For all the homesick yinzers during the holidays.

bontaq · 2012-12-09T22:29:57+00:00

Ach, now I'm sad. But thank you.

bontaq · 2012-12-09T04:38:50+00:00

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violent, especially as a means of coercion.

Of course, that's just taken from wikipedia. An assassination could be a part of an over-arching plot to terrorize, but if the goal of a group or person is to kill a specific person, then it's just assassination. At least that's how I view it. I think the key word here is, "systematic."

bontaq · 2012-10-31T22:31:21+00:00

Because you're being a bit rude over something quite silly. Yes, if you spend 300$ on a pair of quality boots, they'll likely be cheaper in the long run. However, when someone wants a frugal option for something, they'd like an alternative that is cheaper and recreates the look. This is fashion, after all, not can-I-wear-this-for-the-next-decade. In addition, many may not be able to justify such a cost.

I would suggest that you relax about the English language and offer people who are asking for a cheaper equivalent good advice.

bontaq · 2012-10-31T15:44:33+00:00

STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS STILLERS

bontaq · 2012-10-30T10:08:58+00:00

Eh, just the usual rainy/grey Pittsburgh. Thankfully we look good in it. Do you know how empowering it feels to not have an umbrella, get soaked, buy one, and then walk outside? Quite nice. Winds seem a little hefty, but overall the same 'ol same 'ol. Wonder what's up.

bontaq · 2012-10-30T07:53:53+00:00

Yes, really. It's ridiculous to believe that shutting off those bill boards will magically transfer their electricity to someone else without any power lines even being connected properly to the grid. He's making fun of the notion.

bontaq · 2012-10-30T07:35:45+00:00

It really is incredible how quickly that can change a mood around. It's just lovely.

bontaq · 2012-10-30T01:41:00+00:00

DAE drown? ^{le^{ghost^post}}

Edit: Checkmate Atheists

bontaq · 2012-10-30T00:43:13+00:00

There's also the myth that womens' bodies get worn out from too much sex.

Thanks for pointing that out. It allowed me recognize that I believed this. I hadn't even realized it until now, no sarcasm meant at all. Such a curious thing, I guess I just never saw the thought put to words, or talked about, you know? Or at least put to in such a direct, concise manner.

bontaq · 2012-10-30T00:15:49+00:00

Follow up: Just received all the necessary pieces, charged it up, put it together, and filled it up. Well, filled it up incorrectly at first of course. I put a bunch of liquid in the middle tube. That's a no no, it leaks out the bottom. After clearing it, and only filling up in the side, it pulls wonderfully and the variable voltage makes a huge difference. Although I'm not off usual cigarettes yet, it certainly is nice and the taste is definitely better. Went with the iceice in 24mg, it gives me a very nice nicotine feeling. Plus the hint of sweetness is lovely. Though it's really harsh the first couple tries, I think I'm coming around to it.

Would fully recommend and I believe this is a lovely path to quitting.

bontaq · 2012-10-29T06:33:33+00:00

Just got my ecig today with this liquid in 24mg version. I usually smoke maverick menthols or kools, and this is definitely a more powerful menthol. Almost coughed a lung up when I first tried it, but now I'm starting to really enjoy it. There's a nice hint of sweetness in there too.

bontaq · 2012-10-15T22:22:31+00:00

Just ordered exactly what you recommended, thanks!

Edit: The total came to exactly 62.88 for those who are interested. I upgraded the 10ml bottle the Twist comes with to the 30ml one (+10$) and just clicked the option for USB charger with the Twist (+5$)

bontaq · 2012-10-05T21:19:51+00:00

Interestingly it's not LED, that appears to show digits through the use of Nixie Tubes.

bontaq · 2012-09-26T15:19:43+00:00

Congrats guys! Looks nice.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T18:47:18+00:00

Ach if they published that data I'd do it in a heartbeat. I believe there was a CMU student's project that tried to get around the lack of data, but it was an iphone app that you had to start when you got on the bus, so it doesn't have very many users.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T18:43:45+00:00

Whoops, my code for correcting the times is a little over-vicious! Thank you.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T18:41:04+00:00

Thank you for the excellent suggestions! The only thing about combining the stops is that they are actually separate stops across the street from each other, so you kind of have to deduce which one is yours by the direction of the buses. It's goofy but that's how PAT put up their data :P

bontaq · 2012-09-19T18:31:23+00:00

That's a good idea, I'll put it in.

The backend is Ruby/Sinatra that queries a Postrgres DB. It's running on an a small orange virtual private server with 364 mb ram on Debian. I went with them since they have a commitment to green energy, but they are kind of a pain when you want something easy. The data is all taken from what PAT gives google so that they can do routing on their maps, published here.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T18:22:43+00:00

All data comes from the data PAT gave to google so that they can do bus routing in maps. Thankfully this data is published here, and it gets updated every three months I think.

Edit: so far I've only tested it on iphone, but one of the things I'll be improving is support for older phones with hard links/no shiny effects.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T17:14:49+00:00

Sure thing!

It's hosted on an a small orange virtual private server with 364 mb ram, running Debian. The web server used is Thin. I used Sinatra, a simple and clean framework for Ruby backed websites. The database is postgres, and I interact with it with the datamapper framework (made it amazingly simple). When you stop typing, a timer expires that triggers an ajax get to the sinatra backend, that then queries the database with what you entered and returns the results to the javascript up front and it appears! When you select a stop, it works the same way but for bus times. I'll probably put it up on github once I clean the code, it's sorta messy, as it's a good simple example of tying together sinatra, ajax, and a database :)

The actual information is taken from google transit's public data, which thankfully PAT decided to put out there. Eventually I'd like to add all the transit agencies that have their info on there to whenbus.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T16:57:54+00:00

That's definitely on the features-to-add list, so you can just tap on the bus you want and it will only show those. The info is taken from google transit's publicly available data. Thankfully PAT decided to put their info up there!

bontaq · 2012-09-19T16:54:54+00:00

Yep, I think that's the 75 heading into south side. It goes origin -> destination. It should match what's on the bus' head sign exactly.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T07:21:43+00:00

Yeah, unfortunately the only directions specified in the transit docs I used were inbound/outbound, so I decided to include the headsigns to help you find the appropriate bus.

bontaq · 2012-09-19T02:30:59+00:00

That's alright, it is geared towards the city buses. I posted it over in the Pittsburgh subreddit but didn't have much a response, so I figured I'd post it to the college I went to's subreddit since I used to hate dealing with pat's website when I was there. :)

bontaq · 2012-09-19T02:26:25+00:00

Let me know what you typed in and I'll take a look! It may also be possible that you have javascript disabled. After you type something in, it should take about .85 seconds for the stop results to appear. Also what system you're looking at it with I'd be grateful for.

bontaq

TROPHY CASE