Well, it’s almost been a year since I created Propertize, an application that screen-scrapes the existing government website to make is easier to compare your property assessment to the rest of the street, and it seems that a lot of people have been asking about it lately!  If you are wondering why I did this, then just try using the existing government application – the user interface is terrible!

Just click the image below to check it out:

As always, send along any feedback!

Check it out, I made it into a T4G press release!

Shawn Peterson, 24, one of only a dozen to get prestigious annual nod

SAINT JOHN, October 5, 2009 – T4G Limited, a leading national provider of project-based technology services, is delighted to announce that one of its developers is officially a “rising star” in New Brunswick.

Rising Stars is an annual provincial award recognizing 12 young knowledge industry workers in companies and organizations throughout New Brunswick. Winners must distinguish themselves by the quality of their work and positive impact in both the community and the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. The awards were announced at a gala dinner in Moncton on October 1 (www.risingstars.ca).

“It was a thrill and a surprise to win this,” says Shawn Peterson, 24, who was hired at T4G’s Saint John operation four years ago after completing a co-operative work program as part of ICT training at New Brunswick Community College. “I could never have won this if not for working at T4G, a company that brings out the best in employees through encouragement, mentoring and always offering challenging projects.”

While Shawn”s job title is developer, his skill set now includes analysis, project management, team leadership and quality assurance due to his drive and initiative to understand all aspects of IT consulting over his first four years with T4G.

“I knew within the first hour of working with Shawn that he had an outstanding work ethic and maturity level beyond his years,” says Karen Colpitts, the T4G Project Manager in Saint John who nominated Shawn for the award. “Shawn is also active in charitable and other community work. He has all the qualities and inherent skills to excel in the IT industry or any other industry for that matter.”

Shawn is the chair of FUSION Saint John Inc., a networking group for active, civic-minded Saint John residents with a clear vision of the city’s future as a great place to live, work and play. He is also a government affairs committee member of the Saint John Board of Trade.

Like many T4G employees, he is also active in Future Focus Foundation, T4G’s registered charity that raises money for organizations that help children succeed.

Sponsored by New Brunswick’s ICT industry, Rising Stars is more than an award. It is also a year-long mentorship and networking program for accomplished and emerging technology leaders with the goal to ultimately enhance and strengthen the provinces leading IT sector.

About T4G Limited

T4G is a national, project-based, full-service professional services company founded in 1996 that delivers IT consulting services through a federation of operating business units. These business units service such areas as User Interface Design, Software and Application Development, Infrastructure, Networking and Security, Business Analytics and Reporting, and Content and Data Transformation. We believe in The Intelligent Application of Technology™ where less can be more, where innovation leads to opportunity, and where a culture of commitment always strives to exceed customers’ expectations.

For more information: www.t4g.com

Media Contacts

Cathy Simpson
Director, Marketing and Public Affairs
T4G Limited
cathy.simpson@t4g.com
506-632-2522

Bob Brehl
abc2 communications
bob@abc2.ca
416-994-1470

Well, I thought I would turn to the internet to help track down the kids who egged my car this morning.

It occurred on St. Catherine Street (behind Russell Street) on the East Side.  Two kids up in the bushes hit my back window, then at least one other vehicle behind me.

I called the police to file a report, and while waiting for them to arrive, the kids actually walked right by my Jeep.

So I started taking some pictures on my cell phone to help track them down.

Here they are:

Any idea on their names or address?  One man who works nearby recognized both as neighbourhood kids.

Let me know so I can pass it on to the police!

I was listening to Shift on CBC Radio earlier this week, and they had an interesting segment with their chef, Helen Buck.

She was there talking about a recipe for cooking a cake in the microwave – and then they made it – live on the radio.

For anyone who is curious, here is the recipe:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
• small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large microwave safe coffee mug

1. Add dry ingredients to mug, mix well.
2. Add the egg and miss thoroughly.
3. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
4. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
5. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
6. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!
7. Allow to cool a little and tip out on to plate if desired.
8. EAT ! – this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous)

Why is it the most dangerous cake recipe in the world….because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time, day or night!

In my last post, I talked about an idea that I am working on for T4G’s GeekFest 2009.

Today, I have more details (and a functional website) to share with you.

The idea is called TouristForADay.com.

Is is an online tourism planning solution – basically, you create an itinerary of activities, print it off, and enjoy your trip.

Creating your Itinerary

Creating your itinerary starts with searching for activities.  You simply enter a few parameters such as where you are going, your interests, and your budget, and it will generate an itinerary of activities for you.

You will have the ability to customize it by removing activities you are not interested in and selecting other ones you do want.  At the end of the process, you have a list of activities to enjoy on your trip.

Print the Itinerary

The itinerary can be saved and accessed anywhere on any device (including mobile phones and devices).

The itinerary can also be printed off to take on your trip.  The printed copy can be folder into a brochure (which is easy to carry around in your pocket).  It will include details on each activity in your itinerary.  It can also be folded out to show a personalized map with directions to each activity.

Enjoying your Trip

Once you have all of this information, you are ready to go out and enjoy your trip! When you get back, you will be able to return to the website to rate and comment on the activities that you experienced. Your feedback will then show up for others when they are building their itineraries – helping others pick the best activities!

