google+ android app. the way a social network mobile app interface should be. g++

i cried tears of joy when i saw my SMS and MMS messages nicely threaded and archived in my gmail

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.zegoggles.smssync

still in bed. half awake. my non-overpriced non-overhyped non-overmarketed Android drowning in notifications. swiped my custom dock to tap open G+. stream screaming some guy Steve giving his job up. am i dreaming? shrugs. gives my customised screens and icons and widgets-that-give-instant-info Android a quick loving flip. and back to bed.

g+ nearby stream. it makes you feel "local" wherever you are in the world at that moment

my first egg pratha breakfast this holiday

so. simply based on the amount of attention garnered and dished out for yesterday ... you think we'll see the same level of attention any time soon to commemorate the millions of deaths in the two other countries from the two invasions that followed?

RESHARE:
ok. since i've been asked about some of the terms i have been using, and that google+ has now apparently gone public, i'm sharing this out again ...

thanks again to the great work by +Punit Soni and the rest of the Google+ team. but seriously, why messenger instead of huddle ??

Reshared text:
i've been using Google+ for about two months now, and i'm really enjoying the experience. my usage, or reasons to use it, is still morphing and evolving each and every day. but its been long enough for me to come up with some Google+ related terms for me (and maybe you too) to use ...

plus
- like a facebook post or a twitter tweet, or a blog entry
usage: i am so angry i need to vent out. new twitter takes till christmas to load and facebook is being facebook. luckily there's is Google+ for me to plus a quick rant and boldify my swear words, and then much later able to delete the plus after calming down

g+ing
- the act of using Google+, be it reading your stream, looking for interesting people, or joining in on interesting threads
usage: sorry boss, i really got no time to buy your lazy ass a coffee because i'm busy g+ing. i mean +Punit Soni was just informing us of another update, everyone is re-sharing a video a million times over so it must be that good that i just have to view it, and yet another pornstar account just turned up and i just have to check it out proper to decide if its real or not. so yeah boss. go get your own coffee cos i'm effing g+ing right now

+ing
- the act of clicking on that +1 icon to agree/acknowledge/like/whatever-reason-you-click-it-for
usage: my fingers are so numb i can't be effed typing in replies or acknowledgements on my nexus s while in this bumpy bus ride. i'll just keep +ing all the interesting *plus*es and threads instead

private+
- to plus or message an individual or two (three's a company, don't you know) ie. not creating a public or circle(s) plus
usage: if you are too shy, then just private+ me those photos then, and i'll decide if i'll private+ you mine

plusies
- the people who use Google+
usage: dude, me and my plusies are hanging out. don't be a pussie and come join us nerdy cool plusies

yeah .. uhm ... usable words yes no maybe? what's yours ...

welcome to Google+ all you people who have just signed up. i've been reading your " wtf is this. who what when where why how " posts.

us "old birds" are here to help. we are here to guide you. hold your hand. make you feel like you fit in. want you to enjoy the experience as much as we have.

but if you're going " why can't i do this like in facebook. where are my friends so i can add them like in facebook. fb fb la di da " then here's my advice to you ...

leave now and go back to your facebook cos you are obviously looking for a facebook clone - which is not what Google+ is.

return only when you finally have an open mind and feel ready to embrace something new and different.

nina. diaz. is effing. awesome.

RESHARE:
ok. as touched as i am with this HUGE influx of random people circling me ( before public i had an average of 3 per week. now its average 5 per day ) maybe cos they find some of my public posts interesting, please note that i will not circle you back immediately. in fact, i will not circle you randoms back at all if you are not even sharing a single post with me (unless we've interacted before)

and to help you understand who what when where how i circle back, here is a simple algorithm i came up with. feel free to share it out and use it yourselves.

note
i really don't mind the random circling, considering i'm not some well known guy or celebrity. but my contacts are simply getting to big to be easily managed. so i hope you understand if i don't circle back, especially when there's not a single post shared out with me. besides, even if i don't circle you back, you will still have easy access to my public posts on your stream.

if( addMe() == random ) {
-- if( sharePost() ) {
---- readPost();
---- if( is( interesting ) ) {
------ add();
---- }
---- else {
------ pfft();
---- }
-- }
-- elseif( !sharePost() ){
---- checkProfile();
---- if( is( realLifeFriend ) ) {
------ if( i.like ) {
-------- add();
------ }
------ else {
-------- pfft();
------ }
---- }
---- elseif( is( family ) ) {
------ slapForehead();
------ scanOldPostJustInCase();
------ add( circle(Family) );
------ doubleConfirm( circle(Family) );
---- }
---- else ( is( G+erWithPriorInteraction ) ) {
------ random( currentMood( add() ));
---- }
-- }
-- else {
---- if( isARealLifeHotChick ) {
------ echo " wtf are you waiting for? ";
------ add( circle(yeahRightIWish) );
---- }
---- else {
------ random( currentMood( add() ));
---- }
-- }
}

Reshared text:
erm. i'm not an actor. i'm not a star ( urgh remember the song? ). i'm no celebrity. i'm not famous. i'm poor and i don't drive. and obviously .. i'm not like the best looking mangkuk on g+.

so what gives? why all the sudden random adds of me?

me now old man. i've lost track of the countless +ing i've done on other random plusies, whose pluses were simply too good for me not to click on the +ing button. and its from there that we "continue the relationship" by circling each other.

i am kinda touched if randoms circle me because of something i plused or posted. but it would really help if you could also +1 the post or comment so at least i know you existed before circling me.

but if not, i may still circle back if you look interesting enough, although for now, if you wanna be included in my .. uhm .. g+ social circle .. make sure you at least have some interesting plus shared out with me

update
lol. ok. if you circled me because we personally knew each other in the past, please private+ me a message to remind me. like i said. i now old man. poor memory ...

other than the sudden influx of people circling me, it would be good if i am actually notified if someone has shared a circle to their circles which has me in the circle.

