Regular readers of this blog may have noticed a reduction of posts here. The reason for this has been that I’ve been working on Palm WebOS games and a corresponding website mobigamedepot.com.

This new website will be the portal for the games that I will be developing and I will post some behind the scenes details about the development work here on Cochinoman for your reading pleasure.

For starters, why did I choose the Palm WebOS platform? When the iPhone first came out, I wanted to do development work for it but since I’m not a Mac user, there was that learning curve and the SDK was not available at first. Then before I realized, everybody and his brother was on the iPhone platform and it was too late to get in the game.

Fast forward 2 years and when the Palm WebOS was announced at CES last year, my interest was again peaked. I followed the SDK development closely and managed to get on the software developer program as an early developer.

The WebOS SDK has a lot of limitations, especially for real-time games, but it also makes it less likely that the big boys will be getting on this path. As it turns out, there is a new PDK that was announced at this year’s CES that allows for low level C/C++ coding and the big boys (e.g. EA) has come out with their 3D games for the WebOS.

This last move still doesn’t deter me from working on my games because the big budget EA games will have to sell for $7-$10 and I will target the below $2 market for my games. There’s no way that EA could sell their games for 99 cents and still make money because of their overhead in developing these heavy games.

My first released game is “Lunar Attack,” which is basically an upgraded “Missile Command” with more features. In the future, I will post about the decisions that were made regarding this first game.  The second game I am working on is a scrolling sprite based game that takes place in a Pyramid.

If you are thinking about developing games on any mobile platform, you may find the articles interesting.  Even if you are thinking about non-game development on a mobile device, you might find something interesting in there.

Tesla Motors has a showroom in West LA where I drive past sometimes dreaming about how I could obtain one in this lifetime. However, until this week, I’ve never seen one in the wild.

I was driving on the 10 Fwy and I see a sports car coming fast on my left. I tried to figure out what it was and I wasn’t able to recognize it. I got my camera out and managed to get a few blurry shots of the Tesla in the wild.

To add insult to injury, it even had the car pool lane sticker on it.  Damn.

Alth0ugh my first review of Honda Ya was not glowing, the more I go to this place, the better I like it. My current favorite plate there is their “Assorted 5 Kind Yakitori” for $9.95. It’s yummy and tastes even better because of the great price. The chicken leg meat is the best.

Left to right: Meat balls, chicken leg meat, chicken wings, asparagus w/ bacon, chicken white meat

Honda Ya
333 South Alameda #314, Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 625-1184
Tuesday-Sunday: 5:30pm to 1am (last call about 12:30am)
Map

Since the last release of my Wordpress plugin Splashscreen version 0.20, there’s been many requests for new features. You may also want to read the original post for version 0.10 for completeness.  One of the most requested feature was to allow search engine bots to get the blog content so they can traverse the website properly.

Ask and ye shall receive… version 0.30 of the plugin, that is.

To control the new feature, I’ve added some new options in the settings as shown below:

Click on image for large version

Enable Overlay:
When this option is enabled, the splash screen will be an overlay on top of the content of your blog page. In other words, your blog will still be there, but the splash screen will be on top of your page. This way, the search engine bot can still “see” your blog, even though your visitors cannot while the splash screen covers the contents.

If you turn this option off, you will get the non-overlay version of the splash screen which will NOT have your blog contents “under” the splash screen.  I kept this feature in the plugin for backward compatibility for people who are using it right now.

Overlay Opaque:
The new overlay splash screen is made up of a background and a dialog-type box with links, as shown below.

Click on image for large version

Normally, you would want the background to be opaque (cannot see-through) so this option should be enabled. However, for some bloggers, you may want to have the background transparent so that you can see a little of what is on your blog. Of course, this would not be a good idea for “adult” websites, but for people using this plugin for non-adult websites and wanting to force the users to agree to your “terms of service,” you might want to tease them with a preview of your blog.

