Mark McAulay http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk Digital Guy posterous.com Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:58:00 -0800 2012 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/2012 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/2012

This is the fourth year running that i've written a post with a mini review of the previous year and jotted down the plans I have for the coming year. Here's the 2011/2012 edition.

2011 in review

First up, the big one. In April 2011, I joined EQ Design in Aberdeen to lead the digital offering of the company. In short, I have never been so happy working for someone else. I get to work with a brilliant team who also happen to be lovely people. I feel at home here and I love my job. Result!

Looking at my aims for backend, frontend, and creative for 2011, I seem to have done all that I wanted to do and a little bit more. Where I fell down was in fitness. I got no hillwalking done at all and I barely went running. I did walk more but I really need to try harder next year.

I should also make some mention of the little missions I went on in 2011 starting with a desire to get out of my confort zone and meet other web/digital people around Scotland. I posted about one journey to Edinburgh where i went lone wolf although I didn't post about the Highland Fling conf (also in Edinburgh) which was just as eye opening and one of the best little conferences i've been to. If the Highland Fling runs again this year, i'll be there. So on top of subject matter related to what I do for a living, I also decided to put myself through a couple of lifestyle challenges. My month of being vegetarian is detailed here. In October, a bunch of us decided to give up alcohol for a month, as it was the most boring month ever, I didn't blog about it. We did run a blog for people to contribute to and if you want to observe some of our misery, it's over here.

And so to my plans for 2012

Backend

Much like last year, I will largely stuck to Python/Django in my own time. At work, it's all about PHP and ExpressionEngine but hopefully this will be the year that I can start phasing out much of the legacy PHP work, replacing it with Django or EE where necessary. I wont be looking to learn another language this coming year as I'm more than happy with Django and EE to take care of anything that comes our way at this stage.

Frontend

It was all about responsive design last year and HTML5/CSS3 are the tools to deliver that. This year I need to get my head fully around SASS and I will be continuing with my JavaScript education. I really want to have a much better understanding of, and fluency in JavaScript as it's one of the things that will continue to be a core requirement in 2012 and further ahead.

Creative

I've taken a much larger interest in graphic design again and as well as buying typography and design theory books, i've also been able to pester the designers at EQ. I now get excited about paper samples and appreciate nice packaging again. I'll be continuing to learn about all of this. One of the new-found pleasures of working with designers who really live and breathe design, is that i can ask questions and know i'll get an informed, thought provoking and interesting reply. I've bought some tasty pens, pencils and some notebooks, yep...i'll be drawing again. I have a couple of tattoo designs to put together for friends and i want to get my daughter excited about drawing as well. Maybe i'll post some of my pics on here.

Fitness

I did a little running last year although i may as well not have bothered, this is the year i'm going to do it though, starting today in fact with day 1/week 1 of couch to 10k.

Somewhere along the line, I started smoking again. This is stupid. I have quit again and will use the money I save to buy that mac i've not been able to afford for some reason :/

So here's to another year. I hope you all have a succesfull one :)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:27:36 -0700 Up the creek without a vessel http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/up-the-creek-without-a-vessel http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/up-the-creek-without-a-vessel Sad news.

I discovered tonight that the globe in Aberdeen has made itself into a pretentious lunchtime eatery. For many months, this has been the venue for #rafting.

Rafting started out as a massive burger and a pint on a Friday lunchtime (when i worked with Fifth Ring) where some of us would commandeer a table and have a little bit of lunch and chat. One day a random guy approached our table and rather bizarrely asked "are you guys white water rafters?" and so "rafting" was born. Over the months, more people joined in. Largely Aberdeens digital/web people. It became an event. It has become legendary.

Tonight it has become clear that #rafting is homeless. We need a new venue so I put it to all rafters past and present that we need to agree on a new location.

Initial suggestions from me are The Howff or The Prince of Wales but other places may be more suitable. If you've been rafting, this is your time to fire the flare gun in the direction of our future.

Get your life jackets on, grab a paddle and let's give #rafting a future.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:07:00 -0700 31 days of sobriety http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/31-days-of-sobriety http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/31-days-of-sobriety

Woke up this morning feeling magnificent. Nailed the housework before 08:30 leaving the whole weekend free to do stuff. What was different about today? I didn't stuff loads of beer into my face last night. Friday has become a bit of an institution of drinking too much. Saturday mornings have been non-events for too long. I have been thinking about this for some time now and wondering if I should do something about it.

