unshackled

I’ve now turned comments off on this blog.

As always, you can contact me via email, Twitter, or Facebook.

-ak

Like everyone else in this grand planet, I’ve been busy.

And to the 7 regular readers of this blog (and the millions thousands hundreds of you that just arrived here today and desperately left in a hurry), I apologize for the inconsistent blogging. The truth is, I haven’t been too busy to blog. No, I’ve been too busy to think.

To the 0.143% of you emo readers out there, I know you’ve been trying to tell me for years that all I need to do is write dark poetry in that black book on my mantle whenever I get maxed. But I’ve always wanted to stretch my brain as well. I do this by reading books, listening to Shane Claibourne, digesting Mr. Sauder, inhaling U2, and smoking weed.

But lately, I’ve been too busy to dialogue much or even pound out thoughts in writing (especially not on this blog). This has resulted in a deep brain freeze, where the intellect spills over into the emotional (because it has no other place to go) and inevitably finds its way into a witty little poem that doesn’t make sense to anyone but gets stored in the little black book on the mantle.

Where everyone will never ever read it. It’s safer that way.

Check back in 4 weeks or so after school’s over. This blog might be a happenin place by then.

-ak

The Quest for the Perfect Blogging Client on Mac

I’ve been searching for a desktop blogging client for approximately six months on my Macbook. I know many beginning bloggers just use the online editor found in their blogging software, but trust me on this one, using a desktop client will not only make you a better blogger, it will save you time, frustration, broken computer screens. Once you’ve found a desktop solution that works for you, you will never want to use your online editor again.

After I migrated from numerous Windows XP setups to one Macbook (no more syncing, yay) last August, it took awhile for basic tasks to become second nature. It was basically my first introduction to the Mac platform and while I can say (like everyone else) I would never go back, it was not love at first sight (more on that later, okay?).

It soon became obvious that there are only two options when it comes to desktop blogging on Mac.

1. ecto, a project by Adriaan Tijsseling, a 30 something developer who works at Technorati Japan and develops ecto in his spare time. Don’t be fooled by the “beta” packaging on the rewritten 3.x trunk. In the words of Adriaan, this version is “very stable”.
2. Marsedit, a project originally developed by Newsgator, the same company that produced everyone’s favorite RSS reader, Netnewswire (now free). Marsedit was sold to Daniel Jalkut at Red Sweater Software on February 22, 2007. Jalkut, a talented programmer has made a good program better. Marsedit is currently in version 2.1.2.

Since both of these programs have free trial periods, I downloaded both and began testing. Here’s the results.

Interface

Obviously the two were very similar in regards to interface. Both had a main screen which listed blogs in the sidebar and displayed blog posts in an easy to read way. It was only minor differences that set them apart in interface.

Of the two, Marsedit definitely behaved more like a native app. The icons were modern and professional, and overall the interface was snappy. The post editor was beautiful in its simplicity, with a only a few text fields; definitely the epitome of uncluttered. A sidebar was available (but not open by default) which displayed available categories and other post options. A few code aids were available from a drop down list (and keyboard shortcuts) which automatically inserted tags for “bold” or links. Think minimal here.

ecto, on the other hand, was anything but minimal. Its interface was also very pleasing, even though the icons seemed outdated and the interface was juiced up with a tacky blue color. The post editor also had a sidebar (open by default) to define categories and tags. Of course, one of the most notable differences between Marsedit and ecto was the presence of a WYSIWYG editor in ecto. The editor included formatting buttons within easy reach.

Edge: Marsedit

Features

The feature set is very similar as well. Both support a wide myriad of blogging platforms. There’s no silver bullet here. But let’s take a look.

