The difference between these two roles is slim, yet vast. Both are to learn from a master, to pick up the skills required to do what the teacher does. Both learn from observing and being in the presence of the one who has experience and wisdom. Both are focused on become craftsmen in the field in which the master is well known. But an apprentice does it with the focus on earning wages. The time spent in apprenticeship leads to knowledge and wisdom in all facets of the trade. Not only must he un…
Front end web development gives me a lot of joy, but it's not without its frustrations. And so I'm always looking out for any tool that improves my processes and reduces friction. Espresso is a good example of a tool that does just enough without offering too much, and it's a permanent fixture in my tool belt. Another tool I've come to love is Hammer [http://hammerformac.com]. The slogan for the app says it all: > Build out static HTML sites quickly and easily. No fuss, no mess, no PHP. No…
Redefining yourself is never easy. The same is true for your business. This is part of the reason I admire the folks at OmniGroup [http://www.omnigroup.com]. When the iPad became available, they immediately set out to bring all of their apps to this new device (platform might be a better term). I respected this team before. My first exposure to their applications was OmniOutliner on OS X, a lovely tool. But my usage of various Omni-iOS apps has increased my respect tenfold. For they did not tak…
This latest iteration of my site is powered by Kirby [http://getkirby.com], a lovely CMS created by Bastian Allgeier. Kirby has no database and is folder based, so its simplicity is felt in managing the site and, more importantly, in publishing your content. EE can be set up to work with MarsEdit [http://www.red-sweater.com/marsedit/], a great tool. This would have made it much more palatable, but with my complex set up of multiple channels for different post types, it never worked correctly.EE…
It's been a truly beautiful winter in these parts. A lot of snowfall combined with temperatures low enough that the snow stays around, covering every tree you can see, has made for many stunning sunsets. What I love most is going out in the afternoon as the sun is beginning to fade. As it creeps to the horizon, it's light glances off the scattered clouds, turning the sky to a wonderful mixture of deep blue and bright oranges and pinks. In between the bold colours is the key, the soft subtle sha…
Here January is half over and I have not written once about the excitement and promise that a new year holds. This is unusual for me because of my fondness for the period between Christmas and New Year's Day. I look forward to that one week every year, a time to reflect and to plan. The week flew by particularly fast in 2012. There was flu in our house of six, Christmas Day, a litter of eleven pups … the quiet moments were few in number and short in duration. Still, when I did have time to simp…
Our family attended a funeral recently. It's interesting how differently people can respond to death, some mourning the life that was lost, others celebrating the life that had been lived. This particular funeral had a mix of both. The man who passed away, fairly unexpectedly, had been a Christian for 12 years. His best friend, who was not a Christian, gave the eulogy. He spent time sharing their experiences, describing a life of enjoyment and comfort. The son-in-law of the deceased, a former…
If one waits long enough, time will prove your routine. This has proven true for me and my writing and my personal website. A daily morning routine has given place for my writing, but on a larger scale, I tend to evaluate the entire site on a yearly basis. Looking back to my first blog in 2008, I can see that I have two routines for the site. It gets a visual refresh once a year. And the CMS changes just less than every second year. I started with WordPress, moved to Tumblr, made the leap to Ex…