Perfect Ringing (This iPhone)

At work today Mark Kater and Sarah were joking that I’ve been as sick as long as I’ve had my iPhone. I guess my iPhone has bad Feng Shui.

Then Mark mentioned that the song in the iPhone television commercials, gives him the classically Apple 38 seconds of “all is good in the world” before he wakes up back to reality. I hadn’t heard the song, but when I mentioned this to our graphic designer, he said he hears the song in his sleep. The song is “Perfect Timing (This Morning)” by Orba Squara.

Hmm… that would make an awesome ringtone. 😀

Perfect Ringing

Perfect Ringing
North Beach, San Francisco, California

Nikon D70, Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D, Canon 500D close up filter
1/45sec @ f/1.4, iso200, 85mm (127mm)

It was indeed “Perfect Timing” because today was also when someone posted a desktop app for customizing the iPhone ringtone.

Some notes:

  • To get the song, there are a lot of ways. I purchased it in iTunes Music Store, burned to CD, and reimported as MP3
  • Intel Mac binary only. No PowerPC, No Windows
  • “There is no Step 1.” 😀
  • If your unlock fails, you have to click the “skip” button the second time around. Else it will keep playing the pig zapper sound.
  • The “Put the iPhone into Recovery Mode” means to hold the home and sleep buttons on the iPhone for 25 seconds until you see the recovery mode icon
  • Just kill “iTunes Helper” so iTunes doesn’t start up on you
  • Remember to select the ringtone (a green + appears next to the ringtone)
  • The iPhone speakers have a shitty bass

Have fun!Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 4

No whammies, big money

A funny rumor appeared on TechCrunch about the company I work for.

I won’t comment about the rumor. (To be honest, I’m so bad with numbers I wouldn’t be able to get the number right even if I did.) Instead I’d like to point out Comment 26:

“15M can hire the BEST engineers and product team in the bay area, word on the streets is that they already have 3 of the hottest sh*t php engineers, and a famous architect boot. I would watch out for them in the near future.”

Famous architect? Moi?

Pshawww!

P.S. Tagged is hiring. I don’t know about the others but I’m looking for some young, hot sh*t PHP engineers who don’t mind working with a “famous architect” for a profitable, growing, hot startup with tons of money. (The beauty here is you don’t work for me. I’m like the color commentator of your code.)

We’ll see who can kick out more product. As long as you kids don’t keep stealing my hearing aid, I’ll give you a run, I promise. 😀

Contact Mark Jen and Terry Chay (especially Mark, I’m just an engineer… but apparently a “hot sh*t” one. :-D).

Posted on by tychay 0

LOLGeeks

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any geekier with inside jokes, lolgeeks is an amusing take on LOLCATS. Here geeks make various image macros in pidgin of photos of other geeks.

And just when you thought I couldn’t get any geekier, I find out that my “Chris as a beer” photo made lolgeeks…

Chris’s beer costume

Chris’s beer costume
Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland, OR

Nikon D200, 10.5mm f/2.8G fisheye
1/180 sec @ f/13, iso 125, 11mm (15mm)

LOLGEEKS: i is a beer!
me: lol. i is a fotografr!
flawedartist: oh rly? no wai!

Chris, that’s karmic retribution for being declared a PHP hero a full three weeks before me!

Like that stuff? Then if you are “in” the social networking site with wit (and a horrible name): I’m In Like With You, why the hell aren’t you bidding up, flawedartist’s game in which Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal and CEO of Slide at Facebook’s f8 event, is in sore need of an lolgeeks caption?

im in like with yr games
bidding up yr peeps

[more inside geek jokes after the jump]Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 4

Stories about my wallet

I still haven’t recovered from the cold I had a month ago. I’m on a CEO-ordered mandate to not come into work the rest of the week and that should explain my lack erratic communications of late. Having my boss tell me, “Stop coming into work, get better” is the Terry equivalent of exercising the the nuclear option.

Well before I fall back asleep (because my body really is shutting down), here is what happenned yesterday:

I had a bet with my web developer about a piece of filtering code I wrote that was breaking a certain type of link. It turned out that the bet was a draw: yes, it was in my code; no, my code wasn’t broken. I decided to call it a loss and treat him to coffee at Starbucks—we have a nice Starbucks coffee machine at work, but “Cafe Verona” and “Cafe Verona Decaf” does not constitute an adequate set of options.

