Lafayette Zombie Competition (With a twist!) and another hit for AMC with "The Walking Dead"

I love it when my home town gets a mention for Zombies.  It happened once while I was in Austin, and now it's happening again in Lafayette, LA!

It turns out that a local Architectural Firm, Architects Southwest, is sponsoring a design competition for the best zombie-apocalypse survival shelter.  You can vote for the one you think is best, and you should do so IMEMDIATELY, if for no other reason than to support a local Lafayette firm with a great sense of humor and a clever knack for marketing in this web 2.0 world of ours.  There's a cool discussion starting up at the voting site, with even funnier ones in full swing on Fark.com and io9.com where I originally picked up the thread.

Did I mention that you should go vote right now?  I loved the boat concept, but agree that it might not be practical on the Mississippi, what do you think?




Add your 2 cents in the comments!

I found the competition particularly timely since Sam and I have recently fell in love with Frank Darabont's new AMC (Mini?) Series "The Walking Dead."  I wasn't really sure if even he could pull of a multi-part dramatic series in the Zombie milieu, but so far I have been impressed with the writing and the acting (but Frank is writing and directing the episodes and I'm a pretty big fan of his, so perhaps that's not entirely surprising).

Even if you're not a Zombie / Horror fan, Frank has written / directed movies you have loved, including Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and many others, and I think you'll find that the quality of this effort ranks up there with other AMC notables like Mad Men and Breaking Bad.  You should t least watch the first two episodes and give it a shot - you might be surprised :)

Introduction to iOS / iPhone Programming - Developing a simple flashlight application with a custom logo

Introduction

I am enrolled in Technical Writing this semester at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ENGL 365) and for my final project I chose to do an instructional presentation on how to develop a simple iPhone application. Many of my fellow students were unaware of the free resources available to anyone who is interested in learning how to build an iPhone application. So I developed this brief instructional guide to cover 4 main topics:

1. Equipment & Supplies
2. Registration with the Apple Developer Program 
3. Downloading & Installing Developer Tools 
4. Creating & Testing Your iPhone Application 

I had originally also planned on covering how to transfer this application onto your iPhone for testing purposes, but I have to keep my presentation to between 10-15 minutes and also allow for Q&A so I'm going to provide a few links at the end that discuss testing applications on real devices.


Equipment & Supplies

There are not many pieces of equipment and/or supplies needed for following these instructions, but the minimum requirements are:

1. Mac computer running OS X (Leopard, Snow Leopard, or higher)
2. Internet Connection
3. Email Address

Registration for Apple Developer Program

You have 4 options to choose from when you are deciding which Apple Developer Program for which to register. Additional details and a complete breakdown of each are available at http://developer.apple.com/programs/which-program/.

1. Individual - $99 / year 
2. Company - $99 / year 
3. Enterprise - $299 / year 
4. University – Free (enroll in iPhone Development Course)

NOTE:  Although the website does indicate that you need to pay the fees in order to complete your enrollment in the program, you may register for the Individual program and wait to pay any fees until you are ready to distribute your application on the App Store.  If you just wish to practice / study iPhone development, you are never required to pay the $99 registration fee.

NOTE:  The registration page also indicates that a technical requirement for developing applications is a Mac computer running Snow Leopard (OS 10.6 or higher).  This is true if you download and install the latest version of XCode, but I will cover steps on downloading older versions in case you are running a previous version of OS X (Leopard).  These links work now, but may be removed by Apple in the future.

To register for membership in the Apple Developer Program, follow these steps:

1. Open http://developer.apple.com/programs/start/standard/
   
   
2. Choose the type of account to setup.  If you have an existing Apple Id you use with iTunes or any other Apple Online service, you may choose that here.  For the purpose of this demo, I will create a new account.
   
   
3. Choose your account type.  For most of you who are reading this, and for this demo I would suggest an Individual account.
   
   
4. Complete Apple Profile - fill in whatever information is required by Apple and save your profile.
   
   
5. Email Confirmation - you will be sent an email at the address you use for registration.  You should receive it quickly, but you must wait until you receive it before proceeding!
   
   
6. Enter your Billing Info into your profile - You won’t actually be billed unless you complete checkout which isn’t necessary unless / until you want to publish your Application on the App Store!
   
7. Choose Developer Program Types - For this demo, we only need to join the iOS developer program (it's focused on iPhone / iPad development).  However, you may also join the other two if you are interested in learning about Mac or Safari development.
   
   
8. License Agreement - You must review and accept all the terms of the License Agreement.  When you complete this step, your account will be active.  There is no need to go any further unless you know you want to pay the $99 / year fee to be able to publish applications in the Apple iTunes App Store.

