Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

2010 and 2011 in Review

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

If you’ll forgive me for “metablogging,” I’ve been ruminating lately on the purpose of this website.  Up until now, I’ve been trying to focus exclusively on technology, programming and game design, and to minimize the subjective aspects of my connection to those fields.  Put more simply, I’ve been avoiding writing about who I am and what I do in favour of producing a series of mostly impersonal tutorials and critiques of technology.  There are a number of reasons for this—the word “professionalism” comes to mind as chief among them.  I’d like this website to be my public face on the Internet, and as every saavy Internet denizen should know by now, there are certain risks associated with maintaining a public persona.  I greatly admire Zed Shaw, for his personality as well as his technical accomplishments, but I have no desire to make myself unemployable as he claims to have done (albeit temporarily).

That said, trying to take a dry, detached and objective approach to creating a personal website presents a number of problems itself.  First and foremost, it’s an inherent contradiction; if I don’t write about myself in any meaningful capacity, then there is nothing aside from the superficial about this website which makes it mine.  I can’t imagine it makes for a very interesting read, either.  Realistically, how many people will come here looking for advice on how to link GLUT?  Readership numbers are of little to no concern to me, mind you, but I can at least endeavour to give this website a purposeful existence.  To that end, I want to start writing more about personal topics, although for the sake of cohesiveness I’m going to continue to focus primarily on those aspects of my life that will be of interest to a technically-minded audience. (more…)

Rest in Peace, Jack Layton

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

I don’t discuss politics on this site, but today warrants an exception. Canada has suffered a terrible loss with the death of Jack Layton, the leader of the federal New Democratic Party. He was an inspiring figure, hopeful and optimistic right to the end, and he devoted his life to the betterment of Canada and its citizens. He was taken from us far too soon, and will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace.