Author: radicoon

Internet Raccoon™️

Categories
Work

SDES IT: Training Application

  • Type: Website
  • Language: C#
  • Framework: MVC 2
  • Authentication: Integrated
  • Data Source: SQL Database

Purpose

Our training situation at SDES IT developed into a full-time training position. Once hired, this trainer requested a way to have users discover classes, sign up for said classes, and be sent reminders for said classes.

Method

For this application, I wanted to dip my toes in .NET MVC (then at version 2). The resulting app absorbed the existing PHP site (including videos, text copies, and links) and introduced a Windows-Auth-protected section that allowed users to sign up for available classes and fill out a profile (which would be pulled up on subsequent visits). After each submission, an iCal-formatted ICS file would be dispatched to their email address, allowing them to track their own class signups.

Highlights

The delineation of access levels is so painless in MVC, as each controller can easily be filtered to a certain Active Directory user or role/group. This allowed the app to cover public users, domain users, and administrators in one project with ease. Also, building an ICS file from scratch was exciting and highly effective.

Takeaway

While we were not quite prepared for the volatility the trainer position would exhibit over the next few years, the application ran into very few problems during its tenure as a class-signup solution. It is currently on hold for a redesign to match future needs.

Categories
DJ Sets

DJ Mix: Petrichor

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petrichor (PET-ri-kuhr): The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

Tracklist

  1. Martin Solveig & Dragonette – Hello (Mikro Housebrothers VIP Mix)
  2. Rihanna – S&M (Tony Sanger Mix)
  3. Lady Gaga – Born This Way (Bimbo Jones Club Mix)
  4. Kelis – Acapella (David Guetta Extended Mix)
  5. Example – Changed the Way You Kiss Me
  6. Ian Carey – Last Night (Extended Mix)
  7. Britney Spears – I Wanna Go (Oliver Extended Mix)
  8. David Guetta feat. Rihanna – Who’s that Chick (Fuck Me I’m Famous Mix)
  9. Jean Claude Ades – I Begin to Wonder 2008 (Felguk Remix)
  10. Benny Benassi – Cinema (Andrea DJ Mazza Mazzali Club Mix)
  11. Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger (Alex Becker Remix)
  12. Spencer & Hill & Nadia Ali – Believe It (Original Mix)
  13. Eric Prydz – 2Night (Johnny Muse Remix)
  14. Kaskade & Adam K feat. Sunsun – Raining (Extended Mix)
  15. Phonat – Ghetto Burnin’ (Mohito Remix)
  16. DJs from Mars – California Jump
  17. David Guetta feat. Taio Cruz & Ludacris – Little Bad Girl (Extended Mix)
  18. Calvin Harris – Feel So Close (Nero Remix)
Categories
Work

FormProcessor Class (PHP)

  • Type: Class
  • Language: PHP
  • Framework: None

Purpose

As I tackled more and more UCF sites during my tenure, I discovered that each individual “webmaster” had developed their own server-side implementation for sending emails of basic web form data. Rather than continue to work around their own code, I developed a PHP implementation that generically wrapped httpPost data into a simple email.

Method

The first implementation of FormProcessor was a simple PHP class that had public properties (e.g., to, cc, and subject), some private methods to check for dangerous code (like email header injection), and a public method to send the email. Over time, the public methods have become private in favor of mutator methods, new helper methods have been added (including file attachments, filestream attachments, a development mode, etc.), and any specific stored information has been migrated to a config.ini file.

Highlights of Implementation

As complicated as it was to implement an email attachment method without a standard library, it is exceedingly satisfying to use that method in seconds now. Also, finally working with PHP in an object-oriented manner is a breath of fresh air.

Takeaway

At this point, I kind of wish I’d known about the PEAR Mail package, but I’m fairly proud of the implementation; it’s made it effortless for our web content updaters and designers to implement fairly powerful email operations without needing to know much (if anything) about PHP. It continues to make PHP development and deployment speedy and predictable, and it has been integrated into the Template Engine I built to standardize our layouts.

Categories
Video Work

NASPA Speaker Video

I was approached by a colleague in our suite to help with a video presentation for the annual NASPA conference (for college-level advisors). Each year, advisors attending the conference who want to apply for a speaking role must submit a YouTube video in order to essentially compete for an opening.

If you know anything about me now, I don’t take opportunities for creativity to shine lightly. Within three hours, I had taken her script, recorded the monologue in her office with her voice, drafted an outline, and used our resident DSLR (the Nikon D90) to shoot tons of B-roll and fancy DOF shots to layer behind her voice. I pulled down a simple ethereal track from free sound.org and presented her with a finished video by the end of the day.

It was my first experience with shooting DSLR video; it never ceases to amaze me how effective constraints are at producing work quickly and effectively.

The video was shot entirely with a Nikon D90 and edited in Premiere Pro.

