Evan Agee: Live from Richmond Indiana

I didn’t think it would ever happen but it has. A new web development application has come along that makes me wish Dreamweaver would get on the ball. Today Panic, a small Mac software development company released Coda, which is described as “one-window web development.â€? They’ve done some very interesting things and added some great features (such as a built in terminal) but what impresses me the most is the interface design. Coda makes every aspect of web development beautiful, even the most gritty of details.

While I don’t expect many professional developers to abandon their Dreamweaver licenses anytime soon, Coda does make me wish that Adobe would pay a little more attention to sprucing up DW’s outdated interface.

I heard about this last night and I couldn’t believe it. It looks like MacZOT is offering 13 well known Mac applications as a bundle for $13. As of right now they’ve only unveiled 4 of the 13 apps but the ones they have unveiled are worth much more than $13, the total value of the bundle is around $300!!!

http://www.maczot.com/

2007 has been a year of big changes for us. I started a new job in February after leaving the position I had been at for nearly seven years, and we’ve both made some changes to our schedules to allow for a little more time to do the things we enjoy. I’m constantly aware of how different (and better) life has become in a very short time.

My work life has changed pretty drastically. While I’m still doing website development work the nature of the work is very different. I’m focused on a single website and finding ways to make it easier to use, a task that I very much enjoy. I’ve been able to dive deeply into the areas of development that I love and learn more about areas which I was less familiar. It’s a very interesting and creative problem space.

I’ve also been working from home since February which has been a very positive experience for me. I’ve found that it’s very easy to stay on task as long as I keep a set schedule each day, a suggestion made by some visitors to this blog. I start work at around 7:00am each day, usually catching up on podcasts or listening to music while I’m working. The glowing strawberry parfait candle and my monitor are the only sources of light for part of the morning. The mornings when I have a Lost podcast waiting for me are usually the best. It’s almost like I have company in the office while I’m working.

Despite the cautions of some others I haven’t really felt any kind of loneliness or cabin fever as a result of working from home. It’s probably due to the fact that I’m a pretty extreme introvert, but I really don’t mind the quietness or the fact that I’m inside the same room for most of the day. I actually… like it.

I’ve been reading “A Vulgar Display of Power�? a book about the murder of ex-Pantera guitarist “Dimebag�? Darrell Abbott, by Chris A. Chris is a good friend of guitarist Eric Loy (who’s website I maintain) and Eric kindly sent me an autographed copy of the book. So far it’s a great book though a very sad story. There’s actually a quote from me in the book on page 56

In my spare time I’ve been working on a couple of side projects. I continue to work on Journler.com as needed and I’ve been doing some work on a custom Wordpress template for MashupMedia. I’m also hoping to involved with some local organizations and volunteer a little. So many fun projects, so little time.

I’ve always felt that there’s something extremely rare and delightful about Sting’s abilities as a songwriter and performer. I recently purchased his memoirs, Sting: Broken Music and added it to the short list of books I’ve read. These are my thoughts.

My love of his music is very hard to understand, let alone articulate. Let is suffice to say I love his music… all of it. I was hoping to get a glimpse into his mind through his memoirs, and hopefully find a way to apply his in-depth understanding of music to my own struggles as a musician. What I got instead was felt like a personal letter from a friend baring his life, in full detail, to me. He discloses very early in the book that his motives for writing are selfish, he has so many memories and experiences that he doesn’t want to forget, so many lessons he doesn’t want to lose over time.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of rock history chronicled in this book as well. We get a first-hand glimpse into the early days of The Police and how the band was formed as well as the not-so-glamorous early shows they performed. However, as much as this book touches on The Police I imagine some will finish the book and feel disappointed The Police aren’t even mentioned until the last few chapters of the book. To fault the book for this reason is to miss the point entirely.

What I appreciated most about the book is the seemingly unfiltered look at the events in the life of a man who would become one of the most respected musician/songwriters in the world. If you have any interest in Sting or The Police I highly recommend Sting: Broken Music.