Glog

I’ve been a lite Dropbox user for some time (since I first read about them via Rands) and while I do use it more these days for more typical file sharing tasks, one of the most interesting uses I have for it has been that of sharing application state. Cloud and all, I am very much a desktop user, and while some of the applications I use do have cloudish counterparts, I find that have a tendency to enjoy my local apps far more than their cloud counterparts. Take ecto, a fantastic blog editor for the Mac. I find myself starting blog posts often, leaving them for “later” from time to time. Given I share time between my desktop and my laptop, it hasn’t always been easy to match available time slot with in-progress blogs.

Enter Dropbox: a simpe symlink from

~/Library/Application Support/ecto

to

../../DropBox/Shared/Library/Application Support/ecto3

and my wherever-whenever-ecto-blogging is a go (something that, by the way, did not work with iDisk, which seemingly failed to sync more ofthen than I was willing to accept). I suspect instant switching from one system to the other might probably confuse ecto, but I never do that anyway, and I can probably add some glue before the app starts to check on Dropbox’s status.

I love companies (and the folks behind them) with a sense of humor. Case in point: Stanley’s FatMax Fubar II.

And so it begins in earnest (rather than simply begins), and it does so with what is probably the required first post for any blog: a brief introduction. There are lots of thoughts, opinions and ideas floating around in search of an organizing container (and quite possibly an audience), and so here is the container and, possibly, the audience.

I started a blog at Blogger eons ago but never wrote anything particularly meaninful there, mostly because Blogger didn’t appeal to me as an application itself. I then moved to hosting the blog myself, but I wanted Blojsom –which is, imho, a great piece of software– to do things it wasn’t ready to do, and the tinkering was not to be given other responsibilities I needed to tend to. I went back and searched for another hosted solution, this time asking people who’ve been there before me about their experiences. I live and breathe (i.e., run) hosted platforms for a living, and as much as like the tinkering, it seemed silly to spend time doing so (time is such a precious commodity and there is plenty of other tinkering that suits my preferences). I looked into Typepad but didn’t quite fit the bill, and finally, here’s is WordPress (and ecto). Perhaps in the future I will host it with Ning (you can create your social network for anything) which has a blog but it’s not nearly as advanced as I would like.

What can you expect to find, read about and see here? What will it look and feel like? How does it fit in the grand scheme of things? For starters, there will be multilingual posts (or perhaps just bilingual). Topics will include just about anything I deem blog-worthy (where worthiness is determined by myself): technology, photography, business, media, maybe some politics. Also, following Diego’s footsteps I will do mini-posts from time to time. One key aspect to always keep in mind when reading the glog is its personal nature, and the disclaimer is in full force: the views and opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer; or my friends; or yours; or anyone else for that matter. Which is fine in all cases. What I write reflects both my perception and opinion about the topics that I address, but you should definitely think (and do) whatever works for you, and I have a great deal of respect for that. What I write may also change and evolve, which of course reflects changes in my opinions and perceptions. Finally, another disclaimer (which primarily applies, but it’s not limited to, technical posts): no warranties; that something works for me does not imply any guarantees that it will work for you.

And we’re off. To the blogging races.