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DIY Sangria

December 29, 2010 11 Comments
DIY Sangria

A couple months back I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with Chris Brogan at Texas de Brazil. When the waitress was asking us what we wanted to drink, Chris suggested a pitcher of sangria. I’m not a wine drinker, but agreed to split it with him. I am glad I did. It was my first time trying sangria, and it was VERY tasty.

Since then I ordered sangria at another place, and pretty much hated it. The main difference being the first sangria was made with red wine and the second used white wine. Well, at least now I know I need to ask if it’s red or white sangria before I order next time.

I had the brilliant idea of making sangria at the house for Christmas. I went online and checked out a few dozen recipes, but couldn’t find one that sounded exactly like what I wanted. So my wife and I just started making a list of items and headed off to the store to grab the ingredients and create our own version. We bought enough ingredients for 2 batches. We made the first batch the night before so we could test it out. If it was good, we’d match the recipe the next day. Otherwise, we’d tweak as needed. I’m happy to say that we liked the first version enough to make the same version both times. I had offered to share the recipe if all went well, so here you go!

DIY Sangria

Ingredients:
1 bottle red wine (merlot)
1 cup ginger ale
4 oz lemonade
12 oz pineapple juice
1 dozen grapes
1 lime
1 orange
1 green apple
3 tbs sugar

How to prepare
- Slice grapes in half
- Slice orange in to rounds
- Slice lime in to rounds
- Skin, core and dice apple
- Add grapes, orange, lime, apple and sugar to pitch
- Use spoon to mix and gently mash fruit/sugar
- Add wine, pineapple juice, ginger ale and lemonade
- stir
- refrigerate for an hour
- Serve over ice

What we’d do different
For being our first go at this, I’m pretty happy with the results. That being said, we’ve talked about some options for what we’d do differently next time around. Here are some of the things I plan to try tweaking:

- Replace lemonade with orange juice
- Use a cabernet instead of merlot
- Not include the slices of lime

If you end up making DIY Sangria, report back and let me know how you liked it. Or, if you tweaked it any, let me know what you tried and what the results were. I’m already looking forward to making another batch this weekend!

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Today, we work on us

December 17, 2010 6 Comments

I’m sure you’ve heard the proverb “The shoemaker’s children are often shoeless”, right? When you are running a service based business, it’s inevitable; you are going to wake up one day and realize that everything about your business is out of date. Your website has 6 month old pricing, your brochures have photos of products that are collecting dust in the basement by now. You get the idea.

A couple months back, my partners and I came to the realization that we have been spending so much time working on client’s that we have totally been neglecting things that will ensure the long term success of our own business. Some of the things were simple, like setting up a newsletter signup form. Not a big deal, but if we don’t take the time to do it, another year will fly by and I’ll be saying, “gee, I sure wish we had done this a year ago…”

We tried to squeeze in some time here and there to get some things updated, but something would always come up. This was going to take a shift in the way we do things. We needed to do something big.

Internal Work Only Days
Starting at the beginning of November, we instituted a new rule at the office; No outside client work on Fridays. We work long hours on Monday-Thursday helping our clients, but on Fridays it is all about us!

Making your own internal rules is great, but we still have to answer to clients. I was a little concerned about having to explain this to new and existing clients. You never really know how people will react. Every response has been overwhelmingly positive. A lady I spoke with earlier this week said, “Congratulations! I wish we could do the same here!”

To be clear, this doesn’t mean we shut off the phone and stop answering emails. We are definitely available for our clients if there is an emergency. If a server is on fire, we’ll drop what we are doing and get right on it. But, changing the color of a link from blue to purple can wait until Monday.

Our results have been great. We have some new projects that we are working on that we’ll be releasing pretty soon. None of these would have happened if he hadn’t taken the time to focus on ourselves.

Give it a shot. If you aren’t able to give up a day a week, maybe take a day or two a month. Something, anything is better than nothing!

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Filed Under: Work

WordPress United – Las Vegas

December 15, 2010 1 Comment

After WordCamp Las Vegas in January 2009 a group of us started up our own branch of Beer n Blog. It jumped out of the gate with some really solid numbers. For the first 4-6 weeks we were averaging somewhere near 40 attendees and there was some honest to goodness blogging going on along with some blog training and assistance. I was stoked! I tried to figure out ways to expand on the technical stuff. But, for whatever reason, it just never really worked out. Our #bnblv group still meets up almost every week, but it’s down to a core group of half a dozen or so, and it’s definitely more about the beer than the blog. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I do love me some beer!

