Just to let everyone know, now I have seen it all. (Thanks to Ken for pointing this out!)

It has almost been two months since I got on a commuter train, worried about having a lunch packed, or making it in to work on time. How has my life changed? I am much more calm and patient. I no longer try to make traffic lights at all costs and I really do not rush anywhere. In fact, I almost feel like I have moved into the southern way of life. Me…yeah, me. I tend to drink more Coke Zero, listen to music louder, and really enjoy what I do 90% of the time (compared to about .05%). I have enjoyed working on numerous projects - big and small, and building new relationships. Thanks to iChat and iSights, I have a weekly conference video chat with some of my old co-workers and IM keeps us in touch as well. My weekly conference calls with old co-workers have become weekly enjoyable conversations about stuff we enjoy instead of what we hate - and I no longer have to worry about what train to catch or where to park. If I teach my kids one thing, it will be that we all … [more]

I am not sure if anyone else caught the Ninja Warrior but I was pretty worthless between that and having out of town guest here (who I also made them watch it too). This show contains so many great qualities: impossible obstacles, stories of the competitors and one really excited announcer. I am so happy I found this show!

I absolutely love the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm so when I recently saw a commercial that showed a new season on the horizon, I got all excited. I just went to the HBO web site to get more information and found out that there is now a book available on the show! If you even slightly enjoyed Seinfeld this is the show for you (and one of my favorites)! After working on insane CSS positioning all day, I am going to sit back, watch some old episodes and have a glass of wine. Thank goodness it is Friday!

I recently finished up a web site (using WordPress as a CMS of course) for a client who besides being a client is an amazing writer. He has a best selling project management book (The Art of Project Management) and has another one coming out in the next month. If you have a few minutes, take a look at his web site and read his blog or some of his essays to learn more about design, project management, working with others, and all kinds of smart tips.

Well, the first two days of working at home have gone great. I have gotten more stuff done before 8am than I can usually do by the time 8pm comes around. I am able to get up, spend some time with my son, workout, shower, and then start working all in the time it would usually take me to get to my office. During lunch, Triscuit, Evan, and I go on a nice walk and then come back for some more work. Not to mention, I can now also stop working much earlier and enjoy some time with the family. Good times. Why did I not “retire” (as Dad Muller would say) earlier? All the while, I get to work with interesting clients on really cool projects which forces me to keep building my skill set.

Yesterday marked an end of an era for me. As of Monday I am going to do web development consulting full time under my company name Sandbox Development and Consulting Inc. As most people can guess or know, I specialize in WordPress content management systems and blogs. I also do a lot of general CSS, XHTML, web standards, and PHP/MySQL development. So - if you ever need any help or are looking for a web development constultant, contact me!