Being the proud father of 9 month old twins, it’s becoming more and more apparent that babies are nothing more than really small zombies.

Let me count the ways:

1. They start out not really moving, or doing much, you think you’re safe, and like zombies, they really stink.

2. Slowly, they start to animate, becoming more and more mobile.

3. They develop a hunger for human flesh (teething process, and beyond).

4. When they chase you, they may not be fast, but they are persistent, and will catch you eventually.

5. They eat your brains. I haven’t been able to think straight for months. My brain is technically gone.

6. They turn you into one of them. I have a glazed over look, shuffle around like a zombie, and haven’t showered in days.

7. Like a typical zombie apocalypse, you are the only one left. All of your friends and family who used to visit seem to have disappeared, never to be seen again.

If anyone can recommend how I would fight the baby zombie apocalypse, I would be very grateful.

I was always a reader. I read everything I could get my hands on, from fiction, to non-fiction, to geek books (big surprise there!). However, in the past couple of years, my reading of conventional books has slowed down to nearly a stand-still. I read blogs, news feeds, Twitter, Facebook, and any other small, bite-size forms of media out there, but I haven’t sat down with a good book in a long time.

I blame technology.

I sit at my computer all day, working, and taking the odd break to take in some information. I have my Android phone in hand reading Engadget, The Onion, Digg, and my Google Reader feed. I have my T.V. which, depending on who has the remote, I’m either watching Dr. Who (me), or one of the sideshow freaks on T.L.C. (my wife).

Now, technology may not be all that bad. I bought my wife a Kobo e-reader for Mother’s day, and have already read most of a book on it, and I have to say, I really like it. It satisfies my need for gadgetry, yet still allows me to get some real reading in.

E-Readers aren’t new to the scene, but they are really starting to gain momentum in the book and publishing industry. Most use a technology called E Ink, which very closely resembles an actual printed page. It’s not back-lit, so for someone like me who spends almost 14 hours a day staring at a lit computer monitor, it comes as a very nice relief.

I have decided to get one of my own, so that started the extensive research. Here are the major contenders for me.

The Kobo - This is a Chapters/Indigo initiative. It comes with a bunch of free books, and is very simple to use. It basically has one button to navigate the pages and books, a few menu buttons, and a power button. It’s a no-frills, clean and simple e-reader. Cost: $149 CAD. You can also use any format you want on this reader. This is a very good choice for someone who wants an inexpensive, easy to use reader without too many distracting settings and features. http://www.koboereader.com/

The Kindle - Amazon has hundreds of thousands of books available for this reader. Another great thing is that you can buy books directly to the device over 3G, from anywhere a cell signal is available! The downside to this reader is that it uses a proprietary, rights-managed format for the e-books. Which means that you are limited to buying books from Amazon, and nowhere else. Cost: $189 USD. I have never used one of these, but I hear pretty good things about it. http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Reading-Display-International-Generation/dp/B0015T963C

Sony – The Sony e-readers have been around for a while, and come in two options, Pocket, and Touch. The touch screen one has a larger screen, and has quite a few more options, but the price tag matches that. The Pocket version costs around $189 CAD, the Touch version I have seen for $279. This reader supports almost any format. http://www.sonystyle.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=1000623&storeId=20153&langId=200&catalogId=100803&N=4294959113

Nook – Barnes and Noble – This is my choice, and I’m getting Jenn to get me one in the US this weekend! The benefit of this is that they have two options, WiFi + 3G ($199 USD), or WiFi Only ($149 USD). The Nook also has a colour touch screen below the E Ink screen that can be used for navigation, picking and purchasing a book, typing, and it even comes with Sudoku and Chess games. It’s a bit more of a geek’s e-reader, but is also open to any format of eBook, including PDF, ePub, PDF, Images, and also plays MP3 files. It also has a very basic web browser, so you can check your e-mail, read blogs, and view basic websites. The huge downfall of this e-reader is that you can’t actually buy one in a country other than the US! http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp

After a few weeks of asking around, Jenn told me she was going to the US, so I’m one step closer to relaxing with a good book and a beer.

Does anyone else find that technology keeps them away from books?

Most people strive all their lives for a work/life balance that is perfect, and I truly do envy those who have found it.

I have been working about 15 years trying to find my perfect niche, perfect career, and perfect place in life, but it has come at somewhat of a cost. With 5 month old twins, and a 3 year old son, it’s easy to see how my life could be a little crazy.

Here are some things that I’ve neglected because of my career:

1. My health
2. My sleep
3. Time with my family
4. A closer relationship with my wife
5. Time with friends

However, there have been some rewards. The quest for my career has brought me:

1. The feeling that I’m doing the right thing. I see so many people still trying to find themselves much later into their lives
2. Ability to make my own hours (yeah, right! In theory)
3. A career where I am constantly learning, sharing, and collaborating
4. I’m a geek, and I have a geeky job – I like that
5. Flexibility with regards to where I work
6. I get to buy cool tech stuff
7. I sometimes get to watch movies while I work
8. I get to work with some amazing people (yeah, that means you kitestring!)
9. Happiness, honest to goodness happiness

I think it will take time, but I’ll slowly chip away at those things I’m neglecting, and some day I’ll only have one list. Any recommendations would be welcome!