".. yo Riz. you are so amazing that someone has shared out a circle which has you in the list. get ready yo for the sudden influx of adds. G+ loves you .."

so at least i can get ready to battle that red square on the top right corner of my desktop screen.

another thing that would be good too is yet another notification which actually tells me where the person is coming from.

".. Pinky has added you through a circle shared by The Brain .."

at least that way, i won't classify you as a total random, and would also, personally, make it easier for me to circle manage.

i made a mistake some crazy nights ago, and somehow synched my picasa account. and because its now tied to your g+ account, all photos from your albums and posts will appear in your android gallery.

but i'm one of those people who don't like to have anything i don't want or need, to exist in my android mobile. and what made it worse was how the photos from your g+ posts are sorted by date and displayed as an individual album.

so i squeezed and squeezed my two round ones to find a way to remove and unsynch my picasa account .. to no avail. note android versions 2.3.4 and 2.3.6

but today, while doing business in the toilet, i managed to figure it out.

so if you're like me and wanting to remove your picasa / g+ photos and albums from the android's gallery ...

applications > all > gallery > clear data

note. the photos and albums will still be there online. and any other photos stored on your mobile will also still remain

oh and yeah. congrats to the Cats. anyone else having Pies for dinner tonight?

my stream today has mostly been about some upcoming fruity announcement.

yawns

gonna have me an awesome ice-cream sandwich and then to bed. nites all ...

i finally forced my siri out of my bed. sipping coffee and giggling at my stream. i mean come on people. what were you expecting. something new?

but you can't blame Apple though. afterall, how can anyone come up with anything new when they're too busy in the courts trying to sue everyone else instead of being in the labs to innovate ...

my introduction to computers and programming was on a "black screen green text" Mac when i was 12, and i haven't look back since. thank you Steve Jobs. RIP.

i just experienced my first episode where Lily Serna failed to solve the number presented ...

all this while, i've been using circle me circle you and all things circle. cos i loved this circles concept from when i first started using g+ beta. it was refreshing. it felt different. it was something new.

and this circles love affair was one of the main reasons i broke up with facebook and twitter.

but i just realised my notifications say Added you on Google+. uhm that ain't cool man. its soo not different. it feels like i've been down that road before. wouldn't Circled you on Google+ fit this circles concept better?

so we now have improved hashtag support in g+. while i do like the hashtags concept, i really hope i don't see a hashtags explosion here in g+ because i hate to read a good post being riddled or punctuated with hashtags. it spoils my reading fun, and i don't wish for my stream to look like my twitter stream.

so please please keep your hastags to a minimal. use it only for actual trending topics. because g+ search works fine without them hastags.

i was watching the news report on the Bali quake, and it got me thinking how perfect the situation was, for reporters to make use of Google+.

these reporters could easily view their nearby stream, and report on what those who are actually on the ground at that moment - aka actual eye-witnesses - are experiencing / just experienced.

in fact, with the location attached, they could have visited the locations (when it was safe to, of course) and look for the g+ poster for an interview maybe.

but no. these reporters obviously do not use g+. hence we got shown a screenshot of a tweet by some footballers .. instead of our very own +Michelle W g+ post.

iii .. want ice-cream. i want ice-cream

my scrapbook photos you see are from a wallpaper i created for myself about three years ago. its screenshots of my codes, written in gvim, which included css, html with php smarty, inline jquery, and codes from my own jquery plugin - the one and only plugin i've ever built - overlayed together and lovingly arranged, on top of a base made of codes from a minified css file.

warning: may come across bad or inefficient codes when viewing image ..

half an hour video of Kerb from the Walrus years, a time before +chad peacock moved to the ghetto and build a white fence next door to me ...

i don't like it on top. i like it below. i can rest. relax. and just let the correct muscles do the work.







g+ android app notifications. why did you move?

update: regarding point one, new android app version 2.1.1 is out. it does seem to have fixed most of the issues i wrote about. but inconsistencies still linger with the auto refresh of views - refresh of notifications is still a 2 step process

those who've been following me will know i've been in bed since yesterday. and not being able to do much, its inevitable i'm on g+ most of my waking hour, with my android mobile. and i've noticed 2 things i just need to get off my chest - which i understand some may not agree with - and crawl to my desktop to write this up.

one
-----
i really dig the new UI of the app. in fact, i've loved the g+ app since day 1, and my first visible post (http://goo.gl/QkbRI) here was about it. but i really am hating the UX of this latest version.

i won't delve into the technical details

having to constantly do a refresh and still not see latest updates, especially in comments, is annoying. i still see old posts of plusies i've circled back, appearing in my incoming stream. and at times, my streams don't even load older posts.

and then, there's the +1 of posts in the stream view (not post view). i hate how after performing a +1, it seems to "refresh" the view, and many a times, it scrolls back up, as oppose to previous versions, where you stayed where you were.

but the worse is the notifications. having a "2 step" process to refresh is annoying - click to open then click to refresh. but i personally feel if g+ insists on this process, then having it on top is definately wrong. its not consistent at all with the whole "android experience".

true us android users should be used to having that pull down notification bar. but isn't the pull down an action only perfomed when you receive notifications? (this is not taken into account any apps you may have that can be activated through the notifications)

note that g+ notifications != notifications in android notification bar

i personally find the g+ mobile app notifications "view" to be the most important feature. but since g+ has decided it to be a 2 step process to refresh the latest notifications, then i feel it should go back to being below the screen. afterall, the bottom of the android interface is where all the "important" actions are. i mean heck, its where the dock is by default.

