Jon’s blog

Well. I started a new job today and it went quite well and as a result I shelved the longer but unfinished U of J: 201 post I’d planned for today. That means, you guessed it, it’s time for a visit from the Holiday Animal! This holiday season it comes bearing some pretty keen gifts indeed.

1. Start.io. I’ve never been a homepage kinda guy, more an about:blank kind. This service has very swiftly changed my mind.
2. Teux Deux. Likewise, I’ve never gone in much for to do lists. I keep them and forget. I remember but don’t heed their articles. This service may be changing my mind. It also may not be. A few minor enhancements would change that and they’ve even provided a simple feedback interface so, who knows, maybe they’ll adopt my suggestions.
3. Friend plug, I: A longtime writer buddy of mine is running a kickstarter drive to raise funds for a top quality second edition print run of his self-published novel, A Life Transparent. The goodie bag rewards for donations are copious and generous. If you’re into supporting indie lit, this is about as independent as it gets. Check it out. (Another dear friend put together that book trailer. I’m undecided on the idea of book trailers but no bones about it she did a classy job.)
4. Friend plug, II: Another longtime writer buddy is running a very intriguing essay series on video games as mediums of fictional storytelling. I should say active and interactive storytelling, collaboration between audience and what you might crudely lump together under the title author. I’m quite enjoying it so far. He’s captured a number of ideas I’ve flirted with over the years but have never been able to articulate. For those of you daunted by the word essay, don’t worry, it’s got pictures.
5. Khan Academy. Apparently some guy thinks he can revolutionize education by providing it for free online? Apparently it’s he’s right? It’s heavy on the maths and sciences at present, but the potential is astounding. I’m not sure how similar or dissimilar it is to Open University — I have yet to give that more than a cursory look.
6. Game Seeds. This is too cool. A game about making games. It’s designed with video games in mind but I envision applications well beyond. With a few simple alterations this could easily be a fun, simplifying, routine-breaking way to plot out stories and novels and any other form of narrative. My birthday is totally coming up, hint hint.
7. Last but not least a J Designs plug. I finished this sample a while ago, I just haven’t mentioned it. Bitmap. Cute and fun but also functional, built to showcase features of HTML5. Try the stage select!

Today is my dad’s 67th birthday and yesterday was my baby sister’s first wedding anniversary and next month I turn thirty. I still get schoolchild-giddy over robots, though, so I don’t feel old yet.

~J

Tags: dayjob, holiday animal, keen gear, link dump

This entry was posted on Monday, July 5th, 2010 at 11.27 pm and is filed under Link, Personal, Product, Topical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.