SP Blog

Scrolling for iPhone Web Apps

2009-12-22T19:14:00.004-05:00

I have created a new iPhone Scroll Demo page. This webpage is a proof-of-concept for scrolling with:

"low-friction",
"pseudo-fixed-position toolbars", and
"rubber-band 'bounce' scrolling" (even when you "you pull down all the way off the bottom [or top] of the display").

I don't know if this is the "best" way, just a way (if I had to start from scratch I'd probably try a few things differently).

This all began because I was reading John Gruber's (of Daring Fireball) discussions about iPhone web apps and PastryKit (here, here). It struck me that what he wanted really wouldn't be that hard to do (for the most part). So I put together this little page. As he noted, I doubt it will scroll as nicely on a non-3GS iPhone (although I was only able to test on my own 3GS). Even on a 3GS, I get occasional hiccups when background processes kick off.

To save time and effort, the page will only really work in portrait orientation when saved to the home screen. I also could have spent a lot more time using HTML5 and CSS3 to make this more web-app-y, but that was not the point of this project. You may also note a few HTML errors when you load - this is my host, not me.

My next task will be trying to get a scroll bar to show (I will likely have to code up a new one). I also had a lot of trouble embedding Google ads (so much so that I removed them on the iPhone), because they live in their own iframes, which handle events differently (and I cannot access them via JS because it comes from a different domain).

Disclaimer: While it just so happens that I do work part-time for Apple Inc., I have not used here, nor do I have, any proprietary information on this immediate subject matter. In fact, I haven't even looked at PastryKit itself (as dug up by John Gruber). I am also a student at Carnegie Mellon University, and this prototype was just a mental exercise; I simply tried create something based on John Gruber's notes and thoughts.

Check out the iPhone Scroll Demo.

Get Lyrical - Italian & Spanish + Legal

2009-12-16T01:42:00.008-05:00

The Good news:
Since the last news posting versions 3.4 and 3.5 of Get Lyrical have added Italian and Spanish localizations respectively (and thanks to Vincenzo Boiano and Israel López Fernández respectively!). That brings the total language count up to four. (And I hear through the grapevine that French may be coming soon - we'll see!)

The Bad news:
I've received word from the lawyers of TuneUp Media (makers of TuneUp) that SP is infringing on their trademark for "AUTOMAGICALLY" (SP's 2nd ever C&D – woohoo!). You may note from Get Lyrical's description page that it:

"Auto-magically adds lyrics to songs in iTunes from lyrics.wikia.com."

If you take a look at the letter, you'll see that TuneUp claims to have begun using the term in December 2008. A quick search of the USTPO shows that they filed for the term in January 2009 ... oh, and the trademark was published for opposition at the beginning of the month*.
TuneUp can – forgive me, I don't know the legal term – suck it; not only have I been using "Auto-magically" since at least 2005, I know that a number of my actual competitors use the term as well. Oddly enough, I was recently thinking of changing this description. But now that I've gotten this ridiculous claim, I think GL may just have to be auto-magic for the indefinite future. (We'll see though, the TuneUp lawyers have given me until the 22nd to respond.)

*For those of you not keeping track, it is December 2009.

Get Lyrical v3.3 - Now in German!

2009-10-27T23:22:00.003-04:00

Get Lyrical 3.3 is out, and it's been localized to German (much thanks to Kay van Haagen!). There are also bug fixes that should clear up any problems with international, or just plain garbled lyrics. And of course, a new icon:

Get Lyrical in MACup's iPhone & Co

2009-10-21T00:21:00.001-04:00

Get Lyrical was recently included on the cover mount CD of a special iPhone & Co issue of MACup magazine; "Europas erstes Magazin für Apple-Anwender" (yeah, it's German).

Get Lyrical is a perfect companion to lyric-lovers on the iPhone or iPod touch. It's actually easier to see lyrics in these devices than in iTunes itself. Once you let Get Lyrical tag your songs in iTunes, the lyrics will be sync to your device; just tap the cover art (between the top and bottom controls) to see the them:

You can also see lyrics on other iPods by clicking the center Select button (while in the music playback view) until you see the lyrics.

The latest version of Get Lyrical actually provides better support for non-English characters within lyrics. Some of my apps are even in multiple languages. (Eventually, I even hope to have a German version of Get Lyrical.)

They were nice enough to send me a copy: MACup

Rocketship-in-a-Bottle

2009-08-04T02:14:00.000-04:00

That's right, SP has bottled the rocket; for use whenever we want.

Replacing the old "Clown-feet Rocket" the "Rocketship-in-a-Bottle" logo will now greet people to shullian.com.

Many thanks to my girlfriend, Hannah, who was sweet enough to do this for me (and put up with the tiniest, minutest, change requests).

Belt

2009-05-03T02:07:00.002-04:00

The foundation of any good wardrobe has to be the belt. Not only does it keep your pants up (which is an unfortunate problem still plaguing modern society), but a good belt also draws one of the few acceptable horizontal lines across the human figure. This, of course, should be a clean line - Texan-sized belt buckles should be regarded like our last Texan president, and likewise stay in Texas.
As a further note, if ~~you're~~ your ~~responce~~ response to this statement is that your pants don't have belt loops, then you should take this as a sign that you are not wearing the right kind of pants (the only exception being for women wearing dresses).

Good Belt
Good Belt
Great Belt
Bad Belt
Crazy-Bad Belt

My Summer Commute

2009-04-24T00:25:00.000-04:00

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Acting Warmup

2009-04-20T02:26:00.002-04:00

I am a mother pheasant plucker.
I pluck mother pheasants.
I am the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker,
to ever pluck a mother pheasant.

You Know You're Crazy When...

2009-04-06T02:12:00.000-04:00

You start recognizing interesting hacks in your own framework.
(Either you get it or you don't.)

Let's Sue Congress

2009-04-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

Is anyone else curious as to whether we can sue/prosecute Congress for all the crap they pull?
I'm thinking it could be the biggest class-action in all history (306 million +). I'm sure there are a boatload of thins to bring them up on - but I'd say the easiest thing to get them on is perjury (while it didn't stick, think Clinton - Q.E.D.). Though it seems these DC bastards are never accountable for the things they say, I say we can get them with their oath of office:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." (↗)

Does anyone really think these guys "well and faithfully discharge" their duties? Let me at 'em - it would be hard to prove my point!

SP News!

2009-04-02T16:24:00.002-04:00

At around 9:00AM this morning Get Lyrical v3 hit the 10,000 download mark (the above shot is from my personal download logs). This is especially exciting news, given that it's been out for less than two weeks.

