HTML5 Geolocation Data Sucks

Biodiversity Informatics, Misc, Technolust 2 Responses »
Sep 022011

I have long been excited about HTML5 having access to a geolocation data. It should make it possible to build a whole range of applications for phones and other devices that are cross platform but make use of the users location. Unfortunately reality bites when you try and actually build an application based on the technology.

I have been working with Sencha Touch and the Ext.util.Geolocation object but am having problems with accuracy. I have noted the following behaviour.

When I call for a location on iPhone (3G) and iPad (v1) I get a one with around 1.3km accuracy. Basically it places me at one of two spots about 1km apart. If I switch to the native maps app then it places my position within 10m of where I am standing – that “wow it knows where I am” accuracy . Switch back to my web app and the first call to the GeoLocation returns similar accuracy. Any subsequent calls return the old inaccurate positions. Continue reading »

Posted by Roger Hyam at 12:44 pm

Bangor Mindfulness 2nd Research Assignment

Bangor MSc, Mindfulness & Buddhism, Misc No Responses »
Aug 202011

Find attached my fourth and final assignment for the Bangor Mindfulness course. This one is for the Research module. It is supposed to be a description of a research project that you intend to do later in the course in a form close to what would be suitable for submission to the ethics panel.

The proposal makes reference to a prototype application I developed that you can access at  http://breathfollower.appspot.com/ if you would like to try it for yourself. I have done some work to take this further as a mobile application and will blog on it if I get it to a state worthy of release.

By the time I was writing this up I had decided I wouldn’t proceed with the course so it was a kind of fantasy proposal rather than a serious one. I did a ten minute presentation on it and the tutors pointed out that they didn’t think it would produce an effect in the two week duration of the experiment but I did nothing to change this and the marked me down accordingly. I got  69% which is just 1% short of an ‘A’ – always the bridesmaid never the bride I guess :) I hope you enjoy reading the assignment.

I’ll put another post together in the next few day summarising my reasons for leaving the Bangor course.

Posted by Roger Hyam at 11:15 am

An areligious (not "A religious") justification for meditation

Mindfulness & Buddhism, Misc 3 Responses »
Aug 152011

If I start to talk about how the world is and therefore how we should best live there is a danger you will dismiss what I say as either playing with ideas that have no relation to real life (philosophy) or trying to impose some mumbo jumbo from a possible imaginary deity (religion). Many people are reluctant to explore this stuff because it will either prove a complete waste of time or overturn a belief system that they have accepted since childhood.

Despite this I do need to create a narrative explanation of why you should try mindfulness meditation. The rationality at the heart of our culture requires that this comes first. Please treat what follows as a pragmatic way of viewing the world for the purpose of living the good life rather than just a set of ideas or a religious doctrine.

Things arise in dependence on conditions and when those conditions cease the things cease. This is the root of the philosophy. This is easy to accept because when we look we can see it is true. This should not be confused with “cause and effect” which is more a product of language. To have a “cause” and an “effect” we need to define one thing as being the cause and something else as being the effect which is useful when we want to use words to represent these things but involves isolating them from the rest of the universe. Drawing a line around them if you like. So we could talk about it raining because it is cloudy but this conveniently leaves out the causes of clouds and the processes within the clouds. Continue reading »

Posted by Roger Hyam at 7:50 pm

Carbon Guilt and Frantic Justification

Misc No Responses »
Jun 152011

Generally we are pretty ‘right on’ as a family. We live in town in a two bed flat with all A-rated appliances – a condensing boiler etc. The building is old but we don’t have much external wall space and we have argon filled double glazing and draft proofing in most of the old sach windows. We are in a conservation area so can’t change them to anything else.

We are vegetarian though not vegan and we don’t fly for recreation. I have to fly for work sometimes and one day I will take the kids on a plane somewhere just so they have the experience. They are the only ones in their classes at school who haven’t been on an aircraft and some of their class mates don’t believe them when they say so. Continue reading »

Posted by Roger Hyam at 9:08 pm

Contemplative Photography

Mindfulness & Buddhism, Misc, Photography No Responses »
May 232011

A friend just introduced me to BuddhistGeek which looks like a wonderful source. I enjoyed listening to this podcast on The Practice of Contemplative Photography – which I would highly recommend. It certainly chimes with how I have felt about my own photography.

Posted by Roger Hyam at 1:56 pm
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