timdorr.com

Atlanta Coworking

2009-10-27T13:40:48Z

It's been a while since I've updated the blog (again), but I've been quite busy! I've been working on a new Atlanta coworking space called Ignition Alley. It's something that our local ecosystem of entrepreneurs and startups has demanded for a long time, but now it's finally a reality. It's been a very hard project to set up, but has gone extremely quickly. I only started it in June of this year and we were up and running by September. Now we've been open a month and things are really starting to get interesting.

If you want to know more, feel free to stop on by. I'm there most days of the week to answer any questions you might have. I hope to see you at the alley!

Twitter + Trivia = Twivia

2008-12-22T04:17:24Z

I whipped up a new little Twitter app called Twivia. I've actually had it ready to go for a while, but never got a chance to finish it off. But I spent a good chunk of today polishing, bug-fixing and implementing features to get it ready for prime time.

The basic idea is that it's a trivia game you play over Twitter. You answer via direct message (to keep people from using search.twitter.com to cheat) and it keeps tally of your score. For now, it's relatively simple. There's one question an hour (unless no one answers, in which case it waits until someone does) and a global scoreboard. I'm still trying to figure out how to provide feedback on answers, but I'm thinking that will be via a direct message sent back (but I have to wait until Twitter raises my API limit to attempt that). I'd also like to get some prizes mixed in, but I'm concentrating on features and stability first before I start throwing cash at it.

So, give @playtwivia a follow on Twitter and start answering some questions :)

Baconnaise

2008-12-04T17:33:21Z

Ah, the wonders of Internet memes. Bacon is all the rage nowadays. As such, companies have been looking to capitalize on that taste demand. Enter J&D's with their two entries in the field: Bacon Salt and Baconnaise.

I've had Bacon Salt for a while now. It's awesome stuff. Goes great on a lot of things. My only issue is I've become pre-hypertensive and that much sodium isn't going to help things. So, I was excited to hear about Baconnaise, which would allow me to continue my bacon-flavored adventures with less sodium and heart attacks and such.

I ordered a jar of Baconnaise from their site last week and got it earlier this week. Excluding the holiday, it was only about 3-4 days of shipping time. Not too shabby! I ordered the light version, as it cuts the fat to 1/3 the previous value and dumps 25mg of sodium as well. But to it's credit, the majority of the fats in the regular version are unsaturated.

My first plan was to try some as a spread topping for a Chick-fil-a Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich. For those familiar with them, they're relatively subdued in flavor compared to other Chick-fil-a options. But the best thing about them is they have nearly no fat (3g), a ton of protein (28g), and a whole wheat bun for complex carbohydrates. They actually would make a great entry in anyone's diet.

So, I got two yesterday and put some Baconnaise on the bun. My first impression was that the taste was surprisingly light. However, two things likely factored into this: 1) I'm coming from Bacon Salt, which is extremely flavorful 2) This is the light version, so it's probably not going to be as strong. Regardless, while the taste was minimal, it was excellent. I definitely recommend the combination.

The consistency also surprised me. Realistically, Baconnaise is much less a spread and more of a dip. It has a texture and thickness that matches dips more than mayonnaise. I'm going to try it with some carrots as a dip a little later on today as a snack. I have high expectations for that. I think it would also go good with potato chips, but I'm not interested in taking in those kinds of saturated fats.

All-in-all, it's a great product. I'd recommend getting the pack of Bacon Salts and Baconnaise direct from J&D's, provided it's not in your local grocery yet. Give it a whirl and see if you like it. If you like bacon, you probably will.

Scavenge

2008-09-03T06:53:21Z

My next iPhone app is almost ready to go. It's going to be an Internet-enabled app, so this will be interesting to say the least. I do believe I've got all the bugs worked out and made the UI a lot smoother to work with. Now I've just got to put up the ability to turn the service off, if needed. There are 8M+ iPhones out there and freebie apps like this tend to get abused.

It's also going to be interesting as to how I monetize this. The app will be using AdMob's iPhone support for a free version. Then there will be a paid version for $0.99 that removes the ads. I've actually got to do some trickery in XCode to make it as simple as changing a build setting to switch between the two. Or create another target. This is all stuff I'm really green on, so we'll see how it goes.

Metronome

2008-08-10T06:04:28Z

My first iPhone app, Metronome, is now available in the iTunes App Store! Buy it, please!

It was actually a fun little project to make and I believe it's the most accurately-timed metronome in the App Store so far. The algorithm is smart about computing tick timing to avoid drift. I also worked out a better tuner than the rest. Although, detecting tune from the microphone is going to be a bitch, but something I want to do. A tap button for BPM is the next obvious feature and will get in there ASAP. I also wanted to figure out something for custom rhythms. I've just got to figure out a good UI pattern for that.

Anyways, it was my first real go at Cocoa Touch. It's a really, really easy system to get up and running on. I had a few issues with the sound system, but overall, it's dead simple to get started on and make something cool.

Whoops!

2008-08-08T16:36:36Z

I added in the Activity Streams plugin last night. It appears to like to import all Flickr photos, not just my own. Cleared out 500 items!

Now, off to go discuss secret ASO plans...

