Stumbled over another Java practice problem site for those poor bored individuals who just like writing code. This one is unique in that you are basically asked to implement a function which matches some specification you then write in a web form. On submit the site compiles the code and runs some unit tests against it to verify you have solved the particular challenge. You can create an account to track your progress if you like but its not mandatory. Pretty cool.

JavaBat

I’ve been working a lot on my flashcard application behind the scenes lately doing things like switching over to cocoa bindings, messing around with UI, adding little features here and there. I went through a drawer phase for a while but thankfully regained my senses and ripped them all out.

I went ahead and cleaned up the code enough that I’m not *totally* embarssed for other people to check it out so I added a page dedicated to the application as part of my wordpress site and added the source code to a free subversion hosting service (www.assembla.com).

Well, I’m not sure what is up with weather forecasting for the Maui area, but pretty much the only trend I can extract is that when they call for rain all day, its going to be gorgeous and 90+ degrees while if they call for a slight chance of rain, that means downpours for sure.

How have we been keeping ourselves entertained you might ask?

• Went and checked out the sharks, turtles, and other fish at the Maui Ocean Center . They also put on a bit of a show where they put a diver into a big old tank to feed the fish and allow you to do a bit of a Q&A with the marine biologists.
• Drove though Kihei down south to check out the lava fields and do a bit of snorkeling, ended up doubling back and spending the afternoon at the delightful Big Beach .
• Saw a fantastic magic show over at Warren & Annabelle’s .
• Went on an nice day hike up the Waile’e Valley, along a river and over a couple of suspension bridges, up to a waterfall. Apparently Lost filmed some scenes up here.
• Had a late lunch in Paia and ended up spending the afternoon at the Paia Bay Beach .

After seeing the weather reports from back home I am *not* looking forward to going home tomorrow.

Picture on Flickr as usual.

What did we wake up to this morning?

Yep, total downpour, pretty much all day long. O’ahu took the brunt of the storm, getting 14(!) inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Maui didn’t get it as bad, but it got a whole bunch of rain. The 5 day forecast isn’t looking too hot either – laugh it up all you haters, bitter that I’m in Hawaii and you’re not . We’re not letting it hold us back though. Today we took the drive out to Hana anyways and we have more plans for the rest of the time here. Yesterday was actually really nice, perfect to drive up to over 10,000 ft and check out Haleakala.

More photos over on flickr.

Even more over on Jason’s Blog.

Spending a week in Kahana with my parents, my 3 younger brothers, and my younger brother’s family. Its my first time to hawaii, what are my quick first impressions?

• I’ll take 80-85 degree weather over 30-40 degree weather anyday, cloudy or not.
• Things in Maui are pricey – gas is about $1 more a gallon than back home, food ranges from slightly to extremely more expensive.
• Some areas of Hawaii remind me of pictures I’ve seen of the moon, or ones sent back by the Mars lander, others remind me more of eastern washington. I’ve only seen a bit of land so far that reminds me of Jurassic Park
• Walking through Lahaina, most of it seems really touristy. I’ve never seen so many people trying to sell you time shares clustered together in like a 5 block radius before.
• Little kids like to get up early. really early.

Bored? First round of photos can be found here.