So now that all the major issues have been taken care of... I'm off on vacation for the next 2.5 weeks. I won't have access to a computer, so no BZP during that time.
Don't miss me too much!
One of the fun things about working here is getting to see some artwork that might otherwise not be released. One is of the Ignika, which I'm turning into a wallpaper. It's an excellent image, and I'm using it as my desktop wallpaper now - it'll be on BIONICLE.com downloads next year. But I thought you might like a little preview...
This is to answer the masses of PMs I've received about the script for Comic 12.5...
"It'll be up when I can put it up."
We're going to launch the updated web site tomorrow, as has long been announced, so it's safe to assume that it'll be included in that update.
Just a random update on various things in the BinkLife.
I'm currently in Seattle to attend BrickCon (formerly NW BrickCon) and hang with my posse. It's been a while since I've seen my AFOL friends in person, so I'm looking forward to it. I've been through the display, and the BIONCLE area is already set up, looks like Roa McToa's stuff... and somebody's been worshipping at the Church o' Cajun just a liiiiiiittle too much, methinks - but in a good way. Some amazing stuff there, and I'm sure th
I should know by now that I'd start getting spammed at 12:01 January 1st about when the site will be updated. So, to answer the literally dozens of PMs I've gotten, here is what I can tell you.
I don't work on weekends and holidays, so don't expect updates of the site during those times. I've already said "early January" so you'll need to be patient until the site is updated. Although I do have a target date and time to release the site, I refuse to publish that date, because if the site doesn
Posting for my records mostly, but you might be interested...
The server's been running like a one-legged dispeptic sloth that's been dead for a month. It's been a source of much frustration - it vexed me mightily. So tonight I did one of my bi-weekly database backups, and checked around to make sure the files were all where they were supposed to be.
They weren't.
Not sure if this is the root cause of the server slowing down, but I discovered that the preferences file for the database w
I just found out that I'll get to go to LEGO World for a couple of days - woohoo! It's being held (as usual) in Zwolle, The Netherlands. I've been to several US events (notably BrickFest and NW BrickCon - which is coming up) but never to the European ones. I just missed 1000Steineland, but I'm hoping to go next year.
LEGO World is a huge public event with thousands of visitors. It's more of a public expo than an AFOL convention, although there are elements of both. I'll get to go in my offici
I've gotten several questions from people about the special code in the BrickMaster magazine, for the Destral Cycle instructions. Fact is, that's handled by the LEGO Club people, and I don't have anything to do with it, so I can't say when it will be live. However, I have sent an email to the Club producer asking about it, and if/when I find out when it'll be live, I'll post here to let you know.
No, I won't be revealing the code, it's part of the "added value" for BrickMaster.
EDIT: Recei
And here we have Game 6, which should hit your browser next week.
Update: Due to circumstances I can't control, the game will probably be delayed by about a week.
Gravity Hurts
Tension is rising
Gravity hurts
Everything's falling apart
Choosing the right side
Choosing our faith
Choosing is what we must do
Everyone's counting on you
For freedom we rise
Learn to fly
Reach the sky
Legend will carry you
...thousands of miles
Take a stand
Hold the land
Make sure that everyone's
...ready to win
Find the speed
All you need
Team up for battle
We fly, fly...
We fly
Gravity hurts
Creatures keep coming
Reaching within
Stealth
I had so much planned out for this weekend, too... but I lost most of it by being flat on my back with snotrags stuffed up my snout. Indelicate, yet annoyingly accurate. Only last night about 10 o'clock did the fever break and my brain returned to whatever semblance of normal it ever reaches.
And it's not so much being achy and snotty and generally miserable as knowing I've lost a full day of billable work (as a contractor, I don't get paid sick days). That hurt. Fortunately, the week before
It seems that for the most part, the Mata Nui Saga is being well accepted. I agree with most of the people saying the cool art, coupled with the excellent voiceover by Michael Dorn, really lends BIONICLE an epic feeling - which is exactly what we wanted. I'm pleased that for the most people are enjoying it.
