Category Archives: General

Anything that doesn’t fit into any other category (I.E. site updates, life updates).

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Wunderlist 2 Review

NOTE: Originally, this was a review for Wunderkit. Wunderkit is not being developed anymore as 6wunderkinder focuses their development on Wunderlist 2, which was the better product anyway.

What is it?

Wunderlist 2 is the king of all to-do lists. It’s simply the best task management, reminders-like app out there. Period.

For most of you, you probably should just stop reading right here and try it out for yourself. What’s below are just proves the claim that I made above. After all, it’s better to see for yourself how an app can be so functional yet so beautiful as well. It’s almost as if 6wunderkinder took the idea of “form follows function” and threw it out the window because both the form and function of this product are equally outstanding.

Enough jabber, let’s get to the good bits.

The Good

It’s not just an iPhone app as many may think. It’s also available on iPad, Andriod, Mac, and Windows. Yep, Mac and Windows. That means that all your tasks will be with you anywhere you go. If you set it to remind you to do something at a certain time and you happen to be on your computer, a notification window will appear on your screen. That’s a nice touch. Of course, Wunderlist will also send you a notification on your phone, too. Oh, and we can’t forget about the web access, too. If your computer/phone aren’t accessible, they have a really nice web app that works just as well. You just won’t get those nice push notifications that you will on the other apps.

All the apps across the board sync together really well. If you edit a task on your computer, you can bet that the change will show on your iPhone. They’ve had some performance issues with syncing but those seem to have been fixed. It’s been running smoothly for quite a few months now.

As I mentioned before, it’s frickin’ beautiful. I could go into depth and tell you how it’s beautiful, but honestly… it’s better for you to just see for yourself.

As far as features go, there’s a lot. I’ll just go over some of my favorites to keep this short. If you want a full list of features, they’re here.

I think the sub-tasks would have to be my favorite. It’s very useful for shopping, homework, etc. I don’t know how I functioned without it.

Another feature that I liked was the ability to share lists with people. This is perfect if you’re always that guy that ends up leading a group project. Make all your friends download this app and you can make a list of what needs to be done that everyone can see. If one person marks a task as done, it updates on everyone’s app. It’s also helpful for grocery shopping, which my family uses it for. If I need something, I just put it on the shared grocery shopping lists and whoever’s out at the moment picks it up and checks it off the list.

Notes. Although it may seem simple, it’s great. At the time of writing a task, it might make sense. When I actually have to do it, it might not make as much sense. Do you ever get up to do something and then totally forget why you got up? It’s the same thing…. wait, that never happens to you? Well… you get my point.

The Bad

The occasional downtime, but that’s unavoidable and not really noticeable. Also, the option for multiple reminders for a task would be awesome. Honestly, that’s all I could think of for downsides. I haven’t needed to contact support, really. It just… works.

Conclusion

It’s great. Seriously, try it. Do it now.

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More posts + general update!

After a few months of silence, Rubiverse is alive again and with many more posts in the pipeline (I have at least 10 posts in the works). Summer is here, and that means time for stuff like blogging, swimming, friends, etc. School has been out for a good two weeks and after complete and utter relaxation, I think I’m ready to resume productivity. There’s lots and lots of content that I need to catch up on, probably around 20 entries worth. These are listed in order if importance…

  •  In May, I attended TechCrunch DisruptNY. It was one of the most awesome experiences of my life, and you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a posts (yes, plural) about this coming very soon. One will be a post about the event in general. Then, I will post a series detailing all the Startups I met at TC Disrupt that I thought were noteworthy. Because of how belated this is, I will try to push this out as soon as possible.
  • I’m a Senior… but I don’t feel like one. I feel more like a Freshman than a Senior, to be honest. It’s strange, and there will be a full entry about this. Look for that soon.
  • In addition to Startups that I met at TC Disrupt, there are numerous apps and services that I’ve found recently that are all worthy of their own posts.
  • I have a couple philosophical entries in the works, but this is low priority. They’ll be finished by the end of the Summer.

