Vive le San Francisco @florianmettetal - Tumblr Blog

Is Oakland the new Berlin? http://instagr.am/p/SH9Z3NKoPk/

Watch out! Dinobot is coming for you http://instagr.am/p/SGWwn_qoPu/

A pile of what? Mitt Romney style. http://instagr.am/p/R1ipZcKoLA/

Such an orderly line! And the train doesn't arrive for another 10 minutes. Is this America or Germany or robotland? http://instagr.am/p/Rgl0WYqoOc/

I can't tell if I'm in San Francisco or the future. Whichever, I'm in love! http://instagr.am/p/QtCRLfqoDE/

This is the motorcycle I imagined when I was 14 years old http://instagr.am/p/QsrnOGqoPA/

Understanding since_id and max_id in Twitter API

So I've spent the last day wrestling to understand the since_id and max_id calls in Twitter. If you are having troubles with this like I am, here's what you need to know - the results will always be in DESC order.

Example:

Tweets with ID: 0-99.

max_id=50, count=5 => tweets.id:49-45

since_id=50, count=5 => tweets.id:99-95

So what is the point of since_id ???

since_id=50, count=55 => tweets.id:99-50

And there you go.

#twitter api #twitter search #since_id #max_id #broken

Bathroom doodle can be so insightful! http://instagr.am/p/PVghO-qoIR/

Bathroom doodle can be so insightful! (Taken with Instagram at Mission Dolores Park)

Geek or Nerd? When it comes to movies I guess I'm nerdy, other than that "60% of the time it works all the time!"

TwitterCounter Monthly vs One-Time Pricing

I, similar to most people who use twitter more than a few times a week, like to keep track of their twitter follower growth with TwitterCounter (my stats). If you haven't started using it already, I recommend you signup for a free account.

A valuable service provided by TwitterCounter is having your twitter account promoted throughout their network. The service comes up with a number of customization options including geolocation and as a result you get exposure to real authentic twitter followers who are actually interested in your tweets.

Here is the Top 100 People On twitter, and you can filter by location too!

Below you'll see the pricing comparisons for the two different promotion types offered.

Since there is no minimum contract, I recommend signing up for the monthly bundle.

Link to google doc (nice formatting): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvZ_IYZWbkUydEZhUDNXa21aWGlyV1REdWtJSWpVNmc&output=html

Best bang for the buck:

Monthly. 240,000 impressions for $995. 241 impressions/$

Monthly 480,000 impressions for $1,995. 241 impressions/$

What you get for entry level pricing:

Monthly 15,000 impressions for $75. 200 impressions/$

One-Time 50,000 impressions for $285. 175 impressions/$

Signup on this page: Premium & Pro Packages

#twittercounter #twitter marketing #real followers #pricing

Anything odd here? I love #SF ! (Taken with Instagram at Mission @ 9th Street)

#sf

Building BreakOut in JS (1 of X): A weekend's iterations!

I set out this weekend to learn JavaScript. All of it! Just kidding. I decided to create a videogame, a childhood favorite: “Break Out”. This is a great game because you can start out with pong, and evolve it into a program that is very complex! The key feature I wanted to add was a “slapper”. The slapper is just like the regular paddle you use to bounce the ball with but if the player times their click well they can tell the paddle to jump up, slapping the ball and giving it speed.

The github for all this work is at: https://github.com/FlorianMettetal/BreakOut-1.0

The final prototype can be played at: http://FlorianMettetal.com/BreakOut-1.0/

Trying to Build a KhanAcademy environment: FAIL

The first thing I did was grab some paddle ball code from KhanAcademy and attempt to build a standalone environment. I never got this working. Yet, this led me to Proessing.js

Building paddle ball with Processing.js: NO

I spent most of Saturday working on this, and I built this paddle ball game:

http://florianmettetal.com/BreakOut-1.0/index-p5.html

I almost got the slapper working, and was talking to some #javascript people about it and they reminded me that if I wanted to learn about #js then #processing isn’t the way to do it!

