Daily archives: October 8, 2004


The Lord of Lawn Sports

Tim sent me a link to the rules of croquet and wondered why there had been so little news on the 100 Things front.

Mostly, the break in achievements is down to a simple lack of money. Very few of the goals can be achieved without some outlay. There’s also the matter of going back to school and the annual onset of what I swear is SAD as the nights draw in.

However, I have been sowing seeds as part of the guerilla gardening (no. 103). That won’t be deemed complete until things start sprouting in Spring. The initial phase of the music video (almost a film- no. 13) is under way- I have promises of equipment, several possible locations and some software to learn. I may change 99- Publish a cook book- to Publish a book of photos to encourage the grafitti and signage project along. However, one of the briefs for the second year of the course is to layout a cookbook in Quark. I guess that’s part way there.

Number 97 is Get as close as possible to an active volcano. I’m edging more and more toward just relying on the Mount St Helens webcam. I found the cam on blogdex, and getting into its top 100 is still on the list. Popdex, however, seems to have ground to a halt and only lists ten things, so perhaps I won’t aim that high. I’ll try for blogsnow instead. I wore my Must Not Mention Sheep T shirt to the ‘Stuff concert. Didn’t pull, but at least I was trying.

Overall, work on the list is continuing, if a little low key. Now, if any ladies would like to pose naked or get it on in a hammock, please get in touch.


The Eco House

Jo’s designing an Eco House for Mum and Dad. I’m interested in the subject, and have been for a while. So now we have this blog, for swapping ideas back and forth and pointing to cool green stuff.

I’m going to start out by recommending some related books from Amazon-

The Passive Solar House: Using Solar Design to Heat and Cool Your Home

The Whole House Book: Ecological Building Design and Materials

Sewage Solutions: Answering the Call of Nature

I’m off to do some research and come back with a longer list.


What is WebcomicsNation?

Update posted October 6, 2004

WebcomicsNation is:

* … a comprehensive suite of server-side software tools to help any small press print cartoonist or webcomics creator build and manage his/her online business.

* … the backend engine which currently drives many of the most successful commercial webcomics businesses, including Modern Tales, serializer.net, GirlAMatic and Graphic Smash.

* … supported by a network of standalone websites designed to pull potential audience members to WCN cartoonist’s work by offering content that is tangentially or directly related to comics, but not necessarily related specifically to WCN or WCN cartoonists themselves; several of these sites will be launching in the months of October, November, and December. Two currently-existing sites that fit this description are TalkAboutComics.com and GraphicNovelReview.com

* … a community of professional cartoonists, including leading webcomics creators like Shaenon Garrity (Narbonic) and Dorothy Gambrell (Cat and Girl) as well as well-known small press print creators like James Kochalka (Sketchbook Diaries/American Elf), Roger Langridge (Fred the Clown) and Donna Barr (The Desert Peach).

* … is currently a closed circuit, an invitation-only beta testing playground.

* … is launching wide, soon, allowing any cartoonist to play.

Stay tuned.

Not quite a year late, but getting close. However, when it does arrive it should be cool and I’ll be shifting Deputised Experts over to it.


Quays

A new Deputised Experts page is up. I’m particularly proud of the two views of Salford Quays I used here. There was a certain amount of cheating involved, including using greyscales of the original photos to provide the shading, but the end results are cool. There is an overcast quality to it as well- perfectly appropriate for Manchester.

And please vote. There’s still a chance to give DEx a decent leg up the TopWebComics and BuzzComics charts.