DAN FOLKES

Quick Weather App in Your URL

dan — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:03:16 +0000

I wanted to make a good little weather app for myself for Richmond, VA.

I couldn’t find what I wanted, but I was able to write a little bookmarklet using Chrome and Firefox’s ability to have data:text urls.

Here is the URL:
LINK

data:text/html,<html><head><style>body,img {white-space:nowrap;float:left;}style>head><body><img src = "http://forecast.weather.gov/wtf/meteograms/Plotter.php?lat=37.53819&lon=-77.46955&wfo=AKQ&zcode=VAZ071&gset=20&gdiff=10&unit=0&tinfo=EY5&ahour=0&pcmd=101001100100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000&lg=en&indu=1!1!1&dd=0&bw=0&hrspan=48&pqpfhr=6&psnwhr=6" /><img src = "http://forecast.weather.gov/wtf/meteograms/Plotter.php?lat=37.53819&lon=-77.46955&wfo=AKQ&zcode=VAZ071&gset=20&gdiff=10&unit=0&tinfo=EY5&ahour=48&pcmd=101001100100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000&lg=en&indu=1!1!1&dd=0&bw=0&hrspan=48&pqpfhr=6&psnwhr=6" /><img src = "http://forecast.weather.gov/wtf/meteograms/Plotter.php?lat=37.53819&lon=-77.46955&wfo=AKQ&zcode=VAZ071&gset=20&gdiff=10&unit=0&tinfo=EY5&ahour=96&pcmd=101001100100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000&lg=en&indu=1!1!1&dd=0&bw=0&hrspan=48&pqpfhr=6&psnwhr=6" />body>html>

Just put that in your URL and you will get a good Richmond Weather Graph.

The pictures are taken from:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.58036&lon=-77.4874049&unit=0&lg=english&FcstType=graphical

Android – Large File Transfer – Samsung Galaxy S3 SGS

dan — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:47:05 +0000

This is one way transfer large files to android when other methods do not work:

Turn on Developer Mode and Debugging Tools
Install Android SDK on your computer
Plug in phone and open the command prompt and type:

More ADB info

PATH-TO\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools\adb.exe push PATH-TO\FILE.zip /mnt/sdcard/

This usually takes a second. I would first try transferring a small file to make sure you have the correct path.

Note: The ‘/mnt/sdcard’ may be specific to my device. If you can’t seem to find a writable folder do this:

PATH-TO\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools\adb.exe shell

then, using ls and cd commands, you can move around and try and find the path to your writable directory.

Hope this helps someone!

Teaching Kids to Code – Processing.org

dan — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:21:20 +0000

My friend Eric is a technology teacher at a school in the Richmond area and I were discussing the importance of teaching kids to code. The website code.org goes into it.

I thought I should write up a quick tutorial on ways for kids (or grown ups) to code while:

Having fun
Creating
Learning
Sharing their work
Building off of each others work

My tutorial utilizes two technologies:

jsfiddle : This web platform allows you to program in javascript and see your results. You can share and build off existing code.

Processingjs.org : This javascript library allows you to cool stuff like: this, this, or this. It is a powerful library that has great documentation.

So, here are my basic first instructions:

START:

Go here: http://jsfiddle.net/n2yUg/21/

EDITING:

So, in this example, you can change the line of code:

processing.background(224);

to be:

processing.background(255,0,0);

VIEWING:

Hit RUN, and you will get a red background.

(background function documentation)

SHARING:

Then, you can use the SHARE button and you can see options to use Twitter or just send a link without any code:

http://jsfiddle.net/n2yUg/22/embedded/result/

So, I think you could learn a whole lot from these two things combined.

Hope this helps!

MailChimp – Pass Email to Form

dan — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:37:23 +0000

I wanted to use a basic email field and send the information to a mailchimp form. I could not find the solution anywhere, so I decided to see if I could hack a solution.

When you go to MailChimp > For Your Website > Signup Form Link Code
You will get something like: http://eepurl.com/XXXX, which will take you to something like:

http://toolstoday.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=XXXXXXXXXXX&id=XXXXXXXXXXX

If you look at the source on this page, you will see that the form elements are called: MERGE0, MERGE1…

On my form, the email field is MERGE0, so on my website, I was able to create a javascript link that will automatically fill in email by using this link:

http://XXXXXXXXXXX.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=XXXXXXXXXXX&id=XXXXXXXXXXX&MERGE0=example@email.com

You can fill in more than one field by adding more merge fields in the url:

http://XXXXXXXXXXX.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=XXXXXXXXXXX&id=XXXXXXXXXXX&MERGE0=example@email.com;MERGE1=Daniel Folkes

Then, you can use this jquery to auto open a new window on enter key press:

