Author: johncongdon

Categories
Blogging

Is Writing Style Important in Blogging?

I have read some great blogs in my time. One that I pay attention to currently is actually written by a teenager (Chris Farley) at View From a Farley.

I hate reading it because I look back at my own posts in disgust. I just feel that I don’t have the required skill to be a good writer. I just don’t take the time to put my thoughts into a logical order. I just sit here and write what comes out of my finger tips, with the occasional backspace… 🙂

To me, writing has a two fold purpose. It is a great release and lets me just have my own time and space. But I also use it for a business purpose of getting information out about bowlingball.com.

Let me know your thoughts. Does the writing style decide weather you read or not? What about length of a post?

Categories
Video

Hitler Can’t Tweet Because Twitter is Down: SOOO Funny

You have to check out this video. It is very funny. There is some swear words in it, so if you do not like them, please do not watch.

Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/johncongdon

Categories
Technology

PHP4 is Officially Dead

Today is the final day of support for PHP4. Luckily I have been using PHP5 for quite a long time and have been happy with it. I do not think I use all of the features that would make it a nasty upgrade, like some people do.

I try my hardest to keep all of my software (especially for bowlingball.com) up to date with the latest release. Knowing that support and upgrades will eventually be dropped, it is important for me to stay current.

This is often easier said than done…. 🙂

Categories
Uncategorized

Writing Pluggable PHP Code

I have been looking around at writing pluggable code. It intrigues me that you can write a system and then extend it for other users. Open Source software is all about the community contributing, and plugins are the latest way to let your community help build your system.

Here are the keys to writing plugins that I have found so far:

Identify all of your API requirements. What are the key points to your system. For wordpress, there are hundreds of such “hooks”.

You will most likely want two (2) hooks at every point that you want developers to change. Pre and Post.

Your code is very simple at this point.

<your code>
<Call Plugins for hook ABC>
ABC
<your code>

If you are going to print something to the screen, you can
<get info to be printed>
<Call plugins to modify info>
print info
<continue…>

I read Chris Corbyn’s “Writing a pluggable system in php” for more information.

Categories
Blogging

My First Podcast Mention

Thanks so much to the Moxie Mo Show for giving me my first podcast mention. He is correct, watching videos in iTunes makes it very easy to watch your favorite podcasts, but just as difficult to leave comments.

PodCasters love and need your comments. I wrote an article about what I believe iTunes needs/should do. Other podcatchers, like Miro, should do so as well, but right now iTunes seems to dominate the market.

Categories
Technology

Revision 3 is Changing The Way We Consume Media

I do not own an iPod, Zune, or any other media player for that matter. I have always been into “tech”, but not much into music, therefore I did not see any need for these devices.

Then in December 2007, I started carpooling with Brian Halstrom and got into a couple of “PodCasts”. I have heard of them before, but never gave them any credit. You may see a couple of low quality ones and assume they are all like that.

Then I find Revision 3. A company started by Kevin Rose and Jay Andelson. And anyone that knows the old Tech TV, will know Kevin Rose. Man do I miss the old Tech TV days, I loved it.

Back to my point. Revision 3 is creating awesome “TV Quality” shows for the Internet. As broadband becomes more available to the masses, we are going to see more and more push to the Internet.

All of the big cable stations are already moving to the Internet as well. They are making there content available online, because that is where we spend huge parts of our day.

Broadcasting will become a thing of the past. There are so many cable channels now, that they are basically Narrowcasting as it is. It is just costing an arm and a leg to be on the cable networks.

The LA Times wrote a great article on this subject. Check it out, it is fascinating.
Revision3’s web TV runs on star power

Categories
Bowling Video

Video Editting Is Hard Work

I just completed my second editing job for bowlingball.com’s bowling videos. I am an e-commerce programmer for crying out loud, not a video editor… 🙂

However, I must say that I am enjoying this very much. Learning something new is extremely exciting. I do not have a lot of artistic ability, but I must say that I am very pleased with the outcome. I know there are some things that I could have done much better, but I was under very intense time constraints.

We shot the video last night. I didn’t think about editing until this morning. I spent maybe 4-6 hours on the project, so I definitely can not complain.

