What the Heck Happened?
I was kinda hoping you wouldn’t notice, but I had a little mishap this morning. You see, I’ve been receiving hundreds of spam comments on this blog lately, and none of the spam solutions I’ve tried thusfar have worked. Spam Karma hadn’t caught anything, Bad Behavior only caught a few, even turning comments off has failed…which I thought was odd, but apparently turning comments off a particular post only removes the comment box. It doesn’t actually prevent comments from being submitted directly (by a spammer with an automated system). Hooray Wordpress. Maybe I should submit that as a bug request.
Anyways, I wanted to try Akismet (my only other option was to kill commenting altogether, or move the blog, and neither option sounded appeasing), but the plugin required a newer version of WordPress than I had installed…so I upgraded. And apparently when you ftp a folder, and it prompts for your approval to overwrite the files, it actually is prompting for approval to delete any files on the server that aren’t in the folder you are uploading… So my previously installed plugins…gone. Previously uploaded photos of my son…gone. The theme to this site…gone (ok, so that needed some upgrading anyways). Hooray FTP.
I’ve put in a “restore request” in hopes that dreamhost will restore the site from backup… Then I can go in and upload everything, again, file by file. Until then, keep your eyes open for a new theme!
My unrelated thoughts on pricing and freelancing
I happened to read an article today about how a web design firm prices their projects, and I thought I would share a little about my experiences on the subject.
A couple years ago, back when I was a single guy, I started doing web development on the side. I hadn’t finished college yet, and didn’t have much experience, but did have a desire to learn and practice my passion…and get paid for it. My first website for hire cost the client $50, and oddly enough is still available on the internet. It featured a photo gallery and a couple other pages, not exactly a complicated site, but regardless I spent countless hours working on the site to get it perfect. Another one of my first websites was an online version of a fax newspaper. I charged $200. The site included articles, opinions, comics, and advertising banners…not to mention a back-end to allow the client to administrate all of the content. This was substantially more complicated, and I probably racked over 100hrs working on the site. My problem? I had no clue what to charge people, I had trouble saying no, and I would often take a loss just to get the project.
Some time went on, and I set my hourly rate to $25/hr. I don’t think I ever received a paycheck at this rate, as a few of my clients never actually paid me. Apparently, I had gone outside the realm of chump-change I had been working for, and fell in the range of companies that wanted the dynamic development I was able to offer, but didn’t value my expertise and time needed to provide that development. At this point I was pigeon-holed into working on projects for a flat fee…of course based on my hourly rate. However, when all was said and done, I had completed the project working well below my aforementioned rate. My problem? I lacked the confidence necessary to charge more for my work, and still couldn’t say no.
It really wasn’t until Heidi told me I had to stop doing all this work for free, and had to stop taking a loss on projects, that I actually did such a thing. We were married, and I wanted her approval and support, so I took her advice.
Now, my rates have more than doubled. I’m currently at $65/hr. It sounds like a lot for some people, but I’m still under the market rate for people of my skills (market rate is in the $75-100/hr). I quote all of my projects by breaking them down into tasks that I can assign estimated costs to. Since I’ve been doing this for a while now, my estimating techniques are actually quite good. However, I still charge my clients my hourly rate, and my proposed quote just serves as a baseline. I’ve found that clients willing to pay my hourly rates are clients who actually value my expertise and time. Because of this my clients are generally very satisfied with my work, and pass my name onto other potential clients. What has changed since 2 years ago when I was charging less than half? Yes, my skill level has increased, but so has my confidence. I’m now able to value my own time, and turn away projects that don’t value my time.
If you are in a position to charge for your services, my first recommendation is to see what the market rate is and how your skills match up to those earning the market rate. Once you have that figured out, choose an hourly rate that you are comfortable with. If you work 1 hour at that rate, and don’t feel good about it, then you need to raise your rate until you are satisfied. When you are satisfied with your rate, you are more likely to do your best work and enjoy the project more. A win for you and your client.
My little Stinker
Well, our little guy is now 7 weeks old and is literally growing by the minute. He’s still quite small, but full of energy and he’s such a wiggle worm! He is just the sweetest baby, and he is really good, although he’s a stinker.
{MORE} For instance, I swear he knows exactly when I step out of the room, because he waits just long enough for me to go halfway down the hall and then lets out a piercing scream. During the first few weeks I would rush back in the room thinking that an alien must be trying to take my baby and therefore the needed piercing scream. But alas, I would walk in the room and touch him or pick him up and the screaming ceased instantaneously! So now, I’ll wait in the hallway for a minute to see if he will stop. Most times he falls right back asleep, but there are the few times when he just needs his mom. Here he is getting sleepy…
Then comes the diaper changing fiascoes. He absolutely hates to be cold, so I try to change him as quickly as possible. But, he fails to realize that screaming and flailing slows down the process. He thinks that kicking his legs out to the side, up and down and even in the poopy diaper will make him get warm again or even cause his clothes to jump back on by themselves. This one is after his bath-he’s more than grateful not to be cold anymore!…
Let’s see, what else. Oh, one of my all time favorites…when we venture out of the house, he usually gets fed right before we leave to ensure that he will sleep while we’re out. So, he eats, I burp him and start towards the car seat. Everything is still fine, and he seems quite happy with his full little belly. And then as I go to sit him in the car seat, his face contorts into this squishy red sad face. And then it comes…no not poop, spit up straight out of the mouth all over my shirt. And, this may not be the first shirt of the day! After his major spit up, he’s happy and the eyelids shut. Yes, my precious boy is a little stinker, and he keeps me running all day, but I love him! So, when Kyle comes home to ask the age old question of “what did you do today, because you look like you’ve done nothing…” I hand Avery over just as I feel the rumbling in his diaper. 
