Archive for category Calgary
DemoCampCalgary15 Coverage
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary, startups on 2009-10-29
DemoCampCalgary is where programmers and startups can expose their work to Calgarians, and put out an open call for various forms of assistance. Feedback? Beta testers? Looking for seed capital? A DemoCamp is just what the doctor ordered!
(Doctor Gordon James McDowell not a licensed physician, but can still fix your stiff spine with a quick twis… oh sorry. Can’t feel your legs? I’d better get you to a hospital.)
Head to BarCampCalgary.com to find out when & where the next BarCamp is going down in Calgary.
YoctoRide previewed at DemoCampCalgary
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary, iPhone on 2009-10-29
Calgary’s 15th DemoCamp was particularly fun for me, as it was the first time I’ve demonstrated software at one. Nervous? Check. Stressed? Check. Capable of completing app store submission process before beginning the demo… not so much. I somehow overlooked the step of aquiring a distribution provisioning profile, and kept wondering why Xcode would not accept my .cer (it was looking for .mobileprovision).
Yesterday, I submitted yoctoRide. Had I known that app titles can be submitted in advance of code (I’d heard about iPhone app name squatting but never read the details), I’d have claimed the app name long ago and not worried about it. To claim an app name, all you need is a description and icon. I bet Apple has some entertaining stats about who’s claiming what.
If you want a heads-up when yoctoPlay is released, email me and I’ll sent you a single email once a functional carpooling tool is available on iTunes. I’m extremely interested in Calgarians who are willing to carpool via their iPhones. Because this software will have no value without the network effect (utility of yoctoRide is zero if only one person is running it), I’ll be heavily promoting it in Calgary where I can monitor usage and drive people around myself if necessary. (Our car isn’t that fuel efficient, so its a loss-leader both economically and environmentally.)
One point I failed to make at DemoCamp: Passenger safety will be assisted by passengers snapping a photo before they enter any vehicle. That’s a date-stamped, geo-tagged image of car and driver automatically uploaded to yoctoRide’s server.
To see all the DemoCampCalgary presentations, head to DemoCampCalgary.com where all the presentations are indexed.
Calgary’s Low Carbon Future – The Summit
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Environment, Politics on 2009-09-14
I haven’t had too many opportunities to stream live video since WireCast days at Cambrian House, so Calgary’s Carbon Summit was to be a live test of my new configuration:
- Dual core MacBook
- Wireless microphones feeding both the live stream, and HDV capture
- 3G iPhone with tethering capabilities (and my strong desire to max out ROGERS 6 GB data plan)
UStream.TV had broadcast flawlessly from my house the night before. What could go wrong? Well apparently SAIT’s WiFi was blocking ports to which the UStream responded by crashing the browser. Any browser.
Fortunately I had a ROGERS 6 GB data plan, an iPhone 3G, and a deep burning desire to use up as much bandwidth as possible. Do you know how HARD it is to eat up 6 GB with an iPhone? Finding a reasonably priced ROGERS data plan is IMPOSSIBLE, so I took SAIT’s blocked ports as a blessing in disguise. 753,100 KB later, and UStream.TV had rebroadcast the summit.
I’ve since had a chance to upload HDV coverage of the event to YouTube, and also to Internet Archive. The most viewer-friendly copy can be found at R4NT.com entitled “Calgary’s Low Carbon Future”, it is cut down from 101 to 56 minutes and follows the narrative woven by Skid Crease.
Outcomes
The summit adds value to other City of Calgary initiatives including the development of a Community Greenhouse Gas Plan, The City Manager’s Office Sustainable Development Strategy and the World Energy Cities Partnership. This is an opportunity to develop a multi-stakeholder developed and ratified action plan to address future energy challenges.
Bios for keynote speakers can be found here. Rob Macintosh’s presentation is also available as an isolated YouTube video, and downloadable MPEG-4 from Internet Archive.
Calgary Film Racing 2009 – Do It Yourself
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary on 2009-08-13
We won a slew of Film Racing awards! The contest was in June, and I’d assumed we’d won nothing (or we’d have heard about it by now). So this is out of the blue and awesome.
Team BRING-ME-THE-HEAD-OF-DON-HOLMSTEN consists of: Wil Knoll, Rachel Gertz, Sarah Blue and myself. Blaise Kolodychuk and Ben Blue worked off-location creating music. And Travis Gertz got us to the church on time.
The award winning short “Do It Yourself”, is about the emotional baggage behind the construction of a glass display cabinet. The cabinet, complete with fake mementos from the character’s life still resides in Wil’s apartment. The psychologists I’ve spoken to reassure me that while this is unusual, it is no cause for concern.
Our team name is due to an unfortunate event involving ex-team member Don Holmsten and “The Mixer”. The Mixer’s operator said “Keep your head, and arms, inside the Mixer at all times.” But Don Holmsten was a DAAAREDEVIL, leaning out saying “Hey everybody, Look at me! Look at me!”
- Best Film of the Calgary Film Race 2009
- Best Direction (me!)
- Best Leading Actor (Wil!)
- Best Leading Actress (Rachel!)
- Best Acting Ensemble
- Best Writing (Wil!)
- Best Editing (me!)
The Film Racing experience was a lot of fun, and we really enjoyed watching the other submissions. Most of them were crazy funny, and the wide variety of approaches use accommodate “a promise and a screwdriver” made each screening a new surprise. Head to the Calgary Film Racing 2009 Awards page to check out the other submissions.
Protospace vs YouTube Thumbnails
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary, Hacking, SONY VEGAS, YouTube on 2009-08-08
So I’m adding a logo to Calgary’s Protospace teaser video, and none of the YouTube thumbnails look particularly appealing. I don’t want a split-screen of a hacker. I want a Protospace logo dag-nab-it!