            $("#ea").keypress(function (e) {
                if (e.which == 13) {
                    e.preventDefault();
                    //dan@dans
                    var url = "//XXXXXXXXXXX.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=XXXXXXXXXXX&id=XXXXXXXXXXX";
                    url += "&MERGE0=" + $("#ea").val(); // ea is my email input text box.
                    window.open(url, "mywindow", "status=1,toolbar=1,resizable=1,width=1000,height=600");
                }
             });

Current Phone Setup – Galaxy S III – Cyanogenmod

dan — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:57:16 +0000

Android: Samsung Galaxy S III (SPH-L710)
Rom: Cyanogenmod 10.12 – Android 4.2.1
Best Features:

Being able to tether through USB and Wifi for free
Using the volume keys to skip tracks
Getting all the up-to-date features of android without worrying about Sprint releasing it for my phone
Other new android features

Moderating Comments on a Freehostia Chocolate Account (Free)

dan — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:08:35 +0000

The problem: Freehostia Free Accounts block outside connections. This means that Akismet can’t access it’s servers and you can’t have spam checking. So, all of your comments are spam spam spam!

I tried to add a captcha, but they got around that. I tried to add Disqus using the plugin, but that failed to install because of the account’s limitations.

But, I was able to add moderated comments to my freehostia site by manually installing Disqus. This is very necessary because otherwise you get hit with a bunch of spammers.

Here is how you manually install Disqus on WordPress.

Create New Disqus Account
Go to your dashboard
Click on your site
Go to Settings
And then click Install
Select Universal Code
Copy that code

In /wp-content/themes/THEMENAME/single.php Replace:

 comments_template( '', true ); ?>

with:

echo '	
 
YOUR COPIED CODE HERE.  
 
    But you must remember to ESCAPE the 
    single quotes with backslashes example: \'
 
	';

Save, Upload, then go to one of your posts. You should see Disqus loading at the bottom.
Remember to setup your Disqus the way you want it. It’s a little restrictive out of the box. You can even add Akismet to Disqus in their admin interface.

Run WordPress and Ruby on Rails using Apache

dan — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:41:21 +0000

Install a LAMP server with apache 2.
Install Rails
Install and Setup WordPress
You should see wordpress here: http://example.com
Then, add this to your apache config’s Virtualhost section:
1. ProxyPass /fakerubypath http://127.0.0.1:3000
Now, start your rails server
1. ./script/rails server
You should now be able to see your ruby site on: http://example.com/fakerubypath

I set mine up: wordpress and rails

Short Domain Name Finder

dan — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:22:35 +0000

This is a short url finder I created.
It checks to see if the domain is available remembers.

Short Domain Name Finder

There is a python script in the background that populates a mysql database which displays it with php.

Installing Diaspora on Ubuntu on VirtualBox

dan — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:12:13 +0000

Installing Diaspora on Ubuntu on VirtualBox

I wrote up a little howto on the Diaspora git hub:
https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/wiki/Installing-Diaspora-on-Ubuntu-on-VirtualBox

Sending Email with PHP, Gmail or Google Apps, Mail, and PEAR on Ubuntu

dan — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:40:42 +0000

First Install Pear, Mail, Mail Mime, Net SMTP. Restart Apache:

sudo apt-get install php-pear
sudo pear install mail
sudo pear install mail_mime
sudo pear install Net_SMTP
sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Here is the PHP code I used to send an email:

try {
	require_once "Mail.php";
 
	$from = "from@example.com";
	$to = "{$email}";
	$subject = "Hi!";
	$body = "Hi,\n\nHow are you?";
 
	$host = "ssl://smtp.gmail.com";
	$port = "465";
	$username = "USERNAME@gmail.com"; //This can also be a Google Apps account
	$password = "PASSWORD";
 
	$headers = array ('From' => $from,
	  'To' => $to,
	  'Subject' => $subject);
	$smtp = Mail::factory('smtp',
	  array ('host' => $host,
		'port' => $port,
		'auth' => true,
		'username' => $username,
		'password' => $password));
 
	$mail = $smtp->send($to, $headers, $body);
 
	if (PEAR::isError($mail)) {
	  echo("" . $mail->getMessage() . "
");
	 } else {
	  echo("Message successfully sent!
");
	 }
} catch (Exception $e) {
	echo 'Caught exception: ',  $e->getMessage(), "\n";
}

Converting a Magnet Link into a Torrent

dan — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:57:20 +0000

UPDATE – 2012-04-30 – User Faless on GitHub has added a good bit of functionality. Check it out.
–

For some reason, my version of the rtorrent client on ubuntu does not open magnet files. So, I wanted to see if there was a way to create torrent files from magnet files. I couldn’t find a good example, so I wrote my own.

