Archive for the ‘Projects’ Category
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Well, because of moving, I have to replace two items on my 101 Things list. Those are:
- Run home from the gym
- Go in the Contours 6 week challenge
Because I am forced to close my membership with Contours, I can’t do them anymore, which is sad – but it does open up two places for different goals, which is rather exciting! So, I’ve been thinking about it and decided to change them to these:
- Get a DSLR Camera
- Settle into a smooth weekly routine
The second one is so whitebread, isn’t it? But, I rather miss the days as a kid where I didn’t have to think too hard about what I was going to do at any given time, because it was normally already decided. Of course it will never be THAT simple again, but I want to run my life as efficiently as I can, so I don’t have to think hard about the things I know I have to do. I know that when I do think hard…. I tend to procrastinate. As much as I HATE procrastination, it’s my default state…. to do nothing. To have fun over taking care of necessary evils. It’s only rewarding in the short term and I really need to break the habit! I think that a good routine should allow me to do that.
As for the camera- well, I do not currently own a camera. I use my sister’s point-and-shoot if I have to have one, but I want my own… and I thought, I really want to take GOOD photos for once. I can take decent ones with a P&S, but I really would like to get to know a manual focus. I much prefer the depth effect of a more professional photo than the flat image you get with a P&S camera. Hence, I’ve decided to buy a beginner’s DSLR. For those that don’t know, it’s the kind of camera professionals use (though the one I get will be on the cheaper end – I can’t spend thousands thanks!!), with removable lenses and all kinds of manual settings. I don’t know much about them yet, but I figure I will learn as I go. I am definitely interested in learning. Photography is something that will partner very well with my CG graphics. I can even write it off as a business expense.
Tags: ambition, goals, procrastination, productivity
Posted in 101 things, Personal News, Projects | 3 Comments »
Friday, January 8th, 2010
Yeah, I’m a sucker for these things.
Also on Skippy’s blog was a reference to 101 things in 1001 days, a long-term goals project focusing on doing a set list of things in the ensuing 1001 days precisely. For me, the end date is going to be Friday, 5 October 2012 (calculated using this tool). That’s shortly before the Mayan apocalypse, right?
Anyway, I have finished my list and here it is! I’ll be 
ticking them off as I go.
- Get a full-time job that I don’t hate
- Read the Hitchhiker’s Guide series
- Make one new local offline friend
- Quit Woolworths (in conjunction with #1)
- If I can’t buy a house yet, at least save up $10,000+
- Get down to 85kg or lighter, and keep it that way
- Get the matching tattoos my sister and I have been planning since we were in England
- Actually edit a NaNoWriMo novel
- Try to get novel published
- Hold the “plank” exercise for 60 seconds or more
- Go to the gym twice in one day
- Go to the gym every day from Monday-Saturday (it’s closed Sundays) for at least one week
- See a psychiatrist about my anxiety
- Have my gonadectomy
- Release the first issue of Ather & Earth
- Visit New Zealand
- Go on a road trip
- Go to the beach and go in the water (you’d think this would be an easy one, considering I live right by a beach… but I just never go)
- Get up early enough to watch the sun rise over the lake
- Pay off my Barter Card balance and close my account
- Learn to use a Javascript library
- Own a smart phone, preferably a Google one
- Visit the Blue Mountains
- Find out if I’m allergic to any food
- Have a shift at Woolworths where I do not want to scream in frustration
- Go one day without coffee
- Go two days without using a computer or video game of any kind
- Go one month where I work on Ather & Earth every single day.
