The 2009 Wrap Up
A lot happened in 2009. I don't really believe in new year resolutions, but I do develop a list of goals for the future and set a target period in which I'd like to accomplish each goal. I usually end up with 2–3 goals per quarter in the year and then a list of 5–10 five-year goals. This modest list helps me accomplish some of them and not feel like a slacker for only hitting a few items on a list of hundreds.
I'd like to discuss some of the highlights for this past year and, for the first time ever, publicize some of my goals for 2010 and beyond.
In 2009 I
- transitioned to a new position at Texas A&M University;
- authored another article for php|architect;
- participated in the LIVESTRONG Challenge charity bike ride in Austin, TX;
- proposed to Lisa and we are planning our wedding for July 2010; and
- started negotiations for a book I will author in 2010.
I blogged about it earlier this year, but back in August a friend of mine let me know that he was moving to a new position and this his current position would be vacant. I eagerly took the opportunity to apply for and be hired into that position effective September 1, 2009. Since moving in I've done some work on several projects including working on the so-called mobile web site for Texas A&M University. We have an iPhone and Blackberry application, but we saw a need for a more universally-accessible version of the site.
In October, I participated in Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG Challenge charity bike ride in Austin, TX. That is also when I proposed to my fiancé, Lisa, and she accepted. We are working diligently on coordinating all the details for a wedding ceremony — or celebration as the church calls it — on July 3, 2010. So far it's been an experience I will not soon forget.
In late 2008 I stated that I'd like to successfully pitch a book idea to a publisher in 2009. Well I was correct that it would be scary. I pitched several ideas, actually, but only one of them was accepted. I'm currently communicating with the acquisitions editor on the specifics, so I will refrain from disclosing any further information until it's appropriate. I'm glad I was able to scratch this item off my goals for 2009 list even if it's just a strike-through in pencil.
In 2010 I hope to
- Author and publish my first book;
- move into an more "adult" apartment complex;
- run my first half marathon;
- lose at least 80 pounds;
- take a photo a day — the 365 project — for the whole year; and
- author a useful blog post per week.
Obviously the book goal is sort of a carry-over from 2009, but since I'll actually be writing the book in 2010 it's a fine goal. After all, I've heard that the process is quite involved and stressful at times. Given the speed of the proposed delivery schedule I believe the friends that have already gone through this about the stress.
After we get married, Lisa and I plan to get out of the student-focused apartment complex we currently live in and move into a more "adult" complex. We are most excited about the size of the kitchen as we are both foodies and love to cook but our current galley-style kitchen leaves a lot to be desired in terms of usability — especially for more than one cook. We also hope that a garage will be available in the complex as we could definitely use the storage space. With two bicycles and the transition from two apartments into one, we'll need all the room we can get.
At one point in my life — believe it or not — I was an avid runner capable of hitting the roads for a nice 8-mile run in the wee hours of the morning before heading to class or work. These days I'm lucky to make it two miles before I need a walk break. In 2010 I want to change that. With my sister's new interest in running I thought now would be the perfect time to work up to a half marathon, and chose the Big-D Marathon in Dallas, TX on April 11. It's a somewhat realistic goal as we will both go into the race knowing that we aren't shooting for a podium spot, just a finish.
Along with the running goals I need to lose weight. I've started several times but always found excuses to put it off. Well, no more. It's time.
The 365 project is an interesting concept and I need to get back behind the lens. I've probably lost what few skills I had so I hope this endeavor will bring them back.
Finally I hope to be a better citizen by blogging more. This has always been an issue for me and I am taking inspiration from Brandon Savage's dedication to posting at least once a week. I can only hope to be able to find topics to write about and the time to crank the posts out on top of writing the book.
In the next five years I hope to
- become a parent with Lisa;
- purchase our first home;
- find two German Shepherd companions to enhance and protect our growing family; and
- kill my 1990 Acura Integra and get behind the wheel of my dream car, whatever it is.
The first two five-year goals are self explanatory. We've already talked about kids and we are in agreement of our preferences for family size and hopefully we will be able to realize those dreams. The home idea is a three-year goal. We will most likely live in the apartment we move into after marriage for two or three years before taking the plunge into home ownership. This will give us time to build up savings for the necessary investment and improvements.
I have always loved the German Shepherd breed, but, given the size of the dogs, we will need ample space for them to be happy. We know we have to wait until we purchase a home to add them to our family, but I hope to be in a position to find them within four years.
My car, as much as a love it sometimes, is on the downward spiral. Truthfully I've wanted to ditch it so many times, but it is a strong Honda car and refuses to die. The plan now is to begin looking for alternate transportation as the odometer continues to creep towards 200,000 miles. I'm thinking that for the immediate future I'll settle on either a new car or something like a Chevrolet Blazer, GMC Equinox, Ford Escape, or similar vehicle until I'm in a better position to get the four-door Jeep with enhancements I have my eye on.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
That about sums up my major accomplishments for 2009 and a glimpse into my planned future. Have a great two holidays!
Review of Keith Pope’s “Zend Framework 1.8: Web Application Development”
In late October 2009 I was contacted by a marketing specialist at Packt Publishing to review a copy of Zend Framework 1.8: Web Application Development (Pope, 2009). As a developer that uses the Zend Framework I am more than happy to be writing this review post. I was already familiar with Mr. Pope's work through his blog The Pope Is Dead. Overall he takes a well-executed, hands-on approach to guiding the reader through creating a real-world application using the framework.
Target Audience
As mentioned in the preface the primary audience for this book is the Zend Framework novice looking to learn about the framework and how to leverage the components to create web applications. He mentions that his secondary audience is developers that currently use the framework and would like to learn more about how to apply emerging best practices to his or her projects. In my opinion this book delivers appropriate content to provide value to both audiences.
The Basic MVC Application
The first chapter is a run through on getting a 'Hello World' application up and running. This approach can easily be so incredibly simple that it is useless or significantly complex that is leaves the novice feeling like he or she was punched in the gut. Pope did an outstanding job of combining explanation of the whys without overwhelming the reading as well as providing the simple hows to satisfy the impatient reader.
He takes careful time to walk the reader through design decision when discussing the model or domain layer which is essential to maintainable applications. I found his explanation of other approaches and the specific reason he chose a particular approach to be above what I expected from a "beginner" text, but not so theoretically-laden as to confuse or alienate the novice.
His use of some of the concepts used by more seasoned developers, such as using Front Controller Plugins and Actions Helpers, in his Storefront application is something a novice will find most valuable. While it might seem easy enough to avoid doing this by placing the code elsewhere his presentation of these elements will help curb the instinct to produce code that the developer will regret later.
Key Areas Addressed
As mentioned this book is fairly complete in the tutorial-based run through of the framework's features and how use them for a real-world application. I am particularly happy with his brief introduction to practices such as testing and some optimization hints. While it is definitely a bad idea to prematurely optimize his experience is apparent in these chapters.
Overall Opinion
Overall Keith Pope and Packt Publishing produced a quality introductory text to developing with the Zend Framework. His work will be useful to not only the complete novice but to those developers that are familiar with the framework but wish to improve his or her practices to be more in line with emerging "best practices". The only criticism I would offer on the book is, by my own admission, slightly invalid because it is not something that could be easily addressed: I yearn for a more in-depth analysis of the model layer. The model layer, being the implementation of the domain of the project, is incredibly complex and entire volumes could be written to go through implementations. In fact, there are already books that do this in the theoretical sense. I think that Pope's introduction does suffice for the target audience.