Well, I can finally say, its done.  About as done as it is going to get.  I fixed the problems with the time zones, it is subscribable in Google Calendar, Thunderbird, and any other program that supports the iCalendar specification.  (Basically if it allows you to import ics files)  I wrote it with a cache function just in case the server gets hammered it wont be converting the csv to an ics file each time it is requested, only if the ics file is more then a certain age.  If it is under a certain age, it will simply serve up the old ics file.  This shouldn’t be a problem since the calendar doesn’t change that often, and when it does, it isn’t life or death that it updates right away.  Maybe I’ll code in a “force update” ability to it, but we’ll see.  My next project is to get a general csv to ical converter going for anybody out there.  Need to work on upload file security and dealing with differently formed csv files.  Not sure how I will do that, maybe have the user specify the column number of the required columns.  However I will run into the problem with how to create a UID that is constant so when an event changes it doesn’t just appear as a new event on the importing calendar but rather updates the old event.  I haven’t seen any csv files other then the crappy WebEvents format that Stevens uses, I will have to look around in case others include the added information for repeating events and such.  My next trick will be to automatically change the dates the program grabs from WebEvents, but I think that is for another day.  Right now, the converter is located at http://www.thegreatco.com/stevenscalendar/calendar.php Adding that link will get you the regular Student Life calendar (RSO Events mainly). Read more

So I read an interesting post on Hoboken411 the other day about Hoboken Urban Golf. The name alone peaked my interest, urban and golf in the same phrase? How could this be? Well, it can be, as strange as it sounds. So I’ve thought long and hard about this, what it might entail to play. I think it would be a great idea to set this up. Hopefully I can find some help and I think I’ll organize a league. Just need to do some scoping out around town to find some “unpopulated” places to play. Though we might have more luck, and probably cause less damage, just playing Frisbee Golf in Hoboken. Actually, Frisbee golf is quite a pastime of mine, however, I digress. I have thought about some rules to make it “interesting”.

1. Clubs cannot be bought from a store, rather they must be found. They don’t have to be real “golf” clubs, they could be almost anything you can hit a ball off the groud with.
2. Causing damage adds points to your score.

3. The only time you can go “out of bounds” is if it is a “shortcut” between or behind buildings that would shorten the hole.

4. Buildings are the edges of the rough, the street is the fairway.

5. No golfballs. They cause too much damage and go way too far on hard surfaces. Haven’t come up with a suitable alternative yet, maybe a racketball.

So far that is all I have come up with. Got any other ideas, let me know.