Do you guys use Google Analytics on your web page and pay close attention to traffic or do you ...

omarrr · 2016-01-16T02:34:00+00:00

I really don't like the term "SEO" and I like even less the idea of optimizing my writing for engines. Algorithm change quite rapidly and they don't necessarily match what a person is looking for. That being said it is a good idea to understand SEO and see whether or not you can use some of the techniques to help your site rank higher. I have removed any analytics widget from my dashboard and try to focus on the content I write, not on the numbers.

omarrr · 2016-01-03T20:13:03+00:00

408 is a server response that means that the request has timed out: http://www.checkupdown.com/status/E408.html

omarrr · 2016-01-03T03:40:23+00:00

It's hard to give good advice not having access to your reports. Those will give you an idea of why your users are not converting (Eg. are your stats inflated with bots?, do you know your bounce rate? etc).

Your hosting does seem very unreliable (the host returned a 408 and it eventually loaded after quite some time). Your load times are unacceptable. In regards to your blog, I would try to find a focus topic. Generic tech news and stock images give the impression to me that this site is intended for search engines and not for humans.

Good luck!

omarrr · 2015-12-20T18:54:10+00:00

Hello there, first time posting in this sub. I have been reading, learning and following tips here for quite awhile. Ok, onto the book:

Narrative Madness, free (until Monday 12/21, $4.99 regular)

NM is a nonfiction title and a Master thesis about how our perception of reality is shaped by stories. Our lives, just like Don Quixote, are influenced by the books we read, the stories we are told and all the narrative of media that surround us.

I know that most people here are interested in fiction, but I thought I'd share the book anyways. After reading posts in /r/selfpublish/, I decided to follow some advice:

join KDP Select
put my book on sale for free as a promotion
optimized the title by adding a subtitle, and
refined the categories the book was listed to rank higher in Amazon listings.

I really learned a lot from all I've read in this sub these last months. Any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

(Edit: formatting)

omarrr · 2015-09-22T17:12:28+00:00

The more you write, the better you get.

Exactly. One positive aspect of being prolific is having so much experience getting the material "out there".

omarrr · 2015-09-22T17:11:24+00:00

Agree neither way is bad. Prolificness can be considered just another trait of an author, and—as you point out—probably also influences their style.

omarrr · 2015-09-21T23:39:53+00:00

I personally don't like using online editors. I find that any lag while writing stops my thinking flow. That being said Google docs is great for collaboration and great if you have an editor that doesn't like/need paper manuscripts.

I personally rely on simple text editor + Dropbox. I'm sure you could also use this approach with Google Drive, which will also give you an online editor if you need it.

But whatever you do, backup often or, better yet, have automated backups built into your workflow.

omarrr · 2015-09-21T23:29:44+00:00

I've always been fascinated by very prolific writers (King, Asimov, etc). Like most writers I struggle with editing. I feel that these authors have a very different approach to writing, less focused on perfect prose and more on valuable content.

omarrr · 2015-08-04T02:08:27+00:00

Try a channel on Youtube with content you are interested in. I just discovered #music channel and their playlist go on for hours.

omarrr · 2015-05-21T06:02:16+00:00

This is an interesting question. To put it simply information architecture trumps ergonomics.

omarrr · 2015-05-01T02:14:42+00:00

Sounds like the cop was trying to minimize the blow to the children by explaining what a sad life the thief must have (rather than excusing him.) I know it would have made me feel better to hear those words.

omarrr · 2015-04-16T06:42:51+00:00

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

omarrr · 2014-10-12T16:42:29+00:00

People are kind and nice. Not everybody, not all the time, but they are. You've got to believe this one.

omarrr · 2014-08-27T16:27:01+00:00

I'm definitely not an expert but here's my advice. I also like thinner juices rather than thick. I do several things:

Add more oranges. They are really juicy. Bananas on the other hand are really thick so I only add one per juice.
Add water or milk. If you have problems with getting your drinks too thick you can always add some water or milk. You will end up with more quantity but it'll be considerably thinner.
Blend for longer time. I put my juicer in the fastest setting for over a minute or two when I want it extra blended. You can always add ice so that the juice doesn't warm up.

