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Web nourishment by John Ford and crew

Archive for the 'General' Category

The newest member of the crew

John Ford Nov 14, 2007

Glenn Fu & Aldenta

For years my brother, Glenn, and I have talked about working together. I’m ecstatic to say that it finally happened! Glenn started his own business, Glenn Fu, and we’re teaming up on projects. He’s a strong developer and getting his feet wet in the small-business/freelance world. Right away, he picked up Ruby on Rails and is making sure our code is solid by keeping us on track with BDD and using RSpec. It’s extremely refreshing working with Glenn who makes me challenge my business process and development style. Every business could use that type of shot in the arm.

I’m so happy working with you Bro!

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

John Ford Oct 28, 2007

“Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.”

(via swissmiss)

Staying Healthy as Designers and Developers

John Ford Oct 19, 2006

I’m just getting back into the swing of things after returning from a 2.5 week business event overseas. These trips really take a toll on my body so I do my best to stay aware and focused on my health. As regular computer users we’re also abusing our bodies by sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time. It’s become the norm for many of us these days. Here are a few personal tips to help stay healthy and sharp.

Set It Up
Make sure your computer environment is as ergonomic as possible. There are a number of ways to setup and position yourself and computer to put less stress on your body.

Sleep On It
I know I’m guilty of getting hung up on something and not sleeping until it’s done. Of course, the next day I regret the long night and I’m less productive that day. When you feel yourself fading then take a break and sleep on it. I’m always amazed how often the solution comes to me as soon as I wake up.

Look Away
I asked my eye doctor for tips to keep my vision healthy. One recommendation was to regularly focus on an object far away from the computer. Apparently, your eyes start to adjust to the nearness of your computer. By looking away you can help counter it.

Eat It Up
Everyone knows how important diet is for overall health and well-being. Make sure you take time to eat good meals throughout the day. (Caffeine and sugar don’t count as good meals.) Your brain and body need nutrients to do their part.

Use some common sense and stay healthy when you’re using the computer. You’ll be more productive and your body will thank you.

What are some things you do to stay healthy?

Earthlink’s Nonexistent World Domination

John Ford Sep 26, 2006

As an Earthlink subscriber I noticed something odd about a month ago. Instead of my normal browser error when I entered a website that doesn’t exist I got redirected to this:

Earthlink's Nonexistent World Domination

You’ve got to see the page to believe it - advertisements and all. Isn’t this too close to adware or spam? I didn’t ask for this information and I have no way to opt-out of this service but they’d like me to “try the related content suggestions and paid advertisements below.” How kind of them…

This has stirred up quite a bit of controversy.

Update: There is a way to manually configure your computer to use different DNS servers. However, this really isn’t for the common user and sure would add hassle for me as I’d have to change the settings every time I use my laptop somewhere else.

Back In Blog-ness

John Ford Sep 15, 2006

It’s been almost a year since I had my “business” blog up and I’ve had the shakes ever since. The juices are flowing and I’m ready to get my fix. I hope you enjoy, absorb, and share the information.