Living in the Future

Tag: Projects

  • Dear Taylor, Love Rob

    Dear Taylor, Love Rob

    She’s kiiiiind of a big fan.

    Dear Taylor,

    You’ve got a lot going on. Last month, a letter you wrote on your blog helped potentially millions of young musicians to get paid during Apple Music’s 3-month free trial. Not to mention that you’ve been on a world tour spanning 7 countries and several continents since May. How you find the time for a 4th of July celebration with so many of your friends this past weekend is totally beyond me.

    Anyhow, the reason I’m writing this is to let you know about your most incredible fan. She’s my fiancée, and her name is Julia de Carlo. Last year, when your 1989 tour tickets went on sale, Julia decided she would have her bachelorette party at your concert that is happening tonight. She bought 5 tickets to the show the day they went on sale, and sadly she wasn’t able to get 5 seats together (but the girls will work something out).

    Almost immediately after those tickets were bought, I decided that I needed to do something big to try to show you just how much Julia is looking forward to your show and potentially meeting you. I thought hard about it for weeks and decided to coin the name #Taylorette1989 for the entire bachelorette weekend. In February, I released the first video I made to tell you and our friends all about Julia’s bachelorette, and her love for you and your music. She even made her Tumblr all about her love for you and her excitement for this concert.

    Julia is such an incredible person, she’s smart, cute, funny, sexy, adorable, fun, outgoing, generous, loving, loyal, and she’s an incredibly inspiring elementary school teacher. If anybody deserves a little face time with you, this woman does. I would do absolutely anything to help her see her dreams realized.

    So, that first video and other #Taylorette1989 video projects have been shared a ton on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, but obviously it was going to take something truly special to get this message to you. Julia and her fellow Taylorettes have really gone all out making signs and costumes for your concert tonight. You can search #Taylorette1989 on Twitter to see what I’m talking about. I’ve done everything I can to help, but at this point all I can do is hope that tonight, the stars will align and she will get a chance to meet you.

    It was my birthday this past Saturday, and all I’ve really been wishing for is that Julia’s wish to meet you will be granted tonight. I hope with all my heart that her excitement will be enough to bubble over and you’ll be able to see just how much she loves you as an artist and a person.

    Thanks a lot Taylor, from myself and from Julia, and I hope tonight and the rest of your world tour is incredible!

    Love Rob

    ps. Here is just some of the noise Julia and her Taylorettes having been making lately!

    !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?’http’:’https’;if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+”://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);

  • Startups and Summertime (June 18-23)

    Startups and Summertime (June 18-23)

    Not a whole lots to say this week, except that my order of Soylent has made it to Ottawa, and is waiting for me at the Canada Post office by my house for pickup. I am excited to give it a try, and hope to write and talk about it a whole bunch very soon!

    Here are the shows on +Unwind Media this week, we had a very popular episode of Ottawhat where we talked about startups, and Nick missed +Future Chat but we had fun anyways! Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a show!

    Ottawhat? 57 – Franco Varriano (Startup Grind Ottawa/Hack to Start/etc.)
    This episode features our conversation with Franco Varriano. He helps organize and run networking events for young entrepreneurs all over the city. He’s w…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Future Chat 63 – Maybe I Like Selling Myself
    This week, storing electricity like plants do, we try DuckDuckGo, and no more trans fats. And, find out how Mike trying FlexDelivery has gone so far, and…
    RSS |
    iTunes
  • Soylent, Apple Watch and #DistractinglySexy

    Soylent, Apple Watch and #DistractinglySexy

    The entire Unwind Media library is now available on SoundCloud. We did it! Anyhow, now that the transformation of all the shows is complete, a lot more time just opened up for interesting new things…who knows what this summer will bring?

    Today, I ordered a 7-day supply of Soylent from a California company called Rosa Labs. It’s a nutritional replacement with all the essential carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals a human needs to survive. It comes in a powder that you mix with water and consume over the course of a day. I’m not sure I’ll like it, but I’m really excited about what it will be like. I’ve been asked to document it, so I’ll definitely be trying this. It just recently started shipping to Canada.

    In a little sadder news, though Apple Watch is now available for in-store pickup, I won’t be getting one this summer. Real life wins again 🙁

    Anyhow, here are the shows from Unwind Media this week. I sincerely hope you enjoy them if you choose to listen! We had a great chat on Future Chat about the #DistractinglySexy hashtag and the sexism that seems to keep popping up in science. Subscribe if you do so you’ll be able to keep apprised of new episodes without this weekly post!

