Amethyst Eyes - The Book

Journal Entry: Sat Feb 11, 2012, 10:57 PM

I'm not sure why I haven't mentioned this earlier, but my wife, *Enamorte has published her very first book, Amethyst Eyes. It's been a few years in the making and has gone through lots of revisions to both the story and the characters (and even the way they look. See her collection of Amethyst Eyes art for a better idea.

There were many, many nights where she'd lock herself in her room and write furiously, and many times when we sat down and discussed the progress of the book (which at some points just seemed like an ever-shifting goalpost) but she did it, and I am so very proud of her for accomplishing what few have

If you're interested in buying the book or taking a look at a preview:

Visit Amethyst Eyes Online

The book may not be in your usual "genre" (I know it's not mine) but it's still worth taking a look, especially for the ending which still leaves me thinking!

I guess you're probably tired of journals that are (not so) subtly telling you to buy stuff or join sites or add stuff to circles, but I only ever post the things I'm really passionate about. And this is one of those things

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Listening to: 1927 - That's when I think of you
Reading: Peanuts
Watching: The Simpsons / Ghost Hunters
Playing: GTA:IV
Eating: Subway
Drinking: Redeye

davidgray Photography on Google+

by ~Grayda, Jun 30, 2011, 7:00:50 PM
Journals / Personal

I'm now on Google Plus!

Now that I'm starting to ditch Facebook over concerns about my privacy, features being opt-out instead of opt-in, I've turned towards Google's fantastic new social network - Google+. And it's already starting to pay off. In the short time that I've had my page up, I've got more followers than I ever had on my Facebook page. Most of them are photographers themselves and the quality of their work is of a very high standard. It's quite refreshing.

So if you're on Google+ (and even if you're not), head on over to my page and take a look. I'll be posting all of my 2012 365 challenge photos there, so keep coming back!

davidgray Photography on Google+

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Mood: Love
Listening to: 1927 - That's when I think of you
Reading: Peanuts
Watching: The Simpsons / Ghost Hunters
Playing: GTA:IV
Eating: Subway
Drinking: Redeye

Win a camera, dA membership, print or merchandise!

Journal Entry: Sat Feb 12, 2011, 6:14 PM

Website | Prints on Redbubble | Tumblr

Edit: I just read through the competition rules. Turns out only Australian residents can win the camera. However, my offer still stands. And regardless of the outcome of the Most Loved City, I will still donate some points or a premium membership to one lucky deviant!

I've just entered a few of my photos into the "Australia's Most Loved City" competition. The photo with the most "loves" / votes wins a Canon DSLR. And if you vote up my photo, you go into the draw to win a Canon Powershot G12 which does full hi-def video (720p) and has outstanding image quality. It's worth $700, so this is no small prize! (Please see edit above for specifics)

To vote, simply click on the link below and click the "Vote for this photo" button. I would also be very appreciative if you clicked the "Share on Facebook" or "Share on Twitter" buttons to keep the love going! You need to enter in your first name and email address, but this is to make sure that you're not a robot trying to unfairly cheat the game.

When you vote, leave a message in this journal. If this photo wins, I'll pick a lucky Deviant who will win an item of their choice from the deviantART store. That means a print (mine, their own or someone else's), a membership (for you or a friend) OR a cool bit of merchandise from the deviantART store (emote stress balls, a t-shirt etc.).

Go forth and vote by clicking this link!

7 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Belinda Carlisle - In Too Deep
Reading: Peanuts
Watching: The Simpsons
Playing: Minecraft
Eating: Subway
Drinking: Redeye

We are DONE!

Journal Entry: Wed Feb 9, 2011, 5:17 AM

Website | Prints on Redbubble | Tumblr

This time last year, I was mulling over some a suggestion that `NyssaB gave me. She suggested I start the "365 challenge", that she was doing at the time. I decided to do it, moreso to prove to myself that I could start something AND finish it (I'm notoriously bad for starting stuff then giving up when I get bored) but also as an excuse to drag my camera out of the closet (it was almost collecting dust at that stage).

Little did I realise how much it would change my life.

A full 365 days later, I have done it. A single photo taken every day. I have dabbled in every genre I could get my hands on, including macros, portraits, landscapes, vehicles, product shots, animals and tons of others. I have been stranded in remote places while taking photos, had people try and come after me while walking the streets at night looking for stuff to shoot, hands burnt, eyes blinded by flashes, you name it. But it was all good fun, and these memories and photos will last a lifetime!

