benbakelaar.info

Integrating real life and technology.

My life on the web.

Most recent twitter update:



Twitter for emergencies

August 3rd, 2008. Tags: twitter, text, sms, emergency

So I started using Twitter a few months ago. Twitter is basically SMS (text messaging) for the internet. A "twit" is a message that is a maximum of 160 characters long. Once you have a Twitter account, you can log in and post updates. It's also very similar to Facebook status updates. The cool thing is that friends can "follow you" and you can follow friends, so that they can see your updates, and vice versa.

I've been following Twitter in the news as well, and lately here has been a lot of articles discussing Twitter's utility as a communication tool during disasters. The point is that even if the Internet is slow or damaged, a "twit" is likely to get through because it is so small. What's even better is that you can hook up your cell phone to Twitter, so that you can send a text message and have it appear as a post on your Twitter account.

Imagine if you had your whole family create Twitter accounts, and then made sure that everyone was "following" everyone else. Now get everyone to set up their cell phone to be able to text directly to Twitter, which is a very simple process, and you have an emergency family communication tool that is accessible on cell phones and the web! Pretty soon there will be "geotwits" as well, where you will be able to attach your GPS location to the post.


June and July 2008 update

August 3rd, 2008. Tags: update

So I have clearly been really lazy about posting! I want to move the site over to Drupal 5.9 as soon as possible, but that probably won't happen for another week or two.

In the meantime, here's what's been going on:

August 02-03 ::
Brewed beer at the Brewer's Apprentice in Red Bank, NJ! Chose a Dunkel Weissbeir Hefeweizen for our first attempt. Two weeks until bottling, and another two weeks for conditioning. Also saw Step Brothers with Stevo...

July 26-27 ::
Visited Ed and Michelle in Park Slope, Brooklyn! Went to Bar Ries, apparently there was a "wrap" party going on just before we got there.

July 19-20 ::
Hung around the house? I'll have to check with Sarah.

July 12-13 ::
Went down to Manahawkin to visit Grandma B. and my cousin Rita, who lives in Japan! That was really nice, we plan on seeing Grandma again in Long Island before the summer is over.

July 05-06 ::
Hung around the house? I'll have to check with Sarah.


What our dogs do all day

June 6th, 2008. Tags: dogs, jake, ozzy, video

Took some time lapse videos of the dogs at home to see what they did all day!


Garden State Craft Brewers Guild

June 3rd, 2008. Tags: beer, brewing, new jersey

I will be there!


Monthly update for May 2008

May 30th, 2008. Tags: wedding, sarah, learning management system

Back from the honeymoon and "adjusting" to married life! Actually there is no adjustment yet, Sarah and I have been together for five years at this point, and it's kind of like birthdays in your mid-20s, it just doesn't seem much different. But we know we will grow into it, it's the natural next step in our lives. So, if you are looking for the pictures, make sure you click here and take a look.

On the work front, things are going well, we are about to undertake a full evaluation of our continuing education program and see what processes can be automated inside a Learning Management System. It will be the first time that I can run through an entire development process including the planning process, which I am looking forward to. In terms of my education, I think I've finally decided to definitely get a second Masters degree, in Public Health. I've been considering it for a while, but after coming back from Canada, it has solidified into a definite plan. This summer looks pretty busy, with a combination of work projects, consulting, and my two independent studies in Library and Information Science. By fall semester, I will be halfway done with the MLIS program! Hopefully I'll be done by the end of Summer 2009!


Send me a text message

May 18, 2008. Updated June 3, 2008.. Tags: Tags: text, SMS

If you type in a message here, it will show up on my cell phone. It's an easy way to say a quick hello or send me some information I need without using email!

You need to type in your name or phone number so I can respond to you! Otherwise it shows up as being from the website, not from you personally.


txtDrop.com


Weekly reading list - May 5 to May 14

May 14, 2008. Tags: reading list, articles, world news

Tetris-Like Game Lets Players Find Scientific Solutions http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/13/foldit-online-game.html

Catcalling-- creepy or a compliment? http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/05/14/lw.catcalls/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Clive Thompson on How the Next Victim of Climate Change Will Be Our Minds http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-01/st_thompson

Charred Earth Examined as Carbon-Storing Option http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-01/st_thompson

Sexual PsyOps: historical archives of propaganda material http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/05/sexual_psyops.html


Google Maps mashups added to portfolio

April 23, 2008. Tags: google maps, mashup, map management system, rss reader, geotagging, youtube

I have just pulled together several of my Google Maps mashup projects and placed them in my portfolio. Please visit the portfolio link at the top of the page, or click here. My mashups include a map management system currently under development, an RSS reader that matches geographic names found in article titles and maps them, and a YouTube video viewer that searches out videos with geotags such as geo:lat and geo:lng and displays them on a Google Map along with a browsing bar.