Robbie & Robin's Community

Here comes the sun... dee doh dee dah

Robbie Coleman — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:58:00 GMT

Things have taken such a positive change in my life recently and I just wanted to share that tidbit. I felt it deserved more than just a status update. Even more than a micro-blog tweet.

Yup... full blown blog!

So, for those of you in my life that have been so supportive and offered me anything from a place to hang, to a dinner break, to even some drugs that I've never heard of (you know who you are)... Thanks!

The road ahead is brighter even though it may get bumpy, but I know that "It's all right."

doh dee dah - doh dee dah - doh dee dah dah...

Google Chrome Command Line Switches

Robbie Coleman — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:43:16 GMT

Oh how I love Open Source and SVN HTTP Browse access!

Behold the source: http://src.chromium.org/svn/trunk/src/chrome/common/chrome_switches.cc
(full source root)

So far, there aren't too many interesting switches. The two most intriguing to me are --record-mode and --playback-mode:

// Chrome supports a playback and record mode.  Record mode saves *everything*
// to the cache.  Playback mode reads data exclusively from the cache.  This
// allows us to record a session into the cache and then replay it at will.
const wchar_t kRecordMode[] = L"record-mode";
const wchar_t kPlaybackMode[] = L"playback-mode";

What I like most is the fact that I can keep up with releases and what is under the covers. Complete transparency! So... for all of you Google Fearing Americans out there... pick up a C++ for Dummies book and read along with the rest of us.

Back to School

Robbie Coleman — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:08:00 GMT

This is a big time for my family this year. In fact, it is bigger than it ever has been before because we have three out of four members returning to school. Robin has finally been able to return to school now that both girls will be in elementary school. Thing One and Thing Two will be starting at a new (to them) charter school, and this will be Thing Two's first time in a five full day format now that she is entering kindergarten.

It is really exciting and a little bit stressful. The charter school that we found this summer is the closest thing to our desired philosophy than we ever thought possible to find in this country. It has a great community feel to it and sort of brings the village back to the equation (like the proverb of unknown origin says: "It takes a [whole] village to raise a [single] child."). This new school is one of the exciting parts. The other, is that after about eight years, Robin now gets the opportunity to return to school. We never really thought it would take this long because our plans involved only the first child (which was on the way during the planning).

The stressful part... number one would be "the unknown." (interesting article I found in researching this post). For Thing One, this is a new school with new teachers and new... well everything. Thing Two gets the same along with the added "I will go to school every day...?"

For Robin I can only imagine. It was about eight years that I was not in school before returning back in 1999. It was Robin that encouraged me to return and she was the one that ultimately made it a reality. I was one hell of a procrastinator and she did not let me slip by my usual "I guess I forgot..." excuses because she was always there to remind me of cut-off dates and what needed to be done to get enrolled. She then went on to support my bachelor's degree even after our first daughter was born, and double did for my Master's while our second daughter was born. She has a lot to offer the world education and I'm so happy that she can finally get her turn.

So how can I be the supportive one this time around? I will be driving the girls to school everyday, and also take vacation days their first week to be there the whole day. I will be changing my work schedule a bit to allow Robin to get to her class one evening a week. I will also try to provide her space and time to work on her projects.

Writing this blog was a nice experience for me. It allowed me to process the upcoming changes in our household as well as land on some interesting articles and photos online. I'll leave you with one last funny that I came across.

Marty McFly - Revisited

Robbie Coleman — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:40:00 GMT

I was just about to leave work after a late night bunch of stuff we needed to do off-peak for the site, and I came across this cool video: Marty McFly Goes Metal.

Maybe it's just that it was late and I'm a bit loopy, but I just really dug it and thought I'd share.

;)

If anyone out there is from my era, then you surely saw at least the 1st of the "Back To The Future" series of films.

Share this post :

Sleep can wait

Robbie Coleman — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:44:00 GMT

For now I have energy. I have both computer and network resources at my grasp. I have focus and unlimited hot tea.

When all these things come together, it is time for Carpe Diem!

photo source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/missyv110/1302740982/

I'm Finalizing the WLW Cross-Post Plugin

Robbie Coleman — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 01:15:39 GMT

Sorry for the noise, but in order for me to truly test the latest modifications that I have made to this plugin, I need to use it. And when I use it, it broadcasts to just about everything I've got, so... sorry.

Gee... after my last post, I sure do sound like an annoying (micro)blogger today.

Bebo just Spammed my Gmail Contacts

Robbie Coleman — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:03:00 GMT

Doesn't clicking "Skip" mean anything to Bebo?!

I have no idea how many people were actually subjected to my spam, but I apologize.

To give you an idea of the extent that I am aware of, it even went out to service addresses. Like...

