December 31, 2016 (Sat)

Drinking - yes.

Paid work - just the usual maintenance stuff.

Creative work - none.

Happy New Year!

December 30, 2016 (Fri)

Drinking - yes.

Paid work - a decent chunk.  Not bad at all.

Creative work - pretty much nothing.  Still a bit psyched about finishing and posting the Flash Thing, so I'm taking it a bit easy until I think of a new idea.  Maybe tomorrow.

See you then.

December 29, 2016 (Thurs)

Drinking - yes.  Of course.

Paid work - a decent amount.  Nothing spectacular, but fine in and of itself.

Creative work - nothing, really.  Some PhotoShop stuff.  I'm wondering what the next project should be.  I kind of think I should keep with Flash, to continue the momentum, but I have no story ideas.  If, on the other hand, I start something in Maya, that might spark something without requiring a narrative.  It would be a new direction...it would stem the tide of progress with an avenue of newness.  A new tomorrow., maybe.

See you then.

December 28, 2016 (Wed)

Drinking - of course.

Paid work - a decent amount.  Nothing spectacular, but not bad.

Creative work - I finished the damned Flash project, and posted it to YouTube!  Yee-hah, me. 

What to start on tomorrow?  I have no idea.

See you then.

December 27, 2016 (Tues)

Drinking - yes.  I should probably just change the blog title to this.

Paid work - a bunch.  More than I expected. 

Creative work - only a little.  Had a good idea of what the coda should be for "the project" and started working on that.  Not much done, maybe more tomorrow.

See you then.

December 26, 2016 (Mon)

Drinking - yes.  So many frustrations in so little time deserves a toast (or twelve).

Paid work - not really.  Most of our clients were closed, since Christmas arrived on a Sunday. 

Creative work - again, not really.  I found out that if you export Flash stuff to QuickTime, instead of the more universal AVI, all your animations, sound stuff, etc, is preserved perfectly.  So there's that.

However, I still think the Thing deserves some kind of "coda" ending. 

I also discovered a fatal flaw in Firefox.  If you downloaded something, and the download failed, and you tried again, and it succeeded, be careful.  If you look at your Library History, and say, "Hey I can remove that failed one," it will delete the successful one as well.  So, be wary.

I've learned to be distrustful of so much software.

See you tomorrow.

December 25, 2016 (Sun)

Drinking - yes.  Not sure why, just like I'm not sure why I didn't last night.

Paid work - no, it's Sunday.  I did some maintenance stuff anyway.

Creative work - hm.  I tried to export the latest chapter of the Project to AVI, and the sound is off.  Let me explain.  In one section, the image and sound would not line up.  I mean, they lined up just fine on the timeline, but wouldn't play together in the preview.  So I moved the sound several frames after the image, and it played fine in the preview.  In the AVI, they are off in the way I would expect them to be off, given the alignment.  Why does Flash have such a problem with sound?  Sound has been in movies for about 90 years.  It's not going away, Flash.

Worse, though, is that none of Flash's native animations play in the AVI.  They just...sit there.  I don't understand it at all.  Obviously I can't post that, so tomorrow will be troubleshooting day. 

See you then.

December 24, 2016 (Sat)

Drinking - no.  Yeah, I can't believe it either.  I even have alcohol in the house, and still, drinking - no.

Paid work - the usual Saturday maintenance stuff.

Creative work - just a bit, but the Flash project is done!  All audio and visual elements completed, and it looks and sounds great.

Of course, what I mean is that the third chapter of the Flash project is done.  All that remains is stitching it to the other two, and maybe some kind of (BRIEF!) final bit.

Probably do that tomorrow.  See you then.

December 23, 2016 (Fri)

Drinking yes.  Probably my epitaph.

Paid work - a few hours, not bad, more than I expected this time of year.

Creative work - added the "vomit" bit to the main Flash project.  Looks good, just needs a bit more, and that doesn't scare me.

The "drinking" bit does.  Oh well.

See you tomorrow.

December 22, 2016 (Thurs)

Drinking - yes.  If this disease is going to kill me, please do it quick.

Paid work - more than I expected. 

Creative work - some, did a bit for the Flash Project, and worked with "bones" for the first time on something that will be published.  Felt great.   Barring some sound effects, I might actually finish this tomorrow.

See you then.

December 21, 2016 (Wed)

Drinking - yes.

Paid work - not much, but some.  Could be worse.  (It always could be worse.)

Creative work - some.  Working on the last major bit needed for the Flash Project.  I was going to avoid this, because...

--well, the circumstance is this.  A few weeks ago, I got a new backup drive to replace my dead backup drive.  Got a sweet 6TB drive which backed up everything--well, near as damn it. 

Then, a week ago, I nobly offered to give up my backup drive to help a client.  Today, I got a replacement drive, which will back up everything--well, near as damn it.

So, my files are being backed up.  Which will take at least a week to complete.  So I was a bit hesitant to start working on new stuff, thinking it would slow the backup.  But then I thought, the heck with that, let's do something.  So for the last hour or so, I've been working on Flash stuff despite the fact that it might slow the back up.  I won't let the backup process intimidate me.  What a hero!

See you tomorrow.

December 20, 2016 (Tues)

Drinking - yes.  Not sure why, except that garbage day has traditionally been a drinking day.  Not always, but mostly.  Mostly.

Paid work - a handful, again, more than I expected.  Always nice.

Creative work - quite a lot of Flash work, at first great, then problematic, and finally great again.  Or, at least, working.  I am satisfied so far, and have only one major element to add--the "blurby voice animation," which will make no sense to future scholars, but heck, I can't do everything.

I've started liking the project again.  I wasn't expecting that, so good on today, more or less.

See you tomorrow.

December 19, 2016 (Mon)

Drinking - no. 

Paid work - a decent chunk.

Creative work - none, really, though I thought about things I can do without the dread that usually comes along with that. 

It's amazing how much one thing can turn your mood around.  Last night, I had such an event that made me happy.  Tonight, the opposite.

Maybe tomorrow will be different.  See you then.

December 18, 2016 (Sun)

Drinking - no.  I'm not sure why. 

Paid work - nothing on a Sunday, though I did get an email that woke me up at 5:40 AM.  Who the heck works on a Sunday at 5:40 AM?

Creative work - did a lot of work on the Flash project--to the point where I just need one other element, a bit of tweaking, and it'll be done.  No hesitation about finishing like last time.  I want this thing over!

See you tomorrow.

December 17, 2016 (Sat)

Drinking - yes.  What is wrong with me.

Paid work - well, the usual system maintenance stuff.  An easy couple of hours.

Creative work - a decent chunk of Flash work, plus some painting.  Probably would have done more Flash, except the RAID drive started acting like it needed a time out, so after making sure the new Flash stuff was backed up, I shut it off.  It's five years old at least, and sometimes needs a nap.  Not really a problem.

Depressing day.  Wet and damp and overcast, add the usual money problems, and what can you expect?  Depressing time of year for me, too.

See you tomorrow.

December 16, 2016 (Fri)

Drinking - yes.  Friday's pull is hard to resist.  Not a good excuse, but a real one.

Paid work - pretty much nothing. 

Creative work - some decent creative work in Flash.  I'm satisfied.

On to tomorrow.  See you then.

December 15, 2016 (Thurs)

Drinking - yes.  But...weird.  Maybe details later.

Paid work, only a little.  Creative work, none.  But after several days of decent paid work and creative work as well, I'm okay with a slow day.

