And here's what we got:
I’m a huge fan of stories. I really am. I read my first book before I was in school. I read my first novel by grade 2. I was reading Tolkien by grade 4. I have a book shelf that I bought because my original one was two books deep on every shelf. I’ve become a huge fan of Podcasts like The Moth and The Wayward Irregular due to the magic that comes from them. I will listen to any and everyone that has a story to tell. All the more when they’ve got a flair for “the telling.”
I think it’s save to say that I love stories.
Hell I’ve even tried my own hand at writing a couple of my own. I admit that they’re not Pulitzer-level or anything, but I like to think that someone out there will enjoy them. Regardless, I’ve recently decided that I’d like to be told more stories. Lots more stories. What’s more, I’d like others to have the same opportunity. There are other sites out there that do what I’ve decided to do, but I’ve opted to do something a little different…
You may, or may not have noticed some changes around here. That is, if anyone actually reads my blog any more. I’m still working out some of the kinks in my websites design, but all in all it’s coming along quite well. I’ve simplified some things; removing search; displaying one item on the front page; moved the resume and portfolio into the blog (the resume was its own WordPress install, and the portfolio just… didn’t exist); added a real, honest to God contact page. Things are looking up!
I’m still having a couple issues of course, that I’m trying to figure out (mystery htaccess file issues, CSS tweaks, ) but I’m sure I can get these figured out in the next little while. Anyways, on to things that are important to people other than me.
So a while back I mentioned going back to school. In fact, I even recall writing a collection of articles all about the subject. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it in my twitter (or at the very least, bitched about it). Well unlike the real world, College gives you large, void-filled breaks between semesters. This allows people like me ample time to run out of excuses for things we should have either done, or been doing during the academic time frame.
In my case this revolves around:
Now since only a couple of those are actually proactive (I’ll leave you to decide which) I have to pick and choose what and when I do these things. What is the result? Well to give you a glimpse, it’s almost 2 AM as of the start of this post. This is after I applied to many, many bursaries through my school. Who knew that working two jobs wouldn’t be enough to actually stay out of debt? Guess I’ll have to get some more!
My financial woes are not what I plan to talk about today though. I plan to talk about what I can take away from my first semester.
Okay, technically this would be my seventh semester if you are counting the six from the last time I was in school. That is also part of this so read on!
I joined a gym, and for a while I went there. I worked out at their facilities and found them clean, and brimming with machines and weights in which to sculpt my body. I used their exceptionally clean and well kept bathrooms and facilities. The staff was always courteous, the lighting great, the music well selected, and the food offered was healthy and scrumptious. They even had a clothing store where one could buy stuff 30% with the membership card, and a day car for those who dragged their children around.
All in all, a fantastic experience from a customer point of view. Everything scored 7/10 or higher (more often higher). So why am I angry with this chain? They dropped the ball in a key area: my leaving.
That’s right, I’m school-bound once again. Two more years of weird sleep schedules, assignments, cliques, teachers, and too many people walking around in pajama-bottoms.
Joking aside, I’ve decided to go back to school for Graphic Design. Over the past two plus years, I’ve felt that though I’m reasonably good at programming, it’s not really what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve had a good run at my current place of employment, but I feel that it’s just not the direction I want to go in the long-run. You see, as I worked along side everyone I constantly felt myself obsessing over certain points; namely UI design, usability, and common sense in design.
Finally got the new design up, though I will admit that there are still some tweeks that I’ve got to address. I’ve got the design stable enough that I’m comfortable releasing it now. I’ve lost enough sleep on this damned thing already, so some small things I’m not overly worried about
This design has been in the works for at least a month now, though probably longer. I made sure I didn’t rush into the markup, and so there was a lot of time spent in Fireworks tweaking things. Once I was finally happy with the design – which took a while – I finally moved everything into HTML which was …fun.
So I’m making this post while blatantly aware that some of my readers will probably have no Idea what I’m talking about. If you’re one of those people, just nod your head and pretend to listen.
A while back I came across a little website called 9rules. As it turned out 9rules was very much similar to Digg.com, Design Float, Mixx, and so on. It was a social hub where ideas were exchanged, participation was rewarded, and all was well. Somewhat of an opportunist, I took advantage of 9rules and their content submission to help my site gain some popularity (I’m sure I gained nothing from it) by submitting my design-related posts to their ever-flowing river of content.
I admit that this is a bit dubious in nature, but it is a white hat way to get your name out there, and that’s something I’m still working on doing. Hate me if you want, but that’s what I used it for. I regret that a little in retrospect, because they had a good community, and I chose to throw my stories into the pile instead of participating and making it better.
The lamenting has a point, so stick with me.
So I’m nearing the end of my first major project. Well alright I’ve had many projects in my life, but this was my first professional project. I was … many things in my project: Lead Developer, Lead Architect, Psudo-Business Analyst, Negotiator, Trainer, Mediator, Whip-cracker. The list goes on.
As the project is finally winding down, I feel it prudent that I write down some of the nuggets of information that I have gleaned from the experience.
Follow along and learn with me as I half-rant life tips.
I despise scope creep with every part of my being. To me, scope creep is comparable to nails on a chalk board, or having my hand slammed in a door again and again and again. It is the ruiner of projects, products, and I’m sure I could find some way to tie it into how Rock and/or Roll music is obviously ruining society. It takes what would in most cases be a solid project, a solid time line, and solid analysis, and tosses them all to the winds.
A quick, simple, and generalized definition: Scope Creep is when someone (yourself or otherwise) adds new functionality, features, or other additions while still expecting your project/product/whatever to still be due by the same time.