Two weeks ago, I decided to make the switch from WordPress to Ghost as my blogging platform. For me it was a figuratively big jump as I have been using WordPress for years and hadn&#39;t really thought of switching to any other platform.
For me, it was also a challenge to figure out enough about Node.js to be able to set up and configure my blog with Ghost. I ended up getting it up and running on my development server, played around with it, worked on porting my theme over, and finally decided I liked it enough to switch over.
I&#39;m still playing around with it, though not as much now that it&#39;s stable. The only thing I&#39;m trying to get working is the 404 page. Whenever I try to add my custom error page, the site constantly gives me a 503 error. One day, I&#39;ll figure this out!
I really like the writing tool. I&#39;m still getting used to the markdown syntax, but I love the simplicity of it. It&#39;s also nice because you can mix in HTML code with it as well to get the additional features you miss with markdown. You can just start writing and not think twice about it.
I also like the overall simplicity of the platform itself. Not to knock WordPress, but there is a lot of functionality there that is not really needed for a blog. That doesn&#39;t mean that it is a bad thing as some sites could definitely benefit from the added features, but for my needs, Ghost provides all the functionality I need.
One feature that I&#39;m waiting for Ghost to implement is scheduled posting. I would like to be able to schedule a post for the future which I was able to do with WordPress, but not with Ghost. That said, this does seem to be in the feature list for Ghost so I&#39;m hopeful I&#39;ll see it in the next release.
I would also like to see archives functionality. I do miss the ability to view a specific month or year&#39;s posts which doesn&#39;t seem to be available currently, but it might be available in a later release.
Overall I&#39;m quite happy with my decision to switch over to Ghost. It seems to be a solid platform that works great for me. If you&#39;re considering it, I&#39;d highly recommend giving it a shot.

My Thoughts on Ghost so Far

Many times while I am working, I often listen to podcasts. I find that they&#39;re a great way to keep myself up to date with what&#39;s going on around the world, or just to learn something new.
I used to listen to NPR a lot more, and I still do, but with all the meetings I&#39;m called into, I seldomly get to listen to a full story or full episode. Now this is part of working so I&#39;m not compaining, it just means that podcasts make a little more sense to me since I can pause the episode and come back to it at the point where I left off.
The app I use to listen to podcasts is called PocketCasts. It has both an Android and an iOS app. I like it because it syncs across my devices. I switch back and forth between my Nexus 7 and my Galaxy S4, so it&#39;s nice to have the episodes sync across the two. It&#39;s also nice because it will automatically download the episodes I generally listen to.
The only downside is that sometimes the counts go up to the point where it is difficult to keep up with them, even when I filter them down to the episodes I am interested in. That being said, I find that it does keep me up to date with what is going on in various different areas such as politics, tech, news, hockey, and more.
Here&#39;s a list of the podcasts I listen to:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://99percentinvisible.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 99% Invisible
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.androidpolice.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Android Police Podcast
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.arstechnica.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Ars Technica Podcast
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510299/ask-me-another" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Ask Me Another
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 The Brian Lehrer Show
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://freakonomics.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Freakonomics
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Fresh Air
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.marketplace.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Marketplace
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 NPR: Technology
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.onthemedia.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 On The Media
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://onpoint.wbur.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 On Point with Tom Ashbrook
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Planet Money
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://krpoliticaljunkie.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Political Junkie with Ken Rudin
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.puckpodcast.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 The Puck Podcast
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.radiolab.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Radiolab
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://sciencefriday.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Science Friday
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.startalkradio.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Stuff You Should Know
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 TED Radio Hour
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 This American Life
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://twit.tv/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 TWit: This Week in Tech
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 Wait, Wait&#8230;Don&#8217;t Tell Me
</a></li>
<li><a href="http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
 WHYY Radio Times
</a></li>
</ul>
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, what podcasts do you subscribe to?

Podcasts galore!

Tonight, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) is going to debate the founder of the Creation Museum, Ken Ham. The debate is going to center around the whole Evolution versus Creationism argument.
But why even really have this debate? I really doubt anyone is really going to have their minds changed by this debate. There are those who believe in evolution, and there are those who believe in creation according to the bible. I feel like those who side with Nye are going to just laugh at Ham&#39;s arguments, and those who side with Ham, are going to pretty much ignore Nye.
As someone who believes in science and follows the evidence, I obviously believe Bill Nye to be on the correct side of the argument and it is HIGHLY unlikely my mind will be changed by Ken Ham. With that said, I feel like Bill Nye&#39;s time and energy would be better spent pushing to improve science education in our schools (keeping creationism out of public school science classes), and just increasing science in the public eye. Maybe if we educate more people about science, scientific theory, and the scientific method, debates like this one won&#39;t have to happen.

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Posts in February 2014

My Thoughts on Ghost so Far

Podcasts galore!

Is the Bill Nye - Ken Ham Debate Worth It?