Sorry. Geek alert.

We found this…

void log(string message)
{
   try
   {
      blah blah blah
   }
   catch (Exception ex)
   {
      this.log("An exception occurred in logging : {0}" + ex.Message);
   }
}

Ok… another problem with the iPhone. I have now made approximately 10 accidental outgoing calls with it. This should not happen.

There are certain screens where if you tap on a contact or a phone number it JUST MAKES THE CALL. You then have to find the ‘End Call’ button and press it, if the user interface has caught up in time.

Recent ones include a call to the USA which I fortunately cancelled before it was answered, and today a call to a car service company which they did answer, and I had to sheepishly explain that I was a complete retard with a gay phone.

If you accidentally make a call and then press the ‘home’ button, you’re now in the main menu WITHOUT an ‘End Call’ button to press and THE CALL IS STILL BEING MADE.

This is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Before making a call, there should ALWAYS be a specific button you should press. So you KNOW you’re making a call. A confirmation if you like.

Really, Apple, this is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Update: Ok… I discovered that the ’sleep’ button on the top of the phone will drop a call whatever state it’s in. That’s good. But it still doesn’t change the unacceptability of making calls without confirmation.

Who wants to make an iPhone app for me? I’d do it myself, but I believe you can only develop software for the iPhone if you own a mac.

Main screen has:

1. Location (with accuracy).
2. Text entry area.
3. Send button.

You type a travelogue in the text area, and when you’re happy with the current accuracy, hit send. The request is sent to a configurable URL as a POST request. With location=[location] and text=[text].

There is therefore a config screen to set the URL posted to.

Quite simple, I think. Stick it on the App Store and I’ll gladly pay a quid or three.

The purpose? So that simple location-aware blogs can be made, and it is possible to write one’s own website with mapping, routes marked, pop-up logs and so on.

Of course, if you know something which already does this let me know. I’m not counting GPSTracker because a) it doesn’t allow adding text to location logs, and b) the website isn’t particularly good - I want to write my own.

What is an XML Facet? I thought I’d look it up…

Facet

A single defining aspect of a value space. Generally speaking, each facet characterizes a value space along independent axes or dimensions.

Uh… yeah. Ok. What’s a value space?

Value space

A set of values for a given datatype. Each value in
the value space of a datatype is denoted by one or
more literals in its lexical space.

Of course! So what’s a datatype?

Datatype

A 3-tuple, consisting of a) a set of distinct values,
called its value space, b) a set of lexical representations,
called its lexical space, and c) a set of facets that
characterize properties of the value space, individual
values or lexical items.

Ah… yes… the old 3-tuple trick. Now what was that lexical space you were on about?

Lexical space

A lexical space is the set of valid literals for a datatype.

I’m so glad I looked that up. It’s now clearer than mud on a foggy day with steamed-up glasses in the dark.

Warning… geek content… move along now…

public enum LoadErrors
{
   NoError,
   UnknownError
}

Argh! Marks out of ten?

So… after 10 years off, and 4 weeks with a piano, I think I’m almost there on Claude Debussy’s “Dumb Blonde”.

Ok… there are a couple of errors and a few pauses, and I need to work on the best timing and expression now… but here’s where I’m up to…

Did I mention that I love my digital piano? Well, I do. It does all sorts of things like simulating the soundboard and unplayed strings, so if you shout into it or play a drum kit near it or slam the lid, it goes chonnnngngngngggg like a real piano. Only the chonnnnngngngngnggggg sound comes out of the back not the front. And playing notes with the sustain pedal down sounds different from playing with it up because when it’s down, the strings around the played ones also vibrate. And all the pedals are analogue, so you can half-unsustain then re-sustain and it all works just right.

As a colleauge put it: “the engineers beat the bean counters for a change”.

It has lots of sounds, but apart from in the first 20 minutes, I haven’t switched away from ‘Concert Grand’. There’s no point.

So, yesterday we were discussing when it’ll still be light before we leave work again - the conclusion being that it just about looks like it should be light just as the clocks change… so it’ll be the monday after clock-change day.

But that led on to other discussions culminating in the question: How fast do you have to approach a red traffic light for the doppler effect to make it appear green?

After a few sums, I came up with the following results…

To make red look green, assuming a red wavelength of 685nm and green wavelength of 532nm, you need to approach at 28.8% of the speed of light - that’s 192 million miles per hour.

Note that at that speed you could reach the sun from the earth in just 29 minutes.

If you have a less powerful car and can’t quite manage that one, it’s a lot easier to make a green light look red - by travelling away from it at just 22.3% of the speed of light… a mere 148 million miles per hour.

The real bonus is that if the red light camera catches you going through the light, and you’re driving a yellow car, it’ll look purple and they’ll never be able to find you.

The widescreen aesthetic has now completely entered the public psyche, as evidenced by my sighting this morning of my first 16:9 For Sale* board…

So long, Golden Ratio and thanks for all the fish.

(* yes, I know it says ’sold’, but I still maintain that it’s a For Sale board)

Warning… geek stuff ahead…

Argh. Talk about obfuscation…

// Fire last known state
void fireLastKnownState()
{
   this.State = null;
}

This really doesn’t seem to do what it says on the tin. Until you look at the definition of state…

public State
{
   set
   {
      this.state = value;

      if (value != null)
         fireEvent(value)
      else
         fireEvent(this.lastState)
   }
}

Today I learnt why Sir Menzies Campbell is pronounced ‘Mingiss’ and as a side effect learnt about a new letter: Yogh (ȝ). I thought I knew my archaic letters, like thorn (þ) which is pronounced ‘th’ and looks like a Y when it’s written in medieval script and is the cause of all those ‘Ye Olde Shoppes’.

But þere you go. Yogh. Who’d have þought it?

[10 points to the first person to point out that 'there' should use eth (ð) rather than thorn (þ)]