Blog for March 2006

A Website

Well, this is it. Welcome to the new visuallizard.com web site. Yes. It took long enough. We know.

We could make any number of excuses, such as:

  • the client kept us busy
  • the dog ate our Information Architecture
  • our iPod that had the site on it crashed (sorry Wil)
  • the client kept us busy
  • our designer (me) kept throwing out his designs and starting over
  • our copy writers (us) kept throwing out our copy and starting over
  • did we mention the client kept us busy?

But we won't make excuses. That would be lame.

Over the next few months, there will be a new design on the site (yeah. I know. I\'m insane, but I can't help it. It is in my blood.), we will be posting various articles on design, web development, programming and technology.

We have been working towards this for years and we now finally have a system in place to do everything we had hoped we could do online. It took a long time, but it was well worth the wait.

Comments are open, let us know what you think!

Toronto And Back Again

Just got back from Toronto business trip. I never used to go on business trips. I always imagined them to be a luxury plane trip to a distance vacation spot, two hours of actual work and glad-handing, and then a couple days expense account relaxation.

Wrong wrong wrong.

A late afternoon plane trip from Winnipeg to Toronto, landing tired and hungry. We checked into our hotel, dropped off our baggage in our rooms, and asked a hotel staff member for any good places to eat in the immediate vicinity. He suggested a few, but as we followed his directions, we realized we should have been more specific in our inquiries... it was 11:00pm and all of the places were closed! Luckily, a nearby pub was still open, and had generous food portion. Had a very good philly melt!

Then came work! Up before the sun, and eight to ten hour meetings in a room full of very smart people, organizing, discussing, planning, etc. Taking notes, crossing out notes, writing on white boards, writing on pads of paper... it doesn't sound difficult until you have to do it for a long stretch and with such intensity. By the time we'd break for lunch or for the day, you're hungry, tired, and your head is exploding with new ideas!

We cabbed directly to the hotel from the airport. The pub (which we thought was so nice we ate there twice) was half a block from the hotel. The meetings were held in the same hotel. We broke from the last meeting and jumped immediately into a cab to the airport for a flight back to Winnipeg. Apart from a short stroll down Yonge St, I'd almost believed Toronto was only a movie studio backdrop outside my hotel window.

And, honestly, I prefer it that way. I didn't go out on an expense account to fool around. I went to meet smart people and trade ideas. Even the flights consisted of a laptop and project planning. Work work work. Not what I imagined, and I'm all the better for the experience! :)

Opening for Infected Mushroom

Promoted by Groove204, Infected Mushroom, the most prominant live trance act in the world will be playing April 14th, 2006. Doug has been asked to open for them as one of the DJ's added to the bill. A sellout crowd is expected and this is one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year.

Ultraviolet

AAARRRGH! MY EYES! MY EYES!

What horrible madness! What happened? What terrible dimension did this unknowable, undescribable, unadjectiveable thing spawn from?!?

The first fifteen minutes of the movie was like the most boring intro movie to a bargin bin Playstation video game I've ever experienced! And at least I could skip those!

Worse yet, two-thirds of the way through the movie, it seemed the main character was not only relieved to have died before the film was over, not only filled with deperate despair at being revived, but was considering suicide directly afterwards to escape!

I like cheesy movies. I enjoyed League of Extrodinary Gentlemen! But this was the only movie I almost walked out of.

Almost.

The only thing that saved our sanity was that I went with friends and we played Mystery Science Theatre 3000 throughout the show. Its a testament to the film that the other audience members around us not only did not shush us, but were appreciative of having something entertaining to listen to!

Luckily, I got home and found a new GTP podcast awaiting in iTunes. Ahhh... so cleansed!

PS: Were those hay bales? WTF?!?