I know, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. I got the guilt trip from Chris yesterday…it’s been a very busy December. The projects at kitestring are going great, and life with twins and a 2 year old is draining me. Although, the twins did sleep for a full 8 hours last night! Amazing.

I am going to get my Christmas post out of the way now, and tell you what I’m thankful for this year. No techy stuff, just fluff.

I had a great talk with Jenn yesterday, and we discussed how things just feel right, like everything has fallen perfectly into place. I think we are some of the lucky people in this world who love their career, love their job, and love the people they work with. For that, I am thankful.

How many times have you said “I really love my job”, only to hear someone else say “give it time, you’ll hate it soon”. A very depressing sentiment, but unfortunately, for the most part, it’s true. I have had many jobs that started off great, only to drown slowly in company politics, gossip, red tape, and a sea of jaded, depressed people. Suffice it to say, those jobs didn’t last long.

I have been working with Chris and Jenn for over 5 years now, and it has only gotten better. We all respect each other, have fun together, and appreciate what everyone else brings to the table. And with the recent addition of Meg, whose energy and quirkiness are very contagious; it’s a perfect mix of fun and professionalism at the kitestring office.

I don’t know about you, but having a career that I love is a great gift. I’m also thankful for caffeine, my new best friend.

Do you love your job? If not, what are you going to do about it?

Have a happy holiday season!

It’s that time of year, where most people have their holiday shopping done, and I haven’t even started. You can ask my wife, and she will tell you that I have no clue what to buy a woman for Christmas, but let me shop for a Geek, and I’m all over it. I’m lucky that my wife is a Geek Chick, and this list can also apply to her!

So, what do you buy that special Geek/Gadget freak for Christmas?

1. A Smartphone – This one is a really bad gift unless you know they really want the commitment. Sure, you’re paying the up-front costs, but you’re also sticking them with a monthly bill of $60 or more. may be a good idea to offer to pay for a few months of usage. There are tons of models out there, and it will all depend on the person you’re shopping for. The safe bet is an iPhone, as it has mass appeal, is simple to use, and is also an iPod, so you can skip my next gift idea. I would buy my wife an iPhone if I was to get her a phone as a gift. For the geek out there, I think an Android phone is the way to go! If the person is all about work, and has no idea what the internet is, then go with a Blackberry.

As a web developer who likes to study and focus on usability, readability, and overall user experience, it pains me to see what people insist on including on their websites. With web users now having the attention span of a goldfish, you have to be very careful, and very specific as to what you put up on your site.

Some people like the good old “let’s throw it all on the wall and see what sticks” approach, including their life stories, complete history, and in-depth essays on why you should choose them. That may have worked 10 years ago, but the times they are a changin’.

Here is my personal list of things that I don’t think belong on a website. Keep in mind that this is a general list, and there is sometimes a specific need for some of these things.

As a web developer, part of my job is to test each and every website in multiple browsers. With so many browsers out there, that task is becoming more and more difficult. I generally test in Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, and the troublesome Microsoft Internet Explorer.

This is where it gets tricky. It seems that most people who use a browser other than IE tend to actually update their browser more than once every 5 years. This helps keep up with the momentum and progression of web technologies and techniques. This would be kind of like renting a Blue-Ray, slapping it into your VCR, and wondering why things aren’t working properly.

If you’re like me, you hate to miss any part of a movie, especially when you’re paying $184 for it (including popcorn and pop) at the theatre. Lucky for us, there’s now this hilarious new site called RunPee.com where they give you the best times during a movie when you have a window of time to…well…run and pee.

They are even kind enough to give you a rundown of the 3 minutes that you will away (it’s scrambled to avoid any spoilers).

A really good site for those who can’t seem to make it through a movie without going to the bathroom. Another example of a simple, silly, hilarious idea that actually has a purpose.

http://runpee.com

A few months ago, I had the unfortunate experience of a hard drive crash in my laptop. It was a fairly new laptop, so I had very little data on it, which was lucky, but, since is was fairly new, I also hadn’t had a chance to back it up.

It took me at least a week to get the thing back to where I wanted it, with all the sortware I wanted, all the tweaks I liked, and any settings that make Windows Vista tolerable to work on in a demanding environment. (that’s a whole different post altogether…).

Anyway, long story short, it was a horrible mess, even with a limited amount of data on it, and at least some data already backed up on a separate drive.

It’s amazing how much people live on their computers now! Family photos, e-mail, resumes, important documents, critical work/business files…you name it.

There are many solutions out there for backing up on both a file level, and a complete computer level.

On an image level, you can back up your entire computer, including operating system, settings, applications, pretty much a snapshot of your computer at the time you take the image! For this, in a Windows envrironment, I use Acronis’ TrueImage, which does a great job. I hear that iBackup is a pretty good solution for Mac users. But I’m not an Apple guy, so take this with a grain of salt. These applications both back up your image to a hard drive or physical location, so it’s still susceptible to physical damage.

If you’re just looking for just a file level backup, you may want to look at an online service. This way, your data is available from anywhere, and if your house burns down, everything is off-site, safe, and secure. Something like www.carbonite.com is about $5 USD per month, and works in the background, backing things up as you change them!