Shindig Blog

Giles Bowkett's RubyFringe presentation Oct 01, 2008
Giles Bowkett's presentation was one of the highlights of RubyFringe this summer. It's now available online - highly recommended!

OfficeTime: Great Time-Tracking App for OS X Aug 07, 2008
I've built several of my own time tracking applications over the years, but I'm now using a fantastic commercial product: OfficeTime.

Back With A New Look Jul 18, 2008
Shindig was down for a while but is back with a new layout and extra content.

Non-DRY Feed May 22, 2008
Since this feed was added to the torontorb.ca site, I've discovered some url issues in my feed. These have been fixed but some readers may get duplicates of older posts - sorry about that, but links should work now!

torontorb May 19, 2008
torontorb is a new site for keeping up with all the Ruby events that are happening in Toronto. They've included the feed for this blog, which means this post will trigger an endless loop of infinite cross-reference!

Keeping Your Sanity With The Command Design Pattern May 14, 2008
On May 13th, I presented "Keeping Your Sanity With The Command Design Pattern" at the Toronto Ruby/Rails Project Night. Here are my slides and what I said.

shindigital Is All Grown Up! (according to the spambots) May 14, 2008
I know this site is all grown up because I just got my first piece of attempted comment spam. It didn't work, since this site doesn't have comments, but it shows that at least the bots know about shindigital.com. I'm so proud!

Startup Stars? I'm so bored! Apr 25, 2008
A recent article on O'Reilly Radar described six new Web 2.0 startups. If these are the stars, then Web 2.0 is over.

The Magic Words for RMagick Apr 13, 2008
I just upgraded to an Intel MacBook from a PowerBook G4 and everything went pretty smoothly - except of course for the ImageMagick/RMagick graphics tools. Here are the magic (without a k) words to make it work.

Jennifer from Operations Apr 09, 2008
It has been my experience in building business software that everything is straightforward, except for that one step that's done manually by 'Jennifer in Operations'

You see? Naming is HARD Apr 07, 2008
Even famous and insightful software bloggers can't figure out what to name their new dot com.

Business Software as Process Documentation Mar 24, 2008
Great quote from Raganwald about business processes.

Deployment note: 'execve failed' Mar 21, 2008
Small technical note that might help someone else who had the same problem I recently had deploying on fastcgi and lighttp. Hint: check your shebang in dispatch.fcgi!

Steve Jobs on Market Research Mar 09, 2008
A great quote from Steve Jobs on market research and marketing consultants, and what it implies about Apple and companies in general.

Why Canada Is Better for Entrepreneurs Mar 05, 2008
While there isn't as much of an entrepreneur culture in Canada as in, say, Silicon Valley, there is much less risk in going out on your own - since you don't have to worry about health care costs or insurance.

"Program first and blog second" Feb 28, 2008
Why haven't I been blogging lately? As Giles Bowkett says: Always program first and blog second.

Toronto Tech Collage Feb 16, 2008
Accordion Guy has a post about Seattle's tech community and includes a collage of Toronto tech people - and I'm in it!

The MacBook Air Is A Roadster Feb 13, 2008
There's a lot of chatter on the web about the new MacBook Air being underpowered. It's actually just in a different category than more powerful machines. Nobody complains that a sports car doesn't seat six.

RubyFringe! Feb 12, 2008
The geniuses at Unspace have a killer conference planned for this summer.

Quote of the Week: Steve Yegge Feb 11, 2008
The mighty Steve Yegge has a great opinionated posting called Portrait of a N00b. Like all good arguments, it confirms a personal prejudice I hadn't noticed before.

Starting Up: Cards Feb 07, 2008
The last time I got business cards designed and printed was in early 2005 - and they were obsolete within three months. This time, I did better.

Great design tool: browsershots.org Feb 01, 2008
Save yourself from having to dust off that old Windows98 machine to make sure your site looks okay in Internet Explorer 5. Browsershots will do it for you.

Starting Up: The Logo Jan 31, 2008
I wanted something fun but also competent, personal but also professional. I think it worked out. The dudes, by the way, are named "Jack" and "Herman".

