Thoughtful Preparations: Media Spin Blog

Fortunately the WordPress upgrading process has become familiar enough, so there are few worries.  WordPress is now up to version 2.8.4. Upgraded this blog as well as greberadio.com.  Part of the process is to de-activate and update the various plug-ins that extend WordPress functionality.  Both sites now have a new Contact page, enabled by a PHP plug-in.

It’s good to see the progress WordPress software developers have made with this free web publishing platform.  I’ve worked with it long enough to feel comfortable with it for use in developing a variety of new web sites.

Here’s a few cool articles from Best Design Options covering top WordPress plug-ins and themes.

Chocolatized Logo

Did this in half an hour for a client.  Quick tutorial: Found Nike swoosh online.  Placed into Adobe Illustrator, Live Trace, Expand, Duplicate, create Offset Path with rounded corners, Expand, Fill with gradients, Export to PSD.  Open in Photoshop, play with Layer Styles->Bevel and Emboss on layers.  Done.

AT&T jobs promotional e-mail header

Are they all sharing one cubicle?  Do they always have lunch together, have outrageous fun, and make their coworkers sick?  Is their boss trying to squeeze into the janitor closet to join the party?  Is she envious of their youthful exhuberance?  Will they continue to bond this closely when one or two of them are right sized?  Will I get more emails with more positions?  Does the company provide free happy pills?  Is the white male trying too hard to belong?  Are they laughing at you because they have better jobs than you do?  Are they standing waist high in a big hole?

Here it is, I’m going to write it down so we don’t forget: the secret to designing a great product. This nugget of advice appeared in Friday’s SF Chronicle, in The Tech Chronicles article by Ryan Kim, “Apple iPhone exec jumps to venture capital firm.”  In the article, the Apple exec, Bob Borchers says,

The key for developing products at Apple was saying no to a lot of features and additions and instead focusing on usability and ease of use.

iPhone 4G Prototype

Scrap iron sculpture of CP30

I am exploring Emeryville, California, as I commute to work there.  There are many warehouses such as Sherwin-Williams paint and Peets Coffee.  Drive along its flat pavement and see old trucks hauling loads of garbage bags, scrap metal and junk.  Some of the junk is recycled very nicely, as in this scrap iron version of the shiny golden Star Wars butler robot CP30.

This futuristic robot is rusty, but well preserved for a Cylon built well over 150,000 years ago.

CP30 Star Wars character close up

This is so cool.  I’ve got to learn how to do stuff like this!