$vck It Trebek

[petefs]

Happy birthday to me!

This shameless self-congratulation on 1,000 posts was brought to you by loads of beer.

Let the 'look at that vain rat' scowls ensue :D

[CyanBlue]

Haha... Happy Birthday and 1000th post, petefs... ;)

Don't drink too much beer... Your tummy might explode... :D

[petefs]

I may get motion-sick sometimes, but my tummy is iron-clad when it comes to beer!

It's not my birthday, I'm just a lunatic : >

Thanks for the well-wishes, and .02 for the first one to follow up on the subject :b

[splict]

Look at that vain rat!!! :mad:




:rolleyes: ;) thanks for all your helpful posts!

[petefs]

Man, I was hoping for something like "A leather glove."

but I'll take the words of thanks -- I'll give you yours in 76 posts ; )

[CyanBlue]

Hm... I'd rather take another bottle of beer rather than the glove... I had lots of people saying I owe you a beer when I see you, but they never send me a plane ticket... :D

[petefs]

Bah, it's an SNL skit! One of the Celebrity Jeapordy ones : )

Trebek: "You drink out of this."
Sean Connery: "A leather glove."

the subject is a reference to the same series of skits :b

I'll buy you a beer for a plane ticket. I know that's not what you're offering, I'm just sayin... : )

Seriously, though, if you ever end up in my neck of the woods lookin for a vacation house or something, I owe you a beer ; )

[CyanBlue]

Haha... SNL... It's been a while since I haven't watched it... The TV is in the second floor and I am sitting in front of the computer in the third floor... My butt is too heavy to move downstairs for TV after we moved to this place... :(

I sure will buy you one if I ever go down there... I know I owe you one... :)

[petefs]

Yeah, I'm glad my house is only one floor, I'd never make it to the second floor ; )

[CyanBlue]

Hehe... I know it was a bad choice... Good exercise facility though... :D

[BadBadNeil]

Happy Bday ;)

How does this beer offer work now? :D

[petefs]

show up at my office and I'll buy you a beer :b

[BadBadNeil]

I'll be in NC for a roadtrip in April looking for houses! Flash party :)

[petefs]

Hey, you're always welcome to drop by the office if you're in the Outer Banks -- the beer offer still stands. Flash party indeed! The address is on the website (the one listed in my profile)

[CyanBlue]

Go squeeze his neck for a new job as well... :D

[petefs]

all full, nothing to see here!

[Xeef]

con grat 1K

:)

[BadBadNeil]

Hey, you're always welcome to drop by the office if you're in the Outer Banks -- the beer offer still stands. Flash party indeed! The address is on the website (the one listed in my profile)

Cool, I'll probably be in Raleigh or Charlotte but if im out there, if you see a random person with a mexican girl in your shop asking if we can buy petefs a belated birthday drink you'll know who it is ;) If i end up moving down there, i'll take a trip definetely.

Go squeeze his neck for a new job as well... :D

haha, I'm probably going to setup shop down there like i've been doing and hire a few programming contractors on the side. That is assuming I like NC, and if the client potential is big enough!

[petefs]

hahahahaha, well random people show up all the time, but the mexican girl should help tip me off : > It's just "Pete", if you call me Petefs in front of my partners I'll never hear the end of it!

And if you need programming contractors on the side, we have some pretty talented people to offer outsourced work if our schedules match -- keep that in mind : )

[CyanBlue]

Of course, my wife won't be able to tell what the heck is CyanBlue... :D
My 100% support for your shop and petefs in the contractor line... He's da man, BadBadNeil... :)

[splict]

I'm guessing its okay to go OT in this thread... ;)

Pete, I checked out the frontsidedesign site. Cool stuff - nice and clean. :) Although, when I click on the mysteryman button ('US' section) it tries to load nothing and I get stuck not being able to click on anything else.

Whats up with the fullsail "affiliation"? did you all do one of their sites or is there more to it than that?