This will convert a magnet link into a .torrent file:

First, make sure your system has Python and the Python Library:

sudo apt-get install python-libtorrent

Then, you can run the following code by calling this command:

python Magnet2Torrent.py

File Magnet2Torrent.py:

'''
Created on Apr 19, 2012
@author: dan
'''
 
if __name__ == '__main__':
    import libtorrent as lt
    import time
 
    TorrentFilePath = "/home/dan/torrentfiles/" + str(time.time()) + "/"
    TorrentFilePath2 = "/home/dan/torrentfiles/" + str(time.time()) + "/" + str(time.time()) + ".torrent"
    ses = lt.session()
    #ses.listen_on(6881, 6891)
    params = {
        'save_path': TorrentFilePath,
        'duplicate_is_error': True}
    link = "magnet:?xt=urn:btih:599e3fb0433505f27d35efbe398225869a2a89a9&dn=ubuntu-10.04.4-server-i386.iso&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.publicbt.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.ccc.de%3A80"
    handle = lt.add_magnet_uri(ses, link, params)
#    ses.start_dht()
    print 'saving torrent file here : ' + TorrentFilePath2 + " ..."
    while (not handle.has_metadata()):
        time.sleep(.1)
 
    torinfo = handle.get_torrent_info()
 
    fs = lt.file_storage()
    for file in torinfo.files():
        fs.add_file(file)
    torfile = lt.create_torrent(fs)
    torfile.set_comment(torinfo.comment())
    torfile.set_creator(torinfo.creator())
 
    f = open(TorrentFilePath2 + "torrentfile.torrent", "wb")
    f.write(lt.bencode(torfile.generate()))
    f.close()
    print 'saved and closing...'
 
#Uncomment to Download the Torrent:
#    print 'starting torrent download...'
 
#    while (handle.status().state != lt.torrent_status.seeding):
#        s = handle.status()
#        time.sleep(55)
#        print 'downloading...'

This will create a folder inside of ‘/home/dan/torrentfiles/’ with a structure like:

/home/dan/torrentfiles/545465456.12/545465456.12.torrent
I added this to GitHub if you want to Fork it.

https://github.com/danfolkes/Magnet2Torrent
ENJOY!

Related posts:

Python Torrent Search and Download (TPB)
Python – Cell Phone Number Pad Input
Python: Grab Email from Gmail and Insert into MySql Database

How to Remove All Facebook Friends – Script

dan — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:57:47 +0000

I made a script that will allow you to automatically remove all your Facebook friends at once.

Here is what you are going to need:

Firefox
Selenium IDE (under Selenium IDE paragraph)
You will have to restart Firefox after the plugin installs.
Script File: Facebook – Remove All Friends Script for Selenium IDE.txt

1. Open Firefox, Open Facebook and login!

2. Now, you must open the IDE by going: Firefox > Developer Tools > Selenium IDE (Ctrl + Alt + S on some computers)

3. Load Script File :
In Selenium IDE, do a File > Open > [Select the script file from above]
OK, the script is loaded and should look like this:

4. Test the script before you start by clicking on the individual items and watching what Firefox does. Start by clicking on the first few in order. (open /friends/,click css=… , click=…Report,)

5. If all that seems good, then run the test by doing : Actions > Play Current Test Case.

6. Now you wait. Go get some coffee. You should now see your browser doing a bunch of automated things and wave goodbye to all your precious friends.

Tips:

You can easily modify the script by looking through the documentation.
You can easily lengthen the script by going clicking on the [Source] tab and copy and pasting from OPEN friends to click OK
Or, you can add flow control/loops
You can ask questions here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/selenium
A warning message will not be sent to your friends, so feel free to delete as many friends as you want.

Web Service using JSONP from External Domain – PHP – JQuery

dan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:57:31 +0000

You may want to look at this previous post where I setup a PHP Webservice that uses JSON PDO – Accessed by JQuery AJAX

OK, so this code will use php to generate the JSON code that will get delivered over the internet to the JSONP (JSON Padding) client on an external domain. This allows your webservice to be available too whoever wants to call it.

Here is the PHP Code: (Not all of it, but enough to get the idea)

//http://SERVER_domain.com/webservice.php
private function GetTriviaTag($row) {
	$t = new Tag();
	$t->id = $row['id'];
	$t->triviaid = $row['triviaid'];
	$t->tagid = $row['tagid'];
	return $t;
}
public function GetWhere($where) {
	$retArray;
 
	$sql = "SELECT * FROM trivia_tags WHERE {$where}";
	foreach ($this->pdo->query($sql) as $row)
	{
		$retArray[] = $this->GetTriviaTag($row);
	}
	return $retArray;
}
$where = " (1 = 1)";  // THIS WILL SELECT ALL
$tarray = GetWhere($where);
 
//OUTPUT JSON:
header('Content-type: application/json');
echo $_GET['callback'];  // <-- THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR EXTERNAL DOMAIN ACCESS!!!
echo "(" . json_encode($tarray) . ")";

