Blog - edwardsun.com

Pennies Are Gold

June 9th, 2010

Over the last few months, I’ve been working on a social project called Pennies Are Gold. This was inspired by the idea that if a visitor to a webpage can contribute one simple task, the overall effect could be extraordinary. The “strength in numbers” idea is certainly not new, and I am trying to test it out currently with a project I made back in 2007. PrintDoubleSided.com was originally created anonymously, but I have since decided to put it under a project of Pennies Are Gold. I’ve been in contact with various companies who are willing to offer corporate sponsorships for this idea, as well as groups and individuals interested in environmental pursuits. Stay tuned!

As a followup to my last entry, I am looking forward to revamping the design of PrintDoubleSided.com with several web 2.0-inspired features. Yeah, I understand that web 2.0 is just a marketing label, but it’s a cool term nonetheless.

Posted in Uncategorized

Updates: Web 2.0, iPad, Looking forward

February 2nd, 2010

A few updates.

1. Most of my more important and difficult schoolwork is now taken care of, and I will be spending a lot more time this year trying to shift towards the web 2.0-type designs and features in my sites. I am quite cognizant of the somewhat-antiquated look of Videyos and Tutorial Monkey at the moment, but because it never seemed to stop them from generating revenue, I didn’t really want to do much. But truth be told, I’ve been mired in too much schoolwork the past year or so to be able to do any noticeable amount on those sites, but this will change in the upcoming months.

2. I am considering a new project that will be largely an experiment with viral marketing. I won’t disclose too much details here yet, but I will update as this develops. All I will say for now is that I’ve been doing a tremendous amount of research lately (books, articles in TechCruch/Mashable, other entrepreneurs, blogs, etc.), and I’m looking to make something a lot more .. modern (for lack of a better word to use).

3. I’ve been playing around with my iPod Touch quite a bit recently, and with the new announcement of the iPad, I want to try to look into these iPhone/iPod/iPad applications… From what I see so far, there really isn’t too much out there that hasn’t already been made (ugh, should have bought an iTouch/iPhone earlier), but this is a huge and expanding market.. and a comment on the iPad criticisms.. Yes, it’s only an oversized iPod Touch, but size really makes a difference with many applications. My primary issue is the lack of multitasking support, but I’m sure Apple will change this in future releases.

That’s all for now, folks. Look for more frequent updates here in the coming months. I’m really starting to pick it up now, and school won’t be as big an issue as before.

Posted in Uncategorized

Earthquake in Haiti

January 17th, 2010

As an avid tropical weather tracker, I feel the need to respond to the frequent comparisons of the recent Haitian earthquake to Hurricane Katrina (2005).

I spend quite some time tracking tropical cyclones over my summers, and I stayed up many late nights waiting for NHC advisories on Hurricane Katrina five years ago. A lot can be said about the meterological and political history surrounding the hurricane, but I don’t want to digress too far from the point of this post. To summarize what we all know, Katrina was the costliest hurricane on record, and one of the most catastrophic disasters in modern US history.

But please, folks, don’t compare it with what recently happened in Haiti.

I’ve always felt uneasy with the precarious location of Haiti – the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Hispaniola is frequently struck by hurricanes and tropical storms (last year I believe they had around 6) and quite frankly, I think they deserve a better fate.

The 7.0 Moment Magnitude earthquake just outside of Port-au-Prince is reported to have killed anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people, but that could be an extremely conservative estimate. From the pictures, the streets are littered with festering corpses. People of all ages are desparate for food, water, and medical aid. Same situation as Katrina… but keep in mind that this earthquake happened in a matter of seconds with no warning. Everybody carried out their routines as they normally did.

Yes, New Orleans was 80% underwater as a result of the levee failures and the subsequent pouring of water from the River, Gulf, and Lake. But the city did not represent the entire country as a whole.

This earthquake destroyed the National Palace, the National Assembly, and the Port-au-Prince cathedral. It has forced the country’s president to relocate. It’s a disaster for a NATION.. and Haiti was never really a self-supporting country. They are in even worse shape now…..

I don’t wish to offend anyone affected by Katrina, but there is simply no comparison.

With that said, I really (REALLY) wish I could go there and do something right now. I don’t know much about earthquakes and tsunamis, but simply based on the fact that they are perhaps more damaging and certainly more unpredictable than hurricanes (something I do know about), I know that the desparate sense of urgency is not simply a media hype.

Whether it’s distributing supplies, or helping the search-and-rescue efforts, I really want to contribute. I’m glad to see so many nations already out there, and though I’m sure some of them are doing it simply for political reasons, they are helping nonetheless. I would like to express optimism in a recovery, even though I know that the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season is very likely to bring more trouble. There’s nothing we can do about storms and earthquakes… Based on meteorological history and current trends, I know that Haiti will likely get its fair share of tropical storms and hurricanes this season.. but this we can’t do anything about. This is nature at its worst. But what’s always fascinated me about natural disasters is this feeling of unity.. it’s like a wake up call reminding us that we are all fundamentally human.. and we will recover from this together.