Skype Unsubscribe service:
"You have been successfully unsubscribed from future notifications from Skype."
CrystalTech Support:
Thank you for submitting your request to CrystalTech Support.

Your ticket number is [08A-103AE7C4-5CD6]. Subsequent communication relating to your request will use this ticket number (including brackets), so please write it down or print out this message for your records. Our average response time for the last eight hours is 14 minutes. However, responses to email requests can take up to 24 hours, depending on the nature of the request.
UPS Package Tracking:
Sorry, a valid UPS tracking number was not found in your message.
My Post-to Blogger email address:
http://shaggyspot.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-invitation-from-robbie-coleman.html

OMFG!

Again... so sorry folks.

Needing some Robbie time

Robbie Coleman — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:19:46 GMT

Not much to say about it, but just wanted to post it and get it out there.

Not sure if I will get much time to myself, but I will cherish the moments that I do get.

WLW Cross-Post with Ping.fm posts - Details

Robbie Coleman — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:52:28 GMT

This is a follow-up post that I had promised regarding these two previous posts:

So... first and foremost, I only extended an existing WLW plugin developed by Daniel Cazzulino called Cross-Post (CodePlex source here). I found his implementation very easy to follow and well suited to boot-strap my idea for posting to Ping.fm's REST API. I also used (but modified to my liking) the C# Wrapper Class written by Adam Duffy (a developer at ping.fm) located here.

Now for the details of each component (Cross-Post plugin & Ping.fm API)...

Cross-Post plugin

The Cross-Post plugin was designed to take a just published blog post in Windows Live Writer (WLW), and then post it (optionally summarized) to all the other weblogs configured in WLW. For a full and complete description, please check the author's blog post that describes it:
How to cross post entries across blogs from Windows Live Writer

Ping.fm REST API

Ping.fm did a wonderful job keeping their REST API clean and simple. If you are not familiar with their site or service, they describe themselves in the following way.

"Ping.fm is a simple service that makes updating your social networks a snap."

They allow you to post to 22 (at the time of this post) different social/bloglike sites (listed here in no particular order): twitter, jaiku, facebook, myspace, bebo, tumblr, pownce, friends, message, mashable, brightkite, xanga, plurk, plaxo pulse, identi.ca, friendfeed, blogger, hi5, kwippy, wordpress, livejournal

As far as their REST API, it is well documented here. The two methods my implementation uses are:

user.validate: Validates the given user’s application key. This is how authentication/authorization works on their calls. The combination of the developer's API Key and the user's Application Key. I call this method when a user enters their key into the plugin's Option Dialog within WLW.
user.post: Posts a message to the user’s Ping.fm services. This allows 3 basic methods, blog, microblog, and status. I make two of these calls for the cross-post.

The first as a blog post with title intact yet the body is optionally summarized with the link back to the source post. This uses that optional "title" parameter of the "user.post" method.
The second is a microblog post that states:
"New Blog - " [title]:[permalink]
The best part about this is that Ping.fm automatically shortens all links greater than 20 characters long.

So what does it look like when it posts...?

Well... this post that I am writing now and you must be reading sometime later was posted using WLW and this Cross-Post plug-in. So it got posted as a full blog post here, and a summarized (200 characters) to the following blogs:

It was also posted as a announcement link on the following Micro-Blogs of mine:

Now all I need to do is complete me testing and fine tuning, then I can submit it first to Ping.fm for approval (that will allow for users other than me to use my API Key to post). Once that is done I can submit the plugin to the WLW Gallery.

YAY! I got the Cross-Post to work

Robbie Coleman — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:01:00 GMT

I know that I promised to explain how I got this to work, but it is now too late, but I will get them details out later today at a normal hour.

For now, you can see the results by hitting up where this will cross-post to:

robbiecoleman.tumblr.com
blog.myspace.com/robbiecoleman
robbiecoleman.spaces.live.com/
twitter.com/erraggy
and a bunch of them: friendfeed.com/erraggy

now... off to sleep.

Trying out Cross-Post for WLW

Robbie Coleman — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:47:35 GMT

I have no idea if this will blow-up or not, but it is getting late and I don't have time for Unit Tests, so...

This blog post was composed in Windows Live Writer and posted directly to my blog on robbie.robnrob.com, but it is also summarized and cross posted to Live Spaces with a link back to the source post, and if that ain't enough... I added two posts to Ping.fm:

The first as a Ping.fm Blog post with title intact yet summarized with the link back to the source post.
The second is a Micro-Blog post that states "New Blog Post - " [title]:[permalink]

If this works on the first try, I will follow-up with how the hell the magic is done, but until then, here goes nuthin!

*crosses fingers*

Finally got Community Server 2008 installed

Robbie Coleman — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:35:50 GMT

That was a long time coming, and because of that the upgrade path from CS 2.1 was not smooth. But... it worked and my blog lived to tell the tale.