Quotes Of The Day: Hedge Fund Interview Jan 24, 2008
There is a great interview with an anonymous Hedge Fund manager in n+1 magazine talking about the recent sub-prime collapse. Read on for some excerpts and lessons.

TSOT Ruby / Rails Presentation Night - Part 1 Jan 20, 2008
Last week, I gave the main presentation at TSOT's Ruby / Rails presentation night, announcing Shindig and the S.O.S. Here is Part 1.

Moneyworks: Accounting Software for Canadians on OS X Jan 16, 2008
If you're starting a company, it's a good idea to have accounting / bookkeeping software. Being a Mac user in Canada makes one a double minority in this area. Read on for what I found.

Starting Up: The Name Jan 13, 2008
Why "Shindig"? Why "shindigital.com"? It could have been "Penseroso" or "Borogrove" or "Semios" or "Sarabande". Or "groovycarrot."

Nice logo, but why is your site so bland? Jan 10, 2008
You may have noticed that the site is kind of bland right now. Why did I go ahead and deploy it? Well, these days *something* with links is better than *nothing* - and it will be getting much better very soon.

Welcome to shindigital.com Jan 10, 2008
Welcome to the home of Shindig Digital Constructions Inc.

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Recent News Andrew Presenting on May 13th www.shindigital.com is online All news items Blog Giles Bowkett's RubyFringe presentation OfficeTime: Great Time-Tracking App for OS X Back With A New Look Non-DRY Feed torontorb All blog posts Products SOS: The Store Ordering System Andrew Burke - Development Services Contact 2 Bloor Street West Suite 100 Toronto, Ontario M4W 3E2 Contact form		This blog has an RSS feed. You can get it by clicking on this logo: . Posts by Category Starting Up Welcome to shindigital.com Nice logo, but why is your site so bland? Starting Up: The Name Moneyworks: Accounting Software for Canadians on OS X Starting Up: The Logo Starting Up: Cards Why Canada Is Better for Entrepreneurs You see? Naming is HARD Startup Stars? I'm so bored! Back With A New Look OfficeTime: Great Time-Tracking App for OS X Books & Quotes Quotes Of The Day: Hedge Fund Interview Quote of the Week: Steve Yegge The MacBook Air Is A Roadster Steve Jobs on Market Research Business Software as Process Documentation Non-DRY Feed Events TSOT Ruby / Rails Presentation Night - Part 1 RubyFringe! Toronto Tech Collage Keeping Your Sanity With The Command Design Pattern torontorb Giles Bowkett's RubyFringe presentation Technical Great design tool: browsershots.org "Program first and blog second" Deployment note: 'execve failed' Jennifer from Operations The Magic Words for RMagick Funny shindigital Is All Grown Up! (according to the spambots) Andrew Burke's personal blog is at www.andrewburke.ca. Giles Bowkett's RubyFringe presentation Oct 01, 2008 Giles Bowkett's presentation was one of the highlights of RubyFringe this summer. It's now available online - highly recommended! OfficeTime: Great Time-Tracking App for OS X Aug 07, 2008 I've built several of my own time tracking applications over the years, but I'm now using a fantastic commercial product: OfficeTime. Back With A New Look Jul 18, 2008 Shindig was down for a while but is back with a new layout and extra content. Non-DRY Feed May 22, 2008 Since this feed was added to the torontorb.ca site, I've discovered some url issues in my feed. These have been fixed but some readers may get duplicates of older posts - sorry about that, but links should work now! torontorb May 19, 2008 torontorb is a new site for keeping up with all the Ruby events that are happening in Toronto. They've included the feed for this blog, which means this post will trigger an endless loop of infinite cross-reference! Keeping Your Sanity With The Command Design Pattern May 14, 2008 On May 13th, I presented "Keeping Your Sanity With The Command Design Pattern" at the Toronto Ruby/Rails Project Night. Here are my slides and what I said. shindigital Is All Grown Up! (according to the spambots) May 14, 2008 I know this site is all grown up because I just got my first piece of attempted comment spam. It didn't work, since this site doesn't have comments, but it shows