Wednesday, March 8, 2006

In love with your strict machine. Having some distance from the Internet lately has really given me a fresh perspective on things. The fact that things have gone quiet with theOtaku until we find new programming staff has also helped. This interim period is definitely the time to try new things. Due to a serious lack of time over recent months, it's obviously been difficult to get things done. But I think one of the biggest problems in the past is that I've simply spread myself way too thin. Working on half a dozen sites simultaneously - particularly when most of them are very large projects - is just something I don't want to do anymore. I would rather work on one or two projects, where I can really focus my time on each and be a lot more thorough. One of the other concerns, apart from spreading myself too thin, is the difficulty of securing a programmer. Justin has been kind enough to offer to help me with various things, but I don't want to put too much pressure on him. I have been thinking about how I could remedy this problem and I think it may mostly come down to trading programming work for design work. Justin and I had talked about the possibility of him handling programming for my personal sites, while I provide all the design and imagery for his. I think that's probably a good solution, although I still worry that he may have too much work on his plate. For now, there are two main projects that I want to resume, now that my absence is over. First, Nintendo GameLink. I think there's still a need for it and most of the design work is complete; it's really just a programming issue now. The second project is called Hungry Head and it's something I've talked about before, although in its new form it may end up having a few differences. This latter project may involve hosting of some kind, depending on how things work out. As far as Otaku-related projects go, I've already mentioned that theOtaku and myOtaku are kind of on hiatus (although I am working on something for theOtaku right now - something small, but significant). OtakuBoards is really the only site that I'm focusing on at the moment and in general I'm happy with things there. The site is being run well by Dagger and Desbreko and I haven't had to step in and do anything there for the last two months. This definitely gives me time to think about where I can take the site in future, without being distracted by day-to-day stuff there. Annie-chan: Mardi Gras has been a cornerstone of Sydney's yearly events schedule since 1978. It actually began as a protest march and soon developed into a very broad event, which is centered around a week of festivities, culminating in a major parade at the end of the week. The parade itself is essentially a party, but it's still very much a real venue for protest - parade floats all have particular themes and there's still definitely a political agenda involved. John: Well, the event's full name is "Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras". So, yes, it's a gay event. But that puts a bit too fine of a point on it. The event itself is widely supported by the entire state. Even country towns up and down the coast support it. But moreover, it's an event that goes beyond gay rights - while that forms its cornerstone, it's also an event that relates to tolerance in general. The parade often includes floats related to both racial and religious tolerance as well. It's also an event that is really for everyone. When you see the parade on the Saturday night, you get millions of people on the streets and these people are from all walks of life...every race, gender, sexuality, religion and nationality is represented, pretty much. The entire atmosphere is highly positive. It's so positive and welcoming, and the crowds are so diverse, that it actually makes me think that this is how the world might be if world peace were ever established, lol. It's certainly the closest to world peace that I've ever encountered in one place. ~_^ CosmicSailor: I am sorry about your lack of luck when it comes to work. As mentioned, looking for work is a big pain. I'm fortunate to have found out that I've secured a job with the company I was applying to recently, although they still haven't told me when I start. It's frustrating, but I'm glad to have gotten this far. Despite everything, it's usually frequent perserverence that really pays off. The more they knock you back, the harder you pound on their door. Usually someone listens eventually, if you make enough noise. SunfallE: You're absolutely right about not being able to judge people by what they are wearing. I think it's incredibly disappointing when someone is rejected simply because they have an outrageous hairstyle or something like that. Usually when I see people dressed in a very outrageous fashion, I actually view it as a good thing...I think it's good that they are willing to push the boundaries in whatever way they can. Sometimes people just need a little bit of a wake up call in their everyday lives, hehe. indifference: It's true that I probably see a lot of mistakes that others don't notice because they never saw the concept designs. But still, I don't like the thought that in some cases my work isn't represented as intended - although it's often just the way things are and it's nobody's fault, it is still frustrating at times. Aaryanna: Snow, eh? I miss seeing snow. Not that I ever saw it regularly in Melbourne (it doesn't snow anywhere near the city, only in the mountains), but up here it's impossible to see it. Queensland is sub-tropical so we never get anything like that here. It's one thing I'd like to see if I go back down to Melbourne in winter. As for my friend, I don't know about that yet. It was more than a day later and she hadn't picked up her car from Sydney, poor thing. I feel so bad for her. I will be sure to give her a fun night out next time I'm down there. I look forward to your email! ^_^ And thanks for the PM. I'm glad that everything went well. I notice you'd posted in response to the online staff manual, so I'm happy to see that everything went smoothly. Chabichou: It makes noises after it's connected? Odd. I'd never even used mine until recently. I didn't even really know I had one until recently, as a matter of fact! But thankfully it's working and it's reliable. In fact, I'm getting faster speed on this dial-up than I've ever had on dial-up before. No doubt it relates to the fact that the modem in this computer is new and the phone lines all around here are also brand-new. In my old house, where the lines had been there for a long time, the connection speed was significantly slower.

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