And here he is with his daddy…
Saving the Planet, One Hummer at a Time
Have you ever been driving down the road, had a Hummer pull up next to you, only to find out that there is only 1 person in the vehicle? Have you noticed the trend of new parents trading in their car for an SUV (or minivan for that matter)? Have you noticed that some families have more cars than family members? (Now that Avery is around, we’re technically not guilty of that anymore…)
I’ve wondered how my actions can help the environment and help negate the harmful effects of all the Hummers out there. How can I live “greener”, without going off the deep end? Here are some things that I’ve read will help.
- Use Compact Flourescent bulbs instead of regular incandescant bulbs – The CF bulbs use a fraction of the electricity and last longer than conventional bulbs. They cost more, but studies have shown that you’ll save more money in electricity than the additional cost of buying. From what I’ve read, if every person in the US switched 1 bulb to a CF, then we could save from having to build 1-2 additional power plants. Unfortunately, CF bulbs just don’t look the same, so I like to pair 1 CF bulb with 1 conventional bulb to get the electrical savings AND the comfortable light that the conventional bulb offers.
- Drive Less – For most people, this means reducing the number of times you shop each week. For example, Heidi and I ALWAYS visit the grocery store multiple times a week. If we were to more carefully plan our meals, and supplies, we could make just 1 trip to the grocery store. If we watched our gas tanks more closely we could reduce trips to the gas station by only getting gas when we’re below a quarter tank. If we saved our shopping trips to 1 day a week instead of multiple days a week (which also has the added bonus of buying less, and making it easier to manage our finances)
- Drive Smarter – Huh? I’ve read studies that suggest that our driving habits determine our gas mileage. There are people out there who can get well over the manufacturers suggested MPG rating. If we weren’t in such a rush to go places, we might be able to save on gas.
- Drive Smaller – Hummers, large SUVs, and other gas-guzzling V8’s should be the first to go. Then V6’s should be next in line. We should all be driving cars that get 30+ miles per gallon, and we should be supporting alternative fuel options. If the war in Iraq is really over oil, then our soldiers are fighting for your right to pay ridiculous amounts for gas that you don’t even need. If we lessen our dependency on oil, we open the doors for more economical (and environmental) fuel sources.
- Recycle & Re-use – Re-using is like recycling, without all of the costs associated with re-manufacturing an item. I wonder how many plastic trees could be saved if we all brought our own grocery bags to the store.
- Shop Locally – Support your local farmers, and help take some tractor trailers off the road. Remember, the less crap you buy outside of your geographic region, the fewer tractor trailers are on the road. The fewer tractor trailers means less road damage, and less traffic, which means longer road lifespan and smaller roads…you see where I’m going with this?
So, where does a guy who lives off technology fit in with all of this? I will be investing in CF bulbs. I will not be purchasing a large SUV (I’d love to get a diesel Jetta, but fear the one time Heidi or I accidentally fill it up with gas), and will opt for a smaller car with better gas mileage. I also plan on working with Heidi to reduce the number of shopping trips we take. It shouldn’t be that hard to remove 1-2 shopping trips a week. Shopping locally? Maybe later… Recycle & Re-use? Probably something I need to look into (every time I take out the trash and can’t get the lid shut on the trash can, I feel wasteful).
If everyone else made small adjustments to their lives, we could make an impact…or in this case…not make an impact.
Our sick little Avery
Avery has had a tough week. His week started off great with his one month checkup. The doctor said he was doing wonderful, and was on schedule for his weight, length, etc. And then within a day or so he started to throw up like crazy. And by Friday morning we called the doctor because his ability to spew his milk was more than impressive. The doctor called in a prescription to settle his little tummy, and we were hoping for the best. But by Saturday morning he wasn’t doing any better, so again we called the doctor. An hour later, we were on our way to the children’s hospital downtown. And, we’ve been here ever since. After blood work, an ultrasound, an IV, and more we found out that little Avery had Pyloric Stenosis. Basically, the muscle at the bottom of the stomach becomes too big and ends up blocking the food from continuing down to the intestines, etc. This is why he had been throwing up for the past few days. And then came the fun part. The only way to correct this problem was through surgery. So, this morning Avery went into surgery where they went in through his itty bitty belly button and made a small incision in the pyloric muscle so that the food can go through. His surgery went really well, and despite not wanting to wake up right away, he did great. He has already started eating (like a horse I might add), and Lord willing, he will go home tomorrow!! I have to say that watching your kid go into surgery is an awful feeling-I’ve never had such a helpless feeling before. But at the same time, knowing that the Lord is in control and is watching over your little one provides more comfort than anyone or anything else could. It was a great feeling to go down and pick him up from the recovery room and know that everything went well. Thank you everyone for praying for our little Avery, and we thank the Lord for continuing to watch over us and provide for us!