Hello everyone.

My wonderful girlfriend Amy and I just returned from spending our 2-year anniversary in Toronto. We stayed at the Clarion Hotel on Sherbourne, which is right across the street from the Subway and also a really great place to stay. It was built in 1882 and definitely has some cool style (I love the elevator!). If anyone wants a neat, convenient, and inexpensive place to stay in Toronto I would definitely recommend it.

After a solid vacation I’m ready to get back to work. First, some updates.

#1. Jack of All Links Blog

Launched today was the official blog for Jack of All Links. Things are moving right ahead with the social side of search and this is just one more piece of the puzzle. I’m really excited to do this as blogs really build a sense of excitement and buzz about a service or product. I’m also excited to start getting feedback and comments. If you’ve used Jack of All Links and have some feedback, please by all means feel free to post!

#2. Xandorus Story!

I’ve written the first quarter of the story and built character profiles for those involved. This has been passed along to our artist and production on these elements will begin immediately. Since we’re using RPG Maker VX  (an awesome tool you’ll read me blogging about over and over again) we can build using the default art assets and switch to our own customs when we receive them.

It feels so good to be involved with a game again. I took a break from them after a string of failures. I was struck by the same problems most newbies face when they get interested in making games. They want to make games that compare with those found on Xbox 360 and the like. It’s just not realistic. I realized that instead of flashy effects and whizbang graphics what I really wanted to do was tell a story. So, I sat down and I began to write. I just have to say I’m really excited to see this project start to come alive!

Within the next 3 weeks I will follow up with the second part to my “Why use Subversion” post as well as continue to post some other interesting web development and php tricks. Keep an eye out for these updates!