I love writing in Markdown. It might seem slightly elite, but it has a real utility. It forces you to think about presentation as you go, and I think that demands more focus, resulting in better content. Some people would rather knock out content and worry about structure later, but not me. As a programmer, I think in terms of content and presentation simultaneously. One of my favorite parts about adding a new repo to GitHub is creating the readme file.

Because of my love affair with Markdown, I think Ghost is going to be the thing that inspires me to create new content, and I’m proud to be a backer of its Kickstarter project. WordPress is great, but it’s really evolved into more of a CMS. Ghost will be a welcome change for simply creating content.

I wrote this post with Mou, a Markdown editor for OS X with a layout similar to Ghost. Mou isn’t polished (it’s still in beta), but the idea of seeing formatted content rendered in HTML in real-time is appealing to me. Judging by the number of backers on Ghost’s Kickstarter, it’s appealing to many other writers as well. If Ghost delivers on its promise, it will instantly become my platform of choice.

If you haven’t yet tried it, I encourage you to try writing in Markdown for a couple of weeks and see if it changes the way you approach content creation. Maybe it’s for you, maybe it isn’t, but it’s worth a look if you want a simple, elegant way to create engaging posts for your readers. If you’re interested in refreshing your writing experience, check out the Ghost Kickstarter — there’s still time to back the project!

Starting today, you can use commit messages to close issues in other repositories.

Now you can include “fixes user/repo#45″ in your commit message, and it will close the referenced issue, provided you have the permission to push to that repository.

More info at GitHub: Closing Issues Across Repositories.

Blockedit Multiple Lines at Once

Quickly make changes to multiple lines at once. To do so, hold Option while dragging a text selection. Now, type within that selection. Any text is applied to all lines!

Hit “Escape” to clear your blockedit selection. In the future, there’s even more we hope to do here.

It’s no secret that Coda is my favorite editor. Maybe you’ve used one of my plugins? If you’re a Mac Web developer and you haven’t used Coda, you owe it to yourself and your business to try it now.

View all the secrets at the Panic blog!

When I first moved to OS X in 2004 I used Safari moderately because coming from Windows, I wasn’t used to having a functional native browser. Mostly, though, I used Firefox because I had been using it on Windows and because it performed well on OS X. But I was never happy with it, not like I was with the rest of the OS X suite of apps. It just didn’t feel like it was part of the OS but rather like it was trying too hard to be a cheap copy. In fact, let me say now that I think browser skins, no matter the browser or OS, are a bad idea. Browsers should disappear into the background, leaving only your content. My minimal tendencies just won’t allow me to use anything that detracts from the focus of the task at hand. Incidentally, it’s for this reason that I don’t own any white iOS devices, as I think the white borders distract the eye from the content on the device. Those things aside, as a content producer, designer, and developer, I don’t like the idea of my content being upstaged by a marbled browser chrome with puppy dog icons.

Eventually, I grew tired of Firefox and switched to Safari. It’s minimal appearance and system integration appealed to me. We lived together peacefully for some time. Some time later, Google released Chrome for OS X, and I read great things about its performance and stability. I decided to try it, and it performed so well I decided to switch. Of course, there were nagging things, like the fact I couldn’t auto submit logins to my online banking website, so I couldn’t adopt it fully. But the team behind Chrome was working on an accelerated release schedule, and soon that issue, along with many others, was a thing of the past. With those stumbling blocks gone, the path was clear for me to adopt Chrome as my browser of choice on OS X. It was minimal, functional, and had great developer tools built in.

I’ve been using Chrome as my default browser for the better part of two years now, and it’s been a good relationship. But there’s always been this feeling stirring in the back of my mind. With OS X, Apple has done a great job of creating built-in apps to complete most everyday tasks out of the box. I know some people don’t like Mail or TextEdit or iTunes, but I think they’re great. Here’s a note for the Mail haters: I was in love with Sparrow until Google bought the team; now I’m afraid to commit to the product due to its uncertain future. My feelings for Safari aren’t quite as strong, but not because I don’t want them to be. In fact, I’m really happy with Safari with the exception of a few issues. For instance, sometimes Safari won’t render the background at the top of the Tumblr dashboard. It’s not a problem with Tumblr; it works fine in other browsers and the code is clean. It’s just a bug in Safari. Another example: I was viewing an article on nbcnews.com, and the page would just stop loading after the header. Again, while other browsers chewed through the page with no problem, Safari just choked.

