IEEE / Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Incorporated

Market also focussed on outcome of US Federal Reserve meeting later in the week

The Trump administration could stimulate economic growth in the US, which could help boost consumption demand in that country, say analysts

Global price drop led to 38% dip in nutrient-based fertilizer subsidy payout, impacting domestic fertilizer sales

Top official sources say that the Prime Minister’s Office is keen to see the use of sweet sorghum as an additional feedstock for ethanol amid the issue with availability of sugarcane, rice and maize in some years

If you’re a Non-Resident Indian eyeing India’s growth story, here are the basics that matter

Liquid ETFs, trading on both NSE and BSE, predominantly invest in TREPS, which ensures daily returns, very low volatility, no interest or credit risk.

The New York Times Book Review of January 18, 2009 features President Obama Election 2008: A Collection of Newspaper Front Pages Selected by the Poynter Institute at #28 on the Paperback NonFiction Best Seller List

About The Poynter Institute

Founded in 1975, The Poynter Institute is a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders. It promotes excellence and integrity in the practice of craft and in the practical leadership of successful businesses. It stands for a journalism that informs citizens and enlightens public discourse. It carries forward Nelson Poynter's belief in the value of independent journalism in the public interest. As a financially independent, nonprofit organization, The Poynter Institute is beholden to no interest except its own mission: to help journalists seek and achieve excellence.

To purchase: http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740784803

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s review of President Obama Election 2008: A Collection of Newspaper Front Pages Selected by the Poynter Institute on Sunday (1/19/09) includes the following:

Everyone should probably grab one as a momento, but for sheer fun, the best of the commemoratives is President Obama/Election 2008: A Collection of Newspaper Front Pages from the Poynter Institute (Andrews McMeel). It gathers dull headlines (“Historic Victory”), witty ones (the Tulsa World’s, “Yes He Did”), and lovingly local riffs (The Jakarta Post’s “Barry’s Done It!”).


President Obama
(ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-8480-4)

PWD pursuing the matter with NHAI, since such amenities will help drivers and others to take a break. ‘Humsafar policy’ of the Centre, launched a month ago, aims to accelerate development of wayside amenities beside highways, if need be with private participation

Additionally, CBIC clarified that for calculating the time limit to avail ITC under the Reverse Charge Mechanism, the relevant financial year will be when the recipient issues the invoice

Claims of non-MSME exporters not to be entertained beyond June 30, 2024, says DGFT

The policy offers no registration cost for strong hybrid vehicles and provides a subsidy of ₹1 lakh or 15% of the ex-factory cost to customers, with a total outlay of ₹250 crore for 25,000 units

Want to order ModaXL 200 mg in 2024? Read this guide and learn more about the smart drug ModaXL. Safety, correct dosages, possible side effects, best places to buy the nootropic and much more in this helpful review.

The residents, who for the last few days have been protesting in the riverine Sandeshkhali area, came out in the streets as they distributed sweets and danced in joy

Rahul Gandhi, in an election rally in Jammu, said the 2019 decision to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories was "a grave injustice"

Donald Trump’s victory dims the hopes of Arizona Democrats, who sought to continue their ascendance, which began with the 2018 flip of a longtime GOP-held Senate seat and continued in 2020 and 2022

Addressing a public rally in Jaffna in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka’s recently elected President assures conduct of provincial and local body elections; revival of industries in war-affected areas

Mr. Homan, who served in the Trump administration for a year and a half during his first term, is also a contender for secretary of homeland security

Trump plans to purge ‘woke’ generals and civil servants, prioritising loyalty and potentially creating chaos in the military

Nikki Haley, who challenged Mr. Trump for the GOP nomination, was among those who previously held the role in his first term.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili calls for fresh elections amid allegations of electoral fraud, sparking crisis and international concern

The remarks came as Saudi Arabia held an extraordinary summit of Arab and Islamic leaders in Riyadh.