See you tomorrow, and thanks for glancing today.

December 14, 2016 (Wed)

Drinking - yes.  If you knew, you'd understand.  And yes, that's not--or shouldn't be--an excuse/

Rather a lot of paid work, which is good.  Lots of driving, which is getting wearisome.  But there you are.

A bit of Flash work on the creative side, which I welcome, actually.  It means I'm not intimidated by Flash and can open it, and the various projects within, when I want to!  Ha!

Also took on a kind-of-major bit of painting.  I might have neglected to note that I am painting again, just not a lot, and taking it slowly.

Tomorrow is open, and see you then.

December 13, 2016 (Tues)

Drinking - yes.  I still hope this won't be the title of this blog.  But oh well.

Some good paid hours. 

And some good creative hours, too.  Some Photoshop stuff, fun as always, but hardly counted in the "expanding realm!" stuff. because I've done it all before.  Still, it's nice to DO THINGS, even if those things don't matter much.

And I did a bunch of stuff on the "Flash Project"--which I enjoyed doing--that has taken way too long.  Still, getting closer to the end of this albatross.  And then?

Well, that's why tomorrows were made. 

Speaking of which, see you then.

December 12, 2016 (Mon)

Drinking - yes.

Lots of paid work, but more dispiriting than good--someone downloaded a virus, and the business got shut down.  Lots of depressing fixing, including using my personal drive.  I guess hours is hours.

Lots of Flash work, too!  It was actually fun, and I enjoyed doing it.  I added it to the main project, and it worked well.

So, a productive day, but due to the season and various others, a depressing one as well.

Hope tomorrow is better.  See you then.

December 11, 2016 (Sun)

Drinking - yes.  My relationship with alcohol is a complex one.  Actually, it's probably very simple, but "complex" is a nice word to use in an addiction scenario.

Overall, not much of a day.  Rested a lot.

Paid work - not really, it's Sunday.  Did some stuff but it's previously accorded to another day.

Creative work - some PhotoShop stuff, but more importantly, some Flash stuff too!  I created some stuff for the main project, and it was pretty good stuff.  I think it's a good step in the right direction, because unlike days prior to this, I'm not afraid to launch Flash now, and work in it.  Previously, a type of dread kept me from even thinking about starting Flash, let alone work.  Now, that dread seems to be gone.

I hope it's not related to alcohol...

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

December 10, 2016 (Sat)

Drinking - yes.  More than I ought.  Unless you've had the day I had, in which case you would adjudge it inadequate.  Nevertheless--

A good chunk of paid work for a Saturday.  Always welcome.

Nothing much on the creative front.  Okay, I tell a lie, I did do some PhotoShop stuff, which I liked, and took some pics, and organized a lot of previously non-organized stuff.  So there was that.

Everything else today was largely terrible.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

See you then.

December 9, 2016 (Fri)

Drinking - yes.  Oh well, at least it's not much drinking.

Paid work - some, a decent amount.

Creative work - I actually opened up Flash and did some work!  And I liked what I'd done!  And I thought about adding more elements, which is (probably) not a good idea, as it just means delays.

Mood - kind of frustrated, depressed.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

See you then.

December 8, 2016 (Thurs)

No drinking again!  Yay!

Creative work--just a bit of painting.

Paid work - a handful of hours, not bad.  Not great, but not bad. 

See you tomorrow.

December 7, 2016 (Wed)

No drinking!  Yeah.  Not sure why, but I'm not complaining.

Some decent work today, largely frustrating and uncompleted.  Oh well!

Creative work was only a bit of PhotoShop, which I thought was okay.

See you tomorrow!

December 6, 2016 (Tues)

Drinking - yes.

Some decent paid work.

A bit of creative work - some PhotoShop stuff.  Inconsequential, but fun.

See you tomorrow.  Thanks.

November 5, 2016 (Mon)

Some paid work--not really enough, but one takes what one can.

Creative work - lots of painting.  Yeah, that counts.

Drinking - yes.

Damn me.

See you tomorrow.

December 4, 2016 (Sun)

Drinking again.  Oh well.

Solved a couple of bothersome issues, but otherwise no paid or creative work done today.  On the other hand, it's Sunday, a day of rest.

See you tomorrow.

December 3, 2016 (Sat)

More drinking.  It's the style.

Good news, from the "stuff I've been avoiding because I hate disappointments" section--

It turns out that the stuff I rescued from the damaged hard drive, way back in October, actually WAS rescued.  Hooray for the company, which I will be sure to name once I'm a bit more sober.

It's Saturday, so no paid work.  Only a tiny bit of creative work--some painting.  I don't know why, but I seem to be afraid of the work I can do on the computer.  Not sure why.  Perhaps because, somehow, I know it's futile in a sense.  Or think so.  As I say, not sure why.

See you tomorrow.

December 2, 2016 (Fri)

I originally wrote "No drinking!" hoping that would act as a talisman.  No such luck, there's been drinking.

Not much in the way of paid work, which I am okay with, really.   Expected nothing, got something.

Only a bit of creative work--some painting.  I think I'm afraid to open up Flash, because what I need to do is basically "grunt work" and I keep thinking, "Computers are supposed to eliminate this."

Someday I'll open it up again.  Just not today.  Maybe tomorrow.

Speaking of which, see you then.

December 1, 2016 (Thurs)

Did more of the drinking thing.  I keep hoping I'll shame myself into stopping, but...I don't know.

A nice handful of paid work.  As always, some of it is a bit frustrating, but there it is.  Can't pay bills without it.  FMS.

Only a bit of creative work, some PhotoShop stuff.  Still, I don't feel like the day has been a total waste.

...which honestly, they really aren't are they.  It all comes down to choosing where one's energy goes.

See you tomorrow.

November 30, 2016 (Wed)

Alas, did a bit more of the drinking thing. 

Some decent paid work, and the promise of more tomorrow.

No creative work done today.  Sounds more and more like a family curse...but I don't know how, or even if it's possible, to break it.  I feel there's a greater chance with the drinking bit. 

Let's all shudder.  And hope for tomorrow.

See you then.

November 29. 2016 (Tues)

Only a little paid work today--which I'm okay with.  Yesterday's work was exhausting.

Creative work--a little bit of painting.  Actually, more than a little bit; the sky was finally dry, so I could flip the canvas over and start working on the water. 

Did a bit of drinking--sorry, the urge was overwhelming, which is what I imagine all alcoholics say.  Will fight harder tomorrow.

See you then!

November 28, 2016 (Mon)

No creative work today, largely because there was a bunch of paid work.  Wiring and such, with lots of insulation...very exhausting.

I'm not too worried about the lack of creative progress, mostly because a) I'm not, and b) going without alcohol is worth it.

Had a bit of what I thought was worrisome news--an illness in the family.  Called, and turned out it was a minor thing.  A relief.

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

November 27, 2016 (Sun)

Another day of somewhat inexplicable exhaustion.  Not sure what's causing this, although the sudden increased desire for sugar might have something to do with it.

Anyway, nothing of importance done today, either for work or creativity's sake.

See you tomorrow.

November 26, 2016 (Sat)

Pretty much nothing done at all today...a day of rest.  Spent a lot of it sleeping.  Oh well, there are certainly worse things I could be doing...

See you tomorrow!

November 25, 2016 (Fri)

A decent chunk of paid work, though it involved ceiling insulation, which always makes me a bit ill.

Too tired to do anything creative, though I did manage some painting.