Downloading & Installing Developer Tools

Your Mac shipped with a base installation of the developer toolkits called XCode & Interface Builder, which are Apple's Integrated Development Environments for designing and building Mac applications.  In order to build iPhone applications, you must download an updated version of XCode and Interface Builder that come along with a specific iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK).  

If you already have the latest version of Snow Leopard installed on your Mac, you can use the link that is offered when you first register and enter the iOS Dev Center - http://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action.  

However, please note that you can not install that file if you have any version of Mac OS X prior to 10.6.  If, like me, you have an older version (Leopard) and you don't want to upgrade to Snow Leopard just to install XCode, you can download and install a previous version, but the version you install must match the version of your Mac OS.  The XCode Wikipedia Page has a complete breakdown of the versions for you to review.

For this demo, I am running Leopard (OS X v10.5) so I will be using XCode 3.1.4 with the iPhone SDK, which is available on the Apple site (for now) at http://developer.apple.com/ios/download.action?path=/iphone/iphone_sdk_3.1.3__final/iphone_sdk_3.1.3_with_xcode_3.1.4__leopard__9m2809a.dmg.  Apple has a tendency of removing deprecated versions after a while, so you should grab that quickly or prepare yourself for upgrading to the latest version of Mac OS (Snow Leopard) if you want to proceed.

If you have an even older version of Mac OS, you can find additional links to download their appropriate versions of XCode at http://iphonesdkdev.blogspot.com/2010/04/old-versions-of-iphone-sdk.html.  No matter which version you want, you will be required to register and login to the Apple Developer Program to complete any of the downloads I link to above.

Once you have completed downloading the installer disk image (.dmg) you can mount (double-click) the image and run the setup application.  

You won't need to change any of the default values for the purpose of this demonstration.  You can click "Next" at each prompt to accept the default installation parameters which will install XCode in approximately 10 minutes or less.

Creating & Testing Your Custom iPhone Application

This section is divided into two sub-sections:

1. Creating & Testing Initial Application - The goal is to create a simple flashlight application for an iPhone that displays a white screen to light up an area when it is launched and tested in the Simulator.
   
   
2. Updating Application to Support Additional Features - This section's goal is to update the application to remove the status bar and include a ULL Logo Image.
   

Creating & Testing Initial Application

1. Launch XCode (You can access from the Finder as shown above)
   
   
2. Create New Project [File -> New Project]
   
   
3. Select Window-based Application. This will create a blank application project and open the project resources in XCode.  When prompted, name the application "Flashlight"
   
   
4. To test, choose [Build -> Build and Run] from Menu. This will open up your iPhone simulator and launch your application.
   
   

Updating Application & Testing

1. Open XCode.
   
   
2. Expand Resources and Open your <APPNAME>-Info.plist file as a plain text file. To hide the default status bar included on your application, add the following entry:
   <key>UIStatusBarHidden</key>
   <true></true>
   
   
3. Click [Build and Go] to launch the simulator with the updated application without a status bar.
   
   
4. Drag and Drop the ULL Logo Image into the Resources folder in XCode.  I have downloaded an image to use in this demo from a page on the ULL website - http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~jjm9638/ull.gif
   
   
5. When prompted, click “Copy items into destination group’s folder (if needed).” You can leave the rest of the default options selected. Click “Add” button to finish.
   
   
6. Open Interface Builder by expanding the [NIB Files] Group and double-clicking the [MainWindow.xib] file.
   
   
7. Notice the [Library] panel and the blank [Window] panel that opens up. Click the [Media] button to view the media files that are available in the project.
   
   
8. Drag and Drop the ULL Logo image onto the main [Window] panel and position it the way you would like on the screen.
   
   
9. Click [Build and Go] to launch the simulator with the updated application without a status bar and with the ULL Logo.
   
   

That completes this instructional guide on creating a simple iPhone application flashlight.

If you would like to know more about copying this application onto your own iPhone / iPad for testing purposes, please note that there is a rather lengthy process that Apple requires developers go through to authenticate their code and sign it with an encryption key before allowing you to transfer an app to any iPhone or iPad.

You can find detailed instructions on completing these steps at http://mobiforge.com/developing/story/deploying-iphone-apps-real-devices & http://stackoverflow.com/questions/246422/how-can-i-deploy-an-iphone-application-from-xcode-to-real-iphone-device

Robot Lovin' - Not Just For Geeks Anymore!

It's so great to be able to share this awesome tidbit about one of my good buddies, Nick DePalma.  He was featured (nice photo, Nick, btw) in a great article over at the New York Times, for the work he's been doing over at Georgia Tech in advanced machine learning and robotics.