Since that time I have been approached by several people asking me if I was interested in starting up a WordPress users group. With WordCamp Vegas happening a month or so back, I was getting asked this question more and more. Everybody who asked me got basically the same response; “I am very interested in attending, presenting at and helping to promote a WordPress users group here in Las Vegas, but I do not have the time or energy to be in charge of finding a venue and everything else that goes in to being the organizer. So, if you start one up, let me know and I’ll be happy to shout it from the mountain tops!” (yes, I know I live in a valley… work with me here)

WordPress User’s Group, Vegas Style!

Finally, somebody has taken me up on that offer! John Pollard took the initiative and found a WordPress related group on Meetup.com that seemed to be dormant, he worked some magic and is now the organizer for WordPress United – Las Vegas. He did his part, so I’m doing mine! I’ve already joined the group and if you are in Las Vegas and interested in a WordPress users group, I urge you to join, too. I currently have no idea what the plans are, when meetings will be, what shape they’ll take, etc. But I am so excited for the possibility of having a group that meets regularly to share ideas and knowledge about WordPress that I’m happy to jump on board and see where the ride takes me!

Thank You John for getting this rolling! I wish you a ton of success and I’m looking forward to the first meetup!

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No new ideas Thursdays

December 6, 2010 Leave a Comment

I just finished watching this Ted talk given by Jason Fried (co-founder of 37signals) titled; Why work doesn’t happen at work.

This talk really hit home. For the final couple of years at my previous job we had enough meetings to make sure that it would be virtually impossible for people to get much done. What’s worse, just because the way my brain works, the lack of “getting stuff done” would turn in to stress. I would feel like I needed to come in earlier or stay later at the office until I had accomplished something productive. But, once you start going in early or staying late, that can cause stress in other areas of your life. It really was a no-win situation.

I’m happy to say, in my new gig, we don’t have a single scheduled internal meeting.

While listening to the Ted talk, Jason threw out the idea of “No talking Thursdays” and I literally laughed out loud. Not because I thought it was a silly idea. Quite the opposite, really. But, it reminded me of something my friend Jason Murphy and I had come up with a few years back; No New Ideas Thursdays. Here’s why:

Jason and had been friends and worked for the same company, but on two opposite ends of the building. Then, I got moved to an office right next to Jason’s. We weren’t working on the same team, per se. But, our goals were pretty similar and we would constantly chatter back and forth about how we could do this or that. The problem was, it wasn’t JUST work related stuff. We had a 1000 ideas for websites we wanted to build outside of work. Then we’d talk about how to build it, or how to market it, or software, or, or, or… It got to the point where we instituted No New Ideas Thursdays so that we would come in, sit down and actually work on one project for the entire day. It was amazingly helpful.

At 9seeds, we haven’t had to implement anything that drastic yet. Though, I believe we’ve each taken Radio Silence days where we just don’t start up IM or Skype and only check email every couple hours. If you have the opportunity, try it. It’s very productive!

If you work in a corporate job where you have to be somewhere from 9 to 5 (or 7 to 4 like at my previous job), take a few minutes and watch the video above. Then, send the link to your boss.

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Cocktails at Lucky Bar

December 5, 2010 Leave a Comment
Lucky Bar

A few weeks back I got a call from my buddy Sean in a bit of a panic. He’s been scheduling these mini-social meet-ups where he’s been doing interviews with some of the local social networking folks, and his interviewees for that evening needed to reschedule. Never one to turn down an offer for a free cocktail, I agreed to fill in.

Side note: I’m not sure why, but I have the perception that driving from my house to Red Rock Casino requires an overnight bag and rations for a couple days. I don’t know what was going on this night, but we made it door to door in just over 20 minutes. Either I was flying (I wasn’t), or my ability to estimate distances is way off.

My wife and I were the first to arrived at Lucky Bar. Sean and Todd showed up shortly after. We grabbed a booth and each ordered a cocktail. There’s a bit of an issue at Lucky Bar; they have a martini menu that has several drinks on there that all sound amazing. So narrowing it down to just one wasn’t nearly as easy as I made it sound. Luckily the cocktail waitress was able to give us a little guidance and helped us each pick out something tasty.

Lucky Bar is a bit of an anomaly. It’s situated right in the middle of casino floor, there are two doorways that do not have closing doors, but yet once we were seated inside, the sounds from the casino were basically non-existent. I should also mention that the shape of the lounge, plus the decor gave me the feeling that this is what it must have been like inside I Dream of Geanie’s lamp. (I just assume she had a full service bar in there.)

After our first round of drinks was just about gone, Sean asked Todd and I some questions about WordCamp, Work and our lives in Vegas. We each had a second cocktail as we finished up the interview and then just kicked back and chatted for a bit before heading back home. From what I hear, our interview will be turned in to an article and should be available online pretty soon. I’ll link to it once I get the deets.