Check it out at bowlingball.com’s Bowling Ball Reaction Video of the Smash Zone.

Categories
Bowling

Bowling Practice

I went to AMF Casselberry Lanes to practice bowling today and was very happy with my results. While I should try and work with a coach or someone that can help me with my game, I have taken it on myself.

I have been stuck using a [bowlingball value=”5160″/] wrist brace for a couple of years now because I have not been throwing my bowling balls correctly. I have been letting my wrist break and I would not follow through.

I think I have finally had a revelation. I have started using an [bowlingball value=”2283″/] Brace which has helped make my wrist not hurt. I have slowed down my approach which has helped my timing. And with my timing under control it helps me aim correctly. It is amazing how all of these pieces kind of inter connect.

Using the big wrist brace made me feel mentally negative about my game. Changing to the new brace has helped my mental game as well as physical game.

Categories
Programmer's Mindset

How I Got Started Programming

Ok, so I somehow I came across a post by Joe Stump from Digg and I have found this “chain letter” type post. I want to participate, so here goes. 🙂

How I got started programming:

  1. How old were you when you started programming? I had a real interest (unexplainably) in computers when I was around the age of 7 even though I had only used one a couple of times. My mom dated a guy when I was about 9 whom had a computer and he had King’s Quest 3 (I fell in love with computers).
  2. How did you get started in programming? My mother met her current husband and he had a Tandy Cocoa Color III.
    He taught me BASIC and I used a reference book that I still have
    today. It had every command on a separate page with a description of
    what it did. I went through the book trying most of the commands.
  3. What was your first language? My first language was BASIC, however I also did quite a bit on the TI-85. I create a Space Invaders type game on the TI-85.
  4. What was the first real program you wrote? My first program was a simple quiz game for my youngest sister, it taught her our address, phone number, etc… I also did some db work in a program called “Q&A” for the company my mom worked for “Connery Concrete”.
  5. What languages have you used since you started programming? I started in BASIC, in high school I became a Pascal user, after college I moved to Perl as I became a “web guy”, and have since changed to PHP. I have dabbled in others, but very limited.
  6. What was your first professional programming gig? My first paid job was for Connery Concrete doing some DB work. They did not store their information in a convenient way to make use of it. I also did similar work for a travel company. Before I started they entered all of their customer data into “Q&A” and then hand wrote all of the information onto forms. What a complete waste of time that was.
  7. If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be? Think outside the box. I can’t tell you how many things I have been able to do because I have thought about the problem and solution a little differently than any of my colleagues. “There is more than one way to skin a cat” is something my mom used to say all the time.
  8. What’s the most fun you’ve ever had programming? I have to say what I am doing now is. I am part of a team that cares where our project is going. Ecommerce is such a competitive field, and selling bowling balls is tricky. Trying to be on the cutting edge and know that you are doing it before the competition can blink is a GREAT feeling. Having a boss that doesn’t just settle on a store bought solution because it may be cheaper makes me feel very appreciated. I have really grown to love the sport and the nuances that go into it. And to be able to spend my day working in this industry is just plain awesome.

I had to follow suit when I saw this post from Joe Stump. I can’t imaging working with such cutting edge technology persona’s as Kevin Rose, and the old crew from the Tech TV era.

I wish I had people to tag. The only other programmer that I knew and respected was the best man in my wedding, but he has pretty much cut me out of his life. 🙁 Long story, but I miss his friendship. The long talks we could have. Working together on programming projects. Makes me sad when I think about it.

Oh well. He knows who he is and if he wants to carry on this type of post, I would be honored.

Categories
Blogging

Jeff McCord and Tony C Hall Team Up

Today Jeff McCord and Tony Hall announced they are teaming up to do a new Audio Podcast. I have been following both of these men on twitter and it is so great to see that this medium is helping to nourish new partnerships and business.

The social media explosion is a great thing for everyone. It is allowing for some great collaborations. I can’t wait to see what this podcast is like. 120Social is geared to be all about social media, from Twitter to Pownce (yes Jeff, it is still around) to everything else. Each new concept brings about other great concepts. Ping.fm for example, would not have existed without all of the others. All Ping.fm does is kind of group all of the new technologies together so that you don’t have to post every at one time.

Keep up the great work guys!