And now, to access it from javascript in an external domain (non – SERVER_domain.com ):

http://CLIENT_domain.com/Test.html:

<html>
	<head>
		<title>Testtitle>
		<script src="http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.js">
	head>
	<body>
		<div id="triviaQuestions"> loading... div>
		<script>
			$(function() {
				// THE 'callback=?' in this request is IMPORTANT FOR EXTERNAL DOMAIN ACCESS!!!
				$.getJSON('http://SERVER_domain.com/webservice.php&callback=?', function(data) {
					var items = [];
					var htmlResult = "";
					$.each(data, function(key, val) {
						htmlResult += "
Q: "+ val.id +", '"+ val.question +"";
					});
					$('#triviaQuestions').html(htmlResult);
				});
			});
		
	body>
html>

PHP Webservice that uses JSON PDO – Accessed by JQuery AJAX

dan — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:25:58 +0000

You may want to look at this previous post where I setup a Web Service using JSONP from External Domain – PHP – JQuery

The HTML that calls the Javascript:

<div id="taglist"></div>
<input name="searchTags" id="searchTags" type="text" />
<input type="button" name="searchtags" onclick="getTags()" value="search"/>
<div id="tagresult">
</div>

The JavaScript (JQuery) AJAX Request and Response Processing:

function getTags()
	{
		var q = $('#searchTags').val();
		$.getJSON('ws.php?type=tag&wN=name&wO=like&wV=' + q, function(data) {
			var items = [];
			var htmlResult = "";
			$.each(data, function(key, val) {
				//As you can see, you can access the JSON (at the bottom of the page) by doing val.PROPERTYNAME:
				htmlResult += "
Add : \"#\" onclick=\"addTag("+ val.id +", '"+ val.getfullname +"'); return false;\">"+ val.getfullname +"";
			});
			$('#tagresult').html(htmlResult);
		});
	}

PHP Code that returns JSON in the PHP file called by the AJAX: (ws.php)

	$ta = new TagAccess();
	$tarray = $ta->GetTagsWhere(" {$whereName} LIKE '%{$whereVariable}%'");
	header('Content-type: application/json');
	echo "",  json_encode($tarray), "";

The GetTagsWhere Helper Function:

    public function GetTagsWhere($where) {
    	$retArray;
 
    	$sql = "SELECT * FROM tags WHERE {$where}";
    	// THE PDO Object was created previously
	foreach ($this->pdo->query($sql) as $row)
	{
		$retArray[] = $this->GetTag($row);
	}
	return $retArray;
    }

JSON Returned:

[{"id":"4","name":"FICTION","parentid":"3","getfullname":"BOOKS > FICTION"},{"id":"5","name":"NON-FICTION","parentid":"3","getfullname":"BOOKS > NON-FICTION"}]

Fantastic Thrift Store – Hours

dan — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:14:56 +0000

Fan-tastic Thrift Store Hours
Monday: 10am – 6pm
Tuesday: 10am – 6pm
Wednesday: 10am – 6pm
Thursday: 10am – 6pm
Friday: 10am – 6pm
Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: CLOSED

I thought I would call and post what they said since I I couldn’t find the store hours for Fantastic Thrift anywhere online.

ASP.Net Update Panel – Javascript Event – jQuery Click

dan — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:38:47 +0000

I needed to add a onclick event to a textbox in asp.net to change it to remove text from a textbox onClick when it is clicked.
The normal code would look something like this:

1	<asp:TextBox ID="txtStoreLocatorZip" ValidationGroup="CustomerServiceEmail" runat="server" Text="Enter Zip" CssClass="txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass" />

<script>
        if ($('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').val() == 'Enter Zip') {
            $('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').click(function () {
                if ($('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').val() == 'Enter Zip') {
                    $('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').val('');
                }
            });
        }
script>

But, this won’t quite work because my textbox is in a UpdatePanel’s ContentTemplate and the javascript is not read on postback.

So, This is what I ended up doing (a simplified version):

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel2" runat="server" UpdateMode="Conditional">
	<ContentTemplate>
		<asp:TextBox  ID="txtStoreLocatorZip" ValidationGroup="CustomerServiceEmail" runat="server" Text="Enter Zip" CssClass="txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass" />
	ContentTemplate>
asp:UpdatePanel>

<script>
	Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManager.getInstance().add_endRequest(endRequestHandler);
	function endRequestHandler(sender, args) {
		if ($('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').val() == 'Enter Zip') {
			$('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').click(function () {
				if ($('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').val() == 'Enter Zip') {
					$('.txtStoreLocatorZip_CssClass').val('');
				}
			});
		}
	}
script>

This will add an endRequest handler to the end of the partial page postback so that you can call a nice little function at the end of it.