See you tomorrow.

November 24, 2016 (Thurs)

Thanksgiving Day, so no paid work. 

Actually did a bit of creative work--some painting, which ruined a pair of pants, and I actually fired up Flash, did some stuff I liked, and added it to the main project.

So other than pants, a good idea.

See you tomorrow.

November 23, 2016 (Wed)

The day before Thanksgiving, so very little paid work.  I was surprised there was any, to be honest.

No creative work.  Started a PhotoShop thing, but then my RAID enclosure started acting up (nothing serious, I think). 

I'm hoping that this latest stretch of "nothing creative done" will be over soon.

See you tomorrow.

November 22, 2016 (Tues)

Some decent paid work.  Nothing creative.  Oh, a bit of painting, but only a little.

See you tomorrow.

November 21, 2016 (Mon)

A decent, but not spectacular, amount of paid work.

A bit of painting...quite satisfying.

Not much else to report--oh!  The backup finally completed.  Felt like opening Flash, but in the end, didn't.

See you tomorrow.

November 20, 2016 (Sun)

No paid work on Sunday, and no creative work either. 

Looks like the backup may finish later tonight.  Hooray!  Then I can go in and clean up all the obvious duplicate items I saw going across...

Posting this early as I'm clearly not going to do much other than read.

See you tomorrow.

November 19, 2016 (Sat)

No paid work today, and no creative work either

Backup is still running; the good news is, it's past the half-way point.  After two days plus.

So, my prediction is that there won't be any creative work tomorrow either.

See you then.

November 18, 2016 (Fri)

Only a little paid work.  No creative work. 

I thought about creative work, but because the backup is still running (and will be for several days it looks like), I didn't want to corrupt the process by opening any files.  This is kind of driving me crazy.

Oh well.  See you tomorrow.

November 17, 2016 (Thurs)

Some paid work.  No creative work.

My backup drive broke, so the computer has been involved in recreating the backup from scratch on a new drive.  This is going to take quite some time.  It already has, in fact.

See you tomorrow.

November 16, 2016 (Wed)

A pretty disappointing day all around.

Basically no paid work--though I was able to settle the (current) bills.

No creative work--none to speak of--done today.

Still kind of bummed out over the death of my cat.

Not sure how long that will last--and neither she nor I want to turn that into an excuse.

See you tomorrow.

November 15, 2016 (Tues)

A little bit of paid work.  A very nice paycheck.  Hope it can do what I need it to do.  FMS.

No creative work today. 

See you tomorrow.

November 14, 2016 (Mon)

Some decent work hours today.

I also did some painting...and some work in Flash, which was fun.

Today, I took my cat to the crematorium.  A sad note.  I should mention that today was the 16th anniversary of the day I adopted her.  Farewell, friend and companion.  You will be truly missed. 

As for you, dear reader:  see you tomorrow.

November 13, 2016 (Sun)

Well, today's ability to do either paid or creative work is overshadowed by one momentous event.

My cat died sometime this morning.

For people who aren't cat people, this probably seems silly.  People who are cat people know that this can be pretty devastating.

She'd been ill for the past week, and it was clear she was going to go soon.  Still, it's always a surprise, and it's never a good one.

It's still early in the day, so I may update this if I end up doing anything of note.

Update: Nope.

November 12, 2016 (Sat)

Confession:  I drank too much Friday night, hence Saturday was not productive at all

Did some PhotoShop work, and tried more organization on my external drive, and that was it.

See you tomorrow.

November 11, 2016 (Fri)

Large amount of paid work, which left me pretty exhausted.

Only a little creative work--some PhotoShop stuff.

That's it for today.

November 10, 2016 (Thur)

A decent amount of paid work. 

Only a little bit of creative work--some painting.

That's about it for today!  See you tomorrow.

November 9, 2016 (Wed)

Some scattered paid work, not bad but could have been better.

No creative work today.  Still kind of floating on yesterday's election results, plus some residual exhaustion.

See you tomorrow.

November 8, 2016 (Tues)

Some nice paid work, though rather scattered and somewhat tedious--put me to sleep, it did.  Still, I would gladly do more.

A bit of creative work, some testing of various techniques in animating fire--although, in my desire to avoid frame-by-frame work, I seem to be trying various frame-by-frame techniques.  Still, it seems less tedious the way I do it.

No idea what will hit us all tomorrow.  Let's hope for the best.  In the meantime, see you then.

November 7, 2016 (Mon)

Not a bad day.  A decent amount of paid work, and some long-standing issues resolved.

A bit of painting.  And some inventory-work.

All in all, as stated, not a bad day.

See you tomorrow.

November 6, 2016 (Sun)

Rather a bunch of work in Flash today--more fire animation, and then actually adding the animation to the main project and finally extending the soundtrack with all the laughing, etc.

I felt...anxious, while working in Flash.  Not sure why.  Could be that I'm forcing myself, but I didn't feel that the work was forced or artificial.  (It was kind of fun, actually.)   Maybe it's just that I wasn't doing work for so long, and it's no longer natural.  Guess we'll see how it goes over the next few days.

No paid work, of course.  Still tired much of the time.

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

November 5, 2016 (Sat)

Not much paid work, but I wasn't really expecting on a Saturday anyway.

I actually opened up Flash, opened up the latest "Fire" animation, and animated it!  Woo hoo, go me.

I did it all pretty quickly, but I feel satisfied with it.  I was dreading doing it, because the idea of working on this endless project is getting to be tiresome.  But it got done!

Yay, see you tomorrow.

November 4, 2016 (Fri)

A little paid work, better than yesterday.  Lots of driving.

No creative work today.  Very tired most of the day.  Part of getting older. 

Speaking of getting older, see you tomorrow.

November 3, 2016 (Thurs)

A bit of paid work today.  Not much, but better than yesterday.

Got the muffler replaced on the car, so it should finally be in decent shape.

No creative work today.  I just didn't have the energy.  Some days are like that.

See you tomorrow.

November 2, 2016 (Wed)

I actually did a bit of painting last night.  Well, I took a canvas that wasn't working, and covered it in raw umber.  So, not really painting but at least a start.

I also opened up Flash and did a bit of prep work for another "fire" effect.  Not much, just planes of color, but it's better than nothing.

Very little paid work, which is starting to worry me.

Ah well.  See you tomorrow.

November 1, 2016 (Tues)

Very little paid work today.  Argh, I don't want to start that again!

A tiny, tiny bit of creative work.  Opened up Flash and prepares some stuff for another fire animation.  I felt a bit uncomfortable, being away for so long, so I didn't do anything much with it, and closed it down quickly.  I hope I remember how to do what I did before!

Watched a documentary on Max Ernst.  Made me want to paint again.  Now that's probably a bad idea!

Anyway, could have been a worse day, I suppose.  See you tomorrow.

October 31, 2016 (Mon)

A little bit of paid work.  Nothing creative, other than thinking about stuff. 

Got new glasses today...amazing what a new pair of lenses can do.  I feel like my eyes are now HD!

Hopefully, I can do some creative work tomorrow.

Speaking of which, see you then.

October 30, 2016 (Sun)

Spent most of the day either sleeping or resting.  So, all in all, not a bad day.  No creative or paid work done, of course.

See you tomorrow.

October 29, 2016 (Sat)

A bit of paid work today, the usual Saturday system overview stuff.  Still, it went smoothly.

Nothing much in the creative work area.  Took some photos of the foliage.

