Artsick

Trukz: WTF Google?!

2008-02-08T22:14:00.000-05:00

So I've been Trukz-free for like a week now and what should happen? This stupid blog is now the second result on Google when you search for "trukz". Oh yes, it's true. In some strange, algorithmically-challenged way, me ending my Trukz association has been the best boon to my site since I got greenlighted on Fark.

How did it happen, hell if I know.

But hey, I'll ride the #2 wave for as long I can. In fact, maybe I'll just start posting under the Trukz label from now on, no matter the content. Yay me.

Or, perhaps a better option, would be to endlessly wax philosophical on the nature of games and their relation to my life. There, that'll work.

Trukz: Done

2008-01-31T13:14:00.000-05:00

Malaga to Prague - 1027 miles to go (5 of estimated 29 legs)
FPs: 2; Rating: 64.89; Cash: $1340.73

Next leg: 110mph, ticketed ($1100, -.5 Rating)
NL: 109mph, ticketed ($440, -.5 Rating)
NL: 109mph
NL: 109mph, ticketed ($550, -.5 Rating)
NL: Refuel
NL: 109mph, ticketed ($330, -.5 Rating)

[time passes]

Malaga to Prague - 481 miles to go (11 of estimated 29 legs)
FPs: 7; Rating: 62.89; Cash: ($1804.73)

NL: 109mph, ticketed ($440, -.5 Rating)
NL: 109mph, ticketed ($275, -.5 Rating)
NL: 109mph, ticketed ($550, -.5 Rating)

Why am I being ticketed 7 out of 8 times I speed? Do the CB and Radar Detector do nothing? If anything, this is a good product review for those items as they are apparently useless as far as avoiding speeding tickets.

Currently:

Malaga to Prague - 154 miles to go (14 of estimated 29 legs)
FPs: 13; Rating: 61.39; Cash: ($3069.37)

And that's it, I'm done with the game. Fun while it lasted, I suppose, but ultimately there's not enough to hold interest for the long-term. I think part of the problem for me is that there wasn't really a goal. That is, not a goal defined by the game. I had to create targets to reach myself and, once I reached them, set new ones.

I guess I just ran out of things I felt were worth achieving, mainly because the achievements no longer led to anything new. And when I think about it, I was just doing the exact same thing today as the first day I played, except my stats were a little better.

Trukz: Pretty much done, day 2 - UPDATE

2008-01-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm pretty much tanking my driver here, if you haven't noticed, but I still want to run a contract. You know, do my company a solid. So I need to get to Prague and pick up some Electronics and deliver them to Dublin. My cash is running out faster than my luck, and my luck hasn't been so good lately.

Malaga to Prague - 1577 miles to go (0 of estimated 29 legs)
FPs: 4; Rating: 66.39; Cash: $3540.73

First leg: 110mph, ticketed ($550, -.5 Rating)
Next 2 legs: 110mph, no incident!
NL: 110mph, ticketed ($1100, -.5 Rating); 10 FPs

Gotta go one more leg to make this worth it:

NL: 110mph, ticketed ($550, -.5 Rating)

So, what am I left with? Not much after being ticketed 60% of the time. But hey, no crashes yet!

Miles to go: 1027; FPs: 12; Rating: 64.89; Cash: $1340.73

At the rate I'm burning through cash, I imagine I'll be out by tomorrow morning or afternoon. But please, do not cry for me.

Trukz: Pretty much done, day 2

2008-01-30T14:28:00.000-05:00

Prague to Malaga - 1023 miles to go (7 of estimated 29 legs)
FPs: 3; Rating: 69.42; Cash: $6675.66

Next 2 legs: 111mph, no incident
NL: 110mph, ticketed ($330, -.5 Rating)
NL: 110mph, ticketed ($1100, -.5 Rating)
NL: 110mph, ticketed ($440, -.5 Rating)
NL: 110mph, ticketed ($1100, -.5 Rating)

Prague to Malaga - 361 miles to go (13 of 29 estimated legs)
FPs: 7; Rating: 67.42; Cash: $3705.66

NL: 110mph, ticketed ($1100, -.5 Rating); Crashed truck
NL: Repaired, took a quick rest
NL: 110mph, ticketed ($330, -.5 Rating); 10FPs
NL: 111mph, success!
NL: 29mph, route complete!

Prague to Malaga - 0 miles to go (18 of 29 estimated legs)
FPs: 12; Rating: 66.39; Cash: $3540.73

I am sort of pissed that I bought both the CB and the Radar Detector yet almost half the time I was speeding, I got caught. Fifteen legs of actual driving and seven tickets! But I only crashed my truck three times which, when you're averaging 100+ mph, isn't so bad I suppose. Still, the $5500 in tickets was pretty hefty. Luckily I made back about $1500 for completing the trip on time.

Well, there's a company contract to start on this evening, so back to Prague I go!

Trukz: Pretty much done, day 1

2008-01-29T23:03:00.001-05:00

I think I'm about done with Trukz now. I was just perusing my driver page and the items page and it just sort of occurred to me that there's nothing else to do. I have the best truck I can get, due to the recent additions; I have the best items available (that are of any use), so what's there to do?

But instead of just deleting my account I'm going to try something different. I have loads of cash and a good ranking (#94 of 16,689; 70.92 rating), so why not see how far I can either push my rank or (more likely) just hit 0 on the ol' driver rating and run out of money, leaving myself stranded somewhere in eastern Europe?

Can't hurt and, jeez, it's just a game. In fact, it's sort of freeing. Sure I'm part of a company, and I'll still run contract routes, but I'm going to trash my truck and rating every step of the way. WooO!

To begin, I've bought all the items on the Purchase page, except for chargers and gear ratios. And the frequent flier discount. I'm in Europe to stay!

So, here's the results of my first trip, Prague to Malaga (1577 miles). Estimated trip legs: 29. I'm at 5 FPs right now, so the full results won't be until tomorrow. But for tonight:

First leg: 111mph with no incident (well that's refreshing)
Next leg: 111mph with a ticket! And a loss of .5 ratings points. Oh noes! The ticket cost $1100, which is lame. I also crashed my truck, apparently. So after repairing I'm up to 8 FPs.
Next two legs: 111mph with no incident. RAWK! But now I'm at 10 FPs. Do I dare push it all the way to 11?
Next leg: Crashed truck. After repairs I'm at 12 FP, which is good for the night I think.

