Author Archives: Randy Peterman

WordPress 2.7 Wows Me

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I had installed WordPress 2.7 as a beta last month.  When the final release came out WordPress notified me, but instead of like previous versions, it just let me click a link and it handled the upgrade on the server with very little fuss.  It was like buying a 2008 Honda knowing that when the 2009 Hondas came out you could push a button and for free your Honda would upgrade to the latest.  Before several steps were required, now, I just click a button.  Wow.

The new interface for administration is very clean and polished and easy to use.  Wow.

The ease of editing posts has been taken up just a notch, which is quite nice.  Wow.

I can install plugins from within the plugin interface without having to download and unzip zip files, it just works.  WOW!

Thanks to Matt and the rest of the team at Automattic for a fantastic release that is well worth the upgrade.

Remnants

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I have been driving Abby to school this week.  Evie has come along for the ride.  There have been geese in a field on the way to school but this morning they were gone.  I asked Evie if she could see any geese.  She could not, but she did tell me,  “I can smell the poop of the geese.”

Design Work: I Love It

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I’ve been doing iterative design work for a podcaster I know and respect.  When the time comes I’ll be able to announce who it is, but I have to say: I love it!  Design is subjective, but even if things are super simple, and I hope that you think they are when you see it, they need to be well thought out.  There needs to be a reduction in clutter, distractions, and elements on the page that make for a poorer user experience.

The other thing that I’ve loved is the back and forth between myself and this podcaster.  He knows just enough of what he wants that I don’t feel in the dark, but he’s also given me some freedom to help clean things up as well.  We’ve worked well as a team despite my generally busy schedule.  Late nights can take their toll, but I’ve been energized by the design process, and design is just a great outlet for me to get some creative juices out.  Thanks mystery podcaster for letting me participate in your fun!

How To Write a Christmas Wishlist

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If you’re like me then you get Christmas wishlist requests from various relatives.  Some of the folks want them to find inspiration, some of them want them to ignore, and others want them so that they can get you something you’d like.  Either way here are some simple tips on compiling the list:

  1. Figure out gifts at different price ranges.  With the economy being somewhat sketchy lots of folks are cutting back, by giving people several options in different price ranges you’ll be able to let people use the list.
  2. Take a walk through your house and see if anything you already have reminds you of something you’d like.  Do you have a DVD collection?  Do you have some things in your kitchen that are old but could be replaced?  Do you have some clothes that you really like but would love in different colors?
  3. Take a walk through your nearest big box store.  WalMart or Target could have hundreds of items for sale in all of the price ranges on your shopping list, run through one of the stores and make a list
  4. Find the items on your list on Amazon and if the list is in Word or HTML format provide links to the items there.  Amazon.com often offers other suggestions when you look at products, keep a lookout for those items.  You can also create a wishlist on Amazon.com – make a note of the link and send it out if it will help those needing the list
  5. Check, mark, underline, bold and or italicize things that are most wanted.  I can think of 100 things I might like for a wishlist, but there are only a hand full of things that I would really, really like.  Make it known so that the persons involved don’t feel lost in a see of too many choices.
  6. Make sure that there aren’t too many choices.  If you’ve only got 5 things in each category you’re more likely to get those things and help people make an informed choice.

WordPress 2.7

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I’ve installed WordPress 2.7 for this blog (and will be updating others shortly.  You shouldn’t notice too much different, but I wanted to alert users to the potential for change (and this has nothing to do with the Obama campaign).

Accidents with Purpose

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Our friends Mike & Louanne were in an accident 10 years ago today that could have been life ending or much more severely life altering.  They put up a blog post about it which you can read here.  The Lord has used Mike & Louanne in our lives over and over and reading this make me thankful all the more for our friendship. They have been instrumental in our well being emotionally, spiritually, and through my work with Mike at Alt-N, financially.  Go read this and be inspired and take a few moments to meditate on what really matters in life and how God may very well be trying to teach you something in the less than fun moments in life.