I checked out your site but it wouldn't load the swf. Looking at the source, the embed tag points to index8.swf which doesn't exist on your server and the object tag points to index10.swf which doesn't appear finished (not functional). Whats up? got a site coming up?

[petefs]

CB: Thanks for the vote of confidence ^_^ We have a fourth man coming in finally, a much better programmer than me (cog sci + comp sci background) -- it should free me up to do more design and visual scripting, and get rid of a lot of the corner-cutting we've been doing to keep up with the contracts : )

splict: of course, this thread is OT in it's very incarnation :b

1. frontsidedesign -- Thanks ^_^

2. US section -- our server has been under an incredible load lately due to one of our e-commerce clients getting an inordinate amount of traffic lately. A good thing, to be sure, but it's causing our database connections to bog &&|| time-out. We're doing some optimization tonight, and we'll probably have to move more RAM into that machine.

3. Full Sail - This company was formed by two Full Sail alumni's, nothing much more than that to tell the truth -- we do other outsourced work with other alumni's, and keep in touch with them to find the hot new talent ; )

4. My site - nonexistent... no time to work on a personal site. the non-functional index10.swf was just an idea, a sketch. I'll get time for it some day.

Thanks for checking things out! We're woefully behind updating our portfolio, but expect an update in the next few weeks : ) We always appreciate feedback!

[splict]

look foward to the update! I definately hear you about no time for a personal site - I guess thats good and bad.

I asked about full sail 'cause I'm an alumn, too. Computer Animation '01 I think it was.

[petefs]

DM Mar 2002 ^_^

I may have even seen you, eh? I started Jan 01 ^_^ Small world.

[BadBadNeil]

hahahahaha, well random people show up all the time, but the mexican girl should help tip me off : > It's just "Pete", if you call me Petefs in front of my partners I'll never hear the end of it!

And if you need programming contractors on the side, we have some pretty talented people to offer outsourced work if our schedules match -- keep that in mind : )
So does that mean that people have come in before calling you Petef, haha. I actually called a few people by their internet nicknames before that I met when we all went to a club. Was a weird situation but we all got a laugh out of it.

Does your studio handle pretty much anything programming wise?

Of course, my wife won't be able to tell what the heck is CyanBlue... :D
My 100% support for your shop and petefs in the contractor line... He's da man, BadBadNeil... :)
We should all have a meet sometime, if I get down there. I'll make sure to call you CyanBlue, hehe.

Thanks for the support ;)
It will be tough building connections from scratch again, I can't really get business cards, mailers etc printed until I have an address to go to and a phone number :) At least I know that there are a few people that I know that can handle more advanced programming, will allow me to get bigger projects.

[Colin Campbell]

Happy birthday and congrats :)

[petefs]

BadBadNeil (can I call you BBN?): Nobody's ever called me PeteFS (the FS is for frontside, get it? :b) -- but nicknames fly like ... flying things ... in our office : )

We specialize in RIA's as far as programming goes, but we're able to handle other things. The newest member of the team, when he gets here, will be able to flesh out the weak-spots in the team. He specializes in neural networks, learning mechanisms, analysis, pattern recognition, that sort of thing... but should be able to handle other things as well ^_^ We're pretty flexible, so feel free to throw anything at me and I'll give you a straight-forward and honest reply regaurding how our skill-sets match up!

Colin: It's still not my birthday, that was part of my shameless attention getting ploy ; )

But thanks, and nice to see your e-face around here again!! : )

[splict]

I was CA March or May '01 (I forget). I'm happy you got a nice job, though. So many people that went there were expecting to get handed jobs on there way out and, unfortunately that wasn't the case. :(

RIA's, huh? Messed with Flex at all? I've played a little with it and Flex Designer.... Too bad about the price tag (although I think its reasonable for bigger companies) cause so far I like it. I was able to throw some test stuff together pretty quick - of course we all know how different test stuff and live apps are. But it was still cool.