My photography has improved significantly. I learned a lot about composition, colours, lines, form, shapes, lighting and everything else inbetween. I've also learned about setting up a good photoshoot session, cheap (or free) macro techniques and have become more comfortable with working with models, using photoshop and such.

I've still got a LONG way to go, but I'm getting there. Next up on my list is to dabble in more portraits. Buy a good umbrella and set up a makeshift studio in my room for quick shots of anyone who wants a nice shot done. I'm also going to focus on selling more of my art at markets and to private collectors.

If you have a remote interest in photography, I suggest you do the challenge. You don't need to sign up anywhere (although [link] lets you host the photos for free). You don't even need to put them on the internet or even show anyone. Just do it for yourself. It's a blast if you can commit to it. If you can't, try taking a photo a week or a photo every two days. Or as ~Joscail is doing, 365 photos whenever she can. No time limits, no strict rules, just to take 365 photos, letting distractions and other things happen.

Alright, I should get to bed. It's past midnight and I have work in the morning

But before I do, here are some of my favourite shots from the challenge. Most of them represent a "first" for me, or a photo that I feel is of exceptional quality and (to me) is professional:

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Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Belinda Carlisle - In Too Deep
Reading: Peanuts
Watching: The Simpsons
Playing: Minecraft
Eating: Subway
Drinking: Redeye

Merry Christmas!

Journal Entry: Fri Dec 24, 2010, 4:53 AM

Website | Prints on Redbubble | Tumblr

I know it's not quite Christmas yet, but close enough.

Have a good one everyone!

:thumb103939678:

:thumb187906070:

3 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Autotune the News (lol)
Reading: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Watching: The Simpsons
Playing: Minecraft
Eating: Pizza
Drinking: Coke

Bust comissions

Journal Entry: Fri Oct 15, 2010, 10:08 PM

So it's EXACTLY what you're thinking! My wife, the talented and lovely *Enamorte is doing digital paintings for $30 AUD. For $30 AUD you get a detailed bust portrait of a character. Doesn't matter if it's your own OC, a character from your favourite book or whatever, just get in touch with her and find out.

You should check out her deviantART profile to see what kind of work she does, or take a look at the thumb below to see the type of quality you'll be getting for your $30.

If this interests you, let her know. She's a wonderful artist

And in slightly less interesting news, both *Enamorte and I have entered an art festival in a nearby town. Naturally I'm submitting some of my favourite photos, and Holly is entering two large acrylic paintings she's done. And on the Sunday I'll be running a stall selling prints of my work. I hope all goes well!

And thanks for being such great watchers and providers of good art ;D

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Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Close To Me - The Cure
Reading: Lord of the Rings
Watching: Avatar
Playing: Unreal Tournament 2004
Eating: Mac and Cheese
Drinking: Coke

5 months in!

Journal Entry: Sun Jun 20, 2010, 5:59 AM

Well it's been 131 days since I started the 365 challenge and I haven't forgotten a single day. It comes so naturally now, that it's hard for me to forget. In this short space of time I've learned SO much about photography. Everything from equipment and usage (macro tubes, off-camera flash) to techniques (triggering a camera with a microphone or webcam). It's been a blast! My career focus has shifted as well. Before, I would have been happy doing websites for a living. Now, I'd be happy to do photography for a living (even though I said I wouldn't

). If you haven't had a peek, check out my Flickr account and my new Redbubble account (where you can buy prints for reasonably cheap)

The year is almost half-way over and it's been hectic as anything. I've had half a dozen websites on the go, plus my full-time job (which is flat-out with 400 new laptops

) but in that time, I've managed to start writing a book (about my 365 challenge experiences plus other photography tips) and am looking at selling my best photos at a local Sunday market, plus I've managed to squeeze in some gaming (Grand Theft Auto 4 FTW!) and get my life into some kind of organised state.

What have you achieved in the last 6 months?

4 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Close To Me - The Cure
Reading: Lord of the Rings
Watching: Avatar
Playing: F.E.A.R 2
Eating: Indian
Drinking: Coke

World class photography on a budget

by ~Grayda, Apr 16, 2010, 9:37:30 AM
Journals / Art News / Photography

Towards the start of February, I decided to take on the 365 Day Challenge. It involves taking one photo a day for an entire year. I started, but soon found myself pressed for ideas or subjects to shoot, as well as frustrated that I couldn't achieve my potential with the equipment I had. So I did something about it. I got creative. This news article will show you how, with examples, to take great photos that make your friends and family say "wow!" without breaking the bank!

