Thursday, July 31, 2008

Random Thoughts on Squidoo

Random Thoughts is a web page or "Lens" that I built on Squidoo. Squidoo is a very simple web page builder. It utilizes the OpenSocial platform so Gadgets can be added to the web pages on that site. I built the Random Thoughts web page there in minutes.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Processing in the Human Mind

Humans load thoughts into their thinking part of their brain when they want to use them. When they are not in use, they get stored to the storage part of the brain. It would be impossible to think about everything that one knows at the same time. The memory part of the brain is not as large as the storage part of the brain. While thinking new thoughts, the brain processes these thoughts and stores an abstraction of what is being thought of. The processing part of the brain reduces all of the new thoughts and stores the essential pieces of it to the storage part of the brain for later use. Over time, the processing part of the brain removes or further abstracts unused thoughts that are stored. Over time, a thought is more and more abstract. A thought from yesterday where every piece of the thought is stored in memory decays over time. A thought from a year ago, has far less pieces stored.

When storing vision, every image that is ever seen could not possibly be stored. It is just far too much information to store. Images that are deemed important are stored in the storage part of the brain. An image that is seen very frequently is going to be deemed more important. If closing ones eyes and thinking of an image that was seen in the past, the image will be loaded into memory. It will be much more abstract than actually looking at the image because of size constraints.

Thoughts that are not currently being used are sometimes brought into memory. This bogs down the processing part of the brain because the brain can only process a limited amount of information at one time. To concentrate, the brain must not load any unused thoughts out of the storage part of the brain and into the memory part of the brain. Storage is, of course, referred to as long-term memory. Memory is referred to as short-term memory.

The brain is very similar to how a computer functions. And, a computer is very similar to how a brain functions. Computers were designed based on the constructs of the brain.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Random Thoughts Gadget

Here is an Random Thoughts Gadget implementation of the Random Thoughts web application as a Google Gadget embedded into a web page.

Clarification of Encapsulation in PHP - OOP

PHP Developer - Boston, MA | Object Oriented Programming

Here is a demonstration of what is happening to an object member while changing it. This should help you clarify how PHP handles pointers:


class A {
public $val;

public function __construct( $val ) {
$this->val = $val;
}
}

class B {
public $val;

public function __construct( $val ) {
$this->val = $val;
}
}

$a = new A(5);

echo $a->val; // 5

echo "
";

$b = $a;

$b->val = 10;

echo $a->val; // 10

$c = clone( $a );

$c->val = 15;

echo "
";

echo $c->val; // 15

echo "
";

echo $a->val; // 15

echo "
";

$z = 1;

echo ++$z * $z++ + $z; // 7

echo "
";

echo $z; // 3

echo "
";

$m = 0;
do {
echo $m;
} while ( ++$m < 10 );


Google AdWords Keyword Generation

It is possible to generate keywords for AdWords on the fly. There is a sample keyword generation tool for adwords that can generate a list of keywords. This could be extended to list the keywords and map them to certain pages. It could make a list of keywords for example, that would send to a certain link which performs a search query to better direct the user to the correct page. This would better than doing it by hand because it could be done with a large number of keywords. AdWords limits the number of keywords per ad campaign, but many ad campaigns can be created with each type of ad that links to a certain location on the fly. With the script, it could be possible to generate 10,000 keywords with ease. The script is free to use.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Web Designer in the Boston, MA Area

Web Designer - Boston, MA is a great little website that offers simple and easy solutions. The most profound aspect of that website is the keyword tool. It can be used to generate keywords from any source of text. The offer of setting up a CMS (Content Management System) for $99 is a bargain. Drupal, Joomla!, WordPress, MediaWiki, phpBB are only some of the platforms that are offered.

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts: "Why do people tell me I'm emo? I don't wear emo clothes, don't listen to emo music, don't cut myself. I'm CLNICALLY DEPESSED"

--Wow! This is quite a discussion! The Random Thoughts application has quite some discussions on there. This is very interesting. Even EMO's can now publish their thoughts and beliefs to the rest of the world!

Keyword Tool

Here is a great Keyword Tool that takes any text input and generates a list of keywords. Common words and duplicates are stripped from the input and the output is in a comma-delimited format. This can be used to generate relevant keywords for Google AdWords or search engine optimization. It is simple, free, and easy to use. This is very convenient.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Random Thoughts

My Collection of Random Thoughts

There are 20701 random thoughts and 11623 comments on them!