Tired most of the day, but overall a pretty good day.

See you tomorrow.

October 28, 2016 (Fri)

Some decent paid work today, and a decent paycheck as well. 

Only a little creative work--a cartoon in PhotoShop for a website--but it was fun to do something.

Starting to feel a little less sick, so that's good as well.

All in all, not a bad day.  See you tomorrow.

October 27, 2016 (Thurs)

Some decent paid work, frustrating but ultimately finished to everyone's satisfaction.  (I hope.)

No real creative work, but I can feel the urge returning, slowly.  I still ache all over and feel pretty lousy, but my brain is starting to get unfrozen.

Anyway, not a bad day.  See you tomorrow.

October 26, 2016 (Wed)

Some paid work today, largely annoying because of the long-distance factor.

Car repair was a lot less than I expected, so that was good.

Very little creative work.  Opened up PhotoShop and did a spot of work.

See you tomorrow.

October 25, 2016 (Tues)

Some paid work, not much, but every bit helps.

No creative work.  Still feel too lousy to really think about things, though I have been doing a bit of thought.  Just not enough to spark me to do anything.

I'm sure that will pass in time.  And I'm okay to wait.

See you tomorrow.

October 24, 2016 (Mon)

Some paid work today, with an awful lot of driving.

No creative work.  I'm still in too much discomfort.  I'm also starting to get a little bored with the idea of the Flash project.  I guess we'll see what happens when I start feeling better.

See you tomorrow.

October 23, 2016 (Sun)

Nothing creative done today.  In fact, today was mostly a recovery from yesterday.  You'll note there's no entry for Saturday.

Basically, late at night, I came home and immediately lost my keys.  I scoured the cold, dark ground for them for hours.  The weather was cold and I was under-dressed, so I was quickly succumbing to cold and exhaustion.

Finally, with the help of a friend, the keys came back and I was able to go inside.  This was early in the morning, I was cold and tired, so I've spent most of the day resting.

Let's hope tomorrow is better.  See you then.

October 21, 2016 (Fri)

A bunch of paid work.  Not, I suspect, enough to counter the vast bills I have, but...

No creative work done.  In a sense, I wish I cared more about this.  But things are as they are.  Okay, I thought about what needs to happen next.  Maybe that's something.  Maybe.

Made a great sauce to go with the stir-fry I did yesterday.  And yes, the two of them together were delicious.

Sometimes, enough is indeed enough.  At least, that sure sounds wise, doesn't it?

See you tomorrow.

October 20, 2016 (Thurs)

Nothing creative done today.  Thought about the Flash project, and got a perk or do that I should continue...nothing like "You MUST do this" but more "Wouldn't it be fun?"

Some good paying hours today.  Always good that, and the promise of some tomorrow as well.  Since my car's brakes are making a horrible noise...oh God, it just seems that it's never going to end, is it?  I make two steps forward, the world hurls me six steps back.

For the first time in...well, several years at least, I cooked a meal.  Stir fried a bunch of vegetables and a lot of chicken.  Then I was too tired to eat it.  So into the refrigerator it went, for tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll make the sauce for it, and it'll be great. 

Keeping positive.  Boy is that a full time job, with no benefits.

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

October 19, 2016 (Wed)

Nothing creative done today.  Got some things (video files) organized and thought about replication, and made some plans...but, you know, nothing you could really say was "accomplished."

Only a little paid work.  As always, worrisome. 

Bought some actual groceries to wok.  And, yeah, bought the usual.

See you tomorrow, unless luck strikes and we all die in a cosmic catastrophe.  And yeah, no one is counting on that.

October 18, 2016 (Tues)

Nothing creative done today--more cataloging of videos on various hard drives.  Still, it's nice to (occasionally) do something that really doesn't require a lot of brainpower, just give the old head a rest.  Still, I hope to get back into the swing of things in a day or so. 

Only a little paying work.  Somewhat worrisome.  Oh well.

See you tomorrow.

October 17, 2016 (Mon)

Some decent paid work today.  Nothing spectacular, but whatever bars the door.  Especially since the brakes are making an appalling noise.....

No creative work today.  Spent the off hours making more backup copies of video files.  Because, darn it, I ripped those disks, so I should have those disks.  (No thanks to Apple.)

It was nice to find that I had most of what I thought I'd lost (more than I originally thought, too--thanks, aging brain).  Despite the games of hard drives and backup programs, I do seem (tentatively) to have what I thought I got.  With any luck, in a few days I can stop worrying about this stuff and get back to some real work.

See you tomorrow.

October 16, 2016 (Sun)

Nothing creative today, except for some photography.

Not a bad day, but not that great either.  Okay.

See you tomorrow.

October 15, 2015 (Sat)

Nothing creative done today.  Not really expecting anything, so that's fine.

Frustrating work stuff from yesterday was resolved, somehow.  I'll have to call boss at some time to see what he did...hopefully, he did something, because if it all just worked, well, that's a problem.

Did the 5 mile walk, which wasn't as fun as it could have been, due to unseasonally hot weather.  But did it anyway.  Also, paid the rest of the month's bills.  So there's that.

On the video copy thing (from yesterday)...taking some radical action. 

(I hope!)

Thanks for visiting, see you tomorrow.

October 14, 2016 (Fri)

Nothing much creativity-wise...a quick PhotoShop image for the group. 

Slow and frustrating day at work.  An excellent paycheck, however.

I've been digitizing DVDs and Blu-Ray disks to hard drives, which I have scattered all over, and I decided it's a good idea to coordinate those, so I know what's on what disk.  Also, I want to have redundancy on everything, since hard drives fail.  So that may be fun.

Anyway, that's it for today.  See you tomorrow.

October 13, 2016 (Thurs)

Some decent paid work, still not enough to pay my bills, but better I suppose than nothing. 

A bit of creative work, adding some more audio to Part Three.  I finally found the "sweet spot" for the audio problem yesterday...turns out, that if I put the sound about a second past the video, it lines up.  Not sure why that bit alone has problems, but it's the journey as well as the destination.

I added some more audio to Part Three, and then...the bits I had trouble with were off again, in the opposite direction.  So I lined them up in the timeline, and lo and behold, they worked as they should.  Not sure why this was a problem in the first place, but I guess Flash, like any other program, has its quirks and those must be cottoned to.  Or worked around.  Or something, until they decide they've had enough fun and will allow you to do what you wanted to do.

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

October 12, 2016 (Wed)

More paid work today than in Monday and Tuesday combined.  Still not enough.  Time to intensify the search, and lower expectations.  I won't survive on this.

Some actual creative work today.  Just adding some audio to Part Three, but it's surprising how much audio adds to a scene.  A bit of frustration, as the frame match-up for one audio bit, and one animation bit, were perfect in the timeline, but off in the preview.  Not sure what could cause that, but I'm too tired to try and troubleshoot. 

Nice meeting tonight with other creative types. 

All for now, see you tomorrow.

October 11, 2016 (Tues)

Some creative work done--I actually got a bit of fire that I liked!  True, it was done in Flash so it looks kind of cartoony (a lot cartoony, actually) but I like it.  Did some flickering on the ground as well, though that was created in PhotoShop and animated in Flash.

Practically no paid work today.  This is worrisome. 

Still, I feel that I'm (slowly) making progress.  I'm going beyond the things I already know how to do, and that's got to be good.

See you tomorrow.

October 10, 2016 (Mon)

Only a little creative work done, but I liked it and I did it fairly quickly.  It also involved new techniques--shape tweens--so overall, I'll take it.

