I’ve been fiddling around with the Google Maps API for a couple of days.  I got the idea that I could use it to display my DFW gun show listings on a map. 

Displaying a basic Google Map via the API is pretty simple.  You just import their Javascript library (you have to register for an API key for it to work, though) and use the various objects that they provide.  For a simple map, all you need to do is create a <div> in the HTML body of the page and associate the map object with it by name.  The map will take its size and location from the div.  Once you declare the map, you just have to center it on a point (by Lat/Long) to get it to display (I chose a location in Irving, since that’s fairly central to the D/FW area).

The map itself (as noted above) uses Lat/Long to display points and to place markers.  They provide a Geocoder object that allows you to get back a Lat/Long from an address.  Since the Geocoder has to call back to Google to do the lookup, and that can take some time, the interface is asynchronous.  So you have to provide a callback function to get the “point” object back and do something with it.  This function will create a marker with an “InfoWindow” (the little pop-up balloon that Google Maps uses) that contains HTML. 

However, getting to the point where you can create the markers requires a bit of care.  My choice to put my map creation code into an “onload” event caused me some grief at first until it got through my thick skull that I needed to gather all the addresses (and their associated shows) while the page was being created, then do the actual marker creation in the function.  Part of this was caused by the fact that I’m working with EE, where you have to use one of their weblog entry loops to cycle through the entries.  What I ended up doing was to create an array of “address” entries such that each one contained a list of shows for that entry.  As the weblog loop runs, it generates Javascript code that adds new entries to the array.  Finally, once the page is loaded, my other function gets invoked and cycles through the array, invoking the Geocoder, which in turn (eventually) invokes the marker creation function.

Finally, once the last marker is actually created, the code recenters and resizes the map to fit the markers.

The result is something like this:

It’s kind of interesting to watch, since the markers just kind of “pop in” and then the thing recenters/resizes.  Here’s the link.

I came across a site that tracks all flights that are currently in the air.  Every one of those dots represents an airplane over the United States.

You can also get local air traffic for some of the major U.S. cities, such as the Dallas area:

That’s a lot of dots.  All of which have to be kept from touching…

Slim Devices  sent out an announcement yesterday about their new Transporter digital audio player.  I’ve been using their Squeezebox players for a couple of years now and I’ve been very pleased with them.  The only thing I would change about them would be the form factor in that I’d make them more like audio components. 

So I was very interested when I saw the new Transporter’s form factor:

It looks like an audio component and I really liked the aluminum case.  I should have known, however, from their use of the term “audiophile” in the email that I wouldn’t like the price, but I didn’t think about it at the time.  When I finally saw it, though, my reaction was, “Holy cow!”  $1999! 

I’m starting to think audiophile is a code-word for “way too damn expensive.”

Update:  It just occurred to me to add what I’d like to see from them…  I’d like to see something built on the Squeezebox components, but with the same form-factor as the Transporter.  I like the dual display and understand that it would drive the cost up a little.  But I’d think that using a plastic case and most of the existing Squeezebox componentry, that this hypothetical Squeezebox IV (the current model is really Squeezebox III) wouldn’t be too much more expensive than an existing Squeezebox.  Of course I’m not privy to all the details of their supply chain and the internals of the Squeezebox.  But there’s just no way I can bring myself to part with $1999 for a network MP3 player.

Sometimes I have to wonder about the various executives and managers I work with.  I think perhaps they’ve been drinking a little too much management water.

Today I was asked to figure out how much we need to include in next year’s budget to handle ad-hoc sizing requests.  So let me see… they want me to compute a number that represents the overall size for a set of tasks where a) the number of tasks is unknown and b) the scope of each task is unknown.  My inner smartass was tempted to respond with something like this:

It would be an accurate, but perhaps somewhat obtuse, answer.  However, discretion won the day and I simply tried to explain why such a thing was an impossible task.  Unfortunately, they remain undeterred and have decided to “take a guess.” 

When I got Verizon FIOS internet service and cancelled my Charter cable modem, the Charter rep asked why I was cancelling.  I told her that I’d gotten FIOS.  She had no clue as to what that was, and I had to explain it to her.  I also explained to her that there was no discount or anything else they could do to keep me, other than to offer comparable bandwidth (which given their cheesy 256Kbps upload caps I just don’t see happening).  I think that last bit finally convinced her to give up on the stupid retention script and cancel the service.

