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Behold The Geeks!

June 13th, 2009 by joey | No Comments | Filed in Hacks

So, I went to the Desert Code Camp hosted by DeVry university today. It was awesome. 8 Hours with 60+ classes composed of the distilled knowledge of some of the best developers in the area.

A Special Thanks DeVry and all the organizer and presenters that made it possible! – It rocked! (The Free Food and T-Shirt were nice too btw…)



See the Geeks?

Here’s a quick overview of the classes I attended.

Continuous Integration With Continuum

by: Wendy Smoak – An Apache Continuum Comitter

  • USE Continuous Integration
  • It saves time.
  • Ensure some motivation (preferably public humiliation by the team) is in place when someone “breaks the build”
  • Continuum is EASY to setup (download the tarball, run bin/continuum.sh (or .bat) start (if on windows, continuum.bat install first) Then add your project
  • It’s best to do an automated build for every commit (either have Continuum poll the svn server, or setup an svn post commit hook to fire it off)
  • Continuum is very tightly integrated with Maven2
  • If you send out build failure notifications, put the addresses in continuum instead of the pom, because if they are in the pom, and other people download your code and build it witn continuum and don’t change the POM you get their build failure notifications.
  • There are many other CI choices other then Continuum, use something!

Domain Driven Design

by: Don Weinmann

Very cool session with lots of cool ideas. The whole idea of Aggregates was new to me. I wish I could sum it up here… But it was very in depth, view below links if your interested in learning more.

Understanding functional programming

by: Chris Chandler

No, Jeremy’s not disillusioned… Functional Programming is really cool and has very practical applications. Namely reliability and concurrency… YAWS (a websever written in erlang) can handle 80,000 concurrent connections. Whereas apache chokes at about 4,000. Rumered to be the webserver that powers facebook. The telecom industry makes extensive use of functional programming as well.

This was also the first I had heard of Scala, a functional language built on the Java JVM.

Getting started with Arduino

by: Brian Shaler

  • Like PIC but open source.
  • Integrates with almost anything.
    • Ultrasonic range finders.
    • Light Sensors
    • etc…

USB Control with JAL and C#

by: Aaron Cure
You can get an 18F2455 Microchip (made by Microchip) and with five extra components connect it to a USB port and interact with it from C# (this means controlling all 16 of the I/O pins as well as accessing an analog input.) You do have to burn an initial image to the chip, BUT! Once you burn the initial image, you can reload the code on the device via the usb port without needing a sperate flasher. Code for the chip, and code to get you started on LOTS of PIC projects can be found in the JALlib.

  • Totally Awesome!
  • Use a TRIac to control AC current with it.
  • Use it for anything.
  • Build a red light green light broken build indicator to work with you CI server.

How to lie with Statistics

May 24th, 2009 by joey | No Comments | Filed in Hacks, Ingenuity, Life

This has been one of my favorite reads of all time. At first I bought it solely as a book to get a laugh from people with, but as I began to read it I discovered there were lots of ways to lie with statistics that I hadn’t thought of myself yet. As always, I am not a proponent of activities such as this, but I feel it is very valuable to be aware…

Book Cover

Here are a few of the ways he gives to lie with statistics…

Use images instead of graphs.

Impactful Image

Lets say you want to illustrate that salleries have doubled in 10 years. But you want it to make an impact… So you prepare an image that has a dollar sign over a label that says “Then” and then you have a dollar sign that you have scaled by 2x with the label “Now”. This is very misleading, because when you scaled the money bag by 2x, you didn’t just make it 2x as tall, you made it 2x as wide… Effectively making it 4x it’s original size! This makes for a MUCH better impact than just a simple bar graph.

When presenting a graph make the scale very small or don’t include one at all.

No Scale

You can make almost any “growth” look phenomenal if you pick the right scale. Lets say your sales grew $100 dollars. This is huge if you are a ten year old running a lemonade stand, but insignificant if your a fortune 500 company. So, draw your graph like you are a lemonade stand… Make the bottom of the graph be last years sales, and make the top of the graph last years sales + $100. It’s easy! Be careful with this one though, because if you go too far, it will be obvious.

Never play when the odds are fair.

One of my favorite Star Wars characters once said something along the lines of “Never play if the odds are fair.” (He said this prior to fixing an election on a small planet.) The same is true with marketing. You never ever want to commission a survey with the intent of publishing the results without first doing something to ensure your own success.

There are lots of ways of commissioning this study with the odds in your favor.

