Posts by D. H. McKee

Website Analysis Isn’t a Game

A few games of Roller Coaster Tycoon don't usually translate into productive work, but for one developer the diversion planted the seed for making website analysis more intuitive.
Several years after playing those inspirational games, Robert Savage came up with VisitorVille, a website-traffic analysis package that essentially crosses the DNA of SimCity with that of the traditional chart- and graph-centric tools businesses have long been using.
VisitorVille employs a graphical, urban metaphor to present information about customers' real-time Web-traffic flow. A company's entire Web presence is seen as an urban or suburban neighborhood, with each individual Web page presented as a building. The more visitors on a site, the taller the buildings, and the brighter the lights on each floor.
[visitorville.jpg]

Good for you / Bad for you

On some days, they are hailed for their edible health virtues; on others, their culinary curse. Some studies boast of their abundance of life-extending antioxidants, while others warn of the poisons, fats, or other dangers they also contain.
They are those "back-and-forth" foods and drinks that keep making news for different reasons -- adding to a recipe for confusion when it comes to their real role in your health.

Low-carb diets bad for breath

Low-carb lifestyle junkies are more likely to suffer from a seldom discussed side effect of such diets -- halitosis, aka bad breath. And since more than 25 million people say they have tried the Atkins diet (not to mention other low-carb eating plans), according to the National Marketing Institute, bad breath may be an epidemic!
Bad breath in the low/no-carb sect is often caused by certain chemicals that are released in the breath as the body burns fat. They are called ketones, and entering into a fat-burning state of ketosis is the hallmark of the Atkins diet. So the good news is that if your breath stinks, you're probably doing a good job of sticking to that low-carb diet.

Home again (jiggity jig)

Well, made it back home, after only about 29 hours of travel, including a 6 hour layover in Vancouver, an...

Sydney Airport

Had a pretty good night’s sleep in an Ikea-styled room at the Ibis hotel in Sydney. The room was 30%...

Brisbane at night

The place really picked up last night as we went out on the town. Stopped in at an open-air bistro/bar...

Brisbane

Sitting in the lobby of the grand Metropolitan Motor Inn, in Brisbane. It’s around 8pm on Thurs. I’m kinda surprised...

Wedding over – Found internet

Sitting here in Coloundra, Queensland, in a tourist store that luckily has internet access. I was going to try to...

Flying to Brisbane

Huzzah! Posting from the Sydney airport, waiting for a flight to Brisbane. Pretty cewl setup here… only $4 (payable in...

Darling Harbour and Newport

Got a chance to drive out to Darling Harbour yesterday, then on to Manly beach. Got to see the inside...