Nothing much else.  Paid work has fallen off dramatically, which is not good.

See you tomorrow.

October 9, 2016 (Sun)

No creative work today.  Pretty much nothing today.  Another five mile walk, and that's it.

See you tomorrow.

October 8, 2016 (Sat)

No creative work today, not that I was expecting to do any.  Saturdays seem to be a day of rest.  Which is fin--I'm finding my limitations to be more a source of frustration rather than stimulation.

Went for a five-mile walk for the first time in weeks.  Then did the lawn, and later took some photos.  Nothing much, though I did find a pile of old power poles and got some interesting objects.

That's about it.  See you tomorrow.

October 7, 2016 (Fri)

Practically no paid work, which is very worrisome. 

Felt sick all day, probably from drinking too much, but then...I didn't drink that much.

As for creative work, only a little.  Refined part three a bit more, then tried to find out how to animate fire in Flash.  Turns out, most people use frame-by-frame.  Thing is, I can do that in PhotoShop and have better looking graphics.  I thought "bones" would be the answer, but while they work fine, you can't use them on imported graphics--only Flash and other vector-based artwork, and can't be too complex, either. 

Maybe frame-by-frame is the way to go.  I'm not opposed to that, I just thought certain things would be easier in Flash.  That's the whole point with computers, isn't it?

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

October 6, 2016 (Thurs)

Very little creative work today.  Some tweaking of the merged file created yesterday, but otherwise nothing else.  Nice bunch of paid work, though not enough to encourage me.

A problem reared its head when my RAID drive started pausing and hiccuping when I tried to play music.  Even though the composer (Iannis Xenakis) is known for being odd, this was a bit too odd, even for him (RIP).

So I spent the evening doing one of my too-infrequent physical backups, as, typically, the hiccuping generally happens when a drive is about to die. 

Fortunately, the "Images" folder is now duly copied...waiting for "Sound" and the lag times are not encouraging...not that there's anything in this life that is encouraging.

Stay tuned.  And see you tomorrow.

October 5, 2016 (Wed)

Lots of work on Part Three.  Eliminated some stuff that bothered me, added some details.  I've come up with something I like.  I seem to be honing a bit excessively, and not "getting on with it," but at least it's something.

Paid work has fallen off dramatically.  This is not good. 

UPDATE:  Well, I thought I'd combine the first two bits of the new project into one project.  How hard could it be?  I mean, I figured, as an animation package, the folks behind Flash must know that scenes are created in a different order than that in which they are projected.  You shoot all your scenes in one location when you have access to that location, no matter when they appear in the film.  Then you have an editor combine them in the right order.  Snip, snip, make good.

As I said..."Well."

It turns out that this is possible, but it takes much more work than I thought it would.  I mean, staggering amounts of work.  When you create a "Tween" animation in Flash, or use a "Symbol" or a "Bitmap," Flash just happily assumes all of those are the same things, so it just as happily names them "Tween 1" or "Symbol 1" or "Bitmap 1" and so on, within the project.

But when you combine them...Flash doesn't know quite what to do with those various "Tween 1"s in the various projects.  It does ask what you want to do, but that assumes that I know what I want, and that Flash knows how to give me what I want.  And thus, you get results that are not at all what you wanted.  Fortunately, the "Revert" selection is right on the front menu.

So, after spending a bunch of time in each project renaming all the "Tweens" and "Symbols" and "Bitmaps"* to reflect their project of origin, I was able to get the bits to work together.

"Argh," as they say.

*When I create artwork in PhotoShop for use in Flash, I always give the images distinct names, so I know what I need to deal with.  So I have no idea where all these "Bitmaps" came from.  And yes, they were graphics imported from PhotoShop, but no, I didn't just name them "Bitmap 1" and so on.  It may have been something having to do with animating imported graphics, I suppose.  It makes me realize just how much I have to learn....

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

October 4, 2016 (Tues)

Not much paid work, always worrisome.  But what can you do.

Rather a lot of creative work in Part Three.  I thought of some additional elements, and created them in PhotoShop, then animated them.  I should feel happy about that, but I think I'm making this particular section over-complicated (and beyond my level) so I will have an excuse for not finishing, for saying "Oh well, I tried."

I guess here is where I have to double-down and try harder.  Which I'm sure I'll try...at some point.

See you tomorrow.

October 3, 2016 (Mon)

A bit of paid work.  Not much, but I'll take what I get.

Rather more creative work, in that I assembled some soundtrack stuff for part three.  Fun to do and fun to finish.

Otherwise, a pretty awful day all around.  Sunday started it, it continues, and it will probably keep going for the foreseeable future.

Ah well.  See you tomorrow.

October 2, 2016 (Sun)

I recorded some sound for Part Three of the project, and I feel a little better about it now.  I think what I need to do is assemble a soundtrack and work from that, rather than try to just throw ideas onto the stage and hope they're right.

Part of the problem for this part is that, as mentioned, it may be overly ambitious for my level of skill, and that's what scares me away and makes me think my efforts are mediocre.

Oh well, at least there's been positive motion.

See you tomorrow.

October 1, 2016 (Sat)

Lots of paid work, rather exhausting.  Plus a late night errand the previous night, and I'm too tired to think about creative work.  Added to that, worries over a failing hard drive mean I'm not pushing the computer too much while repairs are going on...which has been over a day, and promises to double that.

See you tomorrow.

September 30, 2016 (Fri)

No creative work today, though I thought some about the project.  It no longer inspires me with dread, which is nice.

Bunch of paid work, always good.  Not enough to pay bills, but what can you do.

Got a failing hard drive which I'm trying to rescue, that and the laundry has kept me occupied. 

See you tomorrow.

September 29, 2016 (Thurs)

A decent but not spectacular amount of paid work today, and no creative work at all.

Actually, it's worse than that--the idea of firing up Flash seems more and more like a chore than an avenue for creative expression.

Oh well--I'm sure this isn't permanent.  I just have to find an idea that will break this stalemate.  Which, believe it or not, I feel confident will happen.

On to tomorrow.

September 28, 2016 (Wed)

Another nothing day, both in paid hours and in creative work.  I played the Flash bit I'd done for part three, and while I "admire" it, I don't think it "works" the way I want it to. 

I looked through some photos to see if anything inspired me for a different direction; so far, not really.

Every now and then, there's a day like this.  Let's hope it's a while before I get another one.

See you tomorrow.

September 27, 2016 (Tues)

Some paid work today, always good, but then a glimpse into my future paycheck.  Argh.

No creative work today.  Last night, after posting, I experimented with Bones and found they were easier than I thought...but the artwork limitations of Flash continue to frustrate me.  I want more than basic detail, but that seems to be beyond Flash's capability...yet if I import PhotoShop art, Flash has a hard time with this...

I suspect it's time for more exploring.  Which...is generally a good thing.

See you tomorrow.

September 26, 2016 (Mon)

No creative work today.  I just don't seem to have any drive for it right now. 

Lots of paid work, which is always good.

I'm starting to think I started off on the wrong food for Part Three.  May have to rethink.  Or not.  Nothing is really "working" at the moment, either soldiering on or starting from scratch.  Both seem like paths not really worth following.

See you tomorrow.

September 25, 2016 (Sun)

An odd day.  I created several bits of artwork for Flash project part three, and even animated the opening, but I didn't feel satisfied at all.  Not sure what the problem is.

