Briefs

  • I’m getting the itch to write another book. It’s been about 2 years since I really got into the groove of writing Responsive Design with WordPress and about a year and a half since it came out.

    I’ve been kicking around a lot of ideas to coincide with other projects I’m working on, including 100 Words and TIL Podcast. Perhaps a book of short stories or something.

    I do have other ideas for tech books – specifically WordPress – but I want to seek a broader audience. I’m not sure I’m ready to write a fiction book yet, but something with more appeal, definitely.

    July 30, 2015

  • I’ve been thinking more about the TIL Podcast and what I need to do to make it a show people will actually listen to. I need a good hook to draw people in, and I’m not entirely sure one that’s just, “I learned stuff,” is good. See Friday’s post for why (spoiler: there are a lot of them).

    I’m thinking about doing, “Things I Learned Offline.” It might be a good hook and there is human interaction. I can build a story about how I came into the info, and the present the fact at the end of the show.

    July 29, 2015

  • When I woke up this morning I though, “I’m going to get a bunch of stuff done before work.” It’ll be a productive day! Then I spent 20 minutes wrestling with Chrome.

    My account needed to be re-verified. Fine. 2-factor auth. Great. “Your sync passphrase is different from your Google password. It was set 2.5 years ago.” What did I use 2 and half years ago?! I figured it out. Then I get an SSL Error on this site. I use a self-signed cert since I’m the only who logs in. I can’t seem to make this a verified source. Switching to Safari.

    July 28, 2015

  • On Friday I was presented with a problem that I had no idea how to solve. Unfamiliar with most aspects of it, I did what any reasonable person would do. I freaked out and went to bed.

    After a solid night’s sleep I did some research, came up with a plan, and by Sunday afternoon, I had a good solution to this problem implemented. It was frustrating, but invigorating when I finished.

    My favorite part about programming is just that. I went from “no idea where to start” to “working solution” in less than 48 hours. Problem solving at its best.

    July 27, 2015

  • Yesterday I mentioned that I’ve been kicking ideas around for the third iteration of TIL Podcast. The key is just putting it in a format that I can and will actually do.

    While the 1st format (a group of my friend and me talking about stuff) was great, it was difficult to coordinate. The same goes for the 2nd format: a one-on-one discussion.

    The other problem was making it weekly. That’s simply too much for me, right now. Making it every two or even three weeks, will allow me do it and do it right. Here’s to making it work.

    July 26, 2015

  • So much for writing a lot this week! I’m hoping Sunday will provide me ample opportunity for reading, writing, and R&R.

    I’ve been kicking around lots of ideas for my seemingly defunct TIL Podcast. Now that I have a nice new mic (Blue Yeti – thank you Prime Day) I’ve gotten a second (third?) wind for doing it.

    My latest ideas are to either: go back into old blog posts and do updates on the podcast, or jot down some things I learned over 2 weeks and talk about them.

    Either way, much like Justin Timberlake, I’m going solo this time around.

    July 25, 2015

  • I will be doing a lot of writing this week. a lot of writing. WordCamp Scranton was over the weekend, so the last 2 weeks saw me immersed that. I was making sure the event went off without a hitch. It did.

    That means there were a great many things I didn’t get to do, including tons of blog posts. I have a list. It’s long. Keep an eye out for these posts, as well as ones with more substance, and maybe even a review or two.

    I will also get the sponsor and wrap posts up for WordCamp Scranton.

    July 20, 2015

  • Hello from 5:45am! I’m working from Coalwork this morning, starting at 4am we opened up shop with Ryan Leckey from WNEP to promote WordCamp Scranton!

    While it’s super early (especially since I went to bed around 11:30pm), it’s very cool that they’d come down to do some spots with us. It’s also really interesting to see how things work from a production side of things.

    They got set up pretty quickly with a camera, a mic, and a floor light. They get general times, some vocal cues, and then boom, they are live with us for 2-3 mins. Pretty cool gig!

    July 16, 2015

  • An interesting thing is happening to me. about 8 years ago, I swore Macs were terrible machines. I would never buy one. 7 years ago I bought one. Further, I haven’t purchased a PC since, and have only used one minimally.

    8 years ago, the iPhone came out. I swore it was a terrible phone. Once Android phones came out, I told myself I would never switch to iPhone. A few months ago, I got an iPhone just to test. I used it for 2 weeks, steadfast in my opinion.

    I was convinced to try using it for longer. I am less steadfast now.

    July 15, 2015

  • NASA just released photos of Pluto. Honest to goodness, “Look we can actually see stuff on the surface” photos, from a space craft that launched in January of 2006. I was still in college and knew very little about anything.

    We sent a camera 3 billion miles into space to take pictures of a thing we knew existed but never actually saw (besides as a spec of light). If you don’t think that’s awesome (the actual meaning, not “man that taco was awesome”) I really don’t know what I could talk about that would interest you.

    And I still know very little.

     

    July 14, 2015