So how'd that go? Well, I covered 554 miles and used 7 FPs. That averages out to 79 miles per leg which, if you know the game, is actually pretty awesome. I mean, especially in Europe where every other leg seems to be through dense fog or heavy snow.

If I'd been playing normally I'd have only covered 300-400 miles due to weather and stopping at 10 FPs. But, since money is no object (until I run out), I can just bust out a quick rest every day and get back 2 more FPs no problem.

Also, I'm a third of the way through my trip miles-wise, but only a quarter of they way through the estimated trip legs. That has to count for something.

Wow, the game is much more fun when you don't give a fuck. Who would have thought?

Trukz: Tanked

2008-01-27T18:51:00.000-05:00

Just a few days after I thought I was done talking about all the items in the game, another one gets added. But this one, unlike most of the others, is actually worth getting:

Extra Fuel Tank - $2,500.00 - Increases your trucks top fuel level +50 gallons. Fuel tank sells empty. If item is sold with fuel in tank that fuel will be removed with the fuel tank. Good until 1/26/2009. Item sells with truck.

An extra 50 gal. of fuel can mean over 500 extra miles of travel before having to fill up, depending on your mpg. That means less FPs spent on filling up, which means you can run more routes, which, ta-da, means more money and a higher efficiency rating.

Also, it gives you more time to think about refueling while on the road. I can't tell you how many times I've been caught out paying $2.95/gal to fill an empty tank because I thought "just one more leg and gas'll be cheap again." So that's another money-saver right there.

Keep in mind, though, the tank lasts for a year; so if you're going to be upgrading your truck a lot and you're not regularly swimming in money, you may want to just wait on it and stick with items that increase your fuel efficiency.

Trukz: Let's buy things (or not), pt 4

2008-01-24T19:40:00.000-05:00

Aluminum Wheels - $2,600.00 - Decreases the weight of your truck thereby increasing your maximum legal haul weight +1,000 lbs over the legal limit. Good until 1/3/2009. Item sells with truck.

Anything that raises your haul weight over the legal limit without any negatives is usually a good thing. Aluminum wheels stay with for a year and that's enough time for them to make you back your money plus extra. It won't be much, but every little bit helps. I probably wouldn't get these right away, though, I'd wait until I'd purchased my second or third truck. Early on you can take that $2600 and really upgrade to something a bit better.

Low Gear Ratio - $2,500.00 - Increases your trucks load limit +2,000 lbs. (not the legal load limit) Reduces the top speed of your truck -5 MPH. Good until 4/23/2008. Item sells with truck.
High Gear Ratio - $2,500.00 - Decreases your trucks load limit -2,000 lbs. (not the legal load limit) Increases the top speed of your truck +5 MPH. Good until 4/23/2008. Item sells with truck.

What are these all about? Twenty-five hundred dollars for a trade-off? Get there faster and make less money, or take longer to make a little less? Sorry, I don't see the value. So many items in the game seem to be poor substitutes for upgrading your truck. And now that there are more trucks in the game, there's no reason not to climb that ladder instead of throwing money away on improvements that don't really improve anything.

Frequent Flyer Discounts - $750.00 - Provides a 25% discount on airline tickets across continents. Good until 3/24/2008. Item stays with driver.

Speaking of throwing your money away, is there any reason for having this "discount" in the game? Yeah I've complained about it before, but jesus, what's the point of a 25% discount on a flight when I have to sell my truck at a loss before traveling? I mean, maybe there are a lot of jet-setters in the game, not running routes, just flitting all over the map, but I doubt it.

Easy fix: allow drivers to have two trucks, one in Europe, one in the US. I would likely use the air travel option a lot more if that was the case. Sure, maybe you can only land back in the city you left from, but that'd be okay. It might even be profitable buying the discount.

Double Trailer Endorsement - $10,000.00 - Allows you to drive routes with double trailers thereby increasing your maximum legal haul weight +5,000 lbs over the legal limit. Does not stack with other driver endorsements. Good until 9/26/2008. Item stays with driver.
Triple Trailer Endorsement - $25,000.00 - Allows you to drive routes with triple trailers thereby increasing your maximum legal haul weight +10,000 lbs over the legal limit. Does not stack with other driver endorsement. Good until 1/23/2009. Item stays with driver.
Oversized Load Endorsement - $50,000.00 - Allows you to drive oversized loads thereby increasing your maximum legal haul weight +15,000 lbs over the legal limit. Does not stack with other driver endorsements. Good until 1/22/2009. Item stays with driver.

Obviously these are the big money-making improvements in the game. Really insane return on your investment when you get the better endorsements. Quick example: I just started a 2000+ mile route yesterday that would have paid in the $5k range with a Double Trailer, but I'd been saving for the Oversized Load for a while and decided to make the switch before I left. New payout? Just over $7k. That's $2000 extra for about a day and half's worth of driving.

No, a route like that won't happen three times a week, but even three or four times a month would mean $70-96k extra per year. Minus the endorsement cost and that's still $25-46k pure profit. Combine that with the aluminum wheels (which I have) and there's no reason not to go for an endorsement.

Personally I skipped straight from Double to Oversized. By the time you've been playing for a while and have a nicer truck, maybe you're in a company that gets contracts, the money comes in a lot faster. When I hit $25k I thought "Well I could get a Triple Trailer, or just wait a week and a half and get the next size up." And since you really do need to keep the endorsements for a while to make any profit, may as well go for the best when you can.

Just be sure to have enough set aside when the time comes to re-buy so you aren't caught out.

Well, that's it for the item reviews. I realize I don't suggest buying many of the items for purchase, but that's just me. Many of them are too expensive for what you get. And some don't seem to offer anything worthwhile, except for your own personal satisfaction. Which I guess is satisfying, for some people.

Trukz: Let's buy things (or not), pt 3

2008-01-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

New Fuel Filter - $1,200.00 - Increases fuel economy +8%. Good until 2/22/2008. Item sells with truck.
New Fuel Injectors - $2,000.00 - Increases fuel economy +10%. Good until 3/20/2008. Item sells with truck.

These items both recently went up in price, probably because they were such good values. They still are and I would encourage anyone to make one or both of these an early purchase with a new truck. Greater fuel economy equals less money spent on gas and less FPs spent on filling up your tank. Take out a loan if you have to, you'll make back the interest.

Geometry Charger - $10,000.00 - Increases maximum truck condition +15%. Good until 5/22/2008. Item sells with truck.
Inter Cooler - $7,000.00 - Improves charger items +5%. Good until 5/22/2008. Item sells with truck.
Super Charger - $6,500.00 - Increases maximum truck condition +10%. Good until 8/10/2008. Item sells with truck.
Turbo Charger - $4,000.00 - Increases maximum truck condition +5%. Good until 9/29/2008. Item sells with truck.