Thoughts 1 to 209
Thoughts 210 to 418
Thoughts 419 to 627
Thoughts 628 to 836
Thoughts 837 to 1045
Thoughts 1046 to 1254
Thoughts 1255 to 1463
Thoughts 1464 to 1672
Thoughts 1673 to 1881
Thoughts 1882 to 2090
Thoughts 2091 to 2299
Thoughts 2300 to 2508
Thoughts 2509 to 2717
Thoughts 2718 to 2926
Thoughts 2927 to 3135
Thoughts 3136 to 3344
Thoughts 3345 to 3553
Thoughts 3554 to 3762
Thoughts 3763 to 3971
Thoughts 3972 to 4180
Thoughts 4181 to 4389
Thoughts 4390 to 4598
Thoughts 4599 to 4807
Thoughts 4808 to 5016
Thoughts 5017 to 5225
Thoughts 5226 to 5434
Thoughts 5435 to 5643
Thoughts 5644 to 5852
Thoughts 5853 to 6061
Thoughts 6062 to 6270
Thoughts 6271 to 6479
Thoughts 6480 to 6688
Thoughts 6689 to 6897
Thoughts 6898 to 7106
Thoughts 7107 to 7315
Thoughts 7316 to 7524
Thoughts 7525 to 7733
Thoughts 7734 to 7942
Thoughts 7943 to 8151
Thoughts 8152 to 8360
Thoughts 8361 to 8569
Thoughts 8570 to 8778
Thoughts 8779 to 8987
Thoughts 8988 to 9196
Thoughts 9197 to 9405
Thoughts 9406 to 9614
Thoughts 9615 to 9823
Thoughts 9824 to 10032
Thoughts 10033 to 10241
Thoughts 10242 to 10450
Thoughts 10451 to 10659
Thoughts 10660 to 10868
Thoughts 10869 to 11077
Thoughts 11078 to 11286
Thoughts 11287 to 11495
Thoughts 11496 to 11704
Thoughts 11705 to 11913
Thoughts 11914 to 12122
Thoughts 12123 to 12331
Thoughts 12332 to 12540
Thoughts 12541 to 12749
Thoughts 12750 to 12958
Thoughts 12959 to 13167
Thoughts 13168 to 13376
Thoughts 13377 to 13585
Thoughts 13586 to 13794
Thoughts 13795 to 14003
Thoughts 14004 to 14212
Thoughts 14213 to 14421
Thoughts 14422 to 14630
Thoughts 14631 to 14839
Thoughts 14840 to 15048
Thoughts 15049 to 15257
Thoughts 15258 to 15466
Thoughts 15467 to 15675
Thoughts 15676 to 15884
Thoughts 15885 to 16093
Thoughts 16094 to 16302
Thoughts 16303 to 16511
Thoughts 16512 to 16720
Thoughts 16721 to 16929
Thoughts 16930 to 17138
Thoughts 17139 to 17347
Thoughts 17348 to 17556
Thoughts 17557 to 17765
Thoughts 17766 to 17974
Thoughts 17975 to 18183
Thoughts 18184 to 18392
Thoughts 18393 to 18601
Thoughts 18602 to 18810
Thoughts 18811 to 19019
Thoughts 19020 to 19228
Thoughts 19229 to 19437
Thoughts 19438 to 19646
Thoughts 19647 to 19855
Thoughts 19856 to 20064
Thoughts 20065 to 20273
Thoughts 20274 to 20482
Thoughts 20483 to 20691
Thoughts 20692 to 20900

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts: "[A]s evolved human beings why are we still obsess[ed] with other people's random thoughts[?]"

It is a form of communication. People can publish their own thoughts and get that feeling that they are being heard. Also, people are curious to read about what others' are thinking about. I think we will be "obsessed" even more in the future with random thoughts. It is part of evolution. The human race will evolve into a race that communicates at unprecedented levels!

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts - Refactor

Some Ideas I have for re-factoring my website Random Thoughts

Refactor site:
- Make befriend functionality
- Clean-up GUI: make page less narrow
- Prevent bots from filling in fields/scanning entire site/rapidly creating posts: after 5 posts from the same IP or Session, then show a captcha. Repeat this process.
- Allow some HTML elements: BR, A, I, B, U, IMG – use “rel=nofollow”
- Get open-source form for filling out posts/comments with GUI
- Ask users to log-in, sign up for an account, or at least subscribe to comments while posting/commenting
- Make Posts/Comments editable/deletable
- AJAX Posts/Comments
- User profiles
- User’s name and link to profile should be next to each random thought
- Fix /index.php and /gadgets/page.php to better fit user experience
- Direct user’s towards commenting or adding a new random thought equally rather than having “Add Random Thought” form on home page
- Filter Random Thoughts by users/anonymous/date/etc…
- Add date field to Random Thoughts
o Fill up NULL values with dates from beginning of year to post with first recorded date
- Make each words from random thoughts a link to a search for that word. Do not change the appearance of the link versus it being plain text.
o Only make it searchable if it appears more than twice: it will be a tag once the term is posted more then twice.
- Rate this Random Thought: (*****) AJAX style!
- Embed: embed a Youtube video, Map, other open-source content into a Random Thought. Have link to directions to get a Map, Youtube video, etc…
- Fix XSS scripting: http://randomthoughts.club/page.php?lim=8293
- JavaScript hover box for links to random thoughts from browse page
- Use prototype for AJAX calls. Use Scriptaculous Library to fade in Random Thoughts and fade away old ones and fade in new ones when New Thought is clicked. This could make AJAX calls to the server.
- Add categories
- Add tags
- Add rating with AJAX libraries…use stars or images.
- Blacklist bots.
- Add a “Recently Commented” and “Recently Added” link
- Google Analytics
o first implement AJAX to refresh thoughts and place Post/Comment to new pages
- Allow comments on the search page for a “tag”

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts now has several new features added.

