Here's the thing. I <3 productivity. So, as I've yelled about Java's exceptions before and how time consuming they are to write, I decided to do something about it.
And so, I present to you, the Exception class generator. It's command-line, because I roll like that. It's very easy to use, and it's RIT coding standards compliant. Here's how it works:
java ExceptionCreator name author [description]
Let's look at that. Say I wanted to create an exception called HeadUnlikeAHoleException (Nine Inch Nails reference!). I would be the author, and for a description, I'd want something like "This exception gets thrown whenever the head is unlike a hole." Here's how my command would look:
syco: ~syco$ java ExceptionCreator HeadUnlikeAHoleException "Steve Streza'" "This exception gets thrown whenever the head is unlike a hole."
Again, this class is 100% RIT coding standards compliant. I'm sure they might yell about the fact that you're generating code, but its an exception. You're practically copy-pasting every time anyway.
Think it's too good to be true? Check it out yourself! (You'll note that that class is very much not RIT coding standards compliant by any means. Think of it as my little attempt at fighting the man. And by the man I mean the Nazi coding commenting standards of the RIT CS department. ^_^)
TIME has an interview with Samuel L. Jackson about how fans on the Internet saved Snakes on a Plane.
read more | digg story
While poking through my logs, I noticed that. What I'd like to bring attention to is the large number of people who visit my site using Internet Explorer. I tend to discourage such behavior, as there are many browsers on the market that do web browsing so much better than IE.
So, here's what I did. If you're using Firefox, Safari, etc., you're not going to notice anything. However, if you're using IE, you'll now notice a red bar right below the header. If you click on that, it'll take you to a web page with some alternate browsers for you to check out. At the same time, I realize that some people might be viewing this at work or something where they can't just up and download a new browser. So, if you click on that little X button, the bar will go away (fade away, actually), and, if I programmed JavaScript correctly, and you have both JavaScript and cookies enabled, you won't see that bar again for a year. And if you change browsers by then, you'll never see it again.
Personally, I consider IE a scourge, a pox on this planet. So, this is my little effort at saving the Earth from Internet Explorer. Consider that my Earth Day contribution.
As you can no doubt see (unless, of course, you're subscribed to the RSS feed), I've got a new theme going on. It's called K2. I saw it earlier today and decided I needed it. However, before I could use it, I needed WordPress 2, and I was using WordPress 1.5. So, I upgraded WP, added the new theme, and modified it.
Why did I need it, you might ask? This theme, aside from being a lot nicer on the eyes than the stock Kubrick, has a lot of Javascript ties in it to change a web page without reloading it. For example, try searching for something on the right. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Wasn't that awesome?!
My friend at RIT, Nick Quaranto, has a Windows customization podcast. As a sort-of-not-really expert/authority/I-know-stuff on Mac customization, he asked me to give a perspective on Mac themeing and such on Under The Skin. We talked about all kinds of fun stuff like Boot Camp, Windows Vista, Unsanity's ShapeShifter, etc. It's pretty good. Check it out.
Download Under the Skin Episode 10
I've been gradually working on the CSH Drink widget for some time now. Well, last night, I decided that I hated - hated - the old widget's UI. Here's why.
- Overkill. All the widget had to do was display a name and price for each drink.
- Size. The freakin' thing was huge!
- Feel. It didn't feel like a Dashboard widget. It felt more like a Mac app that got squeezed into a widget (which, while it works, wasn't very good).
- Look. I'm not a UI designer, although I try to be sometimes. I failed.
With that in mind, I redesigned the widget. It'd have a smaller footprint in terms of pixels. It'd tell you what you needed to know, and that's it. It'd be less ugly (although I'm still working on de-uglying it). And, it'd feel like a widget.
I doubt I actually accomplished much of my goals, but hey, it's not a pro thing. It's for geeks by a geek. And it gets the damn job done. With that in mind, here's a screenshot of the new Drink Dashboard widget it action.
As you can see, it's drastically smaller than the original - in fact, it takes up 45% of the original widget. The buttons are smaller. The whole thing fits much better into Dashboard than the other one did. And I don't hate it. ^_^
To make it less ugly, I'm going to putz around with the shadows some more, as well as add a darkening gradient to the blue area. I'm mostly concerned with functionality at this point, as most of the design/implementation work on this has happened in the last 48 hours.
I spent about two hours of my life mixing together and awesome remix. It's the music from Straight to Video by Mindless Self Indulgence, combined with the awesome lyrics of Fett's Vette by mc chris. Even if you've never heard of either/both, its awesome.
Download the Fett's Vette Remix
Nobody told me that Mindless Self Indulgence put out a video to their kick ass song, Shut Me Up. Nobody also told me that it was directed by Jhonen Vasquez. However, nobody needed to tell me that it would instantly equal awesome. Click the video.