I can't think of one good reason you'd buy one of these over upgrading to a nicer ride.

Sure, you might have some items you'll lose if you sell, but then spending $10k on a 15% increase just locks you into that crappy truck for four more months. My awesome rig recently fell below 100% condition, but for only $5k I can rock an overhaul and get it right back on track.

I mean, is it just me or do the prices for the chargers just seem wayyy outta whack? Let's say for instance you currently drive a 1979 Ford 9000, which you bought at 75% of perfect condition for $4800. Throw a Geometry Charger ($10k) on there and you've raised the condition to 86%.

Now, for $15,500 you can get a 1998 International 8100, which comes to you at 90% condition with a 60 gallon increase in fuel capacity and a 10,000lb higher load limit. Sure that's probably an extreme example, and I understand that balancing all the stats in a game is difficult, but come on.

UPDATE (that's apparently 3 days old): I don't check the game update log very often, but apparently the GPS display is now optional for all drivers. I switched to the basic display and it's definitely an improvement. Much nicer look now.

Trukz: Let's buy things (or not), pt 2

2008-01-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

New Air Filter - $500.00 - Increases fuel economy +5%. Good until 2/17/2008. Item sells with truck.

This is a tough one because it really depends on your truck, how much you normally pay for gas, and the weather. See, I travel about 1353 miles a day and my truck gets around 10.66 mpg (with the filter). So, I burn through about 127 gallons of fuel a day. I buy fuel at $2.50/gal since I more often than not am able to buy fuel at a company terminal, where I don't lost FPs for filling up.

This costs me $317.52/day in fuel, on average, or $9657.99/mo. But, if I didn't have the filter, my fuel efficiency would only be 10.15 mpg. And that equals 133 gallons of fuel per day. At $2.50/gal that means it costs me $333.25/day, or $10136.39 per month. So what does the air filter save me? $478.40.

It's hard to say if that's a rip-off, though, because of how the weather affects your mpg. I can sometimes get over 11 mpg with a strong tailwind. In that case, the filter would be saving me $783.27/mo, if the tailwind persisted. So let's just take the average of the high and low savings and say the filter saves you $630.83/mo. Minus the $500 to buy it, of course, and you're left with an extra $130 to do with as you please.

New Tires - $3,000.00 - Increases maximum truck condition +15%. Reduces chances of bad weather accidents -5%. Increases top speed in bad weather +5%. Good until 2/21/2008. Item sells with truck.

This is probably one of the best deals in the game, after the trailer endorsements. The extra mpg and speed you get from having a crap truck in better condition will make you back this money easily. On top of that, when you go to sell your truck, especially if it's a nicer one, the better the condition, the more you'll get. Definitely get tires when you can. Though I will say if you tear through trucks pretty easily, maybe wait until you get a truck that you know you'll hold onto for a few months, to make the purchase worth it.

Fog Lights - $1,500.00 - Increases top speed in bad weather +5%. Reduces chances of bad weather accidents -10%. Good until 3/3/2008. Item sells with truck.

I don't trust the Fog Lights. I mean, if my top speed is 48mph in thick fog, how much good is another 2mph going to do me? Maybe a little, but $1500 worth of good? I just don't see it. On the other hand, if you tend to throw caution to the wind and go the legal limit or over no matter what the weather, $1500 is probably cheap for the insurance it brings.

Warning Lights - $700.00 - Reduces chances of bad weather accidents -8%. Good until 4/21/2008. Item sells with truck.

Pretty much like Fog Lights except way cheaper and they don't affect your speed. Again, if you play safe then you probably don't need these. But if you think sliding on ice is a good way to conserve fuel, rock the Warning Lights.

Four more down, and a good many to go. Tomorrow: fuel injectors & filters. Oh it's exciting stuff.

Trukz: Let's buy things (or not), pt 1

2008-01-21T22:45:00.000-05:00

There's a bunch of stuff to buy in the game, and they each have their relative merits, but I want to break down the usefulness of each one. So if you're considering buying something, hopefully this'll help you out.

CB Radio - $300.00 - Enables CB Radio chat in-game. Reduced chances of speeding and cargo overweight tickets -10%. Good until 1/20/2009. Item stays with driver.

Now, I don't find the CB useful at all. I used to have one, but the channels are all basically like a constantly updating series of YouTube comments. I would suggest if you want to talk about the game, find a forum.

Plus, how long are you really on the site? It's not like you're actually driving anywhere. There's no boredom of the road going on. Unless you're really a truck driver playing the game. And in that case, you should probably be keeping your eyes on the road.

The ticket reduction benefit is nice, but I tend to play safe and don't speed. I play mainly for my rating, and I'm fairly certain you lose rating points when you get a ticket. So if you're a risk-taker and aren't worried about your rating/cash flow, knock yourself out. But then, you'll probably get bored of playing pretty quickly.

GPS Navigation - $500.00 - Enables maps on the route dashboard for the majority of the cities in the game. May slow down page load on slower computers and connections. Good until 1/20/2009. Item stays with driver.

An utterly cosmetic addition to the game. My first problem with it is that it sits there on the screen without you even having bought it. Worse even is that it takes up so much room that you have to scroll a bunch to see your info table. And then, of course, when you click to travel your next leg, the page refreshes right back to the top.

Yeah, my complaints are pissy and petty, but when you're clicking 9 or 10 times in a row, it gets annoying quickly. My advice: steer clear. See what I did there? Steer clear. Hahahaa.

Radar Detector - $800.00 - Reduced chances of speeding tickets -20%. Tickets +10% more expensive. Good until 1/20/2009. Item stays with driver.

Same as the CB; only worth it if you're set on taking risks. I would add "Chance of quitting the game within a week +25%" to the description. And jeez it costs $800? Early in the game you could almost get a new truck with that (with trade-in).

Tool Box - $1,200.00 - Decreases cost of repairs -5%. Good until 1/20/2009. Item stays with driver.

You know, this may be useful for some drivers, but I sort of doubt it. If you break down a lot, it may well be worth the money. I rarely break down for some reason, so I never think about buying it. And according to my math, you'd have to have $24,020 worth of repairs within a year in order for the Tool Box to be worth the price (and give you a handsome $1 profit).