Perhaps I'm not stretching myself enough...maybe I'm just repeating what I already know, and I'm unconsciously feeling that I should be exploring different aspects of Flash.

I don't know.  Anyway, not a terrible day, just odd.

See you tomorrow.

September 24, 2016 (Sat)

Not much creative work done today, and I really wasn't expecting anything to happen.  I went out and shot some pictures, and I started working on a background for "part three" of the Flash animation project.

But that doesn't bother me, I'm still pretty stoked from the audio work I did for part 2.  As I've said, a day or two of "nothing much" isn't considered a terrible thing, nowadays.  If nothing else, at least I'm thinking about creative processes and planning projects, all of which was beyond me a couple of months ago.  In that regard, I have few complaints.

In the rest of life, on the other hand...but let's not go there.  This is about creative work, not about the relentless tendency of the universe to swat me on a whim. 

Oops.  Anyway, see you tomorrow.

September 23, 2016 (Fri)

Lots of paid work today, which is great.  But--I also completed the audio on Part 2!  So that's pretty nice.  Of course, it made me think Part 1 needs some tweaking...which may or may not happen.

Curse struck again.

Tiny Hobo let me pet her, briefly.

Overall, a decent day.

September 22, 2016 (Thurs)

Not much creative work, but lots of paid work.  I added some sound to the latest Flash project, and it looks (and sounds) pretty good so far.

Problems with the speakers which made work frustrating.  Otherwise an okay day.

See you tomorrow.

September 21, 2016 (Wed)

I created mouths for the creatures the other day, and today I animated them and added them to the project.

And I have to say, it looks good.

It also means, the drawing/animating part is done for this section.  I still have to do the soundtrack, and I've recorded some source files to adapt, so nothing's completely done yet.  Still, I like having the sense of accomplishment.  I almost feel...good.  Wonder what will come along to destroy that?

UPDATE:  Well, nothing showed up to wreck things, aside from 2: my continual addiction, and (I think) the fear of completing things.  After I wrote the three paragraphs above, I got an itch, and started (for lack of a better phrase) "extending the narrative."

In other words, more graphic ideas occurred, and I drew and/or animated those ideas.  And while I think the current project is stronger for what I did today, it did mean that I could lean back and say, "Ah, well, no audio work; visual bit's not done; still it will be finished.   Eventually."

It's an odd state in which to find oneself.  Yes, on the one hand, I think it made the scene stronger.  On the other hand, it means that "finishing" something is just a goal, not an end in itself.  What an odd way to complain about creative energies being stoked...but there is that hesitant bit.

Never finishing something is a means of pushing the "judging" aspect off for a bit.  To the extent that there's no "final product" and hence no judgement.  

I suspect I will have to do the same thing I did last time--publish and be damned, rather than refine forever.

Still, there's no audio track yet.  So that's...a goal.  Not an end, but a goal. 

Oh well, thanks as always for reading.

September 20, 2016 (Tues)

First off, alas on the drinking bit of the other two days.  A lapse was inevitable, alas again.

Lots of paid work, which is great, though exhausting.  Tuckered out around 3, though I went ahead and worked another hour.  Paid hours = future.

In creative work, I created (in PhotoShop) and animated (in Flash) shadows for my whale creatures.  Both look excellent and make me more enthused to continue on the project, rather than make me think I know nothing.  So that's good; encouragement is better than discouragement (despite the fact that I actually know nothing).  And that makes plans to move forward more interesting.

Anyway, thanks for visiting, see you tomorrow.

September 19, 2016 (Mon)

Not much today, creativity wise.  I animated the other beast's wings, and realize that I really know very little about how to do what I want to do.  Also, a bit frustrating as things that worked yesterday didn't work today.  Not sure what the difference is, but I fear I was a touch overconfident yesterday.

Not much paid-for work today, which is worrisome.

Oh well, tomorrow will be here in a couple of minutes.  Day two of no drinking.

September 18, 2016 (Sun)

Only a little creative work today, but possibly quite important.  I made two morphing animations for wings for my ghost whale, and then exported them as movie clips.  I was then able to import them in, copy the whale's path, and apply that path to them. 

So, rather than a tedious attempt to match things up frame-by-frame, they flowed together quite nicely, flapping all the way.

So, the project looks...pretty good.  I won't say "great," because all of the above happened in a rather small timeframe and it lacks a bit of finesse.  So it may get redone.  The important thing is, I know how to do it again.

Not much else.  Didn't get drunk tonight.  See you tomorrow.

September 17, 2016 (Sat)

No creative work today, but that doesn't bother me.  Every now and then I think a day off is fine.  I have been thinking about a basic Flash "worksheet" (do this, don't do that) based on my own experience, but that's just an idea.

A long hike on a rather arduous (for me) trail, followed by mowing the lawn.  And, a bit earlier, playing with a new "friend" (stray cat) out in the back.  She likes treats but doesn't want to be approached...but she really likes treats.

Anyway, that's all for now.  See you tomorrow.

September 16, 2016 (Fri)

Mostly working with graphics today, finding out what fits in Flash, and how to make what I do fit.

I experimented with animation today, trying to get some wings to flap.  In the end, I got something like what I wanted, but of course to copy an animated sequence from one Flash file to another is a secret the internet is keeping for the moment.  I'd still prefer to morph the images, rather than squash them, but I've barely learned to ride the bicycle without one foot on the ground; racing down the hill will take a while.

Did some audio work as well, though haven't applied any of it yet.

While the progress is slow, I do have to admit I'm enjoying having a project to put some time and effort into.  Since work seems to be declining, it's at least something to do other than sleep.

See you tomorrow.

September 15, 2016 (Thurs)

Lots of work on Flash, both today and yesterday after I posted.  This particular piece started as a silly little thing, and it has inspired me to make it into something else.  I may have said that yesterday, but it bears repeating.  I'm starting to enjoy the creative process.

I'm at the point where I want to start adding internal motion to objects...instead of having them drift across the screen, I want to see wings flapping, or some other type of motion that's not just...drifting.  So while I'm going to continue to create artwork for this, there may be less Flash and more PhotoShop while I figure out the next steps.

Disappointing paycheck today.  Oh well, one must learn to live with it.

On to tomorrow.

September 14, 2016 (Wed)

Well, I spent much more time than I expected on the little Flash thing I'd done, and now I'm much more interested in it.  I can see it growing into something worth pursuing.  Added a zoom, created some sound effects and other video noise, and in the end...I like it.

Some paid work, so there's that.  Not much else to report...probably a good thing I suppose.

See you tomorrow.

September 13, 2016 (Tues)

Nothing creative done, though I started exploring some options.  Ideas flow in, but no concrete work as yet has resulted.

Paid work okay, lots of driving.

Despair level high.

But no worries.  See you tomorrow.

September 12, 2016 (Mon)

Nothing creative done today.  Spent the whole day doing paying work. 

So...see you tomorrow!

September 11, 2016 (Sun)

Not much today.  Honestly, I'm too poor to go out and do fun things, so I spend pretty much the entire day indoors.

I did manage to do a fun little Flash animation...2 seconds long or so, but with some interesting animation and with sound. 

I still don't have animation down, yet.  I can do simple movement of objects, back, forth, up down, and so on...but rotating things is beyond my grasp as yet.  I thought that if I made my artwork into Flash "symbols" I could attach what are called "Bones" and rotate them that way...and I kind of succeeded.  Problem is, other things got attached and I ended up with something I didn't want.