So, back to the drawing board…

Paddle ball with a slapper in JS but in the DOM: Again, NO!

I came across this tutorial on devx, and got to work: http://www.devx.com/webdev/10MinuteSolution/27134/1954

Along the way I realized how ancient this code is.

Here’s what I completed:

1. Remove the difficulty function 2. Add mouse control, remove keyboard, make sure the paddle stops at the wall 3. Create start/restart button, changes score area coloring as well 4. Replaced timer = setTimeout() with more efficient/modern requestAnimFrame

And finally! 5. Turn the paddle into a slapper

You can check out the prototype at: http://www.FlorianMettetal.com/BreakOut-1.0/index.html

But after all of that… it is still not using canvas! It’s using DOM.

Some bugs to fix in the next version: * slapper is buggy * score doesn’t reset properly.

BreakOut-2.0 will be developed from scratch (again!) over the next week or so.

Plan for BreakOut-2.0: HUZZAH!

1. Use canvas instead of DOM (obviously!) 2. Create blocks 3. Create a leader board with scores being saved on the server. 4. Create levels 5. Create drops

Plans for BreakOut-3.0: Now that’s the future!

This version will be the pretty one, with 3D effects!

1. Add pretty animations 2. Add explosions 3. Other cool stuff I’m sure!

My Personal Narrative

For a job application I was asked: What's your story? Give us a concise narrative describing the evolution of your personal values and professional aspirations to date. How have you tried to actualize your values in your work? (max: 500 words)

In 2003, I created the Dewitt Technology Club at my high school. This was the first time I created an organization and only as I grow older do I realize how influential this first step was. My club wrote a grant and received money to build a server computer and combine 2 broken down PC labs into a single functioning one able to handle Office 2000 or its equivalent. Using a Linux Terminal Server we proved to the district that it was possible to save hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on Microsoft and Dell products in favor of open source technology.

At Cal Poly I started my own chapter of a fraternity; it still persists today the way my co-founders and I intended: a social fraternity for engineers. I also attempted to create a rowing club, but the boat house and lake were too far away and thus too difficult for a team of mostly freshman to carpool too regularly.

In 2009, I started my own business called “Immortal Events”. I worked with local DJs to put on large city quality events (1000+ attendees) that were a major success. The result of my work was a change in the musical landscape of San Luis Obispo from country and pop music to a majority electronica. I also transported hundreds of people round-trip from the SF Bay area down to Los Angeles for large events saving my clients the hassle of driving and looking for a hotel. Immortal Events was always profitable but after 1-year I didn’t feel like I was using my life to solve real problems. I was told I saved lives, but I knew I could have a greater positive impact once I got out of SLO and learned what problems I really care about.

After New Years Eve 2009, I closed Immortal Events and spent 2010 in Paris. I was born in Paris so I applied for the benefits of my French citizenship, getting my passport and ID. I traveled a lot, learned to love the metro, learned French, had a French romance, met my French family, and worked at a couple technology companies applying my “American Naiveté” to various problems.

All of my California relationships were fading though, and I didn’t feel encouraged to take risks in Paris. I knew that if I wanted to be an entrepreneur, especially in the technology space, I must return to San Francisco.

Since Summer 2011, I have been exploring the bay, networking, and searching for the right problem being worked on by the right team. I’m an excellent digital marketer, and an average web developer.

The solution I want to create is for everyone to receive the benefits of urbanity. I think it is a cultural shift in America, but there are so many problems with living in a city that people still flee to the suburbs. Any of these numerous problems that work towards making a better city, I am interested in working on.

Spotted! Covergirl fashionista in Portola! http://instagr.am/p/OInp9WKoAW/

Milk. Pop. Candy. http://instagr.am/p/Nt4N7EKoAd/

The British are attacking! http://instagr.am/p/NtiAxMqoA9/

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