Four Web Design Books

After posting about some of the books I've been reading to improve my developer skills I ran across this article today that includes one I'm already reading, and another I plan to buy in the near future. The author does a great job of describing each book and who might be interested in reading each one too. If you have any involvement in a web site I'd suggest atleast looking over this article. Digital Web Magazine - The Four Best Web Design Books You May Have Missed

Chris' Miracle

As some of you may know, a friend of mine's son has been battling cancer for a while now and I wanted to post the update for those interested. This is an email sent to me from Carolyn and posted here with her permission. If you'd care to send comments or words of encouragement please feel free to post here and I'll pass them along to them.

NED (medical term for No Evidence of Disease - the result ALL cancer patients pray for on scans)!!! Chris and I journeyed very quickly to Houston yesterday for a PET and visit with Dr. Anderson... Dr. A went over the PET with us and explained what they look for and none of what they look for was present, but of course, there was still the official report. This morning when I got up there it was - e-mailed personally from Dr. Anderson.... NED. It feels so good to type that!

Also... no more chemo, AND his central line can come out next week. Chris is so happy and just can't wait to simply lie down in a warm tub of water to bathe. Oh, the simple things of life that these kids miss!

It's just so amazing as I was just telling a friend a while ago that just about a year ago Chris and I were talking about his funeral and he told me what songs he wanted and why. Many deep discussions were had about that, and here we are with absolutely nothing in sight on the PET and plans for resuming education in the fall. I guess then other things will fall in place. Right now we have to focus on getting some weight on him and building up his lung function.

Mid-April will bring more PET, echo, and the rest of the normal "big" workup things plus a hearing test. Then we'll talk hearing aids before starting back to school.

We are rejoicing in our good news and continue to thank God for this miracle.

Love and hugs to all, Carolyn

Reading Material

For the past few weeks I've been reading from several books in attempt to learn more about becoming a better developer in general instead of just coding efforts. So far I've learned a lot about aspects of developing web applications and software than most of the nerd community cares to even acknowledge exists. There are three books I've purchased so far that sparked my interest through other developers and then reading the reviews on Amazon.com and if you are involved in any aspect of building a web site then I'd recommend reading them:

• Coder to Developer: Tools and Strategies for Delivering Your Software by Mike Gunderloy
• Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
• The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt, David Thomas

Each one has its own purpose so I won't tell you that you should buy one over the other. So far in reading Coder to Developer has helped me slow down and think about the entire process of implementing features as well as entire projects; Don't Make Me Think has pointed out the blatantly obvious way that people use web sites and I will be making changes soon to ease the minds of visitors (as well as myself); and The Pragmatic Programmer is a must to anyone writing any code on any level - once you can write more than three lines of code you gotta read this book. These books are helping me to realize that it's just as important to plan, track, and pay attention to how apps/software are used - as it is to write great code. If nobody knows how to use the code you've written, what good is it to anyone? And if you didn't solve the problem that arised in the first place, then was the project a success - even if it's 'finished'? Think about it, then go get the books. Besides, how much time have you spent in the past month downloading the latest gadget just because it was the latest, greatest? Invest that time back into actually improving yourself instead of looking for a tool to accomplish great things. I'll get off my soapbox now - let me know what you think - or if you have other resources to help improve the web app/software world at large!

Kanye West World

Rolling Stone profiles Kanye West this month - read the full article here.

Bright Lights

SHE GOT OUT OF TOWN
ON A RAILWAY NEW YORK BOUND
TOOK ALL EXCEPT MY NAME
ANOTHER ALIEN ON BROADWAY

THERE'S SOME THINGS IN THIS WORLD
YOU JUST CAN'T CHANGE
SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T SEE
UNTIL IT GETS TOO LATE

BABY, BABY, BABY
WHEN ALL YOUR LOVE IS GONE
WHO WILL SAVE ME
FROM ALL I'M UP AGAINST OUT IN THIS WORLD

MAYBE, MAYBE, MAYBE
YOU'LL FIND SOMETHING
THAT'S ENOUGH TO PLEASE YOU
BUT IF THE BRIGHT LIGHTS DON'T RECEIVE YOU
YOU CAN TURN YOURSELF AROUND
AND COME ON HOME

I GOT A HOLE IN ME NOW
I GOT A SCAR I CAN TALK ABOUT
SHE KEEPS A PICTURE OF ME
IN HER APARTMENT IN THE CITY
SOME THINGS IN THIS WORLD
THEY DON'T MAKE SENSE
SOME THINGS YOU DON'T NEED
UNTIL THEY LEAVE YOU
AND THEY'RE THINGS THAT YOU MISS

(CHORUS)

LET THAT CITY TAKE YOU IN
LET THAT CITY SPIT YOU OUT
LET THAT CITY TAKE YOU DOWN
FOR GOD'S SAKE TURN AROUND