"I've got a great idea for a website!"

Being in my line of work is great. It's fun, challenging, rewarding and all that. It definitely beats flippin' burgers. But if I had to think of one major drawback, it would probably be the fact that few people know what I ACTUALLY do, nor to they understand the complexity and worth of it.

Much like somebody who works on cars for a living will get a phone call from a friend looking for some cheap labor any time their car is acting a little bit funky, I've had friends approach me with a look on their face that says it before their mouth ever does. "I've got an idea for a web site!"

This generally yields one of three outcomes:

1. Their "idea" is actually something they've already seen and think they have an original variation of (they don't).

2. Their "idea", though slightly original, is something that would generally take an entire staff of programmers months, if not years, along with LOTS of money to actualize. The friend expects me to make this happen by myself with no monetary backing whatsoever.

3. They really just have a domain name in mind, which is in no way descriptive of what the site will do. Odds are they also haven't bothered to check that domain for availability, which means I will have to, only to find that it's a porn site laden with viruses.

Sometimes I get a combination of those things.

Now let's set aside any conflict of interest of making web sites on the side whilst gainfully employed by a web design company. Let's just throw that non-compete clause in my contract out the window.

If some friends of mine have a band and they want me to design them a simple site or fix/add features to their existing one, that's really not a problem. In fact, I'm happy to do that, considering these friends in bands will often get me into shows for free and things like that. Plus, being friends, I get to take more artistic liberties than I would with a client and, if they don't like it, I can tell them tough doodoo.

But when a friend (or worse, an acquaintance) comes up to me with a glimmer in their eye and mutters this post's eponymous phrase, only to pitch to me something like "A Facebook for people who hate Facebook. Call it Hatebook." or any variation of search engine, my blood runs cold.

I try to calmly explain the complexity of what they're suggesting, and the workload they would be asking me to take on during my free time. That's when I usually get hit with "I'll help you!" I don’t want to knock any of my friends’ abilities or their intelligence in anyway, but the odds of them being any actual help to me are nil.

So, were I to take on any such project, what I would essentially end up doing is a boatload of work while someone with no real knowledge base in my profession feeding me “suggestions” while offering no payment for my time. What’s not to like about that situation?

So I guess all I’m really saying is, if you’ve got a “great” idea for a website, before you approach somebody in the web biz on their free time (honestly, if there’s a beer in my hand, it’d better be the best idea anybody has ever come up with), make sure you have a serious grasp of what that idea entails. Google is an amazing resource for the unknowledgeable to get a basic understanding of what they’re looking for and how feasible it is.

And if you’ve really got a REAL idea for a website, along with the commitment (financial and personal) to making that idea into a reality, well, you know I do this for a living, right?

This darn weather...

The entire LogicMaze staff would like to thank all of our friends, family and clients for the amount of understanding we have received over the last few days.
We lost all power to our offices on Tuesday night. Three of our staff members also lost all power to their homes. We moved our equipment to a residence Wednesday morning and almost immediately lost power to that residence. We were able to stay connected by laptop and Alltel broadband card just enough to troubleshoot and keep everyone's websites running. We are completely back up and functional as of this morning (Friday, Dec 14th) but we will probably not be back on schedule with project work until Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Thanks again, and our thoughts are with everyone out there who had a rough go with this weather.

With this kind of weather. . .

As ridiculously slick as everthing has gotten lately, I'll bet we all wish that we had a 4x4.

Effective Industrial Maintenance

In the current economic situation, it's no doubt that a business must be run as efficiently as possible. That's where Peterson Predictive Maintenance comes into the picture. Through use of infrared imaging and ultrasound testing, they are able to detect problems with machinery in advance, saving potentially millions of dollars and repairs and routine maintenance.

It's a sound idea for any industrial business looking to cut costs, rather than staff.

Kansas Drivers

I recently rejoined the illustrious mass that is Kansas drivers when I purchased a car. In my hiatus, I had forgotten that the bulk of them are crazy. It's almost enough to necessitate an armor-plated vehicle just to ensure my safety. I actually saw somebody eating and talking on their cell phone at the same time whilst driving. When I say I saw them, I mean I got a very up close view when they swerved, erratically, into my lane without looking. Luckily, Mario Andretti has nothing on me. I deftly avoided an accident in that instance. People like this are prime candidates for license suspension.

The problem is that these people somehow manage to maintain their Kansas drivers license, despite their indifference toward common sense and the safety of others.

Here's another example: Have you ever seen somebody driving with their left foot hanging out the window? What could possibly put the idea in somebody's head that it's a good idea to have a critical appendage like a foot jutting from the window for all to see? Maybe he had to air it out. I don't know. I couldn't possibly begin to pretend to know what would possess someone to do that. The point is it's dangerous. Such behavior is grounds for immediate drivers license revocation in my book. And potentially chemical castration.

That's the end of my rant, ladies and gentlemen.

All my hard work down the drain!

For the past several months I have kinda ignored my duties here at LogicMaze to work on my first Novel.

Here's the premise of the story:

A bunch of guys who are nerds and geeks in the truest sense have decided to band together. The form a website about being nerdy and geeky and profess their wisdom and pride in such matters. Then out of nowhere their Golden Calf type idol loses some weight, shaves his head, gets a decent wardrobe and they turn on him. They comlpetely destroy his life by inferring he is a sell out and they now hate him. Ends up though that the guy is making Bazillions of dollars is actually a cool guy and has the greatest job in the world and somehow he doesn't seem to give a rat's ass what these guys think, nor should any other human being in the world.

Anyhow that's the story, I took it to my lawyers and literary agent and we were just about to start pitching it to publishers when our crack legal staff discovered someone else had already written this exact same story. HERE IT IS!!

CRAP!! Back to the drawing board.

Paintball Extravaganza in Hutchinson, KS

Ever make a great plan only to get to excited about what you are going to go do and forget the whole damn plan and end up having to wing it?

The LogicMaze staff (most of us) and some of our friends/family went paintballing last Thursday at Extreme Crossfire.

We forgot to call everyone and remind them before the day of the party, only 10 of the 20 people we invited remembered to put it on their schedule.

We forgot to bring a camera, not one single picture was taken all night.

We still had an incredible time and will definitely be planning another party out there. What a great place for a company party or a birthday party. Great people running the place that are honestly concerned about whether or not you feel like you got your moneys worth. If you are within driving distance of Hutchinson, Ks and want to have some great, extremely affordable fun. Give them a call at (620) 664-7262 or check out their site here!

Tamara, who is the boss around here got some embarrassing bruises. Might ask here about them next time you run into here!!!!