LoadVars() can be problematic, however, if you ever find yourself reusing the same object for repeated load() or sendAndLoad() operations. As explained in the ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference:

Downloads variables from the specified URL, parses the variable data, and places the resulting variables in my_lv. Any properties in my_lv with the same names as downloaded variables are overwritten. Any properties in my_lv with different names than downloaded variables are not deleted.

In other words, if you continue reusing the same LoadVars() object, you’re going to have more data floating around than you may need at a time. Let’s take a look.

First we’ll request a file containing variables with a load() operation.

var bucket:LoadVars = new LoadVars();
bucket.load('vars.txt');

The file vars.txt looks like this:

content1=The+quick+brown+fox&content2=Jumps+over+the&content3=lazy+dog.

Each variable (that bit to the left of the = sign) becomes a property of your LoadVars object (bucket), and each variable’s value becomes a the value for that property.

If we iterate through bucket using a for loop when the variables are loaded, we’ll see that content1, content2, and content3 are now properties of bucket.

bucket.onLoad = function(){
     for(i in bucket){  trace(i+': '+bucket[i]+”\n”); }
}

Outputs:

content1: The quick brown fox
content2: Jumps over the
content3: lazy dog.
onLoad: [type Function]

Now let’s say we need to send a variable to our server and retrieve some new results. We’ll do a sendAndLoad() operation, and store the results in the same bucket object.

bucket.username = 'cleophus';
bucket.sendAndLoad('morevars.txt',bucket,"POST");

The data received from morevars.txt looks like this:

firstname=Dwayne&lastname=Wayne&major=math

If we execute another for loop, once the data is loaded, we’ll now see that there are more properties stored in LoadVars().

bucket.onLoad = function(){
     for(i in bucket){  trace(i+': '+bucket[i]+”\n”); }
}

Now outputs:

content1: The quick brown fox
content2: Jumps over the
content3: lazy dog.
username: cleophus
firstname: Dwayne
lastname: Wayne
major: math
onLoad: [type Function]

Any more load or sendAndLoad operations will only add properties to the object unless you overwrite them — or delete them.

Before deleting anything from your LoadVars object, however, copy the properties and values to another variable. Arrays and objects are a good fit here. You can create an array that only copies the variable-value pairs that you need to keep, then delete each variable from the LoadVars object, emptying it for reuse.

function turnVarsToArray(sendAndLoadObj:LoadVars):Array{
	var loadVarsArr:Array = new Array();
	for(var e in sendAndLoadObj){
		if( typeof(sendAndLoadObj[e]) !== ‘function’){
			var pair:Object = {vari:e, val:sendAndLoadObj[e]};
			loadVarsArr.push(pair);
		}
          delete e;
	}
	return loadVarsArr;
}

I might just vote for him. He says he’s a Libertarian, but he’s also quite progressive and I agree with him on many issues. Anyone who doesn’t take himself so seriously that he will learn and do the Soulja Boy in a campaign video has to be at least a little bit cool, right?

The line feed (LF) and carriage return (CR) characters (and their hex code equivalents (%0D and %0A) are forbidden in CodeIgniter’s framework. The hard part is tracking down exactly where that extra line break character lives.

In my case, there was an extra line of blank, barren, not-all-that-obvious white space at the very, very end of one of my controller files, just after the closing ?>.

Related:

• PHP header error messages
• Four common P H P errors and what they mean

In one of my moments of Random Thoughtitude, I was thinking about what my ideal country would look like. My first thought was infrastructure. I want a government that adequately funds and maintains a viable, nation-wide mass transit system and mandates bike lanes on every road. I want an educational system that actually teaches kids.

My next thought was: and what if our telecommunications infrastructure was owned and maintained by the government? What if our cable wires, our radio, our phone lines, and — the thing that sparked my original thought — our Internet were seen as massive public works projects on the order of sewers and roads?