In other news, you may have noticed that shullian.com has recently been given some small look-and-feel tweaks. For those using the latest version of Safari (or other WebKit based browser), there are some extra visual enhancements that can only be done in WebKit browsers. If you're running something else, look below to see the difference.

2009-03-25T15:26:00.000-04:00

Continuing the theme of crazy promos - I like this one from Jos. A. Banks.

chrisjshull.com

2009-03-25T10:16:00.000-04:00

So I recently bought something from Buy.com, and they were running the most ridiculous promo with GoDaddy - one free domain with every purchase. So I got chrisjshull.com (why not?). Right now it just points to shullian.com, but we'll see...

Get Lyrical v3 Goes GM

2009-03-21T19:55:00.002-04:00

Yesterday marked the public release of Get Lyrical v3 (actually v3.1.5). Here's what people are already saying:

Worked well for me. Finds large % of popular ... impressed! (↗)
Danke, genau so etwas hab ich gesucht seit ich auf Mac umgestiegen bin. (↗)
Ένα μικρό προγραμματάκι που προσπαθεί να κάνει την συμβίωση σας με το iTunes ακόμη καλύτερη είναι το Lyrical. (↗)

So Fast

2009-03-07T21:01:00.001-05:00

Ever since I moved to Pittsburgh, I've wanted to bike down Squirrel Hill. There is, essentially, a straight mile shot downhill from my grocery store to campus (map).
Well, today the weather was nice, and I needed some groceries. So I hopped on a bus (conveniently equipped with bike racks), grabbed some food, and rocketed back down to campus. Totally awesome!

London Cuckolds

2009-02-21T23:22:00.002-05:00

I just saw CMU's performance of London Cuckolds, and I do believe it is my new favorite show. And it's not even a musical! Rather, it is a delicious comedy reminiscent of my favorite Whose Line is it Anyway bits (only scripted, of course).

This post

2009-01-17T14:12:00.001-05:00

Posted from my iPod touch!

Biking in the Snow

2009-01-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

For the first time had chance to ride my bicycle in a substantial amount of snow. I'll keep it simple ad just say this:

If you think it's hard to drive a car in snow - remember that a bike has two fewer points of contact with the road.

Risk Roll!

2009-01-04T23:04:00.000-05:00

No, that's not Rick Roll. Risk Roll [iPhone link] is an iPhone/iPod Touch webapp to simulate dice rolls for Risk: The Game of Global Domination.
I made it a while back just to test out the webapp style. Check it out.

[Shift] Web

2008-12-22T09:09:00.006-05:00

[Warning: this is another, hopefully less boring, technical post!]

While Google Docs will likely never beat out Word or Pages in terms of functionality, there is an obvious industry shift towards web apps from desktop apps (why else would Google Chrome exist). I also see some desktop programs beginning to have their own built-in web interfaces so that they can be controlled across the expanse of the net (it's like running an application-specific mini-server).

This leads me to wonder - will someday all applications have their own web interfaces? (damn, that's a lot of open web ports), will OSes have their own web interfaces?, and will someday we see a trend towards web-only interfaces? Since you can always see a web interface locally, perhaps one day we won't even have traditional GUIs, just site-specific browsers distributed with background daemons.

This could, of course, have some very interesting results. For one, people would be using their computers more like servers - and any machine with internet becomes a thin-client. This could lead to more people buying a desktop machine, and then something like a netbook to go with it. From a development perspective, cross-platform UI design would be over (and cross-bowser issues could be minimized as well, if say an app-specific version of WebKit was included). Also, think of the ability to easily place ads into a program from someplace like Google AdSense.
There ore obviously things that just wouldn't work well with a web interface, like real games. And I would be very wary of the load placed on the associated technologies (even now, Google Docs loves to pound me with slow script warnings).

Just something to think about. And maybe I'll be able to say "I told you so" someday ;) !
Oh yeah, and for the record; I love Mail.app over Gmail.com any day.

Functional Filesystems

2008-12-18T11:50:00.001-05:00

[Warning: this post is technical and possibly boring!]

There is this idea I've been playing with for quite some time. In IS I often see this tendency to create big, obnoxious databases for storing information. But sometimes we don't need to do this. I have this idea where you simply store information in a predetermined file structure. Then, the code navigates, reads, and interprets this file structure.

For example, I currently have a project where I'm generating a set of html files via local command line php script (I have no server-side scripting). In order to create a new page all I have to do is place a content snippet in a certain folder. The php then knows knows to generate it, and add it to the navigation sidebar in a sub-level navigation section based upon the sub-level directory the file is in. Take a look at http://www.cmu.edu/gelfand-center/scimodules/.

Pinch of Salt also uses a form of this concept. When uploading pictures to a recipe, the picture is stored in a folder based on the recipe's id, which is inside a folder based on the user's id. While Pinch of Salt does use a database to store the location of pictures (it needs to store other things too, unfortunately), the idea is that it may be useful the be able to simply query a folder for it's contents. Or perhaps recursively delete a user's folder if an account needs to be destroyed.

I'm sure this is not original, but that doesn't make it any less interesting.

2008-12-18T00:32:00.008-05:00

Despite having been home for a while, I haven't actually been done with all my assignments (hooray for digital delivery!). Well I just completed those, and now that other people are trickling back (and I've gotten some sleep), my break can officially begin (barring outstanding contracts, etc of course).

Home Again

2008-12-08T05:33:00.000-05:00

I have had the incredible fortune this semester of having no finals. So not only will I have an insanely long break, but I made it home in time to see my visiting newborn cousin. Of course I still have schoolwork to hand in electronically, and it's not going to be very exciting here with no one else around - but I'm going to love the rest.

Pinch of Salt Updates

2008-12-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

Hey all. I recently redid the stylesheets for PinchOfSalt.org. It looks better now, but it's still very orange. I'm using orange on purpose, but I may break down and change it at some point.
I've also added an awesome picture feature - very slick if I say so myself. See an example at my page for Chris' Vinaigrette. Not the most amazing recipe to premier on, but it was certainly easy.

Hint Up

2008-11-21T14:34:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite sites is Mac OS X Hints - the runner of which actually works for MacWorld now. The basic idea of the site is to collect the best user submitted tips and tricks for people using Macs.
Well, one of my submissions got accepted. Check it out: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20081117170638771.

Expert in the Field

2008-11-19T22:17:00.001-05:00

So I was having a debate about web browsers with some CS students here at CMU (yeah, we're nerds). And at some point someone was disagreeing with me, and someone else jumped in and said something like, "[Chris] is an IS major; he probably knows what he's talking about." (because IS majors do a lot of web development).
Now I know I'm not an expert quite yet, but sometimes it's nice to win an argument just on the merit of my experience.

