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Thanks!

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The gears are in motion, and things are well underway. Stay tuned for more detailed news in a couple of days.

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I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but my 1 month contract was yet again extended for another 3 months, until the end of April. Originally, I was asked to continue working a dual-role as IT admin (to help with generic IT requests like installing software and setting up servers) and E2 Support (supporting Artez’s main application called E2RM). Although I made it clear on a number of occasions that I did not want to continue doing IT and Support, I decided to continue the 3 month extension to help chip away at more debt, in the hopes that they would transition me into another role. Well, they unofficially transitioned me into another role.

I recently attended some quick training sessions on customizing the E2RM application with custom designs and templates for some of Artez’s bigger clients. As it turns out, a couple of days later both of their current designers decided to go on vacation for several weeks at the same time, leaving people scrambling to get some design work done in a hurry. That’s where I came in to save the day.

For the past week I’ve been working with an Australian charity to design a fancy template, graphics, and plug-ins for their custom designed site. The bad news is they had insanely tight deadlines, and working with Australia means I’m always one day late (they are a day ahead of us!). Due to the time difference, I’ve been working really weird hours. I even pulled a 16 hour day this week. Yikes! That would explain why I’m a little brain-dead this week. The good news is I haven’t felt this comfortable in a job in… well… ever. I really enjoy what I am doing, and I am having a blast creating great looking designs and tools for major sites. It’s very rewarding and everyone seems to love my work (despite it being only a fraction of what I can do… just wait until they give me more to work with…).

I wrapped up the main site design today, and just found out that they are so pleased that they’ve asked me to work on their main portal landing page as well, which will include a clickable map of Australia to select the charity events across the country. I’m booked until the end of next week with more design work, and I’m hoping it continues indefinitely!

So… while it may not be officially official yet, it looks like I’ll be doing web design and coding from now on. If I continue to impress them with my design, I’m sure I’ll have another contract extension, or better yet a permanent position, at the end of April. Wish me luck!

P.S. In case you didn’t read between the lines, doing design work affords me the option to work from home, which means I can work from Ottawa. And yes, we have contacted people about homes and mortgages already. More on that as we get further info in a few days.

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As you can see, the new site is VERY different than the old site, and contains a number of improvements to both the functionality and the design. This post details why I made these changes and explains a little bit about how to use the site properly. So keep reading.

As mentioned, the look of this site is drastically different than the old blog-style site I had before. This new layout is designed more like a magazine with specific categories of posts for better organization. I designed it this way so that I could assign different priorities to each category. For instance, you will notice that the Art News section will always remain on top. This is because the main function of this new site is to organize and display my art for curators and potential exhibitors. In this regard, even if there are 10 newer posts, the older art news will still remain at the top. The video section works in much the same way… it will always display the latest video in the same location. The next section below is the 3 latest “important” posts. These posts include technological ramblings, music news, pictures and important site information. Finally, below the video section you will find the 5 latest posts in all other categories. This includes my own “just for fun” posts as well as your own contributions to the site (like the Free4All, now called Friends). If you have a picture uploaded to your account, you picture will also show right on the main page. I wanted to get away from having a completely separate page for the Free4All. I think your contributions all deserve to be on the main page. Finally, the last major innovation on the site is a live search function. Note that the live search does not work with Internet Explorer, so I highly recommend getting Firefox if you are on Windows, or Camino (or Firefox) for Mac. If you are using an approved browser, when you type in the search box, it will automatically start finding articles that match what you are typing.

Now on to the functionality of the site.

First and foremost, I recommend you all sign up for an account right now. The process is dead easy, and takes only 20 seconds. Just click the link in the yellow box on the main page, fill in the two boxes and submit. You will then be emailed your temporary password to access the site. Simply log in and change your password to something you would prefer using (and while you’re at it, feel free to fill out your personal details and upload a picture). You will not be able to post to the site immediately. I have to approve all new users manually, so once I see you’re not a freak (or at least that you’re a freak I like) your account will be upgraded and you will be allowed to post. Again, I recommend Firefox or Camino as the other browsers are a little quirky.

I think that’s enough of a primer for now. Go ahead and explore the site. Let me know if you notice any major problems and I will do my best to correct them.

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Created for Nuit Blanche, Andy Morris’ new artwork Window Shopping
is an entertaining and brilliant statement, a bridge between consumerism and technology.
It merges the immediacy of the retail purchase with the anonymity of technology.
You become the window, the store, and the consumer, without ever leaving the street (or gallery).

The images archived on the site include pictures from their own photographer as well as my own footage exported from my HD video camera.

To view my entry, click here:  http://www.ccca.ca/nuitblanche2007/artists/images/morris/index.html

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