'Tislife

Publish a BlackBerry App

This writeup is more of an afterthought than a planned event, so if there are missing details, I apologize beforehand.

A little more than four weeks ago, an ad agency owner/friend approached me about writing apps for BlackBerrys (BB) and iPhones.  I told him I’d look into it to see how much dev this would take.  I am not by nature or choice a programmer, although I have accomplished some pretty involved programming projects for my current employer.  I knew BBs were deep in Java, but I decided to find out how much Java I would need to know to program a BB app.

I got to the BB developers site and discovered that BB programming could be done almost entirely in a web browser, which is something I mostly rock at.

A little Java “scripting” is required to package a launcher, a small Java app used to create a browser call that the end-user actually runs to get to the app webpage.  Fortunately for me, the good people over at CrackBerry.com had put together a step by step instruction set detailing the entire process.  There were a few quirks in their instruction set, but there’s nothing like a flawed manual to help you learn the process more intimately.

After creating the launcher, we simply had to be approved as a BB vendor, which is easy when you own a web marketing firm.

I am now waiting to get the logins for the vendor portion of the site, where I can seemingly submit the app to the world!

Let’s see what happens…

UPDATE: I got the logins and submitted the app.  Unfortunately, I sumbitted the app before requesting Java Code Signing Keys from RIM using their webform.  After getting the form filled out and submitted, I was forwarded an email outlining the key receipt policy:

“…should receive your keys within the next two business days as three(3) emails with the respective .CSI attachments…”

::sigh:: So now I have to wait until I receive the keys, rebuild the code, and resubmit the app.

UPDATE2: I received the keys last night.  The signing process was a lot less complicated than I thought it could have been, considering what I had already gone through.  The email states that each .CSI attachment must be run on the same computer, so I double clicked the first attachment I received and, behold, it workéd.  Since this was the first time a .CSI file had been run, it asked me to create a password and confirm.  It then requested the 10 digit PIN that was created when I registered for the keys and the password I just created.  After getting the PIN from my partner (who actually registered for the keys), I was able to successfully finish “installing” that file and the other two, which just asked for the PIN and the password.  Each file told me that I had over 2.1 BILLION code signings remaining.  Guess I will not run out any time soon.

So, the process is finished (after I uploaded the .cod file to the vendor portal app management site).  I am awaiting approval, then I will confirm that the app is available for download.

1 month ago

Find Duplicates From Separate Tables using SQL

This might seem obvious to veterans, but was a HUGE help to me when I figured it out.  The key to finding duplicates using SQL is to change the join key in two tables to the column(s) you want to find duplicates on.  For instance, if I want to find all records from two tables that have duplicate addresses, I would script the following:

SELECT  *
FROM    Customer1 INNER JOIN
        Customer2 ON Customer1.Address = Customer2.Address

This will, of course, give you all the records that have the same addresses…basic join information, but good to know in reference to removing duplicates from separate tables using SQL!

2 months ago

Excel VBA Script

This is a 14 line script (not including declarations) that will take a single column of first and last names and move the last name to an adjacent column:

Public Sub getLastName()

Dim i As Integer
Dim b As Integer
Dim sLetter As String
Dim sLNAme As String

  For i = 2 To 10741 '*Comment 1
    If ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 2).Value <> "" Then '*Comment 2
      sLNAme = ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 2).Value
      For b = -1 To Len(sLNAme) - 1
        sLetter = Mid(sLNAme, Len(sLNAme) - b, 1)
        If sLetter = " " Then
          ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 3).Value = Mid(sLNAme, Len(sLNAme) - b + 1, b) '*Comment 3
          ActiveSheet.Cells(i, 2).Value = Left(sLNAme, Len(sLNAme) - (b + 1)) '*Comment 4
          sLetter = ""
          Exit For
        End If
      Next
    End If
  Next
End Sub

Comment 1: type in your range here; this script will affect the first 10741 cells, not including a header cell
Comment 2: the “2” on this line means “B” column…just an excelism
Comment 3: the “3” on this line means “C” column in excel
Comment 4: again, “2” on this line means “B” column

2 months ago

Losing My Mind

Well, I’m writing this down for all to see.  Two days ago, I inform my wife and my father of a job application referral notice; I had been placed in the top five referred applicants.  There were several funny things about this particular notice:

1. It said I was in the top five - I had never received a notice with this language
2. It said the job was in Germany - I never recall applying for a job in Germany; indeed, I had been shying away from applying in jobs out of the country
3. After informing my wife and father of the notice, I tried to locate the notice (sent by email) and could not find it at all

So now, I am left to assume one of a number of things:

1. I received the email and somehow permenantly deleted the email - not completely out of the question, but unlikely as I am not in the habit of permenantly deleting any of my emails
2. I simply cannot find the email - more likely than the previous option, considering how my email accounts in Outlook are set up (and the fact that, as of now, I am oblivious as to what those exact settings are - UPDATE - checked the settings at work and Outlook is set to remove the email from the server)
3. This is some sort of sign/dream/vision/foreshadowing - although this is probably the most unlikely explanation for my phantom email, I cannot completely rule this out; additionally, after further consultation with my wife and father, I am seriously motivated to actually begin applying for jobs in Europe

The lesson I have learned is this: Keep better track of your notices!

UPDATE - I have now officially applied for two jobs in Germany.  We’ll see how it all works out.