So, unless you're extremely prone to costly breakdowns or you're into carrying past your load limit repeatedly into Alaska, I'd give this a pass.

Well, that's it for the first four items. So far, nothing worth buying. But I promise next time there'll be something you can throw money at.

Trukz: Add it up

2008-01-18T13:42:00.000-05:00

So like I said last time, there's all these new trucks in the game and all the old trucks have had their stats adjusted. The load limit addition is interesting but, since my truck was grandfathered in and has a huge limit now, it doesn't really interest me. But still, it's worth talking about a little.

Honestly, once you get past the first page or so of trucks in the truck lot, the limit doesn't mean much anymore. It's not like people driving the 1998 International 8100 have an Oversized Load Endorsement or anything. And if someone does, I'm sorry. No, you should be focusing on top speed in the early stages. If you can't even hit the speed limit, you shouldn't be worrying about how much you can carry.

A couple of new items for purchase have been added (Low/High Gear Ratio) which can augment or decrease your load limit, while alternately lowering or raising your top speed accordingly. That is, higher load means lower top speed and vice versa. Even if I had a crappy truck I don't know that I'd go for either one. Sure you could make a little more money with a higher limit, or go a little faster while carrying less, but I don't see either one making up for the $2500 cost within the three months you own them.

Plus, you'd really only be getting those early in the game, and I'd be more focused on ditching my crappy ride than picking up a couple extra pounds of seafood. May as well take that $2500 and, I don't know, buy stock or something.

The smartest thing I did in the game was to keep saving for a better truck and only have the bare minimum items each time. For me, that's fresh tires and anything that increases fuel economy. Fuel economy is especially important in Europe because of the higher fuel costs. Additionally, fuel economy saves not only money, but time. Less FPs spent on filling up means getting to your destination faster.

At the point I am now, I'm just saving the for the Oversized Load and then after that, I don't know what. Maybe get a toolbox.

Oh also a GPS system has been added to the game. It's purely cosmetic and doesn't increase your ability to get to your destination, but it's a neat idea. I mean, I'm not going to purchase it or anything, but I appreciate the work that went into it.

Though, it does sort of busy-up the interface. You know, it makes the action buttons less obvious and the new alerts I think are too big. They push everything down the page even further. Now, if I could click on the GPS device and use it for progressing along my path/refueling/resting/etc. that'd be cool. But this is just some giant semi-useless picture of an item that I didn't even opt into buying.

Which reminds me, on the "View My Driver" screen I don't need to be told that I don't have a CB. I get it. It's been six months and I don't want it. It's just a little thing, but it's annoying.

So that's all the new stuff. Oh, and fuel injectors cost more now. Awesome.

(KingMountain - 66.59 - #92)

Trukz: European style

2008-01-10T22:22:00.000-05:00

So the other week, Trukz added in a load of European cities to coincide with the current North American setup. If the only reason you're reading this is because you already play the game, I don't need to explain it. If, on the other hand, you're bored at work and got here by googling Bob Seger lyrics here's a quick overview:

You can only drive between cities on the same continent, but you are allowed to "fly" to a city on another continent and drive routes there. The only catch is that you have to sell your truck before you leave and buy a new one when you arrive.

Now, to offset the costs of jetting across the Atlantic, the game offers a "Frequent Flyer Discount" for $500 which gives you a 25% discount on flights. Which is great, except when you sell your truck you lose tons of money. Sure saving $100 flying to Berlin is nice, but I just lost $4000 on my ride!

No, I agree with the people who want to be able to have one truck for each continent. I switched, and I'm not going back. Especially since now additional trucks have been added.

Yup, there's new trucks. The only problem is that all the trucks had their stats scaled down to allow for the new additions. I drive a 2008 Kenworth T660 that I bought for 95k. At the time it was the second best in the game, now it's #5. But luckily if you bought before the switch, you get to keep the original stats. Woo!

Oh WTF I just checked the page and now there's load limits! And now the best truck is the

2009 Western Star 4964

It's costs $115k and has a 300 gallon tank, which is better than mine by 45 gal. Which roughly translates to 450 miles extra before a fill up. But, on the other hand, my company (OODA Europe) has enough terminals that I rarely have to use FPs to refuel.

So what's my goal now? I'm a couple of days away from getting a Triple Trailer, but my original goal was to get the best truck with an Oversized Load endorsement. Well now I don't know what to think.

Jeez. Well now I'm confused. Okay, I'll think about this and figure something out tomorrow.

Relaxation

2007-10-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

Rowan and I recently took a trip to the mountains and stayed in an awesome cabin. Like most of these places, they have a guest book. We must have read all the entries going back two years, but the one above really caught our eye. It's no lie, though, it was a relaxing place.

Trukz: Not as bad as I made it out to be

2007-10-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

I realize my last entry about Trukz sort of made it out to be a pointless, useless game. An utter waste of time and energy. A couple of people wrote me after that and wondered why, if it was so very inane, did I (and they) continue to play?

I know having said "I still can't see the point of it" and "I have to wonder sometimes whether I'm a dedicated driver or just rising up through attrition" might have made it seem I'm not into the game, and at the time I said those things they were true, but recently that's change slightly.

Basically what happened was that my company began to get contracts. In the game, contracts are special orders where your company has a fixed time in which to make deliveries of a particular item to a particular city. For example, right now my company (Owner Operator Drivers Assoc.) has a contract to deliver 101 loads of steel to Anchorage, Alaska.

If the company succeeds they get a load of money, if they fail they get penalized. For the current contract, if we make it the company gets around $5k and if we fail the company loses around $12k. Also, those routes (if you drive them) pay better than normal deliveries. I'm making $2 per mile driving from Las Vegas to Anchorage right now, $5482 total, which is way more than I could make on any normal delivery of that distance.

The fun part about contracts is that they, well, give you something to do. There's a goal involved. Too much of the game otherwise is fairly lonely and without purpose. Contracts at least allow you to focus on something and work towards an end. Even better is that the huge money you make from driving contract routes allows you to advance much faster than normal.

Do a few contract routes and that triple trailer endorsement doesn't seem so unattainable. Hell, I just bought warning lights because I knew I'd be driving in Alaska. A few weeks ago I would have punched myself for even thinking about doing something like that.

But now $700 isn't such a big deal. I'll get that back making a U-turn.

Words of advice for young web developers

2007-09-27T14:48:00.001-04:00

People often ask me if I have any words of advice for young web developers. Well here are a few simple admonitions for young and old.

There is no float:center, just float:left and float:right.

