Friday, January 12, 2007
A change in format
Well due to circumstances I will not be going far into my personal life on this blog any more, its caused too much grief. I wont be talking about my supervisor or what he does at my job and I wont be talking about home unless it deals with my family but I will not put anyones business out there any longer.. its just too tiring. So we're keeping it cordial with just business and politics.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Some really cool trailers (Oceans 13, Fantastic 4, Spiderman 3)
I LOVE these movies so I'm pretty excited to post the upcoming trailers for the new versions.
Oceans 13:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
And Spiderman 3:
Oceans 13:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
And Spiderman 3:
Saturday, December 30, 2006
It is done
What am I talking about? Saddam? Major monopoly phone company? My website? I'll actually address it all starting with Saddam Hussein. They executed him today and that is all.. I really have no opinion because propaganda would like you to believe that he is the antichrist but who knows what really went on.
Major monopoly phone company is also gone, we got bought out by even more major monopoly phone company this weekend. My thoughts? I hope they get rid of some of that overhead, namely the overhead that write people up for doing their job better than most. Atlanta was the base operations for the company that was bought out, now Atlanta is just a hub so I'm sure there will be a lot of changes coming down the pipe but union jobs like mine will not change at all.. I guess the union does have its benefits.
And finally the website, we are soooooooooooooo close to being finished I can actually taste it. The manufacturer of our cheesecakes and I finalized the deal yesterday and I feel really good about that. The cheesecakes look AMAZING and I've never had cheesecake before, I think I'm going to try the Extremely Berry Sampler first.
My sons first basketball game was today and it was very interesting. He has a hard time with shooting because he cannot get the ball up to the hoop, but he can dribble and passes very well. The coach has them doing the same defense and the same offense every time but I am going against the grain and teach him some other things. Since he cannot shoot I am trying to get him to focus on dribbling and passing to an open man that can shoot the ball, the coach is not teaching them that. I am working with him on that but also I'm doing something very unorthodox.. he is playing basketball on the playstation. There is a VERY interesting study that kids have an easier time learning a sport when they have already visualized the game through... video games. Kids end up knowing the rules and actually developing better because they have visualized the game already.. now he wont play the game for hours but just for a little while, we'll see how it goes.
Other than that the day was uneventful, random thoughts:
I would be very depressed if I hit the lottery
Democracy is useless if you have an uneducated society (I'll expand on this in a later blog)
Racism is still alive but way more in the south than up North
Later!
Major monopoly phone company is also gone, we got bought out by even more major monopoly phone company this weekend. My thoughts? I hope they get rid of some of that overhead, namely the overhead that write people up for doing their job better than most. Atlanta was the base operations for the company that was bought out, now Atlanta is just a hub so I'm sure there will be a lot of changes coming down the pipe but union jobs like mine will not change at all.. I guess the union does have its benefits.
And finally the website, we are soooooooooooooo close to being finished I can actually taste it. The manufacturer of our cheesecakes and I finalized the deal yesterday and I feel really good about that. The cheesecakes look AMAZING and I've never had cheesecake before, I think I'm going to try the Extremely Berry Sampler first.
My sons first basketball game was today and it was very interesting. He has a hard time with shooting because he cannot get the ball up to the hoop, but he can dribble and passes very well. The coach has them doing the same defense and the same offense every time but I am going against the grain and teach him some other things. Since he cannot shoot I am trying to get him to focus on dribbling and passing to an open man that can shoot the ball, the coach is not teaching them that. I am working with him on that but also I'm doing something very unorthodox.. he is playing basketball on the playstation. There is a VERY interesting study that kids have an easier time learning a sport when they have already visualized the game through... video games. Kids end up knowing the rules and actually developing better because they have visualized the game already.. now he wont play the game for hours but just for a little while, we'll see how it goes.
Other than that the day was uneventful, random thoughts:
I would be very depressed if I hit the lottery
Democracy is useless if you have an uneducated society (I'll expand on this in a later blog)
Racism is still alive but way more in the south than up North
Later!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
The Result
For this story to make sense you will want to start here and work your way up.
