Family guy and web developer
The problem might be closer than you think.
If you feel stuck in your job then make a plan to get out. The only thing in your life that makes you stuck is you. But I’ll admit that it’s way easier to say it’s your boss’ fault. That’s our natural tendency always, make it someone else’s fault.
— Stuck by Curtis McHale
Read on for three book recommendations from Curtis to help with a change in your career path.
Today marks the start of a three week holiday for myself from my daily posts. The last few months have been a challenge in trying to post something every weekday. It hasn't always been easy, but it's been great fun.
Don't fret though, I'll still be posting links, fixies and other goodies through the week if that takes your fancy. I may even post some holiday snaps of sunny Toronto.
Regular daily posts will resume on the 5th of August. See you on the other side.
My first bike. A Kona Fire Mountain. I think it was the 1995 edition of the bike. Gold P2 forks with a dark green frame, cantilever brakes and of course a quill style stem. Those were the days. When mountain biking was still young. When bikes were all built to similar sizes and specs. It was like this for years.
Then innovation trickled through the industry in small, slow waves. Quill stems were gradually replaced with the new headsets. Cantilever brakes were slowly replaced by V-brakes and then after that disc brakes became the standard way of scrubbing down your speed on the trails. Rigid forks were replaced with suspension forks to allow for more comfort for the rider.
One component remained constant through all these innovative changes though. The 26" wheel. Since the first mountain bikes sold to the public, up until now, 26" wheels have been the standard wheel size for mountain bikes and its many disciplines. Cross country racing, downhill racing, trail riding, 4X, trials and street riding. Different disciplines and different types of riding, but they all used the same wheel size.
Then it started. The fragmentation as I like to call it. It started with a new bigger wheel size. The 29" wheel. The arguments for a bigger wheel were good. A bigger wheel would roll better over obstacles, the contact point where the wheel meets the ground is greater so there is more traction and you lose momentum slower than you would with a smaller wheel.
The downside? It's too big for your current frame and therefore you need a new frame and a new fork.
Then the 27.5" wheel came along. The old standard wheel size is too small and the 29" wheel is too big. Let's make a wheel that fits exactly in between they said. The benefits of a bigger wheel than the old standard 26" but without the much added weight of a 29".
Now, I'm not sure on the facts of this, but I have heard of riders who have in fact managed to fit 27.5" wheels onto a mountain bike frame with just a marginal change in the geometry of the frame, but if you're going to ride 27.5" wheels then I would at least think that I would only ride them on a frame that is designed to take them.
Wheels sizes are now forcing bike companies to assess what wheels they will pair with the bikes in their range. Already we're seeing bike companies with different wheel sizes in their range. You don't get the option of simply picking your preferred bike and wheel size. Certain models in the range will be tied to one of the three 'standard' wheel sizes.
And that's where I think it's sad for the mountain bike industry. Gone are the days where you can gradually over time upgrade your bike with better components as you know your bike is designed with sizes that almost every other bike uses.
Once you buy a bike that's designed for that one wheel size, you're basically stuck with the size for that particular bike. There will still be plenty of choice in components such as suspension forks, tyres and rims for those opting for one of the new wheel sizes, but nothing like the choice we had before.
I'm all for innovation and change. I'm a programmer for crying out loud. Most of my job is dealing with change and moving applications forward to use new platforms and software, but part of me wants to see a standard wheel size back for mountain bikes. I don't care what size it is, just a size that I know is going to allow me to upgrade my bike for longer.
Still though, part of me wants the 'one size fits all' wheel for mountain bikes.
James Shelley has some great thoughts on private correspondence.
In this age that champions transparency, this confession may at first be scandalous: if you ask me a question on a public forum and then again during a private coffee date, you may very well receive two different answers from me. Not necessarily contradictory answers, but different answers just the same.
— Private Correspondence by James Shelley
via FGGT
In the past I've tried to read two books every month. One fiction, one non-fiction. In the last couple of years though I have rarely been able to do this. Ultimately, I don't have that much free time to read, so instead I'm reducing my expectations and setting myself a goal of just one book a month. Here's my proposed reading list for the next six months:
Here is this years list of tools that help me on a day to day basis in my role as a web developer. There are other tools I use throughout the day for social networking and other things, but I've purposefully left these off the list, as I don't deem them necessary in helping me do my job.
My hardware selection is very minimalistic, at least I think it is. I've read about various setups from other developers that include multiple machines and usually more than two monitors. I stick with the view that I need only one machine and that I need it to powerful enough to build web applications but also portable enough that I can carry it with me.
These have been on the nice to haves list for a while but I think I'll consider at least one of these as a purchase before the end of the year.
This is the software that I use every day. These are the essential applications I need to work. If I had nothing else in terms of software, then these applications would be all I would need.
While I do use the following software every day, these are more like nice to haves rather than essential. Still, they make me more productive every day, so I'm glad I have them.
A web developer's playground. Just a small selection of the many services and products that I use online.
One backup is good, two is better. I've been lucky so far, but I think I need to beef up my backup strategy.
There was more to this list but I had to limit it to just my essential tools. If I included all the extensions, addons, plugins and other tools I used, this post would just be too long to read. I wanted to just give an overview of a typical set of tools that web developers use.
I wanted to share my apps setup on my iPhone for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to see if any one had similar setups on their devices and secondly, it's something worth writing about.
So how do I have my iPhone setup?
Right from the first day I got my iPhone I had my own specific setup in mind. The setup I'm describing is very similar to the setup I had on my previous Android phone. The first screen, the home screen, on my iPhone is limited to apps I use on a daily basis.
For a long time now I've stuck to the same types of apps on my home screen with just a few changes to the actual apps in the last six months. Here's what's on my home screen just now.
These are the apps that I use every day. I purposely keep this screen limited to just eight apps as it leaves some screen space so that I can see my wallpaper if it's a nice photo.
On the second screen is the rest of the apps that I use but instead they are categorised into folders.
I initially had these folders grouped by the verb that describes the action of each app after reading about the idea on Gina Trapani's Smarterware blog, but grouping them by a verb was difficult for some of the apps. Instead I just a name them to something that makes sense to me.
I've tried in the past to limit myself to eight folders on this screen however it just wasn't possible. I have enabled most of the notifications on this screen as a reminder that I have things that need to be done or reviewed. I very rarely switch to this screen unless I have a notification for one of these apps. Bookstand is also sitting on this screen awaiting the release of iOS 7 when I can finally put it in a folder.
I've had this setup on my phone for some time now, and I'm very unlikely to change it. I'm quite selective with my apps and I tend to stick to one app for one type of function. The only exception to this is the number of writing tools I have on my phone. I've had PlainText and Pop installed for some time, but I have been trying out Drafts recently.
Michael Wade is a management consultant currently based in Arizona and has been blogging since 2005. I found Michael's blog, Execupundit, through Nicholas Bate's blog and ever since I subscribed, I've been hooked on Michael's views on management, the workplace and life.
I'm always envious of bloggers like Michael who continually turn out not only excellent posts, but posts that make you question yourself and your work. Michael's posts take the form of random thoughts, quotes, links to other blogs, link posts and topical news.
Michael's blog isn't just for those in the levels of manangement though, it's for everyone. Michael is one of my blogs for recommended daily reading.
... is the best hour to write for Curtis. Maybe it is for you too?