Off to tumblr

I'm moving my blog to tumblr.com as they have a very handy iPhone app that lets me manage my blog WAY better than I can do here.  See you at http://mcdermr.tumblr.com

Getting Things Done with ThinkingRock

The project that I've been working on at work has been getting more and more busy for me. So much so, that I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed with how much I had to keep remembering what needs to be done when. I said to myself "I wish I could find a way to organize stuff that works for me" and I then remembered that I used to use a program called ThinkingRock a couple of years ago to help me get organized and, well, get things done. I also decided to put up a quick introduction to ThinkingRock.
ThinkingRock is a software program that encourages the GTD (Getting Things Done) methodologies, which I have used before and I've found that it works really well for me. It worked so well last time that I was able to stop using it.... but that led me straight to being disorganized and having an overloaded brain, so I'm going to try not to stop using it this time.

Getting started with this type of organizing can be really tedious and long depending on how much stuff you need to get done. Once the software is installed and opened, the first screen you are greeted with is a flow chart of the process of "stuff that needs to be done." After the initial setup of categories, topics, etc, you start with what I call the "brain dump" phase. Jot down all the thoughts in your head of stuff you need to do with simple one line headings and some notes, if needed. So many times have I uncovered that I have more to do than I was originally thinking.

After your head is cleared out of the stuff that needs to be done, that screen looks like an unorganized mass of random tasks, ideas, and information. Thankfully, "step 2" of the process is to "Process" all of these thoughts. I guess its a sort of progressive way of orgainzing things. during this "process" phase you decide if the idea is an action, a piece of information or should be deleted. Most things for me end up being actions. Its at this time that you start planning things out in projects, all the little tasks needed that need to be done to get a bigger task done. There are several options and fields that you can fill out. Remember, they are all optional, so don't be intimidated by the need to fill out the whole page.

Once I'm done processing all of my thoughts, I move on to the Projects page. Here I can sort and organize the tasks in a project to be in the proper order that they need to be done in as well as create sub-projects if I need to as I break things down even further.

I've discovered that by organizing my tasks and ideas this way, I've freed up valuable brain resources as I no longer need to keep remembering to do things.... ThinkingRock will remember it for me. The feeling of being organized and on top of things is great and will show in your attentiveness to what ever tasks might challenge you throughout your day.

Netbeans Plugin Development

Well, I've finally done it. I've started working on a plugin for Netbeans after not being able to find an existing one that did what I want. The project I'm working on at work is quite involved and requires me to go through all kinds of configuration files. There are several sections of the XML documents that would be easier to read if the block of lines were organized alphabetically. I couldn't find a plugin that would sort lines of text (yes... I'm aware of how "dangerous" that can be), so I'm in the process of making one. I must say that the whole process of writing a Netbeans plugin is quite intuiging and is a little easier than I thought. Time to pull out the "Rich Client Programming: Plugging into the Netbeans Platform" book that I won. (Wow! I've had this book for a year already!)

I'll post more about my plugin and the process as I go along.

LittleBIGPlanet Level - Dirt Bike

One day, I thought I'd try to make a dirt bike. Once I did (it was a lot of fun to make a motorcycle from nothing), and I think it turned out pretty cool, I then had to come up with a level to go along with it. The level kind of reminds me of the old Nintendo game Excitebike. Enjoy!

LittleBIGPlanet Level - LittleBIGKitchen

This is, so far, the most detailed level I've made. This level took pretty much all day. The process of building this level was a ton of fun and I thought it was rather interesting. The cabinets were built in pieces that I kept adding to. First was the baseboard, then the cabinet, then the counter, the "wall" or backsplash, then the upper cabinet. I then copied that whole thing, reversed the copy then "glued" the two of them together. This way I was able to make the cabinets 100% symmetrical. The sink was a TON of work to get right, but I did it -- dripping faucet and all!

If you play through this level you'll be able to find almost everything I made in prize bubbles scattered throughout the level. I saved the kitchen sink for Acing the level (completing the level without dying).

"Help Mr. Mouse get some cheese from the fridge."

LittleBIGPlanet Level - Crash Landing

This is my first "story" level:

"Aliens have crash landed and need your help, but something goes terribly wrong! Can you help the aliens get home?"

LittleBIGPlanet Level - Crazy Pink Rocket Car

Here's a video of my first published level in LittleBIGPlanet: The Crazy Pink Rocket Car.

UPDATE: This video has been featured on ThreeSpeech. Thank you ThreeSpeech, I'm glad you like it!