Mike's Tumblr

Easy Trick To View A Web Page's Source On The iPad

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:00:44 -0400

Earlier today I was trying to help a friend out with a coding question and I realized that I had no idea how to view the source code for the page I was viewing on the iPad. Since I was on the train, the iPad was my only option at the time. A quick Google search revealed a neat little bookmarklet that does the trick nicely.

More information and instructions on how to add the bookmarklet are available on Ravelrumba.

Disappearing Anemone

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:00:43 -0400

Not sure what type of anemone this is, but it came with the second shipment of The Package that I ordered from Tampa Bay Saltwater to get my aquarium going. This is a pic I took a few weeks ago.

Sadly, the anemone disappeared a few days later. I have no idea where it went, but a quick Google search for “anemone disappeared” leads me to believe that this is a common occurrence. Sometimes they hide before they reproduce.

A couple of smaller anemones have shown up since this large one went into hiding, so there might be a connection. Here’s a pic of one of the new ones. It’s the tiny tentacley thing in the middle.

Hopefully the larger one comes out of hiding soon. It is one of the more interesting animals in the tank.

The Strasburger - One painful decision resolved

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:16:18 -0400

I was in DC this weekend and a friend of mine took me to BGR: The Burger Joint for lunch. It was my first time there, but this made it memorable:

That, my friends, is the now famous Strasburger (with a possibly unnecessary side order of onion rings.)

From wtop.com

The burger is topped with a hot dog and smothered in aged Vermont cheddar cheese.

The hot dog symbolizes Strasburg’s professional debut with the Phoenix Desert Dogs in 2009. It’s topped with “Syracuse Orange” aged Vermont cheddar to represent his promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, and 14 pickles are placed on top to signify the number of strikeouts the pitcher had in his Major League Debut. All that is on top of a BGR patty to signify his new home with the Nationals.

I didn’t get around to counting the number of pickles, but there were certainly a bunch on there. The burger was excellent especially with a little A1. I’d recommend it to anybody who thinks they can handle it and isn’t embarrassed by eating such a concoction in public.

For years I have struggled when I have both hamburgers and hot dogs as options on the same menu. Thanks to this burger, I’ll never have to stress over that decision again.

The blenny does spend a decent bit of time staring at its own...

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:52:49 -0400

The blenny does spend a decent bit of time staring at its own reflection. It’s a pretty self-absorbed fish. It’s probably complimenting itself in this shot.

This is the second fish that I put in the aquarium a couple of...

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:52:49 -0400

This is the second fish that I put in the aquarium a couple of weeks after the clownfish. It is a Lawnmower (or Algae) Blenny. It doesn’t really swim as much as it hops from rock to rock eating whatever it comes across. Very interesting fish with tons of personality.

I spent the past several months assembling a 55 gallon saltwater...

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:57:00 -0400

I spent the past several months assembling a 55 gallon saltwater aquarium in my tiny apartment. After all the work it took to get going, I finally was able to get my first fish a few weeks ago. This is a False Percula Clownfish. Its name is not Nemo.

Invasion of Privacy.

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:32:00 -0400

Invasion of Privacy.:

This is a good writeup describing how easy it is to find someone’s personal information on the Internet in less than 15 minutes. Not new information, but a good resource to share with people who need a little more awareness.

While I don’t necessarily agree with the author’s decision to post the person’s aggregated info on his page, I do think that it is important for people to see how easy this exercise is.

Giving blogging a try

Mon, 31 May 2010 15:09:51 -0400

I am finally giving blogging a try. Well, finally giving blogging a try again. I’ve started down this road several times over the past few years, but it never lasted beyond a couple of weeks.

There are a few reasons that I am giving it another go:

I’ve spent the past few months building my new 55 gallon saltwater aquarium. I post pictures to my Picasa album, but I always want to write a little more about the individual pictures than is practical with Picasa. There’s a better chance of that happening on my own blog.
I have some projects (both involving code and not involving code) going on that some people might find interesting. I mean, I find them interesting. Statistically speaking, there has to be at least one other person on the interwebz who agrees with me. I guess I’ll find out.
In the course of coding my own tools and applications, I come across a ton of good information on the web. I often incorporate that into my projects as is, but sometimes I make my own little tweaks. I’d like a way to point out excellent posts as I come across them and let people know how I am using that information. Whenever I do add my own code, I want to be able to share that with others.
Finally, I had a good friend say, “You know, you always have so much going on. I can’t believe that you don’t blog all this stuff.” It was kind of the last little push that I needed.

If you combine numbers 2 and 5, I figure that I’ll have at least one reader out there. Let’s see how this experiment works out.