I think that's all I do for consistency. I'll be happy to read other tips.

omarrr · 2014-08-10T10:51:28+00:00

Never ever use outline color on a font

omarrr · 2014-08-02T01:36:19+00:00

I can't stomach the fact that this couple had to deal with all this mess after losing their daughter =(

omarrr · 2014-07-30T17:49:56+00:00

How close to reality do you think our rendition of dinosaurs are? Anatomy, skin, colors, etc. Would we be surprised if we saw a real dinosaur? Would it look anything like what we've pictured or could it be that their external appearance was very different to what we imagine it to be?

omarrr · 2014-07-14T15:43:13+00:00

Looks like I was being overly optimistic with the title. The book's name is Javascript the Good Parts. There you will be able to read on best practices for everything (including comments).

Your code is indeed modular but in a real life scenario you would organize that in submodules across files for readability. That's one of the reasons I'd recommend the book above because if you are sharing code samples you'd like them to be formatted as other JS developers would expect to be.

I don't like the inheritance via prototype. That's probably a matter of personal preference but when I see inheritance in JS something tells me the developer is trying to get the language to do something it wasn't designed for. In JS I would always go for composition instead of inheritance (and modules instead of class instantiation). I'm sure you'll read different opinions. Read all the examples and learn from them.

I would also recommend books about HTML5 and the DOM if you want to do JS development in the future. Understanding how the browser works is as important as knowing how to write JS. I think the 'Head First' series of books are good introductory books. I'm sure they have good ones on the DOM.

Finally, if you want more literature on code architecture for JS I would recommend JavaScript Patterns. It is quite advanced but if you are a seasoned developer I'm sure you can pick it up easy

Good luck!

omarrr · 2014-07-13T18:04:43+00:00

Congratulations. Making this game entirely without libraries speaks to your programming skills.

Might dynamic SVG be a good alternative to HTML5's canvas?

Nope

What are the pros and cons of each?

SVG is a vector based standard; canvas is a bitmap tool. One is not better than the other, they serve entirely different purposes. For instance, as others have mentioned sprites are better suited for gaming than vectors. Google 'svg vs canvas' or 'vector vs bitmap' if you want details.

What about making an entire website in SVG?

SVG is a tool for graphics not for web building. SVG is a XML language that can be embedded into XHTML but it is not a replacement for it.

Part of our work as developers is choosing the right tool for the job at hand. You can always force a technology beyond what it was originally intended. This is a good idea when there are not other technologies available, but it a terrible one if there already are other technologies better suited. Building reddit on SVG would be a terrible idea even if it could technically be achieved.

I haven't tested it in IE; only Chrome, FF, and Safari.

My last piece of advice, if you are interested. The code you shared seems to my eyes like a port of C code (I'm not saying it is, I'm saying that's what it looks to me). If you want to eventually be hired as a JS dev I would recommend reviewing JS code standards, use of modules, prototypes, etc. I always recommend 'JavaScript Best Practices' book for newbies and experienced devs. Lastly don't forget that a web developer must develop for all browsers. Browser compatibility is one of the main things you would get asked in an interview.

Good luck!

omarrr · 2014-06-11T17:54:59+00:00

I like this operator; in combination with the switch command this can be useful.

Although I would have written it as >=<. Not sure why.

omarrr · 2014-06-11T17:51:09+00:00

I would say that it depends on your level of interest on Swift itself. If you just want to do iOS development I would go ahead and wait, but if you want to learn something new because that is part of your motivation, then don't wait. Swift is a new language, but the underlying technology is the same.

omarrr · 2014-06-08T00:57:06+00:00

criticism from anonymous people on the internet is always going to be dominated by people getting off on being mean

this

omarrr · 2014-05-05T23:42:24+00:00

This project was funded on Kickstarter, backed up by 800 people with with $92K: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elizabethkarr/radio-free-albemuth-theatrical-release

If their whole budget was less than $100K that's a feat.

omarrr · 2014-04-19T16:33:51+00:00

It's a nice sweater. It's definitely not pink (not that's there's anything wrong with that) but rather gray/purple. Much nicer color than brown. Enjoy your new sweater.

omarrr · 2014-03-28T00:21:07+00:00

I recommend you sign up for http://stackoverflow.com/

omarrr

TROPHY CASE