This was my final post that pretty much summed up what happened:
"Dont know what to say really.. Have not heard from them since I came back from Vegas (Monday the 2nd) they wanted to finish the project but I declined for the fact that I do not have faith in their work for obvious reasons and now its nothing. This post could be preliminary and a check could be on its way but seeing as how I'm not getting a response to my emails I doubt that seriously. Losing $5k when you're 26 and have a 5 year old doesn't sit well but as long as I and maybe someone else will learn from my mistake I guess it isn't a total loss.
From what I've learned you HAVE to be mindful of who you do business with, check references and follow your gut feeling. I always looked at business relationships as strictly business and nothing more but if you're going to deal with a person and/or company on a long term basis then there needs to be (1) communication (2) trust and (3) understanding, understanding being that those you are dealing with know and understand what you are trying to achieve, believe in what you are working toward and want to see you get there.
Creativesurge in the grand scheme of things only messed theirselves over in this whole orderal, had the project been done right there would have been streams of business coming from my end and that $5k they are getting away with would amount to drops in a bucket. I tend to seperate emotion and business but this one pisses me off.
On the flip side of things the new company accomplished in a week what CreativeSurge couldn't offer in 3 months, a site I can test out, critique and they actually listen to make changes as needed. Its pretty amazing what they're doing and I hear from my project manager at the least twice a day.. most times I have to tell him to sign off rather than looking for a reply.
http://72.41.63.119/alaska/index.php
Not close to being finished but it does allow me to make changes and actually see everything coming together. Thanks for all the advice here and I'll continue to lurk the boards..
btw, preciate the design from CreativeSurge, its working out nicely. (And no those are not actual prices on the products)"
And that is all, now the site is 95% finished with QualityClix having finished the project. The team at quality clix delivers and want to see their clients succeed. As for me, 2006 has been nothing less than a learning curve in starting my own business. There were times I wanted to go to Creative Surge and do things that surely would have placed me in jail but I stayed the course and now I am here:
Alaska's Finest Seafoods
And I can only imagine what 2007 has in store, but I do know one thing!
Yeah.. what he said. Later!
This was my final post that pretty much summed up what happened:
"Dont know what to say really.. Have not heard from them since I came back from Vegas (Monday the 2nd) they wanted to finish the project but I declined for the fact that I do not have faith in their work for obvious reasons and now its nothing. This post could be preliminary and a check could be on its way but seeing as how I'm not getting a response to my emails I doubt that seriously. Losing $5k when you're 26 and have a 5 year old doesn't sit well but as long as I and maybe someone else will learn from my mistake I guess it isn't a total loss.
From what I've learned you HAVE to be mindful of who you do business with, check references and follow your gut feeling. I always looked at business relationships as strictly business and nothing more but if you're going to deal with a person and/or company on a long term basis then there needs to be (1) communication (2) trust and (3) understanding, understanding being that those you are dealing with know and understand what you are trying to achieve, believe in what you are working toward and want to see you get there.
Creativesurge in the grand scheme of things only messed theirselves over in this whole orderal, had the project been done right there would have been streams of business coming from my end and that $5k they are getting away with would amount to drops in a bucket. I tend to seperate emotion and business but this one pisses me off.
On the flip side of things the new company accomplished in a week what CreativeSurge couldn't offer in 3 months, a site I can test out, critique and they actually listen to make changes as needed. Its pretty amazing what they're doing and I hear from my project manager at the least twice a day.. most times I have to tell him to sign off rather than looking for a reply.
http://72.41.63.119/alaska/index.php
Not close to being finished but it does allow me to make changes and actually see everything coming together. Thanks for all the advice here and I'll continue to lurk the boards..
btw, preciate the design from CreativeSurge, its working out nicely. (And no those are not actual prices on the products)"
And that is all, now the site is 95% finished with QualityClix having finished the project. The team at quality clix delivers and want to see their clients succeed. As for me, 2006 has been nothing less than a learning curve in starting my own business. There were times I wanted to go to Creative Surge and do things that surely would have placed me in jail but I stayed the course and now I am here:
Alaska's Finest Seafoods
And I can only imagine what 2007 has in store, but I do know one thing!
Yeah.. what he said. Later!
