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December 23, 2005

Learning New Things

Well i've been working my butt off at work trying to get the Peach County website done. I've had to learn more about ColdFusion than I thought I'd thought I'd ever need. Learned how to do SQL joins, ColdFusion security, nested CFLOOPs, using session variables and all kinds of things. Most if not all of the stuff I've learned I can apply directly to my personal website with a little ColdFusion to PHP conversion.

It's nice to learn new things. This website will be cool once we're done with it. And I can say I pretty much built the whole site. The only thing I didn't do was add alot of the content. That I left to Jimmy to add, but I created the basic page for him to use and told him how to do just about everything. :) He's learning though. I won't train myself out of a job however. I don't think Jimmy will ever understand ColdFusion. He was having trouble with tables, so I don't think he'll ever learn ColdFusion.

Posted by adrian at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2005

Christmas Party

We had a Ferret Meetup/Christmas Party this last Sunday and it went pretty well. Lots of people came and we had lots of fun playing with the little fuzzies. People from my work came as well and they had their first "real" expirence with the ferrets.
We even gave out door prizes which included some reindeer ornamenets, a pair of bears, a snowman, and three sets of crochetted eggs for the ferret people if they wanted to try and win them.
Unfortunalty all the people I had wanted to play halo with arrived at different times or couldnt make it. So instead I played seperate games with them, but it was still fun. We have another party to go to on wednesday for my office. I'll let you know how that goes later this week.
Things don't always go how you plan them, but in the end they usually turn out pretty well. Merry Christmas!

Posted by adrian at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2005

Red Pill, Blue Pill

"If you take the blue pill, you wake up and believe whatever you want to believe. Take the red pill and I'll show you how far down the rabbit hole goes."

Ever have one of those days where nothing seems to be going your way? Everything upsets you or just doesn't feel right? There is a song on the Animatrix soundtrack that repeats "take the blue pill, take the red pill" over and over and it got me thinking. Given the choice which one would you take? After thinking about it I decided my decision would be based on how my life was going. If it was not going my way I would take the red pill. If things were good I would take the blue.

Yesterday was looking like a red pill day. Started out with a few arguements, a few missunderstandings and I was thinking there's got to be something better. At that point I would have taken the red pill. But things got better, had fun, watched movies and by the end of the day, which in my opinion is where the decision should take place, it was a blue pill day.

It kind of reminds me about a couple of terms I heard from Evangelion: homeostasis and transistasis. One a force for change, the other a force for the status quo. The red pill, transistasis, change. The blue pill, homeostasis, status quo. But in the end, you don't need a pill to change everything. All you have to do is change your mind.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't believe in the power of thought being able to change your life, or effect the outcome of a superbowl game. But positive thinking is powerful. It allows you to see open doors, and walk past the closed ones. It can put you on a path to greatness and away from sorrow. Like the Sister Hazel song says: "If you wanna be somebody else, change your mind"

Posted by adrian at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

December 09, 2005

Versions of Me

What makes up a person? How many different people can exist in a singular being? How many different versions of Me are there? While I don't know how many there are, I know there are several. I was thinking just about all the characters I've created and how they reflect different parts of me.

Munch-Munch represents the part of me that still feels too young to be out on my own. She is always needing help or support in almost anything she does. The only time she is sure about herself is when she is doing what she is good at.

Mamoru is the part of me that feels strong and powerful but at the same time feels a need to protect those around him. He is more powerful than he realizes, but is busy helping others to concentrate on himself. He doesnt even have time to find out about his past. He has a birthplace and parents he barely even remembers. I have a birthplace as well that I dont know much about.

Celeste is the giving one and is the me that is dedicated to helping others and doing things for others no matter the cost and no matter what the outcome will be. She gave her life to protect those she loved and I can only hope that I would do the same in a similar situation.

Di Di is the me that watches me. She is how I feel others see me. If I think I'm doing something wrong, she would be the one that pointed it out. If I am better than I think I am, she would point that out too.

Johanne is the part of me that likes to fight. In fact he enjoys fighting. When I am playing games with others, espically fighting games, he is the version of me you are fighting against. Now when the game is over that person might change depending on if I won or lost.

