Crisp

nossidge: i am the path along unseen heather Snowball (also...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:32:27 -0400

i
am
the
path
along
unseen
heather
Snowball (also called a Chaterism): A poem in which each line is a single word, and each successive word is one letter longer. One of the constrained writing techniques utilised by the Oulipo (Workshop of Potential Literature).
o
we
all
have
heard
people
believe
anything
Given the mathematical genesis of the Oulipo and the interest in the movement among other programmers, I thought that someone must have created a program to generate these, and I was surprised that I couldn’t find one even after some pretty thorough Googling. So I wrote one myself. The C++ code is here.

It takes input from a text file which contains novels from Project Gutenberg, scans for word pairs where the second word is longer by one letter, and builds up a poem using Markov chains.
i
am
the
dawn
light
before
anybody
expected
something
disorderly
The poems in this post were all created by the program. They have not been edited.
i
am
the
very
great
change

USPS State Codes in Objective-C

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:58:09 -0500

I recently needed an NSDictionary mapping the United States Postal Service (USPS) State Codes to their associated state names. This seems like something that would be generally useful, so here it is:

  NSDictionary *uspsStates = @{
                               @"AA": @"Armed Forces America (except Canada)",
                               @"AB": @"Alberta",
                               @"AE": @"Armed Forces Africa, Canada, Middle East, Europe",
                               @"AK": @"Alaska",
                               @"AL": @"Alabama",
                               @"AP": @"Armed Forces Pacific",
                               @"AR": @"Arkansas",
                               @"AS": @"American Somoa",
                               @"AZ": @"Arizona",
                               @"BC": @"British Columbia",
                               @"CA": @"California",
                               @"CO": @"Colorado",
                               @"CT": @"Connecticut",
                               @"DC": @"District of Columbia",
                               @"DE": @"Delaware",
                               @"FL": @"Florida",
                               @"FM": @"Federated States of Micronesia",
                               @"GA": @"Georgia",
                               @"GU": @"Guam",
                               @"HI": @"Hawaii",
                               @"IA": @"Iowa",
                               @"ID": @"Idaho",
                               @"IL": @"Illinois",
                               @"IN": @"Indiana",
                               @"KS": @"Kansas",
                               @"KY": @"Kentucky",
                               @"LA": @"Louisiana",
                               @"MA": @"Massachusetts",
                               @"MB": @"Manitoba",
                               @"MD": @"Maryland",
                               @"ME": @"Maine",
                               @"MH": @"Marshall Islands",
                               @"MI": @"Michigan",
                               @"MN": @"Minnesota",
                               @"MO": @"Missouri",
                               @"MP": @"Northern Mariana Islands",
                               @"MS": @"Mississippi",
                               @"MT": @"Montana",
                               @"NB": @"New Brunswick",
                               @"NC": @"North Carolina",
                               @"ND": @"North Dakota",
                               @"NE": @"Nebraska",
                               @"NF": @"New Foundland",
                               @"NH": @"New Hampshire",
                               @"NJ": @"New Jersey",
                               @"NM": @"New Mexico",
                               @"NS": @"Nova Scotia",
                               @"NT": @"Northwest Territories",
                               @"NV": @"Nevada",
                               @"NY": @"New York",
                               @"OH": @"Ohio",
                               @"OK": @"Oklahoma",
                               @"ON": @"Ontario",
                               @"OR": @"Oregon",
                               @"PA": @"Pennsylvania",
                               @"PE": @"Prince Edward Island",
                               @"PM": @"Palau",
                               @"PQ": @"Quebec",
                               @"PR": @"Puerto Rico",
                               @"RI": @"Rhode Island",
                               @"SC": @"South Carolina",
                               @"SD": @"South Dakota",
                               @"SK": @"Saskatchewan",
                               @"TN": @"Tennessee",
                               @"TX": @"Texas",
                               @"UT": @"Utah",
                               @"VA": @"Virginia",
                               @"VI": @"U.S. Virgin Islands",
                               @"VT": @"Vermont",
                               @"WA": @"Washington",
                               @"WI": @"Wisconsin",
                               @"WV": @"West Virginia",
                               @"WY": @"Wyoming",
                               @"YT": @"Yukon Territories"
                               };

Photo

Sat, 09 Feb 2013 22:33:21 -0500

Easy and Better Objective-C Method Call Logging

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:53:35 -0500

A common method for debugging “caveman-style”, is to log method calls to the console. The most obvious way to do this in Objective-C/Cocoa is to call NSLog with your method name:

- (void)myMethod
{
	NSLog(@"myMethod");

	…
}

This leads to a lot of typing and boilerplate code. We can do better. Cocoa includes a C function that returns an NSString object representing the name of a selector passed as a parameter:

NSString *NSStringFromSelector(SEL aSelector)

Conveniently, every Objective-C method includes a hidden parameter (similar to “this”), which is a reference to the selector being called. This parameter is named:

_cmd

NOTE: The _cmd parameter is only available to Objective-C methods! C functions will not have it. Combining NSStringFromSelector with _cmd, we can simplify the logging code into something that can become an easily re-used snippet.

- (void)myMethod
{
	NSLog(@"%@", NSStringFromSelector(_cmd));

	…
}

But… we can do better still. User the pre-processor to expand the above from a short, easily remembered macro:

#define pf() (NSLog(@"%@", NSStringFromSelector(_cmd)))

I chose “pf”, short for “print function”, but it can be anything that’s not already in use and won’t cause an error. I recommend using something short and easy to remember. I like to define this macro in the default pre-compiled header file (.pch) for a project, making it available anywhere. If you’re zealously against including non-system stuff there, you can define it in any file that is commonly imported in any Objective-C files where you wish to use it. Once this macro is available, we can quickly add a method log this way:

- (void)myMethod
{
	pf();

	…
}

Much simpler! Bonus: When debugging time is done, and you want to get rid of the log spew created by all this, re-define the macro as a null statement, re-build your project, and it’s gone.