And the response
I actually received a response from CreativeSurge when I posted that, want to see it? Of course you do! Quote from Creativesurge:
"Someone just emailed me about this post and I felt the need to post a public reply.
Here are the facts, and Tony did not necessarily misrepresent any of
them:
- We acknowledged the fact the project is a couple months over-due and we're backlogged on a couple projects including another fchatter right now while playing catch-up.
- We gave you the complete source code when you asked for it (when you lied about certain things, which is also fine; we didn't bring it up)
Also consider this:
- You emailed us a couple days ago, wanted the complete site right away as you might have found someone else. We said can you give us another 2 days to at least patch up the bugs so your new developer doesn't need to run through them, and you said no thanks, I'll take it as it is.
- We offered to fully complete the project, along with a free new blog functionality and 1-year free hosting at no extra charge, and you can keep your final payment of $1500
Instead of twisting the story, here's our exact reply:
- Then you came on here and made this post saying we won't give you back anything, etc. when we didn't even have a chance to reply to you.
This was about 12 hours ago.
Correct my facts if they are wrong and I know it doesn't negate the fact that we're late on the project. We aren't looking to begin an e- battle in any way.
Let me know what you think of our version of the facts.
Thanks,"
"Someone just emailed me about this post and I felt the need to post a public reply.
Here are the facts, and Tony did not necessarily misrepresent any of
them:
- We acknowledged the fact the project is a couple months over-due and we're backlogged on a couple projects including another fchatter right now while playing catch-up.
- We gave you the complete source code when you asked for it (when you lied about certain things, which is also fine; we didn't bring it up)
Also consider this:
- You emailed us a couple days ago, wanted the complete site right away as you might have found someone else. We said can you give us another 2 days to at least patch up the bugs so your new developer doesn't need to run through them, and you said no thanks, I'll take it as it is.
- We offered to fully complete the project, along with a free new blog functionality and 1-year free hosting at no extra charge, and you can keep your final payment of $1500
Instead of twisting the story, here's our exact reply:
- Then you came on here and made this post saying we won't give you back anything, etc. when we didn't even have a chance to reply to you.
This was about 12 hours ago.
Correct my facts if they are wrong and I know it doesn't negate the fact that we're late on the project. We aren't looking to begin an e- battle in any way.
Let me know what you think of our version of the facts.
Thanks,"
The nightmare
When we last left (about 2 minutes ago) our hero was going through hell with web developers, now what will he do? Actually I am going to paste my experience that I explained on a car forum, it pretty much sums up what I went through with CreativeSurge, the web design company that took me for $5,250. This is all quoted from my post so if it sounds weird then that is why.. Enjoy!
"First off I want to state that I am not writing this to start any drama, I simply have no other avenue to resolve the issues I am having with the person and the company and I would hate for any other forum members to run into the problems I have had (I know of one who already is) Trust me I did not want things to come to this and I hate it but I cannot get a response from CreativeS.
I'll try and make this short and to the point, I met Andre (CreativeS or Newkdesign on this site) after I was taken by another web developer, see this thread:
click here
His company did not have time to take on my project at first but a month later he came back and said they could do the site without a problem and that their projects are usually done before the scheduled completion date which was set as June 26th, 2006.
I signed an agreement that stated the schedule for the site and the schedule for the payments. The entire project was to be done for $4,750 paid in four increments that coincided with the milestones of the project. The first milestone of the project went by and I sent the first payment ($1750) Second milestone passed and it was apparent that the project was way behind schedule, Andre assured me that the project would be back on schedule so I sent the next payment ($1,000 - My mistake for paying on schedule without the project being there)
Completion date came and passed but Andre still told me that the project was days from being finished so I sent the next payment ($1,000 - My dumb mistake again) Another month goes by and I keep getting the same response that the project is near completion, we agree to add some other features to the site that would add $2000 to the final price so I sent a $1500 payment to keep on schedule since the project was so close to being finished (So I thought)
To make a long story short it is now the end of September and all that has been done is:
click here
Basically a template if that and I am suffering because I needed for this business to be up and running by now, the business is all web based so the website is critical, I now have no choice but to go with a different developer. I have been working on getting the work that CreativeS/Newkdesign did but Andre will not answer the phone, respond to my instant messages on MSN, or my emails. I will say that Herman with Creative Surge has been trying to help get things resolved but nothing has been accomplished and I have to start from scratch.
