Pocket Revolutionary

Alex Payne (who I respect and read obsessively) wrote a critique of the iPad on his blog here that I recommend reading before I continue… I’ll wait.

Okay, now that you’ve read the article, I can say that I don’t really agree. I don’t see the iPad as a hit against creators or the death of tinkering. For me, personally, the iPad compares to the other “consumer” devices in my house: TV, DVD Player, Kindle, etc.; except, the iPad is more creative-friendly than any of those options. Let’s face it, I love my TV and DVD collection as a consumer, but they haven’t brought me any closer or further away from becoming a director. I consume tons of books on my Kindle, and the fact that I’m not a published author has never been a setback (although I can dream). I firmly believe that everybody is a creator in some ways (even my mechanic), and they end up being consumers in other places (like my and my TV). I think the iPad encourages creation on two levels that those never can, though; it encourages interaction, and it sets a mark that I, as a creator, can reach.

Most of the apps that that I use daily on my iPhone (Tweetie, Facebook, Wordpress, etc.) are actually built for interaction. They are not built for pure consumption. Of course, I understand that’s not really what Alex meant, but I still think it puts the iPad one step ahead of most consumer devices that it is really replacing.

More important than the apps, though, the iPad gives me a target that I can actually achieve as a creator: the web. I savor the idea that a website I build (without Flash, obviously) can be used more places than just a desk. With one deft move by Apple, all of my creations as a web developer have become mobile experiences without always having to squeeze onto a tiny screen. I understand the frustration by some developers, but I’m honestly still excited working in the most “open” development field available today: the web.

Like I said, I respect Alex Payne (and I recommend reading everything he writes), but I don’t see the iPad as a harbinger of a soul-less dystopia. Honestly, the moment that computers left the hobby clubs and entered the homes, they became consumer devices for 90% of their users. I see this as an impetus for the next generation of creatives to get out there and make something for all the single moms, non-techies, and baby boomer parents that might be using this “new class” more than traditional computers.

Finally, this has nothing to do with Alex, but I have no opinion on whether any single person can, could, or should get the iPad. Since I haven’t even seen it in person, this is obviously not a review. If the iPad doesn’t do everything you’ve ever dreamed, you don’t have to buy it. I really won’t be offended. Personally, I still dream of getting one for myself (to replace the Kindle and the practice of squeezing all my newsfeed and web reading onto the iPhone) and my wife (who has an iMac that, while powerful, has never been portable).

I am a PHP programmer. I have been a PHP programmer for most of a decade. My license plate says “PHP DEV”, and I have PHPUnit tattooed on my arm (in Kanji). It is with that overly-defensive attitude that I must admit the inevitable: my latest project is in Ruby.

Shock. Awe. I know. It was an easy decision based on the server stack we were running, our growth plans, and the fact that we needed to train intern developers with a very quick turnaround. We went with the sexy newcomer, but that’s not the interesting story. The interesting part is that it wasn’t a big deal at all. With good frameworks, it didn’t really matter what language we chose.

Part of the reason that I love frameworks so much is that dropping from CakePHP to Ruby on Rails is a syntactical change and not a process change. In a way, frameworks are just enforced design patterns (MVC, mostly, in my case). Plus, playing with a different language after all this time away has been great experience. This jaunt into the land o’ pure object-oriented madness and strict coding rules has made my PHP coding (especially CakePHP) better. I have new appreciation for fat models and thin controllers, and I throw in the ternary operator more often. On top of that, I’m getting to teach people (like my friend Neil) who have never really done web development on this level. Through teaching others about MVC architectures, I’ve gotten better.

So, I’m still a PHP developer. It’s the basis for 80% of my work projects and all of my freelancing.
I’m having fun, though, on the other side. Stretching my PHP skills, adding to my toolbox, and remembering that I was just a better programmer when I couldn’t rely on ten-year old knowledge.

One week ago, I said goodbye to my number one fan. My mom, Kathleen Anne Gabrielle, read every single word I wrote, and she’s the biggest reason that I write today. She encouraged me when I was the scrawny kid with the Tom Clancy novel on the playground and a notebook in his back pocket, and she was my most active commenter when I started blogging.

More than that, though, my mom was my model of a great writer. She spent her whole life wanting to reach people with her words, and she loved the writing freedom that came with the web more than anybody I’ve personally known. She blogged, twittered, and Facebook-ed her way into so many lives this past year, and I know it’s because she reached people with honesty. Anybody can say you should “write with honesty”, but it’s so rare to have a model of what it really means to write from your pain and to truly connect on that deepest, scarred level that we all share.

Because of this slow digression it is easy to catch myself dwelling on all the things I can no longer do or will never do again. A Coleman commercial on television reminds me that my camping days are permanently over. A Six Flags ad reminds me that my last ride on the “Superman” ride three summers ago was my last. Are these laments true? Yes. Honest? Yes. Just? not really (in my eyes) and they are certainly not pure or lovely – and contentment goes right out the door.

I will not find contentment concentrating only on the possibility of my healing but on focusing on those things that are EVERYTHING Philippians 4:8 lists. We cannot cajole anyone into their healing by carelessly quoting Scriptures or platitudes. That is exactly what Job’s friends did and in the end their voices (and I think their ears) were silenced by the booming voice of God who boldly asked Job dozens of rhetorical questions that all had the same answer – God and God alone because He IS Sovereign – period.

How Content I’m Not…  An Honest Confession – Kathleen Gabrielle

Kathleen Anne Gabrielle passed away quickly Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 in her home with her roommate and my wife by her side (and me running to the store to grab her a fan to help her breathing). She wrote many places, but the last place she wrote (with a final posting three days before she passed) was her most devoted project, An Open Heart Journal, which I recommend reading from the beginning. Many of her final posts took her almost a whole day to type (and included actual typos for the first time in her life), but she never quit. I guess that was her final lesson to me.

Write when inspired; rest when tired.

Jeffrey Zeldman talks about what I’ve talked about here and tried to live in my own life: Write When Inspired

Our dog is not a workaholic. Aingeal (our aforementioned pet) has a very important job at our house: keep pre-pubescent boys and harmless animals away from our fence. Our dog loves everybody to a the point of being pathetic, but she knows she must be eternally vigilant to keep our house safe from neighbors and cats. This is not just her job; it is her passion. Still, she knows when it’s time to work and when it’s time to relax. Aingeal has the best work/life balance in our house. So, I’ve learned four things from her example.
Things I’ve learned from Aingeal:

1. She has a den. When it’s all just too much activity, she hides in the back of our closet to get some much needed alone time.
2. She naps. If she’s tired and there’s nothing exciting happening, she takes the opportunity to recharge before the evening shift.
3. She keeps a schedule. We may not always appreciate her schedule, but she tries to be consistent (when we don’t mess it up with our own late nights).
4. She spends time with the family. Every evening, she makes time to sit directly on our laps or at least push us off the couch when necessary.