h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Welcome to h2g2, ge||ge! I hope you're settling in, and have started to explore this place! My name is Shea, and I am an Assistant Community Editor (ACE) and a Guardian Angel (GA). We're a group of volunteers that flit about welcoming and helping new Researchers. If you want to ask me a question, or need help with anything, just hit the "Reply" button and leave a message, I'll fly back in and help you in any way I can!

You make the enigmatic statement: Software for a living. Make, test or use?

Have you checked out the Welcome pages yet? They're a good place to start:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/Welcome
http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/Welcome-DNA

If you're interested ge||ge, I made a page with a list of links that you might like to check out. It's at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A534953 .

There's lots to do around h2g2! You can write Guide Entries, post in your Journal, join clubs and communities, have a few drinks in a pub, join spirited debate, or just make some new friends!

If you ever want to talk to a Researcher ge||ge, just click on their name. That will take you to their Personal Space, and you can leave them a message there (like I'm doing now!) by clicking on the 'Discuss this Entry' button.

Most importantly, have fun! You might find yourself meeting some great new friends! I know I have!

- Shea the Sarcastic

I do most everything there is to do with software. I work for a small company.... no specialization. I have an EE degree so I don't encounter much along these these lines that is "beyond" me.

I looked at the Long Island web "news" site of yours. How much of that is your work?

I cannot imagine leaving an arts oriented career for insurance. You must have decided that more money is required. Eh? Why would returning to a university be required to go into the insurance field?

ge||ge

You had me going for a second there, ge||ge! I'm getting a degree in Visual Communications, to make myself more marketable! I used the word insurance as a means of guaranteeing I can still get a good-paying job in the field if I'm ever let go from my current position!

I do a lot of the artwork on the website. I choose and format the pictures that go with the news stories. I also design banners, slideshows, and have made a couple of games as well. The games are my favorite! I'm taking a Flash animation course next semester, and can't wait to get started!

What kind of software does your company make? It's nice working for a small company, and being able to do a lot of different things in the course of the day!

Sorry 'bout that. Reading, as I do here, just before beddie-bye, addles the eyes I guess.... not to say there is anything wrong with the insurance business... some of my best friends are insurance agents.

It'll be interesting next week. My 4 month contract to this small co. will be up. Do I go the way of the other 7000 dotcom-ers here in Austin? or get to continue on this project for them? Dunno.

Tomorrow is Eyore's Birthday downtown in Pease Park, about 3 blocks from where I'll be slaving over some of that "software" I'll get around to talking about. This is a blue collar party. Lots of drumming, beer, hanging out. The temperature is near perfect for Central Texas... the high in the low 80's (about 28 deg C).

One of this co.'s associates is a big time gamer/programmer, Benjamin Ellinger, who has 2 computer games, designed, programmed and delivered under his belt. He has done too many board games to count. So, I am interested in the computer games you worked on. Were/are you the (or one of) the artists? Any place I can go to see some part of the games?
Have you done any "strictly art"? as opposed to commercial art?
ge||ge

Hi ge||ge!

Good luck next week! I hope they renew your contract. That's part of the reason I'm working toward a degree. Back when I originally started working, you really only needed an Associates Degree, and after that they were more interested in work experience. Nowadays, they like to see that piece of paper, that's why I'm working towards my Bachelor's. Just in case ...

Have fun at the party! I hope the weather holds out for it!

The games I made for the website aren't great. I took a seminar in Macromedia Director a few years ago, so that means I'm the gaming expert! Unfortunately, I spend just as much time with my nose in the manual trying to work out how to make it do what I want, than I do designing the game!

The game I like the best is the one I did for the Subway Series. It's a bit cheesey, but I did everything. All I got in the way of guidance was my boss saying, "Make a Subway Series game, you've got 3 days!" If you want to find it (sorry I have to tell you the long way, instead of just posting the URL, but they don't let us post URLs in Forums - hope that changes soon!), go to the link on my homepage that says work, work, work. Once you're there, go to Sports. There should be a link further down that page that says Subway Series Coverage or something similar. On that page is a link to my Subway Series game. It's a pretty big Shockwave file ... I hope you have a fast internet connection!

And I have done "real" art! It's really my favorite thing to do, but aside from bringing me pleasure, there's really not much money-making involved in painting. I've got my winning the lottery dream of having my own studio and painting all day, but it's just a dream until retirement, I suppose!

Take care and enjoy the weekend!
- Shea

At work its usually work. We have a T1 connection 100,000 Bytes/second. That's 25 times faster than what I have here at home. I'll be going there tomorrow. If I remember and there are no "crises" I'll find the Subway Series. I acknowledge you are not overly proud of it in advance.