two
-----
i still see many users going "g+ sucks cos none of my friends are onboard yet". to these people, i think its about time you open your mind and learn to embrace something new that's not called facebook (or twitter).

if you want your friends, stick to fb. email them. or in fact, use your mobile to ring them up to chat or have a real conversation. cos i'm pretty sure that's what a mobile phone can still do.

g+ is all about meeting new people, forming your own community, sharing and exchanging information, hangout with +Carmelyne Thompson or simply enjoy the many good photos shared out by people like +Trey Ratcliff

hell, you can even start learning to write proper words and form meaningful sentences again, since you are not bound by a character limit like twitter.

so if you're ready to explore a whole new experience, forget what its like on those other social networks, especially facebook. more importantly, you do not need your friends to enjoy g+.

look for interesting people to circle in and spice your stream. don't know who to add? check out the many circles shared by the likes of +Christina Trapolino

my head is starting to spin

back to bed. i honestly rarely fall sick. but when i do, it takes quite awhile to recover. so goodnight all ...

gvim and vim has been my trusty indispensable sidekick for more than ten years now. set up your (g)vimrc well and it kicks every other text editors' arse .. including some IDE's.

bring on the next 10 years!
link via +Scarlett Clark

i am an avid user of my incoming stream, meaning i DO read posts by those who circled me. i just don't often circle back simply because i like to keep my circles as lean as possible.

and its all good if you circled me through a shared circle, but later decide i'm not your cup of tea, and uncircle me.

BUT

if you circled me, and i don't circle you back, hence you uncircle me, then i say thank you for doing me a favour. because g+ for me is not about .. i friend you. you friend me. let's all be friends ..

if that is what g+ is for you, my advice is that you should go back to that other social network platform because you won't be enjoying g+ at all.

ps. wondering how i circle?
read http://goo.gl/TAWV5

shuffling to the radio tunes at the barbers

omg. i was pleasantly surprised there were more perth plusies who continued the shuffling trend today. we may just have a new movement here in perth!

i've set this page up for now. but i honestly have no idea or plans on what to do with it, especially if, and when, this movement grows.

for now, i'll try to post daily of any shuffling posts i come across in the day.

keep this new shuffling movement going Perth!

now, where are those critics and experts who have been writing Google+ off? i'm not sure which Google+ they were using, but it can't be the Google+ i'm using now, because i'm having so much fun atm

been using my mobile without a protective casing for one whole day now. its the first time since i bought my mobile. and it actually feels so good in my hands.

RESHARE:
i've was working on a multi-lingual site (english - arab) and was getting annoyed the arabic fonts were not showing up in my gvim. played around with different fonts to no avail. but turns out, i had to set the following ..

set encoding=utf-8
set guifont=Courier_New:h8 " make sure font supports the language

Reshared text:
its been awhile, but i finally got down to clean up my gvimrc file. and i thought i may as well share some of my settings that i must have, and can't live without.

note: gvim v7.3, mainly used for html, css, php smarty

" start maximised
au GUIEnter * simalt ~x

" start in insert mode
:start

" show tabs or spaces, trailing spaces
set list listchars=tab:··,trail:·

" default font
set guifont=Andale_Mono:h8

" auto correct typos - examples
ab teh the
ab widht width
ab hegiht height

" mappings - examples
inoremap !ul <ul><cr><li><a href="" title=""></a></li><cr></ul>
inoremap !mp margin:<space>0;<space>padding:<space>0;
inoremap {<space> {<cr><cr>}<up><tab>
inoremap <a <a<space>href=""<space>title=""></a><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left><left>

" remove trailing spaces with Ctrl-W
inoremap <C-W> <C-O>:%s=\s\+$==<CR>

" retab spaces with Ctrl-Q
inoremap <C-Q> <C-O>:%retab!<CR>

" use < or > and tab key to indent/unindent selected lines
vmap <tab> >gv
vnoremap > >gv
vnoremap < <gv

-------
ps. it would be awesome if someone can point me a better way to do
<left><left><left><left><left><left><left> ....

with over 14 years experience in web dev et al, i have my own favourite specific software and the right peripherals to use. at home, i have the best machine and tools i can possibly afford, to aid me in delivering the highest quality possible for every project i take on.

both my keyboard and mouse have programmable keys to perform quick tasks and spit out code snippets. i've got dual monitors set-up, but both with different native resolutions and brightness settings for testing purposes.

and i use gvim, customised to very specific needs, where i can easily code a website faster than you can figure out all the functions in your IDE.

so it irks me when someone tells me ..

we didn't get you that machine like we said we would, since if you're really as good as they say you are, this old machine with no graphics card and hardly enough RAM should not matter at all. but we do have Dreamweaver, which you must use, so that we can easily edit next time

or worse, when someone of authority go ..

i can't believe you dare ask me about progress for the new machines. i got better things to worry about like running the business. just be glad that you have a big Vista desktop, unlike my small windows 7 toshiba satellite laptop

i'm sorry.

but try telling a professional tradesmen to use your cheap tools you bought from K-Mart. go tell them hardcore gamers to use a generic $10 mouse and keyboard for a big competition. force a photographer to use a compact digital camera for his job at some big magazine, day in day out.

no. we don't usually do that, do we? because its their tools of the trade we're talking about.

i really do understand that in reality, we have to make do with what we got. i've been around long enough to understand budget constraints, company policies, etc. so i am more than capable to make do with what i got and still get the job done.

