MichaelGuo.com

I was killing some time late last night browsing Facebook after doing a load of work when I noticed an ad for a programming contest. Intrigued, I took a look and thought it was pretty interesting. The only problem is the deadline was in less than three days, so on a whim, I whipped up a webapp and entered the contest!

I present to you:

What is it? It’s an interactive map of all the major reported crime in DC from the past three years (which is a rather scary amount; there are nearly 100,000 entries in the database!). Unlike other boring crime maps, though, you can enter in a specific address and search a radius of 0.1 to 10 miles around that area for any time period in the past three years. Plus, you can sign up to receive daily alerts of new reported crime for any given area. The webapp updates itself daily with crime data handily made available for free by the DC government.

Please take a look! I put in about twelve hours straight today and sacrificed a night of sleep to get it done. In fact, I put in many more hours than I expected due to a wonky PHP bug that was throwing off my great circle calculations. But hey, I figured it was worth the time spent. It’s good marketing after all: look at what I can do for you in less than twelve hours. Why are you paying others to do nothing for you for months when I can do it all in a day?

And if you like the webapp, then please go vote for me at http://www.appsfordemocracy.org/stay-safe-dc/. The more votes I get, the better chance I have of winning the People’s Choice Awards!

I’d enter a second app, but I just don’t think I have the time over the next two days to code up another! So go vote for the only one I’ve got!

Apparently, shlocky sci-fi is much harder to write than I thought. After I started my novel, I realized that I needed to do more research. While it’s fiction, I think that good sci-fi is at least loosely based on fact, and I just didn’t know enough about my topic to keep on going without doing hours of research. As a result, I switched gears after writing most of my first day’s quota, and I am now writing about stuff I know better, basically a trumped up version of my life. It just pours right out now, and if I ever get stuck, I guess I’ll just copy and paste from here.

Plus, I’m happy to write that I’ve been accepted for a volunteer internship at HOBA. There’s even an AmeriCorps education award for when I complete my 300 hours of service. I’m excited about it! It’s been a while since I’ve done anything so worthwhile. I start Tuesday.

Now, back to work. I have lots to do!

Oh, don’t forget to go out and vote for Obama today! I already mailed in my ballot, which should’ve arrived yesterday.

Beginning today, I embark on the ridiculous journey to write a novel in the month of November. Thousands of other crazies should be joining me at National Novel Writing Month, and this year, I will be a winner. Last year, I started but just never got around to finishing.

Hey, at a rate of only 1667 words per day, you could win, too! Who’s doing it with me? You know you want to! Heck, if I just posted all my emails and blog posts together from this month into one “memoir”, I bet that that would be 50,000 words.

I’m in the process of moving a bunch of stuff to a new server and moving all the blogs to WordPress MU. My old server is getting kind of hosed, and it just seemed smarter to isolate the less trafficked sites on here.

Anyway, you may have noticed broken links, which should now all work! I just forgot to update my 404 file, as I set up the blog in a subdomain, and all the old links broke. It’s something of an annoying limitation due to the way WPMU is set up. In fact, it took me forever to figure out how in the world to set up multiple domains using the same installation. Ugh.

I’ve also temporarily taken down the photo gallery. I’m deciding what exactly to do with it. It takes up a lot of space (around 10GB!), which I need for a quickly growing database at Track and Buy.

The past couple days have basically been spent creating my new website: Track and Buy.

What is it? Well, it keeps track of Amazon.com price data, so you can view historical data (up to two days worth right now; this will of course grow over time) to help you make decisions on when to buy an item. I’ve added the top ten bestsellers from all of the top-level categories and have been testing it with some random wish lists. Everything seems to be working well enough to show you this alpha release. Please test it out and add lots of items to the database! The easiest way is by simply adding your wish list.

If you have any ideas about how to make it better, then please let me know! And if you spot any bugs (I’m sure there are many), then definitely let me know!

And of course, tell your friends!

Thanks!

Apparently, San Francisco has been so exciting that I’ve completely forgotten to update my blog for almost two months! Well, it’s not all been fun and games. There’s been a lot of cleaning, fixing things, moving in, etc. Plus, I’m trying to drum up some more business for my company (do you know anyone who needs help with web development or anything computer-related?) while studying for the GMAT, which is scheduled for December 5. I also want to participate in National Novel Writing Month this November. Rather than trying to write an epic and failing like last year, I think I’ll just stick to some shlocky sci-fi. If I can’t reach 50,000 words, then I’ll just make up some technobabble filler!

Anyway, yes, I’ve been busy. I have some work to do by tomorrow 8 AM Eastern, some studying to do to keep falling off track, and a growing to do list. Plus, I’ll see some family this weekend. Then, there’s Halloween in a week. I, of course, need to spend some time debating whether or not I should actually bother dressing up.

Well, everything’s packed, the apartment’s empty, the floor isn’t very inviting, I’m exhausted, and my flight leaves in about nine hours. I’ll actually be back in a few weeks for a few days, but this is essentially goodbye. It’s been a good four years.

Well, I just listed twenty items on eBay with many more to come this week. Lots of furniture and the such will go on Craigslist, too. In case you haven’t heard, I’m moving to San Francisco at the end of the month. As part of the move, I’ve decided to sell nearly everything I own. I’m basically keeping a couple laptops, some photo equipment, the Wii, some clothes, and some mementos along with a few “necessities” that just make more sense to ship than to re-buy.

If you’re interested in any of my stuff, then please let me know! There’s lots and lots and lots of stuff for sale. If you can picture something in a house, e.g., a bookcase, a sofa, a desk, a TV, etc., then I likely have it for sale!

I’ve posted a page devoted to upgrades, mods, and hacks for the MacBook Core Duo. Yeah, I’ve really pimped it out with MacStyles, iColours, an OptiBay, and 802.11n card! I’m devoted to trying to keep this computer for as long as possible minus AppleCare!

• The snap of a mousetrap in the middle of the night
• The crunch of my glasses under my foot
• The screaming of our neighbor’s children

Sigh.