Correct

2008-11-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

Spelling and grammar correction can be quite a hoot when the suggestions made are completely off. But I just found out that the grammar check in Pages.app is even more sophisticated than I could have imagined. Not only does it look for normal grammatical errors, but it seems to check for political correctness too. For example, when I typed in "stewardesses", it suggested I change it to "flight attendants". Youch!

Cousin

2008-11-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love babies. They're just so precious. And now I am once-more a cousin as my aunt recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. It times like these where I realize just how old I am; I mean, I'm two decades older than this child.
Well, welcome to the world Piper.

Down for the Count [Not for the Squeamish]

2008-11-10T09:05:00.000-05:00

My god. For the first time in forever I'm sick. Really sick. I'm almost never sick - and I can't remember the last time I vomited. God!

Capture the Flag with Stuff

2008-11-09T18:21:00.003-05:00

One of the groups here on campus runs a bi-annual game of Capture the Flag with Stuff. The rules are pretty complicated, but basically it's CTF with "magical" items to make things more interesting. It's played in two of the buildings here on campus (which are connected at many points). And it is a great deal of fun (and exhausting). Nothing is quite so fun as silently infiltrating the computer science building.
Speaking of which, while playing I rediscovered a wall plaque that I last saw two years ago as a prospective student. I remember almost losing the our group as I read a select portion of Alan Perlis' epigrams (though, of course, I forgot what they were or who wrote them so I couldn't Google them. Well, running through the halls playing CTF (likely trying to save my life) I found them again!

Neon Boombox

2008-10-30T19:13:00.000-04:00

aSTARick is now included in Neon Boombox - an application to run on embedded Mac systems in cars.

First Snow

2008-10-29T16:15:00.000-04:00

Today was Pittsburgh's first snow of the season. I don't care how old I get, I will always like the first snow. Even whipping along on my bicycle it was beautiful (and charmingly cold).
Of course, in typical Pittsburgh fashion, once it stopped snowing, it all melted and became dark, wet, and dreary.

Television Rules the Nation

2008-10-29T01:25:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever, I want to thank the TV industry. I greatly appreciate the new trend in keeping intro sequences to a bare minimum. Shows like Heroes, of The Mentalist show just the show's name and creator before throwing you right back into the action. It's beautiful.
Of course we can still enjoy the heinously long intro of shows like Dexter - over a minute and 30 seconds! Bah!

No Longer a Teenager

2008-10-25T23:36:00.000-04:00

It's official, I'm 20. And other than some excellent presents (thanks all!) that's pretty much all there is to say.

Coding Nirvana

2008-10-16T04:36:00.000-04:00

You may not be able to relate in terms of programming, but just think about the following in the frame of whatever you love doing...
Have you ever been working hard, enjoying yourself, for hours on end - till the point where you are just exhausted, but at the same time you don't want to stop? Well, I discovered something recently. I reached that point where I just couldn't think straight anymore while programming something one night/morning. I had been just screaming my way through this project, but I could feel my mind slowing down - and I had to deal with the complex logics of time! When it finally got to that point where I couldn't process things in my head anymore, I still didn't want to stop. So I didn't. But as I couldn't think straight I decided to just code from the hip (so to speak). Amazingly, everything just worked! Things which should have needed deliberate contemplation didn't. So was it luck? or was it a state of coding nirvana? This requires further study...
In other news, I got my MacBook back all nice and shiny on Tuesday!

:) :(

2008-10-13T02:21:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy time. Mid semester break and all. Lot's of deep breathing has been done.
But things seem to be clearing up. I had time to play soccer yesterday - a game. Despite my still-injured ankle I had a lot of fun. Feels good to run around, steal some balls, scrape my knees...
In other news my MacBook took a bit of a spill on Friday. Seems there's no cataclysmic damage, but the top case got warped. And since the top case is connected to the keyboard, well, the price is steeper than I was hoping (but it could have been worse). Plus my MacBook is away for a few days so I'm left without portable computing!
If you would like to contribute to the fix-Chris's laptop fund, donations are welcome.
Also, please buy a shirt - it will get me a good grade in my Entrepreneurial class! I just dropped the prices, so dig in.

Mmm, Ouch, Ooh-La-La

2008-10-06T02:38:00.000-04:00

Added to my repertoire of really easy things to cook that aren't that expensive: Panino (which you probably know in its true plural form, Panini [thanks Wikipedia]). Anyway, it's good.
Other news; I had my first soccer practice with my IM team on Saturday. And I sprained my ankle about an hour in. Badly - usually I don't hear a cracking sound when I sprain something. I should be better soon enough though.
And last but not least, help me get a good grade in one of my classes by buying a shirt from cmu.spreadshirt.com. No really, the more you buy the better my grade will be.

AAPL Again

2008-09-29T16:27:00.000-04:00

So I'm sure none of you care about my stock market woes - but I'm deep into Apple at this point so I'm going to share anyway:
Can someone tell me why a couple of people on Wall Street have the ability to throw Apple's stock into free-fall? I'm not kidding. Some analysts decided that Apple wasn't going to make much money in the coming quarter - which is absolute hooey (it's the Christmas season for crying out loud). - and AAPL dropped like a rock.
One also said that Apple needs to drop products above $1500. This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why is a Wall Streeter giving advice to Steve Jobs? Yeah, I would love a cheaper Mac, but as my Daddy always said, "You get what you pay for." (I'm sure you said it at some point, Dad). ASUS et al can drop a hundred cheapo netbooks* - and stupid consumers will buy them up for the next year or so. But when their netbooks break, or can't handle the load of modern computing, then everyone is going to realize their mistake and jump back to quality, modern machines (like Apple's).
Oh yeah, want my guess on who's buying AAPL right now? Those same analysts that's who! Seriously, haven't you guys screwed up the economy enough already?

* For those of you who don't know, a netbook is like a 5 year old laptop that got hit by a shrink ray.

$120 + 4 Weeks

2008-09-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

This is what makes college great. I'm in this course called Technology Based Entrepreneurship and we just got a new project. The professor broke us into groups, gave each group $120 of her own money, and told us we had four weeks to make as much money as possible with that $120 seed.
The group that makes the most money gets all the money (minus the professor's investment) and the highest grade.
Game on!

Not a Day Goes By

2008-09-20T01:02:00.000-04:00

Oh wait - it just did. I completely forgot to post yesterday - thus ending my purely awesome streak. Probably a good thing too; I think I've been posting more often then you guys are reading. So with the streak over I think I'll take this time to usher in a new era of less frequent posting.