- Go a month without buying anything made of chocolate or chocolate flavoured or containing chocolate
- Settle into a smooth weekly routine
- Drink 2 litres of water in one day
- Earn over $40k in one year
- Radically change my hair
- Spend a night out without having a panic attack
- Cook a gourmet meal on my own
- Connect my computer to my TV to become a Media Centre
- Buy better wheels for my rollerskates
- Quit playing Bejeweled
- Visit 24 hour K-Mart between 1am and 4am, just ’cause
- Visit Jamberoo Action Park
- Buy a DSLR camera
- Move to a bigger house
- Be complimented on my home by a visitor
- Drink a large Boost Juice
- Catch and eat a fish
- Get a perfect score on Rhythm Kung Fu (Advanced) in Wii Fit Plus
- Refrain from eating anything sugary on Christmas Day
- Buy that Beatles collection on the USB flash drive in the green apple
- Make delicious cocktails at home
- Roast green coffee beans in a popcorn maker
- Watch all Tom Baker Doctor Who episodes
- Buy a block of chocolate and eat it over the space of a week rather than all at once
- Win something. Anything.
- Finish at least the first draft of at least two novels
- Get my car’s headlights fixed
- Build a new shoe rack
- Learn how to use the washer-dryer properly
- Go one month without seeing an insect or arachnid in the house
- Go on a waterslide
- Get a kitten
- Meet three people in person that I met online
- Clean up my Gmail and keep up with all the emails instead of just looking at them all, sighing, and closing the tab
- Visit Uluru
- Get revenge on someone
- Bake fresh bread
- Go to bed at 9:30pm
- Spend a full day exclusively in bed except for using the bathroom
- Make a really horribly designed website for fun
- Live in the Greater Wollongong area
- Eat a taco
- Brew stout beer
- Make tiramisu
- Find a cake wreck and submit it to Cake Wrecks
- Make steak and stout pot pies
- Consider myself a responsible adult
- See Melbourne when it’s sunny
- Finish Final Fantasy V
- Feel financially secure
- Skate backwards for three laps at the skating rink
- Make scouse
- Make Irish soda bread
- Make soda bread ice cream
- Go to Bowral
- Borrow a book from the local library
- Make real buttermilk pancakes topped with sliced strawberries and pure maple syrup
- See the New Years fireworks in Sydney Harbour
- Have a picnic on the grass
- Wander the Haywards Bay home display village
- Take my parents out to dinner
- Learn how to take care of my car properly
- Make a sand sculpture
- Visit Caringbah Shopping Village for the first time since 2007
- Eat at Outback Steakhouse
- Buy a deck of Uno cards
- Visit the Southern Gateway Centre
- Walk on the Sea Cliff Bridge
- Stay awake for 35 hours straight, and see if I start hallucinating
- Get some new bedroom décor
- Make an animated short
- Eat at the Nan Tien Temple
- Go hang-gliding
Tags: driving, Empty Promises, goals, holiday, NaNoWriMo, organisation, p52, productivity, Projects, Webcomic, Websites, writing
Posted in 101 things, Ather, Novels, Personal News, Projects, Travel, Web Design and Development | 8 Comments »
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
Today, I was challenged by my English friend Skippy to participate in Project 52. The concept is to make at least one blog post per week for the entire 2010. Knowing that I need challenges such as this to actually be motivated, I accepted. I have never been able to get into writing a blog- maybe this will help me?
Given that today is the 7th of January, the week is nearly up so I’m getting in right away!
You might also have notice I still have not updated some of the pages on this site… I really need to get that done but first, I have to finish off some client websites. I was told off by one client for taking time off during the holidays. Heaven forbid I get a break in my work schedule.
Yeah, you might be able to tell I am having a lot of troubles with my business. I didn’t realise people could be as fussy as they are, and I never realised just how hard it could be to communicate. But that’s not the worst part. I am just not cut out to work for myself. I haven’t got enough of a work ethic to pull it off. I can work for a boss, but I am a terrible boss of myself. Does that make sense to anyone else?
Tags: business, goals, p52, Projects, Websites, Work
Posted in Personal News, Projects, Web Design and Development | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
So, it’s been a while since I first came up with my comic idea. A long while, in fact. And hey… I’ve finally started on it. Spiffers, huh?