The whole evening was a nice change of pace for us. I’m certain this won’t be the last time we have cocktails at Lucky Bar. ESPECIALLY when Sean is picking up the tab! (I kid, I kid)

Filed Under: Social Media

Help Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary

November 3, 2010 Leave a Comment
gns-bird


A couple years back, I was really getting in to photography and was taking any and every opportunity to go out and shoot. So when I found out the photo meetup group was heading to the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary on the other side of town, I jumped at the chance. After I got back, I took a selection of my photos and put them in a set on Flickr.

Fast forward to yesterday. I received a message on Facebook from somebody on the board of directors for Gilcrease. She informed me that there had been a fire at the sanctuary earlier this year and over 180 animals were killed. She was contacting me because of the photos I had posted; one of them was of her favorite bird, Angelo, who was lost in the tragedy.

Here are a couple youtube clips:

Photographing the birds that day was a lot of fun. I’m really bummed to hear that most, if not all of the birds we met and photographed had been killed.

If you have a few extra bucks sitting in your Paypal account, why not head over to the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary website and donate. They can certainly use the help.

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Getting the most out of WordCamp

October 22, 2010 Leave a Comment
wclv

After roughly 3 months of planning, WordCamp Las Vegas is happening tomorrow. I’m currently filled with mixed emotions. I’m very excited for tomorrow, it’s going to be a lot of fun. But, Sunday morning I’ll wake up and it will all be over for another year. Wait a sec, that sounds pretty awesome, too! :)

One of the things that I spend a fair amount of timing doing is answering emails from people who are planning on attending. While some of the questions are unique to our event tomorrow (i.e. where’s the best place to park), many of the questions are universal to WordCamps and most any tech conference. So I thought it might be useful to share some of those questions and answers with you.

What should I bring with me to WordCamp?
Grand Canyon backpack
For starters, if you look like this guy, you are doing it wrong! I’ve been to a few dozen conferences over the past two years and on a few occassions I have tried to pack my laptop, SLR camera and lenses and a jacket. The best advice I can give you is to pack as light as you can. Bring something to take notes and maybe a sweatshirt (conference halls have a way of getting chilly) that you can tie around your waist, and leave the rest back at the hotel. Last weekend I went to BlogWorld and carried only my iPad and it was one of the best conference experiences I’ve had in a while.

There are multiple sessions going on at the same time I want to see, which should I go to?
Major rule coming up… DO NOT STRESS OUT! Most WordCamp events are recorded, so even if two speakers you want to see are going on at the same time, you’ll likely be able to catch the other a short time later online.

Sticking with the no stress rule, when you are in a session, don’t spend the entire time with your head down frantically trying to dictate every word or slide. Most speakers will make their presentation materials available almost immediately following the event. Instead, pay attention and jot down short notes about items you want to research further when you get back home. You aren’t going to learn everything about a topic from a 45 minute presentation anyway.

I’d really like to meet (speaker), will they be available to talk to?
One of the biggest values of a WordCamp (or any conference, for that matter) is the networking. Not just for the attendees, but for the speakers, too. I know when I’m speaking at a conference, I spend as much time as I can chatting with people between sessions, at lunch and at the after parties. On very rare occassions a speaker may have other commitments and won’t be able to stick around. But that’s the exception, not the rule. So don’t be shy, step up and say hello!

In closing, the 3 most important rules are:
- Keep stress low
- Meet as many new people as you can
- HAVE FUN!

(photo by pagedooley, used via Creative Commons)

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How to get started as a WordPress developer for hire

September 24, 2010 2 Comments
WordPress Rocks!

A friend of mine sent me the following message on Facebook today:

I have a buddy of mine that is an aspiring WordPress dev. I was curious if you had any linkage or inside info on perhaps ways for my buddy to find work.

While I don’t have any inside information, I can tell you a few of the things I’ve done over the past 18 months to build up business for my company, 9seeds.

These are in no way scientific and in no specific order:

Job Boards
There are several sites out there like jobs.wordpress.net and rent-acoder.com that have a stead stream of WordPress related projects up for grabs. Since you’ll be bidding against several other developers, be prepared to work for less money than you normally would on the initial project. But once you prove yourself to a client, you may be able to turn it in to a longer term relationship.

Give Away Free Help
There is no better way to endear yourself to somebody than by teaching them something! Hang out in the WordPress IRC chat or use a program like TweetDeck to monitor several search terms on Twitter. When somebody has a question on how to fix something in WordPress, answer it! Send them a link to a tutorial or to the codex or whatever seems appropriate. Heck, if you have the time, write a blog post about the solution and respond with a link to your own site. We’ve had several people ask for assistance up front and then pay to have us do additional work down the line. By giving away free help you are letting them know that you know your stuff. That’s way better than any resume could ever do.