Also, I intend to redesign this blog. I have no idea when and I’m not really experienced in designing sites, but it’s something that I definitely want to do. The only way for me to learn how to design/develop well is to practice… so I might be redoing this blog more than once. There’s no time frame for this as of now, so I’m not sure when it will happen.

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Tips for incoming Juniors

After about two weeks of break, I can now fully appreciate the school year that I’ve just completed. The PSATs, HSPAs, SATs, AP tests, drivers license, Junior paper… all done! It wasn’t an easy road, but it was one that had to be crossed. It wasn’t even the school work that made this past year so difficult (although it was slightly more challenging than past years), it was the combination of school work, tests, extracurriculars, etc. Whatever it was, I’m glad that it’s over and that I’ve survived.

Junior year is important, there’s no doubt about that. Although it might seem daunting and not so much fun, it’s something we all have to do. There’s some things that I wish someone would have told me before I entered Junior year. Lucky for you, I’ve posted them here, so actually read this because it will help you. I’m sure other Seniors will agree with me on these.

  1. DON’T look at the big picture. It’s easy to become overwhelmed rather quickly when the obligations pile up, but there are ways to suppress this. Complete tasks as they come and don’t think too much about the total amount of work that you have to do. Focus on the current task at hand and you will get through it. If you try to take everything in at once, you won’t be a happy camper. Take bit size portions, and don’t forget to chew your food before you eat it!
  2. FOCUS. I’ll admit, I had a little bit of trouble with this. As mentioned before, focus on what you need to do. Get off of Facebook/Twitter/Reddit/Stumbleupon/etc; put the computer away if you don’t need it. Work until it’s done, and once you’ve finished, you’ll feel less guilty about doing what you were doing before. Don’t think about doing your work, JUST DO IT. It honestly feels so much better when it’s done.
  3. Manage your time wisely. Even if you usually don’t do this, use some sort of task system to organize yourself and your time. Things will begin to pile up as the year goes on, and if you don’t dedicate time for each task, they won’t get done in a timely manner. Paperwork, especially. Don’t rely on your brain for this, it will fail you. If you have an iPhone, Reminders is a beautiful thing (as well as Calendar). Wunderkit, a beautifully designed project management app, is a godsend.
  4. Take a breather. Don’t work yourself too hard, it’s not healthy. Take breaks; naps are always in season. Stress is your enemy, so fight back, close your eyes, and breath deeply.
  5. Do you work. Just do it, it’s not that bad. Even if it’s annoying, it’ll help you somehow. You’ll be a better person because of it.
  6. Get on your teachers’ good sides. Honestly, this makes a world of difference. If you form a bond with your teacher, life will just be so much easier for you. Also, this is good recommendations for colleges. You’ll need teachers that like you to write you good recommendations.

If you follow all of these tips, you might even have time for a social life. Have fun in Junior year!

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Rubiverse.net is on a new server!

I haven’t made a blog post in a while, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been THINKING about doing a blog post. Trust me, I have thought about it. Almost every single time, I decided it wasn’t worth it because I had more important work to do. Now I actually have something worthwhile to post about: I have moved Rubiverse.net to a brand spanking new server.

What: This was not a simple move. I didn’t just copy the site from one shared host to another. I moved the whole site from a shared host to an unmanaged Virtual Private Server (VPS). Most of you probably don’t know what this is. A VPS is a slice of a dedicated server that has it’s own operating system and is separated from other VPSs on a server by virtualization software. Because the one that I bought happened to be unmanaged, that means that I had to set it up, secure it, and make sure my site(s) and programs work as they should. For a person who has never done this before, it was a daunting challenge… but I still did it and I’m pretty proud I did.

Who: I moved from an MDDHosting shared server (they are awesome, BTW) to a TinyVZ VPS.

When: The site was down, as some of you may know, for about a week or two while I procrastinated setting up the VPS. I’m still tweaking the server, but I finished the migration and the site was live about a week ago.

Where: The VPS server is located in Kansas City. I think that this is a great location for a server because it is right smack in the middle of the US. It has decent speeds to EU and Asia, unlike the East coast or West coast. AAAAANNNNDDD… it’s cheap. Server in Kansas City tend to be cheaper than those in more expensive areas (Chicago, New York City, LA).

