Okay so the "design" part is complete, and I've created all the necessary images to mesh with the code... and I'm probably about half-way finished writing the code. This is all pretty exciting. My part of this project should be done in the next few days. And then it's just a matter of time before the "secret project" is fully revealed.
Updated Update - Okay... I've hit a snag. :(
Updated - Updated Update - FIXED!!!!!
Make a British Flag from Scratch
Below are illustrations to show the process I took to build the flag. By the way, I used Photoshop for this.
First I started out with a blue background [fig 1]. Next I created the red cross [fig 2] which are two rectangles, one vertical, one horizontal. Then I added the white borders to the red cross [fig 3]. Next, [fig 4] I added the thick white diagonal bars followed by [fig 5] layering the smaller red diagonals on top of the white diagonals, while making sure the white borders from fig 3 overlapped those (see fig 6). Finally, I added a wavy texture and some shadows to make it feel more 3-D [fig 7].
Fig 1 
Fig 5
Fig 2 
Fig 6
Fig 3 
Fig 7
Fig 4
I'm too proud of this to NOT post it. Check out this awesome British flag I made from scratch!
I'm very excited about a project that I started working on tonight. I'm working on designing a new blog template for someone. I can't release details right now, but even I'm impressed with this one. Unfortunately the easy part is done, and the difficult and bulk of the work is still to come.
I took a cue from someone I worked with on a show once [Alex] who is a graphic artist for a web design company with his wife [Heather] pounding the code into submission. He designs in graphical medium such as Photoshop, and then his wife takes the image and writes the code to make it all to what they want. [Check them out at HeatherandAlex.com]
I've just recently discovered that Music Box Girl may be down... but not out. Apparently some deal went bad and she's hiding out from the authorities until the time is right... and when it is... she'll be back, oh yes, she will be back. Possibly under an assumed name or an alias. Y'know, to throw the flat-foots off the trail.
The Random Photos on my sidebar is back up and running, with a few changes due to laziness and not liking the way a couple photos looked.
Sad days ahead in the blogging world. Two more of my old favorites bite the dust. The total number of blogs I've ever linked to is 13. Listed bellow:
Stephanie - Life of the Phoenix
Music Box Girl
Dustin McClain - Life of an Eternal Colonel
Patrick Drury
Jeff Baynham - Chicken Scratch
Geron Brown - Why Would We Care
Tommy Glascock - Tommy's Generic Blog
Mr. Hibbity Gibbity
Erin Adams - Life of a Drama Mama
Katie Winebarger (McClain)
Ben Stewart
Mike Tuttle
Jon Adams
And now, I only list 5. The reason? They are the only ones to update regularly, that link to me, or that still have a blog at all. The rest either just don't post, delete their blogs, or don't like me for reasons they think are true.
Folks in my circle like myself, Patrick, Jeff, Geron, and Dustin are left to carry the torch.
Sad days...
I had a pretty great weekend.
Friday night, Steph and myself went looking for Halloween costumes for a party we were going to. She came up with a fun idea to dress up together as some kind of theme. She came up with the great idea to go as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Suess' The Cat in the Hat. So we went to Walmart, grabbed a few things, and went back to her house to make the costumes (while watching Smallville, which I take the credit for getting her hooked on).
Saturday, I did lights at church and then drove down to Richmond to get ready with Steph and head to the party. We did makeup to look like "Whos" but mine came out looking like Lion-O from ThunderCats. At the party we ALMOST won the costume contest, we lost to Frankenstein and his Bride. The party was great, and I got to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in a while.
Sunday came way too early after a late night at the Halloween party. I ran lights for the three services at church, which this weekend were a preview of a new type of service for when the new building opens. It's really a great idea, and I think it'll work well. After the 11:40 service, there was a cookout and games - but I didn't get to stay, I was meeting some friends to watch the Steelers/Bengals game that afternoon. My friend Dustin is a Steelers fan, so we decided it would be fun to make an afternoon of it... y'know, chips, snacks, drinks, football, etc. Unfortunately, the Bengals lost (see sidebar "Bengals Watch"), but the company was great, and we had fun watching the game. That evening we had dinner, hung around the house a little while, and then I headed home.
Right now, there's so much going on in my head that it's very difficult to form any kind of cohesive thought.