Eeyore's is a mass event. You will rub elbows. The weather was unbeatable and so the crowds were gigantic. Parking was nightmare I am sure. I was on my bike (the pleasures of living in town where EVERYTHING is no more than 3 miles from home) so I had no trouble getting around. Costumes are highly encouraged. The University of Texas is but 1 mile away so a goodly portion of the 50,000 strong student body showed up also.... blue collar or not.

Have you scanned or digitally photographed any of your paintings and put them up on a site? My cousin, John Wagner, is a painter among other interests and though wants to publish on the web, is always having things fall through. Artists! Digital Technology escapes alot of them.
I have some eye candy up at [url removed by moderator]

Aaargh! I wish I got to your post before they removed the url!

How elaborate are the costumes at Eeyore's? It sounds like it was a lot of fun!

And I haven't scanned any of my artwork for the web. I never really thought about it to be honest! Thinking about it now though, I feel that paint/charcoal loses so much when being reproduced at all, much less digitally reproduced, that there's not point in me combining the two. I don't know though ... I haven't tried, so ... hmmm...

What's with the removal of the URLs? I've been allowed it in my "Introduction". Why not here? Who is ....they.... ?

I can confidently say that people who look at art at a digital resolution of 640x480 are quite aware that they are not seeing a work in its best setting. Very few artists create subjects that are totally irrelevant... that are *only* a medium for the technique.

And... how do I stick in smiley# into messages like this one?

"They" are the moderators. When h2g2 was bought by the BBC, they (the BBC) wanted to make the content "family-friendly" so they only allow URLs in Entries, but not in the forums (unless it's an internal link). That's why I gave you such a round-about way to find things on my work website. It would have been much, much easier to just paste in the URL! One of the workarounds is to have a separate Entry with outside URLs listed in it, and to direct people there.

There are two types of smileys. The one has the code <SMILEY TYPE="winkeye"/> for Entries. The other has just the word < winkeye > (without the spaces) or the keyboard short cut ; - ) (again, without the spaces) for the forums.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/Smiley
Has a list of all the smileys, and their codes.

Have fun!

Hi again.

I looked for your game via work,work,work. I couldn't find it. Have they retired it? I got down to the sports section of the "news paper", but search for subway turned up nothing that looked game like at all.

I'd talk more today(nite)(morning!) but I didn't get home from work until about 12:20. The morning won't let me sleep (cats, cars, phones, lights) so I'm out of here after a visit to the bar.

I talked with a gen-u-ine classical music composer over at UT Austin this evening and mentioned your "reluctance to scan your charcoal art work".

ge||ge

Okay, let's see if I can get away with this: Use the original URL, then add:
/sports/subway/subway.htm
Scroll down a bit, and there's a headline that says "All Aboard!" - that's the game. "Local" is the longer version, but really not much longer than the "Express". I recommend setting it to load, and getting a cup of !

So what was your "gen-u-ine classical music composer"'s reaction to my "reluctance to scan your charcoal art work"?

My ISP really is suffering the last couple days. I'm going to wait until work tomorrow and look at the URL then.

The composer was mostly concerned about his work. In March I heard a new music concert and most taken with his Quintet for winds. The other works were mostly contrived and predictable (usually this is not the case), except for his. I emailed and he finally made a copy of the recording done at the performance (this is UT at Austin after all). Things kept not working for a meeting, the worst of which was Sunday evening. Last night we finally made a handoff. It was the first in person meeting and we were both due to be someplace else, but did take 15 minutes to talk. Mostly he was explaining (apologizing?) how the other works on the tape came to be. When he apologized I mentioned you.. looking for the reason for the apology. Artists, it seems, are aware of the great art out there without accounting for we the masses being not nearly so educated. Apologies are not usually necessary and we masses can easily take it wrongly.

Jeez, midnight again so soon.

Did you ever want a day to just go on? Insert about 4 more hours RIGHT HERE. I wouldn't mind if I still expended energy over those 4 hours, just allow me to have /after that/ the 8 hours of sleep I do best with.

Tomorrow evening I think I'll launch right in to what you have to say in other conversations. I need to get out and around if I'm going to really hang out at h2g2. I was attracted to the British aspect. My wife (Carol) and I have been there several times and I worked up in Derby for a bit of time.

Asta la luego.

>Did you ever want a day to just go on?

Nearly every day! Sometimes I'm amazed when I look up at the clock and see what time it really is!

I lurked around here for quite a while before I jumped into the community, and then I was sorry I hadn't started sooner! I really have met some great people here!

