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  Something I never understand 10:48 AM -- Mon May 3, 2004  

Nobody (but "nutcases") will ever do anything better than lip service about the environment until it's setting them on fire and tossing them out a window. We all know that, and it's the depressing reality of human beings. The future is too hard for us to fear (probably doesn't help that we have so much to fear, hate, and lament in the present!).

But here's what is so unfathomable to me: People LIVE in LOS ANGELES. Can you imagine!? It's probably tough for people who don't live near a city like LA to understand, but I live a hundred miles or so south of it, and I can drive up towards LA, and see the death cloud completely engulfing it. It's not like there's a general smog over all of Southern California. Not at all, though I'm sure the air isn't perfectly pure (and today, our air here is filled with smoke from local brush fires, including one that was very uncomfortably close! My only comfort was the fact that surely the fire department wouldn't let the hundreds of houses between me and the brush all get burned). There really is a specific and focused cloud of smog clinging to LA itself. The air there is completely cancer-packed, filled to the gills with brown death. The EPA or whoever puts out those smog numbers says the air is actually dangerous to breathe there. But people just do it. I'm well aware that you can get used to it, but you know a large portion of the LA population leaves their city sometimes, and then comes back and sees what they're returning to. But they still return! They just live their lives in LA, and they don't even notice that they're breathing in poison! And more people move there all the time! Nevermind the insane traffic, which I have vowed never to drive in again, and the violence and everything else. The place is just disgusting. If it were my house, I'd run outside and burn it to the ground. It's done.

The real point is, even when the destruction of the environment is clearly being played out right in their face, and having direct health consequences on them, people ignore it. They have 'bigger' things to worry about, like what will happen on 24 next, and how best to handle the tough client at work. It's not like the cancer is going to get you today. It scares me.

And on a partly related note, I was thinking yesterday about this: in time, the car culture here in America will collapse and we will finally join the civilized (civilised, I suppose) world in using public transportation constantly. The reason is simple: traffic in urban areas is getting so bad that it's just not worth it! I'm totally sure that there are a large number of people in LA that drive to work who would literally get there faster by walking (unfortunately, that would increase their dosage of LA air, so maybe that's the problem). New York is really where this collapse started, but they got way ahead of everyone else, by growing in a much more packed way, leaving no room for actual movement of cars. New York is the one place in America where it's common for adults to not even have a car. Everybody there takes the subway and cabs, and there's even a whole lot of walking. I think in time, that's how all cities will be in America. That'll be good, it'll cut down on the carbon monoxide some. Of course, if people stop using the streets, the streets will empty out, and ... well, people will start driving on them again! Boy, we need electric cars.

Enviro-mumbling for the day complete.
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  People Suck 12:13 PM -- Sat April 24, 2004  

You know those kids who come around saying they're trying to get a scholarship, selling newspapers and whatnot? I just spent a solid 3 minutes slowly closing my door on one who just wouldn't stop telling me how it's cheap, etc, etc. Fine, it's beyond obnoxious, and I clearly had no interest, but that was just being pushy, I can understand it. But here's the last thing he said: "Well, I'm going to sign you up anyway, alright?"

I'M GOING TO SIGN YOU UP ANYWAY.

The world is doomed.

(I said no, it's not alright, through the tiny crack of door that was still open, and he began walking away. Didn't look like he was writing anything as he went...)
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  It's so weird... 12:18 PM -- Thu April 22, 2004  

Life has been really hectic lately, but all of a sudden, it's come together. It's like all these major things were going on, and they all came to a head at the same exact time. Yesterday, in fact, was like the ultimate of them all: we signed our refi papers, our landscaping job was finished, and I switched the DNS over to the new server! In close relation was the conclusion of the 48 hour contest work (specifically, yesterday I put what I think are actually the very finishing touches on the judging portion, so of course same day as the others!).

Then, today, it goes a little further: I took the papers to the fedex place to send in this morning, so that is truly finalized today, and the server wasn't working with the new DNS, so I contacted the tech people, and they fixed it up, so it is propagated today, and finally working too.

