The End Is The Beginning Is The End
So with the last post I wrote in August, I have decided to end MyLifeWired.com and migrate everything to my personal (name) domain.
What this means is:
-This is the last post on this site. All new posts will be on my new blog (which is really just a continuation).
-Within a few weeks, this site will be moved to just a subdomain of my new site and act as a archived site where all mylifewired.com links will be forwarded to.
-Comments will still be active, at least for the time being. Depends what I want to do when the domain finally expires.
-This site won't be maintained as often, which could mean some things break when updating code or the database. I doubt it though, as I have already stripped a lot of code out (kid you not, this site is only about 25 files in size. MUCH smaller than it use to be).
-if you contacted me, or have my email address @mylifewired.com, it will be deleted and no longer forward.
-RSS has already gone into deletion period and should be deleted completely soon. No point on having an RSS if it won't update anymore. There is a note on the current RSS to update their subscriptions.
I believe that's it. Any external links linking in should forward just fine when I transfer over the site to the subdomain.
p.s. the title is from a Smashing Pumpkins song.
PrjctMnml
There is something to be said about "stuff". The things in our life that are merely a luxury and not necessary. We have a our cell phones, our video games, our expensive toys, and our expensive habits.
Computers and software are no different. You have software trying to be everything, and the size of the program becomes larger and larger, or bloated as many would say. You have expensive laptops for people who need to just check their email and facebook. It's all unnecessary. I am by all means not saying that I am a saint in that regard. I am sitting here in front of three monitors with my computer (aka my heater) next to me, typing in one of my many blogs.
I currently own about 8 domains, in which, only about a few are actually being used. This website (MyLifeWired.com) in particular, with seeing it develop since I first started a blogging site some 8 years ago, I have seen many changes. When I first designed it, it was simple. Just a list of entries to my new blog. Nothing more than a link to log in and such. As time went by, I began adding more and more features to the site. From photo albums, to chat boards, to a live feeds. Eventually I worked to make it a public blogging system much like Myspace.
Of course, that didn't last. The Sekond Project finally finished after six years and it became a desire to put that project in my past, which included dropping the name that I have carried since I was 18. I decided to start anew, start fresh if you must say.
I dropped the whole public ability in the blog and kept what I viewed as necessary. But it didn't take long until I began adding more pages and more features. On top of that I started to venture out into other websites as hobbies. I created a blogging system that was unique but allowed to be replicated and divided. The reality of it though, I was becoming divided. I had these domains and these sites using my blogging system and I couldn't keep them in sync. Adding features became more of a pain than a hobby as I would have to replicate it among all of them.
Eventually I grew tired of it all, and began minimizing the features, making it completely dependent on the blogs and cutting out all of the other tables in the database system. This has allowed me to focus on simpler technologies that greatly improved the system. But it was still spread among various domains.
Projekt Wired
It only makes sense to consolidate almost everything. Where I use to carry only two 'active' sites before, I carry much more now, which prevents me from updating them as often. This is only a hobby anyway, and has been for the past 14 years. The MyLifeWired.com website was based on the following project after Sekond. It was called "The Wired Projekt". A project name that I finally decided on after 'sekond' to use. The project was based on my second technology renaissance in which I would focus more of the online apps. The name I carried at the time was "Daniel Wired" which consisted of a mixture of my middle name and the project name. It became my identity online for a little while, even to where some people would call me by "Daniel".
It also allowed me to hide my identity as growing up and entering the work force I felt that my presence online would come back to haunt me in the professional world. To put it bluntly, there was a time I was young and proud of whom I was, but growing up, I became more embarrassed of who I was, once I entered the professional job market.
Eventually the fear died out and the project was finished. There was really no goal for the last project except for me to adapt to the current internet trends. "Daniel Wired" became more of a pain in the ass because I would have to explain the name to people I meet (and people I dated).
Before Sekond
Sure, before I started the Sekond Project, I had my share of names, and my share of handles. But they were just names; for music, and emails, and screen names. They were me, yet not me. They were also scattered, Because the name didn't mean everything.
My music name was "Kn0 F8", obviously pronounced as "No Fate" which was scribbled one day on my book cover when I was in 8th grade. For some reason it just stuck. When I had to pick a name for my earthlink account, I just randomly picked it. So that became my email, and with that I created a website on earthlink by that name, and then created a music in that name. There was no project, no goal, no message. It was just a name that randomly came out of no where. But what about else where? They all varied in names. Nothing unique as most of them were like "Sk8man4" or "Sk8MMX" (Yes, I got carried away with the MMX promotion that Intel was running).