He ordered his reward, then I ordered the grande mocha cappuccino (yes, that was what the chalkboard told me to order). I then pulled out my wallet to get the Starbucks card. I just have the card as an excuse to treat people to coffee. I’m the only person in my family who isn’t a coffee drinker, I just drink socially, or when I’m desperate.

“Whoops! I have to use my credit card instead.” I then explain to my co-worker what happened to my card, “Normally, I have a Starbucks card but I cleaned out my wallet last month. Now I kept the Starbucks card, it’s just that I had a George Costanza wallet before, which stretched the wallet, and now when I pull this out, all the cards on the right side have been flying out. I guess it flew out recently and I lost the Starbucks card.”

The girl behind the cash register overheard this and laughed when I said “George Costanza wallet.” Apparently the same thing happens to her.

The moral of this story is, don’t clean out your wallet when you’re sick in bed and have nothing better to do with the idle time.

My wallet (slimmed)

My wallet (slimmed)
North Beach, San Francisco, California

Nikon D70, Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D
1/600sec @ f/2.8, iso200, 85mm (127mm)

Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 2

Job: Software Architect for NovaTunes in Venice, CA

Sent to my by my friend John Herren (sorry about the delay in posting):

Life’s a Beach! Fix The Music Business! Work in VENICE, California

NovaTunes is a revolutionary new music company putting control in the hands of the artists and delivering quality music to a hungry global community. One lucky contestant will join a small team of web and music veterans as Software Architect. NovaTunes has a great vibe, sits 100 yards from the Boardwalk and is hooked-up in the worlds of music and web.

We seek an experienced code writer unafraid to get his/her hands dirty and turn a great vision into a reality working with and managing top software developers both off-site and at our Venice HQ. The Software Architect guides development of the company’s web site, community and technology and interfaces with Web Producers to create widgets and cool web apps.

A successful Software Architect will have an excellent opportunity to make a difference and advance within the company.

Skills:

  • Solid PHP and MySQL scripting skills
  • Familiarity with HTML, DHTML, JavaScript, CSS 2.0
  • Widgets/Gadgets using Flash or Ajax
  • Audio-Video and Broadband and Networking
  • Hands-on experience with relational database design and web service API’s
  • Search engine optimization
  • Some knowledge of JSP/Java, ASP,.NET
  • Familiarity with the LAMP environment (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

Bonus Skills:

  • 5+ years professional Web development experience
  • BS/BA in CS, EE, or equivalent education experience
  • Strong presentation, communication, and collaboration skills
  • Experience with online communities
  • Positive attitude and professionalism in the workplace

Perks:
Generous equity in well-funded company, benefits, competitive salary and casual work environment.

Contact Us:
So, if sad and you’re feeling blue go out and buy yourself a new pair of shoes, but if you need a job to afford the shoes call Michael Lato @ 310-748-8041 or send an e-mail to novatunesjob [at] here.

Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 2

What Web 2.0 is…

Dave called me today to complain about the sudden explosion of strange terms that have been appearing on the resumes of people he interviews: Ajax, SaaS, SOAs, Scrum, and, of course, the dreaded Web 2.0.

I said some stuff which I won’t repeat because I’ve decided to refrain from kicking Java while it’s down. 😀

Dave also mentioned that I haven’t pissed on Ruby in a couple weeks and their TIOBE stats have started to recover. But I figured, that since Ruby on Rails has hitched its car onto the front of the Web 2.0 train and that baby is going full steam ahead toward the cliff… Let’s just say I’m betting it won’t reach the requisite eighty-eight miles per hour.

Speaking of which, what’s with the fucked up vocabulary/acronyms in the Ruby world? RoR? (Rawr!!!!) DHH? (Dude, like I’m going to confuse him with the six other Dave Hansson’s in my address book?)

