Perfection and Perseverance

So I wasn't around yesterday, but (as always), I was working. Being a one-man team is more work than anyone who hasn't been in the situation would ever understand, but add to that my being single and having two extremely spoiled cats and my personal situation is one with which no one can empathize; I truly need a webcam to record some of this for illustration.

At any rate, I have to wear a lot of hats, which means learning several different programs. Many times lately, I've been forced to back-off publishing pages due to a lack of graphics. While graphics will be added to many of the pages already published, this is a protracted operation requiring more time than just adding them at the onset.

The problem wasn't that I lacked the graphics I wanted to use, it was that I wasn't familiar with the new programs I had to get once I upgraded to Vista; the single program I've used since around 1996 or so isn't compatible - and honestly, I'd been "making do" with it for years now, as it is old and pretty limited (though I still use it because some of its functions just can't be duplicated). Still, I'd been making-do fairly well for years now.

So I've spent a lot of time learning these new programs and the results have been astounding! However, they've also been a whole, whole lot of work; it's largely trial-and-error. For example, I figured out the picture I spent literally all day working on yesterday will have to be completely redone from scratch, changing the order of the operations so the final result comes together without anything being compromised - and there's simply no way I could have known that until I did it. While the tutorials taught me how to perform the operations I used, there's no way they could have covered exactly what I wanted to do.

Anyway, I've changed my agenda across the board to focus on graphics before going further. While I can't know exactly what I want from all of them before the pages on which they will appear are finished, I already know certain elements need to be isolated, removed, etc., and that is what I have been doing. Not only am I accomplishing something which has to be done, I'm learning more about the programs I now use along the way. It's pretty sweet and while frustrating, also a lot of fun.

I can't wait to show you what I've been coming up with, but I have to for now. Some of it has to be redone and all of it needs to be watermarked, etc. So for now, I just want to start working up the excitement amongst y'all that I feel; I'm a vicious tease!

I don't give a damn about the Superbowl - care even less for it than I do for the Oscars, and that's saying something - so I'll be bringing you stuff all day today. However, it isn't like there's a whole lot to bring, so we'll just take it as it comes.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009