Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday - I'm 33.

I got some very thoughtful emails from my Mom, and Cindy called from Florida to wish me a Happy Birthday. Leslie, one of the other store managers, sang the happy birthday song to me. I also got very nice cards from Grandma and Mom, and a handsome gift check from Mom (who promised she wouldn't send me a birthday gift after sharing my airfare with me).

I slept in this morning - maybe I slept too long, because now I can't really seem to get going. I gave myself the gift of "day off" from exercise this morning. Maybe a workout would have helped me wake up, I dunno.

I'm at work now. I installed FrontPage (a web layout program) on my PC at work. Since today is going to be a "sitting around in case someone calls" kind of day, I thought I might get some work done on my web site.

It took a bunch of rigmarole to get the FrontPage program installed - the cd tray on my work PC is broken, and so I had to put the disc into another computer, copy and paste the contents onto the network, copy from the network to my PC, and then install. For some reason it installed to Drive E instead of Drive C and I spent 20 minutes looking for the program, uninstalled and reinstalled it onto C. (See, I know just enough to mess it all up.)

So now it's installed. I open the very first page to work on, and it's all messed up. Text and art boxes are misaligned, everything looks like crap.

It seems that the 'Mike School of Web Design' means that it only looks good on one computer - mine at home. I could fix everything to look good on this computer, and then it would look like crap at home. Not to mention what it will look like to everyone else in the world. Like who knows what.

Ugh. Bleh. Blahgen.
(Blahgen is a new word I invented a few months ago. It means 'frustrated, fatigued, annoyed, disgruntled, or indifferent' Pronounced "blaagin". I just put an H in the spelling to annoy Eddie Izzard.

Eddie Izzard is a comedian, very sharp and smart, he's amazing. Check him out.

I just don't know enough actual web design (or ANY web design at this rate - let's be honest) to do it right. I'd get Fiction Interactive launched, blow my paycheck on advertising, and then wonder why no one uses the site. Why?? Why? Because it looks like crap!! This is not a good motivator.

But not to worry, I'm not gonna give up. I've put too much time in at this point to just walk away. There is a slight temptation to shelve the whole thing till I've gone to school, but no.

I've already streamlined the site drastically over the last few months. The site is now about 25 pages, rather than the dozens it was before. Since I dropped the idea of interactive crime scenes and suspect photos and all the complex stuff, there's no reason why I can't make those 25 pages look adequate.

It's just annoying. Everyone's PC has different settings for fonts and images - how do you allow for that? Bite the bullet and actually learn some real programming, I guess. Instead of just fudging everything with FrontPage until it looks ok.

No worries - I have nothing but time... As of current data, life expectancy is 77. And I have a young wife who can care for me in my decrepitude. Hah! Whack the bootie with my cane. Hee hee!

77 years old. That's 44 more years. My poor children - they will have to put up with me for a long time, and listen to me ramble about how my web site is almost ready.

Bwah haa haa haaaaa (evil laugh) Bwaaaaa haaa haa haa haa

Nice Lunch!

I just had a nice lunch at Chili's with Lisa, Karen, Keiko, Lucas, and Chris. It was Lisa's Birthday and I didn't reveal that my Birthday is tomorrow.

It was good to see Lisa - I felt bad after all that talk(in June) of going to Crave, and then not going. It felt as if I owed her an explanation. She and Bob might not have thought anything of it, but I felt bad.

Lisa said Bob still speaks very highly of me, and that I'd always be welcome back... I can't remember the exact wording, but that's the gist. It's nice to know! A good feeling.

I mentioned that I would be going to school early next year, and that I was going into web design. Karen does/did web design, and asked me some questions. She was concerned I guess, what with her knowledge of the field... I said I was leaning more toward the programming end rather than the artistic end, which seemed to reassure her.

She recommended concentrating on programming, since so many programs now make it easy to do the basic stuff. If I wanted to do well, becoming a real specialist in the deep recesses of the programming would be best.

Personally, I'm still leaning towards the more surface stuff, HTML, Java, Flash, etc. As I learn more, her view will probably become more obviously correct. But engineering a stable server environment is not as appealing as creating elements the user can actually see and interact with.

I'd rather be a house painter than a plumber.

Slow Day!

