blog.emerick.org

Well I haven’t really blogged much lately… This past semester was probably one of my busiest and hardest semesters to date, so I didn’t have much time to blog. I don’t really have much excuse for not blogging over break besides just being in the habit of not blogging during the semester and eating too many Christmas cookies…

So one of my resolutions this new year is to try and blog more. At least a couple times per week. Hopefully more like once per day. So you should be seeing more posts in the near future from me…

Along with the other typical resolutions of losing weight and getting in shape (with a focus on hockey), I want to learn python better and create a web application using django. In addition to python and django, I also want to learn how to create applications for the BlackBerry. Specifically I want to create a BlackBerry application similar to facebook’s application for remember the milk to either sync tasks with the internal task list or create a standalone task application that would replace the internal task list and have more features.

The new year has a lot to hold such as graduating college (has it really been 4 years already?), starting my new job, and hanging out with rachel .

Hopefully I can hold on to those resolutions and everything turns out well for 2008…

<2008>

J!

Upgraded the blog a few days ago to the latest version. As always, let me know if there are any issues…

WordPress 2.3.2 is an urgent security release that fixes a bug that can be used to expose your draft posts. 2.3.2 also suppresses some error messages that can give away information about your database table structure and limits and stops some information leaks in the XML-RPC and APP implementations. Get 2.3.2 now to protect your blog from these disclosures.

As a little bonus, 2.3.2 allows you to define a custom DB error page. Place your custom template at wp-content/db-error.php. If WP has a problem connecting to your database, this page will displayed rather than the default error message.

Happy New Years everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone!

While at the gas pump the other day, an idea came to me… Why don’t gas pumps save your settings? Here is the typical pump experience (some may be in a different order but still the same):

1. Insert Credit Card (Who pays with cash these days?)
2. Select pay with credit ( I have no idea what my PIN is these days either…)
3. Select cheapest octane of gas
4. Pump Gas
5. When done pumping gas, select Yes for the receipt (I keep track of gas/mileage/mpg)
6. Take receipt

So there are a few steps that could be automated by the gas pump and the gas station… Why doesn’t the gas pump know my preferred settings? They should know what octane of gas I use, that I pay with credit, and that I always want a receipt… This is very simple to implement assuming all of the gas pumps are networked and even if they are not, each pump can remember your settings individually… A simple, secure way to store the settings would be to store some kind of hash of the person’s name grabbed from the credit card and/or a combination of name and credit card number (or part of the credit card number for even more security in case the hash turns out to not be secure). Interaction with the pump of the future should go something like this:

1. Swipe Credit Card
2. Pump Gas
3. Take Receipt

Fast, simple, painless. That is how it should be… I shouldn’t have to waste a couple minutes selecting information that is just repeated each time I use the gas pump… The stored information should be available across all gas stations ideally, but even if it is just the same chain of gas stations that would not be so bad… Of course your preferred settings should easily be changed in case you buy a new car, have a rental car, or for some other reason you need to change the octane of gas, pay with cash, or you do/don’t want that receipt…

Anyways, I doubt we will see this anytime soon but just an idea which may be already implemented in some of the newest gas pumps…

Continue your holiday feast.

J!

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!

J!

… which is the latest WordPress release…

As always with any update, let me know if you see something missing or wrong…

J!

everything looks like it went well… going for 2.3.1…

J!

… so the blog might be flaky for the next couple of minutes during the upgrades…

Don’t worry, I am still alive… I have just been incredibly busy over the past several weeks; more busy than I initially thought I would be… Mostly due to working on 3 simultaneous projects, while also studying for a couple tests and the never ending cycle of reading and homework… But I figured I should take a quick break and update everyone on what has been going on…

As far as school, it has been keeping me quite busy… lots of projects going on that just never stop… I am currently working on 3 projects right now… a 2-3 tree for my data structures class, an FTP server for my network applications class, and a RF remote control for model trains for my embedded systems project which will be taking up quite a bit of time throughout the end of the semester. So I have plenty of work to keep me busy for the rest of the semester and during Thanksgiving break I am sure… In addition there are the usual tests and other homework assignments to complete… I have a test tomorrow in biology to study for tonight… So lots of stuff to do…

Fall break was this past weekend which was a well welcomed break… On Friday Dave, Steve, Jeff, Joe, and myself drove down to Raleigh, NC for the Penguins season opener against the Hurricanes… we made it there just in time due to the horrendous traffic back up on I-40 which I guess is to be expected for that interstate… Unfortunately, the Penguins lost their first game of the season 4 to 1 but it was a good game and the penguins look promising… After the game Dave and I drove back to Williamsburg to meet up with one of Dave’s good friends and sister. We hung out there the rest of the night and I went home Saturday where I just hung out, caught up on some sleep, and went out to dinner… After dinner we continued to watch VT defeat Clemson in a great game full of defense and special teams while lacking some offense but no the less a great game… After the game I went over to Walter’s for some Halo 3 with Walter, Tim, and Rockey… Sunday I got to sleep in which was really nice since I have not been able to do that in quite some time… Sunday night we went up to Busch Gardens for the evening… Rode the usual coasters and did a couple Howl-O-Scream mazes which were cool… Monday I was supposed to hang out with Mallory, however, her flight was delayed from Atlanta so we ended up not being able to hang out… so Dave and I left around 4:30 to head back to school… So this weekend was a nice get away from the usual work but its time to get back to work now…

J!