Still, it's nice that I can fire up Flash and not feel intimidated.  I used to launch PhotoShop, make a couple of marks, then quit because the program was so amazingly complex that I couldn't do anything.  I no longer do that with PhotoShop, and while I would not say I have any grasp of Flash, at least...I can open it and not feel intimidated into immediately quitting.  So there's that.

Thanks for listening, see you tomorrow.

September 10, 2016 (Sat)

Somewhat lousy day, but I did do a brief Flash animation much faster than I thought I could.  That seems like something.

I also have a vague idea of what I want to do next...another Flash animation, an idea I had some years back, but knew then that I did not have the ability.  So I did some preliminary artwork for that.

And that was about it.  Thanks for stopping by; see you tomorrow.

September 9, 2016 (Fri)

Nothing creative done today.  Well, a silly PhotoShop thing, but other than that, no.  Still...it's kind of nice to think that "a silly PhotoShop thing" is considered nothing, when previously that would have been tons of work and a sweaty brow, followed by a boast.

I think what I have to do next, is continue with Flash, but try some character animation.  Not a fully blown character who speaks, but something more than shifting panes. 

Still thinking about what direction that should take...which is better than just stalling.

Cat is still alive, and circumstances seem better...just wish I knew what caused this state, what to do about it, and where it will end.

Oh, and finally, took a couple of steps to solve the mail problem from earlier in the week.  It probably won't get solved the way I want it to, but at least I'm taking steps instead of just dreading everything.

That would probably be a good epitaph for me.  "Dreaded Everything."

See you tomorrow.

September 8, 2016 (Thurs)

Nothing creative today.

Got some nice feedback on the YouTube posting.  Always nice, nice feedback.

Lots of paid work.  Similarly, that's also always nice.

Crap has been pre-loaded for tomorrow. 

And I think I might have murdered my cat.  Or pre-murdered.  Oh merciful God why did you invent pets.

All in all, a terrible day.  One I feel will be used as an example, should some damned soul be forced to write my life story.  Although, I supposed said damned soul could write the end, if he just borrowed the notes from the damned soul who decided on the beginning.

Ugh.  See you tomorrow.

September 7, 2016 (Wed)

So, after dwelling on this last night, I decided it was time to post my Flash project to YouTube.  And there it is.  I'm a bit disappointed with myself, as I hadn't noticed the right edge--it's got a white line down it.  Ah well, it's practice, it's a learning tool, and I'm not unhappy with it.

The question now is what to tackle next. 

Update, later that same day.  

So, yeah, I basically did nothing today.   After posting to YouTube, I felt empty and depressed (as I feared).  With the project "done" I felt as if there were no more steps in front of me, kind of lost in a heavy mist.  So I need to start another project.

But I'm not even sure what the next project should be.  I'm thinking I should continue with Flash, as I've made a bit of progress.  Though I really don't feel anywhere close to comfortable with it.  A day or so of thinking may provide an idea or two.

Maybe some character animation, or something with a bit of objects in motion, not just passing across the screen.

We'll see tomorrow.  See you then.

September 6, 2016 (Tues)

Actually a decent day...until the mail arrived.  You don't want to know.

Got some decent pay-hours in.  More tomorrow, too.

Spent a lot of time tweaking audio for Flash. Using Audacity, of course; if you're working in Flash, you are pretty much out of luck on the audio side.  You need to make sure that your sound files are in good working order before you import them in, or it'll end in tears.  Same with anything resembling artwork; use PhotoShop to create anything decent.  It's hard to know what Flash is actually good at, other than simple animation.  Maybe that's enough.

Decided to over-complicate some graphic stuff in the project, because why not, and wondered...am I just afraid of finishing this one project?  Because after this, yeah, there could be refinements in what I'm doing, but the next logical step is character animation, and I feel way unprepared for that.  So perhaps I am subconsciously trying to make sure the current project is always tweakable, so I can run out that excuse.  And always have something to post here. 

Since reviving this blog, it has been a great motivator, and I've done a lot of stuff...but sometimes the need to post overcomes the need to create.  Years ago, I used to do movie reviews, and at the time I couldn't enjoy movies because I was always thinking "Can I make a review of this?"

It might be a good idea to set a "publish-or-perish" deadline on projects.  A month, perhaps.  Sure, it's fun to tinker, but in the end, one must produce.

See you tomorrow.

September 5, 2016 (Mon)

Today was Labor Day, so no paid work.

Did a lot of driving to various nature spots and took some photos.  Not very many.  At one spot, a dog decided to follow me on the path (actually, he was out in front) so I was worried that he wouldn't come back and I'd be responsible.  So he was the main focus then.

Worked some on Flash.  Finally did the frame-by-frame animation, and it worked great.   It strobed pretty badly at first, until I realized that with the start and end frame of each image a keyframe, the animation popped back to a state which had no image, until the next image's start frame.  Removing the end keyframes for each image fixed that.

Got the audio where I wanted, using the elements I wanted...then hit a big snag.  The playback was fine on the stage, but when I tested the file in the preview player, there were loud pops--much louder than the sound track itself.  I tried various "Publish" settings, none of which had any impact.

A web search didn't really yield anything either.  I finally loaded the main audio culprit into Audacity and I did see that there were some areas where it "went out of the frame."

So I created a simpler version, and no popping.  Is it done?   Hm...not yet.  Changing the sound has changed the atmosphere I wanted, so I'm thinking of what I can do to get that back.  A couple of ideas but no work as of yet.

Update:  Did some sound work, and am much happier with the results.  Ready for YouTube?  Not yet....anyway, off to tomorrow.

September 4, 2016 (Sun)

Took a lot of photos today, and did a lot of driving.  Didn't really help, though I did see a bird I'd never seen before.

In regards to Flash, well, I was still frustrated by my inability to morph a brief sequence.  So I spent some time working on frame-by-frame images to try to get this thing to work.  That seems like a backwards way of doing things; frame-by-frame is how things were done in the pen-and-ink on a cell days.  I thought we were past that!

Ah well.  If it gets done, there's still ways to learn things.  Since I just now finished the last of the images, I have not had a chance to incorporate them into the project.  So I'll at least have something to report tomorrow.

Speaking of which, see you then.

September 3, 2016 (Sat)

Nothing much today.  Drove a lot, and took a few photos here and there.  Otherwise, just attempted to relax a bit and tried, unsuccessfully, not to worry.

See you tomorrow.

September 2, 2016 (Fri)

Did some more work on the Flash animation, and apart from the morph that eludes me, I think it's largely done.  Added some soundtrack stuff from Audacity into the mix and, apart from the morph, I like it.

Only a couple of earning hours today, which is worrisome.  But, hell, either I will live or not.

Sorry for being a downer today.  Sometimes it all just closes in.

September 1, 2016 (Thurs)

Some work on Flash, mostly frustrating;  I created some more layers in PhotoShop and wanted them to animate a bit differently, to do a little more than move in a line, or fade in.  I wanted them to change shape. 

However, even with some good instructions via the web, I can't seem to grasp the "shape tween" or "morph" functions very well.  Either that, or my graphics have some kind of flaw.  I tried another program I bought years ago and have never used til now (*cough*) called FantaMorph.  Well, some messing about with that told me that I have even more to learn....or perhaps a re-think is in order.


Still, while this was frustrating, it was not discouraging; it just means I have to dig a little deeper.  It took a long time until PhotoShop "made sense," and we're probably looking at a similar road for Flash.  Patience is a virtue.  That's what everyone says.