Marsedit is undistinguished by its features. Support for native tags (I only tested Wordpress tags) is there but unapparent. A preference change reveals a new text field where tags can be entered. As one begins typing, previous tags matching your input will pop up. It’s a simple but not brilliant way of doing things. I found I had to tweak quite a few things in the settings before things felt “just right”. For instance, Marsedit was perfectly okay with me publishing a post even though I had forgotten to set any tags or categories. A quick preference change prompted a reminder. Integration with Flickr was there and worked fine but was unastounding. I concluded that while Marsedit’s feature set is solid, it is not elaborate or even obvious. Most of it’s just there, and it works, but it’s not pretty all the time.

ecto, on the other hand, is feature king. It not only includes features, it makes them easy to find and use, and most are working by default. The WYSIWYG editor works flawlessly for the most part (no, this is not your grandpa’s WYSIWYG editor that pumped out crappy code). When you switch from the code view to the rich text view, if there’s any code errors a dialogue will pop up that allows you to fix your tags or let the program do it automatically. The tags generated by the editor are clean and valid xhtml, a definite bonus. I never ever thought I’d use the WYSIWYG editor, but I find myself using it often (and the ability to switch between it and the code view at breakneck speeds is a definite bonus). The media plugin which allows easy insertion of iPhoto pictures, iTunes music or Quicktime movies is a killer feature for anyone that regularly posts media from those apps. ecto’s ability to easily edit and resize pictures is also one that is lacking in Marsedit. Everything that ecto does is graceful and works perfectly, whether it’s tags and categories, Flickr and Amazon integration, or viewing the word count and changing the page slug. Bottom line? There is nothing I did in Marsedit that I couldn’t do just as fast or faster in ecto. And that for me is huge.

Edge: ecto

Price

This one’s easy, and while it may not be a deciding factor for most people, it is still important. Marsedit costs $29.99 while a copy of ecto can be acquired for a mere $17.95. Why almost double the price for Marsedit? The difference is the developers––Jalkut is solely supported by the software he creates; Tijsseling develops ecto on the side.

What’s ten (or twelve) bucks though? The price difference won’t be a huge issue. Either price is very reasonable for the stellar performance of these apps.

Edge: ecto

Support

I found both developers to be friendly and responsive; a test email I sent was replied to within minutes by both. This speaks volumes about the high quality software we’re talking about here. And even though there must be stiff competition between the two in a not-too-big market, they remain on friendly terms with each other. When asked which app is better, Marsedit’s developer, Daniel Jalkut responded,

“I think the best thing to do is just to try them both and see which appeals to you more.”

ecto’s developer echoed him,

“That’s something for you to determine.”

Edge: Tie

Conclusion

In the end, I went with ecto, as it seemed to be better suited to my workflow and I liked it more. But the choice is yours. Both of these apps are high quality and will get the job done. And that is the most important thing after all, is it not?

I had been using Marsedit for nearly everything that goes up on all my blogs, including this one of course, and while I was really pleased with the minimalistic design and thoughtful touches throughout, I just downloaded ecto3 tonight.

While I haven’t actually used older versions of ecto, this version (although still technically in beta) is suberb. So how does it match up to Marsedit?

Full review coming soon, when I’ve put ecto through the paces. For now, check out the screenshot similarities.

ecto 3 Beta

Marsedit 2

Way to go Modx on recognition as Most Promising Open Source CMS 2007! It’s been a crazy, crazy ride we’ve had over the past two years but the future is bright indeed. With 0.9.6 easily the best and most stable ever and the scary prospect of an XPDO core with 0.9.7, I can say that Modx is my favorite CMS ever and definitely the way of the future. Any questions?

I hate memes! Okay?! They are spam…stupid excuse for writer’s block…lame excuse at coolness…and they’re contagious. They also seem to be pretty close to link baiting. But…but…I am a nice guy. So here goes, Jason.

…the rules:

1. Grab the book closest to you
2. Open it to page 161
3. Find the fifth full sentence
4. Post the text of the sentence to your blog
5. Don’t search around for the coolest book you have, use the one that is really next to you.
6. Tag five people to do this meme.