  1. First, send salesmen to 100 dentists and give them hundreds of samples of your toothpaste. Explain to them all the benefits of your tooth patse, and then ask them if they would recommend your toothpaste to clients.
  2. Ask your sales dept for a list of all the dentists that have ordered your toothpaste and send them surveys asking them what toothpaste they recomment.
  3. Hire four dentists on your staff, and after 3 months ask them which toothpaste they would recommend.
  4. Send lots of your toothpaste to a small third world country. Then, send surveys (with promises of more toothpaste for each returned survey) to each of the dentists that received the paste.

Pick the average that suites you best

What most of us (unless your a marketer) have forgotten from high school math is that there are 3 different ways to get an average… (Watch the video.)



Mean Median and Mode

As that video illustrates… When you say “Average” you actually get to take your pick from one of three numbers (mean, median, and mode)… And you aren’t required to say which! So, just pick the one that looks best, and stick with it.

What does this mean for me?

Dig behind the numbers. Never take a statement from an untrusted source at face value. (and never trust an advertisement) If it’s true, there will be evidence to support it. In the words of a very very very smart person… “By their fruits, ye shall know them.”

Did you know that you can write your gmail address in hundreds of different ways? Sign up for free stuff again and again with the same address…

May 4th, 2009 by joey | No Comments | Filed in Hacks

So… There are three different tricks to registering your gmail address over and over at the same site without it being rejected as “Already Registered”

Use @googlemail.com instead of @gmail.com

Both domains will send email to your email address. So, my email address: joey.novak@gmail.com is also joey.novak@googlemail.com

Put dots in your username whereever you want

No lie, Google just strips out all the dots before it delivers email to you. So, jo.eynovak@gmail.com is the same as joey.novak@gmail.com. I use this at work to test things ALL the time. You can even use LOTS of dots. So, j………………..oeynovak@gmail.com will get to me too.

Put a + at the end of your username and put whatever you want after it.

joey.novak+test123@gmail.com is the same as joey.novak@gmail.com This one isn’t as good as the other two, because some sites (facebook cough cough…) say “This isn’t a valid email address” even though it works at other places fine.

Conclusion

So that’s it! Now go sign up for free trials again and again at: https://www.copilot.com/, or https://secure.logmeinrescue.com/HelpDesk/Home.aspx?home=2&lang=en

Enjoy!!

Make your favorite website (facebook, pandora, etc…) faster using Mozilla Prism

April 21st, 2009 by joey | 1 Comment | Filed in Hacks, really cool

You know how you get too many tabs open in Firefox and things start to slow down, reaching the point of cold molasses after a while. Well Mozilla Prism is the answer. It is a stripped down, lean and mean version of Firefox that is designed to make that one web app lightning fast. Unlike Firefox, it isn’t designed for web browsing, rather it is designed to view a sinlge website at a time. Dedicating resources on your computer to that site, and that site only. Making it run significantly faster.

It is super super easy to use. Just install it, and now when you are visiting the website you want to make FAST just click “Tools -> Convert Website to Application” It creates a shortcut on your desktop that launches that website in Prism at lightning speeds. It takes almost no space on your computer, if firefox crashes your web app inside prism keeps running. And it solves world hunger… Well not really but it’s cool.

I use it for Pandora and my task manager. But you can use it for ANYTHING.

Unwise Microwave Experiments

April 8th, 2009 by joey | 2 Comments | Filed in Hacks, Life, really cool

This is freakin’ awesome.

Melting Glass in your microwave.

And while we are talking about microwaves…

Making Plasma -- Looks really cool!

Mafia Wars Loot / List of Where To Get

April 2nd, 2009 by joey | 25 Comments | Filed in Hacks

[memedex: pollid#490253]

Vault Collection Items

It doesn’t matter what job you do as long as it’s a looting job. The odds of getting a collection item are the same. See: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090213190953AAUEsbX

Other Special Items (Some Required For Jobs)

Here is a list of all the special items you can receive by doing jobs.

