I hope you’ve found religion, because I’m going to start doing this more often. What does this mean? This means that Corey is finally getting off his lazy god-damned-ass and is going to start writing words in sequence again.

Now if you put these sequenced words together, you will find that they make sentences. These sentences, when grouped into logical sections well, they become paragraphs. If I can actually manage to put enough of these words onto a page, you could actually become entertained by what may be considered an editorial, a review, or a terrifying essay about clowns that live within your closet, just waiting.

What was I talking about?

Right, connecting words like Dr. Frankenstein. Science!

Anyways, lets move right on to the obligatory ‘whats new with me’ section.

So first off, I’m still alive and still living in London. The weather has become somewhat colder and it’s humorous to see the Londonites becoming terrified by the impending snow. I mean good lord, they could get a whole couple of cm. The world is coming to an end, one snow flake at a time. I, however, am handling the weather fine because as you know: I’m not a total little bitch. Update: It has been snowing all day, and my co-workers are all a cringe.

I’m still working as a front end developer for the rather snazzy Radley Yeldar. Actually, I may have not actually mentioned that in my old post. I’m too lazy to actually read my last post, so just to set the record straight; I do that now, and have been for at least 6 months.

Anywho, I’ll be the first to admit that working as a developer after leaving a job that effectively burned me right out and going to school for a couple years to become a graphic designer may seem, well, counter-intuitive. I’d agree, but given that most of my work is a: cutting up designs; b: doing a metric fuck-tonne of Javascript and jQuery stuff; and c: learning from designers far far far better than me; are all good skill-sets that I need to be subjected to learning more of.

Oh, and It’s not soul-crushing like my last job (there’s an upcoming post on that, trust me on that). I mean I actually get to go home on time (with two nights exception where I had to go home at 11 pm).

As another side-bonus, I’ve become fairly good at jQuery development. I can now develop plugins and such for the more commonly needed effects. I’ll keep you posted if/when they are released to the public. Because of this, I’ll probably end up writing some of my own and posting them here (or on github, or both!) for the world to enjoy. This isn’t a tech blog, but I’m sure some code snippets will creep their way in.

Working this job has reminded me how much fun you can actually have programming. Granted I’ll never really get too far back into the back-end stuff – we’ve got some very talented guys at RY that cover that – but learning about HTML5, jQuery, getting right into web semantics, and CSS3 is sadly exciting to me. Heck, the project I am currently working on (which I cannot talk about quite yet)  has some badass javascript to create some pretty swell user interaction. It’s taken me the better part of a friggin’ week to get it working right, but I’m really happy with how it’s turning out. When it goes live, I’ll be sure to brag about it post a link here.

I am still with Theresa, so anyone who had bets on that, pay up. Also, you guys are dicks. You shouldn’t be betting on things like that. Jesus.

Theresa has a full-time job teaching children. How she handles 3 and 4 year old children I will never know. I would probably have been arrested for mass geno..infans… toddlercide? I’d be a horrible teacher, lets leave it at that. Some of the stories she tells me blow my mind. Sometimes I can’t grasp the fact that 3 year olds can be as smart as she makes them out to me. This leads me to the realization that I have no idea about the learning speed of children. I just assume they’re stupid until the age of about 26 or so.

Oh, I’ve been participating in Movember, which I don’t really see much point in posting here since it’s the end of the month, and I probably won’t get a dime out of you. Regardless, feel free to have a look at my profile page and enjoy faces of the ‘stache. A quick disclaimer: some of them will probably upset you. My face has that power.

Now as for general website stuff.

Now you may have noticed that all pretty much all of the images are broken on the website. This was caused by a server move and something not being installed in the php build. I’ll get that sorted soon. You may also have noticed that the Twitter feed is.. well frozen. This has to do with how twitter’s changed auth, and plugin is being a bit of a shit about it. I’m not overly worried, because of the next point:  There is a site re-design in the machinations.

It was supposed to happen in September, but many things (work, life, being one of the laziest bastards I know, etc) have hampered this. Now that I am forcing myself to get my ass in gear, I’m not even happy with the design I was cooking up (please not this was design 3 that you’ll never ever see).

Basically what I’m saying is that I’m starting over on the design, but I shall be actively producing it, so it is my hope that by the new year I will have the new design up and running. This does mean that I have to learn a bit more about WP 3 but I’m not concerned. I’ll be basically rebuilding everything from the ground up, so wish me luck on that. It’s gonna be fun! Shut up, I know what fun means.Yes I do! Why are you being so hostile? We used to be buds. Is this because I haven’t posted for 6 months? No? You sure? Because that’s what it seems like to me.

Moving on.

I’m also working on a side-project or two that may or may not see the light of day. It’s sort of going to depend on if I and my project bud can get our shit together. Working with an 5 hour time difference is… difficult.

