Jason Fried is a man of his word…

Benjamin W.

October 20, 2009

Honestly, I just spent about 2 min harping over how I should put “social media” and “transparency” in the headline because that would make it more “searchable” and “buzzword” friendly. And I decided to stick with what I have. Because that is what this post is actually about.

I am a big fan of 37signals. And I like being a fan of them. They’re one of those brands that I want to be associated with. I want people to know I’m a fan so they know a little more about me and what I stand for. And I’m now a fan for life.

I just called Jason Fried on the phone. And he picked up. I know that doesn’t sound too profound. But I look up to him and the 37signals team. It was fucking bad ass.

Yesterday, Jason announced that he would be taking calls on tuesday and thursday between 1pm-3pm pacific. You can call and talk directly with him about pretty much whatever is on your mind. This immediately blew my mind. Not only is it a bold and innovative move but it was an opportunity for me to ask Jason Fried of 37signals anything I could think of. And the pressure was on.

So, I dialed the phone… And it started to ring. “He’ll never pick up. There are too many people calling right now for him to actually pick up.” I thought nervously as I rings continued to pound in my ear. I quickly removed my iPhone headphones for this was too important of a call to be so lackadaisical. And then… He picked up.

“This is Jason.”

And after a little tiny freak out, I said hi, introduced myself and ask my question about web design. The end.

But seriously, this is awesome. A really cool example of a company being even more open and available to their community. And a great opportunity to talk with someone I really respect.cialis no prescription secretworldchronicle.com Before you undergo an IVF pregnancy, there are certain changes that you must bring about in your lifestyle. They must understand that maintaining good urological health is really very helpful for sufferers of some sexual viagra on sale dysfunctions. Generic drugs can save you money and you should insist order viagra on buying generic drugs only. So try check that discounts on viagra, Caverta, Penegra, and many drugs to beat that hurdle at once.

Oh Walt Disney…

Benjamin W.

October 1, 2009

I don’t make pictures just to make money. I make money to make more pictures. -Walt Disney

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Fast Company Magazine: Ads vs. Content

Benjamin W.

September 30, 2009

A scan of the most recent cover of Fast Company with a hand drawn tally of how many ads there are versus how much content.

I’m a big fan of the Fast Company site. I’ve been introduced to all kinds of great new ideas and ways of thinking about design, business and entrepreneurship. It’s got great community features and pretty much makes the magazine obsolete. And here’s why…

I went through the most recent issue of Fast Company (October, 2009) and 33% of it is ads. A THIRD! It is almost one for one except for the feature section Masters of Design. But up until then, the ads we’re winning.

Is this surprising to anyone else? If I bought this on the stand for $4.99, a third of what I just paid my hard earned cash for is 54 full page ads.

Barnes and Noble should have created Amazon. Tower Records should have come up with iTunes. How can Fast Company change the game for everyone instead of hoping the game stays the same?How about we begin generic prescription viagra on the following page with an examination of elective meds for ladies’ wellbeing issues. It is the exact adaptation of the branded levitra 60 mg as it also contains the same active constituent i.e. They help in promoting sex activity for a longer period of time with the help of just a single pill. free viagra tablet And some very interesting findings and results cialis prescription cost were found.

A review of Coda by Panic: Insanely Awesome!

Benjamin W.

September 19, 2009

Coda. One-window web development.

I’m one of those, “I can learn a WYSIWYG editor and make websites? That’s awesome. I’m just a Dreamweaver purchase away from web design stardom.” guys. Soon after buying the Adobe Web Bundle CS2 and diving into as many online articles I could find, my dreams of not learning code came crashing down in a pile of flaming laziness. It didn’t take long before the joy of hand writing HTML/CSS started to grab hold and I’ll never look back again.

Which brings me to Panic’s CODA. It is absolutely the most delicious code editing experience  I’ve ever had. Now, I haven’t tried Textmate or BBEdit, just Dreamweaver so my experience with code editors is limited but it will take a lot to make me switch now. I signed up for the trial and after 14 days I had enjoyed my experience so much, I shelled out the $85 (discounted if you already bought Transmit).

Here are the tools that have become indispensable to me:

1. I can open to windows and have a webkit preview on the right for instant CSS feedback. INSANE! It’s kind of sad that this is so amazing to me but it is. It makes me happy.
2. You can sign in to your ftp and edit sites right from the server in the remote location of your chose. As soon as you save, the new version of the file is automatically uploaded. This really comes in handy if you don’t have a local server set up on your machine.

The implication of those two things was enough to justify the $85. Not to mention the code hints and color coding is sexy as hell. And if you love your Mac as much as I do, Panic designs a really polished interface worthy of it.

This really isn’t much of a review as much as a definite recommendation. Honestly, you won’t know which coder you prefer until you try some. Coda has a free 14 day trial and the days don’t count down unless Coda is running so you can really mess around with it. If you try it, let me know. And if you have a better recommendation, I’ll take that too. Cheers.Amid the treatment, you may discover either that it doesn’t work for you or that cheap price viagra purchase at web-site it is adapted to the circumstances and balancing hormones, depending on the needs. It is a selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 buy viagra (PDE5). online viagra One such threatening disorder is erectile dysfunction. These diseases results in too much pain and extreme difficulty in moving the pharmacy online viagra joints.

Passion vs. Convenience

Benjamin W.

September 8, 2009

Convenience is the lack of things in your way. Passion is the degree that you care about the things you do.

I believe that every choice we make online or offline is based on this. As passion increases, our need for convenience gets pushed aside. As more things get in our way, our passions are put to the test.

Example: People tend to choose the easier option (Dominos) unless they care enough to go for the best (Famous Ray’s of Greenwich Village. 465 6th Ave, New York).

Both are a part of every design challenge but I think passion is king. I like to help people do what they actually care about. And just because continuing to use IE is convenient, doesn’t mean you should subject yourself to it.The study shows that although ED is most common in men that are found with diabetes. tab viagra 100mg Put a drop of careprost in effected eye and lay down for few minutes and you may feel burning inside your viagra order uk http://fundacionvision.org.pa/flashxml/bannerrotatorfx-cumbre/ eyes but don’t worry, it would be only for 2 to 3 minutes. It ensures continuous supply cheap cialis 20mg of energy to reproductive organs to recover from bad effects of excessive self pleasure. In spite of being afraid, they should accept the situation and try another time with buy viagra in uk more positive approach.

Personal blogs are so 2010.

Benjamin W.

September 7, 2009

My name is Benjamin Welch and I am just now starting a blog. In the world of tweets, re-tweets, tumblogs and the “real-time-web”, I’ve spent the last couple weeks designing and coding my personal blog in an attempt to add value to this overwhelming onslaught of content that is the internet.

Blogging seems to have taken a back seat to the “efficiency” of microblogging but for my money it is still the most effective way to say what you actually want to say. Not that you can’t say it in 140 characters. But novels, paragraphs, hell even well formed sentences have a special place in my heart. And that link on twitter usually leads to a site with articles, videos and pictures that take time and effort to create. That’s the real value of the web. It just gets more valuable the easier it is to share.

So, it’s 2009. And I’m betting my design career that microblogging is a revolution but great blogs are where it’s at. But who am I kidding? I still gave you a link to my twitter account. Now go follow me.cialis cheap uk Nowadays, impotency among men and dryness among women is crippling our society. The viagra uk delivery loosen penis shape of men’s reproductive organ so that they work perfectly. Some herbs viagra on line and natural active ingredients of these supplements might ruin your currently disease of liver and kidney. Zenegra isn’t a therapy of ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION. viagra viagra online