But wait, there's more! Something else all of these things have in common is that, though they finished up yesterday, they all have more trickles to continue for a couple weeks. The LD48 contest, judging will last for 2 weeks, then I'll have to implement a vote tally and announce the winners (and have Pelly prizes, of course). The loan, we still have to hear back that we signed everything right and get the okay that it's really all done. The landscaping, we need to now use the new garden we got and plant it full of stuff, and do a few lesser landscaping things to finish it up (flowers to plant, an arbor to replace, tree trimming). The website, well, that's always ongoing I suppose, but I have had some pretty important bits I wanted in the near future.

Phew. So it's like there's multiple big loads off of my shoulders now, but they still left some dust and debris I'll have to wipe off for a while. Still, it's such a feeling to realize that things are in a calmer place again.

Now all I have to do is: improve the download system, improve the newsletter system, finish the stockboy patch, redo the loonyland demo, redo the stockboy demo, ready Kid Mystic for sale with demo, packaging, and all, ready Spooky Castle for download, ready Eddie Galaxy for sale with all the elements, revamp the bookkeeping system to be somewhat useful, and of course, after all of that... work on Sol Hunt. That game has an epic history of life on the back burner, doesn't it?

I guess things never really calm down.
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  Almost moved! 11:18 AM -- Wed April 21, 2004  

Well, the contest is over, and I didn't submit an entry. Mine got maybe halfway done, but it wasn't likely to be much fun anyway. I was way too messed up with all the website troubles I was dealing with to really accomplish anything. It didn't help that I didn't have a good game idea. That's really the lesson I'm taking from this: I came up with several ideas to make, spent hours thinking of the most creative ones I could. I really really wanted to make something totally original and very strongly befitting the theme (if you're gonna waste 48 hours, waste it doing something you wouldn't do otherwise!). In my haste to do so, I kinda missed out. I should've just gone with the very derivative idea I had, which would've loosely fit the theme (like most of the entries...), and would've been incredibly fun. It was a sort of Smash TV clone, which is always fun. I would've had a blast making it, it would've turned out cool, and it'd be a fun game. So that's what I'm remembering for next time: make it fun. Don't worry about being original or sticking too much to the theme (sure worked for Hitsuji!).

The other news is that we have our new server, and it's almost completely set up. Hopefully it'll be ready later today, and when it is, I'll tell them to switch the domain over to it. It'll take a couple days to be completely propagated everywhere, but once it is, we'll all be on the happy new server, and everything will be way better! Everywhere! In the whole world! The new server should be a little faster, and a vast amount more stable. I'm really looking forward to having this switch over with.

That's one of a lot of major things that are really big issues right now - guys are in my backyard tearing everything up for our major landscaping operation, our home refinance is about to close (we sign papers today!), I have all those new eGames games to deal with (if you didn't hear: eGames has finally agreed that I can sell the games they publish of mine myself, that means Spooky Castle, Kid Mystic, and Eddie Galaxy are coming... semi-soon, when I get time to prepare them for it), and I've been talking to a marketing guy about getting some marketing services. Things are so crazy around here, I only got to play Diablo for a little while yesterday, and only because I was waiting for a gigantic file transfer for the new site! And NO Diablo the day before! Yipes!
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  We're back! 11:21 AM -- Sun April 18, 2004  

I took almost all of yesterday off. It was so worth it. We watched movies and lounged around and ordered pizza. It was a rainy day.

You may notice some updates and forum posts have gone missing. That's because our site has been restored from a backup from Friday. So that's good! E-mail isn't back up yet, but everything else is, and we are on a new server which has plugged the security hole that was exploited to break in. We're still not at a new host, which we will switch to in the coming week, because these guys take the term "horrible service" to dizzying heights that telecommunications companies can only dream of. But, we are on a working server now, with the latest security updates, so I'm much happier with it.