The book nearest me at the time (honest!) was Christianity and the Social Cross by Walter Rauscenbusch, the father of the social gospel. The fifth sentence on page 161 was:

It was natural that when Christianity spread in the pagan world that men should seize that part of its rich and varied contents which most appealed to their desires, and emphasize it to the exclusion of others.

Heavy stuff.

Now tagging Javan, Jethro, Jeff, Graham, and John to do this stupid meme. Follow the rules at your own risk.

With more and more eyes being peeled towards Gaza these days, it’s hard to tell what’s fact or fiction. A while back, I discovered this great little gem of a blog called Tabula Gaza. The perspective is incredible and the insights are always challenging. Like the first post:

Why is it that I so often see images in the media of Palestinians with big guns, masked men with rocket launchers on their shoulders, images of damage done by homemade rockets that have landed near homes in settlements around the Gaza Strip? So rarely does the media portray the damage done by Israeli tanks, F-16s, Apaches, ground-to-ground missiles, armored bulldozers, snipers and drones, which are used on civilians and militants alike in Gaza. For one, the excess of damage must be difficult to capture and yet, there is more to this story.

According to the Beit Hanoun municipality 80 homes were completely destroyed in the latest incursion, while over 600 were left partially damaged. Homes, schools, colleges, lampposts, shops, streets in ruins, left was a city of rubble. After the initial withdrawal sewage flowed out of broken pipes, rubble of buildings spilled onto streets, the walls around a central cemetery were gone and an 800 year old mosque was a pile of stones and dirt.

The chief of staff at the municipality told me, “Beit Hanoun used to be a garden, today it is a desert.”

(more…)

Wow. Finally, a teenager who can write! (I have an immense problem expressing emotion in language and it shows in my lousy writing style) Introducing Natalie Stadnick, a great blog that I stumbled across. I’ve been having fun reading her archives and noting the similarity (and differences) her journies have to mine.

From a great [long] post entitled Personal Apologetics - A Letter:

Falling in love is similar to arriving at a viable faith.  Falling love encompasses much the same experience as falling in faith.  Without being open to the possibility of love,  and without actively seeking to love, love is not possible in your own experience.  Though someone could very well love you without your loving them.  Such is the same with faith.

Without being open to the possibility of faith,  and without actively seeking the experience of faith, falling in faith is not probable…

Jesus exists. . . Love exists. . .  Faith exists. . .  God exists. . .

Nice. Very nice.

“Silence can say more than a thousand words”, proclaims the website of OneDayBlogSilence.com.

On April 30th 2007, the Blogosphere will hold a One-Day Blog Silence in honor of the victims at Virginia Tech. More then 30 died at the US college massacre.

 

But it´s not only about them. Many bloggers have responded and asked about all the other victims of our world. All the people who die every day. What about them?

 

This day can be a symbol of support to all the victims of our world!

In silent protest, I will remain silent on this blog on April 30, a week from now. But it can’t stop there. After that, silence is simply laziness. After all, it’s silence that keeps injustice in our world, it’s the people that don’t have a voice that get knocked the hardest. On the other hand, Martin Luther King, Jr. died to show that silent vigils and nonviolent activism is much more effective than fighting back with violence and frustration. The big question is, who gets to translate how we do that in 21st century America? I have ideas, but they are just that—ideas. What will you do to help victims all over the world? And since Americans tend to think in terms of “collateral damage” when we take the discussion global, let’s entertain the question, “what will you do to help victims within 10 miles of your house?”

Update: Many have decided that they will not be silent: walls of the city, Electric Venom, and Wizbang, to name a few.

Thanks to Adam Walker Cleaveland over at Pomomusings for this beautiful template called Cleaker 2.1. The new look seems to be representative of the twists in my life more than I want to admit. Anyway, the new design makes me happy. So I’ll probably keep it until I get around to designing my own Wordpress template.