Over the past couple of days, I have definitely realized and learned some things about myself. I have some regret, some bitterness, some newfound respect, some happiness, and so on. A little of everything in a way.
A couple things I know and CAN form in some sort of solid wording, is that I have amazing friends. As well as a realization of respect and appreciation for those closest to me, and many more friends.
I wish I could more specific, but right now, my head is murky with the plethora of information that is swirling in there. And as for the thoughts I WOULD be able to relay... now is not appropriate, nor via blog. Sorry.
This just in... from around the net.
This just takes the fun out of it.
High-tech cows.
You'll have the cake? Frustrated?
Ladies, keep up the good work. We appreciate it.
Among other things, a big bummer of being single and not living near any close friends or family is that there's no one to take care of you when you feel "yikky".
Okay, the first Atlanta post event was really a cool side-note for my trip to Georgia. The real reason for being there was to design lights for a good friend of mine, Mark Smith. He and his wife (Bethany) have been good friends of mine since the summer of 2001.
This project was John Henry by a writer named John Hardy. This is the third of Hardy's plays that I've worked with Mark on (the first I performed in, the last two designed for) and the fifth overall project (see resume). Mark works for a Christian School near Atlanta called Landmark Christian School as their theatre teacher and director.
John Henry was a fairly easy project to work on. It's a small one-act show, actually only took 6 hours to complete from the time I stepped inside the building to the time the last cue was recorded. Small space + small show = easy setup.
Aside from the work, I actually got to visit with Mark and Bethany (and Biscuit!) some, which is always a blast.
On Friday afternoon, I left my friends in Valdosta, and headed North to Atlanta to meet up with Stephanie and Chris. Chris is a member of the Kings Singers and was touring in Atlanta that day... Steph came down to visit with him on a couple of their American tour stops.
I arrived in Atlanta around 3 or 4 ish, and met up with them at their hotel. This hotel was pretty swank. In the lobby there was a bar, foosball table, pool tables, and a shuffle board table. We had the most fun with the shuffle board table. Now, I know, when I say shuffle board you think of older folks on vacation or on a cruise ship shoving pucks down a long concrete strip with a stick. Well, this was different... it was a table, the pucks were smaller, and there were no old people. After a couple games of shuffle board we went to hear Chris and the Kings Singers perform. They were REALLY tight, and really amazing.
Afterwards, the group that was hosting them had a reception for them back in the lobby of the hotel. The group was a bunch of chorale alumni of a college, and treated us to an acapella version of Circle of Life, which was really good. After that, the reception dwindled down, and Chris, Steph and I returned to play some more pool and shuffle board. About midnight they retired to their rooms, and I hit the road to try to find a hotel.
All-in-all, it was really a lot of fun... of course with the company I was with, it's difficult NOT to have fun.
Okay, so here's the realization...
I figured it doesn't really matter if I tell people... especially in a very generic sort of way. So here goes:
Whilst down in Valdosta, I met a friend of a friend. After meeting said friend (need I say the friend was female?) I decided that she would be someone I would be interested in. So, later, I asked about her. The response was, "she has a boyfriend". Okay, so with that touch of back-story, here we go. My friend pointed out that I always seem to go for ones who are (for all intents and purposes) taken.
Later, I mentioned this phenomenon to another friend, and they totally agreed. Now here's the kicker, we realized that I do this even before finding out if she has a boyfriend.
Now... Committee... I present this to you. Why do I do this? What would cause me to do this? Also, any other comments or remarks will be eagerly received.
Reporting to you on location in Atlanta, GA!
Part one of my week-long trip to the Peach State was awesome!! I went down I-75 as far south in Georgia as you can go without actually being in Florida. There in the town of Valdosta, I met up with three of my friends that I met at grand ole' JWT; Fiona Farrell, Sheanna Tobey, and John Hemphill. These people are some of the coolest and nicest people I know.
First off, I went to see the closing night of "NEVERMORE", a show Fiona Assistant Directed and Hemphill designed the lights for at VSU. It was a really great show. I'm quite proud of both of them. After the show we all went and did what we do best... we headed over to a really cool bar in town called O'Corley's. Got to meet a bunch of the gangs friends... most of whom were really cool and made me feel very welcome to be there.