Actually, one way for me to track my online identity history before 2007 was based on AIM screen names. Even after using "Kn0 F8" as my site/music name, I didn't register that as a screen name until about 18 months later. My primary names were "MuSiC F8" and "Trance F8" which still had the "F8", it was just another handle. I have mostly dropped all previous names and screen names and still use "musicf8" as my sign-up, primarily because it is just so basic and unique.
Identity
Really though, they were just online identities. They were, I guess, 'first impression' online names. If I met people in person, I was just "Andrew", or now and days as my friends would call me, "Askew". There were no names or secret identities, it was just me all together. I came to that realization last year, and I wrote an entry on it but never made it public, as it said;
So many identities I have carried through my time, so many different names, different personas, different people I want to be, but they were nothing more than me. Me, that carried different names as if they defined an era, each era special and memorable.But I have come to understand that it isn't the names that created me. It was I who created the names, and regardless of what I try, I will always be me and only me. I can try to be someone I am not, but then it will be merely me. I can try to be something more, and it will be me.
I am who I am, and I am the most important person in my life.
I am me.
Project Minimal aka PrjctMnml
So that's where it all stems from. How the past was, what has changed, and what I plan to make the future better. This includes consolidating the theme and code to make it easier to maintain. To consolidate the sites so that I do not carry so many to try to keep track of. And, since I don't spend as much time working on my sites, to make them easily accessible for me, so that I can access them on the move. I would like to make my main blog as my primary source of posting, as I feel my time with twitter is limited, so I must move on.
This will be a new refresh, an objective without an objective, a synergenic goal. With that, MyLifeWired.com will most likely be coming to an end.
Archived
Well, I archived a lot of old posts, and when I say archive, I pretty much mean they are gone. Sure they are in the database, but no real way to access them. Why? I think it's about time to do so.
As for the fate of this website, I am not sure. I am posting less and less on it as I really do not care to post about my life online, here or anywhere else. I still have 2 years on the domain, so obviously I would keep it open. Who knows, maybe I may get back into posting things.
As I have written about before, Facebook and the other social media sites rubs the wrong way with me. Here you had these networks where people interacted, posted their whole life online, and have no sense of privacy. On top of that, it has become the new "hangout" for a lot of people. They spend hours posting online without any real interaction, yet they get some form of false "social interaction".
My feelings haven't change on any of it, nor has my craving to get back to spending mindless hours on the sites. This, as I guess you can say, is a personal social experiment. Now that I have finished my personal website, which will act like a "connection" hub for people to contact me, I can become more organized with my media. Any social networks that I belong to, will be public. In other words, I won't hide new posts, or reserve certain portions of my information on these sites for "friends" or "connections" this is all going to be public for anyone to see (to the extend of the website's capabilities). It will either be public or non-existent.
I was all but able to disappear from the internet, now I am going to try to mold my online identity to show the person who I am, without showing who I am not. The problem with the internet is sarcasm can easily be taken wrong. People, who do not know you personally, are not sure if what you post is real. The internet is a strange and confusing place.
This also acts as a form of self-promotion. As I get more involved with music and DJing, I want to get my name out there some. Of course I am not trying to be the next Tiesto, I just more so want to give back to the subculture that has given me so much. And of course music is a large part of my life, it is only natural for me to want to share.
There is a lot going on with my life, and I am quickly approaching 30. The whole world has turned in my favor and I feel more alive than I ever have before. But why not? I have a family who loves me, friends who care about me, and a whole world that is waiting to be experienced as I am planning trips. Life is what you make it, and regardless what you believe, the only person holding you back is yourself.
So then, let's get this party started.
Back On Track
After a much longer vacation than expected, I am back mixing on the tables. I was planning on having a mix out each week, but the holidays came, then other stuff, and finally this damn illness with a horrible cough has been killing me. At least now I got mix 5 done, so I can begin getting my ass in gear to finish the rest of the projects.
I got so much to do...
This is sad... But I think this is expected for when it is released... hence the picture below floating around on the internet...
G-
I deleted my Google+ Profile... I could give a whole spiel about why I did and social networks and crap. But all it is, is another Facebook with different features, and I would be just repeating myself.
The only one I have right now is Twitter... I never post on it though, but I do use it to follow interesting streams... If I get bored of that I will delete my account then.
Googleless Life?
