Video on The Dangling Pointer

China is changing the future of shopping

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 20:26:55 +0000

A coworker referred me to this recent TED talk about how China is changing how commerce happens. Not only does it involve the ecommerce sales experience but all the way through the supply chain to how products are designed. This definitely has opened my mind to how mobile devices can be involved in a consumer's shopping experience.

https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_wang_how_china_is_changing_the_future_of_shopping

Flash Talk: Working Remote Saved my Life

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 00:56:02 +0000

Every year at Automattic's Grand Meetup we're required to give a flash talk of up to four minutes on any topic. This past year I gave mine on a subject related to my post "How Working Remote (Probably) Saved My Life". I'm actually developing a much longer talk to dive deeper into what's been involved with my successes and failures. Until then, here's my flash talk for your enjoyment.

[wpvideo M5HpGRy1]

RayWenderlich.com Christmas Video

Mon, 26 Dec 2016 18:13:01 +0000

I'm an awful singer but decided to help out the RayWenderlich.com team with the annual Christmas video. Check out our excellent work.

Original Post at RayWenderlich.com

This is what 400 Automatticians in one place looks like from a drone

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 16:14:57 +0000

Watch the drone video below taken at our annual Grand Meetup in Park City, Utah October 2015:

https://videopress.com/v/MYKeey35

https://automattic.com/work-with-us/

The Snowman - Walking in the Air

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 14:07:52 +0000

This is a clip from the animated short, The Snowman, from 1982. This was adapted from a book written by Raymond Briggs in 1978.

I remember that winter because it had brought the heaviest snow I had ever seen. Snow had fallen steadily all night long and in the morning I woke in a room filled with light and silence, the whole world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day... and it was on that day I made the Snowman.

This is my favorite scene from the animated short.

Tater Tots Through Time

Wed, 23 Dec 2015 15:00:45 +0000

Every year at the Automattic Grand Meetup the entire company gets together in one place for a little over a week to work and have fun. Part of that meetup requires everyone to give a four minute flash talk on any subject. This year my coworker Carolyn Sonnek and I decided to team up on our flash talk.

Carolyn and I are Tater Tot experts. EXPERTS. We dug deep and found some interesting facts on Tater Tots and even a conspiracy!

iPhone 6 Plus Screen Backlight Issue

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 13:53:55 +0000

I've noticed an issue I've been having with my iPhone 6 Plus a couple weeks ago. After the phone has been in my pocket for an indeterminate amount of time, I would randomly be unable to light the screen back up. The phone would come out of sleep, I could swipe to unlock (or use Voice Over) and I could see the backlight come on. The problem was the screen itself was just black - nothing to show. Rebooting sometimes fixed this. It was especially annoying when trying to board a plane and then being unable to bring up the boarding pass.

Demoing a fix or feature is better with music

Wed, 20 May 2015 14:26:43 +0000

I am implementing a new feature for WordPress for iOS in the site stats and needed to demo the implementation for my coworkers. By accident I recorded my computer audio and gave the demo accompanying music. I liked this so when I recorded the next change I did it again.

[wpvideo ri5olTYQ]

I think I'll continue with this :).

Recording Your iOS Device with QuickTime Player

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:35:51 +0000

The Task

You need to record your iPhone or iPad's screen to show someone a bug or demo a feature to your customers. In the past the only method available was to use a program like Reflector to emulate an AirPlay/Apple TV and then record on your machine. This works fairly decently although the quality over WiFi isn't very good leaving you with a less-than-crisp recording. Reflector also isn't free which makes it difficult for users in the wild to record bugs.

Things With Wheels Flash Talk

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:51:25 +0000

Every year at Automattic we get together at what we call the Grand Meetup. Everyone is expected to give a four minute flash talk on any subject - literally any subject. Last year I described a funny story about a boss stealing my iPhone. This year I combined another funny story with some personal philosophies.

Last summer I posted about how Things With Wheels Are Meant To Move and that paired well with my tweets about my philosophy on systems. This flash talk is an amalgamation of those two posts.

Look Up & Unplug

Tue, 06 May 2014 12:21:08 +0000

This is probably one of the best videos I've seen promoting the need for us as humans to reconnect with each other. I work for a distributed company and I call tell you, we realize the importance of face to face interaction. Also we need to make sure we're connecting not just to our friends, family and other humans but also our pets. It's so easy to ignore them when you're tied into an electronic device all day long. They need love too :).

How I Got Well Played Revenge

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 12:30:13 +0000

Last fall I gave a four minute flash talk at our company meetup. Everyone is required to give one and it can be on any topic. I chose to tell a story about how I got revenge on my boss.

[wpvideo k15SG13b]