Today was the Technical Opportunities Conference at CMU - aka the job fair for geeks. Despite having some very interesting things going on already, I decided to take a look around. Plus, most of my classes canceled for the event.
It's actually a lot of fun if you do it right. Some people just go because everyone is giving out free stuff, but that's such a waste. Other people are really intense about the whole thing, and I think that just ruins it. And some people end up standing in line forever just to talk to some big name companies (and I really hate lines of any kind).
What I did today (for the first time, and it ended up really great) was to search for the companies without big lines, but who also had very interesting booths. Usually I didn't know who they were, and sometimes I couldn't even tell what they did. But if you just start talking to some of the people manning the booths you can have a lot of fun. So often I found myself having really interesting conversations (sometimes about them, sometimes about me, and sometimes about something completely different). These are the people who are doing things that are going to be really big tomorrow, and you can learn a lot from them. And since there is no line behind you, there is no pressure to keep things moving. Sometimes I got so interested in what was being said I then decided to drop my resume on them.
Once again, I have found that the key to life is to be cool, confident, and relaxed.

Gmail

2008-09-16T20:33:00.002-04:00

All of you people who keep insisting Gmail is out of beta - shut up! You are beginning to piss me off. Gmail is still in beta. Before you ever say something like that again, look at the Gmail website. See the word under "Gmail" in the logo (see above for example)? Yes, that is the word "beta". It's not that hard for someone to figure out - and you look like an idiot when someone proves you wrong.

When The Lights Go Down In The City

2008-09-15T21:29:00.000-04:00

It's scary.
So Pittsburgh seems to always have problems. Last year it was the water pipes. This year high winds have screwed with the entire power grid. One of the busier intersections near where I live (and on my way to campus) happens to be effected - so it has no traffic lights. Which is even scarier since I take risks just by riding a bike. And then it gets even worse at night a good distance of the street is unlit.
This are has been dark now for more than 24 hours. And we don't have emergency lighting. Or cops controlling traffic. Can someone please call the National Guard - it may be too easy for them, but the city of Pittsburgh obviously can't handle it.

Pinch of Salt - Beta!

2008-09-14T22:41:00.001-04:00

OK everybody - I've put some massive coding time into PinchOfSalt.org, and it's time for you to go crash it! That's right, head on over to beta.pinchofsalt.org - where the only recipes so far are my mother's (which were mainly imported from her previous cookbook app).
Let me know what you think. Remember, this is a beta (actually more of an alpha), so some things are still not done. Notably: user based search, help docs, and testing in anything other then Safari and Firefox.

Intellectual Argument

2008-09-13T12:06:00.000-04:00

I could survive on pure intellectual argument for about a month (or until I dehydrated). Being back in that academic community means that there is always someone ready to duke it out with you on any topic you could imagine. It's pure awesome.
And then I go home and make pancakes.

A Shipping Story

2008-09-12T13:52:00.000-04:00

On April 9, 2008 at a little after 1:00 in in the afternoon an individual purchased a pink iPod Shuffle from a reputable eBay seller. Six days later he realized that he had entered the wrong shipping address - but alas! - it was too late. The package had already shipped, and had reached its destination. It seemed the poor pink iPod would be lost forever.
On August 22, 2008 (over four months later), by some miracle of the US Postal Service, his package wandered back to its origin point in Pittsburgh, PA. Luckily, this was just one day after the seller returned from summer vacation. The seller immediately contacted the buyer and informed him of the good news.
Due to some logistic issues, the buyer had the seller put the iPod on ice until things could be worked out.
However, today, that pink iPod is going to embark once more on a journey. And hopefully this time it will be its last!

I Take It back

2008-09-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

I take it back. Apple definitely put out some awesome stuff on Tuesday. As Engadget noted, Apple is now gunning for the handheld gaming market - just see the latest ad if you don't believe me (and yes, this is BIG, CRAZY NEWS). The new iTunes 8 is also very nice. Although it took Genius forever to catalogue all my music (understandably) - it was worth it. The Genius playlist is totally awesome. And I really like the new (albeit acquired) visualizer.

Feast

2008-09-10T13:03:00.000-04:00

I had a veritable feast last night (OK, a relative feast). I was starving, and I am never starving. You'll laugh, but salad (with my homemade dressing) and pizza rolls, followed by a variety of cookies, is really satisfying. It could have something to do with the fact that on Tuesday and Thursday, dinner is my first meal of the day (I don't eat breakfast, and my day is pack with classes). :)

Conclusions

2008-09-09T21:23:00.000-04:00

So I was right, and I was wrong. There was a bit more from Apple today than a simple product refresh. But I was still expecting a tad more. Seems the stock market thought so too. Shame.
Anyway, if you're interested, check out this Engadget post for a pretty good play-by-play.

Predictions

2008-09-08T13:24:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow is Apple's "Let's Rock" event. Considering the time of year, a holiday season iPod refresh is expected by everyone. There are, of course, rumors of all sorts of other things too. But we'll get back to that.
Taking a look at Apple's stock (AAPL) today, we see a considerable drop in value. This is strange considering tomorrow's event. Historically, we see an uptick before an Apple event as anticipation mounts, with a sharp drop right after as people cash in and/or are disappointed. Why the down tick then? Well, I've heard it suggested that some big players are fiddling with the market, that the whole market is down (which is kinda true), and that there just isn't much expected from this event.
That last one is what certain analysts are saying of tomorrow; that it will disappoint. I disagree. Apple itself is unusually vocal about the importance of this event - which it would never do without justification. So I'm saying we're going to see more than just your average iPod refresh. Also notable, expectations aren't that high in the first place - so I don't think anyone is actually going to be disappointed. So, putting my money where my mouth is, I have picked up more Apple shares while the fruit is ripe (ha ha).
Oh, Microsoft is also pegged to release new Zunes tomorrow. Which is hilarious. Not only does no one care about the Zune - they especially won't notice because of the Apple event.

Spore Day

2008-09-07T10:31:00.000-04:00

So the highly anticipated game of Spore comes out today. It is truly an awesome looking game (and unfortunately i don't think my computers' specs are up to par). I could try to explain it - but you should just watch this awesome trailer for the game:

Two Tours

2008-09-06T03:56:00.000-04:00

I missed it last year, but last night I went on the KGB Underground Tour. The KGB is easiest-ly described as an anarchy group (but not dangerous), so this tour is the things-the-admissions-tour-would-never-include tour. It was very entertaining - but that wasn't all.
After the tour I broke off, but ended up back where a few remaining people from the tour were. I soon caught wind that there was shortly going to be a second, better, tour. See, during the first tour KGB was kind enough to point out certain places on campus that "don't exist". Well, this second tour certainly did not go to any of those "non-existent" places. He he.

