By 1992, as I continued to grow in my profession, I found photographs a consistent theme in my work. By then, Adobe Photoshop 2.5 had become an integral tool in my digital workflow.

Because I felt that I could only achieve quality if I mastered both sides of the process - image creation and manipulation, I went on to earn multiple Adobe Certified Expert designations, including Adobe Certified Training Provider. My desire to share these skills led to teaching at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton.

Meanwhile, I was in the process of transferring my graphic design talents from print to web: In 2002, I founded a digital media company that had a successful 6-year run in the Edmonton area.

In 2007 my wife and I packed up our kids and relocated to Lethbridge, seeking a better quality of life for our family. My only regret is not moving here sooner. I love the people, the pace, the prairie; all of these things continue to inspire my creativity.

While I’ve always had a passion for working with people and livening up people’s lives with creative pursuits, it was around this time that I began taking my photography much more seriously. If you’re looking for “big city” style with “small city ”charm, give me a call.

Creativity is a collaborative process and I look forward to working with you.

That original iPhone and I had some fun - until the first day of spring session at the University. I had a zillion things on my mind and left it in one of the lecture halls. Goodbye iPhone, I’ll miss you always (including all of my personal email, photos, and deepest thoughts).

Quick to replace it, the University issued me a shiny new one - which I promptly unlocked and used as a testbed for suitability testing as a replacement to the IT department fleet of aging Crackberrys. Marveling at the ease of unlock and jailbreak the iPhone tools had achieved since my first unlock, I promptly used an app called ZiPhone to make the new phone MINE!

After a few months of use with my ZiPhone-unlocked replacement - the screen on my LCD started to lose every second line of pixels on the screen, and eventually lost HALF of the display (while the phone still functioned nicely). Not attributing this to the software unlock provided by ZiPhone, but a coworker had his display go shortly after using the same method - coincidence?

So - on to iPhone number three. After much heated debate and public backlash with our Canadian carrier’s (Rogers) data plans, I was thrilled to see them cave and offer a $30 data plan for 6GB useage on a legit iPhone, free from third party unlocks and Apple supported! I camped 20 hours outside our local Rogers store to ensure I was able to score two of the coveted white 16GB 3G iPhones, and happily coveted the two new shiny-white-members of my tech stable.

Since the Canadian market had only received handsets (no accessories), I decided to wait to buy a case for it and held my new phone close to my side at all times. I loaded it up with 60 bucks of apps from the new apps store, drove around town to test out the GPS capabilities and eagerly connected it to my Exchange server at work for all the push-messaging goodness a nerd like me could handle.

And then I dropped it.

Yeah, I know, I know here’s the details: I had it wrapped up in my t-shirt to protect it while driving - and simply got distracted. When I exited my car (A VW Golf - does that not just say Apple fanboy or what?) I had forgotten about the phone and heard it fall to the pavement below. Dreading the worst, I picked it up (it had dropped front side down) I was mortified to find the screen SHATTERED! 

I turned the phone on, happy to see the LCD was completely in tact, and that it was merely the glass plate in front of the display that had broken. Apple’s new design changes to the display meant it was a simple replacement of the glass (and not the display) so I gleaned the interwebs for a parts replacement. Finding nothing, I phoned Apple.

The Applecare representative for iPhone informed me that they don’t replace anything on a case by case basis, but the replacement charge for a new iPhone was $329, plus $29 shipping. Since I had paid $299 for the original phone (carrier subsidy - the outright price is estimated by some at $700+) - I felt that was a pretty unfair hit, considering the Apple design changes for 3G separated the glass from the LCD and the breakdown provided by iFixit.com showed the simple separation of the glass to the display.

Dreading the idea of sharing with my coworkers that I had killed my third iPhone, I agreed to the charges and am now waiting for iPhone number four. I feel pretty sour regarding Apple’s customer care (I know its easier to simply replace the phone, but when the damages are less than $100 - should I be forced to pay the full $329 CDN replacement fee?).

What do you think? Yes, breaking the phone was accidental, and Apple must know that broken displays on iPhones are the most common repair - hence the separation of the glass to the LCD in the new design revision (as well as a replaceable-non soldered battery).

As a guy with three iPhones, a Mac Pro, an iMac, three iPods, a 12in Powerbook, a 15in MacBook Pro, and a work 17in MacBook Pro under his belt - I think I’ve provided enough revenue per user for Apple, and could use a break.

It was touch and go the day before Drupal Camp, as organizers scrambled for alternate facilities due to Canada Day Flooding Damage. However the University came through with flying colours, and rooms in the newly completed Turcotte Hall were available.