The next day was spent sleeping in/recovering from the night before... but for dinner my friends and I went to Mori's, a really good Hibatchi/Sushi place. We STUFFED ourselves, tried going to O'Corley's again... but all the good food made us too groggy to enjoy.
Also, while in Valdosta, I came to a shocking realization about myself... one that's very puzzling. I've got some of the best minds on the issue right now. It should go to committee soon, and then hopefully in two or three years I'll have an answer.
Something that always has bothered me is ignorance. Not just ignorance, but a seeming desire to remain ignorant. I learned about a particular piece of ignorance yesterday, and while it doesn't really "bother" me, it has been on my mind a lot since I learned of it. So, I'm engaging in a quick therapy session ala venting on my blog.
The particular bit and kind of ignorance I'm thinking of is EASILY remedied. "How?" you may ask... well, let me tell you. Ask questions. This method will accomplish finding the truth out about a topic, hands-down... especially if it envolves a person.
The kind of ignorance that I talk about is the kind that spreads rumors and gossip. "But, Scott... why do people want to do this?" Well, some people like to be the person that "knows everything"... some may call them a "know-it-all"... most of the time, in fact, they know very little. Often, if they disagree with something, instead of presenting information to a second party to show them how they came up with their opinion or their conclusion, they simply will degrade the other person or their statement with unintelligent remarks (for example: "that's just dumb", or "you're an idiot").
Ahh... thanks for listening.
This just in... from around the web.
Mosquitos with glowing gonads
Missing Cow - Fowl Play Suspected
Snake vs. Cat
Artificial Replacement Dog Testicles
Snake vs. Cat (Snake Wins)
With their best start since 1988, Cincinnati lost their first game this season after a 4 game winning streak. The Jacksonville Jaguars played a solid game against the Bengals, while Cincinnati showed that they are indeed a different team than years past. Previous Cincy teams would have collapsed under the pressure or given up at a 7 - 20 deficit in the 3rd quarter. But the Bengals rallied back with two field goals within 3 minutes in the 3rd quarter and a touchdown pass in the 4th. Unfortunately Cincinnati couldn't finish off the 2-minute drill with 2:42 remaining in the final quarter, barely losing to Jacksonville 20 - 23.
Two years ago today, I posted my first post with Blogger. Two years later, I have my own domain name and host my blog there. A lot of great memories. More to come!
A life and death struggle with Gator vs. Snake.
Facts about Quicksand.
No more backing up with this car.
Okay, I know I'm going on a lot about the Bengals lately, but I'm really proud of my team... so back off! Just kidding. Here's some cool facts and stats about the notorious underdogs...
January 10, 1982 - The Bengals defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship Game, 27-7, the coldest game ever played in NFL history. The wind chill factor brought the game-time temperature down to -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 degrees C). The Bengals' offensive linemen were on the field with their standard sleeveless jerseys in an effort to intimidate a Charger team more accustomed to the warmer California weather.
November 16, 2003 - By week 11 of the 2003 regular season the Kansas City Chiefs were the only remaining undefeated team in the league, at 9-0. The Bengals were the losingest NFL team between 1990 and 2002, and at the time had a record of only 4-5 under rookie head coach Marvin Lewis. Chad Johnson, Cincinnati's 2nd-year wide receiver, made headlines with a pre-game guarantee that the Bengals would win the game [2]. The Bengals went on to beat the Chiefs, 24-19. The team missed the playoffs by two games but finished the season at 8-8, their first non-losing campaign since 1996.
October 25, 2004 - With much fanfare from Cincinnati residents, Monday Night Football returned to Cincinnati after a fifteen-year absence. In their first MNF appearance in twelve years, the Bengals (1-4) were matched against the Denver Broncos (5-1), whose defense was ranked number one in the NFL. Considered a long shot, the Bengals defeated the Broncos, 23-10.
September 24, 2005 - Forcing five interceptions the previous week against the Vikings and five more this game against the Bears, the Bengals accomplished a feat that had not been done in 34 years. The last team to have back-to-back games with 5 or more interceptions was the 1971 Browns.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Bengals
WHO DEY?
Bengals win again!
The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Houston Texans 16 - 10 this afternoon. This one came down to the last few minutes in the 4th quarter as a close call, and after (admittedly) a questionable call by the referee.