Corporations would then compete in other ways. They might, for example, offer special content and charge for access to it. Or they might sell the hardware to connect to this otherwise national infrastructure.

Telecommunications, and the Internet in particular, has become this sort of basic, critical business commodity that is key to economic growth. But the corporations that run them are either too concerned with profits or really don’t have enough capital to upgrade their networks.

And we wouldn’t have this ‘Net Neutrality issue of corporations wanting to charge more or limit the flow of certain forms of data because boo-frickin-hoo, they don’t want to invest in their systems. Corporations are, after all, legally-bound to pursue profit. Their decisions must be made — for the bottom line, not the common good. Our government, on the other hand, would really have to treat all data the same and invest in our systems because we were all paying for it with our tax dollars.

Makes perfect sense, right?

Or does it? I thought some more and remembered that China controls its Internet infrastructure. And they have a few issues with censorship. Ditto Iran.

Our own government also has issues with freedom and privacy. Maybe handing them the keys to the Internet car would not be such a good idea after all.

I realized then that this is a pretty big conundrum. I wholeheartedly believe that corporations are evil, heartless, parasites who are incapable of doing The Right Thing unless it will make money. But I also believe the U.S. government is more concerned with maintaining power, control, and protecting their own personal safety and wealth than with building a just, free, and fair society.

So the question becomes: Who do you trust more? Corporations or Government?

And as importantly, what entities do you trust or would you trust? What does your ideal nation look like?

• Related: Original Twitter status
• Related: Baratunde Thurston

Highlights of Design Is Human include a wine tasting at Poliform SWITCH, the Belgium Design & Fashion Event for Darfur, and a modern home tour.

Ticket prices vary. Many events are free. More information is available at the Modern Atlanta web site (designed and developed by some ultra-groovy folks).

If the post-Sex 2.0 fetish and swing party isn’t your thing, but you still want to have a sex-centric Saturday night, I’ve got some options for you.

Atlanta Film Festival

These screenings and panels take place Saturday, April 12. Admission is $10.

• Out On Film: Distribution Issues in LGBT Film [Panel; 5:15 p.m. at Wyndham Midtown]
• SEX: The Revolution [Screening; 8 p.m. Landmark Art Cinema]
• FIGHTFUCKPRAY [Screening; 8:10 p.m. Landmark Art Cinema]

Will you be here Sunday too? Groovy. I’ve got some more goodies for you:

• The AIDS Chronicles - Here to Represent [Screening; 4:45 p.m. Landmark Art Cinema]
• Out on Film Shorts [Screening; 9:45 p.m. Landmark Art Cinema]

Strip clubs

More into strip clubs? All clubs listed below feature female dancers except for the Coronet Club and Swinging Richards. I have only been to one (Strokers). Information below is based on local reputation and/or the venue’s web site. (For your information: Atlanta strip clubs are all nude, but you can’t touch the dancers.)

Swinging Richards

1400 Northside Dr., Atlanta. Gay male crowd. Women aren’t banned, but bridal shower and raucous girls night out types of groups are. Please respect the space.

Coronet Club

5275-B Roswell Rd, Atlanta. All male dancers for a female clientele.

The Cheetah

887 Spring Street, Atlanta. The Cheetah is a ‘Gentleman’s Club‘ geared toward the business set. What does that mean? No poles. (Boo!) Rumor is that their upscale restaurant Alluvia is pretty good. Mostly white dancers.

Magic City

241 Forsyth St SW, Atlanta. Word is that Magic City is the premier strip club featuring black dancers. Ludacris filmed his ‘P-Poppin’ video here. The crowd tends towards ‘baller’ (as well as the ‘I just cashed my check so I can fake it’ set). I also hear the table dances and cover charge are higher than most places. Music = hip-hop.

Strokers

1353 Brockett Rd, Clarkston. It’s in a strip mall. Crowd: hip-hop. Dancers? Mostly black. Not as heavy on the eye-candy as Magic City is rumored to be. Dances are $10. Cover is $10. Music? All crunk.