Beware of people who say top:100% will fix your footer. The hell it will. What they mean is the footer will start at the bottom of your page. Now you have a scrollbar.

If you're doing business with a nested <div> son-of-a-bitch, set width:100%. His sizing isn't worth shit, not with IE telling him how to fuck you on the deal.

Avoid designers who don't know mark-up. You all know the type. Anything they have anything to do with, no matter how good it looks, turns into a disaster.

Do not offer sympathy to the vendor. Tell them firmly, "I am not paid to listen to this drivel. You are a terminal drone."

Now some of you may encounter the Enterprise solution if you get that far. Any old page is worth coding at least to a developer, but not every page is worth templating. So you can take the offer as a compliment. They charge the easy ones first, you know, like money, all the money there is. But who wants to be the richest guy in tech support? Not much to spend it on, eh, Headset? Getting too old to cut the mustard. Have you forgotten something, Headset? In order to build something, you have to be there. You have to write the code. You did not write the code, you used a Wizard. Old fool sold his soul for FrontPage.

How about an honorable bargain? "You always wanted to become a manager. Now's your chance. Why, you could have become a great organizer and benefit the business. What's wrong with that?" Just about everything. There are no honorable bargains involving exchange of qualitative documents like Powerpoint slides. Just quantitative documents like travel and expense reports. So piss off, HR, and don't take me for dumber than I look. As an old middle-manager told me, "Watch whose workload you pick up."

with apologies to Wm S Burroughs

Armenian pizza and my employment

2007-09-25T14:53:00.000-04:00

Today I was looking to bring home some lunch for me and Rowan and ended up on Patterson, near Libbie. For about two blocks heading east there's about six or so restaurants, all of which have some pretty tasty food. And what some may lack in taste they make up for in sheer "I can't believe there's still places like this"-ness.

Case in point: Philip's Continental Lounge. It's not Continental, there's no way you could lounge in there, and I'm seriously doubting the existence of anyone named "Philip". But on the plus side the only thing that's changed on their menu since 1962 is the introduction of Jalapeno Poppers and Chips & salsa. And that includes the photos (sorry about the quality, just click em to see the full-size versions).

Sweitzer cheese, anyone? Come on, the only people who say Sweitzer cheese anymore are little old guys who wear checkered pants and people from Baltimore.

Rowan and I have been there a few times and it's never disappointed. It's the kind of place where every dish comes with parsley and the Deluxe Salad is based upon a bed of cold, crisp iceberg lettuce. I'm fairly certain I had the flounder last time I went, as I tend to judge places by the quality of their fried fish.

A lot of people won't get fried fish at restaurants like this, I think they think it's gross or something. But it's not like I'm eating raw oysters off a dashboard; I'd be more worried about getting sick from an undercooked burger than from a piece of fish that's been sitting in sizzling hot oil. Plus there's always malt vinegar, which is an excellent food antiseptic.

But this isn't about Philip's, this is about Bakery Art (5716 Patterson).

Rowan and I passed this place the other day while driving around and, while we thought forever that it was a cake bakery, it's now (or always has been?) an Armenian bakery/grocery.

In any event the food rocked pretty hard. I got a couple of Armenian pizzas with lentils & rice, hummus, and cucumber salad. Everything was awesome.

It's all cold when you get it, but they'll heat it up if you ask. I just took it all home and did it myself in about ten minutes (just the pizzas and lentils). The hummus is pretty much hummus, but without too much lemon, which is good. A lot of store-bought hummus' (hummi?) have way too much lemon for some reason.

The lentils & rice were pretty mushy, like a thick mushiness on the order of mashed potatoes. Personally I really like that; much better than loose rice and lentils going all over the place. When warmed they are very warming and...

Okay a day has passed between me starting this entry and now. In the meantime, in the middle of that last sentence, I was made aware that I was likely to be laid off next week as there is no more work coming up for me to do (I'm a consultant).

I was pretty freaked out and I called up a contact to ask about a previous job I was offered elsewhere and this afternoon I found out the other job was still open, so I've accepted that offer. Probably the shortest amount of time between me losing and then finding another job ever. Well, nothing's set until I sign the contract, but it's looking very good. Anyways, back to the story.

Hummus good. Lentils pretty tasty. Cucumber salad rad. Armenian pizza rocked hardest. It's a flat-bread thingy covered with superfine minced beef and loads of paprika. I got the non-spicy version and if that's considered "not spicy" I'd like to have a word with whoever controls the definition of the word "spicy". Cooking it made the house smell like a Middle Easter bazaar, which is a welcome change from the usual lingering scent of dog fart.

All in all I'd definitely go there again. And now that I have another job lined up (knock wood), I'll actually be able to.

Zoey's good-time adventure day!

2007-09-21T15:25:00.001-04:00

I recently refinanced my home, an experience comparable to sleep paralysis in its feelings of freedom and enjoyment, but this was offset yesterday by a check sent from one of my old mortgage companies to reimburse me for taxes and escrow paid this year. Not a huge check or anything, but it was sort of nice. So nice it's lasted me all of two days.

People say animals have a basic understanding of human languages, and I'm inclined to agree. Not more than an hour after Rowan called to tell me the check had come and that we should buy new phones, did Zoey decide to fall ill and wipe out what small gain we had made.

We knew right away what it was as the same thing had happened to him about a year and a half ago. Long story short, he had crystals in his penis. And not the good kind like you see pewter dragons holding, either. Little tiny struvites and calcium oxalate crystals.

If you're wondering about the pain factor involved, the first sentence of the Wikipedia article on calcium oxalate reads, "Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals." Ouch.

So off we went last night to the emergency vet (Veterinary Referral & Critical Care, just outside of Richmond), which turned out to be quite reasonably priced. After having been financially violated by the Cary Street Emergency Vet to the tune of $300 in return for no advice and incorrectly shot X-rays, we didn't expect much from the new place. I'm not trying to shill for them or anything, but the VRCC was much nicer, in both staff and cost. If your dog gets a face full of porcupine quills, that's the place to go.

This time, for just under $200, we got a urinary test, an X-ray (on CD - the future is now!) and a handy-dandy glass vile of Zoey's penis stones. Let me tell you, they ain't lying about the calcium crystals being sharp. And they aren't tiny, either. The struvite crystals just look like sand, which probably isn't very comfortable I'm sure, but the calcium looks like kosher salt that's been carved into arrowheads.

