Entries by Tim Kellers

Serendipity 35 turns 6 (yikes!) today --or maybe later this week, but I think I first configured the server for it on Feb 1, 2006. For Blogs, that's like 90 measured in cyber-dog years.  Many thanks to Ken for his tireless efforts.

Long(ish) weekends are generally a good time to do a little Virtual preventative maintenance. If some of the articles appear to be in hiding, or if the rss feeds seem to be out-to-lunch for brief periods over the holiday weekend, you can still enjoy this classic song from Warner Brothers by way of Jimmie Lunceford.

Politics and education technology mix, in discussion, about as well as baking soda and vinegar but given the groundswell of faction of dubiously enlightened hot air in America, maybe its time to poke the CO2 volcano.

In New Jersey, where I work and live, the current state budget has been frozen  --even public school districts are not receiving the aid they had been promised (and had budgeted against) for the balance of this school year, as reported by the local ABC TV affiliate on February 11, 2010:

"To pay for the reduction in school aid, nearly all of the state's 581 school districts will be forced to dip into their surpluses - money that would otherwise have reduced homeowners' property taxes - and more than 100 districts will lose all state aid for the remainder of the year."

Higher Education, the pond in which my paycheck dollars swim, will be frozen to the tune of $62 million, and there is enough partisan gnashing of teeth about that to chew a $2 steak.

"I fear Gov. Christie’s plan to slash education aid will hurt our children and increase the crushing property tax burden facing our taxpayers, said Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex). “This would especially hit our hard-working middle-class and poor hard amid an ongoing recession.”

Reasonable people who can step back from the brink of loud-mouthed saber-rattling  should be able to see what is going on.  People in charge of the purse strings will make decisions in their best political interests to pursue an economic objective and people who feel the purse strings tighten will do what is in their best interests to prevent the choking-off of their funds.  Each side will tender well-spun reasons that prove that their position is correct and the other side is in league with the devil.  When the fog lifts and the 2 sides have climbed out of their political Purgatory, each will have some slice of the other's flesh and the fundamental causal problem will be sent back to Limbo without a resolution.

One voice that has risen to reject the usual political approach is Dr. William Fabricius, professor of psychology at Arizona State University.  Dr. Fabricius, at www.independentpartynow.org, writes:

"there is an unprecedented level of distrust and disillusionment regarding the current system. At least two aspects of the system are at the root of this distrust: the inability to achieve practical solutions to important problems, and the excessive influence of moneyed special interests."

Dr. Fabricius goes on to write:

"We are committed to finding practical, evidence-based solutions that are in the best interests of the whole country. Our candidates will not take campaign contributions from special interests. The candidates we select will be able to depend on our support and our votes, and will not be threatened by their money. The days when “The banks own the Senate” (Senator Durbin, IL) will be over."

Rather than publish a platform from which to gather like-minded supporters, Dr. Fabricius calls for reasonable and independently thoughtful people to contribute to the building of a party platform and to approach the state and national political quagmire with fresh independent thought.

There have been third party movements in the United States ever since the two-party system was established.  There is already one (and only one) modern third-party that is on the ballot in each state for every national election: that party is so sparingly reported in the media that most people don't know it exists.  Do we need another political party to challenge our nefarious status quo ?

Yes.  And probably much more than that.

On Friday, November 13, WCAU, channel 10 in Philadelphia, came to NJIT to film a news story on iPhone and small device application development at NJIT.  The video linked to the image on the left is the full story that aired on November 20, 2009.
NJIT has announced the formation of an additional class section to supplement the 6th iteration of  iPhone OS Application Development.  The upcoming class sections are open to the public and are partially subsidized by a grant from the North Jersey Partners.
The classes will bring the current active enrollment in the iPhone program to over 60 students.  For more information, please see the course description for the upcoming class.

Have an idea for an iPhone application but don’t know how to make it happen or can’t afford to take a course?

North Jersey Partners has teamed up with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to offer FREE tuition for an online iPhone Application Development course. Taught entirely online by an NJIT instructor, the 10-week course begins on October 19, 2009 and includes the NJIT award of a 3.0 CEU certificate to students upon completion.

