New Features
So I’ve been working on my new design for the past couple of days, and it’s coming along great! I made a short video to demonstrate what I have done so far:
First and foremost, the PHP for the random color background is done and working. It’s just a simple script using an array with four values. Next up is Accordion and GreyBox. They are both working perfectly! Although, I’m having some random issue with the full size photos. One thing I have to look in to. All I have to do now is finish up some small aesthetic design tweaks, and write the rest of my content. I also need to beef up the Web Development Portfolio!
Redesign
So after having a lot of downtime, and trying to go back to school, has made me think about my site. It’s fine, and gets the point across, but doesn’t have much of a lure to it. It’s very basic, and kind of dull. In saying that, I’ve decided to do a major overhaul of it. I’m in the middle of concepting the new design. I want it to show off some normal techniques I use, and show that I can do something other than just a site with information.
Some new things will be added, and a couple taken away. The first major new part is a web development portfolio (I need this mainly for acceptance into the Creative Circus). I’m going to use a new jQuery tool called Greybox to show other websites within a dynamic box. This way you can see my websites without having to navigate away from the page. It will also cut out all the clutter. The main new feature will be Accordion. This is also a jQuery tool to expand/collapse content on a page. This will do wonders for the clutter. Lastly, I will be getting rid of the “Services” page and adding a “Resumé” section. The resumé will kill two birds with one stone: providing information on what I’m capable of doing, and also being a resumé.
I plan on starting right away, and hopefully finishing it within the next month or so. I want to push it out before I apply at the Creative Circus so they’ll have something pretty to look at. Along with this, I have to make up some fake companies and websites to add to my portfolio. There are only a few sites I have created thus far that I feel are good enough for my portfolio, and I need more than just a few.
In addition to the web development portfolio, I’m going to start updating my photography more in the near future. I’ve just taken an opportunity to get a Nikon D90. I’ll finally have something I can mess around with and start learning more. I will be getting it this month, and can hopefully start having fun with it once I get a 50mm fixed lens!
That’s about all I have going at the moment. Keep checking back for more updates!
Serious Thought
So, it’s been a while. It’s time for some updates on what I have been doing!
First, I’d like to say that I’ve been considering some new options as far as my advancement in the technology field. This is mainly focused around school and my future plans. For the past two years, I’ve been living with students of The Creative Circus. If you’ve never heard of this school, you need to check it out; wonderful programs and philosophies. There’s a fairly new program called Interactive Development that struck my interest. So, I talked to some of my fellow peers that attend the school, and I feel it’s time to jump for something and make a major change. Obviously, I know my way around a computer and the field of web design. This is fine and dandy, but I’m only on the intermediate level. As I sit and work on the small projects I have, I feel less and less challenged. We all know that this leads to being severely bored and, in some cases, extremely unhappy. I need to take a preemptive strike against that. I’m planning on getting some things together and going to the Circus to extend my knowledge and skills. This will, in turn, help me out and give me a brighter future. The biggest thing for this is financing.
Next up is my network. I’ve talked about letting go of Rackspace, but it just hasn’t been feasible thus far. I still plan on getting my own dedicated server, though. It will be a decent amount of work, but it will be more stable. Eventually, I’ll have one server running some virtual machines. I’m kind of excited to get that started, I just have to buy the server and the space at a data center. I want to get that up and running before I start school since money might be a little tight once I focus more on school.
That’s about all I have to say. My projects are going fine, just a couple more things to tweak and release. Hope all is well for everyone else!
I Need A Break
So it’s been quite a while since my last update; this could be a long post.
First, let me start off by telling you that my days have been busy as of late. After I come to a close on one project, a new one pops up. Then, once the second project is done, the first comes back with more. I’m not really complaining, though. It’s nice to have something to do rather than be bored. It’s not all been work, either.
One thing I want to point out is all the work I’ve been putting towards WrenchWear. We went from an idea, to full blown ads, website and store in roughly 3 weeks. It was quite a ride! After I finally got the site done, Scott came to me with some ad ideas for a magazine. Finally finished all of those up and pushed them out to the printers.
Next on the list is DGS. I’ve got the final design finished, but still waiting on content. The best part about this site is all the neat little things I learned with PHP and the contact form. I added in some much needed functionality. Once I get all the information I need, this site will be rockin’ and rollin’.