I want to show you a video I was very, very touched by. These guys have been stripped of everything they have, and yet they still manage to keep this up. Check it out.

Haitians March (CNN)

Please also take a look (if you haven’t already) at Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti and contribute to the aid effort.

- Edward.

Posted in tropical weather

CKEditor

November 15th, 2009

Recently, I took a look at what now seems to be a euphemism for the editor formerly known as FCKEditor. I’ve always considered FCKEditor as the paragon for WYSIWYG editors, and when I created pfEagle, I had originally wanted to use FCKEditor until I decided to make my own.

A post I read on drupal seems to summarize CKEditor. “CKEditor – FCKEditor on steroids.” This new editor is surprisingly fast for all the features it contains, and in fact, has even more features than FCKEditor. This was the only major issue I had with FCKEditor a few years ago, and it no longer seems to apply.
+Recommend.

After February, I’m looking to start up a large website again, and I want to incorporate CKEditor one way or another.. I really like it. I’ve had to juggle a lot of other stuff recently, so the web stuff had to take a backseat.. In Feb 2010 I’ll be able to finally get back on track with this stuff. I love doing this stuff.. and it’s really been a while since I’ve done something big.

Posted in Uncategorized

What About Now

November 15th, 2009

I don’t listen to Daughtry much, but this is a very inspiring video. The song is rather trite.. and some can argue that the message is too, but I found it really touching. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylgchWR-Ig (Embedding disabled by request)

The voice lives on when someone takes a stand and says “I am the end of poverty,” “I am a different path,” “I am the belief in your humanity.”

Posted in Uncategorized

The Toronto Maple Leafs

October 25th, 2009

I’ve been a fan of this team since grade four, back when I played floor hockey at school a lot… and wow. What can I say now?

Well okay, they can lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose and lose (8 games straight)… but come on Mr. Burke.. for a team that’s supposed to be rebuilding, you CAN’T give away the first round draft pick! We’re losing without a cause now. Last year or the year before, pragmatic fans could emphatically jump up and down in glee when the team loses.. because at least the odds of a first overall pick would increase.

But now that we traded our hope and future to the BRUINS (for Phil Kessel), what can we cheer for now? This team is in COMPLETE disarray. our goalies can’t save a bus if it were coming their way. Our forwards can’t score. Our defence can, but in the wrong net.

Sure, next year’s draft is supposedly not as deep. But it’s still much better than nothing.

I am being hypocritical, since these guys are much better than I am. But that’s not the point. They’re not supposed to be competing against me. I’m just a fan making a commentary.

Interesting note .. I was reading the ESPN NHL Power Rankings and found the Leafs in their predictable position (30th).. the comment: “Over/under on which month the Leafs get their first win stands at December as questions persist as to whether this is the worst Leafs team of all time. Until they get a win, it is a valid question.” Oh, the misery..

A picture’s worth a thousand words.. so..

An accurate representation of Leafs Nation

An accurate representation of .. _____ (insert any creative adjective synonymous to the euphemism “bad”)

Posted in NHL commentary

About section

October 7th, 2009

I still have yet to finish the about/history section of the portfolio. This might take a while, because I will be inactive for the next two days. However, I don’t feel that the section is particularly important to the portfolio. Nevertheless, it will still be updated by the weekend.

Overall, the new portfolio is about 80% complete. I don’t feel that adding lists and lists of minor items/projects will make it look any more appealing than what is already here, so I won’t.

Anyways, I’ve just finished watching the AL Central tiebreak (game 163) between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers.. and man, was it ever a good game. The Twins won with a walk-off 12th inning hit off Fernando Rodney (to Rodney’s credit, he pitched 3 amazing innings). The Tigers have effectively squandered a 7-game division lead in early September.. and a 3 game lead with 4 games left in the regular season.

The Twins went 17-4 in their last 21 games to force a tiebreak, and only lead for one inning prior to winning the tiebreak. Oh what a game… so glad I had some time today to watch it (I’ve never actually watched any Tigers game.. and only one Twins game [tiebreak from last year].. but i’ve often selected Joe Mauer and Miguel Cabrera for beat the streak)

Well, now they have a date with the Yankees… tomorrow. As much as I hate the Yankees and love comeback teams, I would have to be reasonable and predict the Yankees to win with CC Sabathia on the mound and a bullpen-depleted Twins team…

Anyways, I should try to limit the amount of commentary on this supposedly-professional site. But the blog is personal… so I don’t regret it.