People residing in the colonies at Ferry, Kondapalli and Ibrahimpatnam organised a protest and appealed to the government to protect them from pollution

The SIDBI shall provide financial assistance to all MSMEs under its various schemes, identify better marketing strategies and increase their opportunities, says O. Anand

The U.S. presidential race is poised on a knife’s edge

The spirit of the mandate of the presidential poll was clear — for change

Anti-graft moves should not be overshadowed by political motive

Trump and Harris offer U.S. voters vastly different choices 

Online petition halts re-homing of 16-year-old cat in London

The return of the climate denier as head of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter threatens to throw net-zero negotiations into disarray once again

Addressing an event of an educational institution in New Delhi, the Vice-President said it is time to "bid adieu to this"

The Hindu Sikh Global Forum members are marching towards the High Commission in the Chanakyapuri area

Exploring the relevance of Indian-ness in our leaders

A matter-of-fact, yet reflective, memoir of a veteran politician

The Minister said the Centre increased subsidy to protect farmers interest, and added that it is likely to come down

Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list India's Most Valuable ODI Players in the India - West Indies series.

The Coimbatore police question IMK youth wing leader for threatening to “chop off editor’s tongue”, sparking legal action and protests

The pond at Runway Nagar, Kottapattu, which was deepened a few months ago, is now filled with water after recent rain. Residents are worried that it may overflow and the stagnant water might become a haven for snakes and insects.

Drew McLellan puts the chairs up on the tables, sweeps the floor, and closes off our season, and indeed the entire 24 ways project with a look back at what it’s meant to run this site as a site project, and what impact side projects can have on the work we do. Will the last one out turn off Christmas the lights?

Brought to you by The CSS Layout Workshop. Does developing layouts with CSS seem like hard work? How much time could you save without all the trial and error? Are you ready to really learn CSS layout?

Fifteen years ago, on a bit of a whim, I decided it would be fun to have a Web Standards version of something like the Perl Advent calendar. A simple website with a new tip or trick each day leading the readers through December up until Christmas.

I emailed a bunch of friends that kept web design and development themed blogs (remember those?) suggesting the idea and asking if they’d like to contribute. My vision had been that each post would be a couple of paragraphs of information. A small nugget of an idea, or a tip, or a suggestion. What happened was something really amazing. I began to receive really insightful blog posts containing some of the most valuable writing I’d seen online all year.

Look at this piece from Ethan Marcotte on Centered Tabs with CSS, or this detailed piece on scripting block quotes from Jeremy Keith. I was blown away, and the scene was set.

Collaboration

What I hadn’t anticipated in 2005 was that this little side project would turn into a fixture of the industry calendar, would introduce me to a raft of field experts, and would have me working with an eclectic team of collaborators for fifteen long seasons.

And that last point is crucial. I’ve by no means produced this alone. Rachel Andrew has been a constant supporter in helping each year to see the light of day and producing our ebooks. After a couple of years, Brian Suda stepped in to help me plan and select authors. In 2008, I managed to persuade Tim Van Damme to replace my very basic site design with something altogether more fitting. In 2010, Anna Debenham came on board initially to help with the production of articles, but rapidly became a co-producer working with me on all aspects of the content. Owen Gregory joined up that same year to help with the proofing and editing of articles, and for many years did a fantastic job writing the home page article teasers, which are now but a shadow of their former selves.

Also in 2010, we produced a book in collaboration with Five Simple Steps and raising funds in the memory of Remy and Julie’s daughter, Tia Sharp.

In 2013, Paul Robert Lloyd stepped up to the plate to provide us with the design you see today, which not only subtly shifts colours between each day, but across the years as well. Compare the reds of 2005 to the purples of 2019, and the warm tones of a Day 1 to its correspondingly cool Day 24. It’s a terrific piece of work.

In 2014 we won a Net Award for Best Collaborative Project at a fancy ceremony in London. Many past authors were there, and as it was an aware for our collaborative efforts, we all posed with the glassware for photos.

Looking back, looking forward

But even I, Sea Captain Belly Button am not enough of a navel gazer to just be writing an article just about this website. As we draw our fifteenth and final year to a close, it’s important to reflect on what can be learned. Not from the articles (so much!) or from the folly of committing to a nightly publishing schedule for a month every year for fifteen years (don’t do it!) but from the value in starting something not because you have to, but just because you want to. From scratching an itch. From working with a friend just because you love spending time with them. Or for doing something because you see the opportunity for good.

As web designers and developers, we have the opportunity to turn the skills we use in our profession to so many different purposes. In doing so you never know what good might come from it.