The 30-hour online training course teaches computer savvy students the foundation they need to design and implement iPhone and iPod Touch software using the Apple Software Development Kit. They learn how to create and deploy iPhone and iTouch applications on the software simulator and hardware devices. Participants can practice installing their applications and learn the Apple AppStore submission process so their independent developer Apps can potentially be offered by Apple as paid, downloadable commercial software packages. This class also provides enrolled students memberships in the Apple Developer portal.

Those interested in applying via SMS for the free-tuition subsidy for this class can text IPHONE to 35350 and will receive by return text message a link to the application. The application process runs from October 5 - 16, 2009. All applicants must: meet eligibility requirements, have broadband access to the Internet, and have access to a Macintosh computer capable of running the SDK (OS X Leopard 10.5.7 or higher) and an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Fifteen applicants will be selected for the free-tuition subsidy and preference will be given to those unemployed and underemployed in the northern New Jersey region. Applicants not eligible for the tuition subsidy award may still register for the October 19 or November 30th class sections and pay tuition. The schedule of all classes and the course description are available online.

This training program is funded by North Jersey Partners through the U.S. Department of Labor Education and Training Administration’s WIRED initiative.

North Jersey Partners is an innovative regional partnership of public, private and government organizations collaborating to deliver programs, training, and support to ensure the continuity of a skilled workforce to drive economic growth in northern New Jersey. CPE@NJIT, in keeping with its longstanding commitment to provide online education to Graduate and Professional Development students, has provided the instructional resources and the publicly available learning platform to host current and future sections of the iPhone OS training class

C'mon all of you high school grads
Uncle Sam needs your help real bad
Got himself a terrible jam
In someplace called Afghanistan
Pack up your books and load up a gun
We're gonna have a whole lot of fun

And its one, two, three "What are we fightin' for"?
Don't ask me, I don't give a damn
Just want that Federal Grant.
And its five, six, seven... Open up those Pearly Gates!
Ain't no time to wave Good Bye
Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

C'mon Congressmen let's move fast
Your one chance has come at last
Gotta blow smoke about the Meds
Cause the only cheap patient is one that's dead
You know that seats just can't be won
When we've taxxed them all to Kingdom Come.

And it's one, two three, "What are we voting for?"
Don't ask me, I know its a sham
Just want that Federal Grant
And it's five, six, seven... What the hell was WaterGate?
Ain't no time to wonder why.
Whoopee! We're all gonna die

C'mon Bankers don't lend slow
The Stimulus is go go go
Plenty of money to be made
Selling bad loans the Feds have saved.
Next time you go and kite a bond 
Back it with the Taliban!

And its one, two, three "What am I spending on?"
Don't ask me, It's way too hard
To pay my credit card
And its five, six seven... Gotta get a lower rate!
Ain't no time to save a dime
Whoopee! We're all gonna die!

C'mon Scientists now confess
Your techniques have caused a mess
The ice is melting and the earth is mad
That C O 2 is just plain bad
When the labs get flooded and you need a boat
Be glad the Greeks taught you all how to float.

And its one, two, three... "What am I living for?"
Don't ask me I don't have a Plan
Just doing the best I can
And it's five, six, seven.. Hopin' for those Pearly Gates
Ain't no rhyme or reason why,
Whoopee! We're all gonna die.

With thanks, and apologies, to Country Joe MacDonald  --forty years too late.

The Research and Development Team at Serendipity35 has developed (and is announcing) new support for you Smart Phone users out there that don't use an Apple iPhone.

The new mobile site for Serendipity35 is www.s35.org. The content remains the same, but there will be less graphics to clog up your Edge or 3G pipeline to the internet.  Pages will load faster and the formatting will still be readable on device's smaller screens. Also, if you happen to have an iPhone and want to see Serendipity35 in a regulation browser (like Safari) without being automatically tossed into the WebApp version of Serendipity35, www.s35.org just might be the format for you.

The development of a micro-site version of Serendipity35 comes directly from the work I've done with making a portable version of Moodle.Though it remains to be seen what kinds of classes, instructions, FAQs and micro-information fit into a portable device, the platform is just about ready to begin delivering content even though very few people (if anyone) know what that content should or will be.

I don't envision anyone studying  graduate courses  on their Smartphone, but if you need to change a tire, reset your dashboard clock, or (safely) jump your car's battery, there may be a portable Moodle class in your future and it may be delivered by the same engine that runs the new www.s35.org

Ok, so we all don't live in Great Britain, but the available space to get an iPhone App reviewed is so limited that Ian Bruce of The Lottery Company sent his iPhone app information overseas to get a little cyberspace notice.