Luckily they got him cleaned out and peeing again, but we still took him to our regular vet this morning for yet more tests. All the tests were fine, no kidney damage or anything, we just need to change his diet. Glad he's okay, just need to find a good way to keep this from happening again.

Apparently the type of crystal formed is determined by the pH of the urine; too acidic and you get one type, too alkaline and you get another. In a stroke of luck, Zoey has both types of crystal. Therefore his new diet has to perfectly balance his urinary pH so nothing can grow. Not even love.

Right now Rowan and I are looking at different foods and websites to figure out what to feed him. From what we've read so far he needs a high protein, low grain diet with no protein and lots of grains. So we'll see how that goes.

Trukz - Day 58

2007-09-18T14:04:00.001-04:00

I've been playing the online game Trukz now for nearly two months and I still don't know what to think. On the one hand it doesn't take much time to play (I play for maybe fifteen minutes a day, total) and it's somewhat engaging. On the other hand, I still can't see the point of it, unless you can find a deeper meaning in clicking a "Next leg" button sixteen or so times a day. It may not matter if there's a point, and I'm starting to think that's how you have to think to enjoy it.

As I explained when I first started playing, Trukz is an online trucking simulation where you basically have a truck and drive loads from city to city. You make money by delivering loads on time and carrying the most lucrative loads you can. You can join a company, which gives you better money-making opportunities yet has a more rigid driving schedule, or go it alone and do what you please. In the end there's not much of a difference since you're just clicking a button to advance to the next leg of the journey anyways, wherever you may be going.

Of course there are improvements you can buy: better trucks, extra trailers, super chargers, CB radio, fuel injectors, etc. Basically stuff to increase your efficiency at making deliveries. The exception is the CB radio which is used for in-game chat. But since no one is ever on long enough to carry a conversation, and with no profile information to help you figure out if someone would be worth talking to, it's essentially useless.

There are offsite forums available, and maybe those are a little more hoppin', but they're personally not useful to me outside of maybe some game-related info I wasn't aware of.

No, the main thing of the game to me, and this is because I get a little OCD with this sort of thing, is the rankings. Each time you complete a delivery your Driver Rating goes up a little bit depending on how far you went (but getting speeding tickets will knock your rating down, so obey the limits!). Right now my rating is 21.57 and I'm ranked 173 of 8793 drivers. That sounds good, but I've noticed recently that the total number of drivers is steadily decreasing.

On the home page of the site they say something like "14,570 Truckers Simulated to Date", which is true in a way, except almost 6000 of those 14,570 are not "active" drivers; I think that's shorthand for "quit the game". I have to wonder sometimes whether I'm a dedicated driver or just rising up through attrition.

I don't know at what point I'll be over playing it; probably when my ranking is maxed out and I'm just keeping up with everyone above me. Or maybe when I get the best truck and the best improvements, driving the best routes. I have a feeling, though, that my ranking will max out before I make enough money to afford all the top items.

Now, I could start a company in the game and that would raise the level of excitement somewhat. But it also raises the level of commitment (managing routes/drivers/buying terminals) and I'm not looking to be a manager. Plus, if everyone in the game started a company, who would they hire?

I know it sounds like I'm putting the game down, and I suppose I sort of am, but I am happy with the fact that it's never fallen below my expectations. I think a lot of people join and think it's going to be a wild ride: driving all night, poppin' speed pills, running people off the road, all that fun stuff real truckers get to do. But it's not that. The game is essentially quite lonely and requires a constant low level of commitment for you to get anything out of it.

So if you're the type of person who likes feeling alone and can't be bothered to do anything about it, I can wholeheartedly recommend this game.

Coming soon to a 50 acre plot near you

2007-09-17T11:07:00.001-04:00

I was on the road for about six hours yesterday, driving to North Carolina and back with Rowan so we could pick up a pair of caiques which were being relinquished to us. "Relinquish" is probably a harsh word for the actual situation because the birds weren't being mistreated in any way, but saying "given up" doesn't sound so hot either.

Anyways, I hadn't been to central North Carolina before. My only experiences with the state were limited to the Outer Banks and I have a feeling that doesn't give a very accurate portrait of the rest of the place, unless all of North Carolina really gets a kick out of seafood-related double entendre on every second billboard.

No, apparently when you reach the central portion they prefer their billboards with a bit more Outlet Mallness to them. Straightforward, humorless, to the point. J&R CIGARS Exit 97. J&R DOLLS Exit 97. CIGARETTES AND FIREWORKS Exit 95. BURN WARD Exit 96.

It didn't really get to me though, except when I started to think about how similar certain things looked, in places, to Virginia. We only took the one exit and didn't travel around but a couple of miles off the highway, but every twenty or thirty miles, looking from the highway, there seemed to be an explosion of same-ness.

I guess I hadn't thought about it too much because I don't travel an awful lot, but it seems like whenever I do go on the road I run into these ready-made shopping installations. Usually they start just after some run-down, locally-owned places and end abruptly at an abandoned farmhouse. In-between is a compact collection of Target/Wal*Mart, PetSmart/PetCo, Dollar Tree/Dollar General and the rest of the assorted "boring and I hate them until I need something" places common to apparently everywhere.

And it's not even that these areas exist that bothers me. People need jobs and want to buy stuff, these places provide both jobs and stuff. It's a perfect fit. It's that when you drive just out of their reach and you see the countryside that you just know is not going to be there two years from now.

A few weeks ago I was driving through Spotsylvania, about an hour north of Richmond, when I hit one of these patches of commerce and the farmland which followed. Ten years ago the people out there were probably all singing to themselves "La la la, we're out in the country, it's pretty neat" and then bang!, chicken strips within walking distance.

I do want to eventually move to the country, but it's as if you have to give yourself a 75 mile buffer between your home and the closest Marshall's in order to ensure it actually remains the country until either a) you die or b) you hit the lottery and buy a small island.

Though if I did end up with an island it might be nice, I think, to have a small Target on there. Cheap flip-flops you know.

I feel like a new man

2007-09-13T10:52:00.001-04:00

I had to go to the Virginia Division of Vital Records this morning to get a copy of my birth certificate. I accidentally let my driver's license expire last week and, in order to get it renewed, the DMV needs me to prove I'm a man born of woman, or something similar.

The interesting part is that in order to get a copy of your birth certificate you need to provide proof that you are who you say you are. Luckily for me, they'll accept an expired driver's license.

I hope this is making sense, because it's actually a quite brilliant money-making scheme. Instead of creating some strange, complex system which holds such arcane information as whether or not you were born, it was decided to be much more lucrative to keep all relevant and related information completely separate and priced just low enough to stop anyone writing their local representative.