If any of you have been keeping up with the whole craziness of Google and their changes in their privacy policy, you might see a reason to look for something else.
Really, Google's policy changes do make sense, as their whole purpose is to use your data for marketing research to provide you with better ads for you to buy stuff. But a lot of people are freaked out because here you have Google merging all the data from all their services to build a profile which will probably be more accurate than any government agency. Scary shit if you ask me.
But while I don't see myself dropping off of Google any time soon, I began to notice just how intertwined I am with this company. I will admit that I am a huge fan of Google. Hell, I might as well say it, I am a fanboy. The services and abilities that Google offer are just amazing. But what if I want to change? What if something happened to my account or we found out that Google employees eat puppies and kittens for lunch? Then what?
This has been a common tactic for companies, to bundle up their services and make it harder for people to migrate to a competitor. Example being Banks and the inclusion of their Billpay, or Cable networks and their 'telephone, cable, internet' packages.
Truth is, I am completely lost on what to migrate too if that ever came about. I mean when it comes to email. Sure I could move to AOL, Microsoft, or Yahoo, but it's all just the same, and I doubt they would offer as much robust features as Google apps. But if anything, I probably would move back to yahoo since I only left them because I found out gmail had free pop3. As for others;
Google Reader - Plenty of other software I could use, including Windows Live Mail.
Google+ - Delete, I couldn't care less
Google Docs - I would be just fine using it on my desktop, and maybe sync with Live Mesh
Google Calendar - Again, probably switch to Yahoo or Live Mail (or sunbird? :)
Google voice - Go back to using my cell #, but i sure would miss all the features.
Web search - Plenty to choose from...
Google Maps - Mapquest/Yahoo maps
Google Talk - Skype
Feedburner - None, just use standard RSS
So really it does require moving a lot to a competing service that probably already does the same. But truth is, I would have no problem moving to offline for a lot of features as I rarely use them on the go (eg calendar) and with the plan to dumb down my phone, it would be useless anyway.
Who knows what the future will hold, but it's always interesting to think about...
GoDaddy, SOPA, And My Stance
There is something to be said with what is going on in this world today, or even in this country. A lot of our freedoms have been taken away or are threatened currently and it is disgusting. What do you expect though, with our government bought and sold, the news media, bought and sold. Really the only thing that is real is the internet, where people can create and develop, but that is under threat right now because of legislation. SOPA and PROTECT-IP are two laws that are trying to get passed that would end our "free internet" without reasonable reasons why. It is the typical play of copyright infringement and to 'protect the citizens'.
I was surprised when I found that GoDaddy supported and even helped drafting the bill. A lot of other people were pissed too, thus today being boycott GoDaddy day because of their support. This includes transferring your domains, hosting, and all business from them. As being their customer, of course I joined in transferring. Sure it was a hassle, but worth it to me.
GoDaddy did submit a press release after they became under fire, about how they retracted their support for it. But this is your typical damage control, and it doesn't mean they truly oppose it. They didn't mention anything regarding PROTECT-IP either.
Regardless, So long GoDaddy. I will never do business with your company again.
P.S. I have to admit it is weird now being able to access my domains and hosting without being bombarded with ads :)
P.S.S. My domains are now with NameCheap, which publicly opposed SOPA, and have better prices than GoDaddy. My hosting is now with 1&1, that has much better prices than GoDaddy.
Transfering Domain/Hosting Off Of Godaddy
Since they initially drafted and supported SOPA (thought withdrew, but no word on PIP). So there might be down time.
Advertising
Sometimes I have to wonder what all of this advertising does to everyone, as we are bombarded with different ads telling us to go buy this and do that.
Our childhood toys are really nothing more that cheap pieces of material made to be purchased after television and word of mouth bombarded us with messages to bug our parents for them. Much like the 1986 film Transformers where they purposely killed off majority of the main characters only to introduce the new line up of toys. It is really disgusting if you think about it, exploiting children and parents for capital gains (though look at Black Friday).
Remember this commercial? That damn melody with the phrase "best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup" was hammered into my head as a kid, and continued so. Come years later when I got my own place and began drinking ground coffee that I was excited because I could finally buy my own coffee maker, and buy some Folgers! you know, because the commercial told me how good it is.
The coffee tastes like shit. I was disappointed. But that damn song is stuck in my head and comes out of no where every now and then. This is just one advertising that is embedded forever into my head, I could only imagine how many others there are.
