I, Muehlenhaus. U, Riedermaus.

I have been busy doing a lot of behind the scenes work on my dissertation and a dynamic map project that Birgit and I signed ourselves up for. It has been pretty fun, actually, even though I feel behind constantly.

I ordered a book from eBay on Visual Communication that should help my dissertation come along nicely. So I've been spending the last several evenings reading about art and thinking about how I can apply the analytical techniques to maps. I've been spending the days running through hours of Flash ActionScript tutorials. They are really great! I am finally figuring out how to program my website and maps rather than hack my way through the process. Birgit and I have to create an animated map with 242 buttons that will bring up different data. This is a nasty project any way you look at it, but particularly if you were to do it the way I have made my website -- one button at a time. But I've learned how to program and cut corners... so it should only suck mildly now. At least the client pays really well -- and by the hour!

Birgit and I went to the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) conference in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. It got my head spinning about maps -- both how to make them and how to publish them. I ended up drinking wine with a professional cartographer from California who runs a business from his home with his wife. They make maps of California State Parks and National Parks for a living and do really well. Turns out he just uses some programs I learned years ago, but he figured out some great techniques for bringing in shaded relief. He shared those with me, and I am forever in debt! I also got to hang out and meet a bunch of Mark Harrower's prodigies from UW-Madison. Mark is beyond a doubt the Flash Map guru. He was at Penn State the first year I was there before graduating and taking a professorship at Madison. His students were great! Awesome people -- heavy social drinkers and poker players. They gave me some tips too and showed me how to incorporate Google Maps images into my Flash projects. Brilliant!

Oh yeah, the dissertation. After waiting a month for feedback, I am back on it but a bit disheartened by the whole process again. Still, I'm reading and thinking about it when my brain settles down from thinking about map production. To be honest, though, I've been a bit remiss this past week, as I was busy selling my Star Wars toys on eBay for extra cash. I can't believe people bid so high for a bunch of brittle plastic! Brilliant! I now have more than enough money to buy Birgit a new zany iPod -- she doesn't read this blog, luckily, so I can say that on here -- or order a slew of Sid Sackson games!

Been playing games with the Department Coordinator a lot recently. Glen is really cool. I've met up with him and his wife, Carol, at the Spyhouse Cafe to play Sid Sackson's "Venture" game. Brilliant card game of financial risk. Also play games with him every Friday during lunch. Birgit argues that I have hit my stride as a bonafide nerd, and that she thinks it's cool. I don't care if it is cool or not -- playing games with chill people like Glen calms me down and makes me feel good. Beats snorting cocaine. Well, I wouldn't know, but I just say that to make myself feel better.