My father’s site is still on hold until he gets me all his information. The design hasn’t changed and I still need to create his contact form. I suspect I will do this within the week since things seem to be calming down a bit. I’m sure I will update on that later.
Now we move on to WeeBOT. This has been sky rocketing lately. Unfortunately, I had to back out of the actual development of mods. I’ve been so busy that I just couldn’t swing time for it. We have added some new features to the site, though. Now we have a forum for easier collaboration and brainstorming and polls for users to vote on new features. I’m really excited to see the new features once our friends from Europe get them ironed out. They’ve got some really awesome ideas. With WeeBOT, I’m also starting to work on a new LDAP feature for the developers. This way they will be able to upload and change the mods with more ease. I might even look into source control for the source code of WeeBOT; that might prove to be a difficult task, though.
Now, my job! This has been really taxing this week. I’ve had a couple normal monthly projects come up, and then some. I actually just finished up something for a customer that was pretty critical. I wish I could go a little more into detail, but alas, I cannot. Just know that there has been quite a lot going on around here for once!
As for my down time, I’ve been playing video games! Of course, the usual Borderlands fix has to be had, but that’s not the bulk of what I’ve been playing lately. I just got two new games: Just Cause 2 and Red Dead Redemption. Just Cause 2 is really amazing. We’ve put about 45 hours into the game, and there’s still no end in sight. I haven’t played Red Dead Redemption all that much (as I just got it yesterday), but it’s cool playing GTA in the wild west. You have to actually herd cows, though. That gets a bit annoying.
Any way, I just wanted to throw an update out there to fill you in on some basic details of what I’ve been up to. It doesn’t sound like much, but I assure you it has been draining. I’ll leave you with some links to check out!
Busy Doesn’t Describe It
It’s actually not really the fact that I’m busy, but more of the fact that I have a lot of things I want to do, and a lot of things I need to do. This always makes for interesting schedules. First off, I’ve got my job. I have to be here for 10 hours Monday through Thursday. Luckily I’ve got a job where I can work on other projects and be ok. So the whole 10 hours isn’t wasted time. Next up are my three new-ish projects that are all so close to completion. djalgay.com, dgsatl.com and buywrenchwear.com.
My Dad’s site (djalgay.com) has been completed, except for the content. So basically it’s only 25% done. At least the design is solid, though. That makes life easier, and frees up a little time to work on the other projects.
DGS’s site is coming along nicely. I’ve got a couple more pages to iron out, and then get the content written and added in. There’s a catch to this project, though. I’m also building a network for them. The mail server has been completed, no problems. Next up is creating a CalDAV server for scheduling. Never done it before, but it looks like it could be a fun project to learn. After that, it’s on to the Contacts server. This could prove to be difficult. I know nothing about it, and I don’t even know the best way to implement it. Lots of research will be done. If you know anything about it, please let me know! Last, but not least, I’ve got to implement a ticketing system. I found one that’s nice, and based around Ajax. I believe it will suffice for the time being until they need some heavy hitting hardware and an enterprise network. I’m really looking forward to that project when it hits!
WrenchWear is a new product I recently got employed to ‘brand’. It’s a product from the same guy that brings you Jett Vettes. Really neat jewelry for the working mechanic and biker out there. I’ve got the basic layout of the site done, and working on the graphics. The logo is complete, too. Thursday me and Peter head out for a photo shoot at Door 44 in Atlanta for the product. Hopefully we get some good stuff. I’m kind of nervous about it, because the time-frame for this project is super short, and this photo shoot is almost a hit or miss kind of thing. Either way, I’ll make it work! I always do.
WeeBOT is another story in itself. The other guys in the group have been cracking away at their new mods, and I’m still sitting with a half finished version of my first full release!
On top of all these projects, I’m also trying to use my investments as of late. This being movies, PS3, Sins of a Solar Empire and StarCraft 2. So working in time for all of the work, then trying to play video games and watch movies, while still attempting to have a social life is very very hard work. I don’t even know how I get enough sleep these days! Did I mention I’m trying to read one of Chuck Palahniuk’s books, along with the Dark Knight chronicles as well? I guess I forgot… my memory is going with my old age :P
Oh well. I’m going to force myself into a deep trance of HTML and PHP for a while. See you soon!
P.S. – Ubuntu 10.04 (LTS) hits soon. So excited!
