Ones and Zeros

Well, not my first.  But my first attempt at a publicly-released app in the iTunes app store.  This is a small app about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was a fast development process of only a week, with a one-day beta process.

Thanks to my beta testers (family) for their quick response and helpful comments.  I chose beta testers for their ability to respond quickly due to the short product cycle.  My wife did wonderful work in alpha testing, content editing, and UI testing.  This app is significantly approved by her contributions.

The iTunes submission process isn’t really as clear as I would like.  That’s ok for me, I’ve worked it out now and understand the process.  It does raise the bar some though!  But it’s been a long week and I’m glad it’s done now.

Now I’ll see what the Apple app store approval process is like.  I’ve been hearing it’s faster and easier than it used to be, that’s good news.   I’ll let you know what happens.

In my iPhone programming I’ve been trying to use NSTimer’s scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:target:selector:userInfo:repeats method.  I’ve enventually figured out that calling it with a nil value for userInfo gets and “bad access” error in the debugger when the timer pops.  It’s documented to accept a nil value, but only seems to work with a non-nil value.

So pass something there, even if you don’t need it

We see two kinds of legacy being made now.  In the Gulf the spill that’s still gushing will have repercussions for decades.  It appears that the fishing industry in the Gulf coast on down the FL coast and into the Keys will be affected for a very long time.  Tens of thousands who work directly on the water or in connected businesses will be affected, many who are still recovering from Katrina.

While the oil will disperse, the more volatile components of the oil will vaporize (affecting the air quality) the remaining tar balls will be floating around on the Gulf for decades.  The tiny droplets of dispersed oil will enter the food web and affect the ecosystem and human health for the entire Gulf for your children’s lifespan.

Meanwhile the Obama administration has approved a wind farm off Cape Cod.  This will, with normal maintenance, will provide zero-emission and zero-CO2 power for decades to come to help power the Cape and islands nearby.  These wind turbines will displace the power currently generated by burning oil. They’ll do it quietly, and without a major impact on the ecosystem, wildlife, and quality of the area.  Unlike oil wells, if a wind turbine fails, no ecological damage will result.

I hope the Obama adminstration continues to leave the latter legacy and doesn’t pursue the insanely damaging legacy of oil.

State Senator Mike Bennett (R) of Florida was caught by a TV camera looking at pictures of women in bikinis. His explanation that it was email that was sent to him is a bit suspect - the window showing on his screen looks more like a browser window.

The bad news for Sen. Bennett is he’ll have to deal with this.  The good news for the rest of us is that we found a GOP politician who’s in trouble for straight, heterosexual things.  Not lesbian bondage, closeted gays, or bathroom encounters. It’s almost refreshing!

The old adage is that conservatives are caught in money scandals and liberals are caught in sex scandals.  Looks like the conservatives have widened their base.