Now I like a beer, I also like a challenge, so I have decided to go sober for the 31 days of October to see if I feel any better about things. This is not the first time I've tried this, I used to have a "no booze for the month of June" thing which i'd inevitably fail every year so this time i'm taking it very seriously, spurred on by completing my previous challenge, I will do this! 

For this type of challenge, I like to have a twitter hashtag so, I give you #octsober

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:33:30 -0700 Mighty Meetup Aberdeen is BACK http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/mighty-meetup-aberdeen-is-back http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/mighty-meetup-aberdeen-is-back Thought i'd do my bit to help promote the Mighty Meetup in Aberdeen which returns tomorrow night (That's Wed 14th Sept 2011).

The summer break is over and the Mighty Meetup returns with a topic which i'm sure is close to all of our hearts, spec work.

As ever, the meetup is organised by Deer Digital and this time, Fifth Ring are picking up the tab for beer and pizza.

If you're involved in the web, this is a must. It's the perfect opportunity to meet everyone else in the industry and have some fun. For all the details, head over here

Yes...you did read that correctly, Fifth Ring are buying the beer. Get down there!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Sat, 10 Sep 2011 08:00:35 -0700 Extremely Quick 6 months http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/extremely-quick-6-months http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/extremely-quick-6-months Today marks 6 months to the day of me joining EQ Design. What started as a message through LinkedIn to ask if I was interested in the position quickly snowballed into a couple of cups of coffee before talking things through with EQ properly. I bit their arm off and did what I had to do to make this move a reality. That 6 months have already past has caught me a bit by surprise. It's very clear that I've been enjoying it.

It was obvious even before I officially started that i'd made the best career decision yet. I found myself on an EQ night and quickly discovered that this was going to be brilliant. Even Stewart's singing couldn't put a dampener on things. When I did start officially, I was given free reign to make digital my own and build it into the best it could be for EQ. From those early days to today, I am backed fully and given all the support, advice and opportunity I could ever hope for. The team works as one, we work hard and we party hard. Within the first 3 weeks of being here, i'd already had more nights out that the previous year at another agency. The importance of regular social outings away from work is absolutely key to building a team that cares about each other and listens to each other.

No job is entirely plain sailing, every position i've had has had its fair share of issues to deal with and life at EQ is no different. What is different though is an absolute resolve to do what is best for the client by way of open communication, transparency and a lack of any internal blame culture.

I see a very bright future for EQ, we continue to put vital elements in place, collectively learn cross discipline skills and grow where we need to. We are determined to be better, determined to succeed and determined to enjoy ourselves while we do it. We're a little bit different and maybe a little bit quirky. We have bags of personality, bags of talent and years of experience. We will surprise you.

This has unquestionably been the highlight of my career. Thanks to all at EQ for making me so welcome.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:20:11 -0700 31 days on the veg http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/31-days-on-the-veg http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/31-days-on-the-veg If you know me, follow me on twitter etc, you'll know that for the 31 days of August, I decided to eat as a vegetarian. I lovingly named it #meatismurdermonth. What follows are my reasons why, what I've learned and what I've concluded.

I always believed that vegetarianism was a bit silly, that vegetarians don't eat properly, we're natural carnivores and that veggys are awkward. These are all things i've had no hesitation speaking about whenever in the company of a vegetarian. I decided to prove my point. You read that correctly, I went on my month long mission just so at the end of it, I could qualify my opinions with a "i once went vegetarian for a month and my opinions are now validated". If there is a more wrong reason to do something, I don't know what that might be. Unfortunately for 'old me', this didn't happen. After a shaky first week of essentially living on rice, peas and carrots, a whole world of food opened up before me and I was forced to rethink my previous opinions almost entirely. I also made some observations about vegetarianism (or flavours of vegetarianism) and noticed a few things that non vegetarians wouldn't notice unless they went on a similar mission.

The rules I was going to live by were simple, if an animal had to die, i wasn't eating it. During my journey I found vegetarians who eat chicken, fish or both and got myself into a dilemma about eggs. I'll get to that though. I wasn't going vegan, i just wasn't eating meat/fish/eggs. Simple.