Hope this helps some people!

Roasted Winter Squash Recipe

dan — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:53:09 +0000

Roasted Winter Squash

Recipe:

Winter Squash, or really anything gourd-like.

The spread on top contains:

Some of the squash seeds
Sage
Something spicy, i used jalapeno, but you can use anything with kick, or don’t.
Cinnamon
Salt
Black Pepper
A little oil (olive)

Instruction:
Cut and place squash on cooking sheet, cut/grind up the remaining ingredients, add oil. rub on top.
Cover with tin-foil to prevent burning.
Cook for ~20 min.
Uncover and cook till golden brown/not burnt. (~10)

Bonus tip: throw in the rest of the seeds to cook them too. They are a good snack.

Birds!

dan — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:21:25 +0000

Birds

Google Plus Page

Asp.Net – Adding Parameters to CommandType.Text

dan — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:35:05 +0000

This is how you add parameters to a standard CommandType.Text SQL call.

This should prevent sql injection attacks.

        Using conSQL = New SqlConnection("CONNECTION STRING TO DATABASE")
            Try
                str = "SELECT * FROM TableName where customerid = @CustomerID and CartType = @CartType"
                cmdSQL = New SqlCommand(str, conSQL)
                cmdSQL.CommandType = CommandType.Text
                cmdSQL.Parameters.AddWithValue("@CustomerID", CustomerID)
                cmdSQL.Parameters.AddWithValue("@CartType", cartType)
                cartcount = cmdSQL.ExecuteScalar()
            Catch ex As Exception
                cartcount = 0
            End Try
        End Using

Free Webcam Security – Dorgem – WinSCP

dan — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:59:38 +0000

This is how you setup a free home security webcam using dorgem and winscp.exe.

First Download:

Download WinSCP and install it.http://winscp.net/
Download Dorgem and install it. http://dorgem.sourceforge.net/

Next Configure Dorgem:
Most people are going to want to use the “Web Server” option. This will setup a webserver with your webcam on it…. Pretty straight forward.

But, when I was looking this up, I couldn’t find anywhere that tells you how to use WinSCP. So here I go:

First Configure WinSCP

Open WinSCP
New
Type in all the correct info in session
Make sure you set a default folder under Environment->Directories->Remote Directory
Save… and remember the name of the session
Connect and make sure you set it to remember passwords and everything

Second Configure Dorgem:

Open Dorgem
Preview the source
Click “Store Settings”
- Add
- External Program
- Name it something to remember
- Check Enable
- Command: “C:\Program Files (x86)\WinSCP\winscp.exe” name_of@winscp_session.com /upload %s /defaults
- OK
Click “Capture Now” to test it out.
You should now see a tmp file on the WinSCP server.
If you dont, then you might want to try changing the path to WinSCP in the command or double check the name of the stored WinSCP session in the command.
Then, you can enable motion detection under “options” on the main screen

Hope this helps some people!

Asp DropDownList – States – ListItem Example

dan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:18:17 +0000

Compiled List of US State Drop Downs for Asp.Net Forms:

Hope this helps!

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlState" runat="server">
    <asp:ListItem Value="" Selected="True">Select a Stateasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="AL">Alabamaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="AK">Alaskaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="AZ">Arizonaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="AR">Arkansasasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="CA">Californiaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="CO">Coloradoasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="CT">Connecticutasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="DC">D.C.asp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="DE">Delawareasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="FL">Floridaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="GA">Georgiaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="HI">Hawaiiasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="ID">Idahoasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="IL">Illinoisasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="IN">Indianaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="IA">Iowaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="KS">Kansasasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="KY">Kentuckyasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="LA">Louisianaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="ME">Maineasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MD">Marylandasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MA">Massachusettsasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MI">Michiganasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MN">Minnesotaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MS">Mississippiasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MO">Missouriasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="MT">Montanaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NE">Nebraskaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NV">Nevadaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NH">New Hampshireasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NJ">New Jerseyasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NM">New Mexicoasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NY">New Yorkasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="NC">North Carolinaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="ND">North Dakotaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="OH">Ohioasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="OK">Oklahomaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="OR">Oregonasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="PA">Pennsylvaniaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="RI">Rhode Islandasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="SC">South Carolinaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="SD">South Dakotaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="TN">Tennesseeasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="TX">Texasasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="UT">Utahasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="VT">Vermontasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="VA">Virginiaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="WA">Washingtonasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="WV">West Virginiaasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="WI">Wisconsinasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem value="WY">Wyomingasp:ListItem>
asp:DropDownList>

More State Drop Downs After the fold:

