My blog. Personal thoughts, anecdotes, and musings.
It occurred to me that since I tend to do a lot of stuff on Twitter (and occasionally on Facebook), I don’t use this blog for much. So here’s a quick recap of the last few months. I’ve spent the fall continuing to work at the University on some relatively unimpressive stuff while my student interns get to have all the fun. I also wrapped up the HTML5 and CSS3 book which is now shipping to homes, offices, and bookstores worldwide.
This week I start my new part-time job as a Development Editor at the Pragmatic Bookshelf{.popup}, the publisher I’ve worked with on my last two books. They’re wonderful people, and I’m honored to have the chance to work with them to help authors bring their books to completion. For those unfamiliar, a Development Editor works with an author to help guide the book’s progress. It’s part content editor, and part project manager.
My current book HTML5 and CSS3: Develop With Tomorrow’s Standards Today{.popup} is now available as a “beta book” download from the Pragmatic Bookshelf. Beta books are a great way to read a book before it’s finished and participate in shaping the book before it reaches production. Buyers get to read the book early, participate in forums and submit errata, and in exchange they get updates about every two weeks and a final copy of the book once it’s done.
Some students and friends of mine have been out looking for jobs lately, and as developers, it’s not always clear what you should wear. Dress too nicely and you’ll look like you won’t fit in. Dress too casually and you run the risk of insulting people or appearing that you don’t care enough to dress up for a job interview. Obviously the first thing you could do is just ask someone who currently works there what you should wear for an interview.
Reading my book, just received from the printers. I just received my copies of my book today, and that brings this chapter of my life to a close. Three years of work, two rewrites, a lot of frustration, and close to 3000 copies sold so far. I’m pretty proud of this book, and while there are a ton of things I’d do differently, I am glad I don’t have to do a third rewrite.
I got a new toy for my birthday this year, and have been spending a little time getting to know how it works. Shuffling on the Kaossilator from Brian Hogan on Vimeo. The Korg Kaossilator is a really simple device with only a few buttons and a touchpad. It’s a blast to play with and easy enough that anyone can make some cool stuff with it. This was actually me testing out some video equipment in preparation for a podcast i am planning to do, but my external camera won’t stay on unless I am actually recording something – using it as a firewire camera doesn’t work for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Well, almost. But today she decided to start really putting effort into it. She stood up and took quite a few steps. In this video, she’s falling a bit, but she still keeps making a huge effort and finally gets it at the end. Lisa walking from Brian Hogan on Vimeo.
I’m on schedule to have my book indexed and ready for one final beta before printing. I’m extremely excited to be almost done. I have some cleanup to do this weekend though. My editor wants me to be a little more assertive. I have no problem with asserting my opinions, but I thought that maybe my readers might. Turns out that’s just want my editor wants me to do, so I’m going through and making things just a little more… well, let’s just say forceful.
I miss being in shape. I used to work out every day. I’d practice karate, go running with Ana, and do some occasional weight training. It was part of the routine and I felt great. But then Ana started school, my consulting practice picked up, and of course we were blessed with Lisa. I found I had less and less time to get any workout time in. When I went to RailsConf in May, I was immediately shocked by the way Chad Fowler, one of the conference organizers looked.
My two-year-old DLP television died around April 18th. It’s getting close to a month now and after several phone calls and one failed attempt at at-home service, I am still unable to watch my television. I paid for a service plan which is supposed to cover this kind of stuff, but nowhere was I told that it would be fixed whenever they feel like getting around to me. I spent a long time on the phone with various agents.
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