4 months ago

White People

Call me crazy, but I see a bunch of white people at the inauguration:

Gigapan Pic of the Inaug

So, does that mean that the majority of the people attending were white people because:

1. They could afford it more easily
2. They were more interested
3. The majority of the DC population is white
4. Etc, etc, etc

Or maybe, just maybe, this year’s inauguration just wasn’t that special to black people…

5 months ago

185 Word Challenge

“An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.” - Aldous Huxley

This quote speaks volumes to me of the state of our modern culture and its fascination with the base things of the world.  At the VMA, Britney Spears won three “moonmen” for her video Piece of Me.  I read the lyrics before watching the video to get a feel for where this song would take me, even though she did not win any award for best actual song (thoughts on that later).  Then I watched the video.  If I give her any credit, it is to her actually wearing clothes this time.

Artistically speaking, the video seems to have been directed by someone with at least an allusion of grey matter in their cranium.  Id est, the video consists of shots other than the usual - Britney just swinging her hips around like a skank whore.  Go team; you actually managed to create a “music video” that does not focus solely on TNA.  As for her and her backups’ dancing…not much to be said…they move a little, but the choreography seems to have been directed by my high school’s cheerleading captain.

Lyrically speaking, Britney seems to have knocked her writing skills back into high gear, as she manages to write a song that only repeats the same freaking lyrics half the time.  Ok, seriously, she mechanically slurs the same 6 word line “You want a piece of me” 27 times according to this lyrics page.  I might have miscounted, but you get the point.  According to my calculations, that means 35% of this song is the same 6 word line.  ::Pause for effect::  Let us not forget the two main stanzas that are repeated once each.  So, removing all the repetition nets us with 185 words (out of an original 462).

I do not have the time or motivation to research how much money she will get out of this song, but here is the appalling truth behind this stupidity: 185 words will generate millions of dollars.  Typically, one would expect some powerful parlance to be the means to such a rewarding end, but those 185 words are simply the attempted lifestyle justifications of an over-hyped semen collector.

I am tired of writing about Britney Spears, so I will get to my point.  Obama, John McCain, or just anybody with some media influence: I submit a challenge – using 185 words or less, write a speech that will generate as much hype and monetary reward as Britney Spears’ latest to please, please justify the horrid state of our culture that would deem such shallow words worthy of existence, much less reward.

Please.

9 months ago

Patriotism and the Wii

I purchased a Wii (and several accessories) yesterday after months of waiting for one to land in my lap. But that is the end of the story. The beginning of the story occurs when I received my economic stimulus check by direct deposit in my bank account May 8. Now, I am not the will-bent civilian that our government wants me to be, so I put that $600 stimulus right on a credit card, thinking, “wow, I am totally not doing what I’m supposed to with this money…I’m such a rebel, yeah!”

Turns out though, the government is smarter than I could have initially imagined.

Even with the total bankruptcy of an eminent wedding staring down the numbers in my bank account, I decided to go buy a Wii when my fiancé told me they were available at Toys’R’Us. I, of course, rationalized this action by chalking up my acquisition as my patriotic duty by purchasing a totally unnecessary entertainment device to boost the economy. The side effects include feeling like a small and insignificant cog of the giant governmental machine that is trying to turn our economy around. However, I feel somewhat proud to be counted in the statistics of Wii’s purchased in 2008 that will certainly be juxtaposed against those of the 360 and PS3 at the beginning of next year.

That is a lot going on for just buying a freaking Wii. 1 year ago

Morality of Abortion

Written for Ethics class:

I can only give you my perspective based on what I have learned in my ethical studies. Abortion is a difficult and controversial moral dilemma and could be one of the most difficult. There are two moral principles to consider when deciding to have an abortion:

1. The moral status of the fetus (is the fetus considered a human life?)
2. The rights of the pregnant woman (does the pregnant woman have the right to decide to carry the baby to term)

Now, abortion is obviously legal, but that distinction still begs the question of the morality of abortion. To argue that abortion is immoral, the following syllogism is given:

Major Premise – The fetus is actually a person.
Minor Premise – It is moral wrong to end a person’s life.
Conclusion – It is morally wrong to end the life of a fetus.

The Major Premise of this argument lacks objectivity because the start of human life (and the right to life of a fetus) is subject to debate. To unequivocally answer this question requires the distinction of:

a. The necessary rights of personhood (action is required for effect)
b. The sufficient rights of personhood (action guarantees effect)

These distinctions are yet to be conclusively determined by science or otherwise. The qualifications of life are still a mystery and subject to personal opinion.

To some, even the moral status of the fetus can be ignored if the rights of the pregnant woman are considered more important than the rights of the fetus. This caveat is possible by disputing the truth of the Minor Premise by assuming the superior morality of the right of the mother to end the life of her baby.
The rights of a woman that give her moral right to an abortion are:

Right to privacy (specified in Roe vs. Wade)
Right to ownership of one’s own body (ownership must be clearly presented)
Right to equal treatment (men cannot become pregnant)
Right to self-determination (decision of one’s own future)

Abortion will always be a matter of great moral controversy, but these principles will help guide you to make your choice rationally.

1 year ago

Vista SP1

Well, the moment has finally arrived! I have installed the shiny new version of Vista that Microsoft unleashed across the interwebs yesterday. So far, I have noticed that discovering my Vista box over a network still takes way too long from XP boxes. However, transferring files over the network is a freaking breeze. I did 5GBs in approximately 8 minutes. Transferring 1GB between local discs took approximately a minute. Windows Explorer also loads faster now, although the first time I loaded it up, it took its sweet time. So far so good… 1 year ago