Poking About

2008-06-24T19:48:03Z

So, as you might have noticed, things look a bit different. I've reverted everything back to the default templates and am using one of the built-in styles. So, not pretty at the moment, but hopefully pretty in the future. We shall see.

Spit and Polish

2008-06-18T18:43:33Z

Well, since I upgrade MT but didn't upgrade my templates, this site is kind of a mess. I'll probably have to nuke things and start over. Much like I had planned last year...

Anyhoo, I'm thinking of just dropping it down to a micro-blog status. Basically just be all Tumblr-like and such. Writing big posts makes my brain hurt.

In other news, ASOworx is coming soon!

Radio Star

2008-05-22T16:03:28Z

Sweet!

Should be running on Atlanta area radio stations in a week. I'll let you know who's playing it as soon as Google tells me.

Blah

2008-04-28T17:52:21Z

Blah Blah Blah ASOcluster Blah Blah Blah ASOdesign Blah Blah Blah ASObill Blah Blah Blah

Coming Attractions

2007-05-08T20:11:13Z

This will likely be the last blog entry I make on timdorr.com. However, that does not mean I'm stopping the site. On the contrary, you should see a much more dynamic and regularly updated site going forward. Specifically, I plan to cross into Web 3.0 territory.

No, that's not a typo. While Web 3.0 isn't well defined yet, this site will be at least partially in that realm. Specifically, this will be what I call a Person Aggregator. I'm a very active individual on the web, but it's reflected on other sites. I regularly update my status on Facebook, post pictures on Flickr, digg articles on Digg.com, etc. But little of that makes it's way back to a central point. As a result, this site will become the hub of information about myself that is generated by other sites. This data is exposed within the semantic web, and I intend to aggregate it here on the site. This falls within the Web 3.0 context because the content is not generated directly on the site by the owner (Web 1.0) and isn't collaboratively created by visitors of the site (Web 2.0), but pulls it's content and functionality from other sites using underlying data services (Web 3.0). If you've used Yahoo! Pipes then you've used a Web 3.0 application. Pipes does have some Web 2.0 elements to it (a community of user-created "pipes"), but the actual end-functionality for it is based on external data services and the semantic web. Pipes by itself does nothing, and relies on external sources to have any amount of functionality. In essence, while Web 2.0 is about the collaboration of people, Web 3.0 is, at least in part, about the collaboration of websites themselves.

At least one element missing is the signature of a Web 3.0 design. That hasn't yet been developed to the point of the gradients, wet floors, and "beta" starbursts that Web 2.0 has, but it's too early for that anyways. There is also talk of redefining the browsing interface into something three dimensional (which I'm sure will make movie-makers extremely happy), but that's not something I want to adapt here. I think there will need to be a massive change within web browser functionality for that to happen anyways. There is also talk of artificial intelligence in Web 3.0, but that's something that I have no interest in attempting to tackle. Although, I'm sure with many years of research I could have the ability to not only show what is on my Netflix queue, but also what I'm likely to add in the future.

I'm still defining the services to include here, and I also need to come up with a design. Chances are it's going to look pretty bland until I settle on something. But it will work and will be cool, I assure you. I'll also be sure to have the facility to make the occasional blog post, as needed, but it will be far from being a blog. I'm pretty excited about this, so hopefully I'll have it done in the next 3 to 5 years :P

Soulmath

2007-04-04T16:03:25Z

I normally hate these kinds of things, but this was written by a bunch of Harvard and MIT math nuts. So, see if you match me

Workforce

2007-03-07T17:52:24Z

Hiring people takes a lot of work. Luckily, I've got Anthony who just joined us and Mike who will be starting next week. But it's still going to take a few weeks for them to get up to full speed, so they're essentially dead weight at the moment (not their fault! it's a confusing job at first). But they both seem like sharp guys, so we should be cranking out some serious ticket action very soon.

Now, I've got a job for you, the reader. Tell me what this song is and I'll pay out in free months of credit for your hosting (if you're not with ASO, payment will be in kudos). Seriously. It's been bugging the crap out of me. It's from an Adult Swim bump (hence the echo from my recording). First person to get a track title wins.

Old And Busted

2007-01-31T08:12:12Z

The New Hotness

P.S. Still working on the redesign for this site. No worries, just busy.

Turnaround

2007-01-23T00:54:03Z

Well, my 360 has been repaired and is on it's way back. But here's the nuts part:

12:36 AM 1/21/07
Dear Customer,
We have received your Xbox at our service center. It is our priority to process your Xbox in a timely manner and to get it back to you as good as new. We will contact you as soon as we are finished so you can get ready to get back into the game!

Thanks,
Xbox Customer Care

And then:

3:22 PM 1/21/07
Your Xbox Video Game system has been shipped! You can expect to receive it in 2-5 days. Thank you for your patience and get ready to get back into the action! Your shipping information is provided below for your reference:

Carrier Name: UPS
Carrier Tracking Number: 1Z05W3584207572720
Shipment Date: 2007-01-12 21:18:31

Yep, that's right. My 360 was received, fixed, and shipped back out in under 3 hours! Way to go Microsoft! I was worrying it was going to be weeks.