Posts Tagged ‘Projects’

101 Things in 1001 Days

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.

  1. Get a full-time job that I don’t hate
  2. Read the Hitchhiker’s Guide series
  3. Make one new local offline friend
  4. Quit Woolworths (in conjunction with #1)
  5. If I can’t buy a house yet, at least save up $10,000+
  6. Get down to 85kg or lighter, and keep it that way
  7. Get the matching tattoos my sister and I have been planning since we were in England
  8. Actually edit a NaNoWriMo novel
  9. Try to get novel published
  10. Hold the “plank” exercise for 60 seconds or more
  11. Go to the gym twice in one day
  12. Go to the gym every day from Monday-Saturday (it’s closed Sundays) for at least one week
  13. See a psychiatrist about my anxiety
  14. Have my gonadectomy
  15. Release the first issue of Ather & Earth
  16. Visit New Zealand
  17. Go on a road trip
  18. 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)
  19. Get up early enough to watch the sun rise over the lake
  20. Pay off my Barter Card balance and close my account
  21. Learn to use a Javascript library
  22. Own a smart phone, preferably a Google one
  23. Visit the Blue Mountains
  24. Find out if I’m allergic to any food
  25. Have a shift at Woolworths where I do not want to scream in frustration
  26. Go one day without coffee
  27. Go two days without using a computer or video game of any kind
  28. Go one month where I work on Ather & Earth every single day.
  29. Go a month without buying anything made of chocolate or chocolate flavoured or containing chocolate
  30. Settle into a smooth weekly routine
  31. Drink 2 litres of water in one day
  32. Earn over $40k in one year
  33. Radically change my hair
  34. Spend a night out without having a panic attack
  35. Cook a gourmet meal on my own
  36. Connect my computer to my TV to become a Media Centre
  37. Buy better wheels for my rollerskates
  38. Quit playing Bejeweled
  39. Visit 24 hour K-Mart between 1am and 4am, just ’cause
  40. Visit Jamberoo Action Park
  41. Buy a DSLR camera
  42. Move to a bigger house
  43. Be complimented on my home by a visitor
  44. Drink a large Boost Juice
  45. Catch and eat a fish
  46. Get a perfect score on Rhythm Kung Fu (Advanced) in Wii Fit Plus
  47. Refrain from eating anything sugary on Christmas Day
  48. Buy that Beatles collection on the USB flash drive in the green apple
  49. Make delicious cocktails at home
  50. Roast green coffee beans in a popcorn maker
  51. Watch all Tom Baker Doctor Who episodes
  52. Buy a block of chocolate and eat it over the space of a week rather than all at once
  53. Win something. Anything.
  54. Finish at least the first draft of at least two novels
  55. Get my car’s headlights fixed
  56. Build a new shoe rack
  57. Learn how to use the washer-dryer properly
  58. Go one month without seeing an insect or arachnid in the house
  59. Go on a waterslide
  60. Get a kitten
  61. Meet three people in person that I met online
  62. Clean up my Gmail and keep up with all the emails instead of just looking at them all, sighing, and closing the tab
  63. Visit Uluru
  64. Get revenge on someone
  65. Bake fresh bread
  66. Go to bed at 9:30pm
  67. Spend a full day exclusively in bed except for using the bathroom
  68. Make a really horribly designed website for fun
  69. Live in the Greater Wollongong area
  70. Eat a taco
  71. Brew stout beer
  72. Make tiramisu
  73. Find a cake wreck and submit it to Cake Wrecks
  74. Make steak and stout pot pies
  75. Consider myself a responsible adult
  76. See Melbourne when it’s sunny
  77. Finish Final Fantasy V
  78. Feel financially secure
  79. Skate backwards for three laps at the skating rink
  80. Make scouse
  81. Make Irish soda bread
  82. Make soda bread ice cream
  83. Go to Bowral
  84. Borrow a book from the local library
  85. Make real buttermilk pancakes topped with sliced strawberries and pure maple syrup
  86. See the New Years fireworks in Sydney Harbour
  87. Have a picnic on the grass
  88. Wander the Haywards Bay home display village
  89. Take my parents out to dinner
  90. Learn how to take care of my car properly
  91. Make a sand sculpture
  92. Visit Caringbah Shopping Village for the first time since 2007
  93. Eat at Outback Steakhouse
  94. Buy a deck of Uno cards
  95. Visit the Southern Gateway Centre
  96. Walk on the Sea Cliff Bridge
  97. Stay awake for 35 hours straight, and see if I start hallucinating
  98. Get some new bedroom décor
  99. Make an animated short
  100. Eat at the Nan Tien Temple
  101. Go hang-gliding

Project 52

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Project 52Today, 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?

Moving The Site

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Hey all.

