So anyway, I finally found some time to get on the old blog and churn out some creative goodness. Not sure how long this is going to last, but it’s going to happen every now and again, just not as often as I’d like. Hey what can I say, I’ve got other websites to support, and those actually make money. In fact I can’t say that I’ve ever made any money off of this site.

Well I’m out of shape from typing this whole thing, so I better rest and get back to what it was that I was doing before this momentary lack of non-production. So here’s to getting back to it.

First lets start with what I completed on the dayjobkilling.com site:

• Syndication feeds are now working
• I enabled the Archive section. Right now month only since there are only two months of content.
• I also created my own templatetag for the listing of categories. Categories now show up in the sidebar and are updated dynamically when a new Category is added in the admin.
• Testing.

Yes I tested all of these features and they all worked. However I did come across one but that I didn’t anticipate and that was the generic view for the category listings. See I was able to create a simple tag to pull all the categories, but what happens once I pull them and list them? That’s right, somebody is bound to click on them. Luckily for me the wonderful designers of Django already had a solution, and it’s a generic view called object_list. That pretty much fixed it with an addition to the urls.py file.

I think the next thing I need to work on, is the contact form. I mean seriously, how lame is it that I built this totally dope website with all this information on it, and then I don’t allow people to get in contact with me. So that’s going to be next.

Completed:

• Simple structured website with minimal design elements.
• Post detail page with navigation.
• Commenting functionality.
• Ad placement section.
• Google Analytics code.

To Do:

• Archive Section: By month at least, probably by year and day as well. (hey it’s free it’s already built into Django)
• Link Section: A section on the side bar where I can manage links to other helpful sites that I feel are important.
• Syndicate. Hugely important, and will probably be the next thing I work on.
• Killer Footer. This is an important piece to any blog, especially one in the business of creating content.
• Most Viewed Posting. Not immediately important, but something nice for the users.
• Adsense. You know that way to generate income.
• Search: The box is there, now all I need to do is make sure it works.
• Style the comment box. Right now the “preview” your comment box is ugly and the redirect to the thank you page needs some tuning as well. However these aren’t as high on the priority list.
• Image manipulate with photologue.
• Write some damn good content. What else can I say.

I’m sure there are more things to do, but that’s going to cover it for right now.

Basically my goal is to have this up and complete by this weekend. My first ebook is almost complete, and I’ll send out a post as soon as it is, but first things first. I figure I won’t look really professional if I don’t have a nice looking blog with some killer content. In fact that’s all part of my ebook. The book I’ve almost got finished is how get blogging and attract visitors to your website and keep them coming back. It’s been fun writing it, and it’s going to be even more fun listening to what people have to say.

Now I’m not telling you that I’ve got all the answers, because I don’t, but what I do have is some successful ways in which you can supplement your income without breaking the bank. What I mean is that usually it costs money to make money, which I have found to be true, however the most important part is how to spend less money to generate more money. That’s really the key to great success.

I’m done trying to fool myself with saying “I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that”, nope none of that anymore. What I have found is that when I focus I can accomplish many things and make a decent amount of money from those ventures. When I tinker or experiement with new ideas, I rarely put a full effort into it, which usually results in frustration and wasted capital.

What’s the Catch?
With everything, there is a catch. I’m not going to be putting those answers here. I created a separate domain for that kind of information and named it appropriately. Head on over to www.dayjobkilling.com to see what I have to say. The reason I choose to keep it separate from here, is because here I play around with things, and often times the messages seems to conflict. For instance, one moment I may be writing about Guitar Hero and the next it’s about eBooks I’ve written. Kinda gets confusing don’t you think? So this way the aptly named website of killing your day job seemed to fit.

So won’t you please join me on this journey and let me know what you think. If I can at the very least help you make enough money for lunch, then I’ve done my job.