Pink Pony

1837 Corporate Blvd., Atlanta, GA. Kind of legendary. I hear it’s fun. Dancers are mostly white.

All sexed out? (Impossible!)

Will you be all-sexed out by conference end? Here are some other options:

• Dan Marshall at Apache Cafe. $10
• La Moustache at the High Museum. $5
• When Something Wonderful Ends at Actor’s Express. $27 (Closing night)
• Doubt at the Alliance Theatre. $40 - $50
• Eurydice at the Alliance Theatre (Hertz Stage). $30

The basics

The N800 runs a flavor of Linux known as OS 2008. Several software packages come loaded with the N800, including a full-featured web browser (with Flash!), e-mail client, media player, and instant messaging application. Perhaps most notable is the inclusion of the internet telephony service Skype. Pair your N800 with a Bluetooth headset and a WiFi connection and you almost have a phone. You can also choose to install Gizmo.

It’s an “internet tablet,” which means it is WLAN / Wi-Fi capable. You can also pair the N800 with an internet-enabled GSM phone via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the N800 does not have a SIM-card slot so you can’t connect via GSM/GPRS directly.

There are 128 MB of DDR RAM installed — the same amount as the iPod Touch — but only 256MB of storage. Two internal memory card slots are available, and they support cards with up to 8 gigabytes of storage.

The N800 also comes with an integrated VGA (640 by 480 pixel resolution) web camera for video calls and chats. Install some additional software, and you can use the camera to capture stills as well.

Using the device

I could not successfully set up the e-mail client to work with my Gmail account. I’m not entirely sure it works with secure IMAP connections. It does, however support regular IMAP and POP connections. Its email client is easy to use, once configured. Oddly enough, the N800 does not have a pre-installed calendar application. It’s a curious omission, in my opinion. You can, however, install one.

There are three input options on the N800: a full(er)-screen finger-sized keyboard, a stylus-sized keyboard, and handwriting input. I found the handwriting recognition system a pretty easy system to train, though as with any such system, you may also have to retrain yourself. The way I write my lower case T made the N800 think I was entering an X. Once trained — I only tried two characters — the tablet was able to recognize most of my non-cursive input.

Typing on it the full(er)-screen keyboard is easier than using the stylus keyboard, but you can’t see all of what you’re typing at once. I also don’t like hunting-and-tapping with a stylus for input. Two-thumbed typing using the stylus keyboard actually worked pretty well for me. In fact, I found that the touch-recognition was at least as (if not more) accurate as my iPod Touch, even though the stylus keyboard has smaller ‘keys.’

The N800 uses physical buttons for zooming, scrolling, and toggling between full-screen and partial screen. Being able to toggle between screen modes is an excellent feature, especially for watching videos. But it’s a feature I would look for in the application menu or on the screen rather than the top edge of a touchscreen device. Overall, the combination of a touchscreen and buttons is an incongruous one.

So is this a computer or what?

Feature-wise, I’d say it’s most comparable to the iPod Touch and the Sony PSP. Think of the N800 a mini-computer that’s been optimized for the Internet. The iPod Touch is a first-and-foremost a music player and the PSP is primarily a gaming device. The N800, by comparison, is made for surfing the web, checking e-mail, and communicating via IM and VoIP.

Internet communications is not all you can do with the device, however. You can also play music and videos, and install a range of software. That brings the N800 a little bit closer to the world of ultra-portable laptops such as the ASUS Eee PC.

In other words, the N800 is a bit like a smart phone without the phone or a computer without much software. And that’s kind of the problem with it. It occupies a weird niche that makes less and less sense when you consider the availability of ultra-portable notebooks like the OQO and Eee PC, devices like iPod Touch and PSP, and smart phones such as the iPhone or Nokia’s own N80, N95 and N96.

Will it fit in my pocket?

