Way back when I started blogging, I had written up my about page. It was very interesting to see how things have changed since I had written it up, or probably even updated it. I’m not sure how accurate the date is, but it said May of 2007. It’s definitely time for an update.
Let’s go through the page and check out what’s changed…
Blog Topic
When I first started my blog, I wasn’t really on social media. Looking at history, Facebook was started in 2004, but it was opened to the public until 2006. That was just a matter of months before this about page was written. As a result, I had planned to share on my blog family updates and maybe a few pictures of my son. Now a days, I publish those pictures to Facebook, maybe occasionally Instagram, and texting. That allows me to control privacy a little better.
I think back when I was writing this we had limits on the number of texts we could send. I didn’t know about RCS, and from what I can tell, Google wouldn’t adopt it until 2019. So, sending photos over text wasn’t as popular. Now, we have several family group messages going, and we can just send photos that way.
Technology, programming, and personal interest areas are still definitely on the menu. I probably should have mentioned Bible topics back then because those have definitely been included.
My Family
When I wrote the about page, I only had one son. So, there was just one category: “Kent Update”. Now, that one son is in college and looking for his first internship. He can out math me ten times over and can probably out run me as well.
In addition, I have a second son named Clay. He is in high school now, and we probably only have a couple of years before he takes off on the same path (just without the math).
Aging waits for no man. We’ve seen many a season: diapers, toddlers, teenagers, sports, etc. We’ve watched our extended family grow large and then back small again. Each season had its blessings and frustrations. But, God has been there, in control, and guiding us through it all.
I’ve been a consultant all my life. Okay, maybe not before high school and college, but right out of college. When I started the blog, I was happy as could be with my first job. Things change, companies change, and I had a few changes. I never would have guessed it at the time, but now, I’ve ended up with my own company going independent. Digital Eagle is now more than just a blog name but also a company name.
My Tools
Back when I first started, my sister had a friend named Lincoln Mullen that blogged. He put a section on his blog called Colophon where he listed the tools he used for his blog. I used that as inspiration and tried to list the tools that I used. It’s interesting to see what has changed.
Back then, I used Firefox as my browser. The Beta version of Chrome wasn’t released until 2008. The Dev tools caught my attention along with the speed, and I switched and never really switched back.
I had listed Gimp, which I definitely still use. Interestingly, I probably use Inkscape almost as much for images on my blogging. Then, here more recently, I have been using AI for stuff like the feature images and such.
Google Reader was a tool I used way back when to keep up with all of the blogs and information out there. I wasn’t able to keep up with it consistently (I would go through spurts where I did and then spurts where I was behind). Then, they shut it down in 2013. I haven’t really found a good replacement. I’m wondering if AI might be able to help, but I haven’t figured that out yet.
The Original Text
Okay, if you’ve read this far, do you just want to read what I wrote in 2007? Here it is for old time sake.
Digital Eagle is my, Stephen Phillips’, personal blog. I am a programmer and a Dad, and so, the blog will contain a lot about computers and and a lot about my son. Other items of personal interest are not off topic as well.
If you would prefer to just keep up with Kent (and miss out on all of the wonderful computer talk), you can just follow the “Kent Update” category. These posts will be mostly pictures and some quick information on Kent as he grows. Another category that might include a few more posts about the family in general (maybe including pets) is “Family Update“.
The intended audience is family and friends, but anyone is welcome. The thought is that this is slightly easier than trying to email everyone with pictures and updates as Kent grows.
Tools Used In Conjunction with this Blog
I like the way Lincoln Mullen documents the tools he uses on his blog, ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ, with a section called “Colophon“. I have been able to learn from him and use some of the same tools. So, here is my list of tools in case it is helpful to anyone else. (And, to give me a link to find those tools again.)Gimp: a photo editing program — free and open source; very powerful, but can take some learning — used for cropping photos, taking screen shots, etc.
FireFox: a free, open source browser — allows me to open in the same window the blog and other sites that I want to link to or comment about; since version 2 it checks spelling as you type
Google Reader: allows me to keep up with other blogs (See my post: Computer Tip: Keeping Up with Blogs)