favorites

  • December 30, 2015

    Favorites of 2015

    2015 has been an interesting year for me. It’s my last year as a single man, I’ve launched a couple of side projects, traveled around a bit, and challenged myself a lot! I’m happy to say I’ll continue to do that and so much more in 2016! But for now, here are my favorites for another year 🙂

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  • December 31, 2013

    Favorites of 2013

    It’s time for my annual Favorites of  the Year post. Much like 2012, 2013 was a great year. I saw a dream of mine come true by getting my second book, Responsive Design with WordPress, published by PeachPit/New Riders. They’ve published most of the books that I read to learn about web design/development, so it’s a real honor to have my work published through them. And of-course, there’s all of the tech and media of the year. Here are my favorites.

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  • December 31, 2012

    Favorites of 2012

    I’m going to be honest here. 2012 was a pretty great year for me. A lot of amazing things happened in both my personal and professional life; most publicly, I got my first book published, and I hope do the same in 2013. While I don’t have too many traditions on this blog (something I hope to change in 2013), my Favorites of the year post has been a pretty good staple.

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  • December 31, 2010

    Favorites of 2010

    Happy New Years Eve! As tradition for the last couple of years, here is a list of my favorites from 2010.

    • Favorite Tech Toy: Amazon Kindle. Competition was pretty stiff this year with all of the new gadgets I got- an iPad, a new Macbook Pro, and most recently, the HTC Incredible. I also broke from choosing my cell phone as my favorite tech toy. I got the Kindle for Christmas last year and love it. I’m including it in the 2010 running because most of the use came in 2010. The reading experience is superior to the iPad, the book selection is huge, it’s lightweight and very portable, and I love that you can make notes and annotations on it. I feel like I read more in 2010 because of the Kindle.
    • App/Website: Dropbox. This is another thing I had in 2009 but didn’t start really using until 2010. Dropbox makes it amazingly easy to sync across all of my devices (Mac, PC, iPad, Android Phone). I’m considering upgrading so I can try some of the neat advanced things you can do.
    • Favorite Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My friend Katie recommended it, and even though it’s a fairly long book, it’s a quick read because of the fast pace of the story. I highly recommending it. I’ll be starting the next one soon!
    • TV Show: Dexter. I was lucky enough to start a series this year that I’ve been missing out on. Dexter is an awesome show about a good guy who’s also serial killer. The show is thrilling and intellectually stimulating, and the acting is rock solid. I highly recommend it if you’ve never watched it.
    • Movie: Inception. Leo DiCaprio had a great 2010. For a while, I though Shutter Island would be the best movie of the year. Then Inception came out and blew my mind. Cause for a lot of discussion and speculation, it’s a movie that keeps on giving, and an original idea at that.
    • Music: The Gaslight Anthem. My brother Phil and friend Danny told me about them in August/September and I’ve been listening to them daily since. I love their classic alternative rock sound (non of this new-alternative Nickelback crap) and the lead singer’s vocals are awesome. I highly recommend them. As far as new in 2010, Mumford and Sons is pretty awesome. You should check them out too.

  • January 5, 2009

    Favorites of 2008

    So this may be a little late, but hey- I wanted to be sure about what I was writing; and this year there were a couple late-in-the-game entries. Here is my first [annual?] favorites post. Covered this time around: new tech toy, website, software, movie, music.

    Favorite Tech Toy: Blackberry Storm
    This was a tough one considering: A- I’ve only had the Storm for 1.5 weeks and B- I got my first Mac this year. But the Storm is the best little device I’ve ever used. The UI is easy to get used to, it’s very versatile, and it can do a lot. I love the full browser and 3.2MP Camera, which my old blackberry lacked. And I know, the iPhone has had it forever. But it doesn’t have a click-screen or several options for an onscreen keyboard, which IMHO is a big plus. Because of the Storm, I could sell my old Blackberry, and my iPod Touch.
    Favorite Website: Freelance Switch
    As a freelancer, I am constantly looking for advice and tips on accounting/financial, legal, and client issues. Freelance Switch is a great resource with authors writing about all that and more. Plus, they have freelance job boards, forums, and ebooks, making the site a one stop shop for any freelancer.
    Favorite Software: Coda
    The ultimate Web Development IDE and one of the top reasons I’m a Mac user. Along with your run of the mill highlighted syntax, it suggests php functions, HTML tags, and CSS elements and attributes. It also has a visual CSS editor, built in shell for SSH, access to ebooks, and built-in FTP. It makes web development 100x more efficient.
    Favorite Move: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
    All the way up until Christmas, when I saw this movie, I was sure The Dark Knight was my favorite movie of ’08. However, Benjamin Button is a fascinating story that takes you through the 20th century via the tale of a boy born an old man and aging backwards. It’s skillfully done, Pitt and Blanchett are awesome, and the movie raises some interesting points about relationships of all kinds. A must see.
    Favorite Music: Anberlin
    I’ve liked Anberlin as long as I’ve heard of them, but 2008 was different. They put out a new album, which I love. I saw them at an amazing show in Philly, and they are actually getting radio play. My brother will be disappointed I didn’t pick Guns N’ Roses and the release of their long awaited CD, Chinese Democracy (which I’d also recommend), but Anberlin wins it this year.

    So there you have it. My five favorites of 2008. What do you think?