After many weeks, I've finally been able to finish my Intro to Relational Databases [https://www.udacity.com/course/intro-to-relational-databases--ud197] class! It certainly didn't help that we've been dealing with moving apartments the last few weeks, but this class also kicked my butt big time! I've done plenty of work

I don't know about you, but using Git, especially from the command line, has always been intimidating. At least until recently. I've known for awhile now the importance of source control for your projects and so I've been doing my best to use it. Thanks to the awesome GitHub applications

The other day I was working on a documentation site in WordPress and came across an interesting problem. The documentation was lengthy in certain sections, so I wanted to find a way to keep those sections on one page for the reader but allow for a little more organization in

I have finally completed my final project [https://gist.github.com/benbrandt/50296dba5713958bac6d] for the Intro to Computer Science course [https://www.udacity.com/course/cs101] on Udacity! It is a really simple python program that takes a very specific data input and creates a python dictionary to hold the

When I'm working on websites, or just about anything involving code, I find myself consistently using the same tools over and over. I thought it might be fun to share what apps and tools I'm using and why, and hopefully offer you some recommendations. Alfred [http://alfredapp.com] I can

If you've visited my blog in the last few days, I'm sure you will have noticed things look a little different around here. That's because I thought I would finally take a stab at writing my own WordPress theme. I've used WordPress since 2009, which means I am now at

Thanks to the amazing Melissa Gutierrez I had the opportunity to guest post [http://mmgutz.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/talking-movie-shop-with-ben-brandt/] over on her blog [http://mmgutz.wordpress.com/]. Guest posting is certainly a different experience than just posting here, mainly because I wanted to make sure someone else would

It's that time of year where people start making their New Year's Resolutions, so I thought I'd throw out some of my own goals for the coming year. Live Film Discussions My biggest goal for 2013 is to get real-time film discussions happening. I'm planning on having live Google+ Hangouts

[http://dubacanowines.com/] I recently built a website for Dubacano Wines [http://dubacanowines.com/], showcasing their wines [http://dubacanowines.com/wines/]and events [http://dubacanowines.com/events/], as well as building in functionality for allowing them to do event registration on the site in the future. It is a responsive

Once again, here's what I've read for the past two months: Manalive by G.K. Chesterton [http://www.amazon.com/Manalive-ebook/dp/B00847NN5U/&tag=benbrafilwebd-20] G.K. Chesterton's lesser known work, Manalive [http://www.amazon.com/Manalive-ebook/dp/B00847NN5U/&tag=benbrafilwebd-20], tells the tale of a "holy fool," Innocent Smith,

Due to my recent wedding [https://benjaminbrandt.com/my-wedding-website/] and all the craziness that ensues from such an event, I missed getting last month's reading list out. So here is a two-month supply of what has been on my Kindle/computer/in my hands. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas [http:

Playing around with Pixelmator's [http://www.pixelmator.com] new features, primarily its Vintage looks and Miniaturize effect. Cool stuff! Almost like Instagram for my DSLR...with lots more control! If you haven't already, you should really check out Pixelmator [http://www.pixelmator.com], it's a great Photoshop replacement!

Here's the latest that's been in my hands or in my Google Reader: Life After College: The Complete Guide to Getting What You Want by Jenny Blake [http://www.amazon.com/Life-After-College-Complete-Getting/dp/0762441275/&tag=benbrafilwebd-20] For those of you who have just graduated from college and have some questions

Due to the Avengers [https://benjaminbrandt.com/the-avengers/] hype and some travel, I didn't get as much reading down this month. But here's what I got through despite it all: [http://build.codepoet.com/2012/05/11/wordpress-meet-responsive-design/] WordPress Meet Responsive Design by Michael Pick [http://build.codepoet.com/2012/

[https://benjaminbrandt.com/wedding/] In less than 3 months I'm getting married to the love of my life :) And I just launched the website [https://benjaminbrandt.com/wedding/]for our wedding! It was probably the most fun I've had making a website so far, and I'm really happy with how

[http://sethgodin.typepad.com/]Seth Godin wrote in his post, "The quickest way to get things done and make change [http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/05/the-quickest-way-to-get-things-done-and-make-change-and.html] ": > Not the easiest, but the quickest:Don't demand authority. Eagerly take responsibility. Relentlessly give credit. So what does this mean

[http://www.codecademy.com/] Looking for a great way to learn some programming? Codecademy [http://www.codecademy.com/]is an awesome place to start! Right now they only have lessons for JavaScript [http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/javascript]and HTML/CSS [http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/web], but Python is

I love to read. Whether it's diving into a good story and grappling with some non-fiction, I love the ability of words to transfer ideas and emotions from one person to another. So here's some books and blogs that caught my eyes this month and I want to pass along

Yesterday one of my first websites for a client went live! It was for Dubacano Export Import Inc. [http://dubacanoexport.com] and you can check it out here [http://dubacanoexport.com]. They deal largely with the importing and exporting of fruit, so if you are looking for someone in that

Steve Jobs, A man who will be missed. Our world will not be the same without him, and will be forever changed because of him. He inspired generations of people with not just products, but a lifestyle. He facilitated genius, allowing them to reach new heights. I am able to

With all the media and information pummeling us every single day, how do you get inspired? Do you have to pull away from it all? Or do you just soak it all in? I find that while I can be inspired by what I consume, sometimes to really get the

I have begun a 90 day series of "blogging workouts" if you will, thanks to John Saddington over at Tentblogger [http://tentblogger.com] in his forums [http://tentblogger.com/forums]. If you are interested at all in blogging you should really check this out. You have to pay a little