The article covers an diverse range of fascinating research being done at several universities in the area of cognitive machine learning and human machine interaction.  As I'm also concentrating my Computer Science studies in the Cognitive Science group at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Computer Science Program, I loved the article, but I'd recommend it as a must-read for anyone interested in how we'll be interacting with intelligent machines in the not-so-distant future.

The Wedding Shoebox

Val Metrejean, the AMAZING events coordinator who planned our wedding has recently posted a great review and photos from our wedding.  Sam found her on our first try, and I can't say enough about the wonderful job she did for us.  If you're considering tying the knot anywhere near South Louisiana, YOU NEED TO HIRE HER!

Here's the link. check it out and let us know what you think: http://theweddingshoebox.com/?p=2631

Wedding Photo's

Sam's put together a collection of photos from our big day from everyone who shared their snapshots! Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=500027182&k=56E32YVSWTXD4KGEPK4VPVVPVUBB5T&oid=1447594438300

Wedding Website

Sam and I finally got our wedding website finished and the Save the Dates are being ready as I type! Check it out at http://www.samandbjswedding.com/

Resumes & Job Searching

So after recently dealing with some unexpected medical events, I found my new position at ATG (ARTG) cut short. Although I was asked to re-apply for the position after completing my medical leave, I decided to update my resume and see what other opportunities might be available to me here in the Austin area.

You might think (as did I at first) that since I had been keeping my resume updated throughout my time at Dell (DELL), and that since Dell hired me with this resume, that this would be a relatively easy task. Was I mistaken! It appears that I had created a monstrosity of a resume that was unlikely to make it through the first wave of pruning by a busy HR hiring manager. You see, I had succumbed to what may be a rather common mistake among job-hunters - the dreaded over-written resume.

Through LinkedIn, I managed to connect with a resume and career consultant named Perry Newman from FirstImpressions who offered me a few bits of advice on how to improve my resume. Actually, he joked that what I had written might be classified as a CV, but was definitely not a resume :| Perry pointed me to a few posts he had written on his blog about writing a great resume, which I devoured along with as many other good tips I could find (links are at the bottom of this post).

I haven't completed the updating process, but I thought I would document the results of my efforts here on my blog and also provide some links to the resources I found online that I used to help me improve my resume. Please provide any other ideas or hints in the comments if you've got some of your own to share. I'll be uploading my resume (before and after) once I'm done with my review with Perry, so check back for more of the gory details!

Here are the links I found that I thought were helpful in this effort:

• 8 hours & a lunch: marketing 101 - your resume - http://debowen.typepad.com/8hours/2007/08/marketing-101--.html


• Developing "WOW" Accomplishments for Your Resume - http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumewriting/a/resumewow.htm


• Digital Resume Databases and Resume Blasting Services Whats in it for Job Seekers - http://www.kristidaeda.com/2009/08/10/great-effective-resume-keywords-bring-resume-success/


• How Many Resumes Do You Have? - http://www.brazencareerist.com/2009/07/29/how-many-resumes-do-you-have


• Interview AND Resume Tip- The Job Description Is Just The Starting Point - http://www.thejobbored.com/interview-and-resume-tip-the-job-description-is-just-the-starting-point_560/


• Is your résumé ‘interview worthy’? - http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/07/is-your-resume-interview-worthy.html


• Job Hacking: Resumes - http://jobhacking.typepad.com/job_hacking/resumes/


• Resume Critique Worksheet for Job-Seekers - http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_critique_worksheet.html


• Resume SEO: Get Your Resume to the Top - http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/05/resume-seo-get-your-resume-to-top.html


• Resume Writing Hints That Work - http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/06/resume-writing-hints-that-work.html


• Squawkfox » Series: How to Write a Resume (that gets job interviews) - http://www.squawkfox.com/2008/11/16/series-how-to-write-a-resume-that-gets-job-interviews/


• The 80/20 Barrier – Can Your Résumé Get Beyond It? - http://www.careerrocketeer.com/2009/07/i-had-another-very-busy-week-helping.html
  
  
• Writing a resume summary statement: Quantify, quantify, quantify - http://www.kristidaeda.com/2009/04/21/writing-a-resume-summary-statement-quantify-quantify-quantify/
  


• Your resume needs specifics - http://cuberules.com/2009/04/14/your-resume-writing-needs-specifics/

In addition to these resources, I found the following Sample Resumes quite useful in helping me decide how to cut my resume down to 1-2 pages:

• http://www.manager-tools.com/podcasts/Sample_Resume.pdf
• http://www.squawkfox.com/2009/04/24/free-resume-examples-with-resume-tips/
• http://jobsearch.about.com/od/sampleresumes/a/sampleresume2.htm
• http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Resumes/SR_Start.aspx?cblid=scpsrnjstk2a&sc_cmp1=JS_toolkit_newstellar