but never, ever, dictate to me that any machine, peripherals, or software you provide me to get the job done, should not matter to me at all. because ..

i am a web developer. and the software, desktop, & peripherals ARE the tools of my trade.



note: this is a long time coming rant, and a personal opinion based on my own experience over the last 8 years working full-time for companies and as a freelance developer. it has nothing to do with current environment.

i use an android powered mobile phone. i love how i can customise its look and feel to suit my needs and style.

i don't own any apple products. i find them too overpriced and overhyped. and i hate how "everyone" has one.

i use a windows 7 desktop for my work. it makes it easy for me to show and explain how-to-do's to my non tech savvy clients.

so what am i?

an android fanboy? no.
an apple basher? no.
given up on my linux? no.

i'm simply someone who uses the right technology to suit his budget, needs and situation.

my all time favourite is still the firefly class Serenity, but after watching Alien Resurrection the other night, it reminded me how the Betty is a very close second.

in fact, i think the Betty would probably top the Serenity (on my list at least), if it had gotten more screen time in the movie.

http://goo.gl/mLP0P
http://goo.gl/cwqpI

why i'm in love with google music atm

my current situation requires me to use different desktop machines each day. but with google music, i now can -

1. easily listen to my music anytime on any machine
2. save my mobile battery
3. no longer need to ctrl-c ctrl-v and ctrl-a del end of day

sighs
editing old codes to do new tricks

but

when you finally realise instead of
if (i % 3 == 0){
div.innerHTML += '</div><div>';
}

you could have easily done
$("element:nth-child(3n)")
.after(<'/div><div>');

you know it was a bad idea to have gone cold turkey on your coffee ...

i like the new look. i really like it a lot. but one minor complain i have is the mouse over on the logo. would prefer a click instead. or maybe a longer 'hover intent' time.

my other complain? it barely fits my netbook's native 1024x600 resolution. but then again, nothing looks good on my netbook.

and yes +Carmelyne Thompson you can still click to scroll to top. i'd be cursing and swearing heaps if they took that functionality out.

the little things do matter.

i'm one of those developers who is pretty big with the little ten cents five cents of a website or system. its these minute, barely noticeable lines and effects that most users would not normally notice at all, that adds up to contribute to the whole user experience.

but i do, so i totally appreciate what Google has done to the new look.

when you scroll down your screen, a very light shadow will now appear just below the new Google bar, to let you know the page is no longer at the top. some may not notice. some may not even care.

but for someone like me who has multiple screens and windows and tabs opened at once, i find this to be very useful.

so once again. well done to the Google team.

note. you can skip to the second half of this tl;dr post to get to the point

i'm seeing more new faces in my nearby stream. and i have this sudden surge in users - who seem new to g+ - circling me. i was thinking of writing up yet another posting faq, but a few posts yesterday made me decide to write about comments instead.

we've all seen and read plenty of posts and reshares of think about what you post and who your audience is. but it seems rare to find any hints or tips for comments.

in one scenario, someone left their email address in one of their comments. even though the post audience was limited, it still numbered to almost 800 users. the comment itself was a genuine "let's exchange contact details", but looking at their profile, their email address is not visible, meaning chances are high they wanted it to be private - which has just been quashed because now about 800 people know the address.

in another scenario, a user felt like sharing how they felt at that time. while it was also a limited post, and somewhat personal, it was pretty matured in that no names or specifics were mentioned. obviously there were some comments that followed, in support. but then the other party (to the post) felt the need to "set things straight" and posted their comments.

which was a totally fair call. but the problem is, the post audience now has a name to the other party, when before the comment, no one had a clue - unless they personally know the author. in fact, two of the other party commented, giving all the others an even bigger picture.

in both scenarios, you could say maybe they did not mind their privacy exposed. but when you view someone's profile, you can roughly gauge how private they want to be - be it hardly any public posts, or no personal photos, or even by the scarcity of profile info details.

so my advice to users who value some privacy here on g+ is to remember that commenting is no different to publishing a post. always know the post audience before you comment.

public - anyone and everyone can also read. be they someone in the author's circle, or a user streaming around, or some total random without a g+ account who stumbled across the post.

extended circles - everyone in the author's circle, plus those people's own circles.

limited - the common user trap. a limited audience could either be just one or two, a select few, or possibly everyone in the author's circle. if the author only has a handful of users, it probably may not be an issue. but if they have hundreds or even thousands in their circles, well it doesn't seem too private does it.

but how do you find out about limited posts?

click on the Limited text at the top of the post. it should bring up the number of people who can view the post. while it does not show everyone, you do get the number of people it is being shared with. and from that number, you should be able to think and decide how and what you want to comment.

but what do you do if you want to comment something but not have the post audience read it? well, you could always send a private message to the author. how?

if the author has enabled the ability to directly message them, you can do so through their profile. if not, start a new post. in the section where you select your audience to share with, type in the author's name. alternatively, you can mention them in your new post.

so again. if you're a user who wishes for some privacy, while still wanting to enjoy the fun that is Google+, knowing your audience should not be limited to only when you post. apply that same principle when commenting on other's posts too. and, while mistakes and regrets do happen, the good thing with g+, you can always edit or delete your comments, both through the desktop and mobile app.

i'm out ...

RESHARE:
while not exactly "hidden", there are some pretty useful stuff there (especially html and css for me) to remind you that you can, and in some cases, should, use.

via +Michael Balch

Reshared text:
Hidden Javascript and CSS features

Was looking for a solution to a small JS problem and came across a 4-page thread on StackOverflow about hidden Javascript features, tips and tricks. Check it out (http://bit.ly/ttT1Xc) - you'll learn a lot. It also links to similar threads about CSS, HTML, PHP, Java, Python, etc.

#js #javascript #css #html #java #php #python

the way i like my CSS image sprites

CSS Sprites. we all know what they are. we all love making use of them. why? for quite a few good reasons, but personally, i think its got 2 main selling points. first, it reduces HTTP requests. second, it makes rollover effects look seamless.

but how do you create these sprites? for me, i like creating them the manual way. it gives me full control of how i'm going to place them, based on an individual website. i like to arrange them in order of how they will appear on a page/website, hence making my CSS classes look very procedural (easy maintenance). and i try not to leave any (or at least, reduce) whitespaces. but one thing i will never do though, is chuck all my images into one single sprite.

yes, most will probably do that, creating one single big canvas of a sprite. HTTP request for images used for a website's structure will definately be reduced to just one. but why don't i do that?

well what happens if the image doesn't fully load. these days, most websites can be pretty image intensive (for structural elements, not content), so obviously one single sprite would be quite hefty in filesize. i'm the old skool extreme optimizer. i like everything to be small, not big. so if that one single sprite image don't fully load, the website will look pretty stuffed.

hence to prevent that, i like to split my sprites up into different sections. if its for backgrounds, then they all come into one. then maybe one for repeating images (backgrounds). another for navigation. and maybe yet another for the remaining base elements of a website. and if there are really many other images, i tend to group images with similar colours, together. this will make the sprites smaller in filesize, since there won't be a huge range for the stored color table.

also, horizontal sprites tend to be smaller in filesize compared to vertical sprites made up of the same images

with these few sprites together, if network is congested and not all images get loaded, at least the website won't look so bad. of course, it no longer is just one HTTP request, but it still is so much less than having individual seperate images.

it is important though, where possible, to include a background colour similar or predominant in the image, so it won't look so bad if the image don't load.

but despite all its good points, i still don't always create sprites for every single image on a website. images like say a company's corporate logo, i would prefer to leave them alone. this, i believe, helps a company's identity when users search for images of them. i'm pretty sure no one wants a search of their company on Google, and get confronted with results of an image which looks like an image junkyard to them.

but what i will always use for, as a sprite, are images relating to rollovers, like your Submit buttons, for instance. it makes the rollover process look seamless, instead of having to wait for a second or two while the rollover image gets downloaded.

some say preload, but we're talking about reducing HTTP requests here.

not everyone is on a fast connection at home. and these are the people you always have to keep in mind, not just your clients - who probably have some fast cable connection at work, hence they won't realise how slow it can be for their own users.

one downside though, is that due to the dynamic nature of most websites today, it is almost impossible to make sprites out of every images used, especially when its user editable/entry content.

so, CSS Sprites, use them wisely. they can be a double edged sword. my advice is to create them manually to reduce waste of space. keep in mind the website's structure to build your sprite accordingly. and finally, try not to create one huge sprite.

during summers in perth, i am a ninja.

i hunt down the shady spots to walk in.
no matter how small or little the shade is.

silent. deadly.
slim and sexy.

i am a perth summer ninja.

woke up. g+ mobile. scratched my eyes. and scratched again. 40+ new randoms circled me overnight - >30 females. i must be dreaming. what did i do last night? did i accidently post my nude pics as public - wait. skinny naked me would probably be a turn off to most. lol

but no, turns out +Carmelyne Thompson shared an 'all guys' circle which included me. thanks .. i think.

as usual, as much as i would love to circle back and meet new people, i have .. uhm .. a strict circle-back algorithm (http://goo.gl/TAWV5) to follow which takes time to go through - something i don't have for next few days and nights. so be patient.

so big wave to all you new followers. i'll be enjoying your posts in my incoming. and i'm off to (rush yet again) to work.

why the slim & sexy ninja ..

some think i'm skinny. but i'm not. others believe i'm scrawny. but again no, i'm not. i'm actually scientifically diagnosed as rizislimexic, more commonly known as slim.

and with my slim build, i float up and down the office staircase like a ninja, not once triggering the automatic lights. in fact, some supermarket sliding doors still fail to detect me.

but sexy?

well. its cos i'm sexy and you know it

$.each([

-- Lush, Elastica, Placebo,
-- Radiohead, Pulp, Bush,
-- Stereophonics, Suede

],function(x,band){
-- $band=band;
-- $band.each(function(){

---- loop( album(play) );

-- });
});

because of my experience ..

/* in the past */
while( !eof ){ ctrl(c); ctrl(v); code(); ctrl(s); }
echo 'that was fast and easy';
goHome();

/* current place */
while( !eof ){ ctrl(c); ctrl(v); code(); ctrl(s); }
echo 'that was fast and easy';
echo 'oh. no more work for me?';
scratchBalls(); digNose(); wait(99);
goHome();

.. yeah. i need to learn to slow down.

the new noise filter - my implementation

those who have been following me since the early days would know how anal i can be with my circles. it lead to me having quite a lot of circles, and these days, being lazy, i only view my main stream regularly, visit one or two other main circles occasionally along with my incoming stream, and only switch to the other many remaining once in awhile.

while this new filter is still new, i'm guessing if you don't have it on full, you may possibly miss out on some posts unless you visit that specific stream or view your fellow plussie's profile.

so what i've done is ..
- created a new circle
- include all plussies whose post i do not want to miss, in this circle
- set this circle to show everything in mainstream
- set some personal interest circles to filter at an acceptable level
- and set all other remainng circles to show nothing in mainstream

how do you implement yours?