Why: I can tell you that it was NOT because I didn’t like my previous host. MDDHosting is a top notch, but I wanted something I could have more control over and I also wanted to learn how to manage a linux box, and that’s why I switched.

I don’t really know when the next post will be. This year is insane, and with SATs coming up and all these projects and tests and whatnot, I can’t give an ETA. This blog isn’t really my top priority right now.

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New competition

Every so often, a new competitor will emerge in your market with something better than what you have and will steal business from you. Sometimes it may be the new ice cream shop down the road, sometimes it may be Google. Whatever it is, you’re loosing business because of it. So, what are you going to do?

What you shouldn’t do is nothing. The situation won’t get any better if you leave it alone. You need to take action for the sake of your business.

There are a few things you can do:

  1. New marketing techniques. Think of some new, creative way to market to potential customers that the competitors haven’t taken full advantage of yet. Come up with a creative marketing campaign that would take the focus away from your competitors. Be creative.
  2. New Products. Come out with something that is better/cooler than your competition. Find something that would set you apart from your competition; offer something your competitors don’t offer.
  3. Niche Markets. If the new competition is especially fierce, than you can resort to niche markets. Find a niche within your market and focus on catering to that.
These are only a few ways to deal with new competition. I’m sure there are more, but this is a good starting place. Good luck!
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Natural Disasters, Percentages, and Life

If you watch The Science Channel too much, you will become depressed. It’s a simple fact of life.

Why do I say this? Killer volcanoes, killer wales, killer lakes, killer meteors, etc. Everything kills. There are so many ways for the natural world to turn on us. This would upset the normal soul, but, for some reason, it doesn’t upset me at all. In fact, I find it really cool… and it’s partially the reason why I love to watch The Science Channel. I have no idea why I like watching outlandish disaster scenarios that will probably never happen within my lifetime, but they are entertaining.

Besides the entertainment factor, they do put life in perspective. You could die at any moment; your life is dispensable. The thing is, though, the chance of a giant meteor hitting the earth during your lifetime is very small. It’s safe to say that it will never happen to you. But, there are so many random ways that you could die. All these percentage add up until it becomes more threatening.

It is kind of depressing, but it is a fact of life. Live life to it’s fullest and keep in mind that every day could be your last.

P.S. Yes, killer lakes do exist.

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Adult generalization; I hate it

A pet peeve of mine is when adults, typically middle aged + people, stereotype and generalize teenagers. They, a lot of the times, think that all teens don’t listen to their parents, don’t obey the rules, don’t make good decisions, etc. Most of the time, these generalizations are not true. People my age (with the exception of listen to their parents) are better than most of our parents. We might not have the experience, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t make educated decisions… and since we are in school, our minds are mentally more active than someone who does the same thing day after day.

What bothers me the most is when some older people will not only submissively push their authority on us, but will claim that they are superior. Just because your older doesn’t mean you’re smarter than me. Sure, I’ll listen to you and do what you tell me to do, but don’t say “I’m older than you, and I’m therefore smarter than you” or “I’m older than you, and I therefore have more common sense than you”. It might be true sometimes, but what’s the point of saying that. What are you trying to prove? When will I realize that I’m figuratively yelling at my blog?!

P.S. I am not referring to my parents.

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What is hipster?

Recently, I have heard/seen some claims from people that believe that hipster is too mainstream. I think we need a refresher of what exactly “hipster” is, and what being one means.

Hipster is NOT liking certain bands, wearing certain things, doing certain things and having certain hobbies. It is doing what is not the norm. Knowing this, it is impossible for Hipster to be mainstream. Hipsterism is relative.