Things like that make me not want to use Safari. But I have to think that Apple knows these issues exist and is planning fixes. After all, Safari uses WebKit as its rendering engine, as does Chrome, so the issue has to be in the implementation of Webkit (or possibly in the difference between JavaScript engines).

I like Core Animation in Safari. I use the excellent 1Password to manage my passwords (if you’re not using it, you should be). Chrome and Safari both have extensions that make accessing passwords as easy as a click. For a time, those extensions were on separate development tracks with differing designs and somewhat differing functionality. However, AgileBits united the development tracks and have produced a great browser extension. There remains one subtle difference: in Safari, the extension snaps to life with the slightest bit of tasty Core Animation. Chrome can’t access Core Animation, so no gorgeous transitions or easing for them. This is, and always has been, the Apple difference: subtle details, that when combined, create a product that compels you to use it. Of course, it’s in Apple’s interests to keep APIs like Core Animation to themselves as it’s a big part of how they create their products.

What would I like to see in Safari?

1. A fix for the rendering issues to put it on par with Chrome. Chrome is, as far as I’m concerned, at the top of the heap when it comes to performance and compatibility. I know there is a small contingent of Opera fans out there, and I have no quarrel with you.
2. A better layout for the built-in developer tools. These tools are great and quite functional, but after using Chrome’s developer tools, I feel like I’m clicking a lot more to get the same result. I do, however, like having access from the Develop menu in Safari, so it’s possible this just takes some getting used to.
3. Increased participation from the extension development community. This one’s on me. I should be contributing to the Safari extensions community as I have for Chrome. Too many projects, not enough time. Safari has some great extensions, but not nearly the catalog boasted by Chrome. Developers, we need to work together to meet this challenge.

A note on mobile browsing

It should be noted that Safari on iOS is slick. It’s the best mobile browser I’ve used. Google Chrome for iOS runs second, but distant due to some performance issues. It should be further noted that I don’t see those same issues with Chrome on my Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean. On the Android platform, Chrome is the best browser I’ve used, hands down.

Final thoughts and a look to the future

A few weeks ago, I bought a 15″ Retina MacBook Pro to replace the 27″ iMac as my primary machine. With this change came a clean start, and I decided to try Safari as my main browser. I’m happy to report I’ve been using Chrome less frequently, but I still see minor issues from time to time in Safari. I’m keeping track of these issues and will submit them as bug reports to Apple so they can consider fixing them in an upcoming release. By contributing these reports, I’m doing my part to help make Safari a better product for all of us. And a better Safari is all it takes for me to leave Chrome and never look back.

What are your thoughts on Safari? Talk about it below.

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Yesterday’s Apple product announcement, while full of new things for my wish list, made no mention of iTunes 11. Apple announced the new software at last month’s iPhone 5 event and stated it would be available this month. So I was a little disappointed yesterday when no mention was made of iTunes. I know many people have a problem with iTunes; I do not. In fact, it’s always been a great app for me. Recently, I moved all of my music to the cloud with iTunes Match, and it works as advertised.

So, when do we get iTunes 11? If I had to guess, I’d say this Friday, October 26. Apple has its quarterly earnings call tomorrow, and if recent history is any indicator (Lion, Mountain Lion), Apple may release the next major version of iTunes on Friday. In the past couple of years, Apple has released major software updates on the day following its earnings calls. It’s a great way to drive home to your shareholders that you’re making progress, and Apple has had tremendous success with these launches.

What about you? Are your fingers crossed for Friday or flipping the bird to Apple? Tell me about it in the comment section below.

VentureBeat has a nice article which links to a video of a SmartGlass walkthrough. Worth a few minutes of your time.

1. I’m still here. It’s been a busy summer at Inceptiv, and I’m excited to share what’s next with you. That will have to wait, however, until I’ve completed a few projects.
2. I can’t tell you about this one yet.

Thanks for sticking with me, all nine of you. New content, toys, and tricks coming this fall.

http://patdryburgh.com/link/narrow-the-gap/

The surprise is…there is no surprise!

