it's getting colder: the end of summer draws near, and the semester starts soon. so i guess it's time to post a round-up on what was the summer of websites! i started playing with with TurboGears at the beginning of the summer, and then everywhere i looked, i saw websites. so i made a whole bunch, none of which should be taken very seriously.
the flagship site, dear internet, was a joke over lunch ("dear internet, should i finish this sandwich?") and has since blossomed into an addictive site offering something called "collaborative life coaching." this is due mostly the very awesome mgaiman joining the team (of two). it's ridiculous, though: people actually seem to enjoy clicking on it and posting interesting questions and comments, so hooray for user-submitted content. give it a try and let me know what you think. right now we have a small enough cast of "regulars" that users seem to be learning more about each other through the questions and comments, like an old-school BBS.
next, money train is the "best roommate debt-tracker ever!" but currently only in use at my new apartment. i was trying to use google spreadsheets to split expenses four ways, but it just seemed less complicated, somehow, to make a website instead. so i did. what it lacks in features (e.g.: you can't report payments yet, only debts) it makes up for in, err, monospace ASCIIesque styling.
in july, i read the first chapter of a friend's copy of the Gettings Thing Done book and decided: yep, he's right. to-do lists are pretty great. i should keep them online somehow. then i discovered Tracks and started making changes -- first, to allow new users to sign themselves up on tracks.tra.in, a hosted "to-do list" for Getting Things Done adherents.
finally, tra.in is just a goofily-designed placard for the nascent web empire. and ex.pla.in is a simple FAQ-maker to help field questions for all these sites. sadly, the semester brings new time constraints that prevent me from bringing you memory.tra.in (GRE and Mandarin flash cards!) and ear.tra.in (musicianship skills), but look for those someday.
also i should mention RI-WINS, the pilot wireless network currently covering Providence and Newport, with the goal of providing statewide WiMAX for RI soon. the Business Innovation Factory, a Providence-based non-profit, was looking for application ideas for their network, and my proposal won their contest! (for more information and a slightly-embarrassing profile, read the announcement.) so look for something exciting and wireless in Providence this year.
as for, y'know, research, i'm continuing the work from my masters (which is available here, i discovered) but also exploring the exciting and dangerous world of P2P, crypto, and economics.
the NYTimes last week profiled a Cornell grad who's growing mangosteen in Puerto Rico for import to the US. mangosteen is the queen of fruits in southeast asia, but not imported to the US (see my picture from 2005) and is my favorite (forbidden) fruit.
so this is pretty much the best thing to happen ever (especially since i'm almost all out of freeze-dried "crispy mangosteen"). the only problem is that i bet these mangosteens will be super-expensive and only for fancy NYC desert chefs. though i did spot mangosteen juice here at Whole Foods last week (for $20/bottle). some day i'll have to make lovely fruit tarts out of that old can of mangosteen in syrup.