to follow up on +Haroon Malik previous post, the past two weeks has definitely seen a huge influx of "new faces" in my nearby stream. I'm wondering if its because more people are buying the Galaxy Nexus, and hence inevitably signing up for a g+ account, or simply more users deciding to join the g+ party.

but whatever it is, and while most posts are simply fb/foursquare like check-ins atm, big wave hello to everyone in my nearby stream!

the please come quick bus. i can't wait to get to the office cos i'm not sure how much longer i can hold my bladder shuffle

your gmail address

i met and spoke to a few different groups of people the past few days and realised not many know how cool it is.

for example, if your gmail account is abc.xyz@gmail(dot)com, emails sent to abcxyz@gmail(dot)com will still be sent to your inbox. and the same goes with ab.c.xy.z@gmail(dot)com.. and so on.

in other words, as long as it contains all the characters in your (google) email address (account), the dots can either be left out, or anywhere in between (its the same too with logging in to Google)

now. what you do with this information, i will leave that up to you ...

earlier today, during a work break, i posted a limited entry ( http://goo.gl/2zPPF ) when i saw the supernatural mobile parked in the parking lot. i was really wondering why the Winchester brothers would be here.

but then i got home, analysed my photos, and realised why. they must have been trying to go after the #HawkJump, whose been popping up across the globe at the same time ...

i really do love the stock ICS launcher. but the one major disappointment for me was the inability to perform simple customisations like changing icons (without apps). it was something i was still hoping for, even though after the launch it didn't look like it.

so i finally gave in and installed nova launcher. its still in beta, but so far no major issues (for me) yet. and i also haven't really had the time to do any proper (design) work, so this will have to do for now ...

edit
sorry. meant to post the link to get nova launcher. note. if you don't wish to root, it still works, but without the widgets in the drawer (reverts to old skool homescreen long press)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1389071

its saturday. and as usual, i have my own work to do. i had photoshop on, and was doing some slicing ... and i couldn't help myself.

but making sure i only spend 15 mins on it, i decided to do just the text icons for the dock. and i think i'm really liking this version. personally my favourite so far.

note. font is an unofficial Roboto (the font that ICS uses) release

attached is my set-up, and a screenshot to show the text icon better. next on my list would be a new wallpaper - i'm anal with them cos my widgets has to fit around.

anyone, especially perth plusies, planning to attend the V8 race in perth this year? its 4th - 6th May, and tickets go on sale from the 31st Jan. i'll most likely be going with a very good friend of mine.

i used to get free tickets and pit passes when i did the TeamVodafone websites and online shop from 2007-2009 ( http://goo.gl/2CwNS ). but obviously not anymore, so we'll be only getting the GA tickets for all 3 days.

it would be good if us perth plusies can get together for the race. friday sessions are usually less in numbers, with the bulk of people in on the weekends. but i'm happy if we can all meet up for the sunday session. up the hill at corner 4 is always nice.

i'll shout out again when the date is near. in the meantime, enjoy some old clips of mine here ( http://goo.gl/shA46 )

i rarely comment on "external" posts that i know would most likely have a lot of comments or discussions. but when i feel the need to, i usually wait until what i hope would be the tailend of the thread, and only then post my comment if none of the prior comments equate to what i had to say.

so i waited yesterday until what i thought was the right time, and commented on https://plus.google.com/113882113745075873153/posts/Rjt66GLtnA2 - about the removal of the Incoming stream.

but woke up today to find my comment at +21 and in the middle of the thread. i've always assumed not many were as passionate with the Incoming as me, but guess i was wrong.

i already miss you Incoming .......

i really do like the the iconset i linked the other night ( http://goo.gl/6mur2 ) but some icons that i wanted to use were either missing or not too my liking. so with their included PSD, i made some of my own - especially the system icons that i need (wanted them in the new ICS icons)

and it led to me updating the icons for my old portfolio ( http://goo.gl/GXzWN ) site. which reminded me, i need to find some time to finally implement my what-was-new-now-old portfolio design, port domains, and switch over to my custom CMS.

actually. i don't just need time. i need motivation too ...

update
yes, the animation for the icons (in my portfolio) when you mouseover them are meant to behave that way. fun times for me when bored at work

really? is that what Google wants Google+ to be?

i mean exit an effing useful tool in Incoming Stream, where unconfused users with an average IQ can easily filter their many followers and easily find and engage with these new people.

enter more crap like adding "big, bold text" in your photos so you can easily join in on the memes and caturdays and inject more crap into the What's Hot

you know its just one of those days when your chocolate doesn't melt in your mouth. nor in your hands.

no.

it melted way before you could enjoy it, while being stored in your bag ...

oh nice. that was a good sleep in. now i'm awake. and i'm hungry. but strangely looking forward to get cracking again. here's a warning to all you quirks and bugs. you will be crushed today. because i feel as good as this dude right now ...

i prefer my WYSIWYG editor to be an actual WYSIWYG that displays content as per the website's styling. and not just in the editor, but the preview too - where the content would match (in style) and fit (in width) as per where it would be placed in the website - eg main content area or a side section

so spent 2+ hours cursing and swearing while working on the editor, the styleselect, and the preview plugin, and also getting it to work in a dynamic fashion (for pluggability). but it was too much work and i was just about to give up ...

