kenlowrie.com

Video producer, Software developer, Rancher

As summer turns to fall

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I wanted to write a quick post updating the latest happenings as the school year begins, and we march on towards Fall and before we know it, the holiday season!

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been diligently building out some infrastructure for providing the long awaited update to my Cloudy Logic iOS app. I realize that I’m the only person waiting for this update, but hey, that still counts!

Since switching to an Android phone late last year, I’ve been eager to get an update out for the app, and to finally write something for the Google Play store. Because the first version of the app had pretty much everything hard-coded into the app itself, one of the goals this time around was to separate that out into some type of RESTful API, so that the app would basically be “current” without requiring a new version in the App Store or on Google Play.

So that led me to building out a project I call CLSRESTAPI, written in PHP, with the source code available over on my GitHub page right here. You can access the API directly by hitting this link, and then using the JavaScript front end built-in to the site to see the JSON output of each API call.

Next up was to write a set of Java classes that would expose the API, and provide the building blocks for the Android version of the app. I just finished the first version of that a few days ago, and of course, the source code is available on GitHub right here.

I’ve also written a command line tester in Python, source code here, and another command line tester in Java, source code here.

I’m currently working on a Java Swing GUI that will run on the various desktop OS’es, and let me finish fleshing out the API in a more realistic environment, that is, more like what I’ll be using on Android and iOS.

Having a lot of fun with this, and can’t wait to get the new versions of the app out for both platforms. As I continue to make progress, I’ll keep the source over on my GitHub page, so keep checking there to see the latest on everything!

Thanks for stopping by!

-ken

Annual Blog Post

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I was going through and updating WordPress and Genesis on some websites I maintain, and noticed as I came across this site that I haven’t posted anything in over a year. So I guess it’s about time that I write something new and exciting for all my followers to read. Actually, I don’t know that I have any followers per se, but maybe you could be the first!

So another year has passed, and it’s still a bit of a struggle to find enough work to keep me busy full time. I’ve started applying for positions at various companies in the area, both software jobs as well as video production ones. Fingers crossed that it leads to a new great opportunity for me!

Beyond that, I’ve just been doing work around the ranch and the occasional gig that does come my way. Although the first half of 2017 has been a lot busier than the same time last year, I’m still not running at the level that I’d like to be so that I can hit the goals that I’ve set for this year.

Hope you’re having a great 2017, and let’s get together and have a beer soon!

The Gig Economy

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I’m in the process of reworking my website so that it’s geared towards promoting my consulting work; yup, I’m officially joining the gig economy nowadays, because it gives me the freedom to work on exciting projects of all types, and, most importantly, to work when I want to work. Also, I’m hoping to find new long term customers for my video production business, which has been slow to get started back home in Texas.

Eventually, I’m going to put together some short videos to help describe the type of work I’m looking for, but for now, I’ll try my best by using words instead of pictures, on a blog post rather than on Vimeo or YouTube.

Initially, I am looking at two primary areas of freelance work:

  1. Video Production
  2. Software Development

Video Production

This will encompass all aspects of production and post production, including photography and animation projects, and as I previously mentioned, it seeks to build new long term relationships with customers for my video production company.

I can help with all phases of your production, including the concept and planning, video or photo production, and post production (editing, color correction & grading, and more). I can also film auditions for actors, and upload them to a casting website or your agent, as well as put together demo reels for any type of artist.

Software Development

I spent an entire career in software development, and even after being able to reboot myself into a video production career, I still enjoy doing the occasional software project. I do a lot of automation type projects for myself, mostly using Python, and various tools on my Mac. And I maintain a number of websites, including my personal site (this one) and the Cloudy Logic site to name a couple.

So, I’ll be looking at simple web development projects to start, updating web sites, managing/deploying WordPress installations, and custom development for those types of things. I’m very proficient with PHP, MySQL and Javascript, as well as HTML and CSS. So whether you want some customization done to an existing site, or building a site from scratch, I’m ready to assist with your project in any way I can.

Where to find me

You can find me on the platform, Gigmasters, and my Video Production company is also a StudioNow Central Texas local video producer. But you don’t necessarily have to book me through one of those sites, call, email or message me directly if you prefer.

So what are you waiting for? I’m available right now!

Semi Magic Squares and Chemistry Tests

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Magic Square Puzzle Maker for Teachers

https://kenlowrie.com/apps/magicsquarev1

Recently I was visiting with an old friend, Louise, okay, she’s not old, nor am I, but that’s neither important nor relevant to this story. Anyway, I was visiting with Louise, and we got to talking about ideas for apps (I was looking for ideas for a smart phone app that could be monetized, by the way, I’m still looking for ideas on that subject, but I digress…).

Anyway, Louise started telling me about an app that she wanted built for making quizzes for her high school chemistry classes. It was based on magic squares, and basically, she wanted to provide a list of terms and definitions to the app, and it would then proceed to generate N variations of jumbled definitions and different magic squares based on the one set of terms. The basic idea here is that it would make it inconvenient for students to directly copy answers, since there are many variations of the squares and the order of terms and definitions. Instead, they would have to discuss the terms and definitions, e.g. “who was the scientist who discovered the electron?”, in effect, they would be tricked into studying…

I was intrigued, and momentarily distracted by a bee (sorry, once again not relevant)… So, I agreed to look into building such an app, and once I finished, it seemed as though it was useful enough that I decided to share it with others. So, I am hosting it here on my website, and you’re free to use it as you see fit. I do hope you find it useful, and I’m certainly open to any comments you have on the subject (or other irrelevant subjects such as bees or age), so long as they are constructive. 🙂

Happy Teaching!
-ken

P.S. Many thanks to Stephen Lowrie for providing support for building the algorithms used for generating the magic squares. Someday, I should probably look at using the code he wrote for generating even numbered magic squares, as that would be a nice addition to the app.