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The BIG Reason

Music, opinions, and portfolio of Mark Eagleton, musician and web developer in Northern CA.

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This is where I tell you what I really think. This website doesn’t support comments by design, that is what your blog is for!

  2. Happy Independence Day USA

    I had the option of working today and taking Friday off instead. I opted to do the American thing, and take her day as it was meant to be taken. All but one of my coworkers opted for the three-day weekend, and I think Dan mostly did it for daycare reasons.

  3. Post Cabin Trip 2007

    After dinner smokes at the cabin

    Calm, cool, and collected, I'm back from the 2007 cabin trip and back in action. It was full of the usual fun, and without any of the danger or discomforts of the past. With each trip, you learn a little more about how to make the next one that much better.

  4. Pre Cabin Trip 2007

    With my last visit to plumed facilities out of the way, I'm ready for pickup. Or more specifically, for the pickup that will be taking Ivan, Dave and I to the Spinas cabin for the weekend.

  5. Yolo County Fair

    It's double the double bass at the Yolo County Fair! At least for me. I'll be playing back to back shows with my two favorite bands, The Pleasant Valley Boys at 2PM, and Bottom Dwellers at 4PM. Do I know enough songs to fill three full hours? I believe I can fill 8. Do I have the stamina to play that much blistering twang for such an extended period of time? Wouldn't you love to stop by and find out?

  6. The Else

    A new They Might Be Giants album nearly released under my radar! Actually it slipped well under my radar, as it seems to have been available via iTunes since May 16th. And indeed, nearly released, as it doesn't actually come out for real until July 10th. I guess the iTunes artist alert feature doesn't apply to pre-release items. As one who prides himself on purchasing the previous 9 TMBG albums on or slightly before their release dates, I still feel okay about being a bit tardy to this pre-release.

  15. Adobe CS3 Configurator

    Are you a seasoned, graphic designer, web developer, video editor, or multi-media guru? Are you excited about the new Adobe CS3 products? Do you already know which CS3 applications you want to upgrade to? Are you a little frustrated that not all of the applications you want come bundled in any of the CS3 Suite packages? Do you need help determining the most cost effective way to purchase the CS3 applications you know you need? I am and I do. I thought others might be too, so I made the Adobe CS3 Configurator.

  19. Hypothesis 4: Decreases in human interface cognitive load are proportional to repetitive use.

    After reading John Gruber's thoughts about Tantek Çelik's Three Hypothesis of Human Interface Design yesterday, I felt compelled to contribute to the subject. For those of you mildly interested, but scared of large words, I recommend reading the Daring Fireball post. You'll get the general idea.

    At first I considered sending an email to John Gruber about how I overcame iCal's short comings. He is understandably irritated by the interface and all the damned tabbing required to add an event. But then I got to thinking about how drastic a change it was to interact with iCal this new way, and how much muscle memory factored into the process. I thought it might be more helpful to tell the whole internet.

  20. The Science of Zip Code Searching

    A recent project had me describing the particulars of zip code searching—or more accurately—the accuracy of the results of zip code searching. The client wanted a location search feature in the side bar of their site where the visitor enters a zip code, and is presented with a list of the nearest locations to them, like the one in the sidebar of Walmart.com.

  21. More Pleasant Valley Action Saturday

    For those of you who are feelin' a little festive this Saturday afternoon, put on a little green and stop by Dillian's Bar & Grill in Lincoln for a little Blue Grass action by TV's Matt & George and their Pleasant Valley Boys. I'm one of the boys.

    Sac & Co. Still

    The particulars are below:

    Saturday, March 17th @ 2PM Dillian's Bar & Grill 605 G St Lincoln, CA 95648 (916) 434-8171

    A nice frothy Guinness, 1940's style bluegrass, and green socks. Now isn't that just the most delightful way you can picture spending your St. Patty's day?

  23. I Missed Wayne Hancock Again

    Well, Wayne Hancock passed through San Francisco two days ago, unbeknownced to me. Again. I try to check the calendar as regularly as humanly possible for me to remember, but again something went up between that day and this morning with a date scheduled right in my back yard for last Sunday. To any professional musicians out there who may be reading this, people who like your music want to know only two things of you at any given time...