Welcome to Bob's Guides

I put up this site to remind me how to do various things and to help others learn to do them as well. I also created the Words Matter site just for fun.

About Me

I grew up in Minnesota, but Minnesota (as you may have heard) is very cold in the winter and (as you may not have heard) very hot and humid in the summer (with blood-sucking bugs). I now spend much of the year living in my RV — winters in Florida and summers in the Pacific Northwest.

Bob

My father was a contractor before he became a college professor, and he taught me that if you set your mind to it you can build or fix just about anything. Today, most of my fixing and building skills are focused on web programming and remodeling/repairing my RV.

One of my great pleasures in life is writing. I've written a number of books, including MODX: The Official Guide and I've published some poems and stories, but lately I get more pleasure out of writing code. Most of what I write is PHP code designed to augment the MODX Content Management System.

Hire Me

There are people who are paid consistently for their contributions to MODX, but I'm not one of them. Most of what I do is a labor of love (e.g., the 21,000+ posts on the MODX Forums and my 30+ MODX add-on components).

I've reached a point in my career where I can be selective about the jobs I take. Here are some things I consider when offered new work:

  • Can I do it well?
  • Will it be fun?
  • Can I share it with the MODX community
  • Can I finish it in a few days of concentrated work?
  • Will I learn something new?
  • Is it crystal clear what needs to be done?

Most of the jobs I accept involve writing custom PHP snippets, plugins, and output modifiers to accomplish a specific purpose. I very rarely do "web sites" and almost never do site design (looking at this site, you might think I'm not that good at it, but really, I just don't care that much about it). I also do occasional MODX troubleshooting for people whose sites are misbehaving.

If you're interested in getting in touch with me, please do so through this site's Contact Form.

More About Me

Here are some things I am or have been interested in: MODX development, software architecture, UI design, extreme skiing, competitive windsurfing, playing pool, composing and playing music on various instruments (saxophone, guitar, piano, chromatic harmonica) in a half-dozen different bands, photography, wilderness canoeing, hiking, kite-flying, fishing, bread baking, and bicycling.

You can also see my profiles on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you for visiting BobsGuides.com

  —  Bob Ray