Posts Tagged ‘Long Time’

The Messy Launch of geo.pick

written by Drew | 2009.316 Fri 13 Nov

My current web project is called geo.pick, which is basically a web site that picks a city and country at random from anywhere in the world. A far as I knew when I started the project, nothing like it existed anywhere on the Internet.

geo-pick.com screen capture 2009-11-13-11-25-12I had actually launched geo.pick back in March, where it was called “Geo-Pick”. I remember it took an incredibly long time to decide on a name for the site, and when it came to purchasing a domain name only the hyphenated version of “geopick” was available.

This new version, which was launched this morning, has a nicer interface than the previous version, but unfortunately it has the same level of functionality. I had hoped to launch a fuller-featured site by this morning, but it was a lot harder than I’d expected – the site runs on an alpha version of my Foley Engine, which is still in a disorganised mess.

I decided to upload everything I had at the time this morning, having set myself an artificial deadline of today, because I couldn’t stand to see the site in its former state. Even so, I found myself being incredibly stressed that things weren’t moving as quickly (or as reliably) as I’d liked. I think I’ll have to spend a lot of time working on how to streamline things, and make them more efficient in future.

Anyhow, please visit the new geo.pick site if you have a spare moment, and provide some feedback and your suggestions for the site’s future.

Zero Is The Loneliest Number

written by Drew | 2009.139 Wed 20 May

There’s a song that claims that the number one is the loneliest of all numbers. I don’t know who it’s by, or how it goes.

I’m here tonight, before I go to bed, to tell you that it’s bullcrap. Zero is easily the loneliest number, certainly more so than one. Zero is such a lonely number, it’s not even technically a number.

So I guess you’re wondering why I’ve made that claim? Simple:

  • how do you feel when you have 0 new messages in your inbox?
  • how do you feel when you have 0 new voicemail messages?
  • Or perhaps 0 matches from last night’s speed dating event?
  • Maybe there’s 0 friends in your friend list online?
  • 0 people interested in you?
  • 0 funds left in your bank account (and you have 0 friends, coincidentally)?

Some people don’t mind seeing zeros from time to time, because they have all kinds of numbers to play with. But imagine a life where zero was the only number to present itself. No matter how hard you worked or tried, zero would be the only thing you’ll have to show for it.

Some poeople go their whole lives only seeing zeroes, so much so that they begin to believe that they themselves are nothing.

The thing is, when you’ve been around zero for a long time, suddenly one sounds and feels a lot better. You become a lot more appreciative – and happier -when you have just one.

As was mentioned in the song Just Be Good To Me (another tear-jerker), would you rather have a piece of something, than all of nothing?

Zero is a lot lonelier than one has ever been.