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Merry Christmas! Thought about this yesterday. Markup expression, technology speak using Font Awesome. #seasonsgreetings #css #html

Merry Christmas! Thought about this yesterday. Markup expression, technology speak using Font Awesome. #seasonsgreetings #css #html

Balance of Form and Pomodoros

In what I’ve called User Interface Driven Development, it’s very easy to get caught up in markup consistency, naming and CSS styling. In other previous experiences, I admit, there wasn’t much attention paid to these things. But now, markup isn’t just markup anymore. Class names aren’t just labels anymore. And CSS isn’t just styles, anymore. Being mindful of file structure, unused styles, miscellaneous code, and deliberate naming, these are all things that make a difference. When you proceed with this kind of approach, it definitely helps maintain the application going forward regardless of who’s involved.

In recent weeks, I’ve grown to understand the concept of “spaghetti code” and why it’s just something to stay away from. With front end alone, I’ve seen at other places just how much of a mess it can be with CSS and JavaScript files, how it can be (very) frustrating to comb through conflicting issues, forcing a CSS solution with things like !important or trying to pinpoint the right JavaScript function to make changes. I can say that part of that was from my own doing, but now I’d prefer to not have the headache if given the choice. I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like with a back end in a similar state (and within a very complex application). Convinced it’s worthwhile, paying attention to the aforementioned details are certainly a good way to go about prevention.

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User Interface Driven Development: Uniting Business, Design and Development

There’s a concept that seems to stand out and is more of a practical and professional practice that’s not necessarily taught: User Interface Driven Development. There are articles out there that use the term, although I may be referring to it differently with what I’m thinking. It’s a concept I’m associating with software development, in particular.

Previously, I’ve heard others say that Software Development isn’t exactly all about programming. There are a number of facets involved, which falls very much in line with the designer’s (or creative) process. I’ve been exposed to something similar, but not from a development standpoint. In Hearken’s case, software development is a full-fledged team effort spanning business, client, and those involved in both design and development. The term stakeholder has also been described to be an active participant in this process, but can vary in definition. I see them as kind of like clients you need to impress.

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Hearken Retrospective: First Week

The opportunity to begin practice as a Developer took me awhile. There’s a lot I can write about in my experience so far (I even had another blog entry ready to publish), but it’s best to begin with more of a reflection.

I’m very honored to be Hearken’s first Development Intern and to be working for Corey Haines, Jennifer Brandel and their team. It is not often that an opportunity like this comes along. Regardless of industry, not everyone has an internship program in place where there’s a balance of great mentorship/teaching, patience, good pace, time to work independently, and learn in a relaxed environment. This is all without feeling anxious about underperforming. I’ve been conditioned to expect otherwise, so I’m extremely thankful. I’d imagine things will get tougher as I get further into my projects, but also know I can lean on our team for support when needed.

Corey and company have created this program with part-time hours in mind to assist with a career transition, and over a few months. It’s pretty clear how mindful they were in considering the future of entry-level developers. The gap between developers out of bootcamp and full-time development practice is pretty intimidating, and they’re doing their part to help the technology community bridge that gap. From a business perspective, I’m also aware of how an internship program may hurt business core and overall productivity in allocating resources. So, devising it to be a win-win for both the intern and company was simply genius.

This type of mindfulness was applied to the principles of their software development, which I’ve only begun to understand and is a good blog entry for another time. But as I said, I could write about many different things just by having spent one week with them. In a matter of days, we’ve deployed an internal tool that the others are now using everyday and something I’ll continue to work with over the internship. Not to mention, it’s well-crafted and includes pertinent tests.

To make a difference, especially that quickly, is pretty awesome. There is a ton to learn, but understand how fortunate I am in getting a start with Hearken. So much that, outside of business hours, I’d like to see how best I can be of help to beginner developers.

How to (Really) Repair Permissions on your Mac

This seems to work better than the desktop version. Lion has been smooth so far. (Yeah, not exactly happy I can’t run the latest OS)

Originally, I was having issues with iTunes after updating to the latest (version 11.2.2). Not sure what was going on, but the message was:

The iTunes Library file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file.

This fixed the problem.

9 years ago

How to Play Your iPhone’s Music on Your Computer When You Can’t (Greyed Out, Not Mac Source)

I have a MacPro (First gen tower) and MacBook Pro (retina). My iPhone is synced to my MacPro.

When I’m away from the source and on my laptop, I sometimes find that I can’t access my connected iPhone’s music on iTunes. I’ve seen this has been frustrating other users, myself included. Sometimes I can navigate through the library easily. Other times, it’s greyed out.

I just did this, and it worked:

  1. Disconnect iPhone from computer (rMBP) appropriately.
  2. Make sure both your computer (rMBP) AND iPhone are on the same wireless network. Once connected, reconnect iPhone.
  3. Check iPhone’s music library in iTunes.

Did this work for you? I’d like to know.

18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently

To pick an artist’s mind is to also know the creative process and the person inside. A creative friend of mine pointed out your experiences reflect what you create. He’s right and was talking about photography at the time, but I think it’s true in a broader context. It gets more interesting when considering the problem and the process involved, especially with good limitations; exercises Paul Sahre brought us through at CCA.

Link via Liz L.

10 years ago

The Downside of Inciting Envy

I think there’s a lot to be said about this, but also to move past to champion ideals such as passion, compassion and support – for encouraging something more favorable and positive while cushioning the unpleasant. Hopefully, bringing the latter to a minimum and adding to a better world.

link via Prof J

10 years ago

User Behavior

I get user flow as concept, it’s second nature to design. But user behavior and biases are another story. With popular networks, it’s honestly painful and virtually repressive in being less received. Social media ideals aren’t adopted by mainstream I’m familiar with and notice there are very few that practice.

There’s a lot of good that can come from these ideals, however, and perhaps the continued proliferation of the digital world will break antiquated social barriers. Beacon of light, I suppose.

But right now, it’s concerning.

via @Fascinatingpics @ChapStacey