Write A Plugin
Did you know that anybody who wants to can submit a plugin to the WordPress repository? Write a plugin that will help somebody do something quicker/better/faster/etc and release it to the repository. Yep, give it away for free. Next time you have a client asking for examples of work you’ve done, you can point them to the repository to see check out your work.

As an aside, after you write the plugin and release it to the repository, submit it to WebLogToolsCollection.com. They constantly post about newly released plugins and their feed is seen by 20,000+ people.

Network, Network, Network
Stop what you are doing right now and go check out wordcamp.org. View the schedule and find an upcoming WordCamp event near you. Now go register for that event.

WordCamp events are an excellent opportunity for you to meet other WordPress developers. Notice that I didn’t say potential clients? While meeting clients is the ultimate goal, getting to know other developers in the space is FAR more important. The developers who have been around longer than you probably have more work requests than they can handle. Take 9seeds for example. When a request comes in that we can’t handle at that time or isn’t a good fit for our skill set, we try and match that client up with one of the many developers we’ve met at WordCamp events around the country.

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WordCamp Los Angeles 2010 Wrap-up

September 14, 2010 1 Comment
WordCamp LA


It’s Tuesday afternoon and I’m just now getting caught up after spending the weekend in Los Angeles for WordCamp LA 2010. Trips to LA for me are always nice as I have a bunch of family there so I get to use WordCamp as an excuse to go and visit. Not to mention getting to have dinner at my favorite restaurant on the planet!

As usual, when left to myself, I will somehow find a way to get lost. I left my sister’s house with plenty of time to spare. I found LMU no problem, but then parked in the wrong parking lot so I wandered around the campus for 30 minutes until I realized my mistake, reparked and then found the proper building. And for all of you who point out that the event is going on in the EXACT same spot as it was last year… shut it.

I got registered and quickly headed upstairs to catch the last half of Bill Heaton’s talk on jQuery. Wow, if there is a subject I know the least about, jQuery is it! The session was informative (probably more-so if I caught the whole thing, huh?) and it’s a subject I’d like to learn more about. I’ll have to catch the video for the session once it’s posted online later.

Next I sat in the Optimizing WordPress session given by Josh Highland. There are so many tips to learn from his session. Honestly, I think it would be so beneficial to have a full-day workshop just talking about how to optimize your WordPress installs. Going through Yslow and figuring out what’s costing you the most performance and having somebody like Josh there to help point you in the right direction would be amazingly valuable. (hint hint Josh!) Not to mention getting CDN set up and such.

I followed that up with the session talking about developing fast and scalable servers. While most of this info isn’t something I get my hands dirty with directly, it’s still great information as we have clients who can definitely benefit.

The final session before lunch was Thom Meredith talking about using Custom Fields. His talk centered around two pretty cool WordPress plugins, Magic Fields and Pods. I have to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how portable the end results of what you build with these plugins would be. But, for building a system that you don’t plan on duplicating across multiple sites, or sending to somebody else to use, there are a LOT of cool things that could be done with these two plugins. Definitely worth checking out, that’s for sure.

Lunch was it’s own little slice of awesome. After we placed our orders the fire alarm went off and they cleared everybody from the campus cafeteria. It only took 5-10 minutes to get sorted out, but still made for an amusing interruption.

After lunch I sat in on the Designer’s Panel. The 4 designers each showed off a bit of their work and the crowd asked some good questions that helped drive the conversation nicely.

Austin Passy then did a session where he talked about posting on the go. This session was a blast. He showed how to set up Postie and configure it to do a photo blog from your phone (or any email source). He set up an email account and encouraged the folks in the audience send photos to it. Give a group of geeks this kind of freedom and you know it’s going to end up being silly. You can see resulting site at photos.wordcamp.la.

The final session before the keynote was Brandon Dove talking about pluggable plugins. As a plugin developer, this session was definitely eye opening as to the possibilities for plugins. This is another session where I’m going to need to catch on video!

The day finished up with Luke Pilon talking about WordPress, GPL and VC. A lot of what he was saying really hit home since I run a small development company. VC money, bank loans, borrowing from friends/family. Yeah, lots of scary stuff in that session. Good though. Makes you think about what’s important, what direction you want to go and what your end game is.

I ended up meeting several new people and had some great conversations. One of my favorite parts about going to WordCamps is listening to people who are all doing really cool and inventive things with WordPress. I’m not even talking about the BIG GUYS. I’m talking about the people who work for small companies that have turned to WordPress as a way to take their idea and make it a reality. Such great stories!

Congrats to Austin for putting on another great WordCamp event! I’m already looking forward to next year!

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