Seeing the good

This week I asked around to find out what good others have seen from their side projects. Long time 24 ways contributor Simon Willison had this to say:

Basically every job I’ve ever had relates back to a side-project in some way

— Simon Willison (@simonw) December 17, 2019

Simon went onto explain how it was a website side project that got him his first job in tech. After that, his personal blog lead him to getting a job at Lawrence Journal-World where he created Django. On his honeymoon, Simon and his new wife (and 24 ways contributor) Natalie Downe created Lanyrd, and Simon’s more recent Datasette project landed him a JSK Fellowship at Stanford. That’s an impressive record of side projects, for sure.

Others had similar stories. My good friend Meri Williams is currently CTO of challenger bank Monzo, as well as being a trustee at Stonewall and Chair of The Lead Developer conference.

I got asked to write the book you tech reviewed off the back of a Meetup talk.

Chairing @TheLeadDev has led to me getting to hire & work with so many new brilliant people, as well as getting me multiple CTO gigs (both perm & interim)

Got the gig chairing Lead Dev after meeting @RuthYarnit at a dev meet-up in the basement of a pub in Reading (which I think @drewm you also spoke at / introduced me to!)

Leading LGBTQ employee network at P&G eventually led to my applying for board role at Stonewall

— Meri Williams ???????????? (@Geek_Manager) December 18, 2019

Again, an impressive list of achievements, and I’m sure both Simon and Meri would have eventally found other routes to their individual success, but the reality is they did it through side projects. Through being present and active, contributing a little to their communities, and receiving so much more back in return.

Of course, not all projects have to be directly related to the web or software to be fulfilling. Of course they don’t. Mark Small and Jack Shoulder embraced their love of a good rear end and created MuseumBums, informally cataloging perfect posteriors for your perusing pleasure. On its success, Mark says:

Ok! We’ve been profiled in the Cambridge Independent, the Sun and the Metro; raised money for Prostate Cancer UK; created a little community of museum fans who aren’t afraid to be a bit silly online; and we’ve got a list of big ideas for developing our ????????️???? offer further! ????

— Marky Smallstice ???????????? (@thehistoryb0y) December 17, 2019

Jack adds:

We’ve also got a shout out on @BBCRadio4 and helped a beloved museum achieve record numbers of visitors.

Wow. It’s been a *year*

— Jack Frost (@jackshoulder) December 17, 2019

I had so many heartwarming responses to my request for stories, I really recommend you go over to the thread on Twitter and read it. It’s been one of my favourite set of replies in a long time.

Focussing on what’s important

As the years progressed, more and more publications sprang up both at Christmas and throughout the year with how-to articles explaining techniques. As a natural response, 24 ways started mixing up solution-based articles with bigger picture takes on a wider range of topics, but always with a practical takeaway to impress your friends.

After the embarrassment of white dudes that dominated the early years, we actively sought to open the opportunity to write to a wider and more diverse range of experts. While I don’t think we ever got as much racial diversity in our lineup as I would have liked to have achieved, I’m very proud that each season has been closely gender-balanced since 2012. This is something that was never forced or remotely hard to achieve, all it took was an awareness of the potential for bias.

Calling time

With all the benefits that side projects can bring, it’s also important to be mindful of downsides. Not every project will take flight, and those that do can also start to consume valuable time. That’s fine while it’s fun and you’re seeing the benefits, but it’s neither fun or healthy long-term to have no time away from something that might otherwise be your job.

Spending time with family, friends, and loved ones is equally important especially at this time of year. Just as anyone who does a lot of sport or fitness will tell you about the value of rest days between your activities to let the body recover, time away from ‘work’ is important to do the same for your brain.

Having run this site every Christmas for 15 seasons, it’s time to take a breather and give it a rest. Who knows if we might return in the future, but no promises. It’s been a good run, and an absolute privilege to provide this small tradition to the community I love.

So from me and the whole 24 ways family, Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

About the author

Drew McLellan is a developer and content management consultant from Bristol, England. He’s the lead developer for the popular Perch and Perch Runway content management systems, and public speaking portfolio site Notist. Drew was formerly Group Lead at the Web Standards Project, and a Search Innovation engineer at Yahoo!. When not publishing 24 ways, he keeps a personal site about web development, takes photos, tweets a lot and tries to stay upright on his bicycle.

More articles by Drew