Android projects

Was seeing a bunch of Android projects, and there seem to be some pretty cool ideas to toy with:
1. Traffic aggregator using Android GPS feature: All phones using Android will use the GPS feature to anonymously submit their positions using which a central server will calculate their positions and submit the traffic on the road to other users. One can only receive if they agree to upload information of their position (velocity). Works great only if scaled. Can use current Google maps traffic (only highways; how do they do it?) for initial runs.
2. FriendFinder: Finds friends in proximity. They can be idle, busy or available. Possibly sync calendars since Google calendar allows a 2-way transmission. Use calendars to automatically show friends as busy if there is a calendar event at that time. Use Facebook/email lists to find people. Rank on most recent conversations/most number of conversations?? Ranking a huge problem in location based services. Would not want to know if a professor is nearby even if I colalborate with him (unless I want to run the other way :D)


On the other hand, reading Stephen King's On Writing, has some good suggestions, like emphasis on story and characters, which I had not thought about. Very Mishra style writing, would not do well in Rushdie type novels. Have no breadth in reading. Should improve to find my own style. Also has some good points on adverbs I did not think about. "Elements of Style" and "Warringer's Grammer" is something I definitely need to look at.

Reading Startup....by Jerry Kaplan behind GO.....great book....really has inside scoop of both the Valley and the number of things an entrepreneur has to go through (that is if he is not being molley-coddled like Zuckerman, who seems to have this head on his shoulders despite it). Should finish reading the book, and then read it again after a month so seep it in....same for King....have to concentrate more while reading....not good to have to go back to books....too many books being started at the same time.....

Most news articles have this "Print" option on articles that adjusts the page width to fit whole screen and pushes away advertisements....saw it from Sourav Guha first (trust a political scientist to come up with ideas like these :D ) Marvelous....now I can really make use of a 24" screen the moment I get it....was getting worried about sited like NYTimes, which are ineffective on a 24" screen as they come.....so is this blogger site....too small a window, wonder how to change that??

Domitilla seems to have written this cool paper on Molecular Biology which is the third most downloaded paper in Nature....looks like she hit a jackpot....relief for me since now I know what it takes....


Next steps:
1. Interconnections: Radia Perlman
2. Advanced Perl Programming: Srinivasan (have to go through a short Perl tutorial first)
3. Android programming: Do it using C+ Perl
4. Finish Startup...great book!!
5. Read Rushdie...tough read...but should be better after reading King....
6. FINISH KING!! end part taking too long!!!
7. Get "some" writing done...not blogging....writing.....thinking of a 200 word story....see where it goes.....
8. Ease back into work....


Music discoveries:
1. Killers: Read my mind
2. Coldplay: God put a smile on your face
3. Audioslave: Like a stone
4. Live: Dolphin's cry; Drama
5. RHCP: Dani California
6. Tom Pretty: Last Dance of Mary Jane (gross video...absolutely gross)
7. Alains Moristte (spell?) : Head over Heals