I waited so long because I have a custom module that was not compatible with 2007 OR 2008. But thanks to Timothy Humphrey and his hard work on an updated version of his Subdomain Module I could keep my robbie.robnrob.com direct to my blog setup.

I will post more once I figure out how to wire Ping.fm up to Blog posting against the Community Server REST API.

;)

Trash Day

Robbie Coleman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:56:41 GMT

I just got up and while I was reading the tweets of last night, I heard the loud sound of the trash truck outside. Then it dawned on me. Isn't it wonderful that once a week, every week, all we have to do is roll all of the crap that we don't want in our homes out to the curb and it just gets taken away? I think I've been taking this weekly miracle for granted.

Do you think this process could be applied to our own lives as well? We could discard all of the things that cannot be used, or have gone bad, or emptied and cannot be refilled. Then once a week, get it all out; like to the curb, and some kind of big magical truck could come along and take it all away.

It was just a thought... one of those thoughts you get when you are no longer dreaming and not yet focused on the tasks of the day.

Well, I've got to go, I think I hear that magical trash truck coming now and I've got a whole lot of shit to get out there before it passes and I'm stuck with it in my life for another week. Bye.

Originally posted on my MySpace Blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=419518299

Set them free

Robbie Coleman — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:03:45 GMT

If you love somebody... set them free.

I have never thought of myself as a captor. I am however really struggling with the thought of not being able to continue my life with the ONE I love. There was never another; not during, and not even before.

She says that we may end up reconciling, but at this time I am the only that wants that.

So why am I posting a public blog about something so very personal? I have no idea. I have no fear of people knowing such intimate details of my life. I have nothing to hide and no reason not to be so open.

that is what I strive so hard to be... OPEN. Open to possibilities. Open to alternatives to what is normal. It is how I have achieved anything worthwhile in my life. I was open to the idea (posed to me by robin) of returning to school after never doing any better than a 2.75 GPA. I was open to taking a chance to work at MySpace even though so much stacked up against it happening. And biggest of all, I was open to whatever would become of a lunch with a girl at a 50's diner back in November of 1992.

so now I am open to letting her go. I recognize that odds are really bad for a reconciliation, but I have no control of odds. I only have control of my hopes, wants, and desires.

For those of you who read this far... thank you. And for all of you who have reached out to me with comforting words... I am so grateful.

As for the right now... I have plans to take a wonderful girl dancing tonight.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=418399292

I think there’s a leak

Robbie Coleman — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:24:47 GMT

I have recently begun to notice my love, affections, and efforts leaking. I put so much into it, yet it seems to just fizzle out making that well known farting sound in the process. At times there appears to be some progress, and some of it builds up, but it too ends up escaping as well. I'm getting tired. Even lite-headed. Like blowing up a balloon that never seems to fill. I must once again return to my breathing and find the balance, for this balloon is my life.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=417321219

What would you do for LOVE?

Robbie Coleman — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:18:29 GMT

I've thought of this question before, but have not been really tested until recently. I'm beginning to feel that the hard road I'm on may go on for some time. My willingness to continue the journey is very strong. It is my hope that flickers so delicately with each passing breath from my lips. Yet as I inhale deeply once again, I regain balance and continue on this road with the flickering light of hope in front of me.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=416166192

Relationships

Robbie Coleman — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:02:42 GMT

All of them. It does not matter the type of relationship, there is work involved in keeping the balance. Siblings, friends, spouses, partners... all of these have the possibility of harmony, and maintaining/achieving this is both the challenge and the journey of the living and breathing relationship.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=415548906

Grandma’s Garden

Robbie Coleman — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:32:05 GMT

It has a natural beauty to it. The colors are full of life. How is this garden so vibrant? It is the love that is shared with it. Clumsy, imperfect care. Children overwatering, overpicking, and sometimes even trampling them. All of this in love. Are these actions mistakes? Or is it all just a part of life? One thing I do know for sure... grandma's garden is full of life and beauty.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=414451925

Ebb & Flow

Robbie Coleman — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:45:00 GMT

I will spend my entire life at the shore. There are times when the tide comes in far enough to fill me up. Other times I know not when next I'll see it again. Ebb & flow. I remain by the shore. Ebb & Flow.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=414360329

Songs

Robbie Coleman — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:19:50 GMT

...have they ever spoken to you? Has there ever been a time where what you are feeling is strong but indescribable to yourself? At these times songs can seem to sing the descriptions for us. Is it that it is just a perfect match, or do we bend to fit?

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=406601021

The Volcano

Robbie Coleman — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:15:04 GMT

This is a term the CNVEP uses to describe anger. Its eruption is the explosive expression of our anger, but it is caused by something bigger and much more powerful. Our anger is the build-up of other emotions caused by unmet needs.