Here are some of my findings:

Protein
Because i "wasn't eating properly" at the start of my quest and was living on almost nothing, I quickly became overly tired, lost concentration easily and generally felt lethargic. Thanks to the power of twitter, I was introduced to a solid, and probably far healthier protein replacement in quinoa which although a bit bland on it's own, mixed with other foods, it's great. I quickly felt full up again and my brain was back online.

Vegetarian curry is the bomb
Without any doubt, the best curry i've eaten in years was a vegetable curry. I've never ordered Indian food without Lamb or Chicken in it before so this was a real eye opener for me. It also cost less than it's meat based counterparts. In the kitchen I am now somewhat an expert in making Bombay potatoes.

Buying lunch in a shop becomes difficult
I usually go to the shop across the road from my work for lunch, they have sandwiches, ready meals etc, all of which are convenient for lunchtime. Next time you do something similar, I challenge you to pick something without meat/fish/eggs in it. Enjoy your cheese and onion or cheese and tomato based meal. This is a real problem and has to be a factor in peoples general eating habits and over reliance on meat. God only knows how vegans cope.

People take the piss
People I know were quick to jump on my quest and take the piss out of me for being vegetarian. I shouldn't have been surprised, after all i'd been doing it to vegetarian friends for a long time. They got their revenge, fair play. Now that i've been on the receiving end of it and realise I was being a twat, I'll not be doing it again. I now have respect for those people who live as vegetarians.

People can be very supportive
My wife Kathryn was incredibly supportive during this time, as were a number of people on twitter who offered advice, recipes and good debate around what i was doing. Thanks to everyone who helped by jumping in to suggest things when I was struggling. A special thanks to the people who publicly stated that I'd fail. Proving you wrong was a big motivation factor ;)

I became influential (well, in my own mind at least)
Some of us digital people in Aberdeen have a regular lunchtime meet up called "rafting", it generally involves a monstrous burger and a beer. During my month, this happened. Amazing! cheers guys!

Eggs
This gave me a dilemma and also scarred me for life. I had it in my mind that an egg becomes a chicken so therefore was off the menu. I then got into several debates about this and learned that eggs are unfertilised and so were fair game. I then got told that an egg could be viewed as "a chickens period"...mmm...tasty, now they're fully off the menu until I erase that thought from my mind. Sorry for placing it into your minds.

There are no vegetarian restaurants in Aberdeen
Nope, not even one that I could find. Anyone know of any? Did I miss something?

There are different flavours of vegetarianism
You can view the range of options here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism#Varieties_of_vegetarianism. I have no idea how a vegetarian counts eating fish or chicken as being vegetarian. Seems to me that the rules are made up to suit individuals. This one discovery was highly instrumental in forming my conclusions on the whole experience.

My conclusion
And so to sum up what 31 days of being vegetarian has done to me. Firstly, this was a real eye opener, i mean life changing. I have learned so much over the month that through ignorance i'd previously dismissed entirely. I should probably recognise that although a month seemed like a long time to me, it's probably not long enough to make as informed a conclusion as I'd like to. Perhaps 3 months would have been better? There is the initial shock to the system of changing your diet followed by a period of 'finding your feet' and for me, I wasn't up to speed with what I could have been eating for about a week. Had I researched things in advance, it would have been easier.

So to first tackle the notion of "being vegetarian", no doubt i'll really annoy some people with my new opinions but unless you're going to avoid meat/fish etc, I don't think you should be calling yourself a vegetarian. There, I said it. Argue away.

I was forced to reconsider entirely my old opinions that vegetarians don't eat correctly. As it turns out, there is a whole world of food out there that doesn't require animals to die. It's damn tasty too! I ran into things I'd expected such as low energy levels, lack of concentration and weight loss. I also found there are foods you can eat to counter this. An important discovery is actually drinking more water helps tremendously with concentration levels. I found this out by feeling hungry, not having something on hand to eat and so having a drink of water instead. All that advice I'd maybe been ignoring about drinking more water being important, actually turns out to be fact.

Throughout the month, it was always my intention to return to eating meat and that intention hasn't changed. My diet will change though, no doubt about it. With the additional knowledge of foods I now have, my diet will evolve and I'll eat less meat than I did previously. I realise now how dependant I was on meat previously and this just isn't healthy in my opinion. For this finding alone, I am glad I did this.

