July 15th, 2010 §
Recently, the smart folks responsible for A List Apart and An Event Apart released the first project under their newest venture A Book Apart called HTML5 for Web Designers.
The book has quite a lot going for it. Primarily, it’s backed by some bright people who are at the forefront of web development and design. Authored by Jeremy Keith with support from Jeffrey Zeldman, Mandy Brown and Jason Santa Maria, it’s hard to believe this will be anything but a must-have publication.
The issue I have is that it’s only available in print so far. This seems ironic considering the subject matter: the power of HTML5 to present information across a digital medium. I’d like to see a little more leadership by example rather than killing more trees and putting those of us outside the US through the trials of international shipping. From what I see on their twitter feed, an ebook is a pretty common request and their responses indicate one will be available in August.
I’m hoping their next production sees a simultaneous release on paper and the web. The waiting is killing me.
August 21st, 2009 §
I am reviewing some WordPress Theme Frameworks right now, hoping to play with each one to see how easy they are to customize.
The frameworks I have investigated so far are:
Each framework provides the developer with a basic version of a theme, some with comments and documentation on how to build a theme from scratch. I have been playing with Thematic most of all (I am currently using the default Thematic theme) but I am currently editing a new theme using Sandbox.
I’ll let you know how it goes as I get more done.
July 17th, 2009 §
I’ve been in Scotland just over a week and I’m having a fantastic time. I visited a few great places in Glasgow and Edinburgh, met with friends and family, taken a bunch of photos on the iPhone and now I’m embroiled in the process of Real Estate from many miles away.
I arrived in Kirkcudbright to stay with my aunt & uncle late Tuesday after having dinner with family in Dalbeny and then a drive down to the coast. On my 2nd day here, I received an email from my Realtor asking me to check on a property I might like in Burnaby. I immediately realized I’d love to have it, and started the process of making an offer. I am in the process of this as I type, with paperwork making a digital transatlantic trek.
When I fly back to Vancouver, I may do so as a land owner. I’ll keep you up to date.
July 7th, 2009 §
I just got my haircut and it looks kind of tragic. I think the barber was distracted by another patron who was talking very loudly in Serbian or something.
Before I could say anything, my hair was a lot shorter than I wanted. But once it’s done, you can’t get them to put it back.
Photos later. Maybe.
July 2nd, 2009 §
I have had a blog at Alistair.com for around 12 years now. At the beginning it was a simple ftp down > edit html > ftp up. Now it’s WordPress and though I am nowhere near as prolific as my friend Derek, I use this site extensively for many other projects that are not public.
As a faculty member at BCIT (in Web Development, no less), you’d think I would have a nicer web site, or at least on that is current. Alas, I have constantly struggled with my writing and end up abandoning many posts because I get frustrated with the process.
None of that should prevent me from working on template and the interactions on the site, though. I thoroughly enjoy assisting my students achieve their potential when crafting their own creations, but somehow I slow down when working on my own.
So, I have reverted the site back to the default design that comes with WordPress until I can put the time and effort in to build something I am proud of.
Let’s see how long that takes.