Briefs

  • 3 things I’m grateful for, this second week of August, 2021:

    CleanShot X: This handy little app is a fantastic way to take screenshots, mark them up and then easily share them. But the killer feature for me is the ability to make gifs out of screencasts. It’s $29 (once) OR it comes with Setapp.

    Nice Pens: I will generally celebrate a big launch with a new pen (or some other related hobby thing). Since mid-July I’ve launched 3 courses, so I picked up a new Leonardo Momento Zero Magico. I’m excited for this to arrive because I LOVE my first Leonardo pen.

    Being Candid: It’s very rare that my candor has failed me. I generally try to be straight with people and they tend to appreciate that. It served me well a couple of times this week and I’m grateful for my parents and other influences in my life who taught me that being candid wasn’t a bad thing!

    That’s it for this week! What are you grateful for? Let me know in the comments!

    August 13, 2021

  • Quick Preamble: I’m starting a new short form post on this site where every Friday I post 3 things I’m grateful for. You can eventually find them all in the Grateful archive.

    3 things I’m grateful for, this first week of August 2021:

    The Studio Neat Totebook Mini: I LOVE notebooks. I have a whole drawer full of field notes, and I use a customizable notebook for my planner and journal. But these pocket notebooks from Studio Neat as absolutely perfect to write in. They are a great size, support fountain pens, lay flat, and have a sturdy cover. They might just be my new go-to pocket notebooks.

    Highland Orchard: On Saturday we took the kids peach picking at a local orchard and they had a blast. We got to spend some time outside on a beautiful day, and by the end the kids were so tired, bed time was a breeze. Fun day + easy bed time = TKO to this parent.

    Baseball: I love baseball. I think about it a lot. I read about it. I watch it whenever I can. And with. the Yankees picking up Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo they look like a good team again. They are playing the Field of dreams game next week. Plus, Team USA is going for gold this weekend in the Olympics. It’s a good time for baseball.

    That’s it for this week! What are you grateful for? Let me know in the comments!

    August 6, 2021

  • There are 2 absolute truths about me when it comes to books: I love reading and I don’t read enough. I try to read 18 books a year but generally end up around 12. I’m also of the opinion that I don’t read enough fiction. I focus mostly on Business books and US History. There have been a bunch of great books I’ve read in the last few years that really shaped my approach to running a business and how to grow it into something more sustainable without killing myself in the process. They’ve been so integral in the way I do things that I want help other people in the same way they helped me. That’s why I’m giving away 4 of my favorites. Enter after the jump.

    August 8, 2018

  • Every so often I decide it’s high time I start learning some new skills. My first “learning binge” was a pretty successful one, as I accomplished everything I hoped I would. My second one took a little longer than I hoped, but in the end I still hit a couple of good goals. There are a few kinks I need to work out of both projects but they are more or less in the wild. This time around, there’s a list of things I want to learn and project I want to work on and release. Much like last time I will use those projects to learn new things, but there’s a new challenge: time management.

    April 11, 2016

  • Whew. It’s been a little too long since I’ve done one of these. With the semester starting things have gotten super busy for me!

    This morning I was able to help a fellow Coalworker with an issue regarding WordPress that was solved by using pre_get_posts (tutorial coming soon). This is significant for me because a year ago, I had no idea what that was.

    September 15th was my 1st anniversary at Crowd Favorite and this job is definitely the reason I knew the solution so quickly. I’ve learned so much in the past year. Longer post on that to follow.

    September 23, 2015

  • I still remember 9/11/01 really well. I was a teenager, I was taken out of class & brought to my mom’s job/my grammar school, and my friend Amy & I refreshed CNN.com constantly. I knew the world changed, but didn’t have the perspective to realize how.

    That’s why what I remember most about 9/11 is the respect we had for each other in the days following. I miss that.

    Today there’s so much animosity. Differing opinions = a lack of respect.

    The lesson we should remember from 9/11/01 is that we can & should unite. We should all respect each other, because we are all the same.

    September 11, 2015

  • For today’s 100 Words, I’d like to deflect to the Organizers of WordCamp US. It’s sure to be a great event with lots of amazing people, and the first one outside of San Fransisco. If you can come you definitely should. I know I’ll be there!

    WordCamp US 2015, held December 4–6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has opened a first round of ticket sales. This three day event features 2 days of scheduled content and 1 contributor day. The cost is $40.

    More details about speakers will be announced soon, as will information about the 2015 WordPress Community Summit.

    Please join us for this inaugural WordCamp US event!

    September 9, 2015

  • I’ve been a little off since getting back from California. Between all of the summer traveling I did and then getting sick the first week of the semester, I’ve been having trouble focusing and getting things done.

    This weekend, a long weekend, I’m home in Scranton. I’m hoping I can use the extra time to get back on track and caught up on work. My apartment is clean, I have coffee, and if I really need, the Italian Festival is going on right outside my building.

    I have lofty goals for these 3 days but I think I can do it.

    September 5, 2015

  • Last week, Wisdm Labs published an interview I did with them and I think it turned out great! One thing that struck me was Namrata, the interviewer, asked me 4 questions that were specific to me. One was “If you weren’t a Front End Developer, you would be…” I chose photographer.

    I really enjoy taking photos and just bought the Nikon D3300, which I love so far. It served me well in California.

    I can write a lot more than 100 words on this, but I’ve been trying to shoot manual. It’s a challenge but I think the photos turn out better.

    September 2, 2015

  • I’ve decided just this morning that I’m going to start each day with an educational video that’s less than 5 minutes long.

    A couple of years ago I spent a weekend with a group of friends when I realized they all knew way more than me about things not in their professional field. Since then, I’ve been listening to podcasts and reading non-tech related books and articles.

    One of my favorite video series, Don’t Be Dumb from Josh of Stuff You Should Know ended this week. That same organization puts out another series called Brain Stuff. I think I’ll start there.

    August 28, 2015