Overlay Background Color:
This is the color of the background using normal CSS specifications (e.g. #000000, rgb(0,0,0), black). If you don’t know what CSS colors are, see this article.
The rest of the options are the same as in version 0.20. However, if you are using the new “overlay” feature, you must use a new template. The default overlay template is called “splash-overlay.htm” as shown below:

<script type='text/javascript'>
function setsplash() {
   setCookie("splash", "1", "", "/");
}
</script>

<div style="left: 50%; top: 50%; position: relative; background-color: #F5F5F5; margin-top: -150px; margin-left: -300px;
 width: 600px; height: 300px; padding: 30px;">
 <center>
    <table border="0">
       <tr>
          <td colspan="2" align="center">
             <img src="<?php echo plugins_url('splashscreen/images/wordpress-logo.png'); ?>">
          </td>
       </tr>
   <tr>
      <td colspan="2" align="center">
         <script type="text/javascript">checkcookies();</SCRIPT>
            <h3>
               To enter this website, you must agree to the terms below.
            </h3>
         </td>
      </tr>
   <tr>
      <td colspan="2" width=100%>
         <FORM>
            <P><TEXTAREA style="font-size: 14px;" NAME="comments" COLS="70" ROWS="7" READONLY>By
 using this website, you agree to the Terms of Service below. This Terms of Service is a binding contract
between you and this website. If you do not agree with any of these terms, please exit this website.

TERMS OF SERVICE:
[enter terms of service here]
With more text here, there will be a scroll bar on the right to allow the user to scrool to read the terms of service.

If he/she does not wish to read the entire contents, they may simply agree without reading. Even if they do
 so, they are agreeing to the terms of service by clicking on "Agree".</TEXTAREA><br />
            </td>
         </tr>
         <tr>
            <td align="left"><h2><a onclick="setsplash();showcontent();return false;" href="#"><font color="green"><b>I Agree</b></font></a></h2></td>
            <td align="right"><h2><a href="http://google.com/"><font color="red"><b>I Do Not Agre</b></font></a></h2></td>
         </tr>
      </table>
   </center>
</div>

Changing the template:
Be very careful about what you change in the template. My recommendation is to copy it to a new filename (e.g. mytemplate.htm) then start editing it. Do NOT change the original template because if you break it, you may not be able to get back to a working version.

• The first item of interest in the template is near the top and is highlighted in green. If your website re-directs www.mywebsite.com to mywebsite.com, you will want to change the line to:

setCookie("splash", "1", "", "/", ".yourdomainname.com");

Notice that you must have the dot (“.”) before your domain name.

• Next, the blue  highlighted item is the Wordpress logo that appears in the overlay dialog box.  You can replace it with your own logo and enter the name there. Place your logo file inside the subdirectory “images” inside the splashscreen directory. If you don’t want any image, remove the entire “img” HTML.
• Finally, replace the yellow highlighted area with your own terms of service or whatever you want to display in the dialog box.

That’s it.

If you want to get fancy, you could change the size and look of the dialog box itself. This is left as an exercise for the student. One thing to keep in mind is that you need to center the dialog box properly.

Free Cool Feature:
While working on the new version of this plugin, I realized that if the underlining website is vertically long, the user could scroll down the page and not be able to see the dialog box. This can also happen if the URL is using a bookmark down the page (e.g. pointing to a comment near the bottom of the page).  At first, I tried forcing the page to automatically scroll up to the top. After a lot of work, I got this to work but when the overlay goes away, you are looking at the top of the page instead of what you wanted to see.

The solution was to copy the technique that terrible SPAM boxes use to follow you when you scroll. Basically, when you scroll, the javascript code will automatically move the dialog box so that it’s ALWAYS centered on the screen.  This also works for bookmarks in the URL.  Nice feature if I do say so myself.

You can see the new version of the plugin in action at alexisbreeze.com. This website is “adult” so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Until I get this up on the Wordpress plugin page, you can get it here.

December 5, 2009:
I took some code out of the template and created version 0.31. This should make modification of the template a little easier.

