Author: Chris Minnick

Chris Minnick is an author, trainer, web developer and co-founder of WatzThis? (www.watzthis.com).

He has authored and co-authored books and articles on a wide range of Internet-related topics. His published books include: JavaScript All-in-One For Dummies, Coding All-in-One For Dummies, Mastodon For Dummies, Beginning ReactJS Foundations, Adventures in Coding, JavaScript For Kids For Dummies, Coding with JavaScript For Dummies, Beginning HTML5 and CSS3 For Dummies, Webkit For Dummies, CIW eCommerce Certification Bible, and XHTML.

In addition to his role with WatzThis?, Chris is a winemaker, painter, novelist, swimmer, cook, and musician.

hiring and writing

Business is doing crazy things. We’re hiring our first employee Monday and we have an office now. We also seem to have a lot of work all of a sudden. So, things might be going well. I’ve started getting up at 6 in the morning and doing a little writing every morning. That feels good, although I’m certain that everything I’m writing sucks. I’ll just stick to it.

austin, cat scratch fever

I went to Austin last weekend for a deposition related to the car accident we were in in November 2000. I won’t write anything about that wonderful experience, for fear that some evil legal aide is reading this looking for character flaws that prove that I’m a bad bad person.

After the deposition, I stayed at Steve and Erin’s for a couple days and hung out with them, Vince, and Gary. It was a very nice visit, except for two things:

– Their cat went crazy on me and gouged my face. This wasn’t a big deal, I just didn’t like having to keep saying that it was really all right.
– I woke up sunday morning (the day of my flight home) feeling horrible–like I had food poisoning. I spent the whole morning and early afternoon running into Steve and Erin’s only bathroom. I felt so bad.

I think maybe I had cat scratch fever.

servers, music, money

I’m still here…the last entry was me rearranging and consolidating servers. That project is done now, and we’re saving $50/month as a result! Pretty exciting. Combine that with the $20/month we’re saving by using Netzero.com rather than paying for a dialup account when we travel…and we’re saving $70/month on internet access and hosting.

Um. We’re making some moves with the business. It’s about time. Right now, we’re in Oakland at the Homewood suites because we have meetings with clients tomorrow about us doing more work (I hope). Wish us luck.

I’m working on a cd of songs about Texas/Truckin. The cd will be called “Songs I Learned in Texas”. It’s gonna be hot.

Still practicing piano lots and loving it. I’ve also started saving for a sax. I figure if I had started putting away the money I was spending on cigs back when I quit, I’d have a sax now. But I didn’t and I don’t. I will, though.

Anyway, this entry seems to be all about money. That’s too bad. I’ll try to be more interesting to myself next time I write here.

RIP Colin

October was a terrible month. The big reason was a death in the family–my brother’s son, Colin. He was a great kid. Only 6. I was just starting to feel like I knew him.

November is promising to be better, but it’s still clouded by October. The recording project with David is coming along nicely, the SEELAND records/Negativland people are very impressed with the tracks as they are now. Margaret and I got a piano, and I’m obsessed with practicing. What am I really obsessed with? I guess it’s just obsession with proving that I can be good at something. I spend a huge amount of time thinking about becoming famous. I should see a shrink about that or something. Other people don’t seem to have this obsession. Other people seem to just do what they like.

Anyway, I’m in a funk and practicing piano is helping. Margaret is taking lessons now! Mr. Jones loves it when we play. Piano and getting in shape are the two things that are occupying the biggest parts of my brain right now. I’ve even stopped worrying so much about the business.

too much to do

Need to focus. I have too many projects going on right now. Don’t believe me? Check out my list:

Gunrack CD (design case, print things, try to distribute)
Buck-o CD (record songs, make cd, try to distribute)
Mudflap (write songs, record)
Gangster Fun documentary project
Chris Minnick videos archiving project
Sacramento Indymedia (help get it up and running)
Green Party (do stuff I’m supposed to do as their co-webmaster)
Sacramento Theater research (I want to know about the old movie palaces in the area, and about opening a theater, I’m also making a mini-site about this)
180 Gs CD (work with david and Negland to get this done)
Motelmag.com (keep making the site better and updating)
Small Car Driving radio (do regular broadcasts)
New film (write one and film it)
find ways to quiet our office (silent PCs, better desks with soundproof cpu holding areas?)
work on garage
Lighting project with Paul
research Alaska fishing trip with Dad
figure out how to expand/change the business (strange that the only thing here that makes money is this low in my list!)
learn to paint
learn to draw comics
learn to play guitar for real (take lessons)
learn to use final cut (video editing)
keep this site updated
redesign minnickweb.com
get in shape (I’m 10 pounds lighter than when I last wrote, and 2 months into my quit!)

I feel like there are other things that I’ve left off this list. I’ll come back and add them when I remember. For now, how about I figure out how to get one or two of these done with and chrisminnick.com will be my progress diary.

Money and business things need to come first. PCs and office will be silent before end of October. Minnickweb will have something like a plan in place (and will visit a counselor if necessary) in about the same timeframe.