First, let me say that I am no participant in gambling of any sort.  I don't have any deep belief (other than considering them potential metaphysical evils) about games of chance  --they just don't interest me.  My only visit to a casino was in Atlantic City in 1995 and that was only because that was where I took the Jeopardy contestant tests (I went 2 and out).

I'm currently teaching an iPhone Application Development class online and I have a great bunch of fully engaged students and, like many an instructor before me, I took a task and turned it into an opportunity for students to provide their feedback.  My thanks to the students who allowed me to use their submissions, here.

From Maria:

Concept - The idea for this application is very good – it tells you the last results of the lotto, as well as past results. You can even check your numbers against older lottery results. Other features include a random ticket generator and an archive of results since 1994.
It is a very good concept, and would translate very well to the iPhone, however the design has many flaws:
- Starting with the icon – this is something very small, a detail, but in a way it can be very important when designing an app. The name of the program, when purchased from the App store, is “National Lottery – Lotto”; the icon says “Lottery”; once you open the app, the title says “Lottry.co.uk”. The author will want to standardize the title of the app.
- The main menu has a good design, but the font chosen is very small for the buttons. Also, it is important to use the iPhone patterns (navigation bar, arrows, etc), in order to facilitate the user interaction. People are used to those patterns, so it makes learning a new app much easier.
- Throughout the whole app, the font has to be made bigger. The results are very small, very difficult to read.
- Under “check my ticket” is where most improvement is needed. It is very difficult and irritating to enter the numbers one by one, waiting for the keyboard to pop, close, click on an other field, etc. A use of the slot-machine pattern here would be ideal.
- When you check the archived results, it needs to be organized better. If I want to see the results from January of 2000, I have to click through 27 pages.
Overall, fixing those little design flaws would make a much stronger app, and it could become very useful for British iPhone owners.

From Drew:

I did a walkthrough of the screens and features and found the following:
- Under Check My Ticket when I go to input my numbers it gives me the ascii keyboard with the letters (and not numbers) displayed. I would recommend setting this to number input (for keyboard type). For each lottery number field the keyboard changes back to letters so it's an extra button for each number you enter.
If I hit "go" without specifying any numbers I get errors telling me that each field is empty. But then after I touch "ok" to acknowledge this, the app crashes.
Other than this, things worked great. The user interface was easy and straightforward to use. And it seemed like a very useful app for lottery lovers.
I would definitely recommend it.
The only idea for an enhancement that might be nice is when going back to results of previous years you could perhaps index the results by month so that to get to January you don't have to go back through the other 11 months of results (unless I missed the way to go in both directions). But this is a small point given that I don't imagine people do historical research on a daily basis or anything.

I'm a function-over-form kind of guy and I care less about the appearance of a program than I do about how it works, and using that "function" judgment, this seems as though it is a very capable iPhone app.  For those interested in details from the provider, you can visit: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=313319153&mt=8   (It will open in iTunes) or you can get it directly from Apple's AppStore.  The Lottery Checker is free for the first 6 months you have it.  Further details are available on their web site.

Anyone who has read my posts about spam knows that I am the spam executioner.  I admit that I am an anti-spam fanatic and my spam controls on this server are Draconian even by Draco's standards.

There are many misconfigured e-mail servers out in the wild that blithely relay spam email to its targeted destination.  The most notorious of these mail relays that daily task me is one of the e-mail relays at yahoo.com.  Another wildly inconsistent e-mail relay is one of the AOL e-mail servers -- my efforts to bring Yahoo and AOL into the legitimate e-mail fold have met with indeterminate success.  Sometimes their e-mail relays behave and deliver real e-mail and sometimes they go round the bend and spit out scads of spam.

I'm committed to overcoming the automatic rejection of reader's comments by the spam filters and, if you have a comment rejected because of a spam block on the s35 server, please send an e-mail to s35@serendipity35.net and I will remove your e-mail address from the automatic spam filters.

The posts that Ken and I write are not one-way valves.  We both value (if not crave) your feedback.

If you have something to say, please say it; if the anti-spam gods object to your post, send along your e-mail address and I'll make sure the gods are appeased.