Rant Fever 3.0 http://www.rantfever.com/ We pontificate but not in the pejorative sense of the word. en-us Abinadi is at webmaster at ayerdis dot com Copyright 2012 Dreams of Windows Mobile App http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1249 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1249

The Situation


My roommate, Atrayu, is taking a programming class at Texas State in which he must create an app for Windows Mobile. Unfortunately, Atrayu is experiencing some "programmer's block" wherein he can't seem to come up with any ideas for apps.

The Mission


Come up with some ideas of awesome cell phone apps that Atrayu can program to get an A++ in his class.

Challenge accepted!


Here are some of the ideas I came up with to get Atrayu going on the right foot:

  1. A universal remote control. This one assumes that the phone has an infrared port. Of course it has does, what am I thinking.

  2. A new version of tetris where instead of blocks, math problems fall down and you have to arrange them in ways that create cold fusion like in the movie The Saint, with Val Kilmer and Elizabeth Shue.

  3. Pong. Only instead of knobs, you use the accelerometer to move the paddle back and forth. 

  4. An RSS reader that has social networking bundled in it so that you can connect to your friends and the things you share will automatically popup in their feeds. 

  5. A to-do app that not only keeps track of things to do, but rewards you for completing items on the list by giving you points. You can trade in points for badges that you put on your screen. You can also sell "badge codes" on ebay for real money and thereby create Asian sweat shops where teenagers are forced to sit all day checking things off in made-up todo lists in order to sell badge codes on ebay and make their overloads rich and powerful.

  6. A terminal emulator. But instead of a powerful terminal emulator, it emulates DOS 4.1. Call it DrewDOS-41.

  7. A love calculator. You enter in two names, and it outputs a compatibility percentage based on numerology and astrological projections (and a love analysis).

A good start, but he needs more ideas. Please post your ideas in the comments. 
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:32 -0500 Every. Single. Day. http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1248 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1248
I went fishing recently with my good buddy, Isaí. He is a lawyer. But before he went to law school, he studied English. He loved the short story. I personally prefer novels, but there is a lot to be said about the short story. Because of its brevity, it must pack a punch in order to be good. Consequently, a good short story is always well worth the read.

Isaí also had a penchant for creative writing. He is pretty good at it, to boot. But ever since he started lawyerin', his time for writing has gone down to zero. While we fished, he told me that he wanted to start writing again, but he was having trouble finding the right thing to write about. He told me that he loved stories that illustrate problems in clever ways, and he wanted to explore that idea but didn't know what problem to tackle. Consequently, he hasn't started. 

I thought about it, and I told him that it didn't matter what he wrote about. I said that the important thing was to write a lot about anything. Then, when the big ideas come to him, he'll have the skills and the discipline to execute them. There are three excellent writers who contribute to this blog, all of whom are writing novels. I am sure that is the approach they take to writing: do it often and do it well. I look forward to reading each of their works. And if Isaí will take my advice, I have a feeling he'll be realizing his goal in no time.
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 Net Neutrality http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1247 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1247
The Senate just tried to pass a bill that would overturn the recent Net Neutrality rules put in place by the FCC.  And while this sounds like good news, to be honest I'm a little torn on the issue:I love the internet.  It is dear to my heart, and so I want to see it protected to remain the open bastion of information that it currently is.  These rules that the FCC proposed aim to keep it that way by preventing Internet Service Providers from interfering with the open nature. (Imagine having to pay an extra $5 a month to access sites like Wikipedia, Youtube, or Facebook.  Yikes!)

But on the other hand, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to give the Government any more power than they already have, especially considering the people at the FCC are not elected officials. This could be just a foot in the door to even more government regulations that end up bringing the internet to its knees.  

Only time shall really tell, but what are y'all's thoughts?
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 I mustache you a question. http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1246 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1246
I am participating in Movember this month. Consequently, I have a fine mustache going right now. I feel like it makes me look like a Mexican campesino, and that led to a recent discussion with Natalie while riding in the car and listening to music.

Me: Natalie, since I have this mustache, I feel like I can't fully live the hip-hop lifestyle anymore.
Natalie: Oh?
Me: Yesh. I just don't look hard core anymore.
Natalie: True.

