Author Archives: Jon

The Great Culling

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bunny_pancake1

Every ADD blogger who has ever started their own personal site and maintained it over the course of several years knows about the great culling. I’ve come to a point where I realize that this site, and a couple of the others that I attempt to add content to, are terribly out of date with their design, coding, cohesiveness, and content. I laughed the other day while reading through a couple of the old posts on this site because they were so badly written and off topic.
G@C has gone through several variations since its inception, and a new change is on the horizon. I’ll be culling the goofy or off-topic posts and bringing over some of the content from my other sites. It’s time to streamline my web footprint. Even this post will get pulled when the great culling occurs.
Let me know in the comments if you have any posts you’d like kept. Otherwise, everything is on the chopping block and in danger of going away.
The G@C site will also be fully re-designed so as to integrate smoothly with several satellite social networking sites where I’m already hosting content. The YouTube channel will also undergo a revamp and be culled to match with G@C. Speaking of which, after a little trial and error I’ll be pulling together a schedule to create and post regular content for the YouTube channel. The content will tie into the posts on the G@C site and events or hangouts on the G+ page.
Xonikz.com will also be totally revamped. The content currently at that address is in desperate need of a reality check. I had a grand scheme in mind to expand my footprint into a variety of topics by using separated industries. I’ve rethought that as it is impossible to maintain and entirely unnecessary. I’ll never let the URL go as it’s been my thing for years and years, but it is going to be a bit more back-burner than it currently appears. I’m thinking it might make for a good front-end to squish all of the satellites and content sites into one place. I don’t know. I’ll have to figure that one out later. It might just become a specifically gaming related site, or film… I have no idea.

The great culling is scheduled for the end of the month. See you then.

Jon is starting a podcast?

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Yup, I’m trying my feeble hand at podcast video. It’ll start out rough, but that’s OK. It’s my way of trying to catch up on re-learning some the methods I went to school to get a degree in: Video Production. It’s also the one thing I consume a lot of and therefore think I should join in producing for the masses. The Podcast doesn’t have a direct theme or anything yet, but I’ll develop some structure along the way. If you have thoughts about the podcast and things you think would add to its value, let me know in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you.

Non-Rotary Ceiling Fan

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low-profile_non-rotary_computer-fan_ceiling-fan_Jon Decker

I really wanted to have a ceiling fan in the basement studio, but the ceiling is only 7.5′ high. I didn’t want to keep catching my light-stands on it every time I set up to do a portrait shoot. Therefore, I made a non-rotary, low-profile ceiling fan from six computer fans and a super-low-profile, high-output LED light. It’s only 4″ from the ceiling at the tip of the light dome. It’s not perfect, primarily due to the fact that I used scrap birch plywood and a Dremel to do most of the cutting; but it’s quiet, creates a noticeable breeze, and was built for less than the price of a cheap ceiling fan.

Sownow

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sownowVic_01

A couple years ago I was living in Brooklyn and stifled by the “thick air” in the summer time. I had this great idea that I was going to start an epic campaign to help people lower their carbon footprint ratio by raising their oxygen production. The way I was going to do this was by selling little business card sized, seed-impregnated, paper planters and call them Sownow.

I researched which plants that grew the fastest with minimal care and nutrients. I studied how to press plant-food into a paper-like structure to make into a Sownow card. I wanted to save the world from people. I wanted to save people from themselves. I wanted to make cash doing it. It was a grand scheme about getting paid to spread easy to grow plants all over the nation. I might be remembered as the Johnny Appleseed of my generation.

I was on fire with the project. I made up a business plan. I tested the product in my own apartment window box. I got excited. I designed a logo, ad, and color theme. I found others who were trying something similar. I saw they hadn’t found a paying market for their product. I got bored. I bailed on the project before I sunk any real money into it. I forgot about saving the world. I moved.

I just found the graphics while cleaning out my storage drive. They still look nifty. I live in Portland, Maine now and we have the cleanest air in the country. There is no market here for anything like Sownow because there’s already trees. There’s no market in New York because there’s no open ground. It’s still a good idea. I’m just never going to follow through on this one.

I share it with you for posterity.