There are two things that come up regularly, which I'd like to quickly address: Scale of the robots, and timing of all story media.
First, the scale.
Yes, the scale is difficult to p
It was a long week, but one in which I knew a lot more on Friday than on Monday. I've been learning a lot, getting my head around all the tasks and processes that I need to know to do this job, and there's a lot more than you might imagine.
But one part stands out - I pushed my first change live on the site. It was a small little thing, really... finding a song lyrics file that was too big (5MB for a one-page PDF), I sampled it down and went through the process of updating BIONICLE.com.
Wh
As I type this, BZP is currently hosting more than 1,000 concurrent users. This would be unthinkable a month ago. So I guess all the pain has been worth it.
Earlier today, we set a record with 1,250 concurrent users - most of them visitors. but I tell ya, it's a thrill seeing that many people online at once, and not having to babysit the server to make sure it's able to handle them all.
Yep. It's a gooooood feeling.
Edit 7/9/07: We just blasted the old record again, this time to 1,364 c
Contrary to what I've been told, employees aren't gardens. If you heap manure on them, you're not gonna get flowers back. It's a pity my boss hasn't realized this.
OK, I'm as done with the board upgrades as I intend to get. Spinnies and other topic-level hacks have been added back in, and the big bugs that have been sent to me have been resolved to the best of my knowledge.
I know there will be people who will want things differently, or will send in more bugs or feature requests, but I'm afraid more changes just aren't going to happen any time soon. Over the last month, very nearly all my "free" time has been sucked into BZP, working one crisis or anot
This is sooooo typical...
I have two equally compelling things that happen at the same time. And yes, I could do both, but it would mean delayed gratification and I'm just not into that. So I'm the donkey stuck between two piles of food.
One the one hand, I've been invited to the LEGO "Toy Fair" preview in New York next month. They'll have events and information and a preview of the 2007 lineup (some of which has leaked already). It's an invitation-only party that I've been invited to for
Fluorescent lights in the cramped break room banished all shadows from the stained linoleum counter, and cast the ancient microwave into stark contrast with beige cabinets above. The smell of cheap coffee brewing in long-unwashed filters was slightly nauseating, but I masked it by dumping a packet of hot chocolate into the three-quarters filled paper cup. Light brown powder shimmered on top of the black sea of coffee, forming islands and archipeligos and peninsulas. Surface tension held the powd
You guys are getting more patient. I've only gotten a handful of anxious "When will BIONICLE.com be updated???" PMs lately.
I'm working on getting the site updated as soon as I can. All my stuff is done (and has been for a month), I'm just waiting for others to have the time to work on their parts. There are some good things for you to get, including a really nice desktop image you haven't seen yet. The game is done but won't launch at the same time as the product updates.
With luck, it'll
OK, the fest is now over, and I'm slowly getting back to whatever passes for "normal" for me. I haven't plugged in my camera yet to get the pictures, so I don't have anything to show. But you can troll Brickshelf if you want to find them, or Flickr.
Some highlights: Seeing the BIONICLE tables filled with MOCs, while the Space table had one - ONE - moonbase and a few spaceships. Roa McToa building the Emerald Night train - and getting it mostly right! Wacky Racers: one of the Legoland designer
Hours and hours and hours spent on LSW II demo... and I can't for the life of me find that last bonus canister! I can't believe how much it's bugging me, and how many times I've run through the entire level (at about 1.5 hours a shot). When what I should be doing is writing about how cool Bionicle Heroes is (that should finally be done tonight, hopefully, for a publication time of later in the week).
The good news, I guess, is that LSW II is gonna be a huge hit, and I'm getting a head start.
Have you ever felt like you had so much to do that you don't know where to start? I've got that feeling, big time, and have had for a while. So much writing... so much web work... so much other stuff... sometimes I just want to crawl under the blanket and only peek out when I smell fresh cookies being baked.
Too bad life doesn't work that way.
So, after much waffling, I've made the decision to just get through it and power through what I need to power through. Fulfill the obligations so I