The right house is the one for sale, the right person is anyone

I'm using a Canon EOS 40D DSLR for my photos and most of these tips will apply to DSLR users, but you can achieve similar results using a webcam, point and shoot or a "bridge" camera (halfway between a P&S and a DSLR). Just use Google and your imagination!

"Free" as in "free speech", not as in "free beer".

Not everyone can afford Photoshop. The CS5 Design premium package is $1,900 USD ($2,000 AUD roughly). But you don't need Photoshop to edit your photos. For all of my photos, I use a free package called The GIMP. You can get it from [link], the project's website. It doesn't cost a single penny and it can do almost anything Photoshop can do, from converting your camera's RAW files, to advanced editing. It's one of the first things I install on a new computer.

There are lots of other free programs out there too. [link] : Software to create HDR images, [link] : software for managing your photos and even [link] : software to help put your photos on various websites. Just take a look on Google. Chances are your favourite software has a free alternative. You may be comfortable with the commercial versions, but when working on a budget, beggars can't be choosers, as they say.

Don't be afraid to shop! Photoshop, that is

Let's face it, there's not a single camera out there that will take flawless shots each and every time. A [link] $4000 camera won't edit out that fly that decided to land on your girlfriend's face or overlay a nice hue on your photos. You need to do it yourself. There's no harm in mucking around with an image heavily to get the results you desire, so go nuts until you're happy!

Again, don't be afraid to shop! eBay, that is

Yep. eBay is the best place to get equipment on the cheap. Yes, it's inferior Chinese stuff that may or may not be good for your camera but it works damnit, and that's all that counts. Do your homework first, though. Don't go spending $80 AUD on a flash that should only cost you $30 AUD or buying something that will kill your camera, simply becausei t's cheap. Research the equipment for sale by Googling the model number of the stuff you're looking at. If it's "blow up your camera" type equipment, don't buy it but if it's "It's not as good as the expensive stuff" type equipment, then by all means, take a closer look.

Buy the 'tubes

I bought some extension tubes (also called macro / extension rings, loops etc.) off eBay for $8.50 including shipping. They go between your camera's body and your lens and let you get some amazing closeups for a fraction of the price of a dedicated macro lens ($8.50 compared to $1000 for a proper Canon macro). Yes, the image quality won't be as good as you would get with a dedicated lens and yes you can't easily set apertures without "tricking" your camera, but take a look at some of my photos to see how good they can look:

Be a flasher

While looking around on eBay, I came across a $30 Yongnuo Digital external flash. It clips onto your camera's hotshoe and works an absolute treat. You don't even need a DSLR to use it. It has an optical mode so a flash from any camera will set it off, even a point and shoot. It has seven levels of brightness and three modes. Take a look at one of the first shots I took with it:

Not ready to be a flasher? Use a mirror as practice!

Now, you may not have $30 to throw around on a flash, or just don't want to buy anything from eBay. Fear not, with a small mirror, you can get a similar effect for zilch. Rather than bore you with the details here, I'll bore you with the tutorial I wrote not too long ago:

It really does work a treat. The proof is in the pudding:

Slavery is not illegal

That's right. I bought a nice remote slave unit off eBay for $20. Has a transmitter and a receiver and lets me fire off my flash from 30 meters away. Great when you want to light something from the side or don't want a full-frontal flash. The transmitter slips onto your hotshoe and your flash onto the receiver. It's great when using your extension tubes and especially during portraits (aim it at a wall and bounce the light off it to scatter the rays evenly). Once again, the proof is in the pudding:

Free infrared photography

Infrared filters for cameras are somewhat cheap. I picked mine up on eBay for $20 or so. But again, if you don't like spending money, why not do IR photography the free way, with The GIMP!

Just open your image up The GIMP, go to Colors > Components > Channel Mixer then pick "Monochrome" and fiddle with the channels. Ramp the green up and drop the blue and red down until your sky is dark but your foliage is almost glowing, like so:

It's not as good as buying a good IR filter, but you can't argue with the price!