[petefs]

As far as the job, I've gone through two start-ups (this being the second) since then. I hardly got a nice job, rather I created one -- and I've got the debt to prove it ^_^

To tell the truth, I went to school because my grandfather set education money aside for me and I wanted to please my parents. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet people, and with abundant lab-time it was a far-sight better than my other educational options -- but I've always been self-taught and I came into the program knowing the majority of what was taught :b

Flex is out of our price-range at the moment, but having fiddled with it it's certainly in the future budget. I'm currently familiarizing myself with the Ariaware platform as time permits, but the joe-projects pay the bills right now ^_^

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... It's bad that Flex is way over the nose of our/company budget, but it sure is a good tool to create something very quick in a reasonable time... Not sure how many copies are actually sold in Macromedia though...

Good any link to your RIAs, petefs??? Love to see what you guys have been developing... :)

So, you two went to the same school, and me and BadBadNeil went to the same school... Small world, eh??? :D

[petefs]

my ex-girlfriend is going to SCAD right now : ) even smaller world, eh?

I'll get back to you on the RIA front, I'm going to bed right now : ) You should too!

[CyanBlue]

Bed??? Hm... I've got very good and comfy chair... Why would I need a bed for??? :D

[BadBadNeil]

As far as the job, I've gone through two start-ups (this being the second) since then. I hardly got a nice job, rather I created one -- and I've got the debt to prove it ^_^

To tell the truth, I went to school because my grandfather set education money aside for me and I wanted to please my parents. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet people, and with abundant lab-time it was a far-sight better than my other educational options -- but I've always been self-taught and I came into the program knowing the majority of what was taught :b

Flex is out of our price-range at the moment, but having fiddled with it it's certainly in the future budget. I'm currently familiarizing myself with the Ariaware platform as time permits, but the joe-projects pay the bills right now ^_^

You can call me Neil, or BBN if you prefer that (although it sounds like a news station).

I'll definetely add you to my palm contact list, is the website information correct or do you have a personal business number you use? When you say RIA, in internet applications you mean shopping carts, databases, etc right?

I'm curious about a few things since you seem to be past the position I am in now currently. How did your startup work with this company? Did you have to get outside funding to open the business, purchase equipment, lease the building etc? Did you have to formalize a business plan and make a presentation to lenders/business partners or did you borrow against equity?

Also what do you think of NC? Do you think the RTP area around raleigh would have good business potential based on what you have seen as well as other areas such as the Charlotte Greensboro areas? Is the weather reasonable (im trying to get away from the cold and rediculous cost of living here).

I can't believe all of us went to SCAD, and we all sort of learned most of what we know on our own :) My best friend was going to go to SCAD too and his friend left last spring for there, but he ended up moving to providence with his girl instead.

[Colin Campbell]

Colin: It's still not my birthday, that was part of my shameless attention getting ploy ; )

Thats what I get for not reading the whole thread :D

[petefs]

Neil: The website information is correct, you can just ask for Pete or if nobody's here the phone-system will tell you how to get to my voicemail box ^_^

Shopping-carts, databases, etc... yes ^_^

As far as startup, we started by working renegade-style with our own copies of software in a home-based office (a side-room, affectionately called "Conference Room A". "Conference Room B" was the picnic-table outside :b). Once we formed a client-base and started making enough money we took out a relatively small bank-loan to cover the down-payment and furniture/equipment costs for a new office, and we've been here since. We still used our own computers until we could afford work machines and purchase group-licenses for the software we use. So essentially we went the bare-bones use whatever paper you can find for toilet-paper sort of approach ^_^

A big part of the reason we did that is because in the first startup, which consisted of an entirely different group of people, we made a formal business plan with price/cost projections and everything, and shopped out to VCs and independant investors until we were able to meet our startup cost. Because of the high cost of start-up for a High-Def Post/Production company (1.5M initial investment) we gave far too much control to power-hungry investors with no proper knowledge of the industry, and ended up taking a big dive after a year of hard work.

