How I converted to a LLC in New Mexico

June 23, 2008 · Filed Under Business · 1 Comment 
From: Shawn Gay

I suppose it isn’t rocket science, but converting a sole proprietorship to a LLC was a process I found to be more complicated than it should be. After having completed the transition successfully, I can now see that there was really more mystery than any true complexity to the situation. So, for the benefit of others who might be trying to go this route, here is what I did in a nutshell. As a caveat, I’m not a lawyer or an accountant. I consulted my accountant at various points along the way, and she was a great help, especially for the peace of mind of knowing you have an experienced professional guiding you. You should certainly consult your attorney or accountant if you have any questions about any steps in the process. Following are the basics steps I took.
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Agile software development practices

June 12, 2008 · Filed Under Software development, Web development · Comment 
From: Shawn Gay

I am a big believer in iterative software development. The Agile model for software development is the one I currently look to for guidance in steering my projects. At the heart of the Agile model is the set of principles expressed in the Agile Manifesto.
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On the use of WordPress themes

June 10, 2008 · Filed Under Web development · Comment 
From: Shawn Gay

A recent newsvine post suggests that many WordPress themes are overused to the point of making them annoying or even intellectually worthless. While I can see the point to a certain degree, a part of me wants to believe that content is still the measure of an excellent blog site. I have to admit, however, that the truth is really in the the union of good content and good style. For better or for worse, the prevalence of some themes, especially the defaults shipped with WordPress, doesn’t allow for much stimulation of that part of the brain that is always looking for something new. So, I encourage everyone out there using a common WordPress theme to take a couple of hours to learn some basic css and tweak your theme a little bit. You’ll find the effort will pay big dividends to your readers and your own sense of individuality. For those of you looking for a great book, check out Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, published by O’Reilly. You can actually learn css and enjoy the process!

Why I chose a combination of Joomla! and WordPress

June 6, 2008 · Filed Under Software development, Web development · Comment 
From: Shawn Gay

There are so many possibilities for constructing websites. My review of modern web techniques led me to believe I should invest some time to learn and use a content management system (CMS) to handle my website content. The idea of separating content from presentation really resonated with me.

Off-the-shelf CMS systems, both commercial and open-source, provide such a wealth of functionality to leverage that it just doesn’t make sense to develop a new site from scratch with no third-party software solutions. But, there are so many choices? How can one not be completely frozen trying to weight the pro’s and con’s of each route. Well, for me, the winning ticket came down to the combination of stable, well-documented code and good support, even if it meant a trade-off with flexibility. Joomla! is the CMS I chose for the “business” part of my site, and WordPress is the engine I chose to run the blog site you are now reading. So, why two different CMS engines?

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First post …

June 4, 2008 · Filed Under Software development · Comment 
From: Shawn Gay

This is the first post to the 100 Mind Street software development blog. Stay tuned and you can expect to see here regular updates on a variety of software development topics. Things I have in mind are:

  • Object-oriented analysis and design
  • Best practices for all phases of software engineering
  • Numerical methods
  • Leveraging third-party libraries
  • Web development
  • Running a software business

If any of these things sound remotely intriguing to you, check back often or subscribe to the rss feed!

Signing off,

SCG