The key conclusion of this month is that I have discovered what 'a balanced diet' actually looks like and that a balanced diet is the most important thing. 

For the time being though...nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, will stand in my way of a bacon roll tomorrow morning.

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:05:29 -0700 Designers need to learn from each other http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/designers-need-to-learn-from-each-other http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/designers-need-to-learn-from-each-other
Something got my back up today. To be perfectly honest, this is something that's been bubbling away under the surface for many years. Today it boiled over. Today Adobe announced a new product promising "Design and publish HTML websites without writing code" Although a massive debate erupted about this, the new product wasn't the issue for me, the anti-print design sentiment that it spawned in various people was. I got just a little bit fucked off with the attitude of some web designers towards print designers. For as long as I can remember, there has been a divide. It's not even a proper divide, it's a perceived divide made by designers in both disciplines who have little understanding of the others industry, skills and knowledge. It's small minded, petty and destructive, in short, it's bollocks. We all need to move on from this.

Why this shouldn't be an issue for designers

Real designers are hungry for knowledge, hungry to express ideas and hungry to know absolutely everything. A designer can point out their own weaknesses and failures and can find solutions. Basically, a designer can solve problems in elegant, unpredictable and surprising ways. The medium of doing so is secondary to what the problem actually is and, what the ultimate solution may be. If something has to be learned to give life to that solution then something will indeed be learned.

Learn, learn more, keep learning. Now discover that you actually know quite little

When I started out, It didn't take me very long to discover that actually, I knew very little. At that early point in my career, I went nuts absorbing as much knowledge as I possibly could about everything I could think of. I knew at that point that my biggest gap in knowledge was to do with web development. I spent years grafting to remedy that. Guess what? I still know a lot less than I'd like to. This holds true for designers in all disciplines. Different sets of tools, different outputs and often different considerations but still a hell of a lot to learn and to stay on top of. Throughout my career, I've made sure i've worked in design for print, print production, web design, web development and design/animation for motion graphics. I've done enough in each field to realise that I know much less than I ever though I did. I do something about this though, I work really hard to stay on my game, I spend a lot of time learning about concepts, techniques, languages, theory and tools. Right now for example, I'm back in amongst typography and this is where my next point is going to come from.

Work with designers who actually give a shit

I am extremely lucky to work with designers (yes, print designers) who passionately care about their work, want to know everything they can and are hungry for new solutions. If you don't work with people like this, it's time to find another job. We do have banter (I should really stop calling them "crayon monkeys" to be honest) but we all respect each others skills and expertise. A united design team is solid gold. We learn from each other, we discuss design decisions as a team. When I want to learn more typography, I have people on hand, only too happy to help. This kind of knowledge sharing is priceless. I can apply what I know, they can apply what they know and we all end up collectively better, with better solutions and with happier clients. When someone gets excited about some new js or some quirky css, my life improves. This works both ways. Today for example I got excited about paper samples. That hasn't happened for many years. I have fine tuned my expertise on the web but I haven't forgotten the principles and methods from the other disciplines I've worked in (well, maybe i've forgotten some stuff). These design principles and methods cross over, there is much to learn from each other.

Do something out of the ordinary. Mix it up

If you're a web designer, go and play around in InDesign for a while, see what you can learn. See if you can find any of the irritations/problems that print designers have and see what your solutions might be. What would you do on the web with this flexibility of design, what ideas do you have? If you're a print designer, ask a web designer for some code to play around with. Tinker with it, see what things do, see what the frustrations and problems are, think about what you could do with this. Once you're done, go and have a beer and a chat with each other. There will probably be new ideas that have come to light. Do something about them.

Stop the negativity and bitching

In my opinion, it is downright childish to continue with this print/web designer nonsense. There is no battle to be had. Sure a web designer will largely do a better job at designing a website and a print designer will do better with an annual report but if you worked together instead of bitching, collectively the results may well be better. Try it. The energy you would spend slating a print designer doing web design would be better spent by learning more, experimenting more and collaborating more. You'll be surprised at what you learn and at what you can produce. If you have no desire to work together and cross disciplines, I'd suggest it's maybe time to call it a day and get a job you actually like.