In case you missed it, see my first review of this strange no-sign Mori Sushi restaurant.

This time, we decided to try the 8 course meal as shown below. Click on the thumbnails to see a bigger version of the picture.

As you can see, as last time, there were a lot of yummy plates to try. The Hiyayako appeared to be home made tofu, which would be surprising at any other restaurant but not here. When the waitress brought out the second dish, she said that it was considered a “delicacy” in Japan. Then, she giggled the same way the Joker laughs on Batman. Scary stuff. The desert was the same as the last time so I didn’t take a picture of it.

At the end, we both agreed that 8 courses was too much and decided to stick with 6 courses for next time.

Mori Sushi
11500 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 479-3939
morisushi.org

My friend David sent me this picture of the menu from a Japanese restaurant called Taiko, in Manhattan Beach.

On a hot day, there’s nothing better than some cold Bukkake noodles. Yummmmm.

Although the word “Bukkake” has become known for it’s use in pr0n, it’s a Japanese word that means “strong pouring of liquid,” and apparently, in Japan, there are noodle dishes where such pouring is done.  Nonetheless, I don’t think I’ll be trying this dish anytime soon.

If you’re ever in Westwood, or anywhere near UCLA, and in the mood for some really cheap desert, checkout Diddy Riese on Broxton. Basically, you create your own ice cream sandwich and they make it in front of you and hand it to you at the counter for only $1.50. You can also buy just the cookies for 35 cents, or Hawaiian shaved ice for $1 ($1.50 with ice cream added).

It’s a great way to save money on a cheap date but be aware that on weekend nights, there’s sometimes a line down the block.

Hopefully, you will never need to know how to deposit money for an inmate in Los Angeles county. But if you are one of the unfortunate ones that need this information, read on.

One way you can deposit money is to visit the inmate during normal visiting hours and there will be a way to deposit money there. In the old days, it was called a “wet 40,” because the limit was $40 and they would wash it to remove any drugs before giving the wet money to the inmate.  But that was back in the day when females went to Sybil Brand. These days, the money goes into a computer and the inmate no longer receives the actual cash, but instead has an “account” with the county.

However, there are 2 downsides to depositing money in this way.

First of all, you have to have a valid photo ID. Valid ID means not expired. Also, they may check your ID to see if you have any outstanding warrants. So if you not squeaky clean, visiting an inmate is not a good idea. Of course, you can go there and just deposit the money without visiting, but Wayside and other prisons can be very far to drive for many people.

The second problem is just the long wait. You have to get there early in the morning and wait to check-in, then wait for the bus, then be taken to the section they’re in, then wait again until the inmate comes out to the talking area. The lines are like at Disneyland except there are no rides at the end. This process pretty much blows your entire Saturday day, or you can take a day off from work during the week.

But I digress.

If you want to avoid all this waiting and risk of being arrested, there’s now a 24 hour method to deposit money.

First, you need the inmates booking number. If you don’t have it, you need his/her full name and date of birth. If you don’t have that, you don’t know them well enough to be depositing money for them.

You can obtain the booking number by going to the LASD inmate information center website at:

http://app4.lasd.org/iic/ajis_search.cfm
Here, enter the name and date of birth to get the inmate number.

If you don’t have access to the Internet, you can call the Inmate Information line at 213-473-6100. You will need the inmates’ complete name, birth date and date of arrest. The operator will provide the inmate’s booking number,  jail housing location, next scheduled court date and the bail amount. But how are you reading this article if you… never mind.

Once you have the booking number, go to the “Inmate Reception Center” (IRC) in Downtown Los Angeles at:

450 Bauchet Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

This place used to be closed at 11pm but now apparently they are open 24 hours a day because I went there at 3am. Not only was it open, there were not one, but 2 cashiers available. The cashier is on the second floor. You can also call the cashier’s office at the IRC at 213-893-5875 if you have any questions. Bring cash.