If you haven’t been following me on Twitter, you probably do not know that I am currently transferring this domain name over to my reseller account on Flexihostings. As I do so, I will be fully updating and refreshing the website to look a little like this, all built together in WordPress.

This means that the site will  be down for a bit. I’m not sure how long. In fact I figured it would have already been transferred by now, but it apparently takes far longer to do so than I thought.

Anyway, just letting you know so that if you come along one day and get an error or something, there’s a reason.

In other news, I was in That’s Life! magazine a while back. I meant to post about it then, but you know how I am. Here is a link to the article on their website.

Back and Blogging Again!

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!

Clients!

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.

Site Flight Website: Almost Ready

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.

Hard Work

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!

First Design

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.

sfpredesign

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.

Still Deliberating

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

Well, I slept on it.

Repeatedly.

Still thinking about it.

I have a very strong leaning right now, though, to the reseller hosting of FlexiHostings. It has huge stats, the price is quite good, and there are unlimited client accounts, something which the other hosts don’t offer. The highest on NetLogistics is 30 (which is just too small if I want to do this long term) and the highest on MD is 100 (better, but the reviews are still bad).

The only question I have is about support, which I am waiting on a response for.

I will need to wait until next weekend to get the weekend special (buy 1 year get 2 years worth).

Until then, I have registered http://www.siteflight.com.au on MD. Yes, MD Web Hosting. It’s okay though; it’s only going to be my domain registrar.

On Friday, I got an ABN, Business Name Registration and potential client! I was text messaged by a girl that is also doing the NEIS course, and wants a quote. I’m waiting on an email from her explaining what she wants exactly. I’m not really ready to start trading yet, but whatever!

Hosting, hosting, hosting

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Oh man, there are so many hosts out there, and I don’t want to rush into things.

In my comments I’ve been recommended two hosts, plus there are some more that I have been looking at and may also be good, but it’s hard to tell. Some have very few reviews, some have some bad reviews, some have good reviews which may be suspect – how do I know they didn’t pay someone to write that review?

So, I am going to really have to think about this carefully, since it is something very important to my business. Now, my current international host servage.net has a lot of bad reviews out there, though except for the hacker I haven’t encountered any problems, and their support system is great. So it’s not only the good reviews I have to take with a grain of salt. Some decent companies can have their names tarnished by just a couple of angry customers – and given how huge Servage is, it’s natural that there are a handful of people that aren’t satisfied.

So I’m brought to a point where I may just have to fling myself at a host, and if I’m not satisfied with it, I’ll need to move.

Here are some of the plans weighed out. Included are the things I consider somewhat important.

Host: MD Flexi Hostings Net Logistics Web City XKO
Disk Space 0-20gb 1-300gb 1.5-2.5gb 5-100gb 0-10gb
Bandwidth 1-20 gigs 50-4,000 gigs 30-50 gigs 50-500 gigs 1-40 gigs
PHP and MySQL Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Add-on Domains 0-10* 0-3* 2-6 0-5 Unlimited
cPanel Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reseller or Referral Programs Yes Yes Yes No (apparently, this comes from a reseller program!) Yes
Price/Month $3-$40 $5-$23 $20-$40 $7-$20 $10-$55
Reviews Bad Not Great Good Not Great Good (but lacking in general)
*Unlimited for reseller plans

Now, I don’t necessarily want to be a reseller, but it might be good to have that option there.

So looking at these laid out this way, I can see that each company has its strengths and weaknesses. I suppose I have to ask myself what is most important to my business, taking into account the most balanced plans in the table.

MD Web Hosting has some awful reviews, but the cheapest domain registration (not shown in table) and okay plans. It also has a large reseller program.

FlexiHostings is, ironically, the least flexible when it comes to Add-on domains, offering no more than three. However, it is great in most of its other stats. If I chose this, I wouldn’t be able to host any client websites through my account if I wanted to do so. It also has the odd scathing review. Bonus: I have had a personal recommendation.

Net Logistics is well-rounded, but can be pricey. It offers a reseller program, but comes short of FlexiHostings in terms of most of its stats. It may allow for up to 6 domains, but that hosting is $40 per month, which is simply too much for my fledgling business. I can actually get better value, in respect to this factor, at FlexiHostings.

Web City is apparently an offshoot part of the Enetica reseller program, and supposedly may have congestion problems (though I’m sure it’s probably better than Servage). It is quite good in its other respects, however. This is heavily edited thanks to comment #1; I was misinformed. Bonus: I have had a personal recommendation.

XKO is a little bit of an enigma. Its plans aren’t spelt out that well, but it seems like a nice little business. I think it may be a small operation compared to the rest, which I do want to support. Plus they have the whole “green web hosting” thing going on, which is pretty cool.

So, which one?

I just don’t know. I will sleep on it. Feel free to help me out if you want, but I guess the decision is ultimately my own.