Conclusion and resources

I think that just about wraps it up. As you can see, you don't need to fork out two thousand dollars to get macro shots and some decent lighting when eBay and a bit of ingenuity are your two best friends. If you have any great ideas that I haven't mentioned, drop a comment here so everyone can benefit from it. And I'll leave you with some great resources and ideas for your own photos. Good luck!

DIY Lighting Hacks: [link]
Killing lightbulbs: [link]
Lightstalking photo blog: [link]
My "Photo a day" challenge on Flickr: [link]

7 Comments

The 365 Challenge

Journal Entry: Sun Feb 28, 2010, 3:25 AM

Inspired by `NyssaB's January overview, I've decided to do the 365 challenge. What is it, you may ask? Basically you take one photo every day for a year. There's a lot of variations on the challenge, such as only photographing one subject or only using one lens with (or without) filters. Because I find it hard to stick to something, I've thrown a lot of these rules out the door. My endeavour is to take and upload to Facebook, one photo a day, trying my best to maintain a decent level of quality.

It's been a long journey so far, even though I'm only 19 days into the whole thing, but it's been fun. I've learned so much more about the art of photography such as what extension tubes are and how they work, as well as why your cat shouldn't be allowed near the bug you are trying to photograph (Peanut took an interest in a bug I was photographing and sat on it

) plus I've ordered some great (and cheap) photography tools, such as two extension tubes (for macro shots), an infra-red filter (for awesome landscape shots) and a flash diffuser (for even lighting in portrait shots). Most of these tools cost me less than $10 AUD (including shipping) so it's a cheap way to get professional results.

But if you're interested, you can check out the progress here: [link] . The best of the best will make it on to Facebook and at the end of the year, I plan to get them all printed out to stick in an album or perhaps a photobook or something.

If this sounds good to you, why not give it a shot? You can start any time and adapt the challenge as you wish if you don't want to be too tied down. My brother is taking a photo of fridges for a year. Any fridge he comes across, he'll photograph. I suggested photos of his new cat, but he's already doing that

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Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Through the Fire and the Flames - Dragonforce
Reading: Lord of the Rings
Watching: The Matrix
Playing: Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits
Eating: Subway Sandwich
Drinking: Coke

Twenty oh ten zero

Journal Entry: Fri Jan 8, 2010, 3:47 AM

That's right, happy 201000! Hope everyone had a fantastic 2009, a wonderful Christmas and a great start to "Twenty-Ten"! I spent my New Years Eve sitting on a beach, surrounded by all my friends, watching lightning roll in to the bay, then back to my friends' house where I got a little too drunk.. but all is well now.

2009 was, overall, a great year for me. I got engaged, I got married, we moved once again. And 2010 is looking to be an even better year.

This year I hope to keep working at my current job while slowly expanding my home business. I plan to apply for some funding and get my dream project, QuickPoint, up and running. I said it last year, but the motivation died off after a few setbacks. But now, there's no excuse. I have to do it

This journal will be short, as *Enamorte and I are in Melbourne at a hotel, getting ready to go to the Crown Casino and indulge in some gambling and drinks. Should be a great night! If you're on Facebook and have me added as friend, you'll catch some photos

How did everyone else's 2009 and NYE go, and have you got any plans for 2010?

All the best,
Your pal,
The crazy,
The insane,
But lovable,
Nerd,
Grayda
Right?

1 Comment

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Private Universe - Crowded House
Watching: The Simpsons
Playing: F.E.A.R Multiplayer
Eating: Little mini pizzas
Drinking: Irish Cream

Love and marriaaaaage!

Journal Entry: Sun Nov 1, 2009, 6:29 PM

Well well, the 31st of October has come and gone. It's been MONTHS since I posted here, but if you follow me on Facebook, you'd have seen all the events that lead up to the big day. And I apologize now for the long journal, if it is so.

In case you weren't aware (and I didn't really say too much on dA, mostly on Facebook and a bit on twitter), I am now happily married to one Holly Marie Gray and it was all made official yesterday afternoon!

We got married and had the reception in a small public hall about 30 minutes from home. Holly's parents flew out from Ohio, USA to be here (we tried to keep it a surprise but she had an inkling!) and being married on the 31st, we decided to go all out and do a Halloween themed wedding!