that at least the bots know about shindigital.com. I'm so proud! Startup Stars? I'm so bored! Apr 25, 2008 A recent article on O'Reilly Radar described six new Web 2.0 startups. If these are the stars, then Web 2.0 is over. The Magic Words for RMagick Apr 13, 2008 I just upgraded to an Intel MacBook from a PowerBook G4 and everything went pretty smoothly - except of course for the ImageMagick/RMagick graphics tools. Here are the magic (without a k) words to make it work. Jennifer from Operations Apr 09, 2008 It has been my experience in building business software that everything is straightforward, except for that one step that's done manually by 'Jennifer in Operations' You see? Naming is HARD Apr 07, 2008 Even famous and insightful software bloggers can't figure out what to name their new dot com. Business Software as Process Documentation Mar 24, 2008 Great quote from Raganwald about business processes. Deployment note: 'execve failed' Mar 21, 2008 Small technical note that might help someone else who had the same problem I recently had deploying on fastcgi and lighttp. Hint: check your shebang in dispatch.fcgi! Steve Jobs on Market Research Mar 09, 2008 A great quote from Steve Jobs on market research and marketing consultants, and what it implies about Apple and companies in general. Why Canada Is Better for Entrepreneurs Mar 05, 2008 While there isn't as much of an entrepreneur culture in Canada as in, say, Silicon Valley, there is much less risk in going out on your own - since you don't have to worry about health care costs or insurance. "Program first and blog second" Feb 28, 2008 Why haven't I been blogging lately? As Giles Bowkett says: Always program first and blog second. Toronto Tech Collage Feb 16, 2008 Accordion Guy has a post about Seattle's tech community and includes a collage of Toronto tech people - and I'm in it! The MacBook Air Is A Roadster Feb 13, 2008 There's a lot of chatter on the web about the new MacBook Air being underpowered. It's actually just in a different category than more powerful machines. Nobody complains that a sports car doesn't seat six. RubyFringe! Feb 12, 2008 The geniuses at Unspace have a killer conference planned for this summer. Quote of the Week: Steve Yegge Feb 11, 2008 The mighty Steve Yegge has a great opinionated posting called Portrait of a N00b. Like all good arguments, it confirms a personal prejudice I hadn't noticed before. Starting Up: Cards Feb 07, 2008 The last time I got business cards designed and printed was in early 2005 - and they were obsolete within three months. This time, I did better. Great design tool: browsershots.org Feb 01, 2008 Save yourself from having to dust off that old Windows98 machine to make sure your site looks okay in Internet Explorer 5. Browsershots will do it for you. Starting Up: The Logo Jan 31, 2008 I wanted something fun but also competent, personal but also professional. I think it worked out. The dudes, by the way, are named "Jack" and "Herman". Quotes Of The Day: Hedge Fund Interview Jan 24, 2008 There is a great interview with an anonymous Hedge Fund manager in n+1 magazine talking about the recent sub-prime collapse. Read on for some excerpts and lessons. TSOT Ruby / Rails Presentation Night - Part 1 Jan 20, 2008 Last week, I gave the main presentation at TSOT's Ruby / Rails presentation night, announcing Shindig and the S.O.S. Here is Part 1. Moneyworks: Accounting Software for Canadians on OS X Jan 16, 2008 If you're starting a company, it's a good idea to have accounting / bookkeeping software. Being a Mac user in Canada makes one a double minority in this area. Read on for what I found. Starting Up: The Name Jan 13, 2008 Why "Shindig"? Why "shindigital.com"? It could have been "Penseroso" or "Borogrove" or "Semios" or "Sarabande". Or "groovycarrot." Nice logo, but why is your site so bland? Jan 10, 2008 You may have noticed that the site is kind of bland right now. Why did I go ahead and deploy it? Well, these days something with links is better than nothing - and it will be getting much better very soon. Welcome to shindigital.com Jan 10, 2008 Welcome to the home of Shindig Digital Constructions Inc.