Using the Text Property:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlState" runat="server">
    <asp:ListItem Value="" Selected="True">Select a Stateasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AL" Text="Alabama"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AK" Text="Alaska"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AZ" Text="Arizona"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AR" Text="Arkansas"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="CA" Text="California"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="CO" Text="Colorado"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="CT" Text="Connecticut"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="DC" Text="D.C."/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="DE" Text="Delaware"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="FL" Text="Florida"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="GA" Text="Georgia"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="HI" Text="Hawaii"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="ID" Text="Idaho"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="IL" Text="Illinois"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="IN" Text="Indiana"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="IA" Text="Iowa"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="KS" Text="Kansas"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="KY" Text="Kentucky"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="LA" Text="Louisiana"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="ME" Text="Maine"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MD" Text="Maryland"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MA" Text="Massachusetts"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MI" Text="Michigan"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MN" Text="Minnesota"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MS" Text="Mississippi"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MO" Text="Missouri"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MT" Text="Montana"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NE" Text="Nebraska"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NV" Text="Nevada"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NH" Text="New Hampshire"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NJ" Text="New Jersey"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NM" Text="New Mexico"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NY" Text="New York"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NC" Text="North Carolina"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="ND" Text="North Dakota"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="OH" Text="Ohio"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="OK" Text="Oklahoma"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="OR" Text="Oregon"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="PA" Text="Pennsylvania"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="RI" Text="Rhode Island"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="SC" Text="South Carolina"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="SD" Text="South Dakota"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="TN" Text="Tennessee"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="TX" Text="Texas"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="UT" Text="Utah"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="VT" Text="Vermont"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="VA" Text="Virginia"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WA" Text="Washington"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WV" Text="West Virginia"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WI" Text="Wisconsin"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WY" Text="Wyoming"/>
asp:DropDownList>

Using the Text Property Reversed:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlState" runat="server">
    <asp:ListItem Value="" Selected="True">Select a Stateasp:ListItem>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Alabama" Text="AL"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Alaska" Text="AK"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Arizona" Text="AZ"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Arkansas" Text="AR"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="California" Text="CA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Colorado" Text="CO"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Connecticut" Text="CT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="D.C." Text="DC"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Delaware" Text="DE"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Florida" Text="FL"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Georgia" Text="GA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Hawaii" Text="HI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Idaho" Text="ID"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Illinois" Text="IL"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Indiana" Text="IN"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Iowa" Text="IA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Kansas" Text="KS"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Kentucky" Text="KY"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Louisiana" Text="LA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Maine" Text="ME"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Maryland" Text="MD"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Massachusetts" Text="MA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Michigan" Text="MI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Minnesota" Text="MN"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Mississippi" Text="MS"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Missouri" Text="MO"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Montana" Text="MT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Nebraska" Text="NE"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Nevada" Text="NV"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New Hampshire" Text="NH"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New Jersey" Text="NJ"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New Mexico" Text="NM"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New York" Text="NY"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="North Carolina" Text="NC"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="North Dakota" Text="ND"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Ohio" Text="OH"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Oklahoma" Text="OK"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Oregon" Text="OR"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Pennsylvania" Text="PA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Rhode Island" Text="RI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="South Carolina" Text="SC"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="South Dakota" Text="SD"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Tennessee" Text="TN"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Texas" Text="TX"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Utah" Text="UT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Vermont" Text="VT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Virginia" Text="VA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Washington" Text="WA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="West Virginia" Text="WV"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Wisconsin" Text="WI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Wyoming" Text="WY"/>
asp:DropDownList>

States with just Long Names:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlState" runat="server">
    <asp:ListItem Value="Alabama"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Alaska"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Arizona"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Arkansas"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="California"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Colorado"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Connecticut"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="D.C."/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Delaware"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Florida"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Georgia"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Hawaii"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Idaho"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Illinois"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Indiana"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Iowa"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Kansas"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Kentucky"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Louisiana"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Maine"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Maryland"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Massachusetts"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Michigan"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Minnesota"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Mississippi"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Missouri"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Montana"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Nebraska"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Nevada"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New Hampshire"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New Jersey"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New Mexico"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="New York"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="North Carolina"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="North Dakota"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Ohio"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Oklahoma"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Oregon"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Pennsylvania"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Rhode Island"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="South Carolina"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="South Dakota"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Tennessee"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Texas"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Utah"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Vermont"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Virginia"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Washington"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="West Virginia"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Wisconsin"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="Wyoming"/>
asp:DropDownList>

States with just Short Names:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlState" runat="server">
    <asp:ListItem Value="AL"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AK"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AZ"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="AR"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="CA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="CO"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="CT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="DC"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="DE"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="FL"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="GA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="HI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="ID"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="IL"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="IN"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="IA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="KS"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="KY"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="LA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="ME"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MD"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MN"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MS"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MO"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="MT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NE"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NV"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NH"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NJ"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NM"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NY"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="NC"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="ND"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="OH"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="OK"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="OR"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="PA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="RI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="SC"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="SD"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="TN"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="TX"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="UT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="VT"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="VA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WA"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WV"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WI"/>
    <asp:ListItem Value="WY"/>
asp:DropDownList>