Work is moving along slowly - no stress, so I can't really complain. Still, it would be nice to have a real project or task list. Right now we're just trying to break 2 Player mode. I found a few little things, but nothing worth writing up.

I slept in till 7:30, did my workout but did not work on the web site. I did enough yesterday! I'll be working on it tonight I'm sure. Maybe I'll get a new cafe press account (it's this website that does merchandising - check it out - www.cafepress.com) and place the new artwork on some t-shirts.

We had a 5.9 earthquake today here in California, check out the coverage on CNN - but we barely felt it here. Felt like a gentle rolling motion, as you would feel on a small boat riding a smooth wave. I called Cindy to let her know I was ok, in case she heard CA had fallen into the sea. They all called their stores to check, and all is well.

I'm considering going to the grocery store over lunch to pick up some more fruit and other work snacks... There's not a lot to do, so a little outing would be nice. I might get a haircut later in the week (during lunch/work) so I'm ready for the Ohio trip.

Monday Off! So Nice!

I called off from work today, saying I was feeling tired and crummy. The tired part was certainly true, I worked 7 days in a row. A day off now and then is an important thing!

I took Cindy to the airport this morning - she had to fly to Florida for her Barnes and Noble Manager's Conference. She's staying in a very posh hotel - The Westin Diplomat in Hollywood Florida -

Check out the hotel's web site. It's a very snazzy place, and when she phoned earlier she was praising her ocean view! How cool is that? Because her room-mate's flight was delayed, I think she may have the place to herself tonight.

I relaxed today, did laundry, took some naps, watched some tv, took a walk, and worked on my web site -(FictionInteractive.com) which is not online yet, so don't bother trying the link. I've been working on the cover page for a week or so now, and I think I've found a layout that will do for now. Or at least until Cindy comes home and can give me input.

Oh! Last night we picked up a new dance pad from Best Buy. The pad came bunded with another DDR game, this one is Dance Dance Revolution Extreme. I wanted the package for the pad - it's hard to find the pads in stores, you have order them online. This pad is thicker and more heavy duty. It also feels like it's hardier inside, as if made of sterner stuff. It's working well and I'm getting good scores once again.

I just turned on the DDR game and it's telling me that the save game data is corrupted. Grrrr now all my stored scores are probably all gone. Oh well, no biggie. I can just assume that Beginners Mode has been pretty much mastered (which is largely true I'd say) and it's time to move on to Light Mode.

Boy Howdee! (translation Heck Yeah!)

Work is work, what can I say? I forecast OT this weekend, with winds from the northwest.

Cindy's off today, getting last minute errands done for the conference - with my bank card! Yikes! :o)

Actually I'm more likely to squander money than she is. There's always some gadget I wanna add to my hoard.

Cindy and I discussed the whole 'Mike goes to school' scenerio this past weekend, and she helped me create a list of things I need to accomplish/info I need to gather - - -

Map the whole plan out on paper -

Find exact classes, times/days, and costs -

Figure out how many days/hours I'll need to work to pay the bills -

Decide on online or in-person classes (in person preferred) or personal tutor?

Get details on programming languages certification -
How much are they, where and when are tests offered and by whom (how credible are they?)

Study job market for web designers - growing?

- - -

All of this will be good information to have. I just need to do it, do it!

Blech Gaarf Ack!

Friday fun! After a week of 'hurry up and wait' at work, we finally have a new task - a play through of the single player mode. At least that will take up some time.

I need fruit for the work fridge, and will be going to the grocery store at lunch time to get resupplied. Note to self - get a hair cut next week.

Going to see 'Sky Captain' with Ed tonight - Hope it's good. Cindy has elected to stay home and work on schedules and whatnot. It needs done, but ugh, all that paperwork must get old. I think I'd be spreading the paperwork between myself and my two assistant managers, if I were the boss...

I cleaned up the clutter in the guest room this morning - it was a mess after I threw everything from the living room into it. I threw some stuff away, shoved some crap into the closet, and tried to clear up the floorspace so Cindy could have access to the window, where she hangs her clothes.

After cleaning, I was in a disgruntled mood and sat down in front of the computer anyway. I couldn't muster the oomph to work on the web site today. That's fine, I'll have this weekend to look at it. Never design disgruntled.

