I haven't set aside time to write lately: got into a car accident which basically totaled my 1994 Nissan Quest minivan in mid-December, a day before I went skiing in Steamboat, Colorado.

Then the holidays came, and we finally sold our house after it was on the market for nearly half a year.

Basically broke even, but found out the previous owners a) were paid $11,000 to replace a hail-damaged roof and b) they never replaced the roof but lied about it on their sales disclosure, and our "inspector" didn't catch it. So we had to pay our buyer to fix the roof (thankfully, not the entire $11k the previous owners were paid.) Nice. I guess that's what small claims court is for (or soon will be.)

And I've been busy at work - a great thing. Working on some websites, PR, marketing, and helping adoptable dogs and cats in many ways. We're trying out some social-media avenues (Twitter, Facebook, ExactTarget e-blasts, etc.) to get the word out about our animals, and it's working. It's quite an amazing experience!

One of the sites I'm working on is for Mutt Strut. I'm considering using Expression Engine as blog/CMS software on it. This blog is run on WordPress, which I also used for the Angie's List Podcast site during my time there. I'm even considering trashing the design of this site in favor of a custom Expression Engine setup.

Wordpress is great, but customizing its templates can be a bit of a beast, especially for a PHP non-expert like myself. We're working with xiik on this project, and I'm sure they could wrassle a Wordpress theme into shape, but Expression Engine seems to offer much potential.

If you've used both platforms, what are your thoughts in the Wordpress vs. Expression Engine battle? Which do you prefer, and why? (Hopefully this isn't as heated as a "dogs versus cats" argument!)

Indianapolis, asides, media, technologyTristanAugust 16, 2008Twitter, bloggingComment

My conversation with the IU School of Informatics Alumni Association podcast

I was interviewed on November 19th of last year by John Blue for the Indiana University Informatics Alumni Association's "Bits of Informatics" podcast, and I'm pleased to say it's now online for your listening pleasure. Over lunch at Aesop's Tables on a cloudy, wintry day, John and I chatted about my telecommunications and new media experiences at the Bloomington and IUPUI campuses; surround-sound production and my 2-song Capstone presentation; how I met my wife in ballroom-dancing class; and List-en up, the Angie's List podcast, which was in its infancy last fall. Though my first name's spelled incorrectly (I'm sure John will fix it soon), I got a kick out of listening to the podcast episode. It's quite strange to hear my voice in a context outside of List-en up, but it was exciting to be the interviewee rather than be the interviewer. It was a bit nerve-wracking, as well — can you tell?