DCA08 was Alberta’s first Drupal Camp, and was a phenomenal success! We received 50+ attendees and speakers from Montana, Vancouver, Cranbrook, Fernie, Edmonton & Calgary who took the time to travel and prepare for an unproven conference. The speakers were top notch, the crowd was A+ - a tribute to the community as a whole, but specifically it connected Drupal developers who were lacking an official voice in the province.

Special thanks goes to David Cormier (UPEI), Owen Brierley (Gyst Works), Daniel Washbrook (Image X Media), Wesley Penner (U of L), Chris Miller (Trailhead Interactive), Marc Ingram (Trellon), Jess McMullin (nForm) for taking the time to support our first “kick at the cat”.

Two days of quality information sharing aside, campers were surprised by a guest appearance by Amanda Stepenko, Bobsled Pilot and Olympic hopeful who will be the recipient of a fund-raising website, provided by the participants of our Code Sprint track.

Participants were invited to an evening at the Mix Lounge at Ric’s Grill (a high end restaurant converted from an old water tower), where they indulged in a complimentary drink and tapas. The University Art Gallery also opened their doors for a “behind the scenes” tour of some of the more popular pieces in the collection (Warhol, Carr, Group of Seven, Picasso and Cezanne).

With the wealth of praised received for the execution and quality of DCA08, we can only wait for next year - when we anticipate holding an annual event with double the size, and a few more sponsors

What if I told you I constantly stay in 4 star hotels, and never pay more than motel rates in major cities in the USA and Canada. Would you be interested? (wow, this is starting to sound like a Tim Ferris pitch!)

Because I might have watched dedicated US satellite programming at someone’s residence, I’m exposed to a ton of US advertising (this is the sort of thing the CRTC cringes at). Wiliam Shatner hawks a service called Priceline.com, and a trash talking newcomer called hotwire.com routinely remind me that both of them are vastly superior at making hotel reservations than I could ever dream. I thought these were only US-based services, until last year - when I needed last minute accommodation in Calgary - in the middle of wedding season.

Being a bit of an IT nerd (and having “Warf” as a last name), I listened to Captain James T. Kirk tell me about Priceline’s “Name your own price” service. The “Shat” promised me that if I told his service what area of the city I’d like to stay in, and what level of hotel I wanted to stay at - that if I named my own price, and paid up front - he could find me a deal that I could never get on my own. So I bit. I told Priceline I wanted a 4 star hotel in Calgary, downtown - for <$120. BOOM - I was handed the key to the Westin Calgary’s Starwood Member floor - a $330 room, for less than half price!

My wife and I were giddy that we could live like a salaried man, for the price fit for human consumption. I mean, the staff didn’t know we were squatting the luxury lifestyle - they opened the same door for me as the pretentious lady with the chihauha in her bag, they ran to fetch me the same cab - they just got a smaller tip (and then promptly figured it out).

Thinking this must be a run of good luck, with results not replicated - I tried again. And again, and again. I’ve stayed in nothing less than a 4-star hotel with priceline in Vancouver at the Marriot Pinnacle, in Edmonton at the River Cree Resort, and upcoming in Portland, OR at the Avalon Hotel & Spa. Usually at 50 - 75% off the web rate (which is usually lower than an agency or in-person rack rate). I’m totally sold!

That’s great you say, “but what about travel? cheap accomadations are great, but if you can’t afford to arrive at your destination - its not much of a deal!” I say POPPYCOCK! That’s right - you heard me! POPPYCOCK!

When we think of travel, we automatically think air fare. I say, get creative! Have you actually seen what airlines take in as profit from your $370 ticket to Vancouver? 90 bucks - nope. That’s their gross after all the taxes & fees they are required to collect - its a wonder any of them can afford to stay in business.

I live very close to the US border. In August, I bought tickets on Amtrack (the train!) to visit Portland, OR (a 15 hour drive). We get on the train in Cut Back (40 miles from the CDN border), at 6pm, and arrive safe and sound in Portland at 10pm the next day. We aren’t in a hurry, and the sunrise and set deep in the interior of the Pacific Northwest is photographer heaven!

Travel by train requires no early arrival, no baggage screening, no security strip searches, and you can bring a full size shampoo without anyone drawing their guns. The seats are much bigger, you can getup and explore the observation deck, the lounge, the dining car or simply walk around without anyone bullying you to stay seated like a kindergarten kid.

Where’s the realy benefit to the train? My return ticket from Cut Bank, MT to Portland, OR is $180. Expecting a series of surcharges upon checkout on the site, I braced myself for the actual cost of the fare. Guess what? I paid $180 all-in. You can’t drive for that price, even with carpooling, great for the environment - great for Amtrak.

Do you have travel tips you can share with me this Summer? If so - let me know in the comments.

