Repaired Insurance

A couple of weeks ago I ended up breaking my camera. The lens no
longer functioned, and it was obvious that sand or grit or something
had gotten in the gears that move the lens in and out.
I took it to a larger company which are listed as Sony repairers.
They took it, said they'd have a look at it. Just for having a look
at it they charged $37.50.
They couldn't work it out - evidently - and so sent it to Sony, which
was going to be another $80-$90 just to look at it.
Sony sent it back saying that it was a gear problem (which we pretty
much already knew) and was going to be another $400-$450 to repair.
Bollocks to that.
What's more, Insurance wouldn't pay because although it was damaged
property, it was a mechanical fault...which evidently isn't covered

'Till next time...

Landscape // A tribute to Colin McCahon

I went for a trip into the wairarapa to shoot some footage for my art
film last weekend - a tribute to Colin McCahon. However, passion for
this project has diminished and time is of the essence at the moment.
I also haven't painted for a while, and want to get back into this
before I start on another artistic medium.
The footage was also on the poorer side of quality, though I'm sure
with a bit of manipulation I could use it for the purpose I needed it
for.

'Till next time...

Update // affirmation : 20//09//06

I have been continuing to work on my new website over the last week
or so. I need two ideas for images for the "Home" page and also for
the "Flash" page.
I was also toying with the idea of having video content for each
page, where I'd walk on and establish the image. I think that that
would be a major task, not only just filming it but implimenting it
onto the site and keeping a low filesize for easy access on the web.

'Till next time...

Web Hosting of the free variety

Over the last couple days I have been hunting for free web hosts.
Something I do every now and then when the time calls. In the past I
have put small sites on the left over space of my own server, and
other servers that I have access to. However, space begins to run out
as these sites expand, and so I find myself needing to find another
host. Finding free hosts isn't the issue. Its finding ones which
offer the best service and all the additional extras that one
requires to run their website. For example, I need PHP, but I also
need the GDLibrary function enabled. A website I am working on at the
moment needs PHP, but they also want website statistics. Many come
with banner ads, but more and more are removing these so that
customers will use their free service. Size, FTP access, and MySQL
Databases all contribute to the one you end up choosing.
At the moment I am looking for two. One as a possible host for a
large church website, and the other to host all my personal sites, as
a record of those which I have made and developed, as a working
portfolio/history of my websites. Each will have their own directory
and all will be able to be viewed in their entirety.
I find it interesting that databases with these host's information
and offers often appear on dodgy looking, half-assed designed sites,
considering the topic of their site!
Such web hosts I am currently looking at are www.4000webs.com which
offers ftp access, php, GDLib, database - but doesn't have website
stats or much in the way of management tools
Another is www.x10hosting.com which although offers a primo no ad and
all access deal, requires you to login to their forum at least once
every 2 weeks.
Another is www.ifastnet.com which seems to be better. However - it doesn't have a file manager or as part of its cPanel, which is very limiting on the administration side of things.
But by far the best in terms of free service with all the gadgets and all the extra add ons is www.jaywebdesigns.com. The only downside of this is that it says it takes up to 24 hours for user activation...and that it is slightly hard to navigate their site. But if you're willing to wait for it and put up with an un-user friendly site...this would have to be my first choice!

'Till next time...

When the going gets tough - the tough get stuck in!

Ever find that whenever something hits you, that everything else begins to pile up at your doorstep as well? First its one assignment to do, then its the next, followed by this and that in that other thing you do, while all along you have things you want to do such as paint and then other things you need to do such as make a website... It just seems to be a never ending avalanche of things that I need and want to get done.
Ah well - there's peace in the fact that so far I'm keeping ahead of schedule for assignments and updating websites has become easier to fit in.
'Till next time...

YouTube // The next Google Video?

YouTube has risen to prominence using the same sort of technology that Google Video has. It has increased in popularity. Will Google buy it out too!?
Besides that... here is a great clip!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWCSGGrU9MA

'Till next time...

Update // New Site

I have started work on the new site. What would I want a new site for? Its not out of necessity. Its more to do with getting bored with the current one and the limitations of it (in terms of content I can put onto it etc...) and the fact that I need a new challenge!

A demo can be seen here. This will not have all the features but you can get a feel for what it might look like.

A couple of years ago I did one in white. I called it whiteLite. It was a purely php/html site, no flash content, but it was full of text and information. I felt though that it was too much for a personal website. Its power was being able to add in pages easily, and I hope to make this process with this one even earlier, with integration between php and flash becoming more vital as I find out ways in which to use both mediums in unison.

This new one I have called affirmation. It is also in white, because I enjoyed the challenge of creating a website in white, which is often difficult not to leave it looking stark and blank. I have seen a few sites in white which have looked great, and many which are sorely lacking.

For inspiration I am looking at www.jarsofclay.com. Its clean, simple layout and functionality is its beauty, and while their previous sites have been cutting edge (and of which I have borrowed their idea for my own navigation bar) this one seems to be a short step backwards but still provide us with some nice tasty bits. This is what I hope to bring to my own site, mainly because I don't have the know how to push the limits of flash to make a truly amazing site. Graphics is my domain, and in graphics I shall begin, and end with this project.
'Till next time...

Jars of Clay // Good Monsters

Jars of Clay - increasingly becoming my favourite band is releasing a new albumn - "Good Monsters".
Their website is amazing. www.jarsofclay.com For the last 5 or 6 years they have been pushing the limits of Flash technology. I remember their very cool navigation system which was the model for my own navigation system, with the drop down with the opposite movement to the mouse (except theirs only worked in horizontal and not vertical)
Their site is amazing to say the least. It is clean, concise and simple. What more could you want!?
Well - Jars of Clay will tell you what more you'd want! Go to www.good-monsters.com so see the website dedicated to their album and you'll see what I mean!
There are clips of their music which is really where the starting point is for any fan. Check them out, because they're beginning to rock my socks!
'Till next time...

Website Design Projects

Recently I have been designing and fixing a few websites, implimenting new photo galleries and editors which I have made using php. The gallery is particularly cool, where it will take all the folders in a directory (such as /images/) and will display them as links. Click on the links and it will display all the images in thumbnail form which reside in that folder. Click on those and it will show a large version of that image. (Sample can be found here ---> http://www.10thwellington.bb.org.nz/company/photos.php)
The coolest thing about it is it is now completely dynamic. Before, I had it so that you would have to put in the name of the folder in the directory, and name the images a certain way (camp-01.jpg, camp-02.jpg) etc... Whilst this was brilliant in itself where that was all you had to do to display a folder full of images by adding a couple of lines of code, there was to be a better way. Now it gets the list of all the folders in the images directory, displays them, AND displays all the images in the folder, regardless of their filename! What this means is that all that is required is to drop a folder full of images in the images folder and upload it to the server, and boom! just like that you have a new photo page!
'Till next time...

Soul Purpose & Love Music Good

These two top New Zealand sites - soulpurpose.co.nz and lovemusicgood.co.nz both look at relevant topics for Christians in the world today. Love Music Good gives great music reviews on all the latest Christian music releases, whilst Soul Purpose covers things from life to love to music. It is a bit more expanded, with a free magazine that is distributed to churches and an online forum where you can ask questions and post answers. Highly recommended viewing!
'Till next time...