PostBadge tag to show // FeedBurner FeedFlare. // ------------------------- // FeedBurner account and feed required. // Sign up at http://feedburner.com //================================================ class module_feedflare { function init(){ global $gregarious; $gregarious->add_settings ( array ( 'feedburner_url' => '' ) ); $gregarious->add_page ( 'FeedFlare', 'modules/feed-flare/icn_Flare.png', 'page_feedflare();', 'feedFlare' ); } function postbadge_tags(){ return array ( array ( 'tag' => '%FLARE%', 'replacewith' => 'feed_flare("",false)' ), ); } function update_info(){ return 100; } } //------------------------------------------ // TEMPlATE TAGS //------------------------------------------ function feed_flare($settings = '', $echo = true){ global $wp_query; $post = $wp_query->post; $sets = array('postID' => $post->ID, 'before' => '', 'after' => 'Gregarious FeedFlare', 'force' => 0 ); grab_sets($settings, $sets); if ( !$sets['force'] && hideOnID($sets['postID']) ){ return ''; } if( !$path = _get_feedburner_url() ) return ''; if( substr( $path, -1 ) == '/' ){ $path = substr( $path, 0, strlen( $path ) -1 ); } $path = str_replace ( 'feedburner.com/', 'feedburner.com/~s/', $path ); $path .= '?i='.get_permalink($sets['postID']); $result = $sets['before'] . "" . $sets['after']; if($echo) echo $result; else return $result; } function _get_feedburner_url(){ $feedurl = greg_get_option( 'feedburner_url' ); if ( $feedurl ){ return attribute_escape($feedurl); } else { $feedburner_settings = get_option('feedburner_settings'); if( is_array($feedburner_settings) && ($feedurl = $feedburner_settings['feedburner_url']) ) { return attribute_escape($feedurl); } else { return false; } } } //------------------------------------------ // OPTIONS PAGE //------------------------------------------ function page_feedflare(){ $feedurl = _get_feedburner_url(); ?> Tag Archive for ‘Dan’ at spencerb.net

Tag Archive for 'Dan'

Travels and TripIt

Published on January 13, 2010 in Life, London and Travel. 7 Comments

Okay, here we go.

Wow…It has been a while.  I’m not sure why the blogging stopped.  But it did and it’s time to move on.  I have about a week left of my break between Michaelmas and Lent Term.  A lot has gone on over break alone, to briefly recap: Dan’s Visit, Rome, Zurich, Monica’s Visit, and Barcelona.  Coming up this week (as of the original writing, these trips have since passed) is Brussels, Tallinn, and Helsinki.  The following week includes the first week of Lent Term (LT) classes and a trip to Amsterdam.  Perhaps I planned too much for these two months.

Time has gone by fast though and I certainly feel the finite nature of the time that I have in London.  A couple of months down and overall, I’m not entirely sure what to think.  Surely, one is supposed to be impressed by a city with the reputation and history of London.  I definitely don’t want to give the impression that I am unimpressed or that I am unsatisfied with living in London.  Neither of those would be true, nor do I anticipate will become the case over this next year.  As my travels may indicate, I am certainly enjoying the adventure of living abroad, although there are many things and people that I miss from home.

While Dan was visiting, we were talking about skiing.  It has been a sort of fantasy of mine for a while to live in a ski town (yes, I love the sport that much).  I mentioned that if I could live anywhere, I think that it would be Whistler, BC.  He replied succinctly, “you can live anywhere.”  For a 20-something, the question of where you will or want to make your home is a fairly significant question.

This question is complicated by a myriad of issues including family, friends, career, citizenship, and language to name a few.

I plan on writing some more about where I have travelled and what it seems like each place revealed about itself and what the future may hold for me.

With all of this frolicking through Europe complete, I can’t more strongly recommend the website TripIt. You can log in using your Google Account, which makes life easier, one less login to remember. It makes travelling so much easier by creating itineraries for you based on booking confirmation emails. So I just forward an email from, let’s say Delta or Holiday Inn to plans@tripit.com and it automatically puts my flight times in, check in time at the hotel, and directions to the hotel along with maps of the surrounding area from Google Maps. Moreover, it has links to check flight status and check in for the flight right on the site.

It also acts as a great log for your trips. The last feature I’ll mention is the ability to easily give other travellers access and the ability to edit the trip.

Okay, another post down…I think I could get used to doing this again.

Grab the Mechanical Bull by the Horns

Published on March 22, 2009 in Minneapolis, Travel and Weather. 1 Comment

Kansas City turned out to be a lot of fun. The highlight of the night was easily going to a western themed bar that had a mechanical bull that you could ride for free (after paying a small cover to get in). Inside, there were a lot of people and the atmosphere was fun. Monica and I both decided to give it a try. It was tough, but a LOT of fun. I would recommend that everyone ride a mechanical bull at some point.

As I mentioned last post, there is a new area in KC called the Power and Light District, there are a lot of bars, restaurants, and entertainment in this area, including a movie theater and a bowling alley. It is obvious the area is new and intended to draw people into the city. It reminds me somewhat of Minneapolis’s Block E. The cool thing that KC has that MPLS doesn’t have is the weather to have a big outside pavilion that has a stage and a lot of seating. It also has electric heaters on the roof for cooler nights, making it very versatile.

Tonight, we stayed in Pueblo, Colorado. Honestly, it has been interesting getting into the Southwest and leaving the Plains. The atmosphere changed quite a bit. Pueblo is slightly depressed economically, but it has a historic main street area that is quite charming. Recently, they built a River Walk that has several restaurants and stores nearby. It gave the downtown area a much more personal (and safe) feel.

The weather has thrown a wrench in our plans. A big storm hit the West Coast and the forecast indicates much cooler temperatures are coming. As Dan commented on last post, the great thing about road trips is flexibility. We’ll see where we end up.