Our current call for speakers is being well received, but as any other event - we’d love more. Have some cool tech or strategy you’d like to share? Now is your time to shine, just submit your talk suggestion on the official site, and we’ll take it from there.

A little bit about the conference (from the site):

DCA08 is unlike any corporate conference you’ve ever attended - and for good reason. Focusing on “Drupal” - an open source content management system and application framework, DCA08 is a low-cost, highly collaborative “unconference” held in at the University of Lethbridge, in Southern Alberta, Canada.

Gone are the days of sponsored vendor presentations and for-profit registration fees. Our peer taught, volunteer-run sessions will by heavy with “doers”, and light on the “talkers”.

Join us July 3 & 4 from 8am - 5pm both days (Networking event on July 3rd).

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Registration opens mid June (watch the site or follow @dca08 on twitter for details).

Have a blog? Active in the Drupal community? Linking to the conference site, or spreading the word would be fabulous. Pay it forward, good karma and all that!

See you here July 3 &4 !

Although I was misquoted in the Lethbridge Herald, (I’m the team lead for the web unit, not ALL of Information Technology) I think they did an excellent job summarizing why our new project breaks new ground.

In our first meeting, we learned about core differences between Western European and Blackfoot world views, and how this makes items like a simple search box (which I felt was a no-brainer for a search function) less appropriate for a system that serves multiple audiences, and cultural backgrounds.

I feel this project has given me great insight into Blackfoot culture and tradition, what better way to learn about the Blackfoot than to have monthly meetings with Blackfoot Elders and the head of Kainai Studies at Red Crow College?

Because they are public, I’m posting some of the early prototype screens to share.

Drupal Camp:

” …a volunteer-organized, peer taught, multi-track conference focused on the Drupal open source content management system…In a collaborative environment, the participants will share knowledge, establish best practices and learn new techniques. “

After ponying up $100 for a 4 star hotel room and a rental car for $22 bucks a day (priceline.com of course), I was all set. A 5 hour delay at the airport helped me get my slides in order. The conference itself was $21 bucks, and that included lunch and a t-shirt - you can’t go wrong!

When I wasn’t speaking, I was checking out talks on how to harden Drupal sites, create an installation profile, theme Drupal, and generally swap tips with a VERY ACTIVE community. If only Calgary’s Drupal community was this well organized. I’m coming again if they’ll have me - kudos to Rain City and others for putting on such a great event!

Slides and stuff are available here.

I’m doing something different, I’m hauling my kids South of the border to try out grocery shopping in Montana.

Aside from the fact that cross-border shopping is unpatriotic, and does nothing to support your local community, I’ve heard all the reasons not to go.

“It’s not really that cheap once you factor in hotel and gas.”

“What’s your time worth, is it really that cheap to shop in Montana?”

“Will they even let YOU cross the border?”

Rather than go in blind, this web nerd is equipping himself with a little bit of info BEFORE I go. A quick trip over to Google Maps, shows me the names and locations of all the grocery stores in the town. Another calculation shows me the exact distance from my house, to the store - and back (305km). Another web search to get the local postal codes, and I’m off to the Albertson’s, and Walmart websites to download the local food flyers (just like the residents get).

I was absolutely blown away that my beloved Heineken mini keg, which costs 35 bucks here - is $18 at the US Grocery. The price of diary and meat is also unbelievable, but the crazy selection ( a contributing factor to the US obesity epidemic) also beckons me.

The Canadian dollar (at the time of writing) is above par. That means buck for buck, I’m in for a treat. I’m planning my grocery list to account for the following border restrictions:

• 2 dozen eggs;
• 20 kilograms of dairy products not exceeding $20 in value (e.g. cheese and butter);
• 3 kilograms of margarine or butter substitutes; and
• 20 kilograms of edible meats and meat products, including turkey and chicken.
• A maximum of one whole turkey or 10 kilograms of turkey products;
• a maximum of 10 kilograms of chicken; and
• a maximum of 5 kilograms of edible meats and meat products from cattle, sheep, goat, bison and buffalo.

So, I’m working around that - but with the flyers - I can preplan this trip to the penny. I’m going to load my 4 kids into my van Sunday morning (equipped with a letter from Mom permitting me to leave the country with ‘em), drive the 45 minute drive to the border, and try it out. Weekends are usually spent driving around town with dad, so this should be a snap!

5 people in the vehicle means $50 per person exempt from duty, and no hotel bills. $250 of American groceries later, I’m betting that my gas (bought at $3.48 a US gallon) will be more than covered and I’ll come out ahead. I’ll post a follow up and we’ll see. I live too close to the border not to try it out once.

Have you ever tried cross border grocery shopping? How did it turn out?