I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from our junior designer. That's right, our junior designer. Now go and collectively build brilliant things, that's why you became designers.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:46:44 -0700 In defence of spec work http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/in-defence-of-spec-work http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/in-defence-of-spec-work This is a lively old topic again so I thought I'd take the opportunity to have a little look at the other side of the argument. I do need to be clear though, I'm not pro spec work. I do believe that to be truly able to understand something, one must first understand both sides of an argument.

At the top of this post I have said "this is a lively old topic again", I say "again" because I've been around a while and I've seen this debate come in and out of popularity over the years. I've seen people (including myself) argue the case against and continue to do spec work when it suits them or more accurately, when they think it gives them a competitive edge. We continue to do spec work because it is part and parcel of our industry, always has been and it always will be. Convincing yourself of the opposite is perhaps a bit naive. Spec work is a perceived necessity for many and I cant see it ever not being that way, no matter how loudly people stamp their feet about it.

There are many different things that can take on the title of spec work but for this little post, i'm directly referring to doing "free" design work in order to land a job in a competitive pitch.

Lets jump into an imaginary scenario where spec work isn't as common as it is here back in reality. In this wonderful world, most people actually refuse to do it. Let's live this dream for a minute. You receive an invitation to tender, you know that at the very least, another 4 agencies will have been asked to tender also. This is a competitive pitch, it's about you going head to head with other agencies to land a substantial piece of work that you're more than likely falling over yourself to land. Here's how my mini scenario might well break down:
  1. 5 companies prepare a pitch
  2. The recipient chops off the cheapest one and the most expensive one for no other reason than this is how they've always dealt with quotes (yes, that's right, your lovingly prepared pitch is at this stage more often than not, simply about the numbers). This leaves 3 for them to look at in depth.
Of the 3 left, things will probably be pretty close, here's the kicker. One agency has broken ranks in our no spec work utopia and has decided to throw in a full set of visuals of how it's all going to look. The client is more than likely not a designer, doesn't imagine things like a designer might and needs a bit of assistance to fully understand the design concepts you are currently communicating in words. In the midst of this, here before them are a set of images (they say many words, remember?) Who gets the gig? Indeed, as far as the client perceives things in terms of effort put in, who should get the gig? One company has proven they can communicate ideas more effectively than the others. They've set themselves apart. This also scales. If two or indeed all companies prepare a set of visuals, the client picks the agency who has visually struck a chord with them and shown them something that they can relate to, even if at this stage it's a loose connection, its got to be more appealing to a prospective client than some words and prices. No? That's strong, persuasive communication tactics right there.

Back to reality then, It therefore makes sense that in order to give yourself the best chance of landing the gig, you need to bust out a few visuals in order to compete. In other businesses, this is called a loss leader.

Even those who are vocally against spec work in principle will actively prepare "free" designs of how a piece of design may look "depending on the client" and this is why spec work is not going away and instead is accepted, embraced and is in fact an important part of the pitching process for agencies. To gain a competitive advantage over your competitors is a fact of our industry that will never go away. It comes down to who can best communicate to the prospective client why they should be appointed.

Sign up for campaigns against it, hold lively debates by all means, discuss it continually over decades but don't for a minute think that this is going to go away, it's an important part of a pitch, a means to gaining advantage in a positioning exercise and as there will always be differing levels of skill, reputation and cost, there will always be people seeking a competitive advantage.

I'm not saying it's right, nor am I agreeing with it in principle but spec work is a fact of life.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:19:50 -0700 How to tell which version of Ubuntu you have http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/how-to-tell-which-version-of-ubuntu-you-have http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/how-to-tell-which-version-of-ubuntu-you-have Noting this for myself as I always forget but knowing that more of my friends are using Ubuntu these days, it might be handy for others also.

open your terminal

type: cat /etc/lsb-release

see something like this:

DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
DISTRIB_RELEASE=10.10
DISTRIB_CODENAME=maverick
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 10.10"

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:42:00 -0700 A post about Beer http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/a-post-about-beer http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/a-post-about-beer
Not sure i've ever posted about beer before so here goes.

I love the beer made by BrewDog, it's no secret. I think in 5am Saint I have found what I consider to be the best beer made in Scotland, hands down. I am a bit of a fanboy and i don't mind admitting that, not one bit.