So, off I went to pay $12 for proof I exist and then to the DMV to pay the $20 to replace the expired identification which, while good enough to prove who I am to the state of Virginia, is not good enough to prove who I am to the state of Virginia.

But it's not all bad; in fact, I can think of two good things that happened in order to counter-balance the trips I made around town. One, my new driver's license photo continues my run of 5 straight identification photos in which I look like a serial killer. And two, on the way to the DMV I saw a car with a license plate which read LICENSE and a bumper sticker which read BUMPER STICKER.

Moral of the story: I also need an oil change.

A Bitcher's Guide to finding The Hitchhiker's Guide

2007-08-30T17:18:00.000-04:00

I went to Barnes & Noble near my work this morning with the express purpose of buying The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, five of the Douglas Adams novels collected all in one volume. I own used copies of the second and third books in the collection already, but I've never read or owned the first.

Here's my problem: I don't particularly care to have the fourth and fifth books of the series since everything I hear about them says they aren't really that great. But, I can't find a new softcover copy of the first book that doesn't have some scene on the cover from the Hitchhiker's Guide movie that was made a few years ago.

I don't know about you, but I don't want my copy of a classic novel to have the "Now a major motion picture" badge of lameness staring at me every time I pick it up. Then there's having to explain to people who see it that I was aware of the series well before the movie so they don't think it was the first I'd heard of it.

What I want is a nice, clean single paperback edition (like they have for all the rest!) that I can tell people is a replacement for the one I brought to college but got lost when I moved. There's a throwback edition out featuring the original cover art, but it's hardcover and I don't really care for hardcover books.

Hardcover books close up too easily; you have to keep them open with both hands and I think that is insulting to those who don't have both of their hands. I don't want to get too into it, but basically it's a human rights issue.

So upstairs at the B&N they do have a softcover copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, but it's obviously been thumbed-through many times. The front cover curls back like a cow-lick and the bottom corner is all ruffled. Can't buy that.

I start searching around the rest of the Sci-fi section, thinking maybe someone misplaced a second copy. And maybe there was a copy and I didn't see it, because I didn't stick around too long. You see, I don't really like Science Fiction all that much so I didn't want to be seen associated with the whole of the Sci-fi section. It is not an accurate representation of my tastes so I'd hate for it to be taken out of context.

That must happen to other people, right? You're walking around, not really paying attention, and then boom! you're face to face with Lakota Sweatlodge or some other similarly-titled Romance novel. All you need then is one of your many enemies to come walking by and before you know it everyone in the neighborhood thinks you have a thing for perspiring Native Americans.

Number one rule of Barnes & Noble: know your surroundings.

So I head downstairs and look around the bargain section, thinking maybe among the copies of Hollywood Beef Cows and How to Draw Manga for People with No Imagination there may be a loose copy of just what I'm looking for. Sadly, there is nothing.

Well, there is one thing: a hardcover copy of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide. Why must the fates taunt me so?! Am I asking too much? Is wanting a normal paperback copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy really such a difficult request? If Douglas Adams were alive for this he'd be spinning in his grave.

I'm seriously considering a letter-writing campaign; the time for change has come! Bring back the old cover!

Update! I went to the Barnes & Noble near my house and found the softcover collection. They had two copies.

Does this hurt? How about now?

2007-08-13T23:25:00.000-04:00

Tonight as I was putting away some sheets in the linen closet (which could just as easily be called the soccer ball closet, the pet-gate closet, or even the green suede shoes closet) I caught the edge of my left middle fingernail on some sliver of wood hiding in the far back, just by the forehead caving lamp.

A note: if you're ever caught during a power outage, a forehead lamp is great fun to have. It's probably really annoying for anyone who has to look at you, but when you're wearing it you feel this surge of power. Everywhere you look, there is light! As well as people covering their faces because you're blinding them.

So yes, I caught just the edge, the last 1/8th of my fingernail on this little piece of outcropped wood and, um, it hurt. Right now it has that little white line running down the side like what occurs when you're trying to open the packaging on a new electronic device encased in thick plastic. Every little bend and a white line pops up, but it never breaks! Good for nails, bad for getting to that little USB storage device.

Here's where it gets human. Right after I hurt my finger, I quickly withdrew it from the closet and held it in my right hand. And, before I even looked at it, I started squeezing it really hard to see how much it could possibly hurt. Not because I love the feeling of compressed bent fingernails, but because I wanted to see just how hurt I really was.

Does anyone else do this? It's difficult sometimes to know how badly you're injured, you know, with your body doing the whole shock thing or you have an adrenaline rush or beer or whatever, doesn't matter. But my thinking is that if you can handle the pain caused by, I guess you'd call it, "worsening the problem" then you're not that hurt.

Now I'm not saying you jab a wooden skewer into a knife wound and root around or anything, but if you stub your toe or bang your thumb with a hammer or you throw some ice onto a blazing hot glass pan and step in the shards which inevitably end up on your kitchen floor, and you can deal with pressing somewhat firmly on the wound, you'll probably be okay.

Or not, in some cases, I suppose. I mean, if you stick your hand in a vat of hydrofluoric acid you'll be dead before you feel much of anything. So, in conclusion, general advice: bang your thumb, you'll be fine. Hand in a vat of acid, look for a nearby holy man.

My 2007/2008 Premiership Predictions

2007-08-07T20:40:00.001-04:00

Back in May I revealed the results of the predictions I had made in August of 2006 about the upcoming Premiership season. I nailed every spot. Not really, but I didn't do too poorly. So now it's August of 2007 and the new season starts this Saturday.

You may be wondering about some of my choices, so here's a short breakdown of why each team is where it is.

Manchester United
They've essentially got Tevez in the side now and I'd be surprised if he isn't top scorer next season. Also, they signed Anderson and Nani, who I can only assume are a ventriloquist act. That's pretty ballsy.

Chelsea
Chelsea haven't been overly active in the transfer market this summer. This is due to the league's new "50/50" rule which states that no more than 50% of your squad can be comprised of either a) national team captains or b) bench warmers whose salary outstrips the GNP of Barbados.

Liverpool
They're number three because I'd feel so bad for them if they didn't make it to at least third based on the sheer volume of players they've bought this summer. I think they're about to start their own league.

Tottenham
They've got about half the English national team among their ranks, which should tell you something. Thank god for Berbatov.

