Matt Wattenburg’s website is full of some neat Software and Research products. Make sure to check out his Art section and in particular, the bewitched section. One of my favorites is a neat Java applet called The Shortcut which is “An exercise in abstract storytelling that escalates in tension before its ultimate resolution.”
Another Java applet, the Copernica Art Database, is a NASA commisioned art gallery “chronicling the wonders, risks and triumphs of space exploration.”. They have a neat Java browsing interface which you can filter and customize.
And speaking about Java, I am working on a Java front-end to the Del.icio.us social bookmarking service. I plan on using it to keep my bookmarks syncronized between my Powerbook, Linux box, and my work computer. Basically, what I want to do is set up a folder structure, similar to any current bookmarking system. The catch is, you can add Del.icio.us tags to a folder and bookmarks from that category will automatically fill into that folder. It will also export the bookmark structure to to a bookmarks.html file so it can be read by any mozilla-based browser. The app will also let you keep track of local bookmarks, for example, links that may not be work-safe. Eventually I would like to add RSS support to the application to, so you can have a (or many) RSS feed folders, when accessed, would retrieve feeds for the links in that folder and display them to you in planet or Kinja style format.
As I am relatively new to Java, I’ve already scrapped one version of the application, which was working to some extent. But once I started thinking of more ideas, it became increasingly difficult to add the functionality to the existing model.
This one is not Java, but CSS, Accessibility 1st shows how you can use 2 gifs and some CSS to create a dymanic rounded-cornered div.
Books
And finally, found off of del.icio.us (I hate typing that), the Chicago Tribune has an article about the editor and founder of bookslut.com. I am such a sucker for book lists and if you are too, check out the bottom of the article.
Weather
So yesterday, the temperatures where in the 40’s … in January! … in Milwaukee! We had a Severe Thunderstorm Watch as well as a flood watch. But, in typical Wisconsin weather fashion, tomorrow’s high will be around 5, with temperatures tonight falling below zero and wind chills of -20. That’s more like it.
