Few weeks ago, I had the chance to try Amazon's new service, DynamoDB. We're experimenting on an alternative for storing dataset (data mining purposes). Necessary data to store could potentially go bigger and storing it on our main MySQL database is not a good idea.

DynamoDB is a NoSQL database service offered by Amazon. I've never tried NoSQL databases before so it took time for me to get a grip on it. This is not a tutorial about DynamoDB though. 

However, there was one thing I learned that day more valuable than learning a new technology. That is , "Don't Ever Be Afraid To Read The Source".   

Amazon included the DynamoDB api in aws-sdk gem. At first, I found it very straightforward to use. Then, I got stuck. I tried reading again and again the documentation, making sure I didn't miss something. I tweaked my code and brain but it was still throwing unexpected results. My colleague might have noticed my frustration steaming out my head, approached and casually suggested to open the source.

At that time, I thought the guy must be insane - suggesting to open amazon's gem. That idea never occured to me. Maybe because I've always thought it's way too big and complicated. Turns out it wasn't as complicated than I thought. I found out what was wrong that saved me from further headaches. 

Example on how to open a gem's source (assuming you're using bundler).

export EDITOR=vim 
bundle open aws-sdk

The thing is, underlying source code is still a code. A code written by a fellow human being. Putting limits to what we can do and comprehend is probably the worst thing we could ever do as a programmer. It can kill creativity. 

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Good morning!

We've been getting a lot of feedback getting regarding the limited categories (restaurant, coffee shop etc.) when adding a place.  To solve this issue we decided to replace categories with tags. 

Hope you'll like it and keep the comments coming :)

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The following are the dependencies:

•    Build Tools  - packages needed to compile components below
•    Ruby  - the language (I personally use rvm, so that I can easily switch between multiple ruby versions.)
•    Mysql  - storage engine
•    ImageMagick  - image processing library
•    Git  - version control system
•    Redis  - key value store 
•    RubyGems  - a package manager to download gems
•    Bundler - gem management tool for ruby projects 

Bundler made it easy to install Diaspora's gem depencencies, simply by running:

      bundle install

There are more than 50 gems used in this project and I have no idea about some of them. It's going to be hard, but hey, no pain no gain.

That's all for today. Can't wait to see what's going on inside. It will probably take one month to get acquainted with the code. Maybe, I should print the source code and read it on my way to work. That's a brilliant idea. :D

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We have free OS way way better than commercial ones (with free shipping), sofware applications and other cool programming tools readily available. Just one click away. All of these, in the name of open source. Yet, some of use failed to recognize and appreciate their contribution and even came to the point of criticizing it.

So let's close our eyes, take a moment of silence and give thanks to the open source community. Just kidding. :D

Joining and contributing to open source projects will help us grow and develop our craft. There's a big chance we can work with great and experienced programmers. Reading their code will help us validate the way we do ours. Plus, contributing to open source doesn't just sound cool; it is cool.

I hope the spirit of open source will not die and more programmers will consider doing open source projects.

Pick your open source project now. I have already found mine https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora

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See the full gallery on Posterous

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Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who'd rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there's no reason we can't entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.

 

I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt.Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:

 

Wear sunscreen.

 

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

 

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

 

Do one thing every day that scares you.

 

Sing.

 

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

 

Floss.

 

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

 

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

 

Stretch.

 

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

 

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

 

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

 

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

 

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

 

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

 

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

 

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

 

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

 

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

 

Respect your elders.

 

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

 

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

 

But trust me on the sunscreen.

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2K incentive per month, not bad. Officially philnits certified. 

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Straight from work, I stopped by at a Muslim store to buy some running shoes. For 350 pesos, I already have a pair of nike shoes. Awesome, right? I got home around 8pm.  The night was cold, just perfect to break a sweat. So I decided to jog using my new nike. It really felt good running around. After a while, the rain poured down and made the experience more fun. It was fun running around while the rain hit you in the face. The feeling takes me back to when I was a child, playing and running under the rain. Then I got home trembling and completely soaked. 

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It's been 7 months since we started developing the 2010 model of Colorio Me E-800 firmware and it's finally done. This device is a postcard printer and a digital photo frame with wireless keyboard. This is my first project in Epson Software Engineering Philippines (ESEP). Unfortunately, this is only available in Japan. However, there's an international version (Colorio E-600). E600 has less features compared  to E-800. Instead of wireless keyboard, E-600 comes with a remote control.    

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Samantha and Kate are all psyched up for some serious rails programming. Because today is sunday, and sunday is wheedly day. By the way, wheedly is a web application powered by ruby on rails where you can share and borrow stuff. You may visit wheedly.com for more info. 

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