Arsenal
I used to support Arsenal but I was really only into them because of Henry and Bergkamp. I do like Hleb, Rosicky and Gilberto Silva but I don't know if they'll be enough to keep them in the top four. Oh and Van Persie looks like a giant douche.

Blackburn
Most of the team is pretty unknown to me. They seem to win a lot based on sheer brute strength, though, which I think is good to see in the upper leagues. I also heard Robbie Savage is so tough he has dentures made from the teeth he's knocked out of opposition players.

Everton
I don't know, I think David Moyes is too intellectual to be a football manager. On the sidelines he sometimes looks like he's willing his own players to spontaneously combust, such is his disdain for their inferior intellect. He's a firestarter, a Mersey firestarter. That's good enough for 7th place.

Newcastle
How many broken bones are there among the current squad? And that doesn't count the ones Joey Barton has handed out.

Portsmouth
It's the isle of misfit toys down there. All these great players nobody really wanted and Harry Redknapp snaps them up for next to nothing. Plus now they have David Nugent as well. I can't believe it. Kanu?

Aston Villa
Every time I look at the list of teams in the Premiership I always think, "Oh yeah, Villa's in there too!" I don't know why they're so forgettable. Maybe because their kits are so similar to West Ham's. The only person associated with Aston Villa I can think of is Martin O'Neill. That's not a good sign.

Middlesbrough
The only people who care about Middlesbrough must be the ones who live there. They seem to be defined by their opposition. If possible, I would watch every single Middlesbrough game just so I could pay attention to the other team.

Sunderland
I heard all the new summer signings for Sunderland have a "not in the face" clause, to be used exclusively during half-times.

West Ham
They need to shake that moniker, "The Academy". Yeah it's classy and all, but you're just inviting other teams to come raid you. They belong at 13 even though they'll start the season strong. Come January all those guys who took them up to sixth will be bought for Liverpool's twelfth reserve squad.

Wigan
Aside from the fact that I pronounced the name "Wye-gan" until I heard someone on SkySports News say it, I think they've been on a downward slide ever since the end of their first season. Still, they'll be one spot up on (big shock!):

Reading
Yes, Reading is my pick for surprise under-achievers! Why? Well basically I forgot to move them when I was making the chart. Some things you just have to live with and rationalize. I'm going to rationalize big and hope that covers my mistake.

Two words: Dave Kitson. That's right, I said it.

Bolton
I cannot take any team seriously who are managed by someone named Sammy Lee. Sammy Lee is the name of the bass player in a mid-80's hair band. Sammy Lee is second assistant director of marketing. Sammy Lee is the tomboy who wears dirty overalls and cuts her own hair.

Birmingham
I'm glad Steve Bruce was able to bring back Birmingham after their season in the Championship, I just wish he'd decide on a first name. Another semi-anonymous team to me. On the plus side they have Cameron Jerome, who is expected to decide on a first name sometime this week.

Man City
Man City? Why not just get it over with and call yourselves "Sausage Party"? Oh look they're owned by a former Prime Minister of Thailand and managed by the most boring tactician since Sir Francis "Just turn left" Drake! Do they even have any players? Seriously, is there even a team or just a bunch of uniforms laid out on the pitch with a ball nearby?

Fulham
The only, only, reason that Fulham is not dead last on this list is because they have the most kick-ass name ever for a playing ground: Craven Cottage. I don't know why, but I love that name. The team? Fuck them, they'll be lucky if they score an own goal.

Derby
I don't know how you landed Robbie Earnshaw but you had better damn well hope he has the ability to undergo parthenogenesis or you are screwed. Oh he can't? Well, glad you could stop by the Premiership.

So that about does it for this season's predictions. I can't wait until May to see how smart I am! Oh and I can't wait until the season starts, too.

On a long and lonesome highway, east of Omaha...

2007-07-24T20:27:00.000-04:00

Lately, between not posting and thinking about what I should do about that I've started playing this new game I found off of (Total)Fark: Trukz. It's basically a semi(ha!)-real-time truck driving simulation. That's right, a game based on hauling loads.

It's actually pretty cool if you like mostly text-based, stats-driven games. This post is pretty cool as well if you like hyphenated words.

You pick a city to start in, buy a truck, pick a destination and off you go. The driving part of the game mainly consists of you clicking through the legs of your journey until your driver is too tired to continue. You then have to wait to play again (in real time) until yer dude is okay to go.

He's right, you know.

You can push him, of course, as I did on my first trip (had to get those mobile homes to St Louis!), which ended up with him falling asleep at the wheel and wrecking. A man's got to know his limitations.

When you've finished your trip you get paid, then you pick a new destination, a new load and it all starts over.

I've glossed over some stuff of course; you have to keep track of fuel, you can upgrade your truck (like with a CB radio which allows in-game chat), join a company, buy stock, etc. It seems they update the features fairly regularly, so I guess it's somewhat new.

I don't know, I might get tired of it eventually, but it's something you don't have to devote hours of your day to. In fact, if you time it right, yer driver can go to bed when you do and you can send him on his way before you go to work.

It's like having a new friend that'll get all of your Black Dog references.

Redesign? No thanks, I'm already working on one

2007-07-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

So yeah, I finally started up the site redesign the other day and it's actually going pretty well. It's early on right now, of course, but I sort of know where I want it to end up. It's just a matter of doing all the coding.

Basically the main difference is that everything will load into the same page, which I prefer. It makes it a lot easier for me to maintain the look and add improvements over time. And believe me, there's a lot to add in.

You can see it, if you want, by clicking here. A few words of warning:

1. right now it'll lock up if you try to read a blog article; also if you refresh the page when viewing it in Firefox

2. to refresh to the main page in Firefox you have to click into the address bar and hit 'enter' (or Ctrl+Shift+R, or however you do it personally), so that you reload the page entirely rather than refresh the content*

3. nothing is set in stone

Likely additions:

1. the rest of the content formatting, pictures, pretty stuff, etc. (it's pretty bare at this point)

2. a history list of pages you've viewed, probably in the top navigation

3. more narrow content area, with archive info (or other stuff that isn't an advertisement) on the sides

4. better page loading and navigational transitions

5. tons of shit I haven't thought of but will realize I need about an hour before I think I'm done

So if you like it, or hate it, or have any suggestions, I'd love to hear. Or, if you're completely ambivalent, give it a click and quietly say "Hm." to yourself. That is helpful as well.

*I use a hidden IFrame to load page content before formatting it for viewing; Firefox will save this content and refresh it along with the page which screws up my code - just for now