At some point in early 2009, YouTube stopped grabbing thumbnails from 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 positions in submitted videos. Thumbnails were being abused, with brief images of pornography and misleading images placed at 1/4 1/2 3/4 locations in uploaded videos.
I can’t define pornography, but I know it when I see it. And Protospace logo ain’t no pornography! The Protospace teaser is rendered at 29.970 fps (NTSC drop-frame). I added a frame counter to the video to locate the new thumbnail locations…
And confirmed what I’d heard when Googling the subject… the thumbnail locations are now pseudo-random!
Due to the “random” part of the thumbnail grabbing, it took me a few tries before a logo lined up with a thumbnail, but I did manage it…
…and then due to a medical condition the doctors refer to as “borderline stupid curiosity” I began adding frame counts to other videos, uploading them, and documenting YouTube’s 3 thumbnail locations for each.
Notice that the TN (ThumbNail) locations are constant for extremely short videos, and become more pseudo-random as the video length increases. I wouldn’t be surprised if an exact formula could be nailed down, but I don’t see it.
If you can solve the pattern, or have more data points you’d like to contribute then please ping me. I can either add them by hand, or share editing rights to this spreadsheet. I suspect any pattern may have something to do with MPEG-4 and keyframes. Or maybe Dwipal Desai injected a bit of the pseudo into the random because he enjoys the thought of thumbnail seekers endlessly spinning their wheels… heck it’s what I’d do if I were him!
Green Party’s Elizabeth May in Calgary
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary, Canada, Politics on 2009-07-08
July 2nd to 4th, the leader of Canada’s Green Party, Elizabeth May visited Calgary to attend fund raising and community events. After a fundraiser, Elizabeth allowed me to record a quick Q&A with her regarding one of my concerns: The Pirate Party launching in Canada.
The Pirate Party’s platform is not as outrageous as many assume. They don’t want to abolish copyright, rather limit its duration and focus its impact on commercial (for-profit) activities. The Pirate Party also wants to abolish software patents, which many software programmers consider a restriction on free speech. However, many of its policies are closely mirrored by the Green Party’s platform.
What is Elizabeth May’s response to Swedish Pirate Party members being elected to European Parliment?
I’ve posted my concerns in a R4NT.com article. Single issue candidates can not get elected to Parliament under Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system. If a Green MP will defend consumers (and the economy) against Bill C-61 horror shows, is splitting the digital-rights-minded vote a smart move?
Another interesting moment during Elizabeth May’s visit was during her Saturday morning visits to a series of Calgary Stampede breakfasts. People started tweeting that she’d caved on animal rights for a photo op, thinking that her attendance at a Stampede function implied she was attending a calf roping type event.
Elizabeth May’s daughter, Victoria Cate May Burton was monitoring Elizabeth May’s Twitter account. They discussed and responded to the tweet in 15 minutes. I have no idea how other political parties manage their social networks, but clearly a tech-savvy daughter is one effective approach.
Stock footage of Elizabeth May’s visit to Calgary can be found on Internet Archive concerning copyright and volunteering, fund-raising and the economy. Elizabeth’s Twitter and Facebook collaboration with her daughter Victoria Cate is also recyclable via Internet Archive. All footage is creative commons licensed.
Calgary iPhone Developer’s CRUSH FACTOR
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary, iPhone on 2009-05-08
A couple weeks ago I created a commercial for MJ’s (Michael Sikorsky’s) iPhone application, “CRUSH FACTOR“. Today the app is available on iTunes, and I can finally show off the video!
Friends of Michael and Camille also submitted witty compatibly appraisals for couples. As a testament to high editorial standards applied to the game, none of my suggestions were used.
One shot in the video I must give credit to is Chris Hartigan, who created a BMX video in the 90s. He’s let me use that shot in… oh 3 videos now. Which shot, you ask? Go on… guess.
The commercial was created with the scientific genius of Nelson Adams. While Nelson does not have a scientific diploma per se, he’s forgotten more about science than Carl Sagan ever knew. Did Stephen Hawking help craft the dialog in this commercial? Did Richard Dawkins sit on a really uncomfortable stool and recite dialog that I kept changing on him with every delivery?
No they didn’t. And that is why Nelson is Dr. Science.
May 30th and 31st MJ is offering a lecture on iPhone Development at University of Calgary. The CRUSH FACTOR back-end is hosted on Google App Engine, which is the exact combination of technologies I’m pursuing for my own iPhone app.
Having bought a MacBook for the sake of programming my iPhone, I’m a newcomer to iPhone development. The Xcode experience regularly presents me with showstoppers. While decent books are mandatory, in many cases only watching a video or witnessing someone navigate the environment has helped me understand how to accomplish a particular task.
The fact that MJ is a Canadian iPhone developer is particularly useful to any Calgarians wanting to sell their iPhone app via iTunes. There’s lots of paperwork. MJ can help you get that ball rolling ASAP.
If you attend MJ’s iPhone dev school, I’ll be seeing you there!
DemoCampCalgary14 Coverage
Posted by gordonmcdowell in Calgary on 2009-05-01
DemoCampCalgary is a get together for those crafting new software in Calgary, and anyone looking to support upcoming Calgarian businesses.
I performed a video capture and summarized the event, which is available in full at Calgary’s BarCamp / DemoCamp blog. Below is a copy of the full video, with shortcuts to my favorite moments.
David Gluzman let me use his photos of DemoCampCalgary14 in the video, which is released under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license.
If you think you’d enjoy DemoCamp, then you will. I’ve been to just about all of them in Calgary, and there’s always been at least one presentation which surprises me.