I took a few days off from this and most things online. I checked in once a day but didn’t spend too much time in front of the computer – I’m on vacation at the beach. It seemed wrong.
I did get a TON of reading done. I finished 3 books in the span of 4 days, which is some sort of record for me, as well as more than I finished in the last 6 months. I’ll have a more in-depth post on those, maybe even later today.
It was nice getting offline for a while. Sometimes I forget what it feels like.
I’m at the beach this week with Erin’s family, arriving here on Fenwick Island, DE in the late afternoon yesterday. While I do have to work today, I have the next couple of days off. One of the benefits of working remotely 🙂
Erin, her brother, and I woke up early (5am!) to go for a run on the beach. Waking up was rough, and the run was rough, but I’m glad we did it. It was nice seeing the sun come up.
I also feel a lot more productive today. Maybe I’ll even finish early and enjoy some nice sun.
This past weekend was the Fourth of July and I inadvertently took the weekend off by not spending much time at the computer. Instead I spent it with family and friends, traveling and enjoying the mostly beautiful weather. It was nice.
I was recently asked what’s the longest I’ve ever gone without a computer. During the Summer of 2004, I went to Ocean City with my cousins and my laptop died the night before. There was no time to replace it, so I went without a computer for the entire trip. Even as a college student, it was a refreshing break.
There’s drama in the WordPress community today, which happens about monthly seeming on the last day of the work week. Today’s is about being polite when shooting people down. This tweet by friend & instigator Ryan Duff is a good starting point.
https://twitter.com/ryancduff/status/616583733861351424
The problem is many coders think:
During a workshop I attended, a presenter made it seem like WordPress was so easy. “GEE I WONDER HOW YOU ADD A POST?” This is insulting and makes people feel stupid. I wonder how many wanted to use WordPress after that.
I missed yesterday’s post so today might be a two-for. As a short followup to a blog post I made a few weeks ago regarding the iPhone, I was convinced to use it a little longer.
I have gotten used to the phone a bit and have noticed some improvements along the way. It seems iOS 8.3 has added something of a back button in situations which is nice. Apple Pay is great, and the battery life is amazing.
I still miss Android’s sharing, but I do find myself really enjoying the good parts of iOS. I look forward to iOS 9.
Writing is hard! Sure, knocking out 100 words here and there about some topic is relatively easy, but I mean really writing.
Over the weekend I wrote a 3000+ word article for a publication that I’ll be able to announce later this summer. It took me the better part of a working day to do it. Here’s why.
It’s not just, “write.” I need to outline, make sure the flow works, research, write, find images, test code (if needed), proofread, check word count, proof again.
I want to make sure the article is done well, and done right. Luckily, there are editors 🙂
In under a year, I am getting married and moving to Allentown, PA to start a wonderful life with my best friend and favorite person. Because of that, I have been clearing house in my apartment.
Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?
Since my freshman year of college, I’ve stayed in this apartment longer than any other place, and stuff has been building up. I go through my closets regularly looking for stuff to donate and sell.
It’s really liberating: less clutter, less worry to about. I’ll need to remember that next time I go to buy something.
WordCamp Scranton is coming together nicely after a bit of a rocky start. We have generous sponsors, a solid speaker lineup, amazing volunteers, and a pretty stellar announcement coming up.
Planning this event is taking me back to college, being on USPB and all of the details involved in putting together a big event. Stressful but fun is a sentiment I think a lot of event planners would agree with. Working with people and dealing with financials can be tough, but seeing things come together is fantastic. Besides, hoping people have fun is the biggest stress of the whole thing!
I’ve been trying to read more; it isn’t working out the way I had hoped, but I’m still making the effort. I have started at least 3 books without finishing them, but right now I’m reading Gumption by Nick Offerman. I loved Paddle Your Own Canoe and couldn’t wait for the follow-up title by Ron Swanson.
It’s 21 essays about great Americans and how the exhibited gumption in their lives. I’ve made it through the Free Masons and am on Idealists. While preachy at times, I think it’s an excellent book so far. It’s definitely adding to my already long reading list.
Tuesday I went to a live recording of my favorite podcast, Stuff You Should Know. It was about Public Relations & the inventor of it (and bad guy), Edward Bernays. I recommend you listen to it when it comes out because it was super interesting; Bernays was, as Josh put it, an evil genius.
Some of take ways from the show:
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