On some thoughts. Of mine. Kinda.

Ok, first, I put up a section with photos from the Chicago trip. This is a really poor way to build a site for pics, I know, and it probably looks awful to all you Mac users, but I DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT DESIGN! In case you didn't already know that. This site has never been about design, but about content. That it falls short in that area as well, I take full responsibility for. That the rest of it stinks is, well, Kevin's fault. Not really.

So, here is a thought. Kevin built this page for me and has an idea for a redesign that we have been talking about for, oh, I don't know, about a year. Anyone who knows Newsums knows that they are slow, not mentally of course, but in most other ways. They take forever to get anything done. This is not a character flaw on their part, just a genetic predisposition, and you learn to love it about them. My favorite Newsum is, in fact, the slowest.

Anyway, back to my thought. (Thank God I only have a few, anyone who knows Jefes knows that they love the sound of their own voice and like to tell long rambling stories that wander all over the place before getting to the point. Thankfully they are usually really good stories.) Alison is working on yet another redsign, all of 'em great, and Karen just had her site redesigned by someone else, the lovely and talented Leia.

I can't decide if I want my site fixed, expanded, or redesigned fully. So here's the deal.

Recently, I started the Official Cloudwrangler Softball and Cricket Team. (See, I told you my stories wandered all over the place) Attention all current Team members, both of you, we are now also a Cricket team, better learn to play cricket. It involves wearing white and drinking tea. Anyway, so far there are only three members of the team, myself, Billy, and Jess. They earned their way onto the team as Grand Champions of the Pez Contest for 2002 and Pez of the Month Winners for Jan-April of 2003. You can see the new and fully updated rules of the contest here.

Or, to get onto the team (which doesn't really play anything, yet) and score yourself a free Jersey like this, here's what you gotta do. Anyone who can pull these off will recieve unfettered acces to all the relevant server/administrator/hostng/password type areas they might need.

1) I need my positioning fixed for these damn buttons, and any other Mac related viewing problems sorted out. First person to do it gets on the team.

2) I want a comment system for this design. I have tried to half ass one myself several times, all miserable failures. Build me one that uses the pop up windows, and make it look as cool as possible. First person to do it gets on the team.

3) Build and teach me to use a photo gallery type viewing section so I can post my photos within the parameters of the current design and not have to build those lame ass pages like the one I got. First person to do it gets on the team.

4) Submit a redesign for this site. I'll let you use my webspace if need be, give you complete access to my hosting stuff, all that good crap. It can be Blogger or MoveableType (which I would prefer and am really anxious to use). I want to keep the logo design (the cloudwrangler chopped off font and probably the three cloud square design) in some form, but feel free to play with the colors, whatever you want. Go nuts. Anyone who submits a design, whether it gets used or not, gets on the team.

So I guess this is now officially the Third Cloudwrangler Contest, The Cloudwrangler Redesign Contest. As anyone who particiapted int he first two contests (The Pez Contest and The Chinese Swimmer Haiku Contest) knows, you really can win here at Cloudwrangler.

Easy, right?

On many goings on

Ok, just got back from Chicago, and lots to talk about there personally. Going to see the Matrix in less than two hours, so very excited about that. Lots to do around the House to get ready for SummerBash II: Son of SummerBash. If you aren't on the E-vite yet, and think you should be, send me a line at jefe@cloudwrangler.com. An all new section of the 'wranlger comin' soon, when I figure out how to put up photo sets of my trip pictures, including one of me taking on the most feared predator that ever lived with my bare hands. It looks slightly bemused while I am doing it. Ok, see ya soon, true believers!

On Summer Movies

It's that time again, everyone. Summer blockbuster season is almost better than Christmas. I am such a geek for this stuff. I like good film too, I love the art in all its forms, but summer movies, I just gotta tell ya, I love 'em. Review for X2 is up in the film section, with many more to come. I promise to keep up this summer. Gonna try to catch Identity this week, and maybe Confidence as well. Plus, only a little over a week until Matrix. I already got my tickets. See ya at the movies!

On Manipulation, baby

New games are fun. I now own shares of this,this, this, this, this, this, this, and this. Also, in me.

So, will it drive the prices in unusual ways if I say that I own shares of this,this, this, this, this, this, this, and this, and also, in me.

Is this cheating? If so, perhaps I should stop telling everyone that I own shares of this,this, this, this, this, this, this, and this, and also, in me.
I certainly shouldn't keep writing that I own shares of this,this, this, this, this, this, this, and this, and also, in me.

Should I? If you think I should stop talking about the fact that I own shares of this,this, this, this, this, this, this, and this, and also, in me, then write about it and say so.

Just do it on your page, buddy, I need all the help I can get.

On Creating New Verbs

I've often said that my degree in Creative Writing allows me to create my own words at will. Lots of people try this, but their words aren't REAL words, since they don't have the certification and training that I and others with similar degrees (comparitive literature, English as a second language, engineering, and well, like word-rendering I guess) have got. So my new verb is Enroning.

I recently got listed on Blogshares, the beta version of an online stock trading game in which other people's blogs are the stocks.

I have been intentionally trying to sabotage my own stock price.

This ought to prove a good indicator of whether or not the blogshares market functions like the real market. I am Enroning myself in every way I can think of. I recently performed a leveraged buyout of my own stock and then dumped it back onto the market only a few hours later. ALL of it. This drove my stock price down to 1 cent. HA! If, through creative internet accoutning, aka Enroning, my blog I can crash it's value, I can help the folks at Blogshares perfect their market.

Right?

On Server Migration

It's been a real hassle, but it's fixed, and I am back online. All I keep thinking about is the line from Ghostbusters:

Stantz: "You forget, Peter, I was present at an undersea, unexplained mass sponge migration."
Venkman; "Awww, Ray, the sponges migrated about a foot and a half."