I'd worked on the front page for Fiction Interactive last night, and it came out pretty fugly. The main logo is just too busy to use in a large size, I think. I may to go to the small version at the top left, and then find some attractive way of laying out the genre selections.

Right now the genres are: Mystery, Horror, Romance, Espionage, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, and Erotica. Only 'Mystery' will be active intially, with the other choices greyed out. I'm going to put in a survey/voting feature that lets users vote on which genre will be the next to be active.

Geez Man - Give the Rabbit Some Trix!

Cindy and I watched 'Reindeer Games' from Netflix last night. It's not as good as the trailer makes it seem (good trailer editing by someone out there - way to go!) I think that's a job I could enjoy - editing film footage into trailers. I think it's interesting how they will have several different types of trailer for the same movie - one that focuses the action, one for the comedic elements, one for the romantic elements. Tricky of those editing peoples.

I've heard a lot of people say 'Reindeer Games' was crummy, but I've been wanting to see it since it came out. It's not as bad as rumors say, though not as good as the trailer would lead you to believe. I'd give it a 'B' - if you like Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron, you'll like this movie. Plus, you get to see each of them naked. What's not to like? Something for Cindy, something for me... Charlize likes to get her naked on in movies.

Worked on Fiction Interactive this morning for an hour, hour and a half. It's kinda scary how much time you can spend on one page! Granted, it's Page 2, and it has a lot of information to impart in an attractive way, but damn, I've spent a lot of time on this page. I was thinking back to how much time I've spent on this site over the past couple of years. YEARS. It has been way too long to be still working on the layout.

I had one element on the site from the very beginning - the vertical links strip that lets you navigate the site. I've improved it numorous times, but always kept it. The problem with the vertical links strip is that it takes up a lot of valuable real estate. I finally put the links strip horizontally along the top of the page, which has allowed me to make each page have the same elements. There's no room for a banner ad at the top now, but I'll find a way to work an ad in. Maybe a tower ad on the right side?

Fruitfully Delicious!

It's the noon hour and I haven't done any work since I got in at 10. We're supposed to be testing the 2 Player version of the game, but it's not ready for prime time just yet. As of last Friday we were supposed to be working on 2 Player - still nothing, and this is Wednesday. Today we're not even pretending to work on anything. Not even trying to look busy.

I got up early, rode the bike, showered, and worked on the web site. I wasn't into the web work at first this morning - but about the time I had to leave and go to work, I was enjoying it and wishing I could stay longer. I left the page I reworked on screen for Cindy to look at, and she seems to like the changes. I like them too.

I need to get back into the habit of getting up early to work on it, now that overtime at work is no more, and I have no real excuse. Plus, I'm going to Ohio soon and want to have something good to show! I need to change all the pages from reading 'Mystery Interactive' to 'Fiction Interactive' in the text. The first page I did wasn't that bad.

I'm thinking of having the main Fiction Interactive logo with all the genres around it - mystery, horror, romance, etc. I'm going to grey out the choices other than 'mystery' and set up a voting system that will allow the readers to decide which genre will be active next. Cindy recommeds 'erotica' as the most popular one, and she's probably right. Cindy is helping me with logo ideas for the front page. She's a great help - I couldn't do it without her.

Cindy is trying to prepare me for the Jimmy Buffet concert - she's so tickled we're finally getting to go - the last few years, there's always been some reason she could not go. This year, it will happen! I don't mind going, she's been waiting for years! The music is nice and Mr. Buffet isn't gonna live forever!

Craving Apple Fritters and Milk

We've submitted the final candiate of the game, here at work - just last night in fact - so this should mark the end of overtime, for a few weeks at least. I guess it depends on what the guys up north find during their evaluation of the build we gave them.

I got some good work done on the web site last night. I really don't know why I go home and work some more after working all day, but I do it. I guess I know that if I don't work on the site every day, it will never get finished.

I got the story selection page reorganized after browsing the web for ideas on layout. Everything on the web is so damn tiny. All the buttons, icons, and text is mini mini. I fear for the day when my eyes go bad and I can no longer enjoy the internet.

Got a bad headache last night about midnight, and it took about an hour and a half for the advil to kick in. Cindy was a sweetie and took a walk with me around the apartment complex. It was cooler outside, but still very humid.

