A New Look

19 Feb 2009 - permalink

I have previously used this site for experiments with new frameworks and testing various integration with external sites such as Twitter or Flickr. The blog format is an easy Hello World type of initial project and I’ve implemented the core parts in the PHP frameworks like Symfony, CodeIgniter and the currently used Zend Framework.

When I last redesigned the blog in October 2007, the typography was based heavily on the Blueprint CSS framework and fitted for blog posts. This worked fairly well.

Since then, I’ve added Twitter integration for quick thoughts (now replaced by internal system) and Flickr for photos. The brevity of these notes made the page look cluttered and the distinction between posts was not as clear as it should have been. This was the primary reason for this new look.

I think the comparative screenshots above illustrates the point exactly. There is a much better separation of content in the new on the right and I am frankly appalled at how it looked before with text all over the place. I belive this is a step in the right direction :)

Strategies for tagging content

17 Feb 2009 - permalink

Tagging has become the preferred way of organizing digital content through keywords. Sites like Flickr and Delicious have pushed the adoption. Michael Dominic K. offers some thoughts on how make tags useful when actually trying to find that item again.

There is a creational difference between tagging for content and tagging for context. In the first case (tagging for content) we’re applying the tag to name (describe) something already existing in the tagged object. Ie. a person, following the photo example I’ve given earlier. When tagging for context, we’re adding new information to the target.

3 “Opened” Projects

10 Feb 2009 - permalink

Staying focused:

Dad has a simple method for keeping himself busy and entertained with what he’s working on. He simply starts 3 projects at the same time. He can work on whichever he pleases throughout the day, and go back and forth as his mood permits. If he becomes bored with a task or needs to think about how to do something, he switches tasks. By the end of the day he’ll have completed, (or nearly completed), 3 different projects. This is much better than only making halfway through a single project and getting distracted.

Scienta ZF Debug Bar 1.1

10 Feb 2009 - permalink

I am happy to announce the latest version of my debug plugin for the Zend Framework is now online. v1.1 includes improved view variable output and support for multiple database adapters. Have a look

Who Cares What Technology You Use

6 Feb 2009 - permalink

Good advice by Jeff Atwood on developers’ fascination with shiny toys and new things.

Don’t let the pursuit of new, shiny things accidentally become your goal. Avoid becoming a magpie developer. Be selective in your pursuit of the shiny and new, and you may find yourself a better developer for it.

Throw Your Computer a Bone

3 Feb 2009 - permalink

Excellent post by Alex Payne on apps that recreate the filesystem

If you want to store data of differing types within a lightweight organization system, I encourage you to check out the filesystem.

And a suggestion I’ve been living by with great success:

If you don’t want to be forever accumulating applications, store stuff as plain text on the filesystem. It’s dead reliable, you can shuffle it about however you want, and you’ll be able to search through it quickly, even without an index.

Programmers Are Tiny Gods

30 Jan 2009 - permalink

Derek Powazek:

Programmers are the Gods of their tiny worlds. They create something out of nothing. In their command-line universe, they say when it’s sunny and when it rains. And the tiny universe complies.

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