I just sampled the 'new' Punk IPA and it left me a bit confused. This new version comes in at 5.6% whereas the old version weighed in at 6% but the changes don't stop there. The original made my day the first time i tried it, it was like being battered round the face with a bag of hops. It wasn't an 'easy' beer, many people didn't like the bitterness and didn't like the uncompromising attitude of the little fucker. I thought it was a work of art. Sadly, bar a few unsold bottles on various supermarket shelves, it seems to be gone now. 

Replaced with a new version. 

A very different version.

The good news (as far as my taste buds can tell anyway) is that the new version is lovely, it really is a tasty beer. I enjoyed it a lot. It seems a lot more palatable than the previous version, more people will like it, more people will buy it, it'll become more popular. This is great news for BrewDog but not so great news for me. I really REALLY liked the original. I REALLY liked that not everyone could deal with it and i REALLY liked that it would remain a 'beer for punks'. I'm going to miss you original Punk IPA, really i will.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Fri, 11 Mar 2011 01:30:14 -0800 EQ Design day 1 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/eq-design-day-1 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/eq-design-day-1
It would be really easy to write this post as a straightforward 'compare and contrast' of my old job and my new one. As such, I'm not going to bother. Easy is boring.

Thursday 10th March was my first day as an EQ employee and it was brilliant.

Even though I managed to be late on my first day, everyone at EQ was properly welcoming and I don't think I've enjoyed a first day working for someone else quite as much. I've been given some kick ass kit to work on and almost free reign to make digital my own over the coming years. This is going to be a lot of fun.

I've been fortunate enough to have worked in many different setups and all have their ups and downs. EQ will be no different. Right now though, it feels like I've arrived home at last.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:49:08 -0800 Edinburgh Geekery March 2011 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/edinburgh-geekery-march-2011 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/edinburgh-geekery-march-2011
Mission
On the 2nd march, I set off on what had turned into something of a personal mission to operate outside of my comfort zone. I was off to Edinburgh to meet web designers and developers away from my usual Aberdeen haunts. Going 'Lone Wolf', I wanted to put some real life faces to twitter avatars, to see how meetups differed from the Aberdeen scene and to see how i'd get along on my own at a conference primarily focused on technology i've not had the opportunity to use for quite some time. Now i've been home for several days, It's time to write down my thoughts, experiences and a bit about what i learned during my time away.

Wednesday 2nd March
I rocked into Edinburgh just in time to dump my gear at the hotel and dive out the door again to the Holyrood9A for the Refreshedi meetup. I had been invited along by @cole007 who has been a twitter acquaintance for quite some time, it was great to finally meet him in person. This was an informal 'Burger and Beer' event with 25+ people in attendance. Was a real pleasure to meet several interesting people and discuss the slightly different fields of web development they were involved in. I also had the chance to chat to Bruce Lawson and Christopher David Mills from Opera who had swung past for a bit. All of this was washed down with Brewdog beer which was on tap and one of the tastiest burgers i've had in a while. I'd love to return one day for the more formal talks that happen.
 
Thursday 3rd March + Friday 4th March
For 2 days, I made the 10 minute walk down the cowgate, slightly hung over, to the venue for this years Scotch on the Rocks event, Europes longest running CFML conference. I was a little apprehensive to attend at all this year due to the fact I've not used CFML in anger for a couple of years but never the less, I wanted to see what i'd been missing and how I still felt about CFML. I also wanted to catch up with some of the people I met back in 2008 when I last attended and to meet some more twitter friends in the flesh. I have no idea how I managed to do it, but I didn't end up in one session specifically to do with a technical aspect of CFML! I learned plenty about requirements and estimating, agile methodologies, working with people, HTML5, CSS3, jQuery Mobile, workflow and productivity. I also managed to catch up with everyone I had hoped to, met, and got my photo taken with the legend that is Ben Nadel, had a beer with Andy Allan and the Opera guys again, got a new Fuzzy Orange pen, didn't win anything in the raffle again and generally had a very worthwhile couple of days here. No hotel trouble, nothing got broken and i made it to my train home with time to spare. I'd say that was a success.

