Alex "Gus" Gustafson

  • Just in Time for Ice Cream

    In the late summer, ice cream is my vice of choice. Milkshakes can cure what ails ya, and a carton of Moose Tracks is available in my freezer. During those phases, it’s not uncommon to find my ice cream scoop in the sink: dirty and in the way.

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    As soon as it’s clean, I scoop up some ice cream. Then it’s time to eat ice cream, not do dishes! Back in the sink it goes.

    One could transmogrify this into just-in-time delivery. The scoop is available right as it’s needed, after all. But you can seek the truth and recognize that it’s nothing but procrastination and waste of space.

    Think of your brain power, your workspace, your schedule. So long as stuff gets done, we can pass off all manner of dirty, wasteful habits as part of an overall efficient system. But the truth may lead to cleaner, useful changes you can make as soon as you’re ready to acknowledge them.

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  • A New Role

    In 2010, I used WordPress for my company’s blog posts. My boss made the site already, I was just typing words into the post editor. This WordPress thing seemed easy enough to use!

    In 2011, I used WordPress to start sites anytime I needed them. It was only five minutes to setup, then themes and plugins could take care of all the work for me after that. WordPress.com was even faster and easier: I could focus on content!

    In 2014, I used WordPress to help thousands of other people make sites on their own. I was a Happiness Engineer at Automattic; one of the greatest jobs you could ask for. I was getting paid to teach WordPress all day!

    Now in 2017, I am going to use WordPress again to make custom sites for clients of Makespace!, a web design agency here in Louisville.

    Automattic is an amazing company and leaving it was no small decision. Moving from a support role to a development role became my top priority in the last few months, and right now the dev team at Makespace is a better fit for me to succeed.

    We use WordPress for most of our projects at Makespace, so all this time will continue to serve as valuable experience. I plan to be involved in the WordPress community as well: the Louisville WordPress meetup, WordCamps, facepalming at the WP Tavern comments, etc.

    Thanks for all the support everyone has given to me in this change! It’s been a great 7 years of WordPress and I hope to contribute even more in the next 7.

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  • Happy Anniversary

    Three years with my lovely wife, the greatest person in my life. She puts up with a lot of my rambling and none of my bullshit. I hope to be as smart as her one day and I hope our daughter grows up feeling the same way.

    Thanks for everything, Amber. I love you.

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    P.S. We get to open that bourbon bottle tonight!

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  • Your Consultant Should Know How to Migrate Away from WordPress.com

    So you’ve hired someone to help you build a WordPress site. Good for you!

    Then they tell you not to use WordPress.com?

    Okay. It’s not for everyone. It would fit most needs, especially if you can afford the Business plan. But for a developer looking to make a custom site for you, they may have their reasons to use another host. I’ll give ’em that.

    But that same person says they don’t know how to use WordPress’ export and import tools?

    This is no longer about WordPress.com vs. other hosting options. This is about them not having used WordPress much at all. Take their suggestions with a grain of salt.

    If you need to move content from WordPress.com onto another host, there is a handy guide at move.wordpress.com. You don’t need to know any coding at all, you’ll just need to know the right buttons to click.

    To me, the very best feature of WordPress is that your content is never locked down. You can always export the content and then do with it as you please. That’s freedom, and that’s the promise of a free web.

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  • DCI Finals Week 2017

    I started off the season saying the Blue Devils were most likely to win it, even though I hadn’t seen their show yet. They remained undefeated all tour, so I suppose my thoughts were validated. Let’s talk about what I never saw coming.

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  • New Glasses

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    Eye doc insisted on moving to shatter-proof lenses. Between that material and my prescription no metal frame could handle the width of lens I need. So here we are with the matte plastic. Don’t worry, I’ll get us a pack of PBR for band practice later.

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  • “Tomorrow: You’re Hosting…”

    By which I mean that I’m hosting, but Meetup sent me a reminder.

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    We’re going to be talking Gutenberg, and if there’s interest I might quickly demo the recently announced support of plugins and themes on the WordPress.com Business plan.

    RSVP for the event on Meetup.com, and note we have a new location.

    https://www.meetup.com/WordPress-Meetup-Louisville/events/242181861/

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  • Choose Your Own Narrative

    The world around you is out of your control. The facts that govern your life are mostly out of your control. The actions you take are often in response to motivations and needs that are largely out of your control.

    What you do control is the story you tell yourself about what it means. You can always choose to paint a picture you believe in.

    The evil empire is rising all around, you can see yourself as the rebel waiting for a chance to make a difference.

    Falling behind at work looks exactly the same as a restructuring of priorities.

    Recovery and exhaustion both look an awful lot like sleep.

    Food can be either fuel or a leisure activity.

    If you don’t like the facts, give them a different story then ask yourself what’s on the next page.

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  • Reset

    My mind fights with itself a lot. It’s like playing both colors in chess. Your move as white, then on the other side of the board you counter it with the same ferocity as black. You always win and you always lose.

    Sometimes it’s what gives me my advantage. I see a lots of sides to an argument. I’m willing to change my mind quickly. Once I know the answer I go one step further to see if I’m wrong. It helps me when learning and teaching.

    Many days it becomes problematic. The war wages and my body can’t keep up. I’m thinking and thinking meanwhile the tension in my shoulders, my teeth start grinding, and I can’t type on the keyboard without my wrists burning.

    That’s when I know it’s not about the problem anymore. It’s not about anything that’s wrong with work, with home, with life. It’s just a spiral that my mind has created. It’s worth trying to reset.

    • Weightlifting
    • Riding a bike
    • Walking
    • Showering
    • Reading
    • Writing (with a pen and paper)
    • Speaking out loud (preferably with a friend)

    All these are my best bets to help the reset take hold. They are also some of the hardest things to convince myself to do. Caffeine and food almost always make it worse but they are almost always my first reaction.

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  • Drum Corps International Tour Premiere 2017

    Drum Corps at the Movies has been the kickoff to the Drum Corps International summer tour for a number of years, and this year’s was held on Thursday night, June 22nd. Defending champions Bluecoats performed along with Carolina Crown, The Cavaliers, The Cadets, Blue Stars, and Crossmen at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The event was attended live, but also simulcast to movie theaters across the United States.

    I enjoyed the whole program and look forward to a great year from all the corps. But my take of what this show says for the season: it’s a good year to be the Blue Devils.

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