Almost 60 close friends and family turned up in costume. Some came as pumpkins, some as witches and wizards, we had a leprechaun, an Oompa Loompa, Ned Kelly, Dorothy, the Mad Hatter, The Hitcher and lots of other awesome costumes. They were absolutely fantastic and everyone had a ball! Dad and his friend Billy crafted a sound and light show with the "Ghost" of the hall who asked everyone to sin (probably to the dismay of my aunt). We had a fog machine, a 3/4 sized grave carved out of polystyrene with a rock embedded in a speaker, a hanged skeleton in the middle of the hall, spiders and spiderwebs everwhere. We went all out!

It took many weeks of preparation with some last minute changes but we got everyone there, got them fed and got us married. About 2-3 weeks before the wedding, we found out the catering company hadn't booked us in and were VERY rude to us, so we had to find another company elsewhere, my costume arrived on Tuesday and the wedding was on Saturday, the 12 seater bus we had hired had 16 people wanting to ride it, the celebrant and the hall were paid at the very last second. It was hectic! Now, we have $300 until Thursday

Anyway, we had a fantastic time, and we are now Mr. and Mrs. Gray

5 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Private Universe - Crowded House
Watching: The Simpsons
Playing: F.E.A.R Multiplayer
Eating: Little mini pizzas
Drinking: Irish Cream

WOO!

Journal Entry: Tue Aug 11, 2009, 5:10 AM

SHE GOT THE VISA!

After three months of pissfarting around with DIAC, Holly has her visa which means she can live here forever and get access to Medicare. She can also work as long as she likes.

14 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Private Universe - Crowded House
Watching: The Simpsons
Playing: F.E.A.R Multiplayer
Eating: Little mini pizzas
Drinking: Irish Cream

55 things about me

Journal Entry: Tue Aug 4, 2009, 12:10 AM

This looked like fun

10 THINGS I WISH I COULD SAY TO PEOPLE

(1) Was there any kind of remorse for what you did? (This applies to a broad range of people, actually)
(2) Just grow up would you? What are you, 6?
(3) Just piss off, nobody likes you and being money and self interest driven will see your demise!
(4) You're a good man, when you're mature about it.
(5) I'm so glad you're alright and out of that hell hole <3
(6) Are you really who you say you are?
(7) What happened to you man? You used to be cool.
(8) Treat me and everyone else with a little respect before I quit!
(9) You're in my thoughts. Every day
(10) You have changed SO much. I don't even know who you are any more

9 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF

(1) I have a very short attention span. I will start on a project, and stop half way through once I become disinterested.
(2) I've been programming since I was 8 years old. Started off in Apple BASIC, then Visual Basic 6, then HTML, then PHP and now I'm taking a second look at VB.NET
(3) I LOVE photography, I just don't have the money to persue it. Plus I don't think I would want to do it as a career
(4) I'm still a kid at heart. I love my cartoons, video games and my Lego but I'm also very mature. Even when I was younger, apparently
(5) I really can't stand static electricity. It hurts me more than it should. It would sometimes stop my wristwatch or even leave red marks on my fingers.
(6) I'm permanently on cruise control. I'll look back on something and think "wow, I can't believe I did that". Things just don't register with me and I feel like I miss out on a lot..
(7) I'm not scared of the dark, but the road I grew up on gives me the chills at night. Especially the empty lots across the road
(8) My life goal is to invent the "next big website" and spend my time at home working on it.
(9) I make plenty of mistakes but don't always like having them pointed out to me. Probably a perfectionist thing from way back. Don't let that stop you from critiquing my work!

8 WAYS TO WIN MY HEART

(1) Scratch or rub my back / head. It feels super special awesome
(2) A good butter chicken. mmmmmmmmm..
(3) Take an interest in what I do. Not just a fake interest, but a genuine one.
(4) MONEY!
(5) Buy me electronic gadgets or geeky t-shirts. I love it!
(6) Treat animals (mostly cats) with respect. You hurt a cat, I will hospitalize you. Seriously.
(7) Compliment me on a good idea or execution of an idea. Makes me feel gooood
(8) Be good in bed

7 THINGS THAT CROSS MY MIND A LOT

(1) Money
(2) Love
(3) Computer related projects
(4) The past (both good and bad memories)
(5) Food
(6) Music
(7) Money

6 THINGS I DO BEFORE SLEEP

(1) Turn my monitors off
(2) Brush my teeth
(3) Turn the heater off
(4) Check the outside lights are off
(5) Check the inside lights are off
(6) SLEEPL

5 PLACES I WANT TO VISIT

(1) The USA
(2) Paulding, Ohio
(3) New York
(4) San Francisco
(5) Middle of buttfucknowhere in the uSA

4 THINGS I'M WEARING RIGHT NOW

(1) Black work plants
(2) Grey formal work shirt
(3) Black shirt with hole in the nipple, held together by a clothes pin
(4) Sawks!

