Vocal Cataclysm

Justin's Daily News

Mon, 27 Oct 2014 19:08:00 +0000

I’m learning some more web design techniques to integrate into my website and I have noticed that I have a passion for web design!

I’m going to the Big Data meetup at the Madison Central Public Library on Mifflin Street. There are 47 others who are going as well. They will be discussing how Apache Drill can be used to build queries for Hadoop databases. Those are the fancy new databases that can deal with loosely-structured data that is ever-changing and needs to be analyzed quickly. The data is also usually large. Apparently you can use SQL to access Hadoop data? That would be nice since everybody knows SQL and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon!
I came across the codepen.io website to test your JS/CSS/HTML code isntantly. I’ve heard of plenty of other websites that do the same thing (e.g. jsfiddler) but this one seems to be way more popular at the moment.
I’ve been studying how to display content using CSS table styling. You can easily make a grid layout that behaves a bit like a table using <div> tags with display: table-cell. The container must use display: table. http://www.senktec.com/2014/01/using-css-display-table-cell-for-columns/
I realized why my jQuery table plugin wasn’t working on my DefiantRock music site. You have to put the script at the bottom of the page or within a DOM ready statement. http://css-tricks.com/absolutely-position-element-within-a-table-cell/
Cards: I read an interesting article about the future of the web using “cards.” Twitter is using them right now. The basic idea is that you can interact with an external API/website using a small block that looks like a card. You can carry out functions from an external site without ever leaving the page you are on. Like a window to the external page. http://blog.intercom.io/the-end-of-apps-as-we-know-them/
I’m tweaking the playlist function on my website. I’m making it so anyone can add songs to public playlists, so I have to add a userid field to the ‘playlist song’ table to keep track of who added a song to the playlist.

Alright, need to work on my website!

Justin's Daily News

Thu, 16 Oct 2014 19:08:00 +0000

I’m working on putting a playlist tag function on my “tagcloud” project (it’s really just a user-created band/song/playlist database). Check out my github! I haven’t hosted it yet.
Fall Out Boy released a new song for the movie Big Hero 6!! Youtube
NaNoWriMo starts on November 1. I might do it: Liedon’s Quest

Justin's Daily News

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:08:00 +0000

I’m excited to announce I have an interview with Fetch Rewards on Thursday.

Wristify is in the news! It’s a great bracelet that regulates your body temperature. It was a finalist in the Intel Wearables challenge.
Humble Mozilla Bundle - You can play awesome games in your browser (or on Steam) and support the open and free web!
Gave up on Ruby, so I’ve been trying to get back into php development. Symfony is a good framework, so I might check it out.
MSFT stock is cheap. $43.73/share today instead of $46.78 which it was at last Wednesday. I think it suffered because of some backlash against the CEO’s stance on women in IT. It will most likely blow over.
Bought the new Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness CD! It’s best song is here.
I found a great site featuring examples of screw-ups in the IT world. It really hit home. :) The Daily WTF

CD Review: Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness (10/14/2014)

Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:00:00 +0000

I’m excited to review Andrew McMahon’s new project “Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness.” It’s his first full-length release as a solo artist after the release of his EP “The Pop Underground” on 4/30/2013.

Track Listing

Canyon Moon - A very dancey, pulsing song with a nice beat. It has a straightforward piano piece in it, nothing too earth-shattering.
Cecilia And The Satellite - The most catchy, pop-focused song on the album with some nice pulsating bass and synth.
High Dive - My second favorite song on the album. Such a great beat and an awesome line in the chorus “dancing to someone else’s song.”
All Our Lives - His dreamy voice is dreamy.
See Her On The Weekend - This is definitely the best track on the album. This is signature Andrew McMahon. The lyrics are very focused on love and waiting patiently for a loved one while away. The piano track is noticeable and outstanding.
Black And White Movies
Driving Through A Dream - This song also makes me think 80s. :)
Halls - Not as upbeat… Meh. :)
Rainy Girl - A very slow, simple and old-fashioned love song, and the piano melody sounds like it’s from an 80s song.
Maps For The Getaway

Anybody else buy the album (lowest price I’ve seen is on Amazon) or see him live?

Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness is currently touring with Hunter Hunted, Junior Prom, and Fences.