I had to overwrite some JQuery UI Autocomplete private methods as apparently there was no easy way of generating HTML and embedding it in the right spot on the page:

The JSON server response:

[{"id":"aaa","id_and_ba_name":"bbb"}, ...]

   var auto = $("#lc").autocomplete({
      minLength: 3,
      delay: 600,
      dataType: 'json',
      source: '/remote/action',
      open: function() {
         $("ul.ui-autocomplete").remove(); //removes the ul styling for dropdown
      }
    })
    auto.data("autocomplete")._renderMenu= function(element, items) {
      //treats the DOM element as the menu where items are to be placed
      var self = this;
      $('#the_select_element').show().html('');
      $.each( items, function( index, item ) {
        self._renderItem($('#the_select_element'), item );
      });
    }
    auto.data("autocomplete")._renderItem= function(element, item) {
       // generate options elements and adds them to menu
       return $("<option></option>")
        .data("item.autocomplete",item)
        .attr("value",item.id)
        .append(item.id_and_ba_name)
        .appendTo(element);
    }

JQuery 1.8.16
Rails 3.1

Why the heck a method with called “getElementByID” return NAME matches?!

Here’s the story:

Two elements with different IDs, with one of the IDs matching the name of the other.

<textarea id="X" name="A">First</textarea>
<textarea id="A" name="whatever">Second</textarea>

document.getElementById('X').value
/* will return 'First' */

document.getElementById('A').value
/* will also return 'First' */

Turns out the public/private key files saved through putty aren’t of a valid OpenSSH format (expected by Heroku). You can still use Putty Keygen by copying the text generated under “Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_key file” (save it to your *.pub)

I’m inching towards my first Mac. Windows is a frustration after the other.

UPDATE: working with Heroku/Git/SSH on a windows machine is a royal pain. One step closer to a MaxBook.

Follow these if you’re stuck:
- http://therubyway.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/using-heroku-and-windows/
- http://linux-sxs.org/networking/openssh.putty.html
- http://help.github.com/troubleshooting-ssh/
- http://code.google.com/p/msysgit/issues/detail?id=49

My setup so far is “Putty Keygen, Putty, Pageant, Git GUI”

If you move the green parts to become white on their own java files; Your future self will thank you for it.

Or at least you won’t get cursed.

Iran election has started as may be yet another election, peaceful and hopeful. For all parties. With the spread of voter fraud allegations, and suspicions over the way and speed by which the votes were counted, Iranian masses started to mobilize.

Twitter (the platform, not the application as mistakenly analyzed) became the favored topic-centric communication tool (#IranElection, Tehran messages) [twitter postponed maintenance in response to usage]. YouTube helped promote videos of mass protests. Flickr hosted numerous images. Meta-applications like TwitPic and news portals like BBC, have carried varied media propagating information much further. Reddit and other on-demand news aggregators enrolled worldwide symphathizers and activists.

I’m reading now about a twitter campaign encouraging people to change their location on their twitter profile in an effort to cripple down location-based filtering (not sure if it’s not a double-edged sword).
Update: “Senior officials say the [US] State Department is working with Twitter and other social networking sites to ensure Iranians are able to continue to communicate to each other and the outside world.” (via CNN)

Even further, a widespread campaign coordinating a DDoS attacks against .ir government websites out of casual web users. Wired is now saying that this might provoke the Iranian regieme into a reverse Cyber attack (Dr. Strangelove anyone?).

I’m not taking sides in this elections (yet?). I know for fact it’s hard to track down reality in the middle east, and I can’t rule out herd-mentality in this case.

Nonetheless, I’m fascinated with how the Internet has grown in the past years to have such influence on people’s lives. An influence that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Will we be one day able to coordinate election monitoring over the Internet out of Mom and Pop teams? Will we have expats volunteering to watchdog government activities?

Ladies and gentlmen, welcome to the age of the Peoplenet.

It is a true and accurate meaning to the state of an application I’m currently delivering.

So, does a “Finishing Touch” apply to software? A web application? It is a term that is probably more tied to a work of art. A painting.

I won’t delve into how developers are close to composers, or increment vs iterate, but from the outskirts, even a simple feature delivery IS a work of art.

Given the numerous ways of how an application could function, there are only few ways of making it appeal, and that’s a work of art.

I found hidden code in wp-blog-header.php, a new user in the database and a few dozen templates I couldn’t even modify few files on the server (virus?) even with sufficient rights!!

So, I had to install a fresh copy of wordpress and hand-pick few items here and there to migrate.

Let’s see how long this installation stands

Me:

New approach to signup forms
http://huffduffer.com/signup/
I personally like it. More ‘human’.
What do you think?

Adam:

I have mixed feelings about this…

First off, as I am sure is the same with each of you, it was clear this was intended to mimic a paper form (which is where the “more human” comment comes from, I assume).

Though the immediate familiarity is there, I can’t help but be reminded of the circumstances where I am required to fill out a paper form – entering a contest, filling out important records (medical, legal, otherwise), etc.  Most of the circumstances I associated with filling out a paper form were not remembered as particularly comfortable, let alone pleasant – there is, in fact, a feeling of anxiety associated with the task of filling out a paper form…  Just an observation…

Second, one problem with paper forms of this nature is that often is it easy to “skip” past areas which require data entry as they “blend easier” into the body of the form itself.  In fact, 3M has made millions of dollars with little sticky arrows to attach to forms to help users find where they need to enter information.  If used to collect a significant amount of information, this method may also suffer from the same problem.

The standard form objects have moved into the general mindset as recognizable elements which require user attention, not to mention the fact that they provide a whole host of interaction methods (sliders, dropdowns, etc.) not offered anywhere else…  I do think that something like this has its place though…  I am just not quite sure, yet, as to where this would be…

Me:

You’re right. It’s more of [a] mimic of a paper form. Might not be the best way of collecting information online (especially with larger set of entry fields), yet still, there’s something human about it.

May be it’s the way the application is talking to me as a user, or me talking to _it_ (I was about to use ‘him’ instead of ‘it’). May be because of the perception I get that this form will be eventually read by a human being, wearing a reading glasses and handling my signup request with care and passion instead of a cold, heartless ‘Internet’ sitting somewhere down the wires. May be because it’s merely _different_ from the gazillion signup forms I’ve had to fill out to date. May be because I get that this huff/duffer guy(s) wants to be ‘remarkable’ and in doing so will give me a better service.

I agree it’s not applicable in many cases, but being notable/remarkable/different is worth a shot (not sure where though)

Putting that mail together, I remembered the Moo Tools. It took us no less than 15 minutes to discuss it, not even knowing what the huff/duffer guys do
Isn’t that remarkable?

http://thinkremarkable.com/

(*) not recommended for all uses. consult your requirements, framework API, and DB engines before you apply.