Category Archives: Site Archives

New Gallery System

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I finally got fed up with the Movable Type work-around photoblog system that I was using, so I looked into Gallery. Gallery is very technically robust and complex, yet extremely easy to update, so it seemed worthwhile.

I haven’t yet altered the layout to match more closely with the rest of the site. (I wasn’t kidding when I said it was technically complex.) One of the nice things that it adds is the ability to register an account with the system, which enables you to leave comments and vote on your favorite images.

It also means that I can set people up with an individual album once they’ve registered an account. This would/will allow my friends to have a space for uploading images of their own, for a shared community gallery. Pretty cool, huh?
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New Site Design

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Surprise! I’ve changed the site design (pretty significantly). I really like this design: it is set up so that at a glance you can see the most recent entry in all categories. I realize that some of you might not like the new design, but I ask that you bear with me: humor me, and you might actually end up liking it. I know I have.
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Schoolwork Cha Cha

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This will in theory be a quick post, as it’s already 12:30am and I really ought to be in bed snuggling with my wife.

I spent most of the day stressing over getting back into the writing swing of things. After an extended period of dwindling amounts of writing, let alone academic writing, I was feeling particularly unsure of my capability to write in even an informal yet scholarly way. I found ways to put it off (as I’ve been putting it off for the past few days, cleaning my office for instance), such as making myself a far more complicated dinner than was really necessary, and making a checklist of things I need to do daily or at least weekly, because I have a habit of being forgetful.

I finally sat down and started to write, and after getting a paragraph down, I found myself finally getting back into the routine, which felt really good (nearly as good as when I get going in a creative bent… a feeling that I still remember, though I haven’t felt it in far too long). Four pages later, I have two informal annotations done and proofread (thanks to my lovely wife, Mickey, who I am convinced is the patron angel of editors), and feeling pretty comfortable about finishing up the last of my packet tomorrow for mailing either Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Yes, that will make it fully two weeks late. My advisor IS aware that it is late, and has been quite patient with me thus far.
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Music Again

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I’m currently listening to Ben Harper (excellent stuff), but that’s not what I want to mention with this very quick post while I take a break from my annotations. On the way back from dinner with my wife (I drove out and met her at work between shows), I was listening to KEXP, as I almost always do when driving around in my car. The DJ was being pretty punchy and semi-bitter because he was stuck working while the rest of the staff was off at the staff holiday party… pretty funny stuff.

Anyway, the show was highlighting local bands (Pacific Northwest, not just Seattle), and he played a song called “I Was Meant for the Stage” by The Decemberists, which I found that I really liked. Hopefully one of the resumes I’ve sent out over the past two days will work out, so I can afford to go pick up their album (among others).

A Dream I Had

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I was telling Mickey about this dream I had last night, and she thought it might be worth writing down. Not that it’s fleshed out or anything, but it was still an interesting dream.

It started out being back at my parents’ house, with it being late October/early November out (most of the leaves are off, sky is kind of gray, and it’s “brisk”). I was showing someone (I don’t recall exactly who, might have just been a duendic conglomeration of various Bond girls or something. I’m really not sure, just sure that I don’t recognize them now that I’m awake) the backyard, pointing out the space where Mom used to garden (she still does but not as much). In fact, there are still three broken and dead corn stalks on the outermost row.
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“Like Gutting a Fish”

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As some of you are aware, I am not overwhelmingly happy with my website right now. My website is, in a lot of ways, a reflection of who or what I am. It is a metaphor for my life. If I am unhappy with the content and presentation of my site, it is highly likely (and certainly has been in this case) that it is indicative of my self-image and self-worth.

This is not a complaint, however. This is, after all, a two way street: by cleaning and improving my site, I improve my personal self-worth. My previous design honestly could have lasted quite a while longer: it was not a bad design, not in the least. It felt stagnant to me, though.

I apparently gave the impression that I took the feedback on the redesign pretty hard, for which I apologize. While I was slightly frustrated that some of the feedback had not come sooner in development, I was glad to have the feedback at all. The relatively poor response I received about the new design was not devastating, merely a bit of a bummer that happened to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I guess that’ll teach me to make major changes and call for feedback when I’m feeling fragile emotionally. ;)
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