Stay tuned.

Math and Coughing

Published on January 29, 2009 in Economics and Life. 1 Comment

Right now I have this disgusting cough that reminds me of when Dan had whooping cough. Hopefully, I’ll be better soon. Sleep + Tea + Bond Movies has helped so far.

I am taking a tough econometrics course that is burning my soul. Hopefully, god-willing I will get through the first midterm next Wednesday.

Seriously, for some reason every 2 years I decide to take an impossible math-based course. I do not envy you engineers out there.

Obsessive Compulsive Web Researching

Published on December 4, 2008 in Auto, Blog, Life, Minneapolis and Technology. 4 Comments

OCWR…This is not a new problem for me and I don’t know how to get away from it. It seems to infiltrate my life constantly. I blame having Legos as a kid.

Let me give you an example of this problem. Computers. When it comes to building computers or buying computer parts, it requires a lot of time and money. It forces you to read review after review for numerous parts. There are some people that will just go to Best Buy and buy a computer. I can’t do that. For one thing, it is a major purchase for me to invest in. Second, I like to spend my money efficiently – get the most bang for my buck. Since computer technology changes so frequently, the value of the knowledge has a relatively short life. This requires the same research to be done almost entirely over again when the purchase comes back.

Example 2: osx86. I’m not sure about the legality of installing Mac on a PC, so I’ll refrain from going into too much detail. But I find this incredibly fascinating. Especially the prospect of installing the OS on a $300 netbook. I think it is amazing the amount of time people put into getting all of the drivers to work and streamlining the install. I have spent countless hours on this that should have been spent studying for finals.

Example 3: This blog. I hosted a server myself for a while. Tried nucleus and Joomla, then spent hours configuring Wordpress. Almost 200 posts later, this point doesn’t need much explaining.

The next example is a recent thing. I’m not sure where it came from. I’ve never known much about cars. For his birthday, my brother got a sub installed in his car. I always wanted a system (even bought a few speakers), but never had the know how to make it happen. For a while I had a new head-unit sitting around. This summer, I found a great deal (AR for slickdealers) and went for it. I installed it myself and felt great. This fall I installed headlights, a really easy job, but something I’ve never done before.

After my brother’s escapades, which I haven’t experienced yet, since I’m in chitown, I’ve been researching car audio. Now, I’m confident that I could install a sub, amp, and speakers myself. It feels great to have that knowledge and the power to act on it. Except for one thing – it has been taking up a lot of time as its grabbed hold of my interest.

Next summer (in Minneapolis), I’m going to save up and make the upgrade! Any help would be great (I’m looking at you Dan). It shouldn’t be too hard, but it will be exciting to accomplish it.

Memories for a Generation

Published on October 22, 2008 in Life and Politics. 0 Comments

This month, I made a post considering that this is An Interesting Time to Grow Up, this February I will also be 22. Dan started a 3 part series in what this topic means to him.

I have to say that he blew my post out of the water with his first one. I tried to justify the assumption that events will not define our generation. Several years from now, we’ll laugh about going through 8 years of George W. Bush while in high school and college. Events do matter though. Imagine how different your own politics might be if we Obama had been president during these years.

Specifically, there is one event that represents the moment all of our generation will remember where they were when they heard about it: 9/11. To put it another way, this event is akin to the JFK assassination of the twenty-first century.

I remember. I was at my high school in Pleasant Valley, Iowa. Rumors started circulating around the school early that something had happened. Then the televisions came on. Before our very eyes we saw America attacked. We saw events shaping history before our very eyes. Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War…people remember war. We have two of them now, as an immediate result of 9/11. The day America realized that ideologies in remote parts of the world can impact us at home. The day we all realized that we can’t sit idle while these threats ruminate.

By no means is this fight over. Even if Obama is elected, the issue of terrorism will not leave us.

Reality TV: A Basic Formula of Addiction

Published on October 14, 2008 in Entertainment. 1 Comment

Over at the new Up for Grabs, Dan made an interesting post about Reality TV, stating:

I’m a sucker for reality TV.

I second that. I am also a sucker for reality TV. The combination of challenges, survival, and drama cannot be matched anywhere else. That is, of course, besides real life. Dan brings up a few great shows – the Pickup Artist and the Amazing Race. I am unbelievably excited that there is a new season of the Pickup Artist. I watched the first season and the “Master Pickup Artist” is so incredibly ridiculous it appears he could never even meet a women. But somehow he trains other men to overcome their lameness and start to meet women. Truly inspiring.

The Amazing Race must be in a double digit season by now. This show has been running for a while and somehow it doesn’t get old. They get sent to new countries and face new challenges. The people who cast this show are also incredibly gifted and choosing the most ridiculous duos ever. People that are competitive, yet prone to fighting and ridiculous antics.

I must diverge with Dan on a few points. First of all, A Shot at Love has to be one of the worst shows ever. And therefore, a guilty pleasure for anyone watching it. Honestly, Tila Tequila is not attractive. She is a horrible actress. No one wants to fall in love with her. This show honestly belongs on VH1 at 3 am.

Rock of Love, on the other hand, just about as ridiculous as Tila, but incredibly entertaining. I am not sure they could conceivably make another Rock of Love. The guy has fallen in love enough.

Last point of disagreement, MTV’s Road Rules/Real World Challenge – The Island is awesome. Awesome. I have been meaning to blog about the episodes as they come out, but have not got around to it yet. Maybe, just maybe, I can inspire a new fan.

Abalastow Compendium

Published on September 24, 2008 in Work. 0 Comments

Abalastow Compendium

“This site will be growing quickly in order to be of use for the job search this fall. Please help spread the word to your University friends to get this site to a professional and useful level!”

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