Rolling my own URL shortener

Thanks to the popularity of micro-blogging sites such as Twitter, URL shorteners are popping up everywhere. Bit.ly, one of the most popular shortening services, has raised over $2 million dollars in funding!

Despite their popularity, URL shortening sites are by no means a permanent fixture on the internet. A perfect example of this was tr.im, which announced last month that it was shutting down (and taking down all the links users had generated with it). Fortunately, tr.im decided to reverse its decision soon after. However, this shows how potentially vulnerable these services are.

For fun (and peace of mind) - I decided to experiment with creating my own URL shortener for personal purposes! This would allow me to periodically backup my database of links and also serve as a way to bookmark and share content that I find interesting. Plus, I was able to acquire a fun URL as well.

Say hello to dave.ly!

If you see links from it, you know it's from me and is something I thought was interesting enough to share! Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. I'd like to do some more things in the future as well (i.e., show a list of the most popular links).

Tut at Twilight in San Francisco

tut_mask.jpg *Source: Unknown*

Last night, Kerry surprised me and took me to see the King Tutankhamun exhibit that is currently on display at the de Young museum in San Francisco. This is an exhibit I've been wanting to see for a long time and it was an absolute blast.

It's hard to believe some of the artifacts on display were so well preserved and over 3500 years old. I mean seriously, how much of the stuff that we have today will still be around 3500 years from now and be in immaculate condition. (Note, my mom mentioned all our plastic products. Hah, good point I guess.)

Anyway, it was a fascinating opportunity to peer back in time and contemplate what life was like so long ago.

Bonus: We bought print outs of our cartouche, allegedly spelling out our name in hieroglyphs. Here is "David."

[

Cartouche -

](http://www.flickr.com/photos/22257962@N00/3946325169)

Travels through the U.S. and Canada

Banff
Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Last weekend, I returned to San Francisco after a two week road trip across the western United States and Canada.

Some of the places we visited included:

  • Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
  • Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
  • Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
  • City of Vancouver and City of Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Mt. St. Helens, Washington
  • Oregon Caves National Monument
  • Sonoma Valley wine tasting

Some select photos from part of the trip can be found below.

Rocky Mountains in Idaho
Sawtooth Mountain Range, Idaho

Hamilton, Montana - Night Shot
Bitterroot River in Hamilton, Montana.

Flathead Lake, Montana
Flathead Lake, Montana.

Columbia Valley
Columbia Valley near Radium Hot Springs, Canada.

Kootenay National Park
Entering Kootenay National Park, Canada.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park
Kerry and I at Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Canada.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park
Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada.

Lake Louise, Banff National Park
Banff National Park, Canada.

Athabasca Glacier
Wannabe Mountie.

Another song - Nate is a Daddy

At this rate, I'm going to be able to release a new album very soon. I'd call it "Horrible Songs for Good People."

Anyway, my friend Nate just had his first child. I decided to pull out the guitar again and write another song! It's called, "Nate is a Daddy" and is dedicated to him and the new addition to his family. It features his interests (freeways), his favorite sports team (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), and my favorite sports team (Los Angeles Dodgers of Awesome).

Lyrics:

Nate is a daddy, you can be one too! Nate is a daddy, what's he going to do?

Think of all the fun he'll have, waking up at night. Crying babies, lack of sleep, it's such a beautiful sight.

He'll teach her about freeways, And how the Angels suck. She should be a Dodger fan, for good luck.

But all that doesn't matter, at the end of the day. Because Nate is a daddy, So what do you say?

Nate is a daddy, what're you going to do? Nate is a daddy, you can be one too!

A birthday song for my roommate

Today is Mark's birthday. Mark is one of my roommates that I live with. I decided to write a song for him featuring references to his studies in science (bioengineering - eyes), his interests (Shark Week on the Discovery Channel), and his hobbies (making cheesecake).

I went ahead and recorded the song with my Kodak Zi6. So the audio quality isn't the greatest (nor is the singing ability). But really, what's the point of posting a video on YouTube if you're not going to embarrass yourself, right? Here you go!

Lyrics are below:

Happy birthday to Mark He studies eyeballs in the dark. He wants to get his Ph.D That really means a lot to me.

Happy birthday to you Mark. You enjoy shows about sharks. And you'll be a doctor one day, Which will help with the bills you have to pay.

You are my roommate! And I think that's really cool. You make some great cheesecake, that makes my mouth drool. Happy birthday to you Mark. Happy birthday to you.