They still didn’t have a clue when I got FIOS TV and called to cancel my subscription.  But at least they didn’t hassle me too much.  That was last fall.

Last night I got a call from Charter’s telemarketers.  It started out with some spiel about how they had an offer that could save me money over FIOS.  I didn’t let her finish the sentence, as I’ve learned from long experience that you must never let them get their flow going.  Which is why I took a deep breath and said, “I have absolutely no desire to go back to Charter; please put me on your do not call list.”  I try to include the do-not-call part in one quick sentence, so they can’t hang up fast enough to claim they never heard it (which I’ve had happen with some telemarketers; as soon as you say “do not call” you hear a click). 

She stumbled for a second, and then branched to the standard long-wait to get on the no-call list speech.  If Charter is such a high-tech company, why does it take them 30 days to take you off their call lists?  Sounds like an excuse to keep bothering you for another month.

Not that it really matters, because they can take their crappy bundles and cheesy slow “high speed” service and stuff ‘em.

A while back I bought a universal travel charger kit for my Palm Tungsten T3 (I also remember that I only paid $19.95 for it at the time, which is amazing as I’ve never found it for that price again; perhaps I was the lucky beneficiary of a mispriced item).  It consisted of a “wall wart” with interchangeable plug inserts, so it could be used in different countries.  The bottom of the wall wart has a USB connector.  It also included a USB sync cable for the T3.  So I can charge the T3 directly from the wall via USB or I can connect it to a computer (if the computer has a powered USB port).  Finally, the kit included a 12V cigarette lighter adapter with a USB port on the end.

It turned out that this was also handy for charging my iPod, given the USB power port.  It made things a bit easier to use the same wall wart for either device.  Someone also gave me a handy little kit that included a ZipLinq universal USB phone charging cord.  It was retractable, had a USB connector on one end, and an adapter plug on the other.  You simply selected the right adapter for your phone and you were in business.

So, my traveling kit usually consisted of the wall wart (with the U.S. plug), the 12V adapter, the T3 cable, the iPod cable, and the ZipLinq cable.  It sounds like a lot, but it’s significantly less crap to lug around than keeping a separate wall wart and separate vehicle charger for each device.

But my charger harmony was disrupted by the LG phone I got when I switched to Verizon.  The ZipLinq kit contained several LG adapters, but the folks at LG, in their fiendshly clever ways, had changed the plug ever so slightly from the previous models, making them incompatible.  According to the ZipLinq website, I needed the newer “LG3” adapter, which they list as being in “beta test,” hence it wasn’t available in any store I could find (online or off).

The only other USB solution for the LG is the USB data cable, and Verizon wants $39.99 for the kit that it comes with.  Asking at the Verizon store about just a USB charging adapter was like asking for a tofu sandwich at a barbecue cookoff (blank stares from the sales staff).

Enter eBay.  I found a complete kit with 12V adapter, wall-wart, and USB data cable for $11.93 (after shipping/handling, etc).  While I didn’t need the other two items, everyone else wanted $19.95 for the USB cable.  IMNSHO, companies should start using standard connectors.  I saw a phone the other day that had a mini-USB connector on the side.  Since this is a standard type of connector, any cable could be used.  Of course, this doesn’t give the companies an excuse to sell overpriced “connectivity kits.” 

Now I only need to pack a single wall wart and a single 12V adapter, which has restored my travel charger harmony. 

Last year I mentioned a device that uses high-frequency sound to deter teenagers from loitering around an area.  It works on the idea that as we get older our ability to hear high frequencies decreases.

Well, the teenagers have turned the tables and begun using the sound as a ringtone so their phones can’t be heard by adults (or so they think).

The article links to an MP3 of the sound.  According to the inventor of the teenage-repellent device, people over 30 aren’t supposed to be able to hear it.  Just for grins I decided to try it out.  Even at the advanced age of 35 ( ), and with my ears still bothering me from an infection (I finally gave in and started taking the steroids today), I could hear it.  In fact, it was quite annoying and almost painful.

It reminded me of a combination of monitor whine and the sound of an overloaded phaser from Star Trek.  If I heard someone’s phone making that sound I’d be inclined to throw it in the nearest trash can to contain the coming explosion. 