Bill Gates Traumatizes Millions

2008-09-05T00:24:00.000-04:00

I hate to just echo the Blogosphere* - but I can't pass this one up. In an attempt to rejuvenated their public image, Microsoft has begun airing a series of ads with Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter who has apparently been paid $10 million (and is actually a Mac user). One wonders how the aging crypt-keeper of technology and the has-been comedian could help anyone's image, but we'll see. Most terrify is the end of this first ad, where Bill Gates booty-shakes. To see for yourself (and wind up scratching your head):

*I apologize in advance - I am not going to cite any sources because this is just all over the place.

Bon Anniversaire!

2008-09-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was actually the one year anniversary of this blog's first post.
Birthday gifts for the blog can be sent to:

Chris J. Shull, the Blog
c/o Chris J. Shull...

The Blog likes extension cables, Twizzlers, and iPod Touches - among other things.

Mmmm

2008-09-03T08:43:00.001-04:00

What's better than pancakes for breakfast? Fresh, home-made pancakes for breakfast, that's what! My Bisquick got, ummm, mothball flavored while in storage (yeah, that was bad). So I got more yesterday.
Some of you may be surprised that I'm eating breakfast at all. Luckily my sleep schedule is crazy, so I've been waking up really early (so your breakfast is my lunch) - early enough to be hungry for food before I leave. Thus, I had pancakes today.
I love those moments where life is just gooooooood.

Google Chrome

2008-09-02T06:52:00.001-04:00

Announced yesterday, the beta of Google's new Google Chrome web browser will be released today. Based on WebKit (yes, just like Safari!), Chrome looks to be like an OS-in-a-browser - if it works as described. Seeing as Google's bread and butter these days is web apps, I'm guessing they got frustrated with current browser limitations and decided to make their own. The question is, will it be adopted? The sad truth is that most users still use IE The Terrible, despite the offerings of Firefox, Safari, etc. I'm curious how Google plans to change this.
Also, check out the informative and entertaining Google Chrome comic book.
As of writing, the Google Chrome website is still unavailable.

On the Hand

2008-09-01T07:52:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has spent any time around me has likely noticed that I often take quick notes on the back of my hand. I've always said that it is much easier to lose a piece of paper then it is to lose my hand - and if I lose my hand I have bigger problems anyway.
Well, I finally found a good reason why this practice may not be so great. Last night I slept with my hand pressed against my face. Low and behold, I awoke to find that which was on my hand had transfered over to my cheek! (A picture is not forthcoming.)

I Love Whiteboards

2008-08-31T04:31:00.001-04:00

Going back to Thursday, running a lab was ... interesting. I certainly know a few things I have to improve. But I think the main thing was it was the first time these people had coded in a while, so things should become easier.
I also gave one on one help to someone a couple of days ago - much more fun. And I discovered that sometimes the best way to teach code is not on a computer. Whiteboards are so much easier, and faster.
Today I have extra help hours. Hopefully people will show up so I'm not bored silly (ironically, I never went to extra help).
In other news, I am thirsty (though I'm sure most of you know this already). Since arriving in Pittsburgh 7-8 days ago I have downed eight 2L sodas and a jug of grapefruit juice. And that's just in my dorm.

What's in a Name?

2008-08-30T00:29:00.000-04:00

The newest CMU-built dorm has been renamed. For the past couple of years it has been called "New House" (yes, very creative). However, at some point over the summer it became "Stever House" - and since this was poorly advertised, it is throwing everyone but the freshmen through a loop (until I saw the new signage I thought it was a joke). That aside, this is what I really want to know:

How much money does it take to rename a dorm?
Who (other than this mysterious "Stever") has that kind of money?
Why hasn't my cost of tuition or housing dropped?

Cause really, wouldn't it be nice if the university passed the generosity of Stever on to the students?

Puppy

2008-08-29T00:30:00.000-04:00

So my family has gotten a new puppy - an australian shepherd. I haven't seen it, but I'm told I should imagine "a black puppy" like one of these "with white paws and chest".

Me Update

2008-08-28T01:15:00.000-04:00

So today's just going to be real quick.
My classes aren't that bad (but, you know, they're classes). Today is also going to be my first time actually doing CA stuff for that programming class. I'll be leading my section in lab work. I'm looking forward to it. It's kind of strange though, cause the people in my class are actually people I know, who are the same year as me (some are even IS).

Party Tricks

2008-08-27T01:15:00.000-04:00

Everyone needs a party trick or two. You know, when you want to draw attention to yourself, or you need to do something to un-bore everything. Easy example: magic tricks. My father likes hanging a spoonfrom his nose (apparently this is hard for people who haven't broken their noses).
What do I do? I've got a few - but I always like to whip out old student IDs from when I had a different haircut. Also fun: I can hack into a Mac in less than five minutes* (and no, no damage is done, and I don't take it apart).
*Before you say that this is a massive security problem, it isn't (I'll spare you the whole discussion, but trust me, I'm an expert).

Surprise Maintenance

2008-08-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

I really like the maintenance guys for CMU housing. They usually get right on top of problems (esp. if it's important). But sometimes it's also a bit startling.
I've only been around once when maintenance actually showed up (and I was in the shower nonetheless), but they have this habit of fixing things - without telling you. For example, I requested a mildew-free shower curtain last night. I get back to the apartment today and walk into the bathroom, and something is different. Low and behold; new shower curtain. But they didn't leave a note or any other indicator that they were there. This is fine, easily noticed - but that's not always the case.
Some of our lights require special bulb replacement when they burn out. So after requesting a new bulb you just have to flick the switch every one and a while to see if maintenance has been by to fix it yet.
I don't know, I just find it odd considering we've had paper for millennia, and email for decades.

Year Two, Day One

2008-08-25T00:01:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of classes. My schedule is from 9:30AM to 9:30PM, but the three classes are dispersed throughout hat time. Yes, my Monday is wretched.
Luckily, the first one is actually my new job. I'll be CAing (Course Assistant) for a programming class (15-111). Simply put, a CA is like a TA, but not as intense. It's going to be a lot of fun!

Risk

2008-08-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

I just played a totally wicked game of Risk, which I won (and I never win). For Risk players out there - this will be fun:
I started my turn with 8 + 15 armies from cards. In an all-or-nothing effort, I fought another player down to the wire, and beat him. I then took his 4 risk cards, in addition to my remaining 2. Due to some fun bits of game rules I had to immediately cash in cards, and luckily I now had 2 whole sets. So I had 20 + 25 armies to place in the middle of my turn. At this point the 2 remaining players forfeit.
Woohoo!

Logs

2008-08-23T00:43:00.002-04:00

Here at shullian.com I keep three sets of traffic logs (plus download logs); one master list of my own, as well as two third party ones (Google Analyics and StatCounter).
Right now this data isn't really important, but it's still really fun. For example, I can see who is linking to my site (I was able to understand the German blogger - but not the Japanese one). I can also see where people are (for some reason the Germans have always given me a lot of attention - second only to the USA). And thankfully there are more hits from Mac users than Windows users!
If you haven't already, be sure to check out the visitor map (based off my own logs) to see a piece of this in action.