Random Thoughts - Search

The website is more interactive for the user because users can now target words they are interested in. I did this by making all the words from each most turn into a hyperlink that searches for other posts with that word in it.

Random Thoughts - Add Applications

The pesky links that went to Facebook, MySpace, etc... were removed from the main navigation. This really hurt the user experience. They are all now on a separate page called "Add Application".

The users now go through a different flow while going to the site. A user can still post without having to register, login, or even submit their e-mail, but it is easier for them to submit their e-mail while posting. This will allow users to be notified of follow up comments on that post. It also invites the user to register.

This website needs some remodeling on the user interface. It is too narrow and simple.

Random Thoughts from Reno: McCain Appearance

Random Thoughts from Reno: McCain Appearance - I am really hoping that John McCain wins the presidential election. If Obama wins, I think we are going to end up losing not only the war in Iraq, but other wars as well. It would give rogue nations a chance to attack America. Obama is just plainly to weak and inexperienced to be an American president. John McCain would be a great president and would preserve the security of our country. Our country would win any wars we are already in and win any wars that could arise in the next four years. I say: "Vote John McCain!"

Random Thoughts: Skepticism

Random Thoughts: Skepticism - to all of those believers that think we are going to run off of water instead of fuel, you just may be right... I think the only way we are going to extract energy from water is by letting it boil in the sun and catch the energy from it expanding into a gas. We will not be filling up our SUV's with a hose anytime soon! Our iPhones are not going to run on water anytime soon either!

Random Thoughts: A beautiful day !

Random Thoughts: A beautiful day ! I love it when I wake up in the morning and it is raining and foggy out, so I just go right back to sleep! Then after sleeping for a while, I wake up and it is beautiful and sunny out! I see where you are coming from!

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: My Review Of The Dark Knight

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: My Review Of The Dark Knight The Dark Night is a much better movie than Batman Begins. I personally thought that Batman Begins was a terrible movie and I am surprised that The Dark Night did so well figuring that. The Dark Night was indeed a great movie!

PageRank

I found this interesting little widget that calculates PageRank on the fly. It say's this page is zero right now, but I look forward to seeing it expand. Here is the widget:

Google PageRank Checker - Page Rank Calculator

PageRank is calculated on the number of incoming links to your site. A site that has high PageRank can raise other web pages PageRank much more than a site with low PageRank.

PageRank is often referred to as PR in SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

I know that the PageRank calculator offered by BlogFlux is a great example of "Link Bait". People will add the calculator to their site which links back to the BlogFlux website and raises the BlogFlux PR.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Bloggers Competing With the Press

Random thoughts about the Kindle - the press always controlled what people read about. Some publishers in the past could write books, but that was not accessible to many people. Blogs allow the average person to publish their content to the world. It is easy and free. Anyone with access to a computer and the internet can become a "publisher" or blogger. This does compete with the publishing giants. Instead of a reader spending their time at US News, they may be spending their time reading blogs published by some average Joe!

Random Thoughts: Lets make some music!

Random Thoughts: Lets make some music! - Youtube! offers tremendous power to allow people to publish their media to the world. Anyone that has the access to the tools and the knowledge to use them can publish their videos to the web and allow millions of people to find them. This is extremely great for the little guys that want to show off their films. I don't think Hollywood has too much to worry about it, though!

Random Thoughts: More Begur Pictures

Random Thoughts: More Begur Pictures - Spain has some great art. There are some wonderful pictures of Spanish art at this blog. Follow the link from above!

Random Thoughts - Parenting Process of Self Discovery

Random Thoughts - I have recently become a parent. My now 7 month old daughter makes me think a lot. It was very great becoming a parent and I look forward to every moment of it!

Random Thoughts

The Random Thoughts project is going quite well. Users are enjoying the site and entering some very interesting posts. The posts are typically very simplistic, but they are interesting and some of the content is very unique. Most other blogs are from more serious people, but the Random Thoughts website gets content from just about anybody. The thoughts of almost all type of people are published to the world. It allows people to share culture and beliefs.

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: Roundup of Recent Posts

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: Roundup of Recent Posts

Here is a collection of some of the recent posts we put up here:

Happy Birthday To The Dark Haired Beauty
A Story Using Song Lyrics Revisited Continued
Life Changing Moments
A Story Using Song Lyrics Revisited
Men Who Wear Pink
The Cubicle Celebrates 40 Years
Angry With G-d
Soon to Be Appearing at: First International Jewish Bloggers Conference

And your blast from the past:

Name a Song That Makes You Cry
The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants
Who Remembers Richie's Pizza?
Why I Quit Blogging

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: Reasons Why I Am Not a Pulpit Rabbi

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: Reasons Why I Am Not a Pulpit Rabbi - I am not a Pulpit Rabbi because if I was a Pulpit Rabbi, then I would be a Pulpit Rabbi!

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: “Happy Flu” meme

Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: “Happy Flu” meme - That is an interesting little blogger widget. It is a "flu" widget that spreads through blogger. It will build up link popularity. I found it very interesting!