For more details on Objective-C messaging, including “this” and “_cmd”, see also: Objective-C Runtime Programming Guide: Messaging

App Dev Business Strategy 101...

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:32:13 -0400

1- Optimize for what will likely be approved for sale in the app store

2- Pick a problem to solve that isn’t part of the OS’ built-in capabilities

3- Have an exit strategy for when #’s 1 & 2 change without notice

You Climb Productions

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:02:04 -0500

You Climb Productions:

Must watch: El Camino Del Ray trail hike video.

JSON Pretty Print formatting in BBEdit

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:05:00 -0500

Working with large JSON output can be a pill, especially when the server strips white-space or makes no effort at formatting the response for human-readability.

Having previously looked for a solution to make this easy, and not finding the right Google-majik to find it, I came across this article that talks about BBEdit’s Unix filtering abilities: BBEdit: Its Unix Support Doesn’t Suck Either, Part 2

I created this Python script that applies JSON pretty-print to text selected in the editor window:

#!/usr/local/bin/python
import fileinput
import json
if __name__ == "__main__":
  jsonStr = ''
  for a_line in fileinput.input():
    jsonStr = jsonStr + ' ' + a_line.strip()    
  jsonObj = json.loads(jsonStr)  
  print json.dumps(jsonObj, sort_keys=True, indent=2)

Create the script (name it what you will, I named mine “PrettyJSON.py”), and save it in the “Unix Filters” folder for BBEdit (as described in the above article.
Copy some JSON into BBEdit, select it, and apply the filter.

Voila! Human-readable JSON.

UPDATE: If you are using BBEdit 10…

The ”PrettyJSON.py” script should be placed here: “~/Library/Application Support/BBEdit/Text Filters”
Run the filter using the menu sequence: Text->Apply Text Filter->PrettyJSON

[NOTE: Also works on TextWrangler, the free, light version of BBEdit.]

Unintended consequences in real-time.

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:41:54 -0500

Unintended consequences in real-time.

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:51:50 -0400

Antarctica during Southern-Hemisphere Summer.

Dynamically create a UIViewController and Add it to a UINavigationController in Your iOS App

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:08:36 -0400

I recently needed to dynamically create UIViewController objects based on class/nib names defined in a configuration file, then display them in a UINavigationController.

Here’s how it’s done:

 
// Dynamically create new view controller based on class name string, then add it to    
//   my app via [UINavigationController setViewControllers:animated:]      

NSString *myUIViewControllerClassName = @"MyViewController";    
Class myClass = NSClassFromString(myUIViewControllerClassName);  
NSObject *myObject = [myClass new];  
if( [myObject isKindOfClass:[UIViewController class]] )  
{      
  UIViewController *newViewController = (UIViewController *) myObject;      
  [newViewController initWithNibName:myUIViewControllerClassName bundle:nil];  
  [appDelete.navigationController setViewControllers:[NSArray arrayWithObject:newViewController] animated:NO];       
  [newViewController release];  
}  
else   
{      
  [myObject release];  
}

rmpenguino: petervidani: maniacalrage: Dogs At 1000 FPS (via...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:43:24 -0500

rmpenguino:

petervidani:

maniacalrage:

Dogs At 1000 FPS (via gruber)

One of the most accurate YouTube descriptions ever: “It’s dogs in slow-mo catching treats. What could be better?”

I wish all commercials were in slow motion.

ilovecharts: szymon: Do knot forget

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:31:47 -0500

ilovecharts:

szymon:

Do knot forget

"Reinventing body. Breakthrough 1 : Your body is not a physical structure. It is a process in..."

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:40:37 -0400

“Reinventing body. Breakthrough 1 : Your body is not a physical structure. It is a process in consciousness.”

- Deepak Chopra

“It’s f**king charging! With no...

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:56:34 -0400

“It’s f**king charging! With no cords!”

“It’s f**king quantum mechanics. Get back to f**king work!”

(via @ courtenaybird)

I felt emotionally drained after watching this.

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:36:20 -0400

I felt emotionally drained after watching this.

Magic incantation to make iPhone 3.0.1 debuggable again...

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:59:00 -0400

Run this command with a user that has ownership/write access to the /Developer tree, or wherever you installed the iPhone SDK [all on one line]:

ln -s /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport/3.0\ \(7A341\) /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport/3.0.1

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship,..."

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:38:52 -0400

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.”

- Robert Heinlein

We each make the past the way we wanted it to be. Based on our own desires to conform reality to the...

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:38:46 -0400

We each make the past the way we wanted it to be.

Based on our own desires to conform reality to the experiences we are each addicted.

If we desire to experience the joy in our own lives, we tend to remember the joyous moments, and forget those less so.

The opposite is also true.

For each who is of joyous desire, there must be one who desires the pain.

This is nature’s drive to equilibrium. Balance.

"race team: A group of people charged with completing a six-month project in less than two weeks...."

Mon, 04 May 2009 09:40:51 -0400

“race team: A group of people charged with completing a six-month project in less than two weeks. Result: Six months later another race team is fixing the mess the first one made.”

- http://www.buzzwhack.com/

The Sticky Note Experiment.

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:41:41 -0400

The Sticky Note Experiment.