Busy working on DigiSynd Projects

Wow I haven't blogged in a while. I can attribute that to all of the neat and wild projects I have been working on. Since August 2009 I have been working with DigiSynd.com, a group of amazing, talented, top notch web and application developers. They are mainly geared towards developing facebook applications for several Disney movies, characters, and brands. Also I have been working on many client projects and of course my own projects. I am really enjoying the challenging projects in conjunction with learning how things are done in the DigiSynd arena. ie. Multiple platforms, server load balancing, MemCaching just about everything and all of the different team players involved in application production. I don't manage any of those aspects yet I just have to be a team player while working with the people in those areas.

Ongoing projects are keeping me really busy. I tend to get carried away and work every day. So, one of my goals this 2010 year is to start taking at least 1 day off a week to relax and recoupe away from the computer. Surely that will increase productivity even more. It's a challenge I deal with all the time since so much of my research, work, school, games, and some social are all done on via computer/gadgets. I call that occupational hazards. Every work environment has them.

So I am looking forward to a great 2010 full of a ton of challenging projects!

Occupational Perks:

So to be able to work in a secure web development environment, a mac was required. Secure authorizing to communicate with the servers and a server environment running php, mysql, and the tricky memcached is accomplished much smoother with a mac since it does run on a similar platform as the popular linux servers. So I managed to pick up a 27" imac which I have grown to absolutely love! The transition from a windows environment, which I was very efficient with, to the mac was effortlessly logical. I am not sure what took me so long to switch. I say switch but there are still 3 windows machines here in the house :) - There are so many awesome features about macs that I just can't live without now.

Right at the end of January I had a 2 week work trip to Burbank, CA. so I had to run to Best Buy and pick up a 17" macbook pro.
Another nice perk to working on the web. You don't ever see a shortage of the most up-to-date gadgets and computers. I had to go back through setting up a secure environment with specific versions of php, mysql, and memcached. It can be a daunting task for someone who is a web developer, not a server administrator. None the less, I got it working and 2 weeks in LA / Burbank CA. was a great experience.

After working on the 2 new macs for a little while, Wendy decided she couldn't deal with her "Dell" laptop any longer and so we went to Best Buy and, yet again, bought another macbook pro "13" for portability. She had to have one.

And there you have it... 3 macs and that's all I have to say. Cheers, Ciao, Adios...

Guzer - Video Entertainment Site Redesign

Guzer.com received a fresh design. The concept was simple: To keep it simple. Improved comment system using ajax so that when someone makes a post / comment the page does not reload. Also the 5 star rating system was programed using the same concept using ajax. The page does not load when you rate a video or picture. The new site design focuses on getting the user straight to the content without clutter or extra stuff for them to click on. This site is all about the content as well as simple coding for fast loading!

Water Wheel Pictures

I have developed a fascination for water wheels and hope to some day build one so I compiled a collection of water wheel pictures. These pictures will be the inspiration, influence, and concepts for my future water wheel project. The project will encompass European old world architecture and generate electricity.

Water wheels have been around since ancient classical times, generating power to drive a millstone or create energy. Water wheels have something special about them. Maybe it is the sound of the water falling, the energy they can produce, or the architecture that makes them so special. What ever it may be, people are drawn to build them.

Water Wheel Pictures