... when i finally realised i was pulling in the the wrong CSS file on init.

damn. i need more coffee before any more work tonight. and i definitely need my uhm .. swordfish fix ...

i was watching the Crossings: Jackie Chan documentary earlier, where it detailed how he was struggling with his first foray into the american market. his first few movies then didn't do well, mainly because the production team put in more effort on trying to get him to speak the english language proper, instead of utilising his action sequence choreography.

long story short, it all turned out well for him, after his second foray. but it made me wonder what would have happened if he took his english lessons from this dude ...

i finally sat down and did up a new wallpaper. it looks simple, but took me hours just to get the positioning right. its 2 different wallpapers i had, put together. and some colour tweaks and added shadows.

details
Nexus S, stock ICS 4.0.3, Nova Launcher beta 13, ExtDateWidgetXL, Simple Calendar Widget, WeatherZone, Note Widget, custom icons, stock bookmarks & gallery widget

sweats. just did a 30 seconds run for the bus.

yup. that's a tick beside my thirty for the day month ...

i shared this before, but i just have to share it again. cos its still my favourite ad ever!

and seriously, if you're sick of getting parking tickets, then you should really consider buying this car, since it comes with anti parking tickets as standard too!

i still have plenty of work to do. but my room still feels so hot, even with the aircon having been switched on for awhile now. after a thorough investigation, i realised it was my monitors that was emitting the extra heat. so i had to turn both monitors off.

and now i can't do any work.

so dear client. don't blame me. blame this heatwave we're having ...

downloading from your google music

you can now (finally) download your music library back to your computer with the official gmusic Music Manager desktop application.

downloading - or retrieving as i prefer - your collection through the online interface is good in that you can retrieve a specific album or song you want. but there is a limitation on being able to retrieve them only twice. while i do understand the need for this limit, it can be pretty annoying.

this limit does not apply when you use the desktop Music Manager. but the only thing i do not like is the inability to select (at least) specific albums - it currently downloads your whole library.

now. will we see a (official) gmusic desktop player next?

while i find the storylines simple, with many gaps in-between, i simply love the whole Resident Evil film series. when the tv showed Apocalypse the other night, i decided to watch all 4 films, one each night, in sequence with the tv telecast.

and my favourite scene ever (from the series), has to be the Infected Crow scene from Extinction, especially that moment the fire filled the sky. only wished they held that bit a little longer though. a close second would be the Afterlife rooftop jump scene (the whole sequence).

Resident Evil - Extinction - Alice's Power 720p
Resident Evil: Afterlife - Rooftop Jump Scene

but honestly. other than the action sequences, its all about Milla Jovovich. like i wrote the other night ...

milla oh milla
you still tickle my willa

bring on Retribution ...

lately, i'm sure you would have come across many social media "experts" writing about google's new unified privacy policy & fb's timeline, especially regarding privacy. and honestly, i find it to be scare mongering.

if you think having an online presence and maintaining 100% privacy is possible in this day, you must be from another world. but i don't wish to enter into another debate. what i'll do is list the following links you should be using to maintain your google account

your google dashboard
https://www.google.com/dashboard/

3rd party & app-specific authorisation
https://accounts.google.com/IssuedAuthSubTokens

connected (to your google) accounts
https://profiles.google.com/connectedaccounts

liberate (download) your data
https://www.google.com/takeout/

most people will have their favourite inspirational quotes to put up in their office space. me, well i'm no different. i was doing some backups when i came across the inspirational quotes i put up in my old office back in 2007.

oh yeah. awesome quotes. got me through every, single, day, back then ...

i have an old Casio Exilim z30 digital camera, and it has served me well. plenty of memories and good shots taken with it. and as with everyone, you would hate to lose those photos.

so i have a few backups of them. external HDD, DVD, online repositories, etc. but i was playing around with Google+ albums when i realised it can also serve as a good secondary backup.

when uploading images to Google+ albums, images larger than 2048px (longest side), is scaled down and compressed. but if original image is no larger than that, it maintains the quality.

and all my old digital photos are no larger than 2048px longest side! plus, they don't count towards your Picasa free quota. nice. free backup storage while maintaining image quality.

http://goo.gl/qy3rX , http://goo.gl/Yk3aU , http://goo.gl/bBFs0

i just finished watching Russell Peters' The Green Card Tour DVD. bloody hilariously awesome. i may just go get his other 2011 DVD releases next week.

here's the clip that started it all for me ..
" hey. be a man. do the right thing. "

new year resolution 2012 #35

status:
unresolved

description:
smile back and chat up any girl who smiles at me first

log:
attempt 1 - fail.

walking through Perth city every morning, on the way to work, is such a mixed bag. one morning you get a girl smiling at you. the next morning, you get a homeless bum shouting at you ...

you need to do some proper but simple basic editing on an image.

but you happen to be in a situation where the machine you are currently using do not have image editing tools like Photoshop, Gimp, etc. and you can't, or do not wish, to install them.

so what do you do?

fortunately, there's Pixlr Editor, a free online image editor, which is decent, easy to use, and gets the job done pretty well.

here is an extract of a silat demonstration performance by my youngest brother, with a sickle, back in 2007 in singapore. the full video clip (and others) can be found here - Kembang Wali

continuing my martial arts fix, here is another clip of my brother, the same brother from http://goo.gl/v4gqA, performing a silat wedding greeting, monkey styles, back in 2008 in singapore.

its actually pretty cool how with our group, in us3 brothers, i'm usually the Monkey dude, younger bro is the Snake dude, and the youngest is the Tiger dude - which basically covers our art.

my work for today. easter screenshots for +Haroon Malik and +Andrew Melder . now, is it home time yet ...

Rizwitherspoon shuffle ...

RESHARE:
i've got something to read, and be occupied with, for the weekend now ...

