After hours of considering, discussing, and rethinking, I have accepted a new position. My current employer, Veris Consulting, has been great to me, but I got another opportunity that was too good to pass up. I will still be working as a web developer, and at a Microsoft .NET shop, but I will get to focus on a primarily front-end development. The new employer is Tiber Creek Consulting, but I am working on-site with their client (AT&T) for at least a few months. The contract with AT&T will last at least the next 3 months, but will likely get extended based on their upcoming projects.

I am excited about the new opportunity, but will miss the folks at Veris, too, I wish them all the best!

Haven’t posted in a few “minutes”, I’ve just been busy with the daily grind. That project I mentioned is coming to fruition soon, so I’m excited. We’ll be going with a .NET platform (going to use gate.com for the hosting) and the CMS will be DotNetNuke. It’ll be good fun, I’m stoked to get started! I’ll definitely post as I make progress on the project, showing how I go about the entire project, that’ll be great to look back on as I near completion, and also in the future when taking on new projects. I can see what worked well and what needs to be adjusted. Here is the current site that will be redesigned and relaunched, I have high expectations.

We’re in the time of year where the sun is rising and setting at the perfect angle(s) to create stunning views, and my commute to and from work the past few weeks has been a little less maddening as a result. I made this wallpaper based on what I saw this morning as I was driving. I really dig the way the leafless tress starkly contrast against the shades of blue, teal, yellow, and orange of the sky. I find myself staring at it in disbelief every time I see it, it just seems like it can’t be real.

The tree brushes are from Brusheezy, and the gradient I used was as true as possible to what I can remember seeing this morning. I don’t love the way I did the moon, but it serves its purpose I guess.  I like the sense of texture I created using the PhotoShop cloud filter - it’s very subtle, but it definitely adds a little flavor.

I zipped the .psd file and 1280×1024 .jpg here, or see the .jpg all by its lonesome here.

Despite the busy holiday weekend, I managed to (finally) launch a new web site. The site is for a small cleaning company in the area. It needs a few finishing touches, but it’s a good solid foundation. There isn’t a lot to it, but I think it looks really nice and serves its purpose.

 I built the site from scratch with very limited input from the business owners. The stock images are from Stock Exchange, and the little bit of JavaScript is jQuery. This is their first foray into an Internet presence, so they just needed something really simple, and the site fits the bill nicely. I love the crisp clean feeling of the blue and white.

Check out NeedAHandLLC.com and let me know what you think.

Maybe it’s because winter is upon us and it was freezing cold this morning (18 degrees feels plenty cold to me), but I made a new desktop wallpaper today, and I thought I would share it. Here is the preview:

I used the snowflake brushes found on Brusheezy, and the design is inspired by the sample they display there. I love the color blue, and this wallpaper feels fresh and crisp, like a cool winter snowstorm. Usually, I like to make my wallpaper a stark contrast to the season (like a beach-looking image in the wintertime), for whatever reason I feel like my brain enjoys that jolt, but I am using this wallpaper for now. Maybe I’ll recycle it in August?

Download the .psd file here or the .jpg file here. It’s sized at 1280 by 1024 because that what my monitor is.

So I have a new project coming soon, and I’m excited about it. I’m still in the proposal writing stage, but the project is going to include a full fledged content management system. The client has an existing site that has PHP installed, but they are paying WAY too much for their hosting, and I am going to propose moving them to a .NET platform for less than half of what they pay annually right now. The tools available to me on the .NET platform are so powerful, and since that’s what I write in at work, it makes sense to push myself in ASP.NET. Read the rest of this entry »

So I downloaded and installed Drupal because I want to develop a good comfort level with a CMS so that I may one day use it to my full advantage with clients. Creatively, I installed in a subdirectory of my site, it’s at drupal.gabe-harris.com. Lovely looking, right? I have obviously not done much with it yet, and I can understand why they might say it has a steep learning curve. I can’t even find a good place to get started.
Read the rest of this entry »