I’m reading the book “Designing With Web Standards” by Jeffery Zeldman (of A List Apart fame) and I have to say that I’m absolutely LOVING this book! I cut my teeth on HTML 4 back in 1997 and the current meme of designing web sites based on web standards has been a bit of a confusing experience for me. I’ve been sifting through the source pages of sites like Simple Bits, among others, but it just hasn’t “clicked” for me. I could see what they did, but I didn’t understand it. It has been a bit like looking at hieroglyphics. I could understand that I was looking at a bird, but I didn’t know what the bird stood for. Well, Zeldman’s book is making it all clear now. I’m two-thirds of the way through the book and it’s totally changed how I create web sites. I wouldn’t call it an epiphany, but I can say that I “see the light.” If you do anything with web design, this book is a MUST read.
Month / May 2004
Clearing My Vision With Sprint PCS
I’ve been a Sprint PCS customer for many years. For the most part, my experience with them has been pretty good. I’ve heard plenty of tales from clients and friends about how bad their experience was and how they are so happy to have moved to Company X. Thanks to the Palm OS User Council, I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate the Treo 180 and the Kyocera 7135, each of which required an additional account through a carrier other than Sprint PCS. So I’ve had accounts with TMobile and Verizon Wireless, but I’ve always held on to my main squeeze, Sprint PCS. The main reason for staying was the fact that I have a 2 year contract. That contract was recently up for renewal and I lived to tell about it. 🙂
Why The Switch?
I was happy with the service that I’ve had over the years with Sprint PCS. Most of the travel that I do is to major cities, so I always have coverage. Dropped calls are common on all carriers and I don’t find Sprint’s quality to be any less than the other carriers that I’ve tried. What it did boil down to was price. Ultimately, if I could find a plan that afforded me the same services for less money, then I would consider a change to another carrier. But it was more than just saving a few bucks, the other reason I was considering a move was for the technology as well.
A Turn For The Worse
Last Thursday, just as the penultimate episode of Friends was about to come on, Holly made the statement, “After Friends, we’re going to Home Depot.” WTF? ??? My agenda for the evening was to stay firmly planted on the couch and submit to the “Must See TV” lineup for the night. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine myself going to Home Depot, much less check myself for scars afterward.
Going to Home Depot means work to me. If I’m shopping there it means that I have something I’m trying to fix, or I’ve started a new project around the house. Whatever the case, it means that I have work to do. By Thursday night, I’m not thinking about work. In fact I’m not thinking much at all. I’m usually zoned out on the couch until I drift off to sleep and then drag my sorry butt upstairs to finally go to bed. This past Thursday, we were supposed to be cleaning the house, because we had a dinner party planned for Dan and his wife Rachel and the house needed serious attention. However, Holly somehow convinced me that we needed to go to Home Depot first.
The Time Monster
Although writing regularly for this weblog has been a rather new thing for me, I have been writing pieces for work, or other web sites for many years. That being said, mashby.com has been some of the most consistent writing I’ve ever done in my life, which I’m quite proud of, but other the past few weeks I’ve been running into the same “monster” that I’ve run into with past writing tasks – time. Ask anyone these days and chances are they will all tell you that they could use more time in their day. Clearly most of us feel that there isn’t enough time, but for me the constraint of time is a real doozy on my writing.
There’s something about having to stop what you’re doing so that you can write. For me at least, that means that I have to slow down and relax. I have to collect my thoughts and then take the time to clearly formulate a story. I find it easier to write in the morning, before I’ve started my day and before my brain has revved up and engaged first gear. Those early morning hours, when my brain is just idling and warming up with a hot cup of coffee, is when I seem to do my best writing. When the day is in high gear and I’m going “90 to nothing”, it’s very hard to downshift and ease off the throttle long enough to write something halfway intelligent.