]]>Don’t set the EWI up wrong!
When I first set the EWI up in Reason, I chose the MIDI Keyboard, instead of the MIDI Keyboard with Controller. Reason was not set to receive any controller data except ‘velocity’.
I tried everything I could think of. Even had Chris at EWIReasonsounds.com helping to troubleshoot. Chris pointed me to all the appropriate tests, i.e.: checking the X wheel in NN-XT, etc. He was a real help.
Today, I decided to read the docs (normally, I start there, but have been enthralled at what the EWI and Reason 5 are capable) and discovered the solution. Funny thing: Chris emailed me about 2 minutes after I read that particular section in the docs with the exact same potential solution!
So, the solution is in. And I was again reminded of the proper starting point with complex systems. RTFM!
BTW: Chris has a great Refill for EWI players. It’s called “Cyclone”. I highly recommend you drop by and give the demo a listen. It’s well priced and well designed.
]]>It seems that a decision was made a couple years ago to go with a CMS that is proving to be extremely expensive. This decision was made out of IT/IS, and looks to have been made with little to no research. Unfortunately, it looks like the purchase was made based solely on what the company salesman said it would do.
This CMS sat idle for 2 years prior to me being hired. (Are you sensing why I said it was a “precarious position”?) The organization does have a website up and running in another CMS (ExpressionEngine). Although it wasn’t really set up correctly and the design is outdated, it is satisfying basic needs.
What I have discovered in the few short weeks I’ve been on the job is that the new CMS is a money pit. They have spent $10K on a one-domain license. They need at least one additional license for the Intranet and perhaps another for a secondary website. There is an annual maintenance fee of 20%. In the near future, the organization could be spending $5K per year in maintenance fees.
The confusing part of this is that there is no good reason for them being in this position. This organization has no requirements that only this CMS will deliver over, say, ExpressionEngine, Joomla, Drupal, or any number of free and low cost alternatives.
The other confusing part is that no one knew how expensive this CMS was going to be.
My task, lately, has been finding and documenting the costs, not only in cash, but development-related. This other CMS, ektron’s CMS400.NET, is a convoluted conglomeration of bells and whistles that this organization ultimately will not use.
An upcoming meeting will determine the future of this project. Hopefully, I’ll still have a job.
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I’ve been thinking and designing my lessons like this for some time and now have a phrase I can use to describe what I do.
A classroom full of students is very similar to an orchestra. Many different instruments which require different types of instructions in order for them to reach their ultimate potential in the particular piece of music. How wonderful is that!
]]>Looking over articles and websites of other web designers, I know what the typical fees are for services. Clients can have different views about the merit of specific fees. Some understand; some don’t. Clients won’t question a $75 an hour fee paid to their mechanic, but can question this same fee when paid to their website developer. I don’t blame the client, especially if they have had a bad experience with another web design firm; an all too often told story.
The fee I charge for a project is worth every penny. The client gets more than they ask for, a true value in today’s business environment.
]]>While the previous site was fine, it wasn’t my own. I bought a theme and re-worked it. Nothing wrong with this; I often recommend reworking themes, but in this case—for my own site—I decided, after the fact (and over 20 hours of work), that it wasn’t the way I wanted to go.
I started with the grid of the homepage and placed borders around everything so I could see the margins and padding. The previous theme was a little too tight, so I designed in more white space and created a two-column design instead of three. This give more room for the content and allowed me to increase the font-size a bit.
I then worked on the header region, creating a shorter space for the logo and site navigation. I’ve enjoyed designs I’ve recently come across that minimizes space requirements for header stuff, allowing users to get to the real purpose of the web site quicker.
Main site navigation went through a few versions before deciding, again, on a minimalistic approach. Many sites are using a tab-based navbar, so I decided to steer the other direction and keep it simple. I then followed up by placing the site navigation in the footer region also.
The color scheme stems from the basic and white with the black moved a little toward gray. For a third color, I originally used a shade of purple, but in the end opted for a brilliant blue. As I’m using that is only a few places, it counters the starkness of black and white well.
I’ll be adding a portfolio section soon, but I need to rethink how I want to present that. I also may be combining the “articles” and “blog” sections as I’m not sold on having those independent. Expanding categories and using them to selectively display content seems to be the way I’m leaning. I’m also going to do something with the image region on the homepage, possible a little rollover effect which displays a color version of the image.
]]>]]>It has been a long time since I last talked to you when I worked for you as a teaching assistant at Clinton-Massie in 2000. I would like to thank you as I have used many of the basic skills I picked up in your classes.
Bosses got to be boss by caring about themselves more than those they worked with. Colleagues care more about their status than yours.
No matter where you are in your life—in your career—it is important to have options. Explore options whenever circumstances warrant.
It’s your life to control.
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]]>This is rare—it’s rare to have history and the vast differences found throughout history to be in such agreement about a single idea! Amazing, isn’t it?
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