James Andrews

Anyone who is familiar with Javascript and using many of the libraries like prototype, jquery and YUI are all to familiar with the power of “$”. Many of the new low level libraries such as these allow you to use the “$” as a shortcut to other functions already in the system. With prototype $ is short for “document.getElementByI” in jQuery it’s short for the “jQuery” object. Other libraries link it to whatever it is they feel it should be. This makes writing code a bit easier.

While it’s easier it’s also more problematic. Many people who don’t have time to write libraries rely on other’s libraries to do the work for them. They may need a carousel, or a modalbox, or they may have something that they wrote 3-4 years ago and defined “$” as something they wanted to define it as. This can be hugely problematic.

Let’s say I wrote a javascript application that used prototype. A while later my client who uses my javascript application finds a javascript modal that they really like that uses jQuery. The developer of that modal application uses “$” for jQuery. Now we have a conflict. I can’t just tell jQuery to not use “$”, even though it has that option because the modal application utilizes it heavily. Going through and modifying “$” to jQuery is a hassle. The solution should be simple, if you are writing a javascript application that you are planning on releasing publicly, you shouldn’t use shortcuts. You may keep some great website from using your work.

Last night I had an interesting conversation with my Fiance. I had set her up with a Facebook account back in February so that she could show pictures to her friends online. Since then I have had family members and friends who have met her add her as a friend. She has also received many invitations to play Facebook games. Last night, she started asking me what she should do. My suggestion was that she block the application and forget about it, as that is what I do. She seemed horrified (ok maybe not horrified) that I would suggest such a thing. Saying that it wasn’t polite. I then spent several minutes trying to assure her, that it was and that if she didn’t she’d spend every waking moment of her life playing these games and would get nothing done. I finally got her to agree that she didn’t need to play these games, and that it wasn’t rude to block the applications.

I guess the big point I am making is one shouldn’t feel bad about saying no to friend invites and blocked applications. Most people get over the blocked applications pretty quickly and others forget they even friended you. For those who don’t forget, we’ll they have bigger problems if they revolve their life so much around Facebook.

The other night I was sitting in the crawl space looking through old boxes trying to find a corded mouse. While I was searching I ran across 12 rolls of film that were undeveloped. Yesterday I went down to the local CVS to have them developed as I was sure there were photos on them that I wanted. I get to the CVS and talk to the high school kid working in the photo lab. I ask him how much a CD is, and how many rolls I can put on a CD. CDs are $3/per CD, not to mention . He wasn’t sure how many a CD would hold and called the manager as she would know. She said about 200 images. (which sounded right-ish). She then went on that it even though she could fit 4 rolls of 24 exposures on a CD she would have to charge me for 4 CDs even though I was only getting one. I could see charging $.50/roll but to charge for a disk that i wasn’t going to get made no sense at all. So 12 CDs with development would have been $60. Yeah I think that’s a bit steep…

Instead I just got them developed, no prints, no CDs I’ll scan them myself on my negative scanner.

Tonight I made a post on twitter about rewatching some of the snapfactory videos on Youtube. For those of you who don’t know snapfactory offers online videos showing photography techniques. While I was at it I added a #photography to it so that others interested in photography could find out about snapfactory if they didn’t know anything about it. A few moments later one of the bots that scours twitter or photography related posts; this one is called “hashphoto”, and retweets them, retweeted my post. Not a bad thing, it’ what helps drive twitter along and helps people find things without having to use Twitters search feature manually. I’ve not minded, but what I do mind is that this one particular bot links to an intermediary page that gives you an advertisement. It’s really obnoxious. I will not be subscribing to #hasphoto. You shouldn’t either.

Today I walked into the men’s room in the building of the office that I am working at. I walked into the usual stall to see it covered with one of those “toilet covers”. and a mass wad of toilet paper. I kicked it all in with my foot; because I sure as heck wasn’t touching it, and then headed over to the other stall as I didn’t dare flush that much paper and create a mess.

It was at that moment I started to wonder, just when was it society became so enthralled with our “anti germ warfare”. I remember growing up as a kid we had a few products. Band-aids, Lysol, and some anti-bacterial cream to put on cuts, but it seems from what I can tell society has gone a little overboard since then. Every public bathroom has these toilet covers and hand sanitizer gels are a dime a dozen.

I can understand washing your hands after going to the bathroom, or when you are sick. Covering your nose when you cough and sneeze, but do you really need to keep hand sanitizer in every room of the house, and in the car? Do you really need 6 layers between your ass and the public toilet seat?

Then we have things like mosquitoes who can be carriers of diseases. Triple E, and West Nile virus are big topics here. Cities and states spraying chemicals to kill the bugs when the number of people infected every year is minimal, and was minimal prior to spraying this crap into the air. It’s ridiculous.

People get a grip. Germs, and viruses exist. Get over it.