Pumpkin carving (with slightly disturbing lens flare) courtesy of the missus…
The vast majority of my working day (and some of my spare time) is currently being spent developing a new web application using the Ruby on Rails framework. I’ve been planning to write about the experience for some time, and wanted to wait until the project was released before doing so (due to certain PR issues, we’ve been keeping the project under wraps until the first stable release is finished - more about this in a later post).
Recent, very exciting events have meant that we are having to extend the initial development cycle to include a raft of additional features that will open it up to totally new markets (and very lucrative revenue streams). This means that there is still something of a self-imposed gagging order surrounding the project. Unfortunately, patience isn’t really one of my virtues, so I’m going to plough ahead with writing about my experiences in a fairly abstract light, and for the time being I’ll just be referring to the project as the TopSecretProject™.
Sorry for being so cryptic, but the project has a number of unique selling points that we still want to keep to ourselves. All I can say at the moment is that it is centred around the property (real-estate) markets, and there is nothing of any real scale that is similar to this that exists at the moment.
I’m constantly learning a hell of a lot about a lot of different aspects of programming, design and business whilst working on the TopSecretProject™, so I’m hoping that documenting them will help other people. Watch this space.
I recently upgraded my mobile phone handset to the new Sony Ericsson K850i - you know, the one with the 5 megapixel camera - and what a quality piece of technology it is too!
I’ll admit that I’ve never been one for the feature-laden super phones, but the promise of a true 5 megapixel digital camera really did get me thinking. I know that the Nokia N95 - with similar specs - has been out for a while, but I have an almost primeval dislike of Nokia handsets - I don’t know why!
The reason I opted for this handset (rather than waiting for the much-lauded iPhone) is that I want to document my life a hell of a lot more - which is a lot easier if you have a [decent] camera on you at all times! So expect much photoblogging from now on!
I found this website some time ago - I just love the guy’s artistic style.
The soundtrack that accompanies the website can be downloaded from the designers that created the site - Tak! - who are bloody well worth a look in their own right!!
PS If you like JAKe’s style, take a look at some of the Geek Boy idents for the Sci Fi channel…
My name is Phil Smith, I currently live in Leeds (West Yorkshire), and I design and build websites. I like coffee, Guinness and the calm before the storm.
And you look lovely today, by the way.
Strictly speaking, I'm not currently available for freelance work but I'm always on the look out for interesting projects to collaborate on, so drop me a line.