Also also, I’ve been reading, and playing more games. I swear I will bash out some review for them. First I have to get the images thing working again. Baby steps! Feel free to add me to Xbox Live. My Tag is ‘Jack Dutson’.

Until next time kids!

And remember: Only you can prevent forest fires.

Corey signing out.

Anyways, todays little post is a little bit of a bitch. That is to say that I am bitching about something that to this day manages to blow my mind.

Why the hell can’t people drive in the snow?

Seriously, it’s been around longer than we have. We have developed wheel-drives, tires, break-styles, wiper-blades, anti-freezing, self-heating, Pi-calculating cars. So despite our advances against the frozen flecks of water still manage to turn everyone into drooling, knuckle-dragging morons whos only response to having to drive in the stuff is to go under twenty km at any given time. For those out there still using the imperial system, that’s roughly 12.4 miles per hour.

Todays example will revolve around the recent swing in temperature changes: It was cold and rainy, but alright. Then the sun went down, things got cold, and thanks to nature, the roads started to freeze. Shortly after that it started snowing, which blanketed things in a layer of snow. I admit, these are not road conditions wherein driving excessively is a smart idea. I would even go so far as to say that to err on the side of caution would indeed be the better choice. Caution doesn’t need to be 10 km (6.2 Mph).

Yeah so you can’t drive as fast, I get that, but going so slow I can out-walk your car just so that you can ‘safely’ ride the bumper of the car in front of you as you would at regular speeds is, at best, retarded. You can drive faster, if you actually allow yourself the time to stop. What this generally means is that you back the fuck off, and leave room between you and the car you’re trying to ride in front of you. This is generally good practice in optimal driving conditions as well, if only to help avoid accidents by giving your dumb-ass time to react.

Additionally, you can actually drive on the snow instead of the lanes that other cars have driven in. When you are facing the possibility of driving on the black ice that every other car preceding has contributed to, you can actually shift your car a bit to the left or right and drive on the snow which has been otherwise left alone. This will allow you to actually gain now-valuable traction, and get you to where you’re going before you die and ripen from old age while whimpering in your car, cursing mother nature as you plow your gas pedal into the floor, wondering why oh why wont your tires find grip?

Maybe these little things are not common sense for some, but for those of us that live in an area that has frequent and shitty winter weather conditions, I would assume that after a while people would be able to adapt and drive in said weather conditions with some modicum of ability. Apparently this knowledge is only reserved for those who live in perpetual snow, or happen to actually drive in it. I’ve driven through conditions that would blow peoples minds, and so maybe that has given me some keen insight into how to drive in the winter. A lot of it, however comes from not being retarded.

One last note, get winter tires. All-seasons will not cut it when push comes to shove, as today clearly proved to me. I know this because last year I drove my little Yaris around in the winter and slid through many a stop sign, because I simply did not have the grip available to me. Lessons have been learned and this year I dropped the coin on it. I’ve not regretted the decision. Maybe you don’t need them, but I can assure you that the difference they make is noticeable, and you will not regret the decision.

Fuck sakes people, I drive a Yaris and I navigate this weather better than the SUVs, Trucks, and about 70% of the other drivers on the road that managed to spin out for no God damned reason. My car is tiny and super-light, and yet somehow here I am driving like an apparent winter veteran. That’s sad people, sad.

I can honestly attest to what he’s saying, seeing as how I have worked insane amount of overtime at my current place of work. The worst part about it that I have noticed is that I bust my ass off by working overtime just so we can hit the all-important, all-omnipresent deadline and then turn around to find another one looming overhead. It’s painful, and to be honest it’s aggravating, infuriating, and depressing all at once. Point 2 – “If the deadline set for your project [...] next deadline will be as tight as this one. If not tighter.” – is so true it hurts. I have stated many times at my current reside that the time lines are made without actually talking to us (in some cases) and this in turn screws us, the development team. I don’t know if my statements fall of deaf ears, but I have noticed that recently I have not had to work the overtime I used to… with the exception of last week. That was rough.

Anyways!

I cannot say whether this tight-lining the deadlines is purposely done, but I can tell you that it leads almost instantly into point 4 and 5. Working overtime burns you out. I worked 7 weeks straight at my job at one point. It was our whole development team’s trial by fire. We pulled it off, but there is nothing to brag about pulling a 45 hour work day. No matter how hardcore you feel, you look like shit and your appearance will scare small children.

The second half of the post is the really important part though. It’s the part that attention needs attention paid. It’s easy(ish) to state what evil will be wrought from working overtime, if given enough time to think about it. It’s another thing entirely to actually come up with ways to stop doing it. I have trouble with this part, as I’m sure many other people do. It’s hard to say no to the people who sign your paychecks and keep you from living out of your car. Trust me on this one, it’s hard to do and I’m still trying to figure out how to get the idea across.