In terms of size, the N800 is slightly smaller than the PSP, but significantly larger and heavier than the iPhone and iPod Touch. I was able to fit most of it in the front pocket of my jeans, while standing, but it wasn’t a good fit. It’s weight also makes it awkward to carry in a hoodie or jacket pocket. If you plan to keep it with you, also plan on carrying a purse. Men may have slightly better luck since their pants tend to have deeper pockets.

Is it worth the money?

Price may just be the N800’s killer feature. As of this writing, you can buy an N800 from Amazon.com for about $250. That’s at least $100 less than most smart phones. I see the advantages of the N800 for globetrotters who want to stay connected, yet don’t want to carry a pricey, heavy laptop, or don’t have a GSM-enabled mobile phone.

But the N800 is only $50 less than the Eee PC Surf, which has four times the RAM, a larger screen, full keyboard, and a faster processor. Plus, since it’s a full-fledged computer, you can be productive without a WiFi connection. When compared to the Eee, the N800 doesn’t look so appealing.

Is it worth it? If you want a small, connected device, and $250 is your absolute limit, yes. But I say spend the extra cash to get a device that’s smaller (iPod Touch), more capable (Eee PC) or both (most smart phones).

Related posts

• Why I ditched Skype for Gizmo Project*
• My essential mobile applications

Related sites

• Maemo
• Nokia N-series
• WOM World

So far, I have not noticed any issues from a site visitor’s perspective. But I’m seeing at least one bug with the comments tab of the administrative panel. I’m not sure whether this is an issue with WP 2.5 or whether I broke something. If you’re experiencing the same problem, please let me know in the comments.

I just write and talk about sex. But every woman on the Internet gets called slutty and ugly and fat (to put it lightly) no matter what; all we have to be is female. In dinner conversation, my friend Lori reminded me of the Oscar Wilde quote, “Give a man a mask, and he’ll tell you the truth.” I restated it for the Internet, replying, “Give a man a mask, and he’ll slit your throat.” The application here is, “Give a man (or a woman) an anonymous account, and he’ll eviscerate your self-esteem.”

Sad but true: if you’re a woman who blogs about politics or culture, at some point someone will make a disagreement with you into a problem with your looks, relationship status, and/or sexual orientation. Men can just be stupid. Women are invariably stupid, ugly, man-less bitches. Whether straight or gay, we’re always ‘lesbos’ who should be hate-fucked.* And yeah, the critic is ALMOST ALWAYS male — <hypocrite>and probably one who is at least as unattractive and offensive as he accuses us of being, but I digress.</hypocrite>

*Yes, there were two incidents in the last couple of years directed at women that used those exact words.

I am incredibly impressed with this dude’s ability to rhyme about web standards. Not that his rhyming skills are hot, mind you, but the subject matter isn’t exactly the stuff of legendary hip-hop.

Are you following the presidential race?

Not at all.

You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.

His name is Barack?!

Barack Obama, yeah.

Barack?!

Barack.

What the fuck is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?

Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.

Barack Obama?

Yeah.

What the fuck?! That ain’t no fuckin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the fuck outta here.

You’re telling me you haven’t heard about him before.

I ain’t really paying much attention.

I mean, it’s pretty big if a Black…

Wow, Barack! The nigga’s name is Barack. Barack? Nigga named Barack Obama. What the fuck, man?! Is he serious? That ain’t his fuckin’ name. Ima tell this nigga when I see him, “Stop that bullshit. Stop that bullshit“ [laughs] “That ain’t your fuckin’ name.” Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack.

• Lea Donosky, interactivity manager, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Jeremy C. Garlington, publisher of The Garlington Report
• Greg Lisby, professor of journalism, Georgia State University
• David Rubinger, VP, Corporate Communications, Equifax

This panel will be moderated by Dr. John Knapp, Director of GSU Center for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility

I encourage all bloggers to go and be vocal about what journalists and businesspeople do and (sadly) don’t get about online.

Original post