- Edward

Posted in MLB commentary, edwardsun.com

Portfolio updates

October 5th, 2009

I have updated about 70% of my portfolio. Feel free to look around. I do have to remind you that this entire website is only a showcase of samples of work I’ve done. It is far from complete.

The other 30% will be updated in the days and weeks to come. I have also had a bit of trouble managing Tutorial Monkey’s updates, but that will start to get underway soon as well.

Overall, look for more additions to the portfolio. They will slowly be added as I try to compile some of the work that I’m allowed to display. About a quarter of my work were done for private use, and various projects (including all from Fast-Fwd Multimedia) involved non disclosure agreements. However, I do feel that the samples on this site are sufficient in showing what I have been doing.

—
On another note, the Minnesota Twins have forced a one-game playoff with the Detroit Tigers at the Metrodome. If the Tigers lose .. man, what a collapse. Actually .. even if they win, they have already collapsed. We’ll see what happens, but I don’t expect either team to make it out of the ALDS against the Yankees.

Posted in MLB commentary, edwardsun.com, tutorialmonkey.com

About/history updates

September 27th, 2009

So the new version of edwardsun.com is finally getting underway. There have been delays here and there, but I’m going to be spending quite some time with this site in the days, weeks, and months to come. I’ve had this domain since Jan 7, 2005, but I never really did anything with it expect put up some very static portfolios with year-old updates.

I had a portfolio up for a while.. but I never updated it with new material. It’s sort of because the amount of material I used to have in the old version seemed to be enough to get the attention of many who seeked a programmer. I got a lot of clients despite the lack of updates. It seemed to me like there was no need to update edwardsun.com .. as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

But recently, I’ve decided to add some more .. life .. into this domain. After all, I am alive and well (though the lack of updates in the past few years may have rendered this fact ambiguous). What’s new about edwardsun.com? Well, most importantly, it adds a bit of a personal touch with this blog. This site is not going to be commercialized in any way (it doesn’t need to be).. and it’s just a place where I can ramble about whatever’s on my mind, whenever I feel like it (in many cases, I will write about the news, MLB, NHL, and tropical weather. There will be nothing too personal. I will keep in mind that the focus of this domain is still on the portfolio, and not on my personal life).

Recently, I wrote part 1 of my online history. I’ve allocated a few hours a day to making this particular domain look good.. so there will be more to come.

Unfortunately, the updates won’t come daily. I would love to, but I have some other stuff I have to deal with. However, I am dedicating a lot of time to this domain in the coming days, weeks, and months.. It’s my namesake, and I never really took care of it properly. But there is a lot of stuff I can put here that will probably explain why I chose to neglect updating edwardsun.com. Stuff that I’ve done instead of updating a portfolio that seemed to work anyways. Look for them in the coming days.

—
A bit of an MLB note, Roy Halladay secured his 4th consecutive 16-win season with a 7-hit shutout. He is now 16-10 with likely one start left (@Boston vs. Tim Wakefield). What a guy. One of my most respected professional athletes.. and probably near the top of my list of most respected people in general. (these are mental lists)

– Edward.

Tags: about, edwardsun.com, history, roy halladay
Posted in MLB commentary, sites, sports commentary

Gretzky resigns. Jays’ home season coming to an end

September 25th, 2009

Wayne Gretzky has resigned as coach and director of hockey operations for the Phoenix Coyotes. I wonder if this has anything to do with the whole Jim Balsille situation and the air of uncertainty surrounding the franchise. I have the utmost amount respect for this guy.. and it’s not only because he was a legend in a sport I follow quite intensely (though that’s certainly a reason). I wonder what he’s going to do next.

As for the Jays, their dismal season is going to come to an end soon. They will at least have a winning home record, but that doesn’t explain the overall record significantly below .500. I couldn’t spend too much time following the Jays this season, but I don’t think I missed anything impressive. To their credit, they’ve been decimated with injuries.. From the standpoint of an optimist, I will look forward to 2010, when some of their better pitchers finally return from injury. If they don’t do much in 2010, the team will pretty much be hopeless when Roy Halladay leaves (and yes, he is going to leave.)

Again, I would like to reassert the fact that in the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays can only SNEAK into the playoffs if a combination of the following happens
1. The Yankees and/or Red Sox have a number of injuries at the same time (to players like CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, etc.)
2. The Blue Jays revive their major league best pitching staff from 2008
3. Vernon Wells starts to play.
4. Rogers is willing to put forth a better budget.

In other words, they need a perfect season. Of course, paying BJ Ryan 10 million dollars just to go away does not help. Releasing an all-star calibre player in Alex Rios for nothing in return doesn’t either.

I am by no means a fan of the Blue Jays. Unfortunately, I have a geographical affiliation with the team.

Anyways, I felt I needed to get that bit of sports commentary out. Thanks for reading.

Tags: Jim Balsille, MLB commentary, NHL
Posted in MLB commentary, sports commentary

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