That last post reminded me of one of the things I hate more than just about anything on the web:  websites that use Flash for all their content.  I have two words to describe such sites:  THEY SUCK!

Allow me to enumerate the ways in which I hate Flash:

1. You can’t deep-link to relevant content.

   As far as I’ve seen, there’s no way to get at the content that you want without going through the Flash gatekeeper, which is often adorned with baroque crap that you have to tolerate as you navigate your way through whatever path the designer decided was best.

2. As far as I can tell, you can’t copy text.

   So much for fair use or reference.  And you can’t just quote the relevant part or hotlink (see previous).  If you want to point someone to the information (if there is any in a Flash presentation), you have to describe the navigation path.

3. It risks turning the web into TV.

   I know some content producers desperately want it to be that way (commercials and all), but it completely disrupts the browsing experience.

4. Most Flash sites are simply “glossy brochures.”

   If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, dazzle ‘em with B.S.  This is not what the web is supposed to be about.  Sure, go ahead and extoll the virtues of your product, but I want real, useful, information at the same time.

5. It often slows down the web experience.

   The best example of this is the Heart One Texas site.  It has to download all the audio/video for the clever woman announcer.  It was painfully slow over my 15M link.  I’d hate to have to access that craptacular thing over dialup.

6. Sound!

   I consider playing sound without warning on a website as a mortal web design sin.  Further, having no way to disable the sound or stop the animation is another mortal sin.  Of course this can be done without Flash, but Flash sites seem to be the worst offenders.

Maybe I’m just a bit old-fashioned about my expectations for a website, but I want to be able to get at relevant information quickly and without a lot of flashy crap.

I stopped by the drive-in window of one of our local barbeque joints for dinner and couldn’t help but notice a sign posted for the employees.  I don’t recall the exact wording, but the jist of it was that all cellphones must be turned off inside the restaurant.  If an employee was caught with the phone turned on, the employee would lose 10 hours off the schedule.  The sign said that this applied to texting as well (i.e. the manager wanted the phones off not just on vibrate). 

I know this particular place has always had great customer service, so I can certainly see how the management wouldn’t want the employees talking on cellphones when they should be serving customers. 

Now if we could just find a way to apply this rule to the rude a—holes who talk on their phones in store lines, slowing up everyone and spewing their personal information for all the world to hear…

If I ever encounter this kind of crap, I think we’re going to have to invent a new adjective to describe super-white-hot pissed-off.

If a new idea from Philips catches on, the company may not be very popular with TV viewers. The company’s labs in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, has been cooking up a way to stop people changing channels to avoid adverts or fast forwarding through ads they have recorded along with their target programme.

The secret, according to a new patent filing, is to take advantage of Multimedia Home Platform – the technology behind interactive television in many countries around the world. MHP software now comes built into most modern digital TV receivers and recorders. It looks for digital flags buried in a broadcast, and displays messages on screen that let the viewer call up extra features, such as additional footage or information about a programme.

Philips suggests adding flags to commercial breaks to stop a viewer from changing channels until the adverts are over. The flags could also be recognised by digital video recorders, which would then disable the fast forward control while the ads are playing.

Philips’ patent acknowledges that this may be “greatly resented by viewers” who could initially think their equipment has gone wrong. So it suggests the new system could throw up a warning on screen when it is enforcing advert viewing. The patent also suggests that the system could offer viewers the chance to pay a fee interactively to go back to skipping adverts.

I predict many Elvis moments in the future of Philips products, should this crap make it to the market.  Heck, I was sorely tempted to shred my copy of Shrek 2 and send the pieces back to Dreamworks because of the damn unskippable advertisement at the beginning.  Listen carefully, marketdroids!  People are sick and tired of losing control over their own DVDs as it is.  We will not tolerate being forced to watch your asinine commercials or previews.  If I encounter such a device, I will be returning it with prejudice through your front window!

On a more serious note, a couple of interesting points came up in the Slashdot discussion about this article.  First, if you can rip a DVD (or otherwise “pirate” the content), you can often disable this sort of nonsense.  So if the controls become too obnoxious or onerous, it may likely encourage people to go around the content providers to get the content through “alternate” channels.  Second, adding these sorts of flags to advertisements might make it easier for home-brew/open-source DVR software to skip commercials.  A “this is a commercial” flag would be a major bonus for something like MythTV.