Reshared text:
Essential JavaScript Design Patterns 1.5 Released (Free Book)

Over the past year or so I've been actively trying to encourage more developers to invest time in learning about the benefits of design patterns and how they can be applied to JavaScript. To help with this, I wrote a book on the topic which I released for free. Today a new version of it is available to read online and includes lots of updates and a few new sections

The book: http://addyosmani.com/essential-design-patterns

I'll be trying to get out ePub/PDF/Kindle versions of the book out next week for anyone interested in those, but in the mean time, if you could help spread the word about the book I would appreciate it greatly :)

today's 33.8°C home time shuffle. brought to you by the equally hot samsung galaxy s2, powered by android

gvimrc

i never switch off my home PC. but not anymore, ever since my recent PC issues. and with all my work done on gvim, i've had to re-enable my session shortcuts, so thought i'd share.

inoremap <F11> <C-O>:mksession! C:\wamp\www\ filename <CR>
inoremap <F12> <C-O>:source C:\wamp\www\ filename <CR>

this allows me to hit F11 (while in insert mode) to save the session to the specified path\file (the ! overwrites any existing file). F12 will reload the saved session. a session includes all opened files/tabs, cursor position, etc. but for multiple sessions, i stick to manual command line.

so basically, its kinda like saving and opening a typical project file in any IDE.

oh and yes. unfortunately i admit i'm actually quite happy using a windows environment ... for now.

i finally managed to force myself out of bed, thanks to the constant notification of people circling me in a space of about 3 hours. seems +Carmelyne Thompson shared her dev circle, but still, its new (for me) that i have so many circling me in a short span of time.

its gonna be a busy day, so i probably won't have time today to go through all profiles cos yeah, i'm still adhering to my uhm .. algo ( http://goo.gl/TAWV5 )

anyways, i'm 35/m/perth/single .. oh wait. sorry. wrong platform.

i'm outta here to face (my) real world ...

me and +Haroon Malik couldn't finish the samsun and kusbasi pide ...

Dust

this is (surprisingly) my first ever macro or close up shot using my nexus s on ics.

anyone got a dustier office keyboard ...

+G+ LeapYear 2012 - Day in the life of G+

good morning Perth! what better way to start your day by enjoying the cool morning breeze, coffee and some tim tams.

hope everyone have a good day ahead!

#G+LeapYearDayProject

breakfast on Labour Day

where getting a perfect circle for my fried egg is the only bright spot on the morning of a public holiday in WA where most are probably still in bed while i'm getting ready to head off to work ...

my secondary watch. twenty two years and still going strong ...

in such a hellspawn mood at the moment, what with nothing i try is working. need a break. then maybe switch keyboards.

yeah.

maybe that may just help fix this bug .......

yawns. finally. i manage to put in a good sleep in. its a brand new day and i'm reading my morning new feed while sipping good new coffee.

today's new weather still feels nice at the moment and i'm so looking forward to get cracking at some new coding.

ah yes. its gonna be such an innovative day ...

whoopee do. Firefox 11. i'm now sooo looking forward to xmas at the end of the year, when Firefox 101 is released ...

ps. the 3D DOM viewer is cool though. debugging just became fun!

file > scripts > image processor

what do you get? batch image processing in photoshop. i've been such an idiot all these years. all those hours wasted. sighs.

on a somewhat related note, i finally found some quality rest time, and finished reading the Ultimate-verse's Death of Spiderman. so glad Mark Bagley returned to pencil this 5 issue storyline.

the new Ultimate Spidey (unfortunately not Mark Bagley on art) is already into 6 issues. i've only had a brief look, and story does look promising. but. i've still got plenty of work. so till the next quality break time then ...

don't you wanna dance. say you wanna dance. don't you wanna dance

good morning perth!

yup, for some strange reason i'm extra bubbly this monday morning. i feel the need to dance. i hope y'all feeling as good as me. have a great week ahead!

i was listening to System of a Down earlier today. watched some videos. got inspired. went home. scissors out. visually measured up my beard. snip snip snip. snip some more. and .. oops.

i gave up.

got the shaver out and shaved .......

last night, we had our first perth circle meet-up at the Aviary. it was good to put faces to some names, and meeting others in person. but we kept it a small group, since the original idea was to welcome a fellow circle member - who would be making the move from Scotland to Perth in a few months time - and did not want to overwhelm them.

and based on the success of last night, plans are already in motion to have a bigger (and better organised) g+ perth circle meet-up soon. i'm definitely looking forward to it.

ps. we managed a shuffle post - http://goo.gl/oPjmq - coincidentally a few metres from the bus stop where it all began!

glass door 1. grandma 0.

now this is what being glassed really should mean.

RESHARE:
get your 100% stainless steel, BPA free water bottles for Easter!

Reshared text:
At Green Canteen we love a good Easter basket, but why make it all about chocolate?

This Easter, a good way to keep the kids from too much of a sugar-high is to buy them a Green Canteen, that's good for them and the planet.

Green Easter Special

Visit our online shop and spend $50 or more by Sunday, 1st April 2012 and we'll ship your bottles for free!

http://green-canteen.com.au/shop/bottles

just back from Hunger Games with +Haroon Malik . meh. not hungry for the next 3 movies

thursday. excited to install 4.0.4 but had issues updating because of a bug in 4.0.3 recovery mode for the Nexus S SLCD version. tried the adb way. but my device could not be detected.

friday. factory images released. but did not have time to sort out why my device still could not be detected. resigned to wait till OTA update.

saturday. woke up and saw 5 g+ peeps already on 4.0.4. frack my work. sorted out my device with a wipe and clean install. and after 3 hours, 4.0.4 is now on my n[x]s. whoopee!

nothing else to do in perth on a Monday morning except to queue for the Dick Smith specials ...

sighs. you're officially old when even after a number zero shave down the sides and back, you still find some whites sticking out.

anyway. time to tune in to one of my all time favourite albums on this lazy tuesday ...