    Ottawhat? #56 – Evan Nip & Shane Hunter (Alpaca Party Productions)
    This week, we spoke to Evan and Shane from Alpaca Party Productions. They do a weekly podcast and a web series called A Mouthful of Shane. We talked about…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Future Chat 62 – Can Technology Cure Stupid?
    This week, we talk sexiness in science labs, really old dinosaur blood cells, and so so much space news…
    RSS |
    iTunes
  • Licensing Issues for Feedback…hmmm (Unwind Media | June 3 – 9)

    Licensing Issues for Feedback…hmmm (Unwind Media | June 3 – 9)

    This week, I finished moving Future Chat to SoundCloud, and by next week the entire Unwind Media back library will be over there!

    Feedback: The Music Volume I is nearing the date I said it would be out. I’m currently debating options for release, and trying to navigate doing it in as legal as way as possible, but without also spending too much money just to release it. Stay tuned, and if you know anything about this murky legal area or have released covers before, please do let me know!

    Ottawhat? #55 – Jenni Beharry
    In this episode, we spoke to culinary nutrition expert Jenni Beharry. She’s trained in human geography, television broadcasting, and nutrition, and she’s…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Future Chat 61 – Nick’s Liberal Agenda
    In this episode, we talk about the newly discovered link between the brain and the immune system, give a look ahead to WWDC this week, and find out about…
    RSS |
    iTunes
  • iOS 9 First Impressions (from the future)

    iOS 9 First Impressions (from the future)

    I’ve been writing part-time for MobileSyrup for a little over a month now, and since this piece is as topical as it will ever be, here is the writing sample I provided that got me started there.

    These are my predictions of what we can expect from Apple in the next version of their mobile operating system, iOS 9, written as if it has just been publicly released, in September 2015.

    As it stands, iOS 9 will be announced for the first time to developers next week, on June 8th in San Francisco, and you’ll know I’ll be watching intently! Without any further ado, here are my impressions of iOS 9!

    As we’ve come to expect in September, the final version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 9, was released today. Last year’s release of iOS 8 gave users a whole new set of tools to quickly access information contained in their apps in a secure, controlled way, with keyboards, app extensions and today widgets. Developers and users were all very excited by this new and unexpected openness from Apple, while some feel that they could have gone further still.

    With iOS 9, Apple have opened up even more, making several changes that users have been frequently asking for in the last year. There has also been a focus on stability and security in iOS 9, and the platform feels a lot more consistent than it has since the release of iOS 8 one year ago. The larger iPhone sizes are also slowly changing the way we interact with iOS, and the interfaces of many apps are changing and improving to reflect that.

    Some of the biggest changes to iOS this year are designed to bring the newly released Apple Watch into closer step with the iPhone. A new overhaul of the contacts app will allow you to set a global VIP contact list for notifications, including integration with your Twitter and Facebook contacts. You will also be able to get public transit information through Apple Maps directly, meaning that your shiny new Apple Watch will be able to let you know when buses nearby will be arriving. The update also brings the ability to reply to messages directly from notifications in third-party applications, both on the iPhone and on the Apple Watch. Finally, the Beats Music service, purchased by Apple in 2014, is now built-in to the iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing you to stream professionally curated playlists that combine the music you have on your phone with music in the Beats Music catalogue. The update also brings the Beats Music collection into iTunes on your computer, and allows you to pick up your music where you left off on your computer when you’re heading out the door.

    Some of the other new features that are welcome additions to the platform include:

    • A system-wide low-power mode that will kick in automatically and disable background activity when your phone is running out of juice.
    • The ability to set non-Apple apps as default, including mail, web browsing, and camera apps from an approved list (and allowing users to remove default Apple apps from their home screens completely). Third-party apps will also now be able to work with Handoff more easily work, allowing you to quickly move between iOS devices and Macs, especially when using non-Apple apps.
    • Updates to the photos app that include an incognito mode and corresponding folder for pictures that you don’t wish to automatically upload to iCloud Photo Library or other cloud services. iOS 9 also includes a new API for photos that will simplify the auto-uploading process, sending your photos from iCloud directly to third-party applications like Dropbox and Google+, rather than uploading multiple copies from your phone.

