Thursday, April 13, 2006

BeSPeCkeled Adium

It has been a long time since I posted last. Almost forgetting I have a blog seemed like a possibility there. Though I haven't blogged in months, I will not torture you with a small novel.

Onto that novel…
Item 1: The game DarkGalaxy is a joke and, by far, the worst browser-based, turn-style game out there today. Keeping it short: Poor game mechanics and horrible "customer service" make this game deplorable. The creator both plays and cheats. Well, he may not be actually cheating, which would mean he is just dumber than a post. Both options aren't exactly kudos.

Item 2: I am returning to FFXI to be a Puppetmaster. What a fun time for FFXI. Starting April 18th.

Item 3: I downloaded Adium two days ago. I tried this All-In-One IM client some 5 years ago and it just didn't do it for me. Today, however, it does it for everyone! This program is phenomenal and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to streamline their IM needs. There are even talks of incorporating IRC (via Colloquy, I think) which would just blow my socks clean off and across the ocean to slap some unwitting European in the face.

If Adium wasn't bad ass enough alone, it certainly kicks ass (ala Chuck Norris style) because of all the Xtras. Want a custom set of status icons? Download it or better yet, make them yourself! There are literally thousands of these Xtras to choose from. I found GiR to my liking as my Dock Icon, initially. Then I thought to myself, “How hard could it be to make my own?” Answer: Not at all. So I took the time and created my own Dock Icon for Adium. I bring you SPeCks DI! So far, I am averaging around 5 downloads an hour of this dock icon set. I will likely work up some other characters for a DI set and will also make a menubar set and status icons for the contact list. What I really would like to tackle is a set of emoticons for SPeCks. That would be killer!

All of the above means, of course, that I have introduced a form of “credible threat” for myself regarding the comic. As everyone who downloads/views the DI (or any other Xtra I might create) would be introduced to SPeCks and would likely click to the website to view the comic. So, I guess this means I need to actually start back on that...

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

In Review

Last week was a bust with regard to the SPeCks item of the week and also my attempt at picking up the comic again. I got the summary and script done and then was absolutely hammered at work (on top of being hired full-time!). I think the plan is sound, it just needs less stuff going on for me to complete it. I was also preparing for the weekend with the ADDY show and Carnaval.

My logo garnered a bronze ADDY, amongst six other agencies who also got bronze in the category. The "a"s are really quite different from my previous win (2001). They are no longer made of lead and they resemble a condensed Helvetica "a" rather than the wide version. I am not sure the process to make these new "a"s, but they are heavy. The old ones were moderate in weight, they were just bigger. These new ones seem like they have extra gravity applied to their diminutive frames. And solid as granite these bad boys. Oh, and did I mention shiny? I can see my reflection in this thing. It's awesome!

Carnaval was an absolute blast. We had never gone before and were offered tickets by a good friend who also happened to be the crafter of our costumes. The costumes looked spectacular and my wife looked spectacular in costume. I think it might have been hyped up a bit, but it was still quite an experience.

Add to all that, my new addiction. Most know that I play FFXI. Certainly not as religiously as when it first came out, but I still find 2-3 hours a week to sit down and partake in my new sedentary lifestyle of fishing on the game. It's much easier and I can pick up the game at any time and am not on a set time limit. Anyway, I have found my choice in video-games leaning to the non-action packed variety. Enter DarkGalaxy. This is a turn-based, browser game set in the cold reaches of an unknown universe. Turn-based games are those that follow the "something happens once an hour" guidelines. And with a queue enabled in this game, you can set up to -not- play for 12 hours. So, the game is currently at Turn 210 (that's right – 210 hours have passed) and I am doing fairly well.

I am working on a plan to push out two SPeCks products this week as well as going ahead and scripting the next page whilst finishing up production on last week's page for the comic. I am hoping for release of last week's page by the end of this week with Monday seeing this week's page (which would be on schedule). Will this all happen? Stay tuned…

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Study

Now SPeCks can really be on your mind even when I haven’t produced any new pages to the comic since… what… August? Proudly presenting the first SPeCks hat available for purchase. It’s like a window into your mind. Spacious…

I also thought I might show a little behind-the-scenes action for the comic, by way of one of the character study sheets. And who better to do that with than with Bob. Originally, Bob was to be the absolute main character with Patrick as his “sidekick” (think Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza). As it turns out, the story (yes, I am actually still scripting) has Patrick as kind of the main character. Both Specks are the bulk of the comic, with one playing off the other, so I am not saying you will see one more than the other, just that Patrick seems to be the title-character at the moment. Anyway, enough of that - here’s Bob:

Thursday, January 19, 2006

“a”

Congratulations! Your agency has produced award winning advertising for the following: theLOGO



Austin Advertising Federation.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Gaze

Item number 8 hits the SPeCks store shelves. What is it this time? A mini button for your bag, purse, wrist band, wallet, random point on your body…

I had so many other thoughts in my head, but they managed to escape. Lousy thoughts…

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Sticking

Real quick post to announce this week's SPeCks item is up!

A sticker (oval) with the whole gang (and some you may, or may not, know). Kind of a teaser, I suppose. Who is that one with the glasses?

In other news: Jim Kersey is working on his online comic website. It is killer, folks. Killer!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Infinite Fancy

Wow! 2006 is here and today marks 8 years with my lovely wife. Our “infinity” year. Just fantastic! To commemorate the occasion, we did our annual What-a-burger meal at lunch and just yesterday we got matching infinity tattoos. My first, her third. Thought it would hurt something fierce (crosses over the spine area, just below my neck) but it turned out all right. I look forward to the rest of forever.

I have also managed to keep my new year's resolution of “one SPeCks product a week” and have posted the latest item: Light Switch Plate. Suzi is the star on this product and I am pleased with how it looks. Next week: another t-shirt.

Elsewhere: Once in a while, I take the time to pull into a parking spot in reverse so the front of the car is facing out. Who knew it had a name: Fancy Parking.