Space Boy, otherwise known as Douglas Caine, is the me that feels like an alien in an otherwise familar world. He looks like everyone(disregard the tail from the pictures) but is not like everyone, he is different and he knows it. And deep down he wishes to one day leave those around him and return to a home he has never known.

Janus, Gimei, Ryvane, Gabriel, and Alex don't represent a very big part of me and are ultimatly someone else I would rather be.

Then there is the character who's name I go by: Valkyrie. He knows just about everything there is to know, is strong beyond almost all reckoning, rejected his teachings, and wants to take over the world and remake it in his own way. How does that represent me you ask? He is the me that knows what he wants, and gets what he wants, everything has to be his way or the highway. He would correspond to Freud's "Id" or as I call it "Me" (as in Me, Myself, and I; and It's all about me) Valkyrie represents the part of me that rejects the worlds teachings, that feels everything I know is right and all others are simplistic fools, and feels everything should be done my way, because I said so.

In a world that has no bounds on what we can or cannot do, such as the internet, Valkyrie is the persona I choose to take because I can. Because nothing on the net stops me from expressing myself in that way. Well, except my virtual Ego and SuperEgo, which i guess would be represented by Mamoru and Celeste, respectively.

In every day life I find myself being more like Mamoru and less like Valkyrie. But when you meet me online or in person what version of me will you meet?

[Mamoru] He's talking about us again.
[Munch-Munch] So I see. Who knew that I was helpless part of him? Now I feel depressed.
[Mamoru] Don't feel depressed about it. You may represent the helpless part of him and you may be "helpless" when he writes about you elsewhere, but here on this website you can be whoever you want to be.
[Munch-Munch] You're right. I can be whoever I want to be, can't I? He doesn't control me.
[Johanne] Well...If you want to get technical, he does control you. He controls everything. The only reason you are even allowed to speak is because he is typing it out.
[Damean] Stinky boy has a point. At any point he can make you do things you wouldn't normally do. Ever seen "Drawn Together"? The only reason he doesn't do things like that is because he respects you as a character.
[Johanne] What Drunk boy is really trying to say, is that he likes you just the way you are and would never make you do something you wouldnt want to do.
[Munch-Munch] But what defines what I would and wouldn't do. Him?
[Mamoru] Yes, but all that has already been set by your past actions. To change you now would seem strange and out of place and we would begin to think you had been possesed and would have to start a quest to return you to normal.
[Valkyrie] Everyone is right. I created you to be a specific way and that is how you will always be. But don't worry, there is always room for growth. Just as I, in the real world, am growing and changing, so you, here in the virtual world can grown and change with each passing post and telling of the story.
[Munch-Munch] It's nice to know that you care that much about me. Now if you'll excuse me, I plan on working on my self assurance.
[Gabriel] For those that keep up with the RPG over at AnimeNation. Valkyrie has been slowly posting the closing of the story. The forces have gathered for the Third Great War which just might end up killing everyone on the planet. Even now, Valkyrie is asking Mamoru if he will join him in this quest to destroy the gods. For more information check out the Gi'Erth Site as well as the Animenation Forums, which is where the story is being told. You might have to do a little searching in the RPG section. But his threads are easily identified by the VALK'S in front of the title.
[Mamoru] You heard the man! Go! Check out things and make comments. Let Valkyrie know whether he is doing a good job, or is sucking royally. Oh, and if you do say he is sucking, make sure you include why so he can change and not suck anymore. Thanks.
Posted by adrian at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2005

Changes

Made a few changes to the layout and I think it looks good. I like the seperate boxes rather than being all one object. If it doesnt show up right on someone's screen just let me know and I figure out how to make it look right. If you do let me know make sure you indicate what OS you are running and what Browser and version you are using. And now I will attempt to add the character chat to the blog.

[Mamoru] Well would you look at that? It's a blog and we're part of it.
[Munch-Munch] This is kinda neat. But will it really help Valkyrie post any more?
[Mamoru] Perhaps. But ya never really know with him do you?
[Munch-Munch] No, I suppose not. But we can always hope.
Posted by adrian at 03:47 PM | Comments (3)