The Sherpa Project

I just recently updated BVC for a few requested features (options dialog, live skin switching, configurable polling, keyboard shortcuts, et cetera). None of these are big changes, but they do make the tool a little easier to interact with (no more modification of xml files).

I have a handful of things that I would like to change (mostly related to usability) and some code that I want to clean up before I put out a version 1.0 drop and I’ll probably get around to this sooner than later.

The one additional thing that I’d like to see are some requests for different types of visualizations that can be built into the tool. The current visualizations (there’s only two) are very simple and they seem to work very well. While these two visualizations are nice and simple, I’d like to put a few extra skins in place before doing the 1.0 drop.

If you’ve got any ideas or have any inspiration for what can/should be done, please head over to the GetSatisfaction site and put your ideas on the thread that was just started.

Currently, the two views are LiveStackedStatus and LiveUniformStatus (these will be given friendly names before the release). Here are the two views…

LiveUniformStatus

LiveStackedStatus

Both of these views are only relevant if you have multiple projects being hosted by your cruise instance. If you only have a single instance hosted, then you’ll only see one large box with your project status. The best view typically depends on the number of projects that you have available. If you have more than four projects hosted then LiveUniformStatus tends to give you the best view and four or fewer projects tends to look best with the LiveStackedStatus.

If you have non-visualization requests, you can also feel free to post them and I’ll take them into consideration as well.

If you’re anywhere near Raleigh on May 6th, be sure to check out the Agile RTP meeting. We’ve got Andy Hunt coming to talk and I’m sure it’s going to be worth your time to attend. The title of the talk is Refactoring Your Wetware.

If I could point to two or three people that have shaped my thoughts about programming and development, Andy would be at the top of that list.

If I could only recommend one book to anyone doing development, it would be The Pragmatic Programmer. The book certainly changed the way that I think and has certainly shaped my career. Interestingly, it’s the only (at least partially) technical book that made my list of books that changed my life.

If you’re in the area (or if you feel like taking a road trip), be sure to come by and see Andy talk and participate in the discussion at Agile RTP.

I’ve turned into a Twitter junkie. There’s just something about it that makes me smile.

If you don’t get it (I didn’t at first either), check out this great video that I just ran across from Common Craft … on Vimeo…

Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

I’ve been very quiet on my blog for a while now, but I wanted to get everybody up to date on a few things…

#1) First and foremost, I’m a dad

Whitney and I had our first child (Haley Kay Carey) on January 30th. Everyone is doing wonderful and I’m loving being a dad. Right now, this is where the majority of my focus has been channeled. Haley is doing awesome, Whitney is doing awesome, and I’m doing awesome.

You can find our pictures of Haley on Flickr at: http://flickr.com/photos/thecareyfam/tags/haley/

#2) If you’re interested in what I’m doing (until I get back to blogging more), I’m using Twitter frequently. It’s much easier to do the micro-blog thing with Twitter.

You can find my Twitter profile at: http://twitter.com//bencarey

#3) I created a small web page to hold the links to my small projects and experiments. There’s not much on the site right now, but there will be as time moves on. I have a lot of little experiments that I’d like to try and this will probably be where I link them up (I’m sure I’ll blog about them as well).

The new site is: http://www.hellokensho.com

#4) I launched Omakase. This was a little idea to experiment with Rails, iPhone development, and some ideas for exploring ways to make micro-applications. Omakase does one thing… it makes decisions for you. I’ll post more about it after I finish cleaning it up a bit. The site was written for the iPhone, but it does have a traditional browser version as well. Currently, the browser site looks the best in Safari.

You can find Omakase at: http://www.iloveomakase.com

#5) I moved my blog and site host over to Media Temple. As part of that move, I wiped out all of the categories for my old blog entries. I did this on purpose. I do blog about a mixture of items (technology, business, development, life, travel, etc.) and I decided that all of the categories just weren’t worth the effort to maintain them.

I’ll get back to blogging, speaking, and the various communities before too much longer. For now, I’m enjoying a bit of a break and soaking up the new addition to the family.

I was excited to see James put up 22books. The site is off to a great start and reading is something that I’m very passionate about. I read a lot of books and I frequently check in with others about what they are reading.

A tradition that I’ve had over the past ten or so years of my career has been to ask others “What books have you read that have changed your life?”

I ask this question for a couple of reasons…

• It gives you an idea of an individual’s personality.
• It gives you an idea of where a person’s values and belief system are.
• It helps you understand a person’s world-view
• It keeps my queue of books-to-read fresh

I’ve asked this to quite a few people over the years. I’ve asked co-workers, friends, managers, CEOs, and clients. Over the years of asking this question, I’ve never regretted it (although I have had some people that declined to answer it).

I love that James has integrated this concept into 22books as a list category. I’m excited to see what others add to their list.

If you’re interested, my list is published on the site. Some of these books are fairly straight-forward in their contribution to my favorites list and others have stories behind them. Regardless of the history, I can certainly recommend all of them.

Happy reading!

The surf in NC has been pretty damn good over the past month. Every weekend is seeing nice size surf (although it hasn’t been very clean lately).

Looks like this weekend will be no exception.

Sunday surf forecast from SwellInfo:

It’s very interesting to look at the differences between generations when it comes to the adoption and application of technologies. I’m caught somewhere in the middle where I’ve grown up with some technology, but nowhere near as immersed in technology as my younger brothers (I was born in 1976 and my brothers were born in 1986 and 1988).

I also work in technology and I’m very involved in technology advances and staying on top of the latest and greatest technology shifts. The one thing that I’ve noticed more and more lately is the drastic shift in the divergence of technologies, mindsets, revenue models, and the application of technology for the different generations.

A presentation that really drove this home lately was done by Josh Spear at Google Zeitgeist 2007 in Europe.

If you haven’t seen it, the video is below…

I was tagged by James, so here’s my five things…

1. I left college for a year to move to Mammoth and snowboard. It was one of those life-changing experiences that I will never regret. I’ve been snowboarding for over 15 years and I’ve had a pass at one resort or another for 14 of those past 15 years. I love it when people ask me in interviews about the gap in my schooling and I can honestly say “I had to go snowboarding.”
2. I’ve worked for 10 companies in the past 8 years. Not consulted for 10 companies, but I’ve been a full time employee at 10 companies. A lot of the transitions are due to acquisitions, but that’s still a lot of benefit forms to fill out.
3. I write more in Moleskine than I do on my blog. There’s just something about good paper, a pencil, and some glue.
4. I’m a sucker for design. I’m fascinated with graffiti, poster art, designer toys, photography, modern art, minimalist architecture, and information visualizations.
5. I’ve lived in three states in the past three years. Ohio, Colorado, and now in North Carolina. I moved to Ohio for work, Colorado for snow, and North Carolina to be close to the beach.

I’m tagging Matt, Scott, Cole, John, and Ani.

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I like robot chicken.
I like big text.
I like thinking.
I like yoga.
I like animals.
I like fruit.
I like music.
I like snow.
I like life.
I like mountains.
I like agile.
I like orange….not necessarily in that order.

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