    All of these changes are welcome additions to the platform, focused mainly on enabling users to complete simple or complex tasks in less time. All of this in turn saves battery life as well as using less of your monthly data allotment, something we can all get excited about. Several changes to iOS are designed to push quick interactions to the Apple Watch, which is also an important move. The value added by pairing your phone to an Apple Watch will likely continue to grow as the platform matures and more users and developers really start to see what the watch can do for them.

    There has been a lot of discussion in the last year about the decreasing stability of iOS, with some pundits suggesting Apple should slow down and make sure to get the details right with their software releases. This update really does seem to be the best of both worlds so far, with a slough of new features sure to impress new and old users alike, while the stability of the device in day-to-day use appears to be a return to expectations from a company with such high quality standards.

    As it was last year with the release of app extensions, the full nature of this update likely won’t be realized until third-party developers have the ability to take full advantage of the new features in their applications. Developers will also inevitably continue to refine their applications as use cases shift, and it will soon be required that interfaces purposefully adapt to larger phones and the usefulness of an accompanying Apple Watch.

    We will continue looking through the update and share anything else we come across in the coming days and weeks.

  • Sheldon Cooper and Brew Donkey (Unwind Media | May 28 – June 2)

    Sheldon Cooper and Brew Donkey (Unwind Media | May 28 – June 2)

    This week in Unwind Media, things calmed down just a little bit. I finished my first full month of professional writing for Mobile Syrup, which is just such an awesome sentence to have written!

    Future Chat has moved from it’s old home at www.futurechat.me, to a new home at UnwindMedia.com/FutureChat! It’s a lot cleaner, and easier to subscribe, so tell your friends! Stay tuned for a lot more cool stuff this summer!

    Ottawhat? #54 – Brad Campeau (Brew Donkey)
    In this episode, we met up with the founder of Brew Donkey, a beer delivery and local brewery tour company. We learned about why business school convinced…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Future Chat #60 – Some Sheldon Cooper‑esque Dialogue
    In this episode, we discuss our favourite new things from Google I/O, go deeper on bike lanes, and we determine Mike would be a terrible research dictator…
    RSS |
    iTunes
  • #ABpoli, Orange Crush, and Archives (Unwind Media | May 20-27)

    #ABpoli, Orange Crush, and Archives (Unwind Media | May 20-27)

    It was another full week on Unwind Media, and I’m happy to let you know we finally recorded another episode of East Meets West, discussing, among other things, the recent NDP sweep of the Albertan Provincial government.

    If you still haven’t gotten your #Taylorette1989 videos out, or at the very least shared your stories, now would be the time to do so! Taylorette itself is a little under 6 weeks away!

    On a final, new note about Unwind Media, I’ve been working hard to bring you show archives, so you can now find those if you go to any of the show pages below. I have no idea if any of you will find that useful, but it was one of those fun learning experiences getting the code working properly, and it seemed worth it to me!

    East Meets West #7 – Verba Difficiles Sunt
    Rob and Nick are joined by special guest and Future Chat co-host Mike Attrell to discuss the outcome of the recent Alberta election, and the NDP Crushing…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Ottawhat? #53 – Alexis Scott (Vacant House Theatre)
    This week on Ottawhat, we sat down with Alexis Scott. She’s one of the co-founders of Vacant House Theatre, a company that is putting on a production of F…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Future Chat #59 – Don Quixote Syndrome Took Over
    This week, we talk Let’s Talk Science funding, wind turbines with no blades, and look forward to Google I/O later in the week…
    RSS |
    iTunes
  • Share your favourite thing about Julia, and your best Taylor Swift memory for #Taylorette1989!

    Share your favourite thing about Julia, and your best Taylor Swift memory for #Taylorette1989!

    Hey friends and readers, July 6 is coming up fast! If you need to get up to speed, check out this post. For the next phase of #Taylorette1989, I’m asking everybody to share something about Julia telling Taylor why she deserves an extra-special bachelorette party, and also telling me about their favourite memory involving Taylor Swift. Either make your own video, or write it down and share your memories along with #Taylorette1989.

    As for me, if you aren’t going to watch the video above, I think that Julia is by far the nicest person I know. I love her so much, she’s sweet, smart, beautiful, and she is the world’s biggest Taylor Swift fan. My favourite Taylor Swift moment has to be singing along to Taylor’s album in the car with Julia, but seeing her perform in Toronto, with fireworks and a packed Rogers Centre is a very close second.