Sneak “Geek” Peek

So there you have it – your very own sneak peek at what I will be demoing at GeekFest in Toronto next week.

I also have a working copy for anyone to check out ahead of the event – simply visit TouristForADay.com!

I haven’t been posting as much as I used to; but, I have a good reason – I’ve been too busy working on these things:

GeekFest 2009

I’ll be heading to Toronto, on April 1st, to participate in T4G’s GeekFest 2009.

Last year, I presented on the Facebook Application that I created to track support for political parties.

This year, I am building a Tourism Application that makes it easy to get a list of things to do for a given city!  I will be releasing more details leading up to the event.

For the geeky, the application will be built using:  ASP.NET MVC, WCF, jQuery, and more!

Update - I have recently posted new information on this application.

Propertize

I’ve also been working on an application to make it easier to view (and compare) property assessments for a given street. I’m now calling it Propertize.

The current government website is just awful for viewing more then one property.

So, I emailed SNB to ask for an alternate way to get at this data (maybe a web service?); but, I only received the following response: “You are right. This is the only way to assess the information.”

This left me with only one option – screen scraping their pages!

I’ve been adding features as they are requested, and I am willing to add more.  Contact me if you have any ideas or requests!

I have been wanting to promote a few local blogs that I read each week.  Since I have been too busy to blog myself, I decided that tonight was a good night to start!

Around Saint John

Lots of great pictures and information on various projects going on in Saint John.

Lamespotting

This is a Fredericton area blog that I would highly recommend reading. The articles are well written and often quite funny.

The Independent

Another great Fredericton based blog. Lots of variety in topics – from politics and the weather to energy prices!

Urban Plans for Saint John and Beyond

This is THE blog for development information in Saint John. Plus lots of details on things you walk by everyday and never notice!

After launching my blog, back in April 2007, I’ve been wanting to update the theme.

Tonight, I made the update!

The new theme is a modified version of Devart, which I had been working on for the past several weeks.

It offered me a chance to understand the inner workings of themes in WordPress and to modify it to meet my needs.

What do you think?  Send me your thoughts!

Star Quality Furnitue

I cannot stress this enough – do NOT purchase any Star “Questionable” Quality Furniture.

I just finished putting together their Executive Desk (from Staples), and the end result is awful.

First of all, the desk came with marks all over it.  It was not very noticeable when we first unpacked the parts; but, after it was finished, the marks were hard to ignore.  Below are various marks along the top of the desk (very visible when you walk into the room).

Secondly, the drawers are all off uneven even though we followed all of the instructions and put the screws through all of the marked holes.  The red circles are marks to the front of the desk, the green circles are gaps in the drawer.

Overall, it was very bad quality for the asking price, and I am in the process of disassembling it to be returned for my money back.  I actually ordered two of them, and I am not even going to bother opening the second box, it is also going back.

Staples.ca

I also have a warning for anyone thinking of ordering online through the staples.ca website.

Avoid it if possible.  If not, do NOT rely on their quoted delivery date!

My delivery was a day late.  That may not sound like a big deal; but, when you have to be home from 8am-5pm for the delivery truck – it’s a major pain when it doesn’t show up.  Even worse, nobody even bothered to call me to let me know it wasn’t going to arrive.  After 5pm, I called the call center asking when it would arrive, they all said they would contact the shippers who would call me.  No call – ever from the shipping company.  I stayed home again the next day, and the truck randomly shows up in the afternoon – no notice.  See below for an update.

Now, you may think this is a good thing, well apparently the truck only has one person working, which isn’t good when it takes a minimum of two people (strong people) to lift each box.  According to the instructions, each box weighs around 170lbs.  I could barely lift my end into the house, and on second thought, I should have refused to help right from the beginning. My arms are actually sore today, and I am positive it was from lifting two of those 170lbs boxes with the deliver guy.

Below is the picture on the box.  Notice the two people carrying it!

Updated (Sept 12, 2008) -  I was just contacted by Armour Transportation, who I had originally blamed in the shipping process; however, I was informed that the delays were due to Staples. Staples was late shipping the desks, failed to call me, and then turned around at the last minute to pass it off to Amour to deliver.

Staples knew ahead of time that the desks weighed 160lbs and took two people to carry; but, this was not communicated to Armour.

Armour was very quick to respond to my concerns, investigated fully internally, and was friendly through the process.  My opinion of Armour Transportation has greatly improved, and I would encourage everyone to check them out when you need to ship something.

After many months of searching, we finally have an accepted offer on a house. The best part is that it’s in East Saint John!

It has been a busy time traveling out to see houses before they hit the market, looking at open houses on Sunday, and dealing with multiple offer situations; however, our real estate agent has made the process as smooth as possible.

We chose to work with Mel Vincent at Exit Reality, and I would highly recommend him to anyone else looking to buy or sell their home. He has helped us through each step of the way, and he finally found us the home we wanted. We still have paperwork to fill out and inspections to do; however, Beth and I are both looking forward to the closing day so we can move into our first home!

Look forward to a fun house warming party this summer!