I started writing a “What’s wrong with my favorite apps” post almost a year ago (May, 2006). It’s been sitting in my MarsEdit drafts folder ever since (yay, MarsEdit drafts!).

I stumbled upon it today and found this choice bit of commentary on MarsEdit itself. I find myself frequently responding to the concerns of users by saying “Yes, I agree! I want to fix that!” Well, this isn’t proof that I really mean it, but it’s pretty good evidence:

MarsEdit. MarsEdit is, like NetNewsWire, extremely helpful to my daily routines. I tend to write a lot of blog entries, so I keep MarsEdit open even if only to capture vaguely bloggable ideas. In fact, this entry has sat in MarsEdit for a few days [UPDATE: Almost a year :) ] as I accumulate enough applications and opinions to make it worth posting.

My biggest complaint about MarsEdit is its lack of a search facility. This has everything to do with this “capturing ideas” behavior of mine. At any given moment I have the last several of my published blog entries as well as a number of drafts stored in the application. Right now there are 31 items in the Drafts folders. That’s right, 31 items that you don’t have to read (yet!). [UPDATE. Now it’s 52]

When I want to resume work on any of those drafts, it’s infuriating to not be able to easily pop it open by searching on a unique keyword. I went so far as to write an AppleScript aimed at performing the search for me, but alas MarsEdit’s scripting interface doesn’t allow access to the text of drafts, either.

MarsEdit needs a search field just like its cousin NetNewsWire has.

So, believe me! I care. I want this thing to rock, and I’m in a very good position to make sure that happens.

Oh and incidentally, I wonder sometimes if people will suspect me of “carpetbagging” this target audience. I mean, here I am I just pulling into town with a truck full of shiny new blog editor. But I have been interested in writing a blog editing application for a long time! In fact, I’ve even got some stale abandoned projects around here somewhere. In 2003 or so I noticed Michael McCracken’s open-source Blapp and seriously considered diving in. I thought with support for a few more blog systems it could really kick ass. You know, like MarsEdit.

A few years later I was deep into WordPress and again considered writing my own custom client. This time I was using MarsEdit, but hoping for even better integration with WordPress. Luckily, I never started that project. Also luckily, I am going to be able to finish it.

By now there’s a good chance you’ve heard about the exceedingly silly ripoff of Dan Cederholm’s new SimpleBits logo. Basically, this graphics clearinghouse called LogoMaid made the mistake of acquiring, and proceeding to offer for sale, a logo that has an undeniable resemblance to Dan’s original art. A forgiveable mistake, maybe – but the problem is LogoMaid refuses to admit any wrongdoing.

The discussion thread on the Flickr page is worth at least skimming through. I got sort of wrapped up in the drama and read most of it. It was mostly back-and-forth between “everybody reasonable” and the LogoMaid representative, who makes himself look like an idiot repeatedly.

But I was inspired by parts where Dan explained that the original design of the logo was inspired by rotating a simple curly brace four times to build an enlosing shape. I’m attracted by these simple “creativity starters,” and while I’m not a designer, I do rank “design skills” among those that I would absolutely love being able to snap my fingers and acquire.

So every once in a while I try to spend a little time working towards developing them. Usually this just means trying to figure out Illustrator’s Pathfinder. Again. And then saving off the doodlings and going on about my work. But this time, in honor of Dan’s “rotated glyph technique,” and as an excuse to help spread the word about this appalling case of theft, I decided to share my creations.

Two “logos” inspired by Dan Cederholm and the SimpleBits logo.

Beanflakes, Inc.

Popcorn Luau, LLC

In each logo, the border is a collection of asterisk characters, arranged to form a sort of container. Inside is a “hand-drawn” shape – a tribute to the Cederholm cube.

The last time I invoked boating metaphors, it was to support my belief that the best way to achieve your goals isn’t always by aiming directly towards them. I should disclaim the fact that I haven’t actually sailed enough to qualify making broad generalizations about life, but there’s something about piloting a boat that makes you think deep thoughts.

In fact, just thinking about boating can have this effect. Spring is here, and the Community Boating Center in Boston will soon be opening its doors for the season. I plan to get back down there and put some more hours into zig-zagging (tacking) my way up and down that short stretch of the Charles River. A great way to get away from the computer and unwind for a while.

One of the great qualities of the center is how much power they give individual members, even complete newbies, to control the course of their sailing education. After just a couple hours of safety instruction, you can be out on your own in a small boat, even if you’ve never sailed before. Of course, this isn’t recommended. A more usual approach is to first spend some time with sailing mentors, who will take you out and let you learn the ropes (finally, not a metaphor!) with the comfort of knowing an experienced sailor is there to handle any emergencies.

On my first day, I was anxious to go out by myself but decided it would be smart to go out at least once with a mentor. I ended up on the largest boat they have, and there were about 5 of us on board. This complicated beast of a boat was way over my head. I was periodically asked to tug on this or that rope, but I didn’t understand anything. While another newbie sat across from me and seemed to be having a blast, I was wondering whether I would like sailing after all. I realized of course that I wasn’t having any fun because I was merely a passenger. Worse, a passenger who has to take orders even if he doesn’t understand them.

When the opportunity to disembark came, I jumped at the chance. I went straight back to the pier and asked the dockmaster for my own boat. My frustration had fueled my desire to learn how to sail on my own terms, in my own boat. What’s the worst that could happen? I could get the boat stuck under the bridge. Embarrassing. I could capsize. Embarrassing, slightly dangerous, and dirty. No matter – I’d rather crash my own boat than be a useless passenger on theirs.

Of course this story is just a monster of a metaphor for many decisions we face in life. My decision to splash out on my own that day was not unlike my decision to become an independent software developer. I suspect that readers will find themselves resoundingly in agreement with or confused by these decisions. The reaction has to do with whether you’re a sitter or a steerer. There’s nothing wrong with being one or the other, but you should get comfortable with your own attitudes in that regard. Sitting is safe and highly predictable. You’ll know where you’re going and approximately how long it takes to get there. Steering is sometimes chaotic and steeped in responsibility. You probably can’t even control exactly where you end up, but when you get there, you’ll know exactly which route you happened to take. And you’ll celebrate or regret that route. Your route.

I should point out that sitting vs. steering isn’t as simple as flying solo vs. working with a team. The best companies are filled with both types of people. If your ambition is to steer, you can do so within a Fortune 500 company or in your spare bedroom. You can collectively steer a giant ocean liner like Apple, where thousands of co-captains secretly plot out the company’s destiny. Or you can join the Google Regatta, where a thousand little sloops flitter in the wind yet move vaguely in the same direction.

Or you can sit back and enjoy the ride.

I always like how the first update after 1.0 looks like some kind of a made-for-TV college course on the subject of the application. If you’re ready to enroll in Black Ink 101, you’ll be pleased by the following small but important bug fixes:

• Fix a crash when loading puzzles of differing height/width (e.g. 15×16)
• Fix inconsistencies in respecting “insertion movement” preferences

Happy solving!