This somehow led into a discussion on how Chris Pirillo is my hero—which I guess makes him a hero’s hero:

(Dave’s comment while watching the video: “I think I phone screened the first guy.”) Reminds me of the phone calls I’ve been getting recently (only not as long or nearly as funny). Hopefully, they’ll go away now that I replaced my Vista phone with an iPhone. 😀

[Gnomedex and Lunch 2.0 after the jump!]Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 5

Did you ever know that I’m your hero?

Can I ever say enough times how much I like to hear my name? Oh sure, Meagan one-upped my last article by getting her photo in Valleywag. But I refuse to be outdone.

Me! Me! Me!

So a big thank you to Bobs Matthis for making me his hero on Friday, with my own trading card, special powers, and everything. 🙂

Terry Chay

Bobs writes:

“I am a subscriber of [t]his blog and always look forward to [Terry’s] next post. His blog is always entertaining as he mixes in technical posts right along with everything else. He has a way with mixing in comical antics along with technical posts where he still comes across as an experienced developer, intelligent, and hilarious.”

Pshawww!!! I’m blushing! (In other news, my readership count has jumped to 11! That’s like as high as the dial goes, baby!)

[More about me after the jump]Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 10

A fish(y) story

It is because of random flukes like this:

I make C|Net’s News.Com frontpage (sort of)

Baseball cap? Check? New York Giants? Check. Geek convention? Check. This reminds me, C|Net really needs to host a Lunch 2.0… Check?

that Blake and Meagan have started calling me “rockstar.” What is ironic is that I’m not a rockstar, but I am related to one: my Uncle Francis, whom you’ve read about before. 😀

Uncle Francis Gunbei!

Uncle Francis Gunbei!
Yoshi’s Jazz House and Japanese Restaurant, Oakland, California

Nikon D70, 50mm f/1.8D
1/20sec @ f/1.8, iso200, 50mm (75mm)

Here is the photographic proof my brother found that my Uncle Francis has a secret night job as Shin Joong-hyun, the Korean Godfather of Rock ’n Roll:

Korea’s Godfather of Rock Makes a Comeback

As my cousin, Chris, says, now we figured out what her father has been up to since “retiring.” We just got to get him to shave his head, wear and earpiece, and look pensive. 😀 (Knowing Uncle Francis, he’d do that too, if it meant a free lunch…Hmm, maybe the idea for Lunch 2.0 was genetic.)

Speaking of another Chris (and another lunch), Chris Jones mentioned that I need to include more essays from my Uncle. So, the same week last November my brother found Uncle’s hidden secret double life as the Godfather of Korean Rock, this essay was making the rounds in our family…

(Trust me, you’re going to love it.)

[“One day in life of a retiree: a fish(y) story” after the jump.]Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 5

Getting Oracle and PHP talking

You’ve heard of LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) which according to “the vernacular” is “Web 2.0”, but did you know that there is OPAL (Oracle PHP Apache Linux)?

Me neither, until I ran across Chris Jones’s blog. Chris is the guy who wised me up to Oracle SQL Developer, a free download run-anywhere client (including Mac) into Oracle (and other databases). Super useful and worth a download.

He and Allison Holloway also wrote the useful The Underground PHP and Oracle® Manual (download pdf), which basically tells you how to get up and running with Oracle and PHP. You might find it useful. There is no Mac section though, FYI.

My view on such things is well known, so hopefully they’ll write another book addressing those things that he’s told me about what Oracle can do but I’ve been too busy to look into.

Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 2

BYOCommunities

F—: I wanted to ask you about the the Ning network.

Welcome to Ning

Welcome to Ning
Ning, Palo Alto, California

 

Nikon D200, Tokina AT-X PRO 16-50mm f/2.8 DX
1/80sec @ f/8, iso100, 17mm (25mm)

Me: Okay, but I’m not the person to ask, you should have you should have gone to Lunch 2.0 and asked Gina yourself.

F—: How does it compare to Facebook? Does it feel like you are creating more of a community?

Me: Facebook is best for personal social networking. (Among other things,) Ning is basically Yahoo! groups for Web 2.0 (…or they should head that direction). 🙂

F—: I see. Is there any other sites doing similar stuff?

Me: Yeah, I think there are a couple.

F—: Cool. Thanks.

Me: No problem.

Continue reading →

Posted on by tychay 2