DealFan update
April 25th, 2010
I just updated Deal Fan, the deal aggregator that I built. Based on the initial feedback I got from asking on reddit, I added automatic categorization and a search feature.
Let me know what you think
Vegetarian and Vegan Search Engines + Restaurant Discounts
April 21st, 2010
I have had quite a few requests to make veg versions of Recipe Puppy, which lets you search recipes by ingredients. In response I have created two new search engines, Vegetarian Recipe Search and Vegan Recipe Search.
I am also excited about recipe coupons and restaurant gift certificates, two very very similar new sites that make it easier to find restaurant coupons near you.
All these sites are works in progress, so let me know if anything is not working as expected.
Google Webmaster Tools Search Data
April 17th, 2010
With a recent update to google webmaster tools you can see how many impressions your site gets for keywords and the resulting click through rate at each position.
This data is awesome. I thought it was interesting that for queries where my website ranks number one, the click through rate is 75-80%.
Amazon Kindle in Linux
April 16th, 2010
I have started reading a lot of books on my iphone, and was hoping to install it under Ubuntu 9.10.
Unfortunately, there is is no linux version yet and the Lifehacker instructions did not work for me.
Luckily I have virtualbox installed an the Windows kindle reader installed perfectly under XP. Unfortunately you can't search within the book, which makes my copy of The Flavor Bible<img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=krisssoccersi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316118400″ width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> a lot less useful.
Browse Restaurant.com More Easily
April 2nd, 2010
I updated the app I made to make browsing restaurants on restaurant.com more pleasant. Let me know what you think: http://www.recipepuppy.com/restaurant/
New and Old Projects
January 29th, 2009
Lets start with the old. I was really excited to have chemsink written up on haverford.edu. For those who don’t know chemsink was my senior thesis project which supplements existing chemical reactions databases in a free/open format.
The new side project is recipe puppy, a ingredient based recipe search engine. This idea has been done before, but I wanted something better so I went out and made it. I got a lot of great feedback on reddit and there is definitely a lot of work left to do. If only I had more free time.
Lost Laptop
December 1st, 2008
If you find it and return it I will be eternally grateful. Lost during the trip from penn station to the ues.
Update: Laptop has been returned by a very honest cab driver. This post had nothing to do with helping me find it. Faith in humanity +100.
Top 10 Sports Videos
November 8th, 2008
Some of you may know that I have started to work at fandome.com. Since I have been there I have seen a lot of sports videos. Here are my top 10:
#1 Canada vs USSR Hockey Fight - This has set a new bar for hockey fights. Both teams clear the bench and there is an all out brawl. The refs leave the ice, and they turn off the lights because things get so out of control.
#2 Dumbest Sport Ever - I don’t know who thought of this sport or why anyone would want to participate, but the ridiculous intensity of people arm wresting and boxing at the same time is enthralling.
#3 Malcolm Kelly Freestyle - I don’t think it is Malcolm Kelly’s talent that makes me love this video of him freestyling. Its definitely the team support.
#4 Amazing High School Football Catch - Philip Lutzenkirchin from Marian, Georgia forgets he is playing football and pull a basketball style save to his teammate for a touchdown. One of the best plays I have seen in awhile.
#5 Kick to the Face - Watching people get kicked in the face is always fun. I think what makes this video so good is the other guy is bobbing up and down like he is ready for anything, and is a deer in the headlights as he meets his impending doom.
#6 Phillies Fan meets a bottle of Grey Goose - Being from Philly I know fans can be obnoxious, but throwing a grey goose bottle at a fellow fan after a world series victory takes the cake. I wonder if this fan is still in the hospital.
#7 Peanut Butter Poopy Time - The peanut butter jelly time dance is good, but what makes this video great is the emergency trip to the bathroom halfway through.
#8 Ref tackles SC Player - Ok ref, I know you take a lot of shit, but there is no reason to go around and start tackling players.
#9 Everyone underestimates the kick to the groin - By the far the best way to learn how to make bar fight sound effects. Stop watching about half way through, it gets a little weird.
#10 WVU Drunk - Last but not least, the drunkest person at the WVU game. I remembers this so send it to your friends until it gets back to him. He needs help.
ChemSink A chemical reactions driven Community
September 26th, 2008
Today I am beta launching a project I have been working on for just over a year. The site www.chemsink.com is a place for chemists to discuss chemical reactions, while slowly building a verified free open chemical reactions database. I am launching the site with 1,200,000 compounds(a small racemic organic subset of pubChem) which are connected by 2,500,000 reactions.
I still have a whole list of things to work on, but I want to get people using the site and giving feedback.
To navigate on ChemSink, just search for the reactant or product you are interested in. If there associated reactions, they will appear on the page. To see an example compound that has reactions where it is a product and reactions where it is a reactant, go here. Please send me feedback!
Obama and fake posters
April 15th, 2008
So today Michelle Obama came to visit Haverford, and I went to see her speak. After she recapped the course of the campaign she gave a nice speech where she addressed things like supposed elitism.
According to an email from the college no one was allowed to bring any signs, but they did hand out some signs that looked like they were brought from home. Mine said UNITY. I tried to make a makeshift sign from the heart with the ballpoint pen I had in my pocket, but to no avail. I would be interested in knowing the reasoning for not allowing people from bringing their own signs. It seems a little silly.