Since the updates are gone, here's the deal: I now have a game you can play, but it has no goals or anything. You can move the Retrovirus around a network, and a virus starts at one computer and slowly spreads across. So today, I'm adding all the things you can do about that, and putting in goals and rules and whatever, and that's it! I have until 6pm tonight to finish, so 9.5 hours. Shouldn't be hard. It won't be anything close to a contender in the voting, but at least I'll know I finished it.

The chosen theme, "Infection", was an extremely good one. But I just couldn't come up with anything! I hope this game turns out interesting. Back to work!
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  Wish I could upload... 09:39 PM -- Fri April 16, 2004  

I'd show you my nifty virus! Still not sure what to do, I have several conflicting ideas. One I think is really clever, but I'm not sure it'd be fun, and it's got very little to it graphically. Another would be unoriginal, but very fun. Fun IS important... but this is a 48 hour contest, I should be trying to create something new and see how it goes! I also have a few other ideas poking at me. Anyway, the virus has googly eyes, because I made it.
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  1hr, 14 minutes 08:40 PM -- Fri April 16, 2004  

I've spent all my time dealing with the website problem, barely started thinking about my design. But in the meantime, I started coding the basic framework - I now have a red line that slides across the screen at a smooth 60fps! Hooray! I figured I might as well get on that, I can think while the basic framework goes up. The only real thoughts I've had on the theme are Vampire, and Werewolf.
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  The Topic is... 07:38 PM -- Fri April 16, 2004  

INFECTION! What to do, what to do? By the way, our server's been hacked, so if you're emailing me, I am very very sorry, I can't read it! Please send emails to jamulio@yahoo.com. We should have the thing working tonight, I hope, but maybe not until Sunday. I've already contacted everyone that I KNOW has placed an order from that address. I'll try to keep up with orders. It's a weird situation, since the website works, I just can't upload or check email! Very crappy.
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  48 Hours of PAIN! 07:15 PM -- Fri April 16, 2004  

So it begins in 12 minutes! I haven't looked at what the theme is yet, I'll mention it here when I do, then I shall blog up my progress on my project during the contest! We're supposed to do a timelog, so this will be mine. Anxiousness...
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  Easter = A Lot Of Food 01:13 PM -- Mon April 12, 2004  

I think I wore out my body eating yesterday. I had a hard time waking up today! But the good news is, we've gone to our workout place a few times, and I can do it! The whole half hour! In fact, I keep feeling like I need to push harder, because I never feel worn out and beaten afterward. Maybe that's a good thing though. At least it makes me sweaty like a pig. So I guess all my Dance Dance paid off after all, hooray.

I've got all these game patches going on... I guess I should ship the Loonyland patch now. I'm skittish about it, because the bugs that were found were such subtle interplays between the tons of badges and the various game modes that I just know there are more lurking underneath in even more obscure combos. But, it's been tested, I suppose. Guess I will release it today!

I've also finished the Stockboy patch, but it's VERY minor (I really want to put my efforts into new games!). The only changes are: fixing the auto-download so it works for everyone, fixing the high score on the October level where it was out of whack, and adding a new small level set for good fun. So that's really ready too... my only hesitation with shipping that is that there's so little to it! Seems like there should be more for this long-long-long-awaited patch.

And last on the patch list is the latest Supreme patch. That too is close to done. It's all a bunch of really minor tweaks, it's not a must-have patch, unless I find an easy way to implement the idea someone had to allow you to trade in Loonykeys for coins. Of course, eventually coins too become obsolete, once you've bought everything... so what could you trade THEM for? As if there isn't enough gameplay in Supreme.

Then this weekend, a 48-hour contest I am greatly looking forward to! Whoopee!! It's been so very long, and I'm ready to crank out an ultimate masterpiece. Then after that, Sol Hunt finally again. That game does seem to get shoved aside a lot. Bravely I struggle on with it though, because I really like the equip screen I made for it. Oh, but wait - there also need to be updates to the Loonyland and Stockboy demos! Geez.
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