Tools of my trade

For the record, tools are important. The tools you use should reflect your style of work and should become part of everything you do. Using the right tool for the job is most important. You wouldn't necessarily use a hammer to change a light bulb, or a chainsaw to open your mail, so why would you use a Windows tool to write a blog when you are on a Mac?

Here's what I have tentatively settled on for tools while writing this blog:

• ecto - Desktop blogging software. I'm familiar with a few Windows based apps, but being a recent Mac convert, I felt it necessary to stay native to Mac. I'm currently writing this with the version 3 beta for OS X 10.4 and 10.5 which is a 21 day trial with a $17.95 price tag.
• w.bloggar - Freeware PORTABLE Windows based desktop blogging tool. I can also blog at work when I have a few moments.
• c# code format - By day, I'm a C# ASP.NET programmer, and since this blog will more than likely lean toward that topic, a code formatter is necessary. It's free, and easy. I don't need a whole lot of fancy stuff right at this minute, and I don't have time to write my own, so I'll use this.
• Blogger - Duh. Yeah, there are other blog hosts out there, but this one I'm familiar with. If I could find a free host that uses dasBlog, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.

That's my initial list of tools. I looked into such things as iWork '08's Pages and iLife's iWeb, but didn't see anything that would fit my needs. So, I'll stick with these for now and report my findings as I go along.

Next: Becoming a website (blog) layout designer.

UPDATE: I recently purchased ecto. It's pretty good for what I want to use for my blog. And as far as using w.bloggar and ecto together, if I'm doing something at work, I'll have to save the post as a draft to blogger then download it at home with ecto. Kinda rude, but it'll work 'til I get a Mac at work. (Like THAT will EVER happen...)

This post is dedicated to Mr. Atwood

This first post goes to Jeff Atwood. Without his recent speaking engagement in Montreal at CUSEC and the PowerPoint presentation he offered from that engagement, I probably would have continued down my road of just reading everyone else's blogs and never contributing any thoughts of my own except for a few comments here and there.

Well, no more. I do have something to say. I do have something to contribute. So contribute I will.

For those who will read this post, I hope I have somehow sparked an interest even though I haven't posted anything but my initial intent. I don't expect much from this blog, but if I can help someone else achieve a goal, then I have done a good job. And if I don't help someone, I hope I entertain you.

UPDATE: The preceding posts were imported from a previous blog I had. I decided to just consolidate and make this all one happy blog...

My vote's for Cisco on this one...

How can Apple think they are going to win? Not even the slimmest of chances... Cisco BLOGS a clear and public response to Apple's decision to go forward with releasing the iPhone.

UPDATE:

In July, I bought the iPhone. Cisco no longer has my vote...

One more time: Scott Hanselman's 2006 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows

A little late for me, but here it is!

Coming soon

Honest, I do have something to post here... Just not enough time in the day.

UPDATE: Cheetah Advanced Technologies, Inc.

Well, that didn't last long.

Two months TO THE DAY and I was laid off due to a merger. I was given the reason that I didn't know their product well enough to continue my emloyment. Odd, I wasn't EVEN GIVEN A CHANCE!!! (If you read this, Scott, that wasn't aimed any where near you...)

Oh well, after an extended period of unemployment, I am now working for TEK Systems at the USDA in Fort Collins. The drive is still under 30 minutes. 20 on some days.

I've already got something cool to post from here regarding XML and WordML. I'll post it soon!

Back to work!

Cheetah Advanced Technologies, Inc.

I started working here this week after working at HP and Synergetics for 4 years. That was a great place, but now I am in a much better place( not that HP and Synergetics are bad) and have a job doing what I want to do: program all day everyday... Well, almost. I'm doing documentation right now on the current version of the software.


Well, it's 5:20 and I gotta make that 5-10 minute drive home.... YEAH!