So far, I’ve digitally inked two pages (after having sketched their drafts last night). I will only post these two pages on this blog… because I want the rest not to be spoilt when I upload the full comic book to a new website!
The comic still does not have a decisive title yet. Working title is Ather and Earth, named for the two worlds the comic visits.
Click “Continue Reading” below to see the two pages.
(more…)
Tags: comics, drawing, productivity, Webcomic
Posted in Ather, Projects | No Comments »
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
Hey people! I gave up on my blog when it was all weird with bizarre symbols. But I was going through my email spambox when I found a comment on one of my entries. So I popped on over here and like magic, it was as though nothing had ever happened. Sweet.
Well, I don’t have much time right now as I have to get ready for work soon, but suffice to say that there is A LOT to catch up on!
- The largest change has been my change of address. I now live with my sister in a 2 bedroom villa. It’s not that large but it’s cosy and a good size for just the two of us. I have a queen size bed now which is awesome.
- Business is still chugging along, though it stalled for a while there. Not making much money at this point, but what the hey. I’m making a little. Just working out kinks in my process. Working on four sites currently.
- Comic has been on hold since Script Frenzy. Haven’t felt like it but I plan to start drawing at that moment of inspiration. It will come eventually. :-/
- I skimmed Drawing the Line a couple of months ago, and decided that it sucked beyond repair. I consider it my practice novel and nothing more. The plot is just too pathetic.
- Next month I’ve booked a trip for my sis and I to go to Melbourne. I paid for it all since I owe her money.
- I own a laptop again. Brand new from Catch of the Day. I made sure it had a dual core processor so I wouldn’t get frustrated with how long it took to do ANYTHING such as even load a browser, unlike the Compaq Presario I bought off Dad for $150.
- I am a member of Contours gym. It was really tough for the first few weeks. I got so sore all the time. Now I don’t get sore but do get muscular fatigue for about 4 hours after I go, so I make sure I do it in the late afternoon so I can focus on working during the day. I’m seeing an improvement in my strength, but my weight hasn’t decreased at all. Hopefully it’s due to my big, heavy, bulging muscles.
So that’s a quick update on my life right now. Will try to fill it greater details when I have a bit more time 
Later!
Tags: business, comics, Empty Promises, NaNoWriMo, News, organisation, Projects, Work, writing
Posted in Drawing the Line, Personal News, Projects, Travel, Web Design and Development | 2 Comments »
Friday, May 1st, 2009
I have two Website clients as we speak!
Sure they’re not getting me much money, but the more sites I do the more my name gets out there, and that can only be a good thing.
Dad signed me up for Barter Card a few days ago – and that’s what brought one of my clients to me. It’s not “real” money, but it doesn’t matter, so long as I find things to buy with my BC credits, and others see my little icon at the bottom of every website I build so that cash customers find me.
Not only that, but the more clients I get, the better it will be for my whole system. I’ll learn the ins and outs much quicker since I’m a Barter Card member and attracting more jobs. Barter Card isn’t for everyone but I think it can certainly benefit me in those ways.
So… I’m pretty happy with business right now. Never mind my lack of actual money form the business. That’s what NEIS is for anyway.
Tags: business, goals, NEIS, Projects, site flight, Websites, Work
Posted in Personal News, Projects, Web Design and Development | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
I ordered a brand new, fully customised PC yesterday, because my laptop’s power stopped working. AGAIN! Apparently, I’m doomed to forever have broken power adapters, if indeed that’s the problem this time around.
Never mind though, because this new computer is giving me a geekgasm. Check out the sexy spec.