Jarkko makes good points on how to get rid of overtime; points 4 through 7 on the second list are easy to do and I feel are just good practices to… well… practice! Number 8 is the truly difficult one. If you do this wrong, people will feel you’re not a team player, only looking out for yourself, etc. When talk like this hits managements ears, you’re in for a world of hurt and/or welfare checks. I’m not saying you should live in perpetual fear of your higher-ups (though a little fear is healthy, or so I’m told) but shooting yourself in the foot by arrogantly declaring that you are a slave to overtime no more will not win you any points.

I’ll clearly state that I’ve got a screwed up work-ethic, and so overtime though a horrible concept, I perceive as an occasional requirement. I think I may have gotten it from my father, but I’m not entirely sure. I’m slowly working on being able to work without having to complete projects via overtime but it’s an ongoing process.

After thinking about it for a little while, i decided to elaborate a bit on what I meant. There are certain types of people out there that can go for it. They set their eyes on something, and the run full steam towards that goal. Nothing distracts them, nothing deters them. I don’t mean that only those who fly off to Japan to live there, or those who will try and do something (build, write, draw, etc) new that could be badly received. I refer to any and every person that sets their goals and lives to them. These are the people everyone should aspire to be. These are the people that can set the bar on how to really live life.

Then there is the other group that merely lives through situations and makes the best of things. They see the world as something that happens, not something to make happen. These are your desk-jockeys. These are your lunch alone in a diner sort of people. These are the people that ride the bus every day and wonder why they got on it, and then forget that they wondered it.

I’m not going to advocate which is the better path, because I know good people who fall under both categories. What I will say is that the first group, those who work towards making things happen for themselves are the ones with the soundest character. They may be assholes, jerks, or whatever label you want to tack on them but it’s true. They know what they want and the go for it. There is something to respect in that, regardless of how much of a dick they may or may not be. That doesn’t mean that they all succeed. I’m sure 9/10 fall on their face and end up working at a gas station somewhere. The other 1 though, they have what I’m talking about (and took way too long to get to.)

Solidarity of character. They have what it takes to stick it out and achieve what they set out for themselves. To use Norm as an example; he wanted to live in Japan. I can trace this desire back at least 4 years as far as I have known him. He’s just always wanted to do it. As such he took the steps to get there. He figured out how to get a visa, and the ensuing fiasco of how the hell to stay in the country for 5 years in order to apply for permanent residency. He also learned the language, the mannerisms, and the culture back to front. He did this while going through school and working. He made it happen for himself, and now he’s over there learning about the 100+ trains he can take to get anywhere and visiting 10 story electronic stores. I also know he has what it takes to see this right to the end, and I’ve never been so proud to be his friend.

Personally, I cannot tell you which type of person I am nor if I possess said characteristic . I can say that I am working towards being part of the first group; to take charge of what I want and to work towards it. It’s hard. It’s fantastically, ridiculously hard though. Sometimes is easier to just throw your hands in the air and curse the fates for bestowing such problems upon their already weary shoulders. I know the feeling, because I have been there. I’m rather sure that I’m not the only one either. Whether you admit to it or not is a different matter entirely, and not the focus of this post.

What I’m getting at here is to get you, the reader, to think about this: “What sort of person am I?”

It’s rhetorical so don’t start emailing me with what you think I am. You can, but that’s not the point here.

What sort of person are you?

[EDIT November 12, 2007]

I just came across this article at work (I read this RSS feed, its both informative and entertaining.) Madam Naomi makes a rather good point that I wish to integrate with what I have already said here. Those who make things happen for them tend to be perceived as arrogent, cocky, or are otherwise jerks we don’t like. She makes the point that some people are actually arrogent, and some simply have the balls to stand up and fight for what they want.

The two get used somewhat interchangeably and I would like to point out that not everyone that fights for it is cocky. I call it ‘solidarity of character’ she calls it ‘having balls’ but both mean the type of person who stands up for what they want and fights for it. In retrospect, her way of saying it is way more ballsy. Damn it all!

Just thought I would clarify that one. Cocky people do suck, though they still make it happen for themselves so give props where it’s due.

[/EDIT November 12, 2007]

[EDIT 2 November 12, 2007]

Jesus christ! Did everyone have this same thought pattern around the same time or what? I mean wow, it’s almost sort of creepy, given that I hadn’t read either article when I had written mine. Crazy. I mean this one is a little different then what I’m talking about, but it all relates back to what I was saying. In this case Jarkko states that people in movies seem to live such fuller lives, and he states that it is because they never give up. They have a goal and they work unendingly towards it.

It all comes full circle here people.

[/EDIT 2 November 12, 2007]

Later.