First, wait behind the “red and white” line, even if there is nobody there. The cashiers there seem to like to follow the rules. Once called to the window, obtain and deposit slip and fill it out with all the required information, including your name. Next, wait behind the line again until called. When called, give the cashier the deposit slip and the cash. They will give you a computer generated receipt.

You are done.

There is one small problem however. The inmate is not notified in any way that the money was deposited. So if you are not in touch with their attorney, or have not visited them, they will not know the money is there unless it was pre-planned. You’d think the inmate could get a twitter or SMS message. Oh, I guess not.

Some other things to remember. Do not talk to other people there, especially at 3am. Do not wake the homeless man sleeping on the bench, even if his cell phone is ringing. Do not solicit anyone, a prostitute or otherwise. Do not argue with the cashier in any way whatsoever, even if what they tell you seems retarded to you.

Lastly, do not use the bathroom there. You can’t really see it in the picture below but it looked like somebody tried to take a shower from the sink and there’s about a centimeter of water everywhere, along with a bunch of jumpsuits the inmates wear while in the holding area. I guess the jumpsuits are free for the taking but I left them there.

Now that you know the trick, depositing money is easy and convenient. Enjoy.

While setting up my Google Voice account, I found a link to a website called Voki that has a text to speech app. This app can be used to create your voicemail greeting for Google Voice.

They have a bunch of different male and female voices but I found that Kate has pronunciations that I liked. You don’t have to create an account to just make your greeting. You can also create widgets for your blogs. See sample below:

I had a dream. In this dream, there was a service that allowed me to have just one phone number which would ring any or all my phones (cell, home, work) and even allow me to make long distance calls. If I change my number, I can forward my calls to my new number seamlessly. I can even forward specific numbers to specific phones only. And all this was completely free.

Incredibly, Google has created such a service for free called Google Voice.  Currently, it’s still in Beta and available only by invitation but all you have to do is sign up and wait.

Once I got it, I discovered it has even more features that I knew about.  Here are a few that pleasantly surprised me:

Call Screening – You can set your settings so that Google Voice will ask the caller for their name if they are not in your contact list. It’s like having your own secretary.

Listen In – Just like the old answering machines of the 80’s, you can listen to the messages being left by the caller, then decide if you want to pick up the call. Amazing. Why don’t they have this feature on voicemail for cell phones? This is perfect for people avoiding calls from stalkers.

Voicemail Transcripts – As you would expect, when you get a voicemail, you can get an email or SMS message to alert you. That’s no surprise. However, the message contains the transcript of the voicemail. Yes, that’s no bull. It’s not perfect but it seems to work fairly well.  In any case, you also get the full MP3 of the actual voicemail so you can always listen to the real caller.

Ring Multiple Phones – This is the main feature of the service. But there’s more to it than all your phones ringing. You can also direct certain “groups” (e.g. friends) to specific phones, or even automatically send specific numbers to voicemail (or even your SPAM folder) without ringing at all. There’s so much you can do with this, it’s mind boggling.

Call Record – Are you serious?!  Yes, you can finally record your calls simply by pressing “4″ on your phone. When you’re done, press “4″ again. The MP3 file is available in your account online. Not only that, you get a transcript AND code to embed a player directly into your blog.  You know I’m going to use this feature to record those customer service calls for this blog. Check this out:

Call Switch – As if those aren’t enough features, how about being able to switch phones without hanging up. You heard me. Simply press the star button on your phone during your call, then your other phone will ring. Now, just pick that the second phone, and hang up the first phone. So easy, even a caveman could do it.  How many times have I said, “Let me call you back from my cell phone because…” No more.

Free – WTF!? That’s the most amazing feature. It would be great to have all these features (and much more) for a small fee. But when it comes for FREE, you’re just speechless. They even start you off with 10 cents for out-of-the-country calls.

The free long distance (US and Canada) is a game changer for sure. Why would anybody pay for long distance with their land line carrier anymore? All you have to do is sign up for Google Voice and get free long distance calls.