gdp's Comments

ITauthor : Changing your WordPress RSS feed titles

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:03:36 +0000

Sadly I no longer find time for podcasting (or even blogging, except once in a blue moon), so I no longer do this. Didn\\\'t know if it was still necessary - but from what you say it sounds like it\\\'s still an issue.

ITauthor : Appendixes or appendices – and who cares anyway?

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:55:05 +0000

Oops!

ITauthor : It’s got to be fun

Tue, 1 Nov 2011 18:40:16 +0000

Eddie - thanks for commenting. Interesting to hear my post struck a chord with you. All the best Alistair

ITauthor : How to: Get a white screen

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:40:42 +0000

Woh, that\\\'s a good one! OK, forget both of the methods I described above - this is a much better way of doing it. Thanks Graham. Top top!!!

ITauthor : Prevent Skype hogging port 80

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 09:28:53 +0000

Didn\\\'t know Linux users had to use an old version of Skype. Maybe Microsoft will fix that! ;-)

ITauthor : It’s got to be fun

Sun, 22 May 2011 10:43:01 +0000

Rose - As a blogger (albeit a when-I-find-the-time/inclination blogger) I sometimes fall into the habit of thinking that most tech writers probably do write blogs. However, when I think about how many people mention a blog on their CV/resume, I'm convinced blogging is very much a minority pursuit, even amongst tech writers. I like blogging and podcasting and I intend to do more of it, if I can stop myself taking it too seriously, but nobody should feel they *have* to have a blog. Tech writers who like their jobs, by definition, like writing, so they tend to continue writing in their free time. But that doesn't have to be a blog. Plenty of tech writers spend time writing short stories, poetry, diaries, magazine articles, open source documentation, Wikipedia entries, answers on StackOverflow ... and (although I have no personal evidence of this) I'd like to think that there are people, somewhere, who still spend time writing letters. You definitely don't need to blog: as I've proved over the last few months!

ITauthor : It’s got to be fun

Sat, 21 May 2011 20:10:05 +0000

Hi Gordon. Good to hear from a real blogger. Thanks for commenting. You're a man of much web output - don't know how you do it! As a long-time reader of what's now http://www.onemanblogs.co.uk (as well as http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/) I know that you do certainly write what you want. I often marvel at your candour as well as the calibre of your thoughts on tech writing. Hats off to you!

ITauthor : It’s got to be fun

Sat, 21 May 2011 19:48:01 +0000

Thanks for commenting Jon. BTW I liked your blog post on what you need for an online learning solution: I need to know more about that. I've heard good & bad things about Moodle. I must find some time to get to know it better.

ITauthor : The guilt and paranoia of the remote worker

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 23:29:39 +0000

I like your attitude! Thanks for commenting.

ITauthor : The guilt and paranoia of the remote worker

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 23:28:04 +0000

I'm not sure about this. If I were employing gold-diggers I'd prefer to have a guy who some weeks delivered nothing but two or three times a year brought in a 100-ounce nugget, rather than a guy who delivered an ounce a day regular as clockwork, but never anything bigger. This sounds like a silly comparison, but I know people (particularly programmers) who are sometimes difficult, unconventional characters but nevertheless, when you really need an expert, or a flash of brilliance, always come up with the goods. Those guys are truly worth their weight in gold. So I'd say, yes - to a degree - hours are important, but not as important as getting things done. And I'm not convinced a habit of long hours is the best way to get things done - although some people might find it an effective way of convincing incompetent management that they're a "real hard worker".

ITauthor : The guilt and paranoia of the remote worker

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 22:58:42 +0000

Going to the length of creating a spreadsheet to prove to yourself you worked your 8 hours seems like extreme guilt. I completely understand. :-) However, I wonder how I'd use it those days I'm in the office, where I spend quite a lot of time on the social bookmarks around the stuff that's undeniable "work" - e.g. chatting before and after a meeting. I think it's tough to demand more full-on, break-free work of ourselves when we work remotely than we're okay with when we're working in the office.

ITauthor : The guilt and paranoia of the remote worker

Mon, 6 Dec 2010 23:32:10 +0000

"My personal motto has always been if there is work I am doing it!" That sounds dangerous to me. How do you stop work consuming your life so that there's nothing more to you than what you do for a living? But I guess if you really love what you do then you enjoy spending long days and nights just working, working, working. Watch you don't burn yourself out! Thanks for the comment.

ITauthor : The guilt and paranoia of the remote worker

Mon, 6 Dec 2010 23:26:07 +0000

Work/life balance is a real issue for the remote worker. If you're going to work from home you've got to be able to prevent work from taking over your home life. Remote guilt tends to skew things in favour of spending more time than you should working rather than resting (or doing other non-work things). Sounds like you've managed to find a good balance Paul. Thanks for the comment.

ITauthor : Fix “No topics found” issue in CHM output

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 14:50:25 +0000

Hello from Edinburgh Scotland to Hobart Australia! Thanks for commenting.

ITauthor : Writing to a log file in C#

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:23:58 +0000

ITauthor blog saves a life! That's a first. :-) Thanks for the comment.

ITauthor : If Apache fails to start after a reboot

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:52:00 +0000

Glad that helped. Thanks for commenting.

ITauthor : I love Emma Thompson

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:50:41 +0000

Thanks for the comment. Reading it again, I really *must* do some chucking out myself this weekend. I feel a visit to Oxfam is overdue. :-)

ITauthor : Remote Desktop via a PuTTY tunnel

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:47:23 +0000

Thanks! Very funny comment. Glad you found it useful. :-)

ITauthor : Possibly the most useless error message ever

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 18:01:49 +0000

Oana - thanks for commenting. As they used to say on Hill Street Blues: "Be careful out there!"

ITauthor : Brian Eno’s Bloom application on your PC

Tue, 9 Nov 2010 18:00:23 +0000

Couldn't find that .swf file anywhere else. Such a shame it's not there (or not working) any more. Not all of us have iPhones! If you know where the bloom.swf file is available, please post a comment here.