3 BANDS THAT I LISTEN TO OFTEN

(1) UB40
(2) R.E.M
(3) Augie March

2 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE

(1) Skydive again
(2) Get rich. Quick.

1 CONFESSION

(1) I wish I had spent more time with my mates before the group fell apart after Luke's death. They were the best times of my life!

If you want to do it, go nuts! 'Tis fun!

6 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Private Universe - Crowded House
Watching: Dragonball Z
Playing: Vulture's Eye
Eating: Chilli
Drinking: Chocolate milk

Moar updatings!

Journal Entry: Mon Jul 13, 2009, 12:35 AM

Wow.. it's been over two months since my last update. Here's another batch of fresh updates:

STILL no word on Holly's Visa. It's been two months. Gonna call immigration tomorrow for answers

Got 4 sites on the go -- all from the same client who wishes to dip her feet in all sorts of business ideas.

QuickPoint is slowly coming along. Waiting for an external company to help out with the iPhone side of things. Been 6 months since I initially contacted them

I'm now 23. My birthday was on the 8th (as you can probably see from my front page) and I had a blast drinking and partying with my mates. Mum and Dad are paying to take Holly and I to this awesome Austrian restaurant in Melbourne

I start work again today. Had a week off because of school holidays

Found the ideal place to get married. It's a small town half an hour away from home, nestled in the mountains. It's gorgeous! Photos when I get 'em!

Slowly getting wedding attire sorted out. I'm going to be wearing a tophat and tailcoat with a black and silver cane. Classy! Went to a sex shop a town over to ask about top hats. They're bringing one down from another store in Melbourne and if it looks good, it'll set me back less than $30 AUD!

Bought myself a broken PS3 off eBay. Finding parts to fix it is almost impossible. If Sony were to fix it, it'd be $315 no matter what. In total, more than what I paid for the effing thing. So let this be a lesson to you: Unless you're willing to work hard and pay lots, don't buy broken things off eBay unless you're REALLY certain you know what the problem is.

Err, that's it I think!

How are we all?

16 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Rubber Biscuit - The Blues Brothers
Watching: Dragonball Z
Playing: F.E.A.R
Eating: Indian
Drinking: COKE :B

Updates and junk!

Journal Entry: Sun May 10, 2009, 4:59 AM

My journals are far too long these days. Let me summarize what I'm doing at the minute:

Applying for Holly's new visa. Her old one expires in a week. I'm not worried, she'll get it

Reading Yu-Gi-Oh the graphic novel. It's violent and more adult than the book. Yugi / Yami has already killed 2+ people in the first book and given brain damage to others

Reading Lord of the Rings. At 1,100 pages, it's going to take forever..

Building two websites for clients. One is a book-style flash site and the other is a traditional HTML page

Been REALLY active on Facebook. New photos and art there too!

Had a sweet party at my house last night. Wound up getting way too drunk, threw up and passed out in bed until mothers day lunch today. Lovely!

Continuing work on [link] trying to get something ready for release. Organic software are taking too long and I don't want this to slip past once the recession dies down

Building a PHP framework that will let me deploy security, database, forms and stuff so I can rapidly build new sites and applications and stuff. SWEEET!

Running Mac OS X on my PC. Works great and I'm starting to like it a little, but I am NOT a Mac elitist, so don't get me started, a'ite?

Been listening to Adam green lately. Good stuff!

Was that better to read than a text wall? For me it was

. Anyway, how you doin?

16 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: Broadcast Beach - Adam Green
Reading: Lord of the Rings
Watching: Round the Twist
Eating: Easter Eggs
Drinking: Jaeger Bombs

Devious Journal Entry

Journal Entry: Sat Apr 11, 2009, 9:49 AM

VISIT MY BLOG

So, I now have a subscription again. It's nice having a Visa debit card for online purchases -- it means I no longer have to pull money from my PayPal. Just as well because the heartless bastards at Commonwealth Bank ripped me off to the tune of some $200 because they failed to notify me of my overdrawn account. Thanks folks, I'm taking my banking elsewhere!

