When theory meets practice

By Jim, on October 25th, 2011%

A fairly common problem in programming is selecting the “best” items from a large group. For example, I have an application that makes video recommendations based on user input. The program takes the user’s input (typically the name of a song, an artist or a band), matches that up with our index of videos, and . . . → Read More: When theory meets practice

Comments are closed   Programming

Whittle Pup takes five

By Jim, on October 25th, 2011%

Debra and I went to Zilker Botanical Garden on Sunday, and took Whittle Pup along. He got tired after wandering around for a while and asked to take a break with his frog buddies. The frogs didn’t show up, but Pup had a good time hanging out in the pond.

(click for larger image)

. . . → Read More: Whittle Pup takes five

Comments are closed   Carving, Odds 'n Ends

When asynchronous calls complete synchronously

By Jim, on October 17th, 2011%

The .NET Framework has a rich asynchronous programming model (APM) that’s about as close to “fire and forget” as you’re likely to want. True ”fire and forget” usually ends up being “fire and forget until it crashes,” so you want notification when an asynchronous task completes.

There are other asynchronous design patterns in .NET, including . . . → Read More: When asynchronous calls complete synchronously

Comments are closed   Programming

Pie server in mesquite

By Jim, on October 13th, 2011%

This is a pie server, carved from a piece of mesquite I picked out of the firewood pile. Total length is about ten inches. The blade is just a little over 2-1/4 inches at its widest point.

I mentioned a week or so ago that I was having difficulty cutting a straight line with the . . . → Read More: Pie server in mesquite

One comment - (Comments are closed)   Carving

Christmas dog

By Jim, on October 13th, 2011%

It’s Christmas ornament time again. I’ll be making quite a few this year, including a dozen or more of these little dogs.

Like most of my little dogs, this one is just a little over two inches tall. The wood is mesquite. The hat, nose, and tongue are painted with acrylics and the entire piece . . . → Read More: Christmas dog

Comments are closed   Carving

Getting new videos from YouTube

By Jim, on October 8th, 2011%

YouTube has a very rich API that developers can use to get information about videos, post new videos, etc. Lots of Web sites use this API to do all kinds of wonderful things with YouTube videos.

So suppose you wanted to create a little application that works like an “all news” channel. But instead of . . . → Read More: Getting new videos from YouTube

Comments are closed   Internet, Programming

Fun with the bandsaw

By Jim, on October 3rd, 2011%

Browsing in the store the other day, Debra showed me a set of bamboo toast tongs that she liked. I suppose I knew such things existed, but I never considered using them. I do, however, like a challenge.

So yesterday I pulled out the bandsaw (now on wheels, so it’s easy to move around) and . . . → Read More: Fun with the bandsaw

2 comments - (Comments are closed)   Carving