Patrick Beeson

Latest blog entries

• What I've been doing for the past 6 months

  The lack of updates on this website shouldn't imply a lack of change. Quite the opposite, in fact.

  Not only have my wife Lindsay and I changed jobs and moved states, we've also settled into a lifestyle that's damn-near perfect.

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  • Patrick Beeson
  • May 20, 2012
  • 5:17 p.m.
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• Stack Overflow a boon to stuck developers

  Developing web applications is a little like learning how to ollie a skateboard. You try, and try, and try. Then you try again.

  And then something clicks. You land the trick. But you don't understand why.

  This has been my experience writing code. I know what I want to do, and through brute force I hammer away at a solution until something works.

  But why does it work? That's where Stack Overflow and it's wonderful community comes in.

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  • Patrick Beeson
  • Nov. 8, 2011
  • 9:37 p.m.
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• Renewed effort to pain, fun with cyclocross

  UPDATE: I created a page on this website to show my results by year.

  You never forget the pain, or fun, of cyclocross.

  Despite my two-year absence from racing cyclocross, I've been able to slide back in where I left off competing in both the Mud, Sweat and Gears series as well as other local races with plans for others.

  And strangely enough, it's more fun this time around.

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  • Patrick Beeson
  • Oct. 17, 2011
  • 12:33 p.m.
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• IfThisThenThat shows power of simplicity

  I love when things "just work".

  That was a phrase used by the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, whose death last week has me thinking about simplicity among a raft of other things. Because more often than not, a simpler approach to problem solving is always the better option.

  Case-in-point: the fantastic connector of web apps called IfThisThenThat.

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  • Patrick Beeson
  • Oct. 12, 2011
  • 12 p.m.
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• Taking another lick at the 'Big Lick'

  Don’t judge my life of the past few months solely by this website. Things have changed. Really.

  As most of you know, my wife Lindsay and I moved back to Roanoke, Va., in December of last year. We both found exciting opportunities back in the mountains where we first met. She with the New River Valley location of The Roanoke Times as a designer and editor, and I with the newly launched Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute as their web manager.

  The move wasn’t without challenges. We swapped our 1,800 square-foot house for an 800 square-foot apartment. We moved just as the cold and snow settled in. I’m sure our dog Saaz hated us for a couple weeks.

  And homebrewing? That took some figuring out. (Fortunately, my quality hasn’t suffered.)

  But we found some great tenants for our Knoxville house, and the actual move was a snap if you ignore the movers failing to show up in Roanoke. Also, pro tip: Ryder, not UHaul.

  Did I mention I ride a free trolley to work?

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  • Patrick Beeson
  • Sept. 4, 2011
  • 7:38 p.m.
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• Home-brewing notes: English IPA

  Is it unpatriotic to brew an English IPA with the Fourth of July only a few days away? Perhaps, but I had to find a suitable vessel for my London ale yeast -- an American Pale Ale simply wouldn't do.

  And aside from that venerable APA, I've brewed more English IPAs than any other style of beer. The reason? It's a bitter, fruity hop-forward beer that doesn't hid the malt and won't rob the enamel from your teeth. Yum.

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  • Patrick Beeson
  • June 21, 2011
  • 7:21 p.m.
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