waking up in a sweat. I love how the morning sun makes my usually tepid blanket uncomfortably sweltering.
For a day this one was one that I will remember only due to its non-eventfulness. So bland was today that this was my only recourse as to content. If anything this has been one of my most journal and ‘blog-like’ posts.
On a side-note: I hope my textbook for my on-line course doesn’t take too long to ship. I love saving money by buying used textbooks but I really hate getting behind on coursework.
If you’re not aware: the program you are using right now to read my website is called a browser. Specifically a web browser because it ‘browses’ the web.
Currently there are five major browsers that are used: Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera. Depending on what you primarily use the internet for decides what browser is the best choice for you. And really, at the end of the day, the browser you use is your choice, so choose the one you enjoy using the most.
Personally I prefer a browser that is fast. And by fast I mean it’s the fastest out of all the browsers. Today my choice is Google Chrome. And today a new version of Google Chrome was released that I think you should try.
The Google Chrome blog describes in detail how much faster the new release is due to improvements in the browser’s code. However that isn’t the main reason why I’m excited about this new release. The blog describes it best:
“Additionally, this is the first Chrome beta that features initial integration of the Adobe Flash Player plug-in with Chrome, so that you can browse a rich, dynamic web with added security and stability — you’ll automatically receive security and feature updates for Flash Player with Chrome’s auto-update mechanism.”
What does that mean for you? Flash, which lets you watch videos on YouTube and similar websites, will be automatically installed and updated for you to the newest, fastest, and safest release. All without you having to do anything. How’s that for easy street?
But the team that makes Google Chrome wasn’t content to stop there. They have gone ahead and made a video (with the help of video-makers) that gives a neat frame of reference for just how fast Google Chrome is. Have a look at the video below, and after you’re done watching download the new release by clicking here. Let me know if you like the browser.
The latest incarnation of my blogging career, this blog you’re reading right now, was started on January 23rd this year. By my count that’s a little over two months of blogging with a grand total of 23 posts written so far.
I’m having fun.
The past times that I have attempted to blog I didn’t last very long. I think a few may have been online and accessible for over three-months but the frequency of posts were nowhere near as consistent. Not only that: my enthusiasm hasn’t waned and I am enjoying finding topics to discuss. Having somewhere to output my overflowing thoughts keeps me productive and sane. It hurts trying to remember everything.
It’s very hard to post anything new when there isn’t any power.
My hometown was hit very badly by the storm that passed through New England this past weekend. There were 80mph winds and lots of rain. Although I I was out of town and didn’t see the storm myself I saw the aftermath when I arrived home Sunday night. My entire town is in disarray.
It was (and still is) very surreal. It is also an extremely humbling reminder of Mother Nature’s tremendous power.