    If you don’t have a memory or something about Julia to share, please consider using the sharing buttons under the video to like or share the video! Thanks!
  • SoundCloud, Writing, and #Taylorette1989 heats up. (Unwind Media; May 7-13)

    SoundCloud, Writing, and #Taylorette1989 heats up. (Unwind Media; May 7-13)

    This week we made a couple of substantial changes on Unwind Media, most notably we’re making the transition to hosting audio files on SoundCloud, as opposed to Archive.org. I’m pretty excited for that, and I even wrote a little bit about some of the neat tricks I am using now to get those files to work with podcast clients and on the podcast website while keeping the setup simple.

    I also wrote a little more for MobileSyrup, rather than linking to all of them, you can find those stories by using a custom Google Search (for ‘site:mobilesyrup.com “Rob Attrell” ‘)one of the hosts on Unwind Media and my cousin, +Mike Attrell, came up with to find things I’ve written.

    In other news, #Taylorette1989 is entering its next phase, as +Taylor Swift begins her world tour and gets ready to launch her latest music video. Look for more on that in the next week! As well, there’s a new episode of Feedback coming before the end of the week, so that means a fun conversation, AND 2 more cover tunes from Damien and BL in the next week or so! Stay tuned!

    Ottawhat? #51 – Mark Holst (Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts)
    On Ottawhat this week, we met former UFC fighter and Ottawa native Mark “Boots” Holst. He spoke to us about his experiences in the ring, teaching the new…
    RSS |
    iTunes 
    Future Chat #57 – What’s Slow About a Bear
    In this episode, Tesla goes gangbusters, it’s zeppelins vs. dirigibles, and trucks are driving themselves in Nevada. Get excited, because we’ll be deliver…
    RSS |
    iTunes
  • Adventures in Podcasting with SoundCloud (Volume I)

    Adventures in Podcasting with SoundCloud (Volume I)

    .code {
    text-align: left;
    font-weight: bold;
    line-height: 1;
    }

    I’ve been podcasting and building my website for a couple of years now, and I thought it would be useful to some people if I talked about some of the things I’ve gone through in getting my site up and running that I couldn’t find anywhere else on the Internet. This one is all about podcasting efficiently with SoundCloud.

    Now, I’m not a professional programmer by ANY stretch, but I like getting my feet wet with little bits of code from time to time. I also podcast a few times a week, and sometimes I’m lucky enough that these hobbies overlap! I recently moved my podcasts to SoundCloud, and they have a really nice web player (check out unwindmedia.com/feedback for a prime example). But I wanted to simplify my life and use one link for the RSS feed and for the web player embed.

    Luckily, they use a unique ID number for each upload to SoundCloud, it’s just a matter of finding it. It is a 9-digit number smack in the middle of the enclosure URL that SoundCloud uses for RSS, something like this:

    http://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/204094299-channelname-episodename.mp3

    With a bit of Regex and replace magic (/.*/(d+)-.*/, “$1”) and some simple jQuery, I can extract that number, plunk it into the embed URL (see this page), and stick that into your container div.

    Once you have that embed URL, you just have to put in all the embed options you want for your widget, and you’re good to go!

    As SoundCloud opens up their platform to make it easier for podcasters, I hope this helps you simplify your life. I personally used this code on my Blogger site (unwindmedia.com) so I can have an audio player on my site that uses the enclosure link for the podcast episode, but in SoundCloud’s native player. It’s working incredibly well and I’m moving all my shows to this template in the coming weeks.

    The code I used is below, and you can see it in action online at unwindmedia.com! If you have any questions please ask and I’ll give you all the details you could ever want!

    EDIT (May 8): I made the code a lot simpler and got rid of redundant divs. Hopefully this is even simpler now.

    Pictured: Fun for Rob

    <div class=’”sound-container-” + “POST-ID”‘/>

     <script>
        $(document).ready(function() {

            var idVal = ‘POST-ID’;

            var idTrack = ‘ENCLOSURE-URL’;

            var encl = idTrack.replace(/.*/(d+)-.*/, “$1”);

            var open = “<iframe frameborder=’no’ height=’160′ scrolling=’no’ src=’https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/”;

            var close = “&color=1C4E94&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_artwork=false’ width=’100%’/>”;

            $(‘.sound-container-‘ + idVal).append(open + encl + close);

        });
    </script>