Item Job
A .22 Pistol Beat Up Rival Gangster
Blackmail Photos Obtain Compromising Photos
Butterfly Knife Collect Protection Money
Brass Knuckles Rough Up Dealers
A .9 mm Semi-Automatic Rob A Pimp
A .45 Revolver Take Out A Rogue Cop
Tactical Shotgun Perform A Hit
C4 Destroy An Enemy Mob Hideout
Stab Proof Vest Kill A Protected Snitch
Automatic Rifle Bust A Made Man Out Of Prison
Semi- Automatic Shotgun Fight A Haitian Gang
Armored Truck Smuggle Across The Border
Grenade Launcher Repel The Yakuza
A .50 Caliber Rifle Disrupt Rival Smuggling Ring
Armored Car Invade Tong-controlled Neighborhood
RPG Launcher Sell Guns To The Russian Mob
Bodyguards Protect Your City Against A Rival Family
Night Vision Goggles Assassinate A Political Figure
Napalm Exterminate A Rival Family
Computer Set-Up Rob an Electronics Store
Concealable Camera Rob an Electronics Store
Untraceable Cell Phone Rob an Electronics Store
Prop Plane Steal an Air Freight Delivery
Illegal Transaction Records Steal Bank Records

Good Ol’ Boys Having Fun

March 16th, 2009 by joey | No Comments | Filed in Hacks, Ingenuity, Life

Nothing qill quite bring a tear to your eye like a good ol’ boy…  You put a redneck out in the sun too long, give them one too many drinks, and something akin to temporary brain damage takes hold…  Fortunatly, this odd behaivor is HIGHLY entertaining.

This one will have you ROLLING ON THE FLOOR.

The “Roller Coaster Car”

Bedliner Sled…  I SO WANT TO DO THIS.  Although I’ve always thought a sheet of plywood being pulled by a car on a road would be fun too.

One of my All Time Favorites

Random Redneck Rides

Um…  

Another Um…

Tony Hawk, Eat your heart out…

Mafia Wars Best Jobs

March 14th, 2009 by joey | 19 Comments | Filed in Hacks

So I got hooked on Mafia Wars. It’s a very very fun game for facebook and MySpace. Like any good RPG, the variables are complicated enough to prevent you from deducing the correct strategy immediatly. And, like any good marketing department they did their best to make each job not directly comparable to the others. So… I wanted to play around with a table sorting plugin for jQuery and made these tables that are sortable that allow you to easily compare different jobs. It allows you to choose whether your going for the most efficient payout, or the most efficient experience per job. Of course there are some additional variables I’m not including, but these two are nice to have.

P.S. Click the column headers to sort the jobs. And, I’d include more jobs, but I havn’t leveled very far yet. If you have this info for other jobs I don’t have listed, post them in a comment, and I’ll include them.

So here are the Best Mafia Wars Jobs… Using this list, you can pick the best Mafia Wars Job for your goal.

Street Thug

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Mugging $305 1
Corner Store Hold-Up $402 1
Warehouse Robbery $471 1
Auto Theft $744 1.3
Beat Up Rival Gangster $406 1
Rob a Pimp $523 1
Collect On A Loan $2113 1

Associate

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Collect Protection Money $634 1
Rough Up Dealers $845 1
Take Out a Rogue Cop $805 1
Perform a Hit $805 1
Bank Heist $704 1.8
Jewelry Store Job $928 1.6
Hijack a Semi $534 1.3

Soldier

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Destroy Enemy Mob Hideout $1932 1
Kill a Protected Snitch $2125 1
Bust a Made Man Out of Prison $2294 1
Museum Break-in $4528 1.4
Fight a Haitian Gang $2656 1.2
Clip the Irish Mob’s Local Enforcer $2582 1.2
Steal a Tanker Truck $3795 1.3

Enforcer

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Federal Reserve Raid $3842 1.4
Smuggle Across the Border $7043 1.3
Liquor Smuggling +Prep $16770 1.5
Run Illegal Poker Game +Prep $26833 1.8
Wiretap the Cops +Prep $100625 1.7
Rob an Electronics Store $18400 1.3
Burn Down a Tenement $21131 1.4

Hitman

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Repel the Yakuza $14819 1.7
Disrupt Rival Smuggling Ring $16487 1.6
Invade Tong-controlled Neighborhood $16465 1.4
Sell Guns to the Russian Mob $109772 1.7
Protect your city against a Rival Family $124645 1.7
Assassinate a Political Figure $146068 1.7
Exterminate a Rival Family $150937 1.8
Obtain Compromising Photos $12558 1.4
Frame a Rival Capo $21787 1.5

Capo

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Steal an Air Freight Delivery $56062 1.4
Run a Biker Gang Out of Town $60375 1.4
Flip a Snitch $49398 1.4
Steal Bank Records $42262 1.4
Loot the Police Impound Lot $39131 1.2
Recruit a Rival Crew Member $53666 1.5
Dodge an FBI Tail $64400 1.6
Whack a Rival Crew Leader 81900 1.6
Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Influence a Harbor Official $80500 1.5
Move Stolen Merchandise $127968 1.7
Snuff a Rat $94230 1.7
Help a Fugitive Flee the Country $122500 1.7
Dispose of a Body $126477 1.8
Ransom a Businessman’s Kids $128819 1.4
Fix the Big Game $145833 1.14
Steal an Arms Shipment $112875 1.8