Asp.Net VB – Listview – ItemCommand – DataKeys – CommandName – SQL

dan — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:56:59 +0000

Here is a basic Listview that has an ItemCommand and ItemDataBound:

Frontend Code:

"lvAddresses" runat="server" DataKeyNames="AddressID,BillingAddressID,ShippingAddressID">
        
            "itemPlaceholder" runat="server">
        
        
            "noborder address_book" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
                
                    "2">
                        <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "FirstName")%> <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "LastName")%>

                        <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Address1")%>

                        <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "City")%>, <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "State")%>, <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Zip")%>

                        <%#DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Phone")%>

                        "caption">"lnkMakeDefault_Billing" CommandName="MakeDefault_Billing" runat="server">Click to make Default Billing Address
                        "caption">"litMakeDefault_Billing" runat="server" Text="Default Billing Address">
                        

                        "caption">"lnkMakeDefault_Shipping" CommandName="MakeDefault_Shipping" runat="server">Click to make Default Shipping Address
                        "caption">"litMakeDefault_Shipping" runat="server" Text="Default Shipping Address">
                    
                
                
                    
                        "Button1" runat="server" Text="EDIT" CommandName="EDITAddress"/>
                    
                    
                        "btnREMOVE" runat="server" Text="REMOVE" CommandName="REMOVEAddress"/>

Backend Code:

Protected Sub Page_PreRender(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.PreRender
 
        FindIt()
 
    End Sub
    Private Sub FindIt()
 
        lblAddresses.Text = ""
 
        Dim sqlDataConnection As System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection = CDataAccess.OpenDatabase
        Dim conStr As String = sqlDataConnection.ConnectionString
        sqlDataConnection.Close()
 
        Dim selectCommand As String = "SELECT Address.*, Customer.BillingAddressID, Customer.ShippingAddressID"
        selectCommand &= " FROM Address INNER JOIN Customer ON Address.CustomerID = Customer.CustomerID"
        selectCommand &= " WHERE Address.CustomerID = @CustomerID AND Address.Deleted = 0"
 
        Dim sds As New SqlDataSource()
        sds.ConnectionString = conStr
        sds.SelectParameters.Clear()
 
        sds.SelectParameters.Add("CustomerID", 12345)
        sds.SelectCommand = selectCommand
 
        lvAddresses.DataSource = sds
        lvAddresses.DataBind()
    End Sub
 
    Protected Sub lvAddresses_ItemCommand(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListViewCommandEventArgs) Handles lvAddresses.ItemCommand
        Dim dataItem As ListViewDataItem = e.Item
        Dim currentDataKey As DataKey = lvAddresses.DataKeys(dataItem.DataItemIndex)
        Dim AddressID As Integer = currentDataKey("AddressID")
        Dim BillingAddressID As Integer = currentDataKey("BillingAddressID")
        Dim ShippingAddressID As Integer = currentDataKey("ShippingAddressID")
 
        'MakeDefault_Billing
        'MakeDefault_Shipping
        'EDITAddress
        'REMOVEAddress
        If String.Equals(e.CommandName, "MakeDefault_Billing") Then
            MakeDefault(AddressID, True)
        ElseIf String.Equals(e.CommandName, "MakeDefault_Shipping") Then
            MakeDefault(AddressID, False)
        ElseIf String.Equals(e.CommandName, "EDITAddress") Then
            EditAddress(AddressID)
        ElseIf String.Equals(e.CommandName, "REMOVEAddress") Then
            RemoveAddress(AddressID)
        End If
    End Sub
 
    Protected Sub lvAddresses_ItemDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Web.UI.WebControls.ListViewItemEventArgs) Handles lvAddresses.ItemDataBound
        Dim dataItem As ListViewDataItem = e.Item
 
        If e.Item.ItemType = ListViewItemType.DataItem Then
            Dim currentDataKey As DataKey = lvAddresses.DataKeys(dataItem.DataItemIndex)
            Dim AddressID As Integer = currentDataKey("AddressID")
            Dim BillingAddressID As Integer = currentDataKey("BillingAddressID")
            Dim ShippingAddressID As Integer = currentDataKey("ShippingAddressID")
            lit = e.Item.FindControl("litMakeDefault_Billing")
            Dim lit2 As Literal = e.Item.FindControl("litMakeDefault_Shipping")
            lnk = e.Item.FindControl("lnkMakeDefault_Billing")
            Dim lnk2 As LinkButton = e.Item.FindControl("lnkMakeDefault_Shipping")
 
            lit.Visible = Not lnk.Visible
        End If
 
    End Sub

Micaela’s Family

dan — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:28:22 +0000

ASPDotNetStoreFront: Adding Topic to XML Packages or .aspx Pages

dan — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:07:22 +0000

This is how you add a DotNetStoreFront’s Topic into a XMLPackage:

select="aspdnsf:Topic('TOPIC_NAME')" disable-output-escaping="yes"/>

Now, if you want to add it to a .aspx or .ascx page on dnsf:

"server" ID="Topic1" TopicName="TOPIC_NAME" />

Me and Micaela at the Beach

dan — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:03:01 +0000

Me and Micaela at the Beach, originally uploaded by danfolkes.

yeah.. we cool

Simple PHP Pseudo Proxy

dan — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:51:56 +0000

This is the code for a simple php pseudo proxy. If you are blocked by a firewall and google cache isn’t working for some reason. You can use a url with this php file in it:


$filename = $_GET["url"];
if (isset($filename))
{
        $handle = fopen($filename, "rb");
        $contents = stream_get_contents($handle);
        print $contents;
        fclose($handle);
}
else
{
        echo "url";
?>




}
?>

Then you can go to where the url is hosted and try something like this:

index.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.last.fm%2Fuser%2Fdanfolkes%2Fcharts%3Frangetype%3D6month%26subtype%3Dartists

FoxToPhone – Send Links from Firefox to Android – (Like ChromeToPhone)

dan — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:41:47 +0000

Just found out about FoxToPhone.

It gives you a little button in Firefox that allows you to send it to be opened by your browser on your Android phone.

The integration is seamless and it works like a charm.
Useful Links:

Firefox Plugin: FoxToPhone
Android App: Google Chrome to Phone

Small After Lunch Motorcycle Ride

dan — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:39:56 +0000

Google Maps Link

This was a fun little motorcycle ride after my lunch break today.
Bon Air, VA

curves
hills
train tracks
not a ton of traffic
paved

Facebook Website Integration – HTML

dan — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:40:03 +0000

To integrate Facebook on to a website without the use of a facebook app you need these things:

Facebook Page RSS Feed (can be tricky)
Feedburner Account (free,easy) (here)

Once you have both of those things you can do this in feedburner:

Add a new feed (your facebook url)
Go to the publicize tab
Go to BuzzBoost
Sroll down and fill out the form, you will be given html code.

Preview:

And that’s it!
You can now style it up a little bit with some CSS and stuff.

Java – Singleton / Global – Data Access – SQLite

dan — Fri, 20 May 2011 16:21:10 +0000

This will make a Java global object:

import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
 
import com.almworks.sqlite4java.SQLite;
import com.almworks.sqlite4java.SQLiteConnection;
import com.almworks.sqlite4java.SQLiteException;
import com.almworks.sqlite4java.SQLiteJob;
import com.almworks.sqlite4java.SQLiteQueue;
import com.almworks.sqlite4java.SQLiteStatement;
 
public final class DataAccess {
	// Singleton Stuff
	private static class SingletonHolder { 
	     public static final DataAccess INSTANCE = new DataAccess();
	}
	public static DataAccess getInstance() {
	     return SingletonHolder.INSTANCE;
	}
	// End Singleton Stuff
 
 
	private String HomePath = "";
	private File DBFile;
	private static SQLiteQueue queue;
	private boolean initalized = false;
 
	private DataAccess()
	{
		if (!initalized)
		{
			initDB();
 
			initalized = true;
		}
	}
 
	private void initDB()
	{
		DBFile = locateDBFile();
		DeleteDatabaseContents();
	}
	private File locateDBFile()
	{
		File f = null;
		try{
			HomePath = System.getProperty("user.home");
    	    System.out.println("HomePath: " + HomePath);
    	    f = new File(HomePath + "/database.sqlite");
    	    if (f.canRead())
    	    	return f;
    	    else
    	    {
        	    boolean success = f.createNewFile();
        	    if (success) {
        	        // File did not exist and was created
        	    } else {
        	        // File already exists
 
        	    }
    	    }
    	} catch (IOException e) {
    		//Maybe try a new directory.
    	}
		return f;
	}
 
	private void DeleteDatabaseContents()
	{
		queue.execute(new SQLiteJob<Object>() 
		{
		    protected Object job(SQLiteConnection connection) throws SQLiteException 
		    {
		      // this method is called from database thread and passed the connection
				StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
				sb.append("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS Playlist;");
				sb.append("DROP TABLE IF EXISTS Settings;");
				//sb.append("DELETE FROM someTable;");
				//sb.append("DELETE FROM someTable;");
 
 
				connection.exec(sb.toString());
				return null;
		    }
		});
	}
	public String getHomePath()
	{
		return HomePath;
	}
}

Now you can run this from anywhere:

DataAccess da;
da = DataAccess.getInstance();

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singleton_pattern