Ian G. Lang

Joomla 2.5 -- To Upgrade.. or Not to Upgrade?

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Published on Monday, 30 April 2012 16:45

Written by Ian G. Lang

A number of the sites I've created for my clients are coming up on the time where they should consider getting a freshen-up.

The reasoning is that in the past little while, we've seen HUGE leaps and bounds with the release of the base web languages (HTML5 and CSS3).  We've also seen advancements of things like PHP and MySQL as server software upgrades.  They're not visible changes in so much as something like buying a new car, but they offer a streamlined back-end and smaller, faster loading sites for the most part.  They offer new easier features for us designer/developers and they let you as a client know that you're safe in having the lastest supported standards that work with the newest range of browsers.

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Making it Permanent.

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Published on Tuesday, 17 April 2012 13:19

Written by Ian G. Lang

Alison's becoming fascinated with the birds in the tree in the back yard.  I think she secretly wished that they would stay just to entertain her.  They are.  The tree is having a hollow carved out of it by this little guy.

They're creating a state of semi-permanence with their family.  That's what I'm doing with mine and my career as a graphic designer / developer.  I've been talking for years about how this is almost done and that is almost done, yet nothing ever got created permanently.  Even my websites were in constant flux.

Now, it's here.  I've not touched the design on this one for a while (save the Joomla upgrade) and it's still working for me.

I have a set of standards and a tried and tested process.  I've got the separation of personal and business happening as well as the separation of what's my responsibility and what's not.

I'm creating my own permanence where things run smoothly and I'm in control of it for the most part and able to set it straight quickly when it's not.

Happiness in my world.  Pure happiness.

Project 12 - An Evolution of Sorts

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Published on Sunday, 15 April 2012 11:53

Written by Ian G. Lang

I'm evolving the Project 12 series.  Here's the way it's going to work.  It's going to be 12 projects, not one per month as it is now, but 12 projects that will see a completion by the end of the year.  The projects are designed to be helpful to me (and / or my family) and informative to you.  They aren't business projects, they're on top of those.

They are going to be defined using SMART goals, broken down into milestones and tasks.  That oughtta make it complicated as hell.  Just by writing that flow scares the sh*t out of me.  I like projects.  I falter at the specifics planning stages and get bogged down in the planning instead of implementing or executing.  This is my weakness to overcome, and I will address it as part of doing these projects.

The list is as follows:

01 - World of Caudor

This is a pet project that really never got off the ground because people who were involved lost interest, lost direction (my fault) or didn't want to deal with the learning curve.  Sometime during the past couple of years, I reaized that I just have to do it.  For myself.  Without too much help.  I'm in the drivers seat for it.

02 - Ruckus Stomp CD

I play music.  I don't get a lot of time to play it but it's really enjoyable.  I'm going to make 16-20 pieces to fill a CD time of about 72 minutes of music.  I might even sing and I'm hoping that I develop a style and sound. I won't be using auto-tune, so for songs with vocals, you may want ear plugs. 

03 - Photo History

Our Flickr Account has been lacking as of late.  I'd also like to ensure that the irreplacable photos we have in a bucket in the closet get scanned in and put out there for safety.  There are a lot from my childhood that need some rescuing.. I also want them in there so there is photographic evidence that I did indeed once have hair AND I was skinny.

04 - ?

...stay tuned.