Pixelary Updates

As part of the process of signing up for a SourceForge account, you are required to write some descriptions for the project you propose to create. SourceForge asks for a short (less than 255 character) description of the project. Pixelary’s entry is below:

Pixelary is a PHP-based account management system for web site designers. Running on any web server that supports PHP, Pixelary features support ticket functionality, the ability to define multiple contacts per account, and e-mail gateway capabilities.

SourceForge also requires “detailed, accurate, English-language description of your project, including technical aspects which cause it to differ from similar, existing solutions” for their use in assessing the project — this is used internally by SourceForge, but I thought I’d post it here. They further state that the “description needs to be technical and tangible, not abstract and philosophical. Please explain what the software will do, what purpose it will serve, and the basic problem it will solve.” Pixelary’s description is as follows:

Pixelary is being implemented in PHP using a MySQL backend to manage all data. It is being coded to be as robust as possible while still serving the needs of web designers quickly and efficiently. This will be achieved by allowing clients and consultants to interact with the system via e-mail to file support tickets and update their accounts, in addition to the web-based interface. The system may also (at some point in the future) branch off some of this functionality as plugins in order to better allow customization of the software.

Pixelary is created specifically to address the goal of increasing communication with web design clients by allowing clients full access to all data associated with their account, including timesheets, support tickets, and current/past bills.

I have requested registration with SourceForge, and should hear back within two business days (by Thursday). Hopefully, I get the space, though I realize the extreme pre-alpha status of the project as a whole.

Redrum! Redrum!

To add bloody murder to injury, I see the following in my Evergreen e-mail inbox this afternoon:

Hi... I've ordered the Everyman hardcover 1961 edition of Ulysses
Ulysses (Everyman's Library, 100)
by JAMES JOYCE
Hardcover: 1136 pages
Publisher: Everyman's Library; Reprint edition (October 28, 1997)
ISBN: 0679455132

And this for those of you who'd like some help on this adventure...

The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses
by Harry Blamires
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Routledge; 3rd edition (August 1, 1996)
ISBN: 0415138582

Ouch.

Slow Death

I’m getting so completely and absolutely slammed it’s not funny.

I’ve begun to wonder where the flaw is in my handling of this situation, and I’m beginning to think it’s a combination of low reading speed, bad time management, and having a lot of stuff on my plate at once. It’s undoubtedly at least partly my fault. It’s not that I’m procrastinating — I recognize that procrastination in a dog-eat-dog program will basically skewer you very quickly (which is happening). It’s that the time I do have is managed in such a way that I have to split my attention across two or three different activities at any one given time. It doesn’t help that I’ve already had to basically blow off a client because I don’t have the time to complete a major work request. Not only is that a monetary hit, I’m always afraid of alienating the client by not being attentive enough. Of course, the big thing I value about my client relationships is communication, which has saved me from a whole lot of problems (and has probably stopped me from losing a client or two).
Far from it from me to diverge from my main point. I’m not completely to blame here — the pace of the class is cutthroat, and I’m not the only one questioning my own abilities. The consensus between a fellow writing tutor and myself seems to be that we both woefully misjudged our abilities at the start of the program. We assumed that we would only have to read the material and analyze in class; instead, we are expected to mark up the book and do some small amount of analysis on our own while reading. This turns two hour’s worth of reading into what is easily eight hours (which is about as much time as I spent reading on Sunday). The pace of the class itself is such that there’s a paper due tomorrow on the reading which is also due tomorrow, which means I can’t turn the paper in (or even write it) because I’m too tired to finish the reading.

So why am I posting this?

White Flag

I surrender!
I’ve decided I can’t take any more reading tonight. I realized today that I’ll probably have to take a huge hit in my work hours in order to stay sane this quarter with this workload and everything else going on. My boss probably won’t be happy, but she’s let me do it before. I’ll probably come to a conclusion by the end of the week and adjust my hours accordingly.
I only made it halfway through the reading, but of course, I’ll catch up tomorrow. Today’s Enrollment Growth DTF meeting really screwed up my ability to read, and I’m deader than a doornail.
Pages Read Today for Class: 84

Pages Read to Date For Class: 266 (89 pages/day average)

Books Read to Date For Class: 1 (1 in progress)

The First Two Days

Class started yesterday, so I thought I’d share my reflections on what’s gone on so far. I meant to do this last night, but obviously didn’t get around to it, or else I would’ve posted before now.

As most readers probably know, I’m taking The Novel: Life and Form this quarter — a class that focuses mostly on literary interpretation and comprehension. The first day consisted both of reviewing the syllabus and discussing some of the historical background behind our first reading, The Princess de Clèves. Thad is a very energetic and knowledgeable faculty member; he is very clearly versed in much of the historical background surrounding this novel. The expectations for this class are extremely high — five-page papers, 125 pages of reading a night on average, a presentation to the class once every other week, and a question on the text brought to class every day — but the faculty evaluations I’ve read about him suggest that this is the norm and ends up being quite beneficial.

I came home and had lunch with Amanda while watching Season 2 of Quantum Leap. After she left for her class, I read quite a bit of the book. By the time I was done reading around 11PM, I had read 108 pages (the introduction, editor’s note, chronology, and parts 1 and 2). Quite impressive for me, since I usually don’t do that much in such a short amount of time.

I went to class this morning and met up with a fellow writing tutor, who is taking the same course. He apparently had a rude awakening last night because of the length of the text. I’m not surprised; even I didn’t really expect that the reading would take so long. The entire class day basically consisted of dissecting the text, which I enjoyed immensely. It’s been a long time since I really have been able to get deeply into the text and discuss the details. The last time I did that was in high school.

Tonight entailed 76 pages of reading from The Princess de Clèves, which I haven’t quite completed at the time of this writing. I still have about 20 pages left. Overall, this is going to be a very hectic quarter between my work at the Writing Center, my work with the Enrollment Coordination Committee and the Enrollment Growth DTF, and my work with naturalaxis. I’m basically going to get slammed. As a good friend of mine put it, "we’re going to get our asses kicked, but we’re paying to get our asses kicked." I second that thought. Hopefully, it doesn’t completely and utterly cripple me in the process. I have confidence I will succeed, however, since I usually do, albeit with a fair amount of griping.

Pages Read to Date for Class: 184 (92 pages/day average)
Class Books Read to Date: 1

Happy New Year 2005!

Happy New Year from the Pacific time zone!

I’m hoping this year is a much better year than 2004, though, of course, that remains to be seen. A few resolutions:

  • Be a better boyfriend to Amanda and a better friend to others.
  • Try to be more social and participate in more diverse activities.
  • Create a comfortable home.
  • Get a job involving web design or writing for the summer.
  • Cut down on the amount of stuff that I own in order to promote happiness.

Hopefully, I can keep some of these. We’ll see.