I'm considering an air conditioner. You can get them for about $130 nowadays. We're usually pretty good to go with the weather, a nice breeze is usually blowing. But there is about a month every year that is pretty uncomfortable. I'd say that $130 is worth being comfortable for that month... Plus, what if this is just a hot year? And we suffer for months before breaking down and buying an AC.

Sore, Sunburned, Surly.

Tuesday as Monday - my whole week is going to be off kilter now. Holiday weeks are always kind of odd. People stagger in from whatever wild weekend they had, sore, sunburnt and surly. Brian came in but went home within about 30 minutes - sick with a cold.

It was nice having a day off for a change. It's been really hot the last few days, so it was difficult to relax at home. Cindy had most of yesterday off and we went out for lunch, and spent time in a bunch of different air conditioned retail outlets.

I got some work done on the web site - I'm reworking it into its new "Fiction Interactive" format, which will take a bit of massaging on each page. I need to change the references from 'case' to 'story' and update the logo on every page.

I'm grumpy today, and I don't know why. Maybe just tired. I avoided caffeine cause I know it makes me edgy... I ate a good breakfast, and had some fruit... I am craving bad foods, deep fried and with lotsa gravy. I will be good, and eat the food I brought with me. Something batter dipped and salty sounds yummy though...

Working. Weekend. Me No Like.

Not much new going on, working and sleeping mostly. I was planning on getting some web work (art) done at work, but by the time I got photoshop installed on my work PC, it was time to get to work. Oh well, I'll be prepared from now on.

I'm trying to resist the urge to completely redo the layout of the mystery interactive site. I think I'm going to have to do it though. It needs redone to fit the 'Fiction Interactive' rename. Sigh. When will it ever end? I'll start coming in to work early, instead of trying to get work done at home. The commute will be quicker earlier in the morning, and there will be less distraction while here at work.

I really wanted to have a Fiction Interactive story ready for my visit to Ohio... It does not seem that this will happen now. Granted, I thought I would have a month off to work on it. Grrr.

What the Whoo Haa?

Monday Again? Didn't I just do this? Yesterday? Oh, that was a week ago, wasn't it. Damn.

I had Sunday off, did lots of nothing. Slept in, took a nap, went out for lunch with Cindy, came home and napped, watched some tv, pretended to work on the web site (all right, actually I fixed the font inconsistencies on a few pages. But I'm not proud of it, ok?) and then went to bed.

I overslept this morning, and remembered (whew) that I had no clean clothes at all. I did only 1 load cause someone else was doing laundry at 7am (early waking bastards), but I now have enough clothes to last 2-3 days. I'll try to remember to do another load tonight.

I'm ready for another day off please, yes thank you.

The web site is coming, slowly but surely. Cindy thinks I'm procrastinating with the layout so that I don't have to get to the writing, which will be a considerable effort.
She's only about 1/3 right. Mostly the layout looks pretty slipshod right now, and I'd like to get it firmly finished so that I can concentrate on the writing.

I was supposed to be done with this job the second week of September. I thought I'd have a month off to work on it before going to Ohio. That is no longer the case. Oh well. I'll just have to get up earlier, and make a point of going to bed earlier too.

It's hard when Cindy doesn't get home till after midnight a few nights a week. I started leaving my fruit at work, which saves me time in the mornings. A lot of people whip up their snacks in the kitchen, and we have 2 fridges, so plenty of room.

No More Overtime?

The new overtime laws went to effect recently, it seems... I was worried for a few minutes until the brilliant Cindy explained that I was safe, being in the right tax bracket. Whew! I was fretting about that one. What good is being a video game tester if you can't earn overtime?

I got some more work done on MysteryInteractive.com this weekend. Not as much as I'd like of course, but progress. Everything takes so damn long to do, and I'm always second guessing myself.

Add to this the fact that I'm not an artist - I'm just an ameteur doing my best to make it not look like ass. I'd like to have all the layout completed this week, and then dive headlong into the writing starting next week. It's going to be a hell of a lot of writing.

I'm looking forward to doing the audio book version of the stories, I think the public will enjoy interactive audio fiction. We'll see! Might have cell phone applications too. Neato.