I'm heading to London myself this summer! I'm going for a week in July. It's been 16 years since I've been to the UK, and I'm really looking forward to it. The cool thing is there's an h2g2 meet-up in London at the same time, so I'll get to meet some of my online friends face-to-face! It should be fun!

Hello again,
I've been gone for 2 reasons. An absolutely terrible modem connection
for the last week, which persists today even... but passable at the moment, and my involvement with Austin Bike To Work Day last Friday and the post event responsibilities.

I did get to play your game. I found it a lot of fun, because I knew it would not go on for a long time, that I would experience some of New York. That was quite a bit of work for 2 days! I am sure I could not have gotten from one end to the other in less that 4 days of programming. That represents specific knowledge of New York and a variety of sounds and clip art. Bravo!

Well, I'm off to see the sights while the modem holds. See you 'round.

George

Why thank you! How nice! I really did have a lot of fun doing that game.

When you've got your modem beaten back into shape, and have a bit more time, you'll have to tell me about the Austin Bike to Work Day. No rush ...

Have fun seeing the sights ...

Hi again. The modem connection is m u c h better. I still will be away a bit. DA's passing affected me alot. That and seeing a bicyclist laid on the street a block from my home having been hit by a black SUV. She was laid out on the pavement unconscious. I ride my bike a lot... Commute to work 3 miles away. Carol's off at a spinning convention in Denison, TX, so there is only the 3 cats to sympathize.

In a couple weeks we go to visit Dr.Pepper, TX (name changed for 1 week from Dublin) for a celebration. The bottler there still uses cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Supposed to make a difference. I remember being 15, visiting Philly and asking for a Dr. Pepper, but got nothing but incomprehension. One of the times I connect with not realizing how provencial I was to the world at large.

It is late as usual and I did a lot today. I'll go toast DA and putter around a few minutes, then go read a cozy novel and wish the only changes in the world were "good" ones.

I should, ought, will know this week whether I'll continue with this programming outfit: C++, ASP, Visual Basic, IIS, Wise + the proprietary programs we have written; for /me/ that's a lot to deal with in 4 1/2 months. Our sugar daddy sold the program we wrote for them, so they'll be happy. Happy enough to want more work? I dunno.

George

Well hello there! Good to hear from you!

I've been very busy myself this weekend! Went to a ballgame yesterday, and got together with a couple of h2g2ers in NYC today! I'm tired, but happy!

They didn't know what Dr. Pepper was in Philly? We have it here in NY! I'm a Diet Dr. Pepper fan, myself! I think they call it Mr. Pibbs in other places.

You'll have to let me know how your work situation turns out ... I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

It was Debra Prokop on the bike. She died. Lived over one block and down a block. 45. Been a part of the neighborhood for over 20 years. Had 2 daughters 11 and 7. Family up north. Divorced husband also up north now. I missed knowing about the divorce. Personal relationships are always a mystery to me. Other life is cheap and your own precious. So enjoy it and protect it as best you can. What else are you going to do? I have laughed a dozen times since Saturday afternoon. I am powerless to protect much.

Baseball games can be an anchor in a world of change, though the game has its evolution for sure. I played softball and hardball in grade school and sandlot until I left for college. I only watched it to socialize and with the last 2 times decided it was a poor way to meet girls. The last company I worked for fielded a team in a league for 3 or four games (as I recall). My practice was waaaaaaaaay better than my actual play. I didn't do as well as I thought I might, though my enthusiasm was there. The last game we had to "borrow" a player or 2 to field the minimum and we didn't sign up thereafter.

My son showed zero interest in baseball, but did play city league soccer and volleyball.

More, someother time.

I'm so sorry to hear about Debra. What a tragedy!

The nicest part about the game I went to, was the fact that I took my father with me. He hadn't been to a game since the 70's, and to be honest, we've never done anything like that, with just the two of us before. He was more prone to do things with the boys than with the girls. It was wonderful spending the day with him! He's so knowledgable about the game, and it was great ... sunny, hot ... if the Mets hadn't bombed so spectacularly it would have been perfect!

==========N^====||== 45th ======||=====
AveF Shipe Park AveG
|| ||
|| || Elizabet Ney
|| ||x Museum
================||==============||==\====
My House X|| || scene of accident
|| ||
About 100 people showed up in the park for the memorial service for Debra Prokop. About 10 people spoke about her, the acquainted and some friends. Her father was there. He is from New Jersey. He said that such public gatherings for a neighbor was unheard of in NJ.

Is that a Southern thing or was her father just wrong? Have you been to such a thing in the NY area?

ge||ge