This day an age is pretty disgusting at how saturated we have become with advertisements and marketing. Just look at the shit on the TV. I gave up watching television a long time ago, and watching an episode of the Twilight Zone over at my moms it seems like there was less show and more commercials than I remember before (don't forget about those damn pop up advertisements).
Drinking...
This is probably the main reason why I gave up drinking...
via Cyanide & Happiness
New AIM Released: Version 1.0.0.3?
As being an AOL instant messenger user since it was released so many years ago I have always been interested in the new versions that come out. Sure most of my friends have moved on into other things like Facebook chat, but I still kept using AIM for the mere nostalgic value and curiosity of the newer versions of the programs.
I actually recently dropped my AIM client because my internet kept dropping out (the one time I buy a bloody Netgear router). I realized that Google Voice was a fine "client" for when I am at my computer, and just made my screen names mobile. Well, the ones that I didn't delete (did you know you can actually delete AIM screen names now?)
When I heard about the new version of AIM, I had to install it. IT was apparently a whole new redesign, and from what I read, a minimalist design. Upon installing it asked "Do you want to install AIM 1.0.0.3? The Fuck? Last I checked it was at 7.5.x
Yes, it's true, this are trying their second attempt at refreshing the client (first attempt was AIM Triton 1.0). But this time around, something is missing, something that has been with AIM since AOL the beginning, and a part of AOL since 4.0 was in beta. The Running man.
DEAR GOD WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?! It's like they took this simple familiar icon and turned it into some shitty ass kid drawing of an alien running.
Besides that, the new AIM design is very minimal, and when I say minimal, I mean mnml, because there are no ads and all chat conversations are enclosed in the app instead of a separate 'IM' window.
Apparently, chat conversations are sync all on the AIM servers, so you don't have to worry about leaving your AIM client on at home. I seriously hope this means the death of the dreaded 'AOLSystemMsg'.
Even the preferences are greatly reduced. You don't have much functionality in their, BUT you can add your twitter account to get notified of messages and reviews, I just wish you could watch your twitter stream in there.
I am still in question on how this new client will workout, as this is the most drastic change to have happen to AIM... well... ever... Just have to see what happens in the future, because I know I will be watching.
LinkedIn: Use Or Lose?
As I have been continuing this journey of cutting out the excess e-fat that I have accumulated over the years, one of the most standard fights is social networking. Facebook made a lot of sense to cut first because it was nothing more than useless spam that added no value in my life. Google+ was to be the next social network I cut, even though I am so new to it (and it is still in its infancy), merely because it is nothing more than another Facebook. Yet, I began following the Occupy movement on it. Twitter, I figured, would be the social network I would never lose because of how easy it is to stream news, and isn't like my Google Reader where I have over 1,000 unread items (that I feel compelled to read!)
Then comes LinkedIn, the "professional" social network. I always defined LinkedIn as a different social network, much like how twitter is a different one compared to Facebook. It was more... professional? The idea makes sense, as it gives people someplace to post their 'résumé' and make connections. But how efficient is LinkedIn in building your résumé, finding new opportunities, and advancing your career?
Honesty, I have no idea...
I have never heard of anyone speak how LinkedIn has helped their career, nor have I heard of anyone finding a job through the site. I tend to hear more about Craigslist, and I can personally vouch for (real) job posting sites because the company I have worked at for the last 18 months found me on Monster. I have also read that Facebook is becoming more popular with finding a job, although I don't have the link to that article.
So why LinkedIn? because it makes sense to a lot of people. They can have a professional identity on one social network meant for professionals, and a personal identity on the other network(s) if chosen. You can connect with you bosses and not worry about them seeing the status update about how plastered you got the night before. I believe LinkedIn's is a good safe haven for people's identity, although I am not sure how safe it is.
But that brings up the whole point of question at hand. LinkedIn now appears no more than another social network that doesn't add much value to your résumé. If a potential employer is reviewing you online, do you think he/she will go to your LinkedIn account to see the same information as what you gave them on your résumé? No. If they were searching for you online, they would look for a twitter account or Facebook account to find out more of who you are, as an individual.
It makes it hard to really see any benefit to having a LinkedIn account. Especially in knowing the main focus of all social networks is data mining, you have to ask if the site you rarely visit is really worth it. Does is add anything to real networking, résumés, job posting sites, and job hunting? I highly doubt it.
I will sleep on it, but most likely will drop my profile.
Update 11/19: Officially Deleted. I might set one up later, but it would strictly be after I set up a good profile website.