Categories
Work

UCF Creed Site Design

In my quest to make everything I can at UCF better and nicer, I recently decided to tackle the CUF Creed site. The site only displays the UCF Creed (a small collection of statements) and a page of discussion points for professors. I attempted to adapt the styling to the normal UCF template, streamline the display of the tenets, and write some custom CSS to style the blockquote of the main Creed statement. I found an older, seemingly-professionally-produced video about the Creed, uploaded it to our SDES IT YouTube channel, and embedded it opposite the tenets.

This site was developed proactively in Notepad++.

Categories
Work

Order of Pegasus

Order of Pegasus is a program that recognizes outstanding students at UCF on an annual basis. I still haven’t actually figured out who runs this program (it seems to change every year), but given that printed materials are already created for the event, I decided to design a much nicer site that utilizes these existing assets.

The site displays the thumbnail and name of each in the Order, opening a Fancybox (lightbox) with a full portrait for each individual when clicked. The full program is included as a PDF and the site is largely driven by typography and these thumbnails only.

Pictured above is a before-and-after of the site designs. This project was completed proactively with jQuery, Fancybox, and Notepad++.

Categories
Video Work

Time Management Orientation Short

At UCF Orientation, the office of First Year Advising and Exploration (FYAE) displays a short presentation about time management and suggested techniques for students. My team was asked to assist in ripping a DVD to retrieve footage (it had been recorded right on the DVD); after discovering it had been burned using a proprietary technique, I suggested simply re-shooting the video with our Viera camcorder. Being the enthusiast videographer that I am, I asked permission to direct and edit the production to completion.

The completed video is displayed above and was edited entirely in Premiere Pro.

Categories
DJ Sets

DJ Mix: Lighthouse

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Tracklist

  1. Enrique Igleasias feat. Pitbull – I Like It (Jason Nevins Radio Edit)
  2. Kylie Minogue – Get Outta My Way (Bimbo Jones Club Mix)
  3. Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake – Carry Out (Soundpusher & DJ Rock City Remix)
  4. Deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire – Ghosts N Stuff (Extended)
  5. Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce vs Metallica – Enter Telephone (DJs From Mars Club Mix)
  6. Fedde Le Grand feat. Mitch Crown – Rockin High (Benny Benassi Remix)
  7. Kylie Minogue – All the Lovers (WAWA & MMB Anthem Remix)
  8. Eiffel 65 – Move Your Body (DJs From Mars Club Mix)
  9. Example – Last Ones Standing (Extended Mix)
  10. N.A.S.A. – Whatchadoin? (Villains Remix)
  11. Benny Benassi – Spaceship (Alex Gaudino & Jason Rooney Remix)
  12. ATB – Could You Believe (Original Mix)
  13. Bob Sinclar – I Feel For You (Anthony Ross and Lazy Rich Remix)
  14. N.A.S.A. feat. Kayne West – Gifted (Steve Aoki Remix)
  15. Lady Gaga – Bad Romance (Chew Fu Club Mix)
  16. Ciara feat. Ludacris – Ride (La Riots Remix)
  17. Example – Watch the Sun Come Up (Moam Remix)
  18. Talisman & Hudson – Leaving Planet Earth (Dousk Remix)
Categories
DJ Sets

DJ Mix: X

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Tracklist

  1. [Intro] Ray – A Song to Help You Keep Your Job
  2. Sneaky Sound System – Lost in the Future
  3. BT vs. The Doors – Break on Through
  4. BT – Knowledge of Self
  5. Kylie Minogue – I Believe in You (Mylo Vocal Mix)
  6. Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden – Bonkers
  7. Pitbull – I Know You Want Me
  8. Paul Van Dyk – For an Angel (Dave Darell Remix)
  9. Michael Mind – Baker Street
  10. Groove Armada feat. Stush – Get Down
  11. Cascada – Evacuate the Dancefloor (Cahill Remix)
  12. Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil’ Wayne – Let It Rock (Serafin Remix)
  13. Ian Carey Project / Lisa Miskovsky – Get Shaky (Rawdirt Remix) / Still Alive (Benny Benassi Mix)
  14. Groove Coverage – Because I Love You (Elektrofachgeschaft Mix)
  15. Pryda – Europa
  16. Basic Element feat. D Flex – Touch You Right Now
  17. Tiesto and Sneaky Sound System – I Will Be Here (Tiesto Remix)
  18. Herve feat. Plastic Little – Cheap Thrills
  19. [Outro] Ray – Peace
Categories
Video Work

SDES IT: Training Video Series Introduction

Once the SDES IT Training site idea took off, I was asked to develop an introduction to play before each video series; I was told to “think of it as branding,” but because the video clips were hidden from the public, I sprinkled in a bit of creativity to bring something to the typical, non-technical, and often overly-comfortable end-user that they wouldn’t expect, in the hopes of waking them up and making them think. It was eventually widdled down to an ineffectual, five-second clip.

The (original) introduction above was shot entirely on UCF campus and edited in Premiere Pro, with compositing effects done in After Effects.