So I got thinking about this whole webdesign business I’ve gotten myself into, and it’s become extremely clear to me that I’ve spent far more time making others look pretty than I have making myself look pretty. Oh and, how many Wordpress themes have I created for others, yet I still can’t create one for myself. Well things are changing. I’m now going to add my own style this puppy and I’m really going to dump it down.
As I do with most designs, I sketch things out on a piece of paper first then, I go ahead and start marking it up. Usually first in photoshop, then in dreamweaver, which ultimately makes it out to the web. So I figure I need to do that for myself, but I’m going to do it with a twist. I decided to use the actual elements of the sketch to be part of my blog and branding. Isn’t that unique?

Well actually no, it’s been done before I’m sure, but it hasn’t been accomplished on my blog, so I’m going for it. So get ready, there is going to be some changes around here, and they are starting today!

So I’ve decided to put a stop to it. Yes, now I’m going to try and be one those “Task Oriented” type of persons. So now each and every day I’m going to try and accomplish something. I don’t mean things like waking up in the morning, or putting out the trash on Tuesday, I have much grander plans.

If there is any one asset that I’ve acquired over the years it’s real estate. Not the kind you can build a house on, I’m talking about the kinds you can put a website on. Yeah, you know virtual real estate, or for those that are much smarter than me, a domain name. So I own a lot of websites and it’s time to start building that portfolio.

So first things first, and that starts with this blog. It’s been neglected far to long, and further more it needs to stop being a wordpress blog and a Django blog. So that’s my major priority at the moment. Getting this blog moved over into a more manageable format for me. Plus, I’m not happy with the theme thing that’s going on. So off I go to start building my portfolio so others can see that I actually do have skills outside of playing video games.

If you have any questions, I’m here to help.

No, I’m not quitting my job, but last year was the most stressful year I’ve ever had professionally. I’ve come to realize that there are those that will always be interested in doing things their way instead of the right way. So with that, I decided that this year I’m going to work really hard on helping people realize there are better ways to do things.

Last year about this time I wrote about all the wonderful ideas I had and how I was going to execute them. I also penned a bunch of goals for the year and swore that I was going to accomplish each and every one of them. This year I’m not doing any of that. Nope, I’m going with the flow this year, taking things as they come and working on things that are “Cool”. 2009 is going to be the year of enjoying life. I’m going to work hard and play even harder. Lets face it, 2008 sucked and there was little we could do about it. This year on the other hand has a lot of potential, so I’m going for it. I figure what’s the worst that can happen? Someone tell me NO! Good luck with that I’ll just move on to the next thing.

So here’s a kick in the butt to 2008, and a high five to 2009. Welcome 2009 I’ve been waiting a long time for you to show up, and so have a lot of other people. This year is going to rock, and here are few things I plan on doing or not doing. Yeah that’s right, I might or might not get to the following things, so I can’t be held accountable.

• Blog More - Yeah right everyone says this, I’ll be lucky to get 12 posts out this year.
• Take more pictures - I’m paying for flickr I might as well use it.
• Get Muddy - Ok so this is one that I’m actually signed up for. June 13th is the date.
• Pump out some Bad A$$ sites - This goes without saying right! I mean seriously it’s all about fun on the web and I intend to keep it that way
• Workout More - I had to put this everyone else does
• Stop Smoking - I don’t smoke, so already I have an accomplishment under my belt. w00t!
• Watch more TV - Last year I felt my TV watching was sub par. This year I intend to crack up the volumn a little more. 900+ channels, it’s an economy of scale thing.
• Send more Greeting Cards - Yup, everyone I know is getting a card from me at some point this year. Watch out, they are coming!
• Laugh My Butt Off - Finally the most important thing this year. I’m going to laugh every day, and I mean a ridiculous amount of laughter. Since I’m not putting down, loose weight, or fit in to jeans I wore in high school, I figured laughing combined with more TV watching will make up for the lack of gym time.

So that list looks pretty complete, and I’m fairly confident that I can complete most of it. The most important part is that it’s going to be fun sticking with this plan. It is very possible that my family might commit me to a mental institution, but they are only doing it because they love me. Seriously, no need for that, because I’m going to help them laugh their butts off to. Maybe this year will be labeled “Buttless”. Yeah that’s a great one, because I’ve already stopped smoking!