Today I sent an email to Andre about refunding half of the money that I have paid, which I think would be pretty fair considering the lack of work that has been done on the site but still compensating them for the trouble. I have been very patient and understanding in the whole process but my patience is gone. Some may suggest taking legal action but because I'm starting over I need the money to finish the site and get my business going. They are based in Canada and I'm in Atlanta, GA so I can only imagine what it will cost, plus the agreement I signed basically leaves them without any kind of liability. (yes I read it)
So as I said before, this is the last avenue I have. I am not here to slander anyone, I just wanted some resolve but I cannot get an answer from Andre and I've pretty much accepted that this has been a bad business decision and a $5000 mistake on my part. Lesson learned and because I'm still young I'll absorb it but its still not a great feeling to lose that kind of money."
"First off I want to state that I am not writing this to start any drama, I simply have no other avenue to resolve the issues I am having with the person and the company and I would hate for any other forum members to run into the problems I have had (I know of one who already is) Trust me I did not want things to come to this and I hate it but I cannot get a response from CreativeS.
I'll try and make this short and to the point, I met Andre (CreativeS or Newkdesign on this site) after I was taken by another web developer, see this thread:
click here
His company did not have time to take on my project at first but a month later he came back and said they could do the site without a problem and that their projects are usually done before the scheduled completion date which was set as June 26th, 2006.
I signed an agreement that stated the schedule for the site and the schedule for the payments. The entire project was to be done for $4,750 paid in four increments that coincided with the milestones of the project. The first milestone of the project went by and I sent the first payment ($1750) Second milestone passed and it was apparent that the project was way behind schedule, Andre assured me that the project would be back on schedule so I sent the next payment ($1,000 - My mistake for paying on schedule without the project being there)
Completion date came and passed but Andre still told me that the project was days from being finished so I sent the next payment ($1,000 - My dumb mistake again) Another month goes by and I keep getting the same response that the project is near completion, we agree to add some other features to the site that would add $2000 to the final price so I sent a $1500 payment to keep on schedule since the project was so close to being finished (So I thought)
To make a long story short it is now the end of September and all that has been done is:
click here
Basically a template if that and I am suffering because I needed for this business to be up and running by now, the business is all web based so the website is critical, I now have no choice but to go with a different developer. I have been working on getting the work that CreativeS/Newkdesign did but Andre will not answer the phone, respond to my instant messages on MSN, or my emails. I will say that Herman with Creative Surge has been trying to help get things resolved but nothing has been accomplished and I have to start from scratch.
Today I sent an email to Andre about refunding half of the money that I have paid, which I think would be pretty fair considering the lack of work that has been done on the site but still compensating them for the trouble. I have been very patient and understanding in the whole process but my patience is gone. Some may suggest taking legal action but because I'm starting over I need the money to finish the site and get my business going. They are based in Canada and I'm in Atlanta, GA so I can only imagine what it will cost, plus the agreement I signed basically leaves them without any kind of liability. (yes I read it)
So as I said before, this is the last avenue I have. I am not here to slander anyone, I just wanted some resolve but I cannot get an answer from Andre and I've pretty much accepted that this has been a bad business decision and a $5000 mistake on my part. Lesson learned and because I'm still young I'll absorb it but its still not a great feeling to lose that kind of money."
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Just woke up
Its 7:52am and I'm not much of a morning person.. I guess its about 50/50 on that, some mornings I'm in a good mood others I'm just ready for the day to go by. This morning I'm ready for the day to end because I wont have to come back to work until tuesday the 26th. I tell you I CHERISH the day I can wake up, go through the kitchen, grab a bowl of cereal and sit down with my laptop and do business.
Back in August when I went to Alaska my mind was on vacation before I even left. Now that I have plans to move on from my job I have a similar feeling but I know I still have a year to be there. Oh well, time for a quick workout and hit the road. Later!
Back in August when I went to Alaska my mind was on vacation before I even left. Now that I have plans to move on from my job I have a similar feeling but I know I still have a year to be there. Oh well, time for a quick workout and hit the road. Later!
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