Review
It's all too easy to just go with the routine and do what you've always done, speak to who you always speak to and go to the same events you always go to. Going away on my own to meet people I didn't *really* know was something of an adventure. To step outside my comfort zone and meet up with a lot of different people over 3 days in another city was massively educational, challenging and sometimes surprising. I have changed my outlook on a number of things and this time away has made me hungrier than ever for my chosen field. This is something i'd recommend any web designer/developer to do.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:29:27 -0800 Marks new job or here endeth the speculation http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/marks-new-job-or-here-endeth-the-speculation http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/marks-new-job-or-here-endeth-the-speculation
The last few days have been entertaining. I had no idea that my moving jobs would be the subject of the interest it has been. Thanks to everyone who's been in touch, it's been somewhat flattering if not a bit bizarre!

It's time to put the rumours to bed though. 

I am very pleased to announce that I have accepted a position with EQ Design. I can't fully express just how excited I am to be joining the team there and I look forward to being part of a highly regarded and well liked agency. Having already met Mark Kemp, Martin Braithwaite and Gary Sutherland, I am more than convinced that this is the perfect move for me.

This appointment means I can now claim to have landed a job with the first agency I applied to out of college. The fact that 11 years have passed since I first sent them my CV is not important, I got there in the end!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:30:21 -0800 can you hear the drums? http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/can-you-hear-the-drums http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/can-you-hear-the-drums
I had planned to post all of this at one go at a later date but as Aberdeen has lived up perfectly to it's 'village' status of gossip once more, I felt I should at least make some kind of an announcement today.

Anyone who's read my previous posts will know that I've thoroughly enjoyed my time at Fifth ring, I work with some very clever people, learn a lot, contribute to the future of digital within the organisation and have made some good friends along the way. I've had orange plastic bags launched in my face every few days from the mighty @stevenmilne. Inspired by @zaravaughan, I have coined a new name for headphones (zara filters), drooled, stared jealously and got fatter on the baking done by @emslielane while fighting an endless battle of 'wurdz' vs 'tech' with her, endured the worst puns imaginable and the best Friday pub lunches possible from all round good guy @andy_wainwright and otherwise had a great time getting to know a whole host of other FR faces who avoid online banter from me by opting not to have a twitter account. 

This week, I handed in my notice. My reasons are my own and I don't have anything bad to rant about...sorry!

It's time for me to move on. I will post an update when I feel the time is right, I believe these things should be done properly and with respect to all involved and so even though there a few people out there who seem to know what I have lined up, i'll just let the jungle drums rumble on a bit longer before I announce the hard and fast facts.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:04:43 -0800 Scotch On The Rocks Badge http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/scotch-on-the-rocks-badge http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/scotch-on-the-rocks-badge
Sotr-pie

This year I will be attending SOTR in Edinburgh. The last time I went to this conference I had my mind blown out of the park and judging by this years lineup, I look forward to becoming a dribbling wreck once more.

The organisers have launched the website and made some badges available to sponsors, speakers, attendees and of course...badgers. I however require a unique badge. Based on the regular abuse I receive from Andy Allan (organiser) on twitter, i'm a little surprised that he didn't think of this first. Here is my "pie champ" badge.

This is going to be a good one.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:28:17 -0800 2011 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/2011 http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/2011 Here is my now yearly review of the previous year and a bunch of things I aim to get done in the coming year so fuelled with new year enthusiasm, i'll keep the review brief and the ambitions high.

2010 in review

This was a big one. This year saw the end of me being the master of my own destiny that i had been for the previous 7 years. In March, I chose to return to being a cog in someone else's machine. This held (and continues to hold) challenges for me. There is no question that I made the correct decision at the time and have made myself something of a sponge by absorbing as much knowledge, process and expertise as possible from some very intelligent people in a larger scale operation. I've also made some new friends and contacts. I have grown considerably in certain aspects and that is what I had hoped would happen when i set out my aims this time last year.

Backend

Last year, I planned to stick with one language(Python/Django) and I've done just that. At work, this proved a little untrue as I had to get stuck into some classic ASP for my sins alongside the unavoidable bread and butter that is PHP. In my own time however, it's Python/Django all the way and I see little reason to change that in the coming year.

Frontend

2010 was the year that I officially switched to HTML5. Everything I build from scratch is now in the latest version of HTML. Of course CSS3 is following in close pursuit but i held back a little on that for my own reasons, this year i'll drive it on. JavaScript features highly in 2011. I can get by with it and I can use jQuery quite happily but I want to get back to the heart of the matter and learn properly so that's what'll happen.