As far as NC, we're far away from any major NC metropolitan area. Raleigh is 4.5 hours away from here, for example, and that's the closest major city. There's certainly business to be had in those areas, but we do a lot of work out of state and sometimes even out of country -- it's one of the many advantages of working in this sort of industry : ) I just like living at the beach, although San Juan was better because of the high population density in my area ; ) I'm just a city-boy who loves nature, it's difficult! ^^

Weather...well, here in the Outer Banks the summer, fall, and spring are very nice. The winter is bitter cold, but most of that is because the Outer Banks is the windiest place on the entire East Coast. That's why the Wright Brothers staged the First Flight here ^_^ It should be better inland, so I'd guess it's very nice. Warmer than CT by far, but not as close to NYC ; )

Feel free to AIM me anytime, too! It's easier to talk there about things like this : )

Colin: I rarely read the whole thread myself :b

[BadBadNeil]

Great info Pete, thats exactly the stuff I wanted to know. I just need to find a picnic table... I was a little worried about doing the VC route so I just stayed on my own, and I will probably do that and just build slowly. At the moment I've been saving more for a house as opposed to putting money directly into the business but hopefully that will change next year. I have big visions! Just need money to accomplish them :)

You lived in San Juan? We're going there this summer to visit my Grandfather. He lives in Aguada. Can't wait!

I'll add you to my IM list, much easier as you said!

[petefs]

Aguadilla you mean? My Uncle used to live there when he was in the Coast Guard, there's some fantastic scuba-diving in that area. It's the other end of the island, but it's so easy to drive anywhere for a day-trip. If you have time for sightseeing, I highly advise the following:

1) El Yunque. Us Americans rarely get to see a true rainforest, and even though it's a touristy thing to do it's worth seeing.

2) Old San Juan. I used to live on Calle de San Francisco (in the peach building adjacent to the large square with a statue of San Cristobal in the center ^_^). It's a unique and fascinating portion of the city revolving around a shopping-littered crowded cobblestone-paved, art galleries, bars, and a series of beautiful forts. There's something called the Princepesa walk that goes around the biggest of the island's forts, a perfect walk for sunset, after which you can head off to the bar district and have some drinks (although the nightlife doesn't pick up until very late)

3) If your Grandfather or any other locals knows how to get there, and you're up for some serious excercise, there's a not often visited very large and amazingly beautiful watterfal in Barranquitas. I believe it's the largest on the island. It's a difficult hour walk each way from the closest place to park, including a steep walk down to the riverbed and a trek through a non-tourist-friendly rocky riverbed...but if you feel up to it, it was the most enjoyable thing I did the entire time I was there. You really should be in good shape or expect serious chest-pains, I kid you not ^_^ But that's why it's so beautiful, nobody in their right mind goes there! You <will> need a guide to find it, however.

4) Ponce is historically interesting and is rather close to Aquadilla. It's the second largest city in Puerto Rico. An easy day-trip, and there's a very delicious ice-cream shop in the city square downtown ^_^

5) There is a ferry that leaves twice daily from Fajardo going to Culebra, which boasts what many travel resources call some of the top-10 beaches in the world. White-sand low sedimentation crystal-clear water beaches. An unforgettable day-trip, but wake up early and get on the first ferry so you have enough time : ) You'll need to stay overnight in the greater San Juan area most likely to insure you get there in time, Fajardo is a relatively short drive from there.

6) Arrecibo Observatory. In Arrecibo, an hour or so away from Aguadilla, there world's largest radio-antennae resides. It's an impressive site.

7) Rincon. On the south coast, west of Ponce, is one of the top-10 surfing beaches in the world. It's pretty, and close to Aguadilla.

There's way more than that to see, but those were my favourites. For the most part the drives themselves are worth it. IM me sometime if you're interested in any of those, especially San Juan so I can tell you the spots to hit ^_^

As far as business, you're doing the right thing. We live in a very easily scaled industry, all you need is power, a computer, some software, and tons of man-hours!