I recently had a need for a PHP script that queries a MySQL database for location-based point data (a LatLong coordinate and some descriptive information) and then creates a KML-file from that data on the fly. A file like this can then easily be loaded into Google Maps, Google Earth and other geospatial applications. In [...]

Okay, enough with the daily single-tweet posts already! I just switched the posting frequency of my twitter-plugin to once per week. That way, if you like to follow my tweets (without being on Twitter yourself), you can find them all in one place and not get annoyed by too many posts. Apologies if that was [...]

Please upgrade your browser SketchUp QR from Alexander Schreyer on Vimeo. As you may have noticed, I have been experimenting with QR codes lately. There’s just so much fun you can have with these little black-and-white icons. For your Friday enjoyment, here is a list of where I have used them so far: 3D QR [...]

Now that the year is almost over, it’s time to step back and look at what we all built over the past weeks… Wherever you are and whatever you celebrate, enjoy your holidays and some relaxing time with your families. I wish you all the best for the new year! Cheers, Alex P.S.: Yes, it’s [...]

I frequently get asked how to set up a small-ish CMS-driven (CMS = Content Management System) website for research groups or other entities. Many of these people have learned that maintaining a static website the “old-fashioned way” (e.g. using Dreamweaver) presents a variety of problems – mainly related to inconsistent content or collaborative editing problems. These issues [...]

If a mathematical algorithm based on statistics creates wisdom, then it must be true… maybe. The following run-on sentences were found by Google Scribe by starting with entering a two-word combination and then just pressing return to accept the most likely follow-up words. Some fun. I am stumped by what Google means by “I despise [...]

While many functions in WordPress (the self-hosted kind) work like a charm, this one gave me the run-around a few days ago: The auto-saving post revisions that got added to WordPress a few releases back. On our departmental website (http://eco.umass.edu/) that I created in WordPress (works great for this purpose, it’s the “Just-enough CMS!”) we [...]

I have blogged about Autodesk’s new online offering – Project Butterfly – before, but today, Tal Weiss, former co-founder of VisualTao and now Senior Software Development Manager with Autodesk, gave me an interesting presentation of the collaboration features that have been added recently. With more than 25,000 documents already uploaded into the system, Autodesk wants [...]

I had read about this trick before but had never had a need to try it out – until now. So here’s a nifty trick for any self-hosted WordPress installation: If you want to add a webpage outside of a WordPress installation that has its own design, yet relies on some of the functions of [...]

Extending their lineup of beta-version web-editors, Autodesk just released Project Butterfly. After Project Draw (drawing and diagramming), Project Dragonfly (space planning in isometric 3D), Project Showroom (rendered previews of interior design selections), their latest addition to the labs (the Butterfly) is an online DWG-editor. Made by an acquired company (Visual Tao) and Autodesk, this web [...]