Thursday January 5

2005. This is sort of lengthy so make sure you've gone to the bathroom, gotten a new cup of coffee (or whatever your poison is) and get comfy.

Faces and voices.
This was actually a good year for TheInsaneDomain. Changed a lot of things, got started on some others and fun things like that. New contributors were signed on, namely Emerald and George. I'm hoping to add a few more people, perhaps even those from the past. When will that happen? No idea. In order to add on even more people, I need to get the site up to date so that it's easy for the contributors to update with new items. I'm working on it (aka: I'm bugging the programmers) and then I'll start bothering people to be contributors. I have about 3 or 4 people on this list so far, and I might even let people apply to become one if I can manage to get it all pulled together.

Data-driving.
For those who pay attention and actually read the shit I ramble on about in my journal, you'll have heard of my constant struggle in trying to data-drive this website. For the non-geeks out there, data-driving it means that the information is kept manageable in databases, basically meaning that instead of making new html pages each time something is added and then linking it in is no longer needed. Data driving will allow the information to be easily displayed and managed, saving me literally HOURS upon HOURS each month. (Just the questionnaire results being data-driven alone with save me hours of work.)

The drawback to this is that I then need to enter in all the past information. Those damned questionnaires go back a number of years, with at least 4 questions per month asked. I have to enter ALL that into a database unless one of my smart programmers can figure out a way to parse it. I'm hoping by this time next year that the site is functioning much better than now and close to being completely data-driven. Then I can focus on creating more content along with the rest of the contributors. This will be quite the task as there are almost 1000 html pages in this website after 10 years of it being online. Good thing I have people like Mzebonga to boss about and get to do some of the slave-work for me. I might have to put George on it too seeing as he's a caffeine freak.

A new hope.
The last year or two has seen it's share of TID projects. From the poorly executed my.theinsanedomain to the here-and-then-gone horrorscopes, we're still trying new things and ah well if they don't always work.

There is a huge list of projects for TID that I'd love to have up and running this year ranging from TID reviews (a chunk of it coming from Mzebonga's website), sections to vote in, ways to interact with the site more and yes, even a properly working mailing list. (Speaking of which, if you are on the list, thank you for your patience and I will hopefully soon be able to start updating people monthly.)

I'm hoping to write up something that gives more background on the site, some articles and lists etc. Seeing as we're into our tenth year, it's hard to remember everything exactly but I will try to give more info on the behind the scenes of TID.

I've gotten a few requests lately about the sock monkeys and due to having to contact the creator, I'm quite slow to return emails and I apologize for that. I'm hoping to get a few sock monkeys all at once, perhaps auction one or two off and have the rest up for adoption on the site somehow. I'm not sure how to work this or what the monkey maker wants to be paid for them. Once I get it all sorted out then I will let you know. I also plan to have one be given away as a prize in a 10th anniversary contest of some sort.

10th Anniversary.
Wow, 10 years. Insane to think about. I remember first learning HTML in a program called HotDog in my parents basement before I even had my own computer. I even remember when Yahoo was a simple search site and had an ad-free front page with a gray background. (Yahoo is only a year older than this site!) A lot has changed since then, and I never thought I'd still be here posting my insanity online 10 years later.

Makes me wonder what the next 10 years will bring, and if I'll still be around posting here. If I get to do what I want with this site, I'm hoping that by then I have a team of contributors to cover things and perhaps if I can manage to make some money off of the site (without selling out) then I will be able to pay them for their efforts. In my little world I'd like to see TID become more of an ezine. We'll see how it goes and where we are in 10 years.

I'm not a website.
All of the above dealt with just the website. Now it's onto me, JCP the person. This year has been okay, nothing spectacular. It did however get me closer to doing the things I want and finally within the last month some pressure has been lifted. I've been able to purchase a new camera that I've been enjoying learning how to use. What I need to remember is how to take compliments and say thank you without feeling like a freak. I'm like that with compliments. I just don't know what to say and end up saying something silly which leads people to not want to compliment me anymore. Issues? I'd say.

I did get to spend time with Mzebonga this year when he came to visit, and contrary to what you might think, he was actually fun to hang out with. He will be returning to Canada this year for another visit, and that should be fun. While I personally didn't get to travel, I'm hoping that within the next two years I get to see BC and the mountains. It would be great to finally take a proper vacation and go see something I've never seen before.

Every year can't be amazing, and I didn't attend any funerals this year so things aren't horrible. This year I'm going to try and remember to not let frustration get the best of me and to continue plugging away at this site so it's closer to where I want it to be. I really need to get back into reading and writing, as I haven't done as much as I would have liked. I still have a story kicking around that isn't finished, and even though I threatened to delete it if it weren't completed by 2006, I can't bring myself to do it. I have been giving it thought and hope to complete it within the next month. Once that is done then maybe I can begin to produce more.

As for reading, I've recently started to pick up books again. Sadly I'd say I've read less than 20 books this year and I'm not happy with that. I might even read the final book of the Dark Tower series, although I'm hesitant to. Once I've finished reading it, then it's OVER. I've been reading those over a number of years, reading 5 and 6 in a weekend while sick! I just can't pick up the seventh yet. How sad is that?

I also need to remember to check and reply to my email more often. I'm getting awful and even now I know I should check it because it's been weeks but it's really late and I just don't have the energy. I will get to it soon so don't hate me too much.

So I think that's just about it. You can breathe a sigh of relief now and carry on with your life.