- Processor : Intel® Core™2 Duo ‘E8400′ (3.0GHz, 6M cache) ;
- Memory : 4GB DDR2 Ram ;
- Hard Disk : 1TB SATA Hard Disk; 32MB cache ;
- Video Card : 512MB nVidia® GeForce 9500GT with TV-out & DVI ;
- Monitor : 24″ wide LCD w/ Speakers; 1920×1080 res; 2ms response time wide ;
- Network Card : On-board gigabit LAN ;
- Wireless LAN : 54 Mbps Wireless-G adaptor ;
- DVD Writer/Blu-Ray : DVD +/- RW Dual Layer Drive ;
- Firewire : 3-port IEEE1394 PCI Card ;
- Sound Card : Onboard 6-channel High Definition Audio ;
- Keyboard (Mouse) : Keyboard + Optical Mouse (Logitech) ;
- Card Reader : Internal Memory Card Reader/Writer (CF/SD/MMC/SM/MD/MS) ;
- Operating System : Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional ;
- Warranty : 2-Year Return to Base Limited Hardware Warranty
Monitor 3-Year Manufacturer Limited Warranty ;
… All for $1600.
On top of that, I’ve spent a few days setting up a home office in my bedroom. It’s looking good but not yet finished. I’ll try to remember to post a photo once it’s ready.
Tags: computer, goals, laptop, organisation, Work
Posted in Personal News, Projects | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Hey everyone! Yesterday I submitted my Business Plan to the folks at the Illawarra ITeC. Today I completed most of what I need to do on Site Flight. Now, I need to create the templates needed for the Emerald package (I’ll need a minimum of 4, I think) and work out some contracts and agreements. I also need to make a Google Sitemap for it, and try and get some keywords woven through it, maybe, so it’ll have a higher Google exposure.
In the meantime you may have a peek at the website. Constructive critique and comments welcome.
Tags: goals, Internet, productivity, Projects, Websites
Posted in Internet, Projects, Web Design and Development | No Comments »
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Yikes, it’s been a while since my last blog. That is mainly due to my being unbelievably busy with NEIS work, website building (3 websites, mind you) and working at Woolworths on the weekends.
Site Flight has come in leaps and bounds since my last blog post, but I also spent a lot of time working on a website I don’t think I’ve mentioned here. It’s called the Illawarra Directory, and it’s something of a marketing gimmick that doubles as a useful free tool. Everybody wins! Except, perhaps, my competitors. It will be a business directory. I have a development area with the site as it is, but it’s currently password protected so you won’t be able to view it at the moment.
So anyway, if you want to see how Site Flight is coming along, just click here. So far I’ve created a number of pages, all of which I am pretty proud of. It’s absolutely the most aesthetically pleasing site I’ve ever made, and also the least reliant on tables. I don’t fully understand what’s so terrible about table-based design (I listen to the arguments against them, but it still doesn’t click), but it’s admonished by a lot of website designers, so what the hey. Gotta keep with the current standards and all that.
As for NEIS, phew! For a two-days-a-week course, it’s incredibly hectic. The problems lie in what we have to do when we’re not there.
Oh, and it doesn’t help that on Tuesday next week we’re each meant to spend 10 minutes in front of the class… doing something. What we do is apparently up to us. WHAT THE…?! How am I supposed to think of something? Seriously, that’s lame. Why can’t we be given SOMETHING to work off. Free reign is great, but for this sort of thing? Gah!
Tags: Internet, NEIS, Projects, Websites
Posted in Internet, Personal News, Projects, Web Design and Development | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Obviously, my website will be the greatest asset in my business. So naturally I’ve spent loads of time getting the design just the way I want it. But, it’s only the design so far and it’s not complete yet (link styles are undefined, for example).
Click the thumbnail to have a sneak peek.
Edit 4/2/09: I have changed it a bit. Turns out the style for the .lightbg div was lacking the capability of expanding with my left and right main columns. This is an experimental fix. I have Firefox 3, IE7 and Opera 9 and it works on all of them. I need to find out, however, if it works on other browsers. Can anybody help me out?
The main reason I ask is because it made Dreamweaver 8 go a bit bonkers. What I did was changed the float property of .lightbg to “left”. I couldn’t find any other way of fixing it.
Tags: Internet, Projects, Websites, Work
Posted in Art, Design, Internet, Projects, Web Design and Development | 4 Comments »
