Mr. Clown is Bringing Creepy Back

When Paul Weir, creator of Mr. Clown, came to me with his idea for a new website, I was thrilled to take on the project and be a part of this  creative work.

Mr. Clown “… teaches the children of the world the importance of following the rules and doing as they’re told.” Mr. Clown teaches his lessons in the most creepy way possible, of course, since Mr. Clown is also a serial killer who wields a machete and hangs out under your bed or in your closet, waiting for you to forget to brush your teeth.

Paul was looking for a comic site that would allow him to post his comics on a regular basis without having to learn the skills of a webmaster. He also wanted to have merchandise available for purchase and to connect everything to online social networks like Facebook, Buzz, and Twitter.

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of attending the launch party (dubbed “Mr. Clown’s Super Sweet Sixteen”) to celebrate the brand new website and Mr. Clown’s debut. It was great fun and included live music and food, along with hand-colored images of Mr. Clown for sale.

Do you need a website to showcase your creative work? Working with a shoestring budget and want to have the ability to make your own updates to the site? Contact me via e-mail or simply make an appointment, and we can sit down to discuss your needs.

Mr. Clown, serial killer lesson clown.

Jerry Hall of Fish With Me shows his latest record-breaking catch.

My latest website project is for a fishing adventure company in Vancouver, Washington, called Fish With Me, which offers tournaments and fishing trips to Baja / East Cape and other prime fishing locations.

This website was fun and gratifying to build. It was a major redesign from an older site, and was more than ready for a fresh look and some modernization, to make it bright and inviting. We reorganized the information, remodeled, added a blog, and created profiles for Buzz, Twitter, Facebook, Picasa, and Youtube.

This site is an example of how a small business or individual can start building a community around their services or any topic of interest with a few simple tools. It is to these small businesses and individuals that I hope to bring the full power of the web with customized, professional graphics and layout.

Do you need to modernize? Want to have the ability to make your own updates without advanced HTML skills? Whether you are in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area or elsewhere, email me or make an appointment to discuss your needs.

Fish With Me

Don’t pay a high price for poor service.

I have lost count of the number of people who have told me about being taken in by these companies and individuals. The story is always very similar:

1. Client pays hundreds of dollars for a website.
2. Company provides a website with pre-packaged design and little to no customization.
3. Client pays hundreds of dollars per month for “maintenance” or “management” of their site.
4. Company does little to no maintenance or management, but simply collects the money.
5. Any actual maintenance issues (even minor corrections to text) take weeks, even months to complete.
6. Client eventually hires a real website designer and saves hundreds of dollars – and headaches! — every month.

Get excellent service, reasonably priced.

Perhaps it is just me, but I think most business owners would want to go straight to that final step. Utilizing my services as a website designer, and taking advantage of the strategic partnerships I have developed with Information Technology professionals, will not only save you money but bring you peace of mind. When you hire me to design, build, and/or move your existing website, you will enjoy the following benefits:

• Local, personal service: Are you in Portland, Oregon? Call me on the phone and meet me for coffee to talk about your business and describe your vision for the website. You might even run into me at the grocery store, buying ingredients for my next quiche.
• Building your business identity from scratch? I’ll design your logo and find a color palette for your business according to the ideas and moods you want to convey, and I’ll make all your publicity and advertising materials match — online or in print.
• Even if you start with a simple and plain template, you’ll have my assistance in getting it to work the way you want. We can always add graphic design later.
• If you want to maintain your website yourself, I will be happy to sit down with you and show you how to make changes, post blog entries, and even install plugins if you want to explore.
• Monthly hosting fees are only $20 per month. If you need me to make changes to your site for you, I’ll give you a quote before starting work.

A distinction that makes a difference.

When you hire me to build your website, you can rest assured that the money is staying in the local economy, and that I will likewise spend it responsibly on bike parts and organic groceries. You’ll also have a website that you can be proud of, and which you didn’t pay an arm and a leg for!

Quiche is one of the easiest things in the world to make. Once you know the basics, you can improvise a lot to make different kinds of quiche. So I’ll tell you my template, and you can experiment with different ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen pie crust
• 4 eggs
• plus milk to equal 1¾ cups with eggs
• ¼ cup yogurt
• 8 oz cheese, grated
• 10 oz frozen vegetables, chopped

A few words about the ingredients:

You can make your own pie crust of course. I find frozen to be just as good, and far easier. For my typical, day-to-day quiche, I don’t even bother with pre-baking the crust. If it’s a special occasion, I’ll get the all-butter crust from Grand Central and pre-bake it according to their directions. Whether you use it frozen or pre-bake it, keep it frozen until right before you plan to put it in the oven.

Try to buy eggs that are local, or close by. I hope during this crisis in the Gulf of Mexico that it is obvious why buying food close to the source is a good idea. Less distance between you and your food means less gasoline used in getting it to you. Moreover, keep that money close to home where it counts for you.

Using 1% milk and whole milk yogurt gives good results. You might experiment with different fat levels. I find that going completely nonfat is a little too light for my taste. There is no reason not to experiment though. In a pinch, I have completely replaced milk with yogurt. It was strange, but tasty. It’s hard to really fail here.

Directions:

My spinach and pepper-jack quiche, with a pre-baked crust.

Preheat oven to 325°.

If you have frozen vegetables, put them in a small saucepan with a half cup of water. Boil covered until they are completely thawed. Drain thoroughly and give them a chance to cool a bit before putting them in the custard.

Whisk together the eggs, milk and yogurt. Then, stir in the cheese. I usually do this step while the veggies are cooking. Mix in the vegetables last.

Spoon the custard into the pie crust, and bake about 40 minutes, until toothpick or knife-tip comes out clean.

Suggested Combinations & Variations

• peas, carrots, & cheddar
• broccoli &cheddar
• spinach & pepper jack
• spinach & swiss (emmental and gruyere are excellent), with a dusting of nutmeg on top
• the spinach & swiss is also great with some chopped bacon added into the custard
• experiment and enjoy!

• ripe banana
• frozen blueberries
• fresh-squeezed lemon
• ground hemp seeds
• whey (from cheesemaking)
• stevia (to offset the whey which was slightly briny)

I moved to Portland eleven years ago from a place (sort of) that I will never cease adoring — Missoula, Montana, where I grew up. I chose Portland for its excellent mix of natural beauty and the culture that naturally accompanies higher density populations. Once settled, I quickly discovered my favorite part of Portland: the inner Southeast, that is to say the Buckman neighborhood where I now live and the neighborhoods surrounding it.

The bicycle: my primary mode of transportation to get around Portland

Thanks to nearby access to the Portland farmer’s market and People’s Food Coop, and being constantly exposed to the foodie atmosphere of Portland, the ecological consciousness of the city and her people, and the numerous alternative health-care practitioners (which includes many of my friends and website design clientele), I have been easily able to pursue my own interests along these lines. As a result, today I rarely drive a car, using my bicycle as primary mode of transportation, and I have a very health-conscious and sustainable approach to life while also constantly expanding my gastronomical horizons.

I think it’s safe to say that I am now fully a Portlander. I love you Portland!

Now you can pay for your website design and hosting all with one convenient bill.

Responsiveness.

Providing website hosting to my clients helps to ensure they get the service they need. No more unreasonable corporate policies or poor service.

Service.

Your costs are kept low while giving you very personalized service and a can-do attitude.