There you go. For the month of Movember, I will not be livin' the thug life. 
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 What it takes. http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1245 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1245
Ongoing projects and goals:
  • Somehow acquire a scooter with which I will "scoot."
  • Exercise four times a week.
  • Learn everything I can about Expression Engine. (Don't ask, or I will explain it to you. You have been warned.)
  • Grow a mustache.
  • Build an online version of the card game Dominion.

The one that occupies my mind the most is that last one. It is out of character for me to be making games. I don't much like games, but for some reason, this one has got me good. So much so that I want to be able to play it online. Don't worry, when I figure it all out, I'll invite y'all to play it. I don't expect any of you will, but I'll likely invite you all the same. Don't expect a beta version any time soon. I haven't even hit the alpha version yet. This is why these are "ongoing."
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 I wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy. http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1244 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1244
After one full week of employment, I have my morning routine pretty much worked out. I wake up and go running. Then I get ready and take the bus by 7am. The bus drops me off half a mile from work. I walk that half mile, and I am at my desk at 7:30, ready for business.

So here's the rub: everyday during my half mile walk to work, I think to myself, wouldn't it be great if I had a push scooter to cover this distance? 

Natalie tells me that getting a scooter is a terrible idea. She is convinced that it is a social mistake. 

Me: I think I should get a scooter to go to work with.
Natalie: That is a terrible idea.
Me: Why?
Natalie: It is kind of nerdy.
Me: Yeah, but what if it was this scooter?
Natalie: You should walk.

Still, everyday the thought keeps popping into my head. I think I'm going to be getting myself a nerdy gift this Christmas. In fact, I told Natalie, I would be getting her a matching one so we could "scoot" together. She just looks at me like I'm some sort of crazy nerd.
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 The Office of the Attorney General http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1243 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1243
I have recently accepted and begun a job with the Office of the Attorney General of the state of Texas. This means several things, including the following:
  • I have moved from Ft. Worth back to Austin.
  • I work everyday from 8 to 5 so it feels like I live at the office.
  • I have a new, one bedroom apartment that I have named "Lonesome Dove."
  • I am poor until my first paycheck coming up in November.
  • I will be playing Ultimate Frisbee every Thursday night instead of every Saturday morning.
  • I am in the market for a free couch.

Great times ahead.
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 Pt. 2: The RomCom Competition http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1242 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1242


It used to be inevitable.  I’d be sitting next to him on the couch, his eyes glued to the TV, my eyes staring daggers at him. He’d ask me what’s wrong, and I’d tell him “nothing.” Of course he knows it’s something, but the whole point of that something is that he’s supposed to know without me having to tell him, and long before I get mad. 


What was wrong was that he never stood outside my window, holding a stereo overhead while blasting Peter Gabriel.  He never danced across the bleachers and sang that I was too good to be true as a marching band backed him up. He never carried me in from the rain then rode horseback for days just to bring my mother to my bedside.  Gol!!

Granted, opportunities for sweeping romantic gestures don’t often present themselves. Even the real life Hugh Grant isn’t nearly as suave and charming as the movie Hugh Grant.  But when there are serious cracks in a relationship, sitting and watching a romantic movie is only going to turn those cracks into gaping holes.  


To be honest, I just thought this was something I’d have to get over.  I knew that I would never wake to the sound of pebbles clinking against my window.  I’d never find Romeo climbing up my balcony, or ride off into the sunset with Prince Charming.


But there was something I never thought of before.  Consider this scene from one of my favorite romantic movies, The Mirror Has Two faces.  Granted, the ending is cheesy, over the top, and as likely to happen as Superman stopping by to take me for a quick flight over the city. But there’s a lesson to be learned here.  At the beginning of the film, Streisand’s character states that, unlike in the movies, we don’t hear a symphony every time we kiss.  Yet, at that final moment, someone just happens to be playing Puccini out their window.  Yes, it was dumb luck. But even without the song, the moment was still pretty darn epic.