So what's news? Well, the cash is flowing once more. For a few weeks we were cruising along with almost no money in the bank (-$12 at one point

) because I had to purchase parts to repair a client's computer ($400 worth

) but now we're all good again, thanks to my best friend, Kevin Rudd who kindly donated $900 of Australia's money to a few million taxpayers (while Holly gets nothing. Thanks Obama!

) plus my kind employers who sent me a paycheck on the same day. Plus I've got $500 coming from Take5 (more on that in a second

) oh, and I'm on a week's vacation cuz of school holidays (yaay!

) so all is right with the world once more.

Now, as I mentioned a few keystrokes ago, I'm getting $500 from Take5. Take5 is one of those housewife-y magazine-y publications that have lots of happy, sad, dramatic, funny, spooky etc. stories that mothers love to read (and some men too

). They pay out up to $2000 for a story, so I typed up an email about how I skydived and proposed to Holly and sent it off to them. Some months later, they contacted me and wanted to publish the story, so I get $500 out of that (w00t

). And I strongly urge you to do the same, because it's up to $2000 for your story, no matter how exciting, mediocre, happy or sad. Think of what $2000 could get you

. Anyway, it'll be published within the next few weeks so when it is, I'll let y'all know and you can read the juicy details about how I skydived and stuff

(how exciting!

)

On a distant, dark, Darkplace, cold and often disturbing note...... I'm typing this journal up on Mac OS X. mmhmm, I've install Mac OS 10 onto my PC and am enjoying it! (Surprised?

) I hate the way Apple has DRM on everything and how your music devices are permanently locked to iTunes (not to mention you can only sync with ONE iTunes at a time

) but Mac OS X is nice. It's shiny, fast, installing applications is surprisingly easy and it plays chirpy noises when I get a new Tweet on Twitter. Finder is a bit of a pain sometimes and the Dock so

VISIT MY BLOG

metimes gets in the way, but it's alll goood. Installing Mac OS X is sorta straightforward, but sorta tricky. But if you'd like to attempt it, let me know and I'll sort something out

Also on the topic of computers, I've restarted my own Blog. It's about all things technology from social networking to privacy and also building web-apps that practically build themselves. I've got a couple of posts scheduled for those who are maybe interested. Plus, click on my Google ads if you please (haha, just kidding Google

)

VISIT MY BLOG

I'm also working on a new project, but that's kinda top-secret for now. But it's gonna be BIG! Also, there's also plans for something big on dA, but again, that's top secret so I can't really tell you much (

). But stay tuned to whatever TV station you're on because it's 2:30am here and you'll see plenty of exciting advertisements about "GETTING THE X-RAY VIEWER ON YOUR MOBILE FOR ONLY $99 A WEEK PLUS $120 PER MESS

DID I MENTION MY BLOG?

AGE. FOOL YOUR FRIENDS AND BECOME THE LIFE OF THE PARTY BY PRETENDING YOUR PHONE CAN DO X-RAY!!!!!" or perhaps those "I'm all alone with me and my 3 lesbian friends. SMS "obviouslyinappropriatesexuallyrelatedwordhere" to 999-999-999-999-999 for only $999 a week!" (That's GOTTA be real!!

)

Anyway, that's all from me. I need sleep before the voices in my head tell me to BURN THE WITCH, Tristan (lol injoke

)

Have a good night, and sorry this crapfest is so bloooody long! (seriously!

)

_{_{What rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs, all over your neighbour's dog? What's fit for a snack, and fits on your back, it's Log, Log, Log. It's Log, it's Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood. It's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good!}}

3 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: The End - The Doors
Watching: Round the Twist
Playing: Red Alert 2
Eating: McDonalds
Drinking: Woodstock & Cola

This is the end..

by ~Grayda, Apr 3, 2009, 3:28:33 PM
Journals / Personal

..beautiful friend. This is the end, my deviantART friend, the end.

Soo... my subscription has expired. And getting a new one may have to wait until payday or the one after. This won't affect Favebox in any way, shape or form because the vast majority of Favebox stuff is done on my own server which, fortunately, has been paid for and restored since the last journal. But rest assured, I'll be back (well, technically, I'll never leave) at full strength with moar artings and exciting new stuffs!