No one really knows what Hipster means because it means everything that isn’t mainstream. Hipster is more of an umbrella term than anything else as there are many different categories of Hipsters, but I won’t go into this. No one can really say what it means to be Hipster or what you have to do to be one. This may sound like a bunch of BS, but it really is something that you have to be… a little like genetics, for lack of a better explanation. The life of a hipster is as follows:

  1. You find something you and a few friends like
  2. It becomes mainstream and not cool anymore
  3. Repeat steps 1 and 2
This is the reason why Hipster is relative and cannot ever be mainstream. I hope this brings some form of enlightenment to the subject; and as always, those of you whose opinion differs/is similar to from mine, feel free to comment.
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Lettuce

Yes, this is in fact a blog post about lettuce. Why? Well… why not?

I’ve done my research, and as it turns out, Lettuce is awesome. There are 5 types of lettuce: leaf (also called loose-leaf lettuce), cos or romaine, crisphead, butterhead and stem (also called asparagus lettuce). (courtesy of illinois.edu)

Iceberg lettuce (crisphead), commonly found in grocery stores and served in high school cafeterias, is not very nutritious. Some people like to believe that they are eating healthy when they get a “salad” with iceburg lettuce and tons of cheese and chicken and dressing, but they are only fooling themselves. Romaine lettuce has much more value to it’s calories, having multitudes more protein, fiber, vitamin A and C, and other nutrients. It does taste slightly more sour than iceburg lettuce does, but other agents in the salad that would weaken the sourness (I.E. dressing). If you are ever choosing lettuce for your salad, consider this: the taste of the lettuce is usually taken over by the dressing. So, you might as well go with the healthier variety; Romaine. There are other good, nutritious lettuce varieties out there, but this is my favorite and it’s widely available.

Dark green lettuce, like Romaine, is full of nutrients that help your body function. In a good salad, that bitterness will not even phase you as the rest of the salad has somehow counteracted it. In a way, salad-making is an ancient balance of taste sensations that has been carefully perfected, but is new combinations come out daily. I would not be surprised if there were college majors in salad-making. So, my point is that you should think long and hard (and crispy, and dark green) about your lettuce choices. And remember, lettuce is awesome.

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Book Review and Summary: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, is based in a English suburbia, in a large town called Swindon. Christopher, the main character, is an Autistic teenager and a mathematical genius. The reader follows his story as he undergoes a series of unfortunate events that mostly deal with his volatile domestic life.

Summary

It begins with a next-door neighbor’s dog who was killed with a garden fork (hence the picture). He decides to be a detective and find out who killed Wellington (the dead dog). His father does not want him nosing around in other people’s business, but he does anyway because he is writing a book about it. His father finds this out and hides the book, but that didn’t stop Christopher from searching for it. He finds the book, a long with 40+ letters addressed to him from his mother, who (up until this point) was dead. His father tries to explain and vows to never lie to him again, so he tells him that he killed the dog. Christopher becomes frightened of his father, and thinking that he might kill him, he decides to escape to his mother (who lives in London). Even though Chris’s father apologizes for what he did, Christopher doesn’t trust him and he leaves that night. He has never left Swindon and he is afraid of new things, so this is very difficult for him. He takes a train to London, avoiding police who want to take him back to his father. He finds his mother and stays with her, but she, her boyfriend and Chris’s father argue over him. She breaks up with her boyfriend soon after; she and Chris soon move to an apartment. The story ends with his father giving him a dog with the hopes of Chris speaking to him again.

My thoughts

Chris, the main character, intentions were to write a mystery novel about Wellington.  Then, he found out his mother was still alive. He treats this as secondary to the mystery of Wellington’s death, even though it is obviously the more important issue at hand. There are a lot of instances like this in the book; where Chris doesn’t see the big picture and the reader does. This mainly due to Christopher’s condition. It also turns out to be the main reason why this book is very interesting. The reader sees life from inside Chris’s head. We (the reader) understand what he is thinking and why he is thinking it, what he is doing and why he is doing it, etc. There are also some slightly odd things that he does that are interesting… for example:

  • Hiding in small spaces
  • Not liking brown or yellow things
  • Barking at people who threatens him
  • Screaming and shutting down when there are too many people around him
  • Not understanding many emotions
  • Not laughing or smiling… ever

It is very interesting to be an autistic person’s head, and it teaches us (the reader) things we couldn’t otherwise learn. That’s why I like this book.