New Favorite Android App

I just installed SMS Backup +  on my Nexus S, it is really great. The app exported all my sms messages into gmail as full conversations and tagged them as SMS. It also added all my phone logs to google calendar in my new "Phone Calls" calendar. So now I have a great record of pretty much everything on my phone in my google account. As an added bonus, the app is licensed under the Apache license and is hosted on Github.

Satirical Office Humor

I share an office with several of our new media confederates one who has a great deadpan sense humor. 

Co-worker from accross the hall comes in

Co-worker: "I sent you a funny lol cats"

Office Mate: Oh really? 

Co-worker: Well you should like that cat stuff, you having cats and all... Right?

Office Mate: Well no… Actually I don't have cats anymore. 

Co-worker: Oh (puzzled look)?

Office Mate: They all died... Thank you for reminding me of that fact though!

Ruby compact only compacts one level deep

My simple solution... recursively remove nil. Kinda lame but oh well.

  #
  # Recursively clean nils out of our array structures...
  #
  def arrayDeepCompact(array)
    array.each do |element|
      if element.kind_of?(Array)
        element.compact!
        arrayDeepCompact(element)
      end
    end
  end

Or if you prefer an extension

#
# Recursively clean nils out of our array structures...
#
class Array
 
  def deep_compact()
    dc(self)
  end
 
  private
 
  def dc(array)
    array.each do |element|
      if element.kind_of?(Array)
        element.compact! #compact first so won't need to itter over nil
        dc(element)
      end
    end
  end
 
end 

Serving a broken world in a critical hour!

Recently I have been involved with some technical mission work from the relative comfort of my home. I helped setup a Concrete5 site for Malamulo hospital http://www.malamulohospital.org/. The main need was to have a nice face for the international public and grant writing. What I am seeing though is, although we met the requested need for a nicer website/cms, there doesn't seem to be anyone with the time or skill to pick up the actual content entry. What is frustrating is I have time, but no content, so I am really just stuck waiting for something to happen.

I also discovered that they have several other software/IT related needs, but I don't have enough on the ground incite into their real world practices to properly address them. At OSCON this year I did meet a gent named Isaac Holeman http://www.isaacholeman.org/ that does have such experience and incite, and he seems quite willing to share some with our team.

All this leads to why I titled my post specifically in a critical hour. I am firmly convinced that far to many of my fellow technology professionals(including me) have been far to complacent with the endless success of open source and technology as a whole and are ignoring the basic needs of billions across the globe. Doesn't it seem horrific that we would stand in line for hours to get an iPhone, but not think twice about those who waste away their lives building them for a wealthy western world. I don't want to run a major guilt trip here, but it as populations grow, those in need grow ever faster.

As a Christian, I feel ever more responsible for the wellbeing of my neighbors, both spiritually and physically. After all, how can one address the emotional, spiritual and beliefs of an individual without attending to the basic needs of hunger, shelter and safety. It is now ever more important that I stand for what is right, good and true and not waste time chasing after fake success and fun times. God asks us to serve others where he has placed us and with the talents and skills he has given us. I don't want to squander them on "my pursuits".