For those of you who are reading who are recent graduates or have been out of the job hunt for an extended period of time, you may also find the following links helpful:

• Resumes 101: A Ten Step Crash Course for Recent Grads - http://www.brazencareerist.com/2008/08/15/resumes-101-a-ten-step-crash-course-for-recent-grads
• Three Powerful Words For Your Resume - http://www.brazencareerist.com/2008/06/14/three-powerful-words-for-your-resume
• Writing a resume: Resume objectives - http://www.kristidaeda.com/2009/04/27/my-resume-objective-eliminate-yours/
• Your Strongest Resume - CAMP Chicago Career Symposium - http://www.slideshare.net/kristidaeda/your-strongest-resume-camp-chicago-career-symposium
  

I've finally got my LinkedIn Profile mostly complete...

It definitely took me way longer than I expected, but I figured since I recently left Dell I would go ahead and update my LinkedIn Profile to try and make sure I kept in touch with the many great people I've had a chance to work with over there. It took longer than I expected because I really didn't realize how much stuff there is on LinkedIn!

I had a few friends shoot me notes about joining LinkedIn, though I pretty much procrastinated on getting my account setup (sorry for those of you who've been inviting me over the last couple of months!!!) If you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should - if for no other reason you'll have that fun Facebook friend experience for those people who you connected with at your previous jobs / schools. Funnily enough, I described it to Sam the other day as Facebook for grownups...of course now that everyone (including my Mom) is on Facebook, I guess that description may not be as accurate...

Shrimp En Brochette Recipe

I had a chance to work on this recipe a bit more for a Potluck we had at work. I have to admit that cooking for one's self is a completely different challenge than cooking for a large group of people. Thankfully, I've had a lot of guinea pigs...uh...I mean tasters to use for feedback ;)

I managed to hammer out a recipe that produces a great tasting treat and it's easy to double or triple the quantity based on how many you want to serve. So without further ado...

Ingredients

1 lb Shrimp (Stay between 20-30 count for best results)
1 lb Thick Sliced Bacon. You may need more depending on how many you wish to prepare.

8 oz. Philidelphia Cream Cheese Whipped
1/4 Cup Diced jalapenos
2 tbsp Butter (salted)
1 oz. Tiger Sauce or Cajun Power Garlic Sauce
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 drops Tabasco


Preparations

Take your shrimp and peel, clean, and de-vein them. I normally don't season them, but you can sprinkle some salt and pepper or Tony Chacherie's (lightly) on them and put them to the side.

In a large mixing bowl, take the rest of your ingredients (except the bacon) and mix them together. I fold them in by hand, then mix with an electric mixer.

Take your cream cheese mix and cool it in your fridge for about an hour to help the ingredients thicken.

Take your bacon and cut the entire package in half, down the middle. This should double the number of slices you have. Each "half slice" should be laid on a cutting board and flattened thin with your fingers.

Place a shirmp on one end of the bacon slice, then spoon in about 1/2 tsp of the cream cheese filling you prepared earlier. Wrap the bacon around the shrimp / filling mix and fold end over end until the entire shrimp is wrapped in that bacon-ny goodness :D

Place these wrapped shrimp in a Pyrex baking dish (if you plan to broil these tasty treats) or put them in a container to bring out to your grill.

When cooking these, you have two options:

1) Broiling for about 20 minutes on full-out broil. Remember to keep your oven door open while broiling!!!!

2) Grilling them for about 15 minutes on each side. This is more time consuming because you HAVE to flip the shrimp, and doing it one by one can take a while. I prefer them grilled, but I have to admit I don't always have the patience to do the work before eating the little treats!

That's pretty much it. You can see the pictoral results from our last batch in my last blog post - enjoy and good eating!

Fun With Seafood

Sam recently celebrated her 22nd birthday with me here in Austin. We had a great time together and I cooked her a birthday dinner extraordinaire ;)

My Mom taught me how to make a delightful dish called Shrimp En Brochette. Literally, that translates into "Shrimp out of skewer," according to Babelfish. Depending on how you wind up preparing it, you may, in fact, skewer the little crustaceans.

Basically, the dish is a raw shrimp wrapped around a cream cheese & jalapeno filler, then wrapped in bacon and either grilled (my favorite) or baked to a crisp. It really is sublime, and works great as a finger food appetizer or a fantastic side dish to a main entree. For Sam's birthday I did them both ways (grilled and baked) as a side with a Grilled Ribeye entree.

I've posted a couple of pictures below, and there are a few more over at my Flicker site. I'll post the recipe soon: