Darren Barefoot posted an update to his 100 Things to do before I die article.
This got me thinking, I don’t have a list like this and truth be told I don’t instantly have many realistic, but currently unplanned, desires that instantly come to mind. However, Darren provides a lot of inspiration. So I started my “bucket list” with a shorter list of 10, in no particular order:
1. Publish a book
2. Own and Operate a software company (with more than just 1 employee)
3. Live 6 months in Europe
4. Volunteer on an archaeological dig
5. Volunteer on a paleontology dig
6. Walk to Tundra
7. Walk the Great Wall of China
8. Orbit the earth
9. Be a presenter at a conference (sales demos don’t count)
10. Visit the Maritimes
I think this is a good start, and I think a good time to reflect on these desires as we look to New Years.

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“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

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So, it has been a while since I was in Nashville and I really enjoy the area. Its just so green … though, maybe that was the 2,881 guest room hotel with a 4.5 acres atrium.

Also managed to sneak out for one night to check out the Nashville downtown, these web geeks really know how to party.

In amongst all this fun, however, I was there to learn. And wow what an incredible three days with some incredibly smart people. These guys are real thought leaders and provided a lot of inspiration and advice.


Major things to take away:

• There is no mobile web – there is only one web
• Content First – Navigation Second
• Place menu and navigation options are the bottom on smaller screens
• Let the content be the navigation where possible
• Use Responsive or Adaptive Web Design techniques
• Responsive design applies to application designs as well
• Stop using pixel-perfect designs, it creates invalid expectations
• Use prototypes for reviews, often just as fast
• Designing for iOS/WebKit in 2011 is like designing IE4 in 2001
• Mobile access to the web is growing at 8 times the growth rate what the internet adoption rate was
• Beware of assuming user context; most usage is actually in the home
• Native can still be important, limits to devices and types – watch use cases
• Watch that you don’t stack controls; results in mis-taps
• Watch that you don’t hide navigational content and previews with users hands
• Keep forms simple – long complex forms result in lost users
• Explain how requested info is used, people are more comfortable when knowing why
• The one main rule for applying design guidelines: It Depends

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For our 10 year anniversary we wanted to reset with a little adventure for ourselves. So today Patricia and Luis took the boys and we took the train up the valley.

The first part of the train trip was nothing special, it travelled the edge of the Douro river and through suburbs of Porto, but the second half of the train ride was gorgeous. The homes dwindled in numbers and the farm land grew and then transformed into vineyards which stretched up almost every hill from the rivers edge.

We finally reached our stop, about an hour and a half up the line, in Régua. All around us we could see Vinhas (vineyards) stretching out from the town – but not having a tour booked we headed down the street to see what we could find.

After a browse through the Museu do Douro (Museum of Douro) and based on their recommendations we took a taxi across the river to the Quinta de Pacheca. We caught lunch first, another delicious feast, and then took the tour. Pacheca crushes all their red wines by foot (machines will crush the seeds and make the wine bitter) though not until October so music and dancing today – can only imagine what a sight it is. And after a wine tasting (they have some wonderful port wines) we escaped into the vineyard.



A wonderful day to cap ten wonderful years. Happy Anniversary!

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