Underboss

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Extort a Corrupt Judge $161047 1.49
Embezzle Funds Through a Phony Company $95149 1.4
Break Into the Armory $79290 1.2
Rip Off the Armenian Mob $67963 1.37
Muscle in on a Triad Operation $99680 1.5
Ambush a Rival at a Sit Down $58146 1.47
Order a Hit on a Public Official $209006 1.57
Take Over an Identity Theft Ring $149520 1.43

Boss Tier

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Settle a Beef…Permanently $142400 1.62
Buy Off a Federal Agent $135050 1.42
Make a Deal with the Mexican Cartel $227840 1.5
Blackmail the District Attorney $255590 1.5
Shake Down a City Council Member $239232 1.46
Make Arrangements for a Visiting Don $1424000 1.5
Take Control of a Casino $257238 1.58
Travel to the Old Country $268702 1.57

(Special Thanks To Rox Fontaine For All of Cuba and Underboss and Boss New York Stats)

Cuba

El Soldado

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Rob Your Cab Driver $18 1.4
Secure A Safehouse $17 1.4
Intimidate The Locals 17 1.4
Silence a Noisy Neighbor $19 1.4
Smuggle In Some Supplies $19 1.35
Set Up A Numbers Racket $23 1.4
Establish Contact With The FRG $23 1.4
Take Out The Local Police Chief $24 1.4
“Persuade” A Local To Talk $28 1.4
Assault A Snitch’s Hideout $27 1.4

El Capitan

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Transport A Shipment of US Arms $27 1.45
Meet With The FRG Leadership $29 1.48
Hold Up A Tour Bus $33 1.49
Ambush A Military Patrol $32 1.45
Capture an Army Outpost $33 1.47
Sneak A Friend Of The Family Into The Country $39 1.47
Ransack A Local Plantation $37 1.46
Burn Down A Hacienda $38 1.48

El Jefe

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Offer “Protection” To A Nightclub $43 1.56
Rob The Banco Nacional Branch $44 1.53
Shake Down A Hotel Owner $42 1.5
Bring The Local Teamsters Under Your Control $49 1.55
Help The FRG Steal A Truckload Of Weapons $45 1.5
Hijack A Booze Shipment $52 1.53
Pillage A Shipyard $48 1.5
Take Over The Docks $49 1.5

El Patron

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Muscle In On A Local Casino $55 1.57
Establish A Loansharking Business $57 1.58
Eliminate A Rival Family’s Agent $59 1.59
Pass On Some Intel To The FRG $53 1.53
Execute A Regional Arms Dealer $61 1.58
Sink A Competing Smuggler’s Ship $56 1.55
Gun Down An Enemy Crew At The Airport $64 1.59
Assasinate An Opposing Consigliere $57 1.55

El Padrino

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Raid The Arms Depot $58 1.57
Supply The FRG With Some Extra Muscle $60 1.59
Capture The Airport $62 1.59
Knock Off A Visiting Head Of State $70 1.57
Set Up A High Volume Smuggling Operation $91 1.62
Blow Up A Rail Line $73 1.6
Attack The Army Command Post $48 1.58
Storm The Presidential Palace $67 1.56

El Cacique

Name Pay Per Energy Experience Per Energy
Arrange A New York Drug Shipment $75 1.58
Launder Money Through A Resort $75 1.58
Loot The National Museum $67 1.55
Send Some Help Home To New York $76 1.6
Take Over The Havana Reconstruction $68 1.56
Help Get An Associate A No Bid Contract $76 1.59
Trans-Ship A Container Full of Refugees $76 1.6
Meet With “The Russian” $76 1.59

Other variables of interest would be: Energy Per Profile Point (for Job Mastery) Maybe I’ll get this one later.

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9/11 Twin Towers Hoax on Google Trends

January 6th, 2009 by joey | No Comments | Filed in Hacks

While browsing google trends today, I noticed an interesting search term was number 3…  “✈ ▌▌”  no it’s not an image, Google hasn’t started letting you copy and paste images into he search field, rather it’s a creative use of some unicode characters…  And probably evidence of some custom written malware that has infected thousands of computers to get the search term to the top of the list.  Anyways, check it out yourself:  http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=%E2%9C%88+%E2%96%8C%E2%96%8C&date=2009-1-6&sa=X

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