Enjoy!

9 Comments

Mood: Neutral
Listening to: The End - The Doors
Watching: Round the Twist
Playing: Red Alert 2
Eating: McDonalds
Drinking: Woodstock & Cola

Favebox / Solidinc.org etc. is back up

Journal Entry: Mon Mar 23, 2009, 8:24 PM

EDIT: Looks like some silly bugger paid the hosting bill. $280 later, everything is back up and running at full strength. Sorry about the down time everyone! And for the record, that old client is going to pay up

Looks like some silly bugger forgot to pay the hosting bill. To be fair, I didn't know the bill was due simply because I never check my hotmail account where the bill is sent.

Payday is tomorrow night / Thursday morning so it might be then or after then before my account is restored.

Now, I should give an old client a ring and chase up 4 years of hosting bills plus the original $600 he owes me.

I'm stressed, pissed off and full of iced coffee. But screw that, how is YOUR day going? Seriously, tell me all about it. I want some good conversation going again

3 Comments

Mood: Tearful
Listening to: Baby Come Back - UB40
Watching: Farmer Wants a wife :(
Playing: Grand Theft Auto 3
Eating: Pizza Subs
Drinking: Creaming Soda

He's gone :( ...

Journal Entry: Thu Mar 5, 2009, 10:39 PM

What a Friday, huh? I just had a call from Dad. Winston, our little fuzzy bag of fleas back home, died. It seems he got hit by a car and Dad found him curled up in the neighbour's garden, partially paralyzed. They took him to the vet and they put him on a heat-mat (his body temperature was getting lower and lower) and did some tests, but soon after he died. He was only 3 1/2 years old. He was forever playing near the road and Mum would scream out to him to come in, but he never listened (he's a cat

)

We adopted Winston about 3 years ago from Bill and Michelle, two family friends who had a litter of them. Since then, he's been one of the family (and one of the neighbours too. He spent more time at "Nan and Pa's" then at our place, because they fed him sweet food and stuff

)

So right now, I'm upset by it, and it hurts. Thankfully I have Peanut and Holly to get hugs from (even though Peanut squirms when I try to hug him. He's a stinker

). Still, he's at peace now and he will NEVER be forgotten.

Rest In Peace Winston. You'll always be loved, always be missed and may your fleas never desert you (or you'll have nothing to do, since scratching yourself was all you ever did

)

_{_{_{Why does my heart, feel so bad?
Why does my soul, feel so bad?
These open doors..}}}

19 Comments

Mood: Tearful
Listening to: Many rivers to cross - UB40
Playing: Guitar Hero 3
Eating: Tacos
Drinking: Iced Coffee

Favebox / Social Networking

Journal Entry: Fri Feb 20, 2009, 9:23 PM

Hai all

Here's a bit of a treat for all you loyal Favebox users out there. You can now theme your own buttons and stuff! I was talking to `janvanlysebettens the other night and he showed me a journal mock-up where someone had made a flashy new favebox button and counter. After a bit of discussion, I came up with an idea and now if you know some CSS, you too can have a stylish Favebox like the one I've got above! All you need to do is:

Go to the Favebox website and register for a new favebox. For the colours, pick "Transparent". Then go into your deviantART journal and add this piece of CSS:

.fb_counter {

background: url(location/to/your/image.gif) no-repeat;

}

.fb_button {

background: url(location/to/your/other/image.gif) no-repeat;

}

And if you want to get really fancy, you can add a :hover selector to allow some nice mouse-over effects:

.fb_button:hover {

background(location/to/your/hover/image.gif) no-repeat;

}

Check out the one above and let me know what you think! And say hi to `janvanlysebettens because he came up with the great idea

---------------------------------------

On another note, I'm loving this social networking thing. I have 3 twitter accounts, a facebook and even a Brightkite account. I love seeing what everyone is up to and love how the biggest names in the world are on there. I'm following John Cleese on Twitter and just read an article about how Shaquille O'Neal is a Twitter user and how he loves to hang out with other Twitter users at a Five and Dine. Exciting stuff..!

12 Comments

Mood: Aroused
Listening to: Many rivers to cross - UB40
Reading: QuickPage ideas
Playing: Mario Bros. 3
Eating: McDonalds
Drinking: COKE :B

~Grayda

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This is the end..

Favebox / Solidinc.org etc. is back up

He's gone :( ...

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