Home

2008-08-22T01:15:00.000-04:00

Late today I'll finally be able to get into storage. You know you don't really notice things like cups - until someone lock all yours up in a closet and won't let you have them when you need 'em. Other things I'd like to have:

Other Tableware
Cooking Stuff
Towels
Real Shampoo
Other things that are in storage, and I forget are there - but will want.

This Blog Now Written in Pittsburgh [Updated]

2008-08-21T10:01:00.001-04:00

Time to unpack!
But first - apologies to my sister who I neglected to say goodbye to. Love ya!
Update: It's also via an 802.11n Wi-Fi connection!

Love Chicken

2008-08-20T02:23:00.001-04:00

Have you ever played love chicken?
Seen how close two people can get
Before one of them starts kissin'?
But tell me this; who wins the bet?

Oh how many times have I lost this game?
I was tempted to just let this one sit without a word (though obviously I'm not). I just like the idea of two people hurtling towards each other; not necessarily toward their own destruction, but toward something infinitely better.
I wrote this down the shore one day - and unlike many of my other poems, I wrote it in a state of utter happiness.

Last Days

2008-08-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

So I've entered that bittersweet timeframe before heading back to Pittsburgh where everything seems to be a last time. For example, yesterday was my last official day as Manager of the Barclay Farm Snack Bar. And while not having to go to work is nice, I will miss the experience. I've never had a job quite like it before (and depending on how things work out, may never again).
Then again, I'm already lining up some awesome future employment ... but more on that later.

Speedy Voicemail

2008-08-18T00:30:00.001-04:00

You ever get sick and tired of listen to those obnoxiously long voicemail messages? Sometimes it feels like forever before the beep. Not only are some people's recordings long, but the automated machine just keeps talking and talking (no, I do not want to page this person - I don't even know what that does).
Well, I've* discovered a way around all that. Usually you can skip right to the beep by press a just one button - but it changes depending on the carrier of the person you are calling. This results in one tiny, little problem - you can't just randomly hit the jump keys because some carriers have other carrier's jump keys assigned to other functions. For example, "*" is Verizon's jump-to-voicemail key, but is also AT&T/Cingular's key to check voicemail. So what do you do?
Well, in my experience, trying the jump keys in the following order has resulted in no problems:

1 - * - #

Just be sure to check between tries - you don't want to accidentally record key tones in your message.
In case you're curious, these are the carriers I know (if you know any others - comment!):

AT&T/Cingular: 1
Verizon: * or #

Now I just need a way to block peoples' ghetto-rap ringback tones.
*Special thanks to E. N. D. for his help.

One Month Streak Celebration!

2008-08-17T00:01:00.000-04:00

Today marks one whole month of straight posting. Starting July 17th I've posted once a day, every day.
In celebration I am going to let you all see the totally wicked (I think) shullian.com visitor map as plotted on Google Maps:

Go to Visitor Map

It's always been there - you just didn't know it. It shows the approximate location of the last 100 unique visitors. (So do your part and keep your marker on the map.)
Here's looking to another great month!

Small

2008-08-16T23:33:00.002-04:00

You know those scenes in movies where they start with focus on a particular thing and then "zoom-out" until you can see the entire Universe? Well you should try that. Only don't think about the scene (as I usually do), but focus on yourself.

Start by picturing just yourself. Then Jump back until you can see the building you are in, then the city you are in, and then the country you are in. Remember to focus on where you are. Now imagine where you are in the Solar System, and then the Milky Way, and then the Universe.

Trust me, if you do it right it's an interesting experience.

Meditation Imagination

2008-08-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

Every once and a while I like to challenge my mind. While imagining something can be fairly easy - it is far harder to simultaneously conceptualize something in it's entirety.

Start easy. Relax, close your eyes, and block everything else out. Now begin imagining a wooden pencil. Build it up. Start with the graphite core. Hold that in you mind as you add the wood, and the yellow paint, and the eraser, and the metal bit that holds the eraser on. When you have the entire pencil, every part of it together, in your mind, just hold it there a long as you can. Your mind may be tempted to focus on just one part at a time - but you must focus on every part at the same time.
Once you've got that, work your way up to more complex things. If you want a challenge try skipping to something really complicated - it's exhausting.

If you're wondering where I got this one, I got it out of the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. Near the end of that series the (totally sci-fi) theory is posed that if a being could hold the entirety of an object in their mind, then they could essentially teleport that object anywhere in the universe. This was, of course, impossible for any human mind to do. But just for fun I like to try to try anyway.

Tech on TV

2008-08-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

Never believe the things you see on TV - especially when it comes to technology. First off, when you see the screen of a device on TV - realize that is not the real screen. It has been added in in post-processing CGI. The easiest way to tell this is when an idiot actor holds a device, like the iPhone, upside down - but the screen is magically right-side-up.
But what really gets me foaming at the mouth is the bullshit technology they use on some detective shows. If Numb3rs can hire mathematicians to verify math, then why can't CSI: NY put a geek on staff? Surely a geek is cheaper. Sometimes it just seems like writers got hold of a list of hacker terms and figured they could pull the wool over the viewers' eyes; the terms are all real, but they aren't used in the right way. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Free Energy by Meditation

2008-08-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I'm feeling tired, this exercise really helps me out. It's especially good when just waking up.

Find a comfy chair, or perhaps your bed. Relax. Look around you.
Now close your eyes and steady your breathing. Make sure all your muscles are relaxed. Imagine the room your are in - visualize that which is around you.
Now focus on you body; your skin, your fingertips, where your body comes in contact with something else. Keep focusing on that.
Now begin to draw energy from the world around you. Feel your body and mind draw strength straight from the air around you. Feel it gather on your skin, absorb through your pores, and energize your body.
When you have had your fill, open your eyes and enjoy your rejuvenated spirit.

Granted, this doesn't always work. But if you can manage to suspend your disbelief, you should give it a try.

Something Meditative

2008-08-13T00:11:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't necessarily say I meditate, though I do tend to do a lot of contemplation. There are so many reasons to just think (other than when you need to, of course). For example, I like to be aware of my own self; to evaluate my life, and my actions; and to contemplate that which is around me. And these pondering can result in any number of interesting consequences.
I'm sure you all have you own little mental exercises. And for those of you sitting there thinking, "Goodness gracious, I don't." I have good news; I'm going to start sharing my mental rituals with you. And I encourage everyone to try them - like I said, they have interesting consequences.