The good news for today is what I did in the "sound" realm.  I mentioned that I was a bit, um, dismayed by the soundtrack I recorded for the the Flash animation (the inspiration for this entire project, I feel I should add).  It seemed bad; weak and uncoordinated, and worse, uninteresting. And, I shudder to add, unusable.

Well, using Audacity, I clipped a "flaw" from the project (I think I banged the clarinet against something) and I was able to manipulate it into an entire soundtrack (or at least, the basis for one).  Very atmospheric and, dare I say, inspiring.  Very similar to when I was able to get Flash doing (sort of) what I wanted it to do--a feeling of rising over a hill.

Which means it will probably seem routine and too much like work in the next few days...but let's let the next few days decide that.

See you tomorrow.

August 31, 2016 (Wed)

Did some more work on the Flash project, and while it looks great, I have to admit I'm not as enthused.  I still like it and and think it's pretty good (for me), but I think when I first started it, I was so pleased to be doing something after so long, that it kind of overloaded me.  Now, that sense of discovery is over and it's becoming more routine.  Still fun, though.

Spent a lot of time on a silly PhotoShop thing.  Always good to keep in practice.

Other than that, not much.  Took some photos of a nice sunset.

See you tomorrow.

August 30, 2016 (Tues)

Nothing creative done today, unless you count mowing the lawn, which I don't. 

But no worries.  Today was a long overdue file-backup day.  Once every month or so, I do a copy of important files (documents, pictures, etc) to an external drive, which I then detach and put away.  I haven't done this since June, so it was needed.

I have a local backup, and an online backup account, but in the age of ransomware it pays to be over-cautious where irreplaceable files are concerned...including the Flash files I've been working on.  I can rebuild a PC without a problem (though I'd rather not), but I don't want to be left adrift where creativity is concerned.  I don't have the money to pay the ransom.

You can never have too many backups.  It's impossible.

So, anyway, not much to report today.  See you tomorrow.

August 29, 2016 (Mon)

Some paid work, always nice. 

Did some more work on the Flash animation, and got a thing to "fade in"!  This was pretty cool, at least for me, because mostly my work in Flash was "get something mediocre to happen and then quit."

On a bit of an off-note, I re-listened to the audio recording I'd done last week...as you might recall, the inspiration for everything happening since.

And it's kind of, well, bad.  In fact, listening back made me wonder what I'd heard in it in the first place.  Admittedly, I'm a terrible musician, but I generally make something of interest.  This...no.

Well, I used Audacity to slather on enough reverb to make it, uh, less terrible than it was, and while it was then "okay" I still may make a different soundtrack for the Flash thing.

--which still looks great to me! 

Weird.  Something mediocre leads to something better, which then makes the mediocrity stand out more...this is kind of the norm when learning, but it's odd to encounter this so late in life.

Oh well, all life is a learning experience, so I'm told, and this kind of brings that home.

Thank you, phantom reader, and see you tomorrow.

August 28, 2016 (Sun)

Well, got out of the house a bit.  Took some photos at the local "nature preserve" site, which like most such sites are great to get some nice natural photos without power lines, etc.

Friends are great.  Wish I had more.  Anyway, made the decision to take one friend to the airport at an awkward hour.  I can do that!

Did some tweaking on the Flash animation I've been mentioning.  Fixed the odd bits I didn't like, and added a few more.  Still haven't done anything with the sound I recorded earlier last week, but I have a good feeling about this. 

...which of course gives me a bad feeling about what might happen when this project is complete.  Oh well.

All in all, a fairly good day.  Give and take kind of evenly matched.

August 27, 2016 (Sat)

Not much done today.  In fact, pretty much nothing, other than paid work.

I must confess, I'm so pleased by the Flash thing I did yesterday that I spend a lot of time just watching it unfold.

Of course, I've noticed some minor motion problems, which I will at some point correct.

It's just such a nice feeling to have done something.

Anyway, all for today.  See you tomorrow.

August 26, 2016 (Fri)

Thought some more about making a Flash animation to go with what I recorded the other day.  In fact, I did a preliminary run in Flash, just to see how it would work, and then created some images in PhotoShop to animate.

As an aside, Flash is awful as a drawing package.  Yes, it does vector-based things, but it's really difficult to get anything with any kind of realism.

Anyway, that's all so far.

Later that same day:  I actually did some "real" Flash work.  Imported the Photoshop graphics and made, for me, a kind of impressive starfield sequence.  Not finished, of course.  But a start, and looks pretty good.

Flash is still not terribly intuitive, and it's way too easy to make dumb moves, but hey, it's something.

Got a text from a friend who's not doing too well.  Did my best.  Hey, it's something.

Watched "Get Low."  Robert Duvall is just brilliant.

And that's it for today.  See you tomorrow.

August 25, 2016 (Thurs)

Not much today.  Some more PhotoShop trivialities.  More thinking about a potential Flash animation...now that Flash is the internet pariah...but never mind that.

A bit of paid work.  I should mention that "paid work" means that I get to pay my bills and so forth, so it tends to take a higher importance in the day.  So, in other words, if there's a chance to explore Maya a bit more, or help a client recover some files, well...

1 helps with creativity.

2 helps with paying bills, and staying alive.

Sorry, #2 takes precedence.  I kind of suspect that will be my epitaph...but then, there are worse, aren't there?

See you tomorrow.

August 24, 2016 (Wed)

Nothing much today.  I've been thinking about what I recorded on Monday...maybe work in a Flash animation.  Maybe.

Took a couple more lessons in Maya.  It hasn't quite fallen into the "conceptual breakthrough" category--it's way too complex for that--but it's getting a bit clearer.  I need to practice the lessons a LOT before I go on.

Some PhotoShop stuff, for the group and for SoSF.  And a few photos of a nice sundown.

So, thumbs slightly up for today.

August 23, 2016 (Tue)

Lots of driving today, and a bunch of paid work.  All of which left me rather too exhausted to do anything creative.

If it's any consolation, I did look at the recording equipment I used yesterday, and felt...a bit of fondness.  Could be a break in the ice, who knows.

August 22, 2016 (Mon)

So, restarting this blog has had its first effect.

Today, around 9:30 PM or so, I decided I'd do some recording.  At around 10 I stopped, with three tracks, one of saxophone and two clarinets.  Since I play both badly, it's not really music but the results were interesting.  Moreso than I expected.

I need to relearn how the equipment works.  The first track (saxophone) is very low in volume.  That can probably be fixed with Audacity or some other software I own, but it would be nice to reduce the need to rely on post production.

Interestingly, I was really angry setting up the equipment.  I think my lack of motion on any projects was fighting back as I was trying to fight it.  I wonder if that will get easier or more difficult.

Other than the recording, I got some photos of the sunset.  Tired most of the day.

August 21, 2016 (Sun)

Well, it's been nearly three years since I've written an entry here, and I think it's about time to restart.

I feel I've been accomplishing less and less these days, and I have practically no enthusiasm for anything.

Perhaps by forcing myself to write an entry every day, I'll push myself a bit and start getting stuff done.

Main projects right now are to learn Adobe Flash, learn Autodesk Maya, and so some recording projects (unspecified).

To the first two, I recently purchased a lifetime membership in vtc.com which has training videos for both.

Today, I went out and shot some photographs.  Since I do that pretty much every weekend, it doesn't really count as a creative endeavor.

Anyway, we'll see how this goes.