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=405380126

Question

Robbie Coleman — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:16:10 GMT

What do you do when you are on the outside and can't get in and who you need is on the inside hurting and sees what they want to see on the outside and that isn't you?

Originally posted on my MySpace blog: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31517887&blogID=404773698

2007 - The Year in Review

Robbie Coleman — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:01:00 GMT

Quite a year 2007 has proven to be. Here are a few points worth mentioning:

Changed jobs in February to start here at MySpace
My wife & I celebrated our 10^th wedding anniversary in March
My father-in-law went into the ICU at Cedar Sinai on that same anniversary
My father-in-law passed away on Easter Day

Well... I was going to go on past April, but it all sort of gets stuck on those four things and how it made the year what it was for me and my family.

Getting to know my family as they are in such stressful circumstances has been the most eventful of all.

The new job added a total of 12+ hours to my weekly commute time. You see, I moved our family out to the eastern outskirts of Orange County in order to be closer to my previous job and in a neighborhood safe enough to walk the streets alone at night (even for my wife). To cope under the strain of a loved one so far away in the hospital, we spent multiple weeks living at my mother-in-law's house to stay closer to everything.

At this time, my family was adjusting to my first month in a new job with the new commute, struggling with the possibility of losing such a dear loved one, and living out of suit cases in my wife's parent's house. This made even breathing difficult. Each and every breathe felt heavy.

My wife's family pulled together and the support was large in size but needed to be spread to so many. My mother-in-law, the three daughters (my wife and her sisters), and the six grandchildren that ranged in ages between 3 and 20.

On Easter day, we began with an early egg hunt in my sister-in-law's large back yard. By this time the outcome of their father was well known, not successful and at the same time completely unclear as to how much longer he would be with us. He was out of the ICU and in a place where his comfort was the top priority which was somewhat a relief for us all after all that went on in the previous month. I took the grand kids to the park while my wife, her two sisters and their mother went to be with him. I received only a single phone update to his status and it was one of the scariest calls I have ever had with my wife. I was driving around looking for another place to take the kids and just about lost my way in a city that I grew up in and have driven through for many years.

Wow... enough of that day, suffice it to say, it was the day he left us. We again spent a few weeks living with my mother-in-law and focussed on preparing the service and supporting everyone's grief.

The most positive thing of all that can be said of this process has been the emotional growth that all of us have gone through. None of us are the same. Allowing strong feelings to come out has become much more acceptable and even expected. Giving time to one another to process has also become quite the routine from day to day.

Loss creates a void that can never be filled the same way again. It does not mean that it cannot be filled at all though. It has been this sort of vacuum effect that some of us have experienced that has us reaching out at times to things we need to draw into our souls. Sometimes it fits right, and sometimes it don't.

Kind of like if you have ever fasted for any period of time, and then try to eat again. Depending on what foods are around you or how far your are willing to travel, you focus on filling up again. This can lead to you feeling sick until you get the balance right. The right ingredients and the right amounts.

Well... I can't say that we all have got the mix just right yet, but each of us in our own time and way are trying to make that happen.

I do not do much blogging anymore, but had a moment to reflect and felt this blog would be the best fit.

As for 2008...? I intend on making *** work. Things break (not just on MySpace) and I just cannot let it go without a round of serious troubleshooting and fixin'. I will also try my derndest to quickly identify when it ain't something for me to fix and move along. After all, time is too precious for me to be wasting it on fruitless ventures.

Happy New Year to you all and may 2008 fill you up without making you sick!

;-}

Been quite busy lately

Robbie Coleman — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:18:41 GMT

WOW! This new job is amazing and it keeps getting better.

I am learning new things daily and I cannot remember being this excited about developing before. I have loved the creative and challenging aspects of software development ever since I caught the bug (hehe) like 15 years ago. I think things just started to get a bit slow on the challenging side and a bit too restrictive on the creative side.

Well... that has all changed now, and I am revvin' each day. The team I develop with is supportive and they challenge me to step up as well. I look forward to the projects we will be working on together.

I cannot mention the details of the things I am and will be working on here, but I can share the experience.

So... if you have not connected with me @MySpace yet, please hop on over and Add Me!

Britney Spears, Websidestory & Hitbox

Robbie Coleman — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:51:00 GMT

I must say that the usage of Websidestory's Hitbox tracking API makes no more sense than Britney Spears' new haircut.

If it weren't for the fact that a company that I was completing a Web development project for required it, you would not be able to pay me to use this. I mean, even if you offered me all the Viagra in the world!

Even though the market value of such a large amount of popular pharmaceuticals would allow me to skip refinancing my home and let me purchase it outright, it just ain't worth the pain.

Maybe this painful interface has something to do with Anna Nicole Smith's recent death...

nahhhh...

OK, I think that is enough Google Juice for the year.