RadioShack

2008-08-12T21:45:00.001-04:00

So I love RadioShack - seriously, how can any geek not? But sometimes they just get under my skin. Not only do they sell things they shouldn't, but I always want to spell it "RadioSchack" (like it's German!). Oh, and their latest ad campaign has a funny flaw.
The ad suggests that RadioShack and technology equals peace. In fact they use a graphic similar to the following:

+ + + =

But let's take a second and apply some algebra:

- = + +

Does that mean that if we had peace, and had no RadioShack then we'd all have technology? Sometimes over thinking is just plain fun!

A Rhyme Thing

2008-08-11T22:28:00.000-04:00

Another one pulled out of cold storage:

They all want to hold her hand,
But she claims they do demand.
So she runs from ev'ry suitor-
Even those that would suit her.

Sometimes rhymes help the flow of a poem. But sometimes I just enjoy the essence of a rhyme. This one fits so nicely, but it is also kind of ... unexpected.

Back Up!

2008-08-10T23:56:00.000-04:00

I have recently become painfully aware of the importance of backing up computers. I myself experienced hard drive failure during the end of last semester, and a close friend of mine just lost everything this weekend.
Don't think that it'll "never happen to you", because it probably will. Despite the fact that modern technology works marvels to prevent data loss, bad things still happen to good people. Your drives may be old, they may be poor quality, or you may have jostled your laptop just a tad too much - it doesn't matter why, it's just plain devastating when it happens.
And it's preventable. There are so many products out there that can save your digital life. Apple's Mac OS X Leopard even has automatic backup software, called Time Machine, built right in. All you need is an extra hard drive to back up to. Best of all, if you look in the right places, hard drives are dirt cheap these days (i.e. a 500GB drive for $60, or these others).
It's really easy to set up, you don't need to have it plugged in all the time, and you can still use the backup drive to store other things.
So don't let me say, "I told you so!".

She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain When She Comes

2008-08-09T14:00:00.003-04:00

I am now the proud owner of ... (drumroll please) ... pinchofsalt.org! This was my favorite, and I'm glad you all agreed.
It may not look like anything right now - but I'll be sure to let you all know when things get cooking (I'm sorry - I had to, just once).

Hello World!

2008-08-08T23:45:00.001-04:00

If all has gone according to plan you are now accessing this blog on the new and improved, out of beta, shullian.com website. Those of you with old bookmarks may have gotten 404 errors when trying to get your fix today - so update your bookmarks accordingly.
Please be sure to let me know if you are experiencing any growing pains. I know that there may be some issues with browser compatibility - but I'll continue working on it. However, all seems to be working on the latest versions of Safari and Firefox, and the Blog can be accessed safely via the archives if need be. Browser compatibility is currently an issue do to Ajax on some of the pages. For example, the Closet Poetry page always fetches the latest version of a poem from GDocs, and the Blog exercises some server-side caching and automagic page updating (that's right - you never have to reload the Blog page!). Also improved are certain pages' load speed (though this could also still use some tweaking).
Enjoy!

Square #5

2008-08-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

What do I want,
Or I believe?
I've got two lives;
Now which to lead?

Have you ever been at a crossroads of you life - and been able to tell?

Carmen Sandiego

2008-08-06T14:00:00.000-04:00

As you get older, you realize just how foolish you've been in the past. Take, for instance, Carmen Sandiego. I used to love playing those games. But I never really questioned the things which she stole; like, the Eiffel Tower.
To start off, why would anyone want to steal the Eiffel Tower? Second, how would you be able to steal the Eiffel Tower? It's huge and it's surrounded by people constantly. But let's just say you felt like stealing it and actually pulled it off; Where would you hide the Eiffel Tower?

Sound Off!

2008-08-05T23:44:00.001-04:00

I'm making a new cookbook web app. Mainly because I want to access my mother's recipes from wherever I am. But I'm thinking of hosting on its own domain. The problem is finding a good one that is available. Which of these sounds better: PinchOfSalt.org, chefshare.org, everyonecooks.org/net, eatitup.org, chefalry.com/org/net, or opencooking.org?
Sound off in the comments!

Release Your Inhibitions (Feel the rain on your skin)*

2008-08-04T23:11:00.000-04:00

I haven't challenged you in a long time, so here we go:
All of you with portable music players (iPod, CD - cassette if you must), I want you to take it with you everywhere. Make sure you've got some music that really moves you - physically that is. Cause here's the challenge;

Next time you find yourself in a public area where no one knows you,
just start dancing to your music.

That's right; break it down, pop it, pump it, grind it, boogie oogie oogie till you just can't boogie no more**.
Yeah, no one will no what you are dancing to (they won't even be able to hear it). They will likely give you funny looks. Forget them. They do not know you, you do not know them, and you will likely never see each other again. Do it in the supermarket, parking lots, or where-ever (my favorite place is BJs). Enjoy the dance and revel in your freedom!
Want extra bonus points (on top of the ones you get for completing this challenge)? Record yourself dancing and send it to me!

*from Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
**from Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste Of Honey

More From the Archives

2008-08-03T20:40:00.001-04:00

The archives are huge. But frankly, it's becoming hard to find the stuff worth sharing anymore. Here's something I think makes it though:

The thoughts inside my mind are gib'rish,
With poems of love and dreams of kisses.
I'd wish for you with all three wishes;
You are the one which my heart misses.

No analysis; I think you get the idea.

Inspected

2008-08-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

I got a visit from the health inspector yesterday. And guess what, the BFSC Snack Bar passed! We had a couple of minor problems - but nothing serious, and it was certainly better than years before. And of course, this is the first time that passing was actually my responsibility. But the whole thing was lightning fast (maybe 15 minutes), so I couldn't be happier.

Riddle Me Poetry

2008-08-01T12:01:00.005-04:00

How would you know what up feels like
If you had never felt so down?
And could you ever just stand still
If you'd never spun round and round?

The idea is that you need to feel the whole range of emotion before you can understand your self at any given time. More simply put; it's all relative.
I actually tried really hard to expand this thought, but it was just too strained. So here it is now in its petite glory.

Something Serious

2008-07-31T12:01:00.001-04:00

When becoming an atheist there are many things that must be rejected and other things which must be accepted. One of the scariest of those is accepting your own mortality. Once you realize that there is no life after death - all that's left is death. No one, of course, wants to die - but at least the religious have something to look foreword to (science fiction actually has an answer to atheistic life-after-death called "ascension", but I don't buy into it).
Which makes me think; I have already used up a quarter of my life. Just how long am I going to have to struggle to obtain complete happiness? When I finally get everything I want in life - how long am I going to have to enjoy it? Factor in probable senility in my later years and it really gets me questioning things. Maybe I should be putting my full efforts into getting thing I want now, so that I can enjoy them for as long as possible.
And maybe that's morbid, or maybe it has forced me to understand exactly what I want in life. I know I want worldly success - and I have a general plan on how to get there. I know I want the love of my future wife - so I don't fool around when it comes to women (and maybe that's a scary idea - but it just means that I don't go for anyone who I don't think is worth it). I even know I want kids at some point.
How many people (guys?) my age can say these things? Maybe I'm just crazy - but I'd like to think that knowing what I want in life makes me a better person. And if you never set goals for yourself, how can you ever expect to get what you want?