The great romantic moments in life aren’t always planned, they usually just happen. Sometimes, the subtlety of a gesture is what makes it truly genuine, and taking advantage of certain circumstances (the night, the rain, the music from a window) can turn something small into something grand. The best part is, the memories then build into a wonderful montage that rivals anything Hollywood might throw at us. And since the movie romance doesn’t go far beyond 90 minutes, the gestures we see on the screen can only ever happen once for these characters. In real life, the good moments get to be replayed, just like the little inside jokes you accumulate together.


I knew he was different the first time I watched a romantic movie without him.  Where in the past I might have thought to myself “gosh, why can’t he do romantic crap like that for me?” I’d instead find myself thinking, “that’s just like that one thing he does.”  I didn’t find myself longing for some other prince. I instead found myself thinking how much the prince in the movie reminds me of the prince in my life. 


Meg Ryan, eat your heart out.
]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 A Year in the Making: pt. 1 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1241 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1241

Six months ago I wrote about how I wasn’t writing.  I said I’d reevaluate in another six months, and here we are.


This is my problem.  I’ve gone through my bitter single years (if you don’t believe me, here’s a sobering blast from the past) and now, the only thing I can think of writing about will likely make my old self want to slap my present self in the face.  To say I’ve learned a few things about life and love this past year is beyond an understatement.  I’ve almost completely metamorphosized into a different being.  


What’s interesting is that the things that make me happy in this relationship aren’t necessarily the things I thought I was longing for.  Some of them took me completely by surprise.  So I’ve decided to begin a list of unexpected upsides to the stable, long-term relationship.  Since each individual item is a rant unto itself, I won’t do it all at once.  But I will add to it as inspiration arises.

1) The Sad Song Paradigm Shift


Growing up, my mother used to confuse me when I’d come home after a late night out.  I’d walk through the door, and before the scolding would commence, she’d pull me to her, tears streaming down her face, and wail nonsensical things about ditches and police reports and funerals and such.  I’d have to spend a good five minutes reassuring her that the visit to the morgue to identify my body all took place in her head, and that I wasn’t tied up in a trunk somewhere.  Sheesh, what an overactive imagination.


Cut to several months ago, and I’m listening to the song “Sometime Around Midnight” by The Airborne Toxic Event. As the singer is bawling out the words “you just have to see her” over and over again, I realize I’m sobbing like a little girl.  I have absolutely no frame of reference to the literal circumstances of that song, but who cares?? I totally know what that guy is talking about! Except that I don’t know.  But I could know. And now I know I could know, whereas before I didn’t know I couldn’t know.  You know?


Okay, so I’ve never truly suffered the hurt described in that song.  It takes a certain level of emotional intimacy with another human being in order to experience that level of hurt.  I’ve never had that . . . until now. Listening to that song made me realize exactly how much I have to lose.  How I’d feel if I were the central character, and what the term “broken” would truly mean for me.


I used to listen to melancholy music as a method of channeling pain and loneliness.  Now, that same music either reminds me of how different things were for me before I met him, or makes me worry about how I’d feel if he were gone.  The singers I once counted on in the past to carry me through are now ostensibly irrelevant. I find myself now listening to far less music than I once did, and when I do listen, it carries a remarkably different tone.


Now, music is more about happiness, love, and all of the things that, given certain moods, once made me sick to my stomach. When it delves into the downhearted, it has more to do with the state of the world than my own wellbeing.  When I do hear a song about relationships gone sour, I’m more inclined to feel sorry for the songwriter rather than identify with him.  The truly poignant music for me now seems to pertain to social issues that I  experience or deeply empathize with.


Sad relationship music has found its final resting place (knock on wood).  Hopefully, I’ll never have to pull it out again, however much I did once love those songs.  They had their time, and their place. Now, it’s simply time to dance.

]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500 Of Books and eBooks http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1240 http://www.rantfever.com/blog/entry/1240


Chicago Public Library recently announced that they have a bunch of books available for checkout on the kindle. The kindle!

I love technology. Apparently, once your lending time is done, the book just disappears from kindle. Ergo, no late fees!

I gotta say, I like this idea, and if I had a kindle, I would definitely do it. Thank you, Amazon.com. ]]> Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:33:31 -0500