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How to Handle Prospective Client Calls
 

How to Handle Prospective Client Calls

Sunday, January 24th, 2010
24 Comments

One of the toughest things a freelancer faces, is managing one’s schedule and allotting enough time for all the things that he or she is responsible for. This is much different than what someone at a typical day job would face. Instead of simply managing your own tasks, you have several areas that need to be covered and finding time for them all can be tricky. Especially when it comes down to “billable time”, and prioritizing tasks based on their value and necessity. Jon Hicks wrote a great article titled Why You Can Never Work …

Bulletproof Post Thumbnails in WordPress 2.9

Sunday, January 10th, 2010
29 Comments

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working on an update for my video-centric WordPress theme, Wave. It’s a bit overdue, but every time I sit down with it, I end up packing something new in that will definitely please my customers and will hopefully justify the wait. Since WordPress 2.9 was recently released, I decided to look into the new Post Thumbnails functionality and see if I could make use of it in my themes. At this point, there isn’t much in the way of documentation, so I thought I would share my …

Apple Has Ruined Me for Everyone Else
 

Apple Has Ruined Me for Everyone Else

Monday, January 4th, 2010
23 Comments

I can already hear some of my PC readers crying, “Apple fanboi!” And rightly so. Although, it was never my intention to be one of those guys. I made the switch to Apple just over 3 years ago, after growing tired of the upgrades and OS re-installs that coincide with running a PC. Now, all the computers and every hand-held media player in my household is made by Apple, and I don’t hear anyone complaining. Best of all – I don’t have to play the roll of computer tech on a regular …

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Reels in Nostalgic Gamers
 
New Super Mario Bros. Wii 5

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Reels in Nostalgic Gamers

Monday, December 21st, 2009
10 Comments

A game like New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a no-brainer for veteran gamers who grew up with and loved the classic Nintendo 2D platformers. Chances are, if you look back on Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World with fond memories, you won’t find much to complain about in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. But is that enough to make it a viable current generation game? The nostalgia value, combined with some minor improvements and enhancements to the core gameplay, along with the addition of 4 player co-op, makes New Super Mario Bros. …

Assassin’s Creed II is a Perfect Sequel
 
Assassin's Creed II 5

Assassin’s Creed II is a Perfect Sequel

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
20 Comments

Assassin’s Creed was a huge hit for some, a massive fail for others. While I found great pleasure in roaming the countryside on horseback, picking fights with anyone who so much as looked in my direction. Others found it mundane and the sheer lack of variation in mission objectives tedious. Combat was also an acquired taste, as it’s slower and more methodical than simply running and gunning. There are no frag grenades to toss here. You’re taking dudes down one-by-one in hand-to-hand combat. Where Altair (the protagonist in the original game) fell flat, Ezio makes …

Twelve South Makes Awesome Stuff for Your Mac
 

Twelve South Makes Awesome Stuff for Your Mac

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
65 Comments

A few months back I made the switch from iMac to MacBook Pro + Cinema Display. Mostly for the added portability the MBP brings to the table. One problem I was presented with right out of the gate, was where to put the MBP while I was working. I have an mStand, but I don’t really need the extra screen real estate, and the size of my physical desktop pretty much nixed that approach anyway. I resorted to simply lying the MBP down on my desk, which was less than ideal. It took up …

My Kind of Handheld Gaming
 

My Kind of Handheld Gaming

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
22 Comments

I’ve never been big on handheld gaming, especially in recent years. This has a lot to do with my work situation and the fact that I’m very much a home body. Given that whenever I’m on the move, I’m typically the one behind the wheel, there simply aren’t many opportunities for me to spend time with handheld gaming device. Factor in the lack of desire to stare at a small screen for extended periods and my preference to lounging on the couch gazing at my 40″ TV screen, and we’re not left with many viable …

Another Great Adventure With Ratchet & Clank
 
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time 4.5

Another Great Adventure With Ratchet & Clank

Monday, November 16th, 2009
No Comments

Though the Ratchet & Clank series has been around since the early days of the PS2, my first experience with the lovable Lombax and his robotic buddy was with the 2007 release of Tools of Destruction on the PS3. I was immediately drawn into the game, as it possessed just the right amount of platforming and collecting items to make an old(ish) gamer feel nostalgic, with equal parts modern goodness that really rounded it out. A Crack in Time is the third game in the Ratchet & Clank Future series, which inevitably completes the continued …

Uncharted 2 Really is That Good
 
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 5

Uncharted 2 Really is That Good

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
11 Comments

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune came out of nowhere, completely captivated and engaged me with a beautiful setting, fantastic voice acting which made the characters believable and likable, and a story that I was wholeheartedly interested in. The fact that everything else was equally top notch, placed Uncharted on my top games of this generation list. Whenever a friend picked up a PS3, the first recommendation I made was Uncharted. So needless to say, its sequel is a game I’ve been looking forward to since I completed the original game, nearly two years ago.

Let’s Not Forget About Halo 3: ODST
 
Halo 3: ODST 4

Let’s Not Forget About Halo 3: ODST

Monday, October 19th, 2009
2 Comments

Halo 3: ODST, initially called Halo 3: Recon, was intended to be a PC style expansion pack for Halo 3. But during it’s development, the game evolved into a full-fledged package worthy of a standard retail game’s price tag. If you’re a fan of the Halo series and enjoy the fictional lore, Halo 3: ODST is a no-brainer.

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