My Million Dollar Year

Project Sidewalk is one of my ongoing (and often changing) projects that I’m still really excited about. The overall idea is rather nebulous still, but people seem to catch on pretty fast.

Essentially it’s an attempt to create a community that will help nurture the creative side of all of us. The project is still evolving, so there’s plenty of time for you to help shape the way it will eventually turn out. You can find out more about it here: http://www.projectsidewalk.com

We’d love to see you join us on the forums.

And as usual, if you’d like to help support any of these projects, please consider buying me a drink.

Back from the 6 originals made in 2006, here’s some mockups of 2008’s line of Rejected Valentine’s Cards.

So, I’ve been considering switching to a Macbook.

I built this PC almost 5 (or is it 6?) years ago. It’s been very good to me, as I dropped quite a bit of money in to it when it was new. However, it’s starting to revolt. For example, this is what it looks like when I try to play a game:

(click to enlarge)

Terrible, right? It’s not just limited to games. It was at first, but now it’s on the desktop, as well. Sure enough, I can barely even read what I’m typing right now. It’s terrible.

As far as my laptop goes, I have an old Dell Inspiron that never really got much use. It’s a bit too big to be convenient in a portable sense, and I’ve got my desktop here, so it never found a good, productive place to work.

Which leaves me to the future. I’m considering getting a Macbook. I haven’t really used macs in years, but I hear it’s worth a shot. I’d love some feedback in the comments if you think it’s worth the switch.

Well that was interesting.

I’m going on a month of being sick, but I think things are starting to get better. I’m well enough to start using the computer for more than just checking email.

That’s a plus.

I feel terrible that I haven’t been able to update regularly. I’m going to try to make up for that.

More updates later today, I just wanted to let you all know I’m back. Off to see “I Am Legend” first.

To my faithful viewers: Thank you for sticking around. My illness has consistently gotten worse day to day, and several doctors visits have all resulted in no answers. Day 16 of feeling like death. Here’s to hoping things start getting better as soon as possible. I don’t know if I can take another sleepless night.

I promise to resume regular updates this Friday, regardless of my health.

Thanks again for sticking around.

And I’m sick… again.

I love the little details that make life what it is. Add your own in the comments.

I like old film, Polaroids, blurred pictures, silhouettes, yellow traffic lights at 4 am, reflections in puddles, foliage, crunchy leaves, being outside, the smell of rain, autumn, the stillness that autumn brings, the unknown and the unknowable, the calm before the storm, the storm itself, unusual weather, sand, landscapes (abandoned, secret, or hidden), brightly lit nighttime greenhouses, the park at dusk, nighttime skylines in the middle of nowhere, specific locations, unspecific locations, old maps, the feeling you get when you explore places you know you shouldn’t be, exploring new paths, road trips, grainy melodies, the sound of rain, silence, the buzz of street lamps at night, when pay phones ring even though no one is around, when they test the emergency broadcast system, the sound of wind in the trees on fall nights, walking for no real reason, cleaning off rocks in water, looking up and/or down and seeing things you never noticed, possibilities, nostalgia, noticing the little things, escapism, imagination, inside jokes, deja vu, twist endings, bonfires, the smell of book stores, big breakfasts, taking the back roads, building forts, being scared, climbing trees, laughing, the silence between lightening and the clap of thunder, waking up slowly, finding old things at yard sales, sledding, warming up after sledding, and star gazing.

Whew. That wasn’t much fun…

Sorry for the lack of updates. That little bout of illness hit hard and fast.

Lucky, I had coma inducing help:

Ah, Nyquil. “The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, why the hell did I wake up in my basement wearing oven mitts and a home made panda costume medicine.”

(Ok, it wasn’t as fun as that, but it did give some interesting dreams)

Anyways, it’s good to be back.

Oh, and as I’ve lost my apetite through all this, I could really use a celebratory drink…

Hello again everyone.

I’d like to make a clear distinction about the kind of stuff that’s going to be here.

I will never set up this site to be some simple advertisement for the dark, nasty corners of the internet. Unfortunately, most of the money to be made on the net are from others trying to make money, and that usually results in links to other simple get rich quick schemes.

But isn’t this a get rich quick scheme? 

I’d argue that it isn’t. Sure, the whole “million dollar” thing is thrown around a lot on the site–it’s even in the domain–but it’s more of a gimmick than anything else. Any revenue accumulated is just a nice bonus on top of the real project. That money, for the most part, also goes to reinvesting for future artistic projects. While it’d be nice, it’s not the motivation.

 What’s the real purpose then?

It’s a lot of things. Mostly an experiment. Partly a place for me to share my own view of the world. Somewhere to share the things I find artistic and interesting. All of that and so much more.  Stick around and you’ll see.

In other words, this isn’t going to turn into a billboard with links to things that no one is interested in–get rich ebooks, marketing junk, “free pills,” and all the junk that spam is made of.

What I will post will be artistic blogs, portfolios, pictures, movies, writing, and anything I find generally worth my own time.  If I wouldn’t spend my time looking at it, it won’t be posted on the site.

That being said, several of the contribution areas allow you to add a link if you contribute (like if you were going to buy me a drink). I’d encourage you to keep those links relevant as well (personal blogs, your flickr account, your online portfolio, etc are all great), but I have less control over those areas.

I suppose what I’m saying is that the main section of the site will always keep its integrity. Don’t worry about showing up and finding a giant billboard of links you’d never actually want to see. I’d gladly never reach my goal before selling out to that side of the net.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

One of the unspoken motivations behind this site is a sort of experiment. One of those that I’ve always wanted to try is simply how true is the above quote?

The next major project is going to be seeing how much people are willing to pay (via ebay) for things that have little to no value to me.

The first auction might be up later today. The winner if each bid will get a shoutout on the site with their name and link, if they so choose.

See you all soon.