Ah, that one gets me every time. I remember the first time I heard it. My uncle Clarence (one of Dad’s brothers) was watching me and my brother Lucas for the afternoon, and we were out for a drive. Clarence told Lucas to behave, and if he did, there’d be a surprise for him later. Lucas was pretty well-behaved for the rest of the afternoon, as I recall, and when it came time to deliver on his promise, Clarence uttered that now-famous line. I thought it was so funny (and shocking) that it has stuck with me to this day, and I use it on my kids from time to time.

Clarence passed away on Sunday, and with his passing, the world got a little less funny. I hadn’t seen him for a few years, and before that, a handful of years had passed since we last spoke. And it’s not that I didn’t like him; quite the contrary, but I’ve always had trouble staying in touch with extended family, and that’s nobody’s fault but my own. Regardless of the recency of interaction, the memories I have of him from my years growing up were great. He taught me to ride a bike by taking me to the top of the hill behind my parents’ house and sending me down. I crashed head-first into a cinderblock wall. Looking back, it was pretty cool, and I survived, so no harm, no foul. He was, after all, a Lilly brother, and they were all a little crazy. That’s what I liked most about him. When my Dad was together with his brothers, it was an adventure every time. Some of my earliest memories of Clarence were of him and my Dad shooting their bows in the back yard. I remember he had a patch of ginseng on the mountain behind the house, and he’d go digging when he came to visit. And once, he sat at the table in a camper with my Dad, brother, and one of my cousins (as I recall), and too much weight on that end of the camper caused it to tip. Clarence had no idea what was going on, he just thought he was getting dizzy! Dad still laughs about that.

When my uncle Kenneth passed last December, Dad and Clarence became the only brothers left in the family, along with two sisters. Now that Clarence is gone, it’s just Dad and my two aunts. Through this, I can see my family heritage slowly slipping away, but I’m thankful for the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who have kept it strong. We’ve spread out across the country, but we’re all still from the same mold. It’s comforting to know that there are bits of these brothers and sisters in their descendants. And as long as that continues, these families will not have lost the great bond that the Lilly siblings have enjoyed for many years – the bond of love, friendship, and family.

Rest in peace, my friend. I’m better for having known you.

Gavin beat me to the door and said, “I guess someone did a ding-dong ditch.” Of course, that irritated me just a little. So, I opened the door to see who was outside. No one, although Stephanie said she saw a group of kids outside from the upstairs window. I decided to enjoy a few deep breaths of the rainy, cool fall air before heading back inside to resume coding my upcoming release.

From behind my car pops a kid in a hoodie. I’m pretty sure he didn’t think I was standing there. So I ask, “Is there a problem?” “No,” the kid replies dryly, but with a hint of attitude. “So why’d you ring my doorbell?” I queried further. “I didn’t,” he says, with a little more attitude. Then I asked, “Why were you hiding behind my car?” His answer: “Because other kids were doing it.”

I thought to myself, “That sounds like something Gavin would say.” And I remembered that this was a kid I was dealing with, not an adult, and obviously his “friends” had left him to the wolves, as it were. Instantly, I softened. “So you didn’t ring my doorbell?” “No,” he said. “Then I think you should be moving along and stay out of trouble.” That was the best stern adult thing I could think to say. I wasn’t mean, I didn’t raise my voice, I was just firm. It reminded me of how adults would scold me as a child. The young man walked away, looking back. I stayed on my porch until he had moved on.

Almost immediately, I wished I would have handled it differently. Here’s the thing: at 5:15 pm, it’s nearly dark in my neighborhood. And today, it’s rainy and cold. So, why was this kid running around in these conditions, ringing doorbells for entertainment? And my heart broke for that kid. He didn’t know better, and had no one to tell him. He deserves a second chance. I’m sure some would offer the argument that some kids are just troublemakers. I agree that some kids (and adults) have a greater propensity for causing mischief than others, but I don’t think it’s something that can’t be improved upon. I wish I would have instead asked him what he had planned to do for the evening or if he was locked out of his house or something – anything – to show that I cared about him. I wanted him to know that I didn’t think he was a bad kid, just a kid who made a bad decision.

So, today’s score: Life 1, Seth 0. I’ll remember next time that not everyone grows up as I did, and not everyone grows up as my children do. And if I see him around the neighborhood again, as I’m sure I will, I’ll remind him that he has the power to make better choices. Who knows? That might be the thing he needs to hear to go from ditching doorbells to being a geneticist searching for a cure for cancer.

Our words are powerful, friends. Think before you use them.

As always, thanks for reading.