Remember

2008-07-30T20:27:00.002-04:00

I dedicate the following mythic passage to a similar woman in the present, who should certainly keep the lesson in mind:

The first woman was named Pandora. She was made in heaven, every god contributing something to perfect her. Venus gave her beauty, Mercury persuasion, Apollo music, etc. Thus equipped, she was conveyed to earth, and presented to Epimetheus, who gladly accepted her, though cautioned by his brother to beware of Jupiter and his gifts. Epimetheus had in his house a jar, in which were kept certain noxious articles, for which, in fitting man for his new abode, he had had no occasion. Pandora was seized with an eager curiosity to know what this jar contained; and one day she slipped off the cover and looked in. Forthwith there escaped a multitude of plagues for hapless man,--such as gout, rheumatism, and colic for his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his mind,--and scattered themselves far and wide. Pandora hastened to replace the lid! but, alas! the whole contents of the jar had escaped, one thing only excepted, which lay at the bottom, and that was HOPE. So we see at this day, whatever evils are abroad, hope never entirely leaves us; and while we have THAT, no amount of other ills can make us completely wretched.

(from The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch)

Someone Else for a Change

2008-07-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

I always share my poetry with you all, but this time I'd like you to take a look at someone else's work. Take a look at the lyrics to Bleeding Love. (performed by Leona Lewis; written by Ryan Tedder and Jesse McCartney - source).
Other than the fact that Leona Lewis sings this song incredibly - I have to give real props to the writers. Maybe they wrote it so anyone could identify with it, or maybe I'm just keen on identifying with it - but the story told here feels very familiar.

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

2008-07-28T23:07:00.002-04:00

Whew! Almost missed posting today.
Anyway, I have nothing else to write so I'm going to let you know about some of the things I'm working on.
Bored out of my mind, I have begun a Spreadshirt store that I am slowly adding t-shirt designs to. Nothing fancy; just simple geek garb. It will be featured on my new website. And I don't expect to sell a thing.
My much anticipated ballad is nearing first draft state - just one stanza left to go. I forget when I actually started it - but it's been something like a year in the making.
Speaking of which - I have already begun companion piece to that ballad. I may decide that they should be released simultaneously, or not.
And hopefully I'll have something better to blog tomorrow.

More Drivel from the Poet

2008-07-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

Pressed to find something to blog today I dug through the archives and elevated this to "sweet nothing" status:

Thirteenth Sweet Nothing
by Chris J. Shull

Long ago in a lonesome time
Appeared a girl who was like none.
And when her hand held tight to mine
We danced all day upon the sun.

And I'm no more the lonesome knight;
Now blessed by her perfect design.
She makes makes me sing and dance all night
So long to being left behind.

Restoring the Linearity

2008-07-26T01:36:00.002-04:00

Long time readers may remember that I jumped from Sweet Nothing Nine to Eleven. Here is the missing link:

Tenth Sweet Nothing
by Chris J. Shull

Every day you taunt me
With that smile on your face.
Whenever I reach out
I am put in my place.
I just want to stop you
Where you stand - in your tracks;
So to take time to prove
That it's me that you lack.
And this won't change a thing
But I wanted to say
You're the girl of my dreams-
Now go push me away.

Again, another one that's just been sitting around forever but never made it out into the wild. I guess it was a mixture of not being content with the middle (I still don't think it's great - but it's the best I've got), and just wanting to put other things out for consumption. That said, I really just like the way the end sounds. Eat it up!

Square #4

2008-07-25T00:30:00.009-04:00

Along I walk
Past mourning doves.
My thoughts with you;
My one true love.

This one is one of my very earliest (the first?) squares. It's a bit corny - but I like it anyway.
Also, mourning doves are kind of a thing of mine, though this is the only piece I have which references them (oddly enough, I only found out that it was "mourning" and not "morning" when doing this post). When I used to ride the bus to school (ages ago it seems), the only sound in the morning, before the sun even came out, would be their lovely song (listen). Despite their not-so-magnificent coloring this dove is still beautiful. I love that I can find them everywhere - even around my Pittsburgh apartment. And when the mourning dove takes flight it displays a hidden radiance; the tips of its tail are pure white - it really took my breath away the first time I saw it (picture sources: 1, 2):

Nugget of Wisdom

2008-07-24T02:17:00.000-04:00

Life is a series of moments in which the answer to any given moment does not even match the question of the next.

Fair Warning

2008-07-23T01:10:00.003-04:00

I've been working on redoing the entirety of shullian.com in my own code (it's actually quite cool, for any of you geeks out there). But this post isn't about that. This post is fair warning that if you watch my blog via shullian.com - then it will be changing URLs in the near future (the RSS feed will remain the same). If for some reason your daily fix isn't coming up, just point your browser to shullian.com and navigate to the new blog page. Then bookmark.
For now - take a look around the beta site. It's a work in process, so improvements will be made (and fun features added). The snazzy parts are in the poetry section and the home page. The crazy backend fun is in the blog and the app pages.

Square #3

2008-07-22T03:11:00.001-04:00

Inside my dreams
It felt so right:
The holding tight,
The kisses light.

Ahh, so true. This is such a perfect capturing of myself.
I'm not too fond of the rhyme scheme though ("ABBB") - kind of feels like a list of "-ight"s.

Ethics & Morality

2008-07-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I haven't written about this before, but here goes:
I usually consider myself someone with very well defined morals (and I do my best to live by them). But when my iPod reselling extravaganza was in full swing I realized that, in terms of the business world, I sometimes couldn't figure out what was right and and what was wrong (i.e. Is it right to sell something to someone at markup when they could get a better price at a public website?). I had always thought the idea of a course on ethics was ridiculous, but I now want to take one of these classes just so I can see where other people stand (and then draw my own conclusions).
And I've been questioning myself again as manager of the BFSC snack bar. From what I understand, my sole reason for employment is to turn around a foundering enterprise. But just how far can I go? It a classic question of ends, means, and justification. If I don't care about customer satisfaction and disregard the happiness of my employees I could probably generate a fortune. But how far can I push those limits and still like who I am? For now I'm going with, as in so many things, happy mediums.