Hulu + Facebook?

Hulu, if you haven't heard of it, is a website that allows you to watch television shows. It differs from most television watching sites in that is clean (no annoying pop-ups or slapdash advertisements , legit and this website actual works with television networks to display their programming. Recently Hulu integrated with Facebook. So, now you can see what you're friends are watching... At first, I was baffled. Why do I care that Guy-I-Never-Spoke-To-In-Middle-School is watching "Alf"? Also, do I want people to know what I'm watching? It seemed like an invasion of privacy on both ends, but I connected my Hulu account to my Facebook profile anyway (for the free month of HuluPlus). [HuluPlus, by the way is AWESOME!!! Commercial-free, full seasons of Law and Order: SVU?! Why isn't everyone using this thing???] However, I must say the Facebook integration did pay off when I noticed one of my friends was watching this show I was curious about. I decided to try it, too, now knowing I had a friend who had also seen it; it was good! Big #Win for "Huluface". Then I followed a show on Hulu. The action was made public on my Facebook wall, and a few friends indicated they also liked that show. Awesome! In conclusion... I stand by the thought that Facebook is slowly taking over the world, and my grandchildren may not ever leave home because all communication will be through Facebook (and future generations of social networking). More and more websites and services are using Facebook (and Twitter), and some Facebook/Twitter inclusions are unnecessary. However, before we call out a web service for jumping on the social networking bandwagon, we should assess whether their is an actual use for the technology. Post-Script: There is also the option of posting a comment from Hulu to Facebook about something you're watching. A clip is posted along with the comment, so there is a "spoiler" checkbox to alert your friends. No one likes to be a ruin-er.

On the subject of blogging...

I'm currently in class and we're talking about blogging. So it's only natural that I blog.

What to blog about on the subject of blogging? It's a bit profound to blog about blogging. I couldn't possibly criticize the "art" of blogging as I obviously have a blog. However, I will make the statement that blogging has its place in this Twitter world. Sometimes 140 characters are not enough to express certain emotions and ideals.

The End of a Semester

So, class has ended for this semester. No more Java, no more analysis of eCommunities, no more models of information processing, and no more history of computers and the Internet. (At least as classes.)

I've learned quite a bit this semester. The Java was really the best part. I have a greater understanding of object-oriented programming now, and I'm ready to use it!

An earlier post mentioned this card game, Tunk, I wanted to code. However, I didn't think about the 2-player aspect, and I am clueless with regard to AI rt now.

So, my new ideas are:
I've been into classic game shows lately

• 2-, 4-, 6-player Newlywed Game
• Blackjack
• Hangman/Wheel of Fortune
• Card Sharks
• A To-Do List

More ideas to come...

Also, my web design skills seem to be improving. (I should really get an outside judge for that.) I can design quicker and have a better understanding of some things! More to come with that, too, but until then...

Check out my own personal website!

Programming Prose

When the night is long,
I don't cling to a cup of Java.
Rather I hit the subway rails
Draped in the finest Rubys and Perls.
This is my
High-Level Life.

I am not just object-oriented.
I travel to the darkest jungles
to play with pythons.
I sing with the greatest symphonies in C
Sharp.
Now to do get the Basic Visual?
This is my
High-Level Life.

I may be a PYT,
But I'm more proud to be a PHP:
Pretty Hot Programmer.
My efficiency is Big-Oh of Amazing.
For our founding fathers and their COBOL and FORTRAN:
I stand for transcendental programs.
And even my pure, small, basic, idealistic thinking...
Can one day change the world.

This is my High-Level Life.

Code Attack!: My 'Tunk' Capstone Idea

So, I'm taking EECS 282 this semester (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 282, that is) where we're learning Java. After being taught the popular (i guess) card game, Tunk.

Rules of Tunk (as my genius boyfriend told me):

• Each player starts with 5 cards: Face cards = 10; Aces = 1; and the other cards have their printed value
• If a player begins with a value of 49 or 50, they win automatically!
• If a player chooses they can "drop", compare their total value with their opponents' and the lowest value wins
• A player can also win by losing all their cards
• Players can lose cards by forming (what I am going to call) "sets":
  
  • A sequence of consecutive of the same suit. Ex. 3Hearts, 4Hearts, 5Hearts
  • A sequence of the same value of different suits. Ex. 5Diamonds, 5Hearts, 5Spades
• Players can also add to existing sets

So thus was born my Capstone Project Idea. It will be a one-player game where the user will play the computer, and the number of wins and losses will be counted.

Spring Break is coming up soon, and while my contemporaries will be in tanning in Cancun, I'll be here on campus being a geek! (I have big plans for those Head First books) Hopefully, I can get this application working somewhat...

Web Design Practice Ideas

I have NO idea why I haven't been doing this, but I plan to use W3 Schools to brush up (and enhance) my web design and development skills.

I am super excited!

This is mostly because I plan to make this learning experience fun. (Every learning experience should be fun.) Here are a few of my ideas for good web design/development practice:

All of these are based off of my interests, by the way.

• Website for Moe's Tavern
• Website for Bob's Burgers
• A wedding budget application
• An online diary/scrapbook
• MadLibs and Match Game
• A social network for programmers/designers

These are just a few things I thought would be cool. A goal I have for this year is to do something cool with regard to web design and development, and I think this experience will accomplish this.

In the meantime, check out my personal website!

A Very Geeky Semester

This semester I have three classes in the School of Information and a fourth in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and I recently got a job at the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library. I'll be learning about Information Processing, eCommunities, History of Computers and the Internet, and the Java Programming Language.

It's going to be a very geeky semester!

Working at the library, I came across the section about web design, programming, and information science. I plan on spending some time in there.

In short, it's going to be a very geeky semester. However, being a very geeky girl, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. :)