Creative

An aim for 2010 was to get back to my design roots and behind the scenes I have done that. I've been reading up on the theory once more, consulted other designers, got more involved in the design community and started getting my hands dirty again. I still have a way to go to be honest but it's all coming back to me and i'm really enjoying it. I am finally happy with my personal brand and i'll be rolling that out to my new website that's coming early this year.

Fitness

I started running last year and although my enthusiasm for it ran out nearer the end of the year, I plan to step it up this year and get myself a bit fitter. I used to be a keen hillwalker and this year i'm taking it up again. I have Ben Hope penciled in for the end of May and Ben Nevis being spoken about also. Anyone wanting to join me is more than welcome.

Here's to a great year, I wish you well for yours.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:36:28 -0800 Best website you've worked on this year http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/best-website-youve-worked-on-this-year http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/best-website-youve-worked-on-this-year Was asked a great question by a client during lunch today and wanted to put it out there to you all

What is the best website you've worked on this year?

(The criteria is for the "complete package" in terms of design, programming features et al)

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:08:00 -0800 First Mighty Meetup Event in Aberdeen http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/first-mighty-meetup-event-in-aberdeen http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/first-mighty-meetup-event-in-aberdeen

Tonight was good. Actually, tonight was much better than good. Tonight was excellent. The first Mighty Meetup kicked off with four speakers talking about web related subjects. Node.js, web fonts, digital project management, CSS3 and jQuery. This was like catnip for the the discerning web geek.

Although this was the first event, James and Alice really captured the essence of running a targeted micro conference. Tonights speakers were my day to day colleague at Fifth Ring Steven Milne, Scott Graham from the big picture, Internet Strategies Kevin Mitchell and also Deer Digitals very own Ian Isted The mix of content and different speaker styles ensured an informative, light hearted and in some parts very humorous evening where I think everybody learned something. Going on the chat afterwards, everyone certainly enjoyed it!

It was great to see people from agencies, lecturers and course leaders from universities, people from small companies, individual freelancers, students and people only starting out on the web turning up in numbers in what has been some horrendous weather conditions.

This event is most definitely a keeper.

Deer digital also took the opportunity to show off the graphic design skills of their latest recruit Jo Dodd who produced a promotional poster containing two hidden words. The challenge was set to Aberdeens web community to find these two mystery words within the complex design with the first person finding them awarded a prize. It must have taken someone very special to have discovered these...all i'll say is that beer never tasted so sweet.

A small number of us stayed back after the event and discussed some great ideas for the future. Watching this event grow in numbers, stature and reputation will be a pleasure and I for one, offer my full support and backing to it.

Great job guys

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Sun, 05 Dec 2010 13:06:14 -0800 Mighty Meetup Aberdeen http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/mighty-meetup-aberdeen http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/mighty-meetup-aberdeen It's been a long time since the digital community came out in force in Aberdeen for a purely digital event, too long in fact. The sleeping giant of the OKN will return for its 5th run out at some point but in the meantime, a number of smaller networking events (some focussed on digital/tech, some not) have popped up and for the most part, those I have attended have been interesting, fun and a nice chance to meet people working in similar fields in Aberdeen. 

There is however, a new kid in town.

This coming Tuesday will see the first "Mighty Meetup" in Aberdeen and this one is targeted straight at those working in the web industry. For this reason alone, I am pretty excited. The event is being put on by Deer Digital and has a line-up of speakers all knowledgable in their fields and all prepared to talk a bit about the meetup theme of "emerging technologies for the web". This should be an essential event to attend if you have any interest in the future of the web industry and happen to be in Aberdeen on Tuesday night. 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:51:00 -0800 Silly Meat Based Antics http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/silly-meat-based-antics http://bigkidsdidit.co.uk/silly-meat-based-antics

Themeat140

 

Had a bit of pun based silliness on twitter today. You can see it here if you like: http://twitter.com/search?q=%23themeat140

This of course is inspired by the well known, well run and well attended themeet140 which has a meet up in Aberdeen. I decided our carnivorous version of the networking event should have some kind of identity so i did a wee play on a 'cuts of meat' diagram.

All in all a bit daft but on the other hand, fuck being serious all the time.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1431916/surprisatar.jpg http://posterous.com/users/j2btFMmO6 Mark McAulay mcaulay Mark McAulay