Less Consumption, More Creation
Afternoon listening…
- Sookie, Sookie – Grant Green
- You’ve Got It Bad Girl – Hank Crawford
- Confusion – Ivan Boogaloo Joe Jones
Photos
Happy Birthday Mac!
The Mac turns 25 today so I decided to get my old one out to see if it would still work. After years in the attic, I was surprised to see that it did. This Mac is 18 years older than Ben…unbelievable!
Ben’s Martial Arts
Ben and Hayden really enjoy YouTube. Using a martial arts video that Ben found as inspiration, we filmed this clip on Sunday afternoon. After some editing with Windows Movie Maker, we posted the video on YouTube later in the day. Stay tuned for more.
How Did I Get Here?
Since starting my personal blog three years ago, I’ve learned a lot about the web and blogging. The truth is, that was my goal. I was more interested in learning the technology of the web and figured that building a blog from the ground up would be a good way to do it. I registered a few domain names, created a Blogger account and got down to business.
I always thought it would be cool to have my name as a domain. Since there aren’t too many Patrick Firestone’s in the world, I had no trouble registering patrickfirestone.com. Wanting a separate outlet for writing about technology, I registered calmcomputing.com. After three years of experimentation with the tools and little focus on the writing, I have reached the point where I want to put more of my thoughts out there. Some will be personal and some will be about technology. Either way, as a result of this experiment, I have a place for both.
Several months ago, a friend turned me onto a new hosting provider called Dreamhost. I was with my original hosting provider for 2.5 years and never bothered to see what else was out there. I was blown away after the switch when I realized what I had been missing. Through Dreamhost, I was able to have two Wordpress sites up in minutes. Having read a lot about Wordpress and the thriving plug-in and theme ecosystem, I was energized to make a quick migration from Blogger. Considering my original goal, it was like going from a neighborhood playground to Disney World. The capabilities of Wordpress go so far beyond what’s possible with Blogger. I’ve gone plug-in and widget crazy. It’s hard not too. Right now, I’m really getting into the Picasa Web Matrix which lets me show my Picasa web albums in Wordpress.
Coffee
This morning on my way to the Vista Fall TAP summit, I felt the need for some great coffee. Even though I haven’t had any for weeks, the cool Seattle morning made me crave it. I went to Larry’s Market to get a cup of Peet’s, but the Peet’s inside the store was gone despite the sign outside still hanging. Then I remembered reading a post by Robert Scoble talking about the “best coffee on the East Side“. A few minutes with Windows Live Local on my smartphone and I was at Victor’s enjoying a great cup of Costa Rican. I’m glad Peet’s was closed.