Category: Geek

Geek

Over at "Global Nerdy"…

Over at my tech blog Global Nerdy, we’ve been blogging like a mofo:

Google’s PageRank Algorithm, in 126 Lines of Python: Interesting — no idea how accurately it mimics PageRank, however.
Tips for Using Images on Your Site and Optimizing Google Image Search: remember, search engines can’t read pictures.
As iThought, the iPhone iSn’t from Apple: Winning customers through brand confusion — nice strategy, that.
“You” are Time’s Person of the Year — But Don’t Tell Chrysler! The Chrysler ad starts with “You may not be Time’s person of the year…”
Gift Idea: Logitech MX Revolution Mouse: This oculd be my next mouse.
Canada has Highest Percentage of Blog-Reading Online Population: 58% of Canada’s online population read blogs!
News Flash: Hollywood Depictions of User Interfaces Aren’t Accurate Either! For starters, how would a visitor from the 23rd century know what to do with a 1987 Mac Plus?
YouTube Being Used in Call for Crime Witnesses: Rather than simply hand a security tape from a hip-hop club where a crime took place, the Hamilton cops posted it on YouTube.
Gift Ideas: The Joystiq Holiday Guide for Gamers: If you’re stuck for gift ideas for a console gamer, here are some good suggestions.
In Post-Soviet Russia, Other Search Companies Beat Google: I was trying to riff off Yakov Smirnoff’s old schtick for that title.

Toronto Transit Google Map

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date December 15, 2006
No Comments on Toronto Transit Google Map

[via Torontoist] Here’s another Google Map-based web application that you might find handy if you live in Accordion City: this interactive Toronto Transit Map, shown below:

This map takes a Google Map of Toronto and overlays it with the routes for the following transit systems:

TTC
Brampton Transit
Go Transit
Mississauga Transit
Vaughan Transit
VIVA

Just enter an address or intersection as you would into a Google Map, and you’ll see the routes around it.

Geek Toronto (a.k.a. Accordion City)

Great Things are Afoot…

for the Toronto technology scene in 2007. More later.

Geek

My Articles on "Tucows Blog"

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date December 1, 2006
No Comments on My Articles on "Tucows Blog"

For those of you who have Blogware-based blogs (that includes blogs from Domain Direct, NetIdentity, BlogHarbor and so on) and have looked on jealously at other people’s beautiful blog designs, the Blogware Mechanic series of articles is for you! I’ve been blogging on Blogware for over three years and have started a series of articles in which I’ll show you all sorts of ways to customize the design of your Blogware blog! The first article, Blogware Customization Basics, covers some out-of-the-box basics, but I’ll soon start covering some nifty customizations. Check it out!

If you’ve tried my domain name suggestion tool, Duke of URL, and were wondering what the code behind is, you’re in luck. I’ve got a new series of articles titled Coding the Duke which looks at the underlying code behind the Duke of URL and introduces other things such as the OpenSRS API and the OpenSRS-PHP library. The first article, Introducing OpenSRS-PHP, covers the downloading, installation and taking of a test spin of the OpenSRS-PHP library.

Geek

A New Toy for You to Try: the Duke of URL

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date November 28, 2006
1 Comment on A New Toy for You to Try: the Duke of URL

One of the fun parts of my job at Tucows is coming up with interesting technology demonstrations. Here’s one called the Duke of URL, a little web app that suggests up to 100 available domain names based on a word or phrase that you provide it. You can either visit the Duke of URL page and enter your own word or phrase, or see what the Duke suggests for the following:

accordion
geek
indie
insurance
knitting
steak
and just for kicks, poop

The Duke is written in PHP (PHP 5, but it’s compatible with PHP 4) and makes use of Tucows’ OpenSRS API for provisioning and managing domain names. I wrote it to showcase the NAME SUGGEST API call that was recently added to OpenSRS and to demonstrate one possible use. Over the next few weeks, I plan to post the code along with explanatory notes as well as upgrade the Duke to some other possible applications, including mash-ups, over at the Tucows Blog.

If you use the Duke and find a domain name you’d like to buy but don’t know how to order one, drop me a line and I’ll give you a hand.

Geek

The Korean Math Problem, Translated

Post author By Joey deVilla
Post date November 21, 2006
5 Comments on The Korean Math Problem, Translated

If you read this blog last week, you might have seen the article titled Why Asian Kids are Good at Math. I put out a call for translations, and someone came forward in the comments! Here’s it is:

The top part:

Let’s assume that from the top part of the skirt to where the thighs meet is vertically 4cm. Also assume that from the end of the skirt to the point we are interested in viewing is horizontally 12cm. Looking from the side, the point of interest and the edge of the skirt form a triangle ABC.

The bottom part:

Extending BC we reach our ideal observation point E where we our point of interest comes into view. blah blah explanation of where ABCDE is we come to the conclusion that DE must be 53.3cm in order to achieve the optimum viewing angle. Assuming an average height of 170cm and seating height of 70cm the observer must bluntly lean over and reduce his viewing height by 17cm to see the inside of her thighs. I don’t think she would mind so much. Go for it.

I think the last two sentences — “I don’t think she would mind so much. Go for it.” — are actually editorial on the commenter’s part, but the rest of the translation seems to be legit.

Can you imagine the furor that would arise if this was presented as a math lesson here? Perhaps it might be good material for a “Borat” skit.