Ch-ch-ch-changes!

I’ve been an absentee landlord.

Letting this site languish. My bad.

So, update time! I’m unemployed! But it’s okay! For now!

It’s a trope when people in long-term relationships say they could never survive the dating landscape were they to be suddenly single again, and the job hunting landscape seems a lot like that, at least for someone who’d been in the same steady full-time job for 8 years. Tough sledding for the dumped.

Anyway, the literal day after, I essentially woke up with an idea for a project that I could use to both occupy my time, and put on my resumé, since essentially everything I have worked on for the last 8 years is locked in a private GitHub repo, and would only be visible to someone who was a customer of my former employer. NOT GREAT BOB DOT GIF. I’m not going to go into too much detail, not like I think you’re going to steal my idea, but it’s essentially a chat app. I’m starting with a web interface, since that’s what I know best, but I’m also hoping to spin up a mobile (iOS) app to see if I can flex some learning muscles. I’ve got a working prototype with a remote database and WebSocket server running!

Harry and Bob are chatting

This proves out that my server-side code works, so my next step is to start working on the iOS client. This might take a little longer, but in this new era of “vibe coding”, I for one appreciate our new AI overlords and look forward to working with Chatty G to write some code. What could possibly go wrong!

New Project: "Hello, World!"

Welcome back, folks. Today I'm starting a new project, which is upgrading my self. Today was my first day at The Iron Yard, a code school here in Indianapolis. The Iron Yard has campuses around the country, but in Indy I'm enrolled in the Web Development Career Path course, where, in 12 weeks, I hope to come out the other end with the skills to land a job in web development. 

Now, I know what some of you are thinking: Jason, you have a website! I'm reading it right now! Why the hell do you need a class?!?

Well, to be honest, right now Squarespace is doing the heavy lifting for this site. I type things in boxes and click this and that, and poof! these pages appear. Nobody is going to hire me to design their website in Squarespace. Not for any kind of meaningful salary, anyway. So, here I am! Picking up a new hustle.

Today was all about brushing up on some fundamentals, getting comfy with Terminal and the command line, and getting to know my fellow students. Everyone is really on board, helping each other out, and I get the feeling we'll all have each other's backs for the next three months and on.

More news as news develops! Thanks for stopping by.

Catching up on August...

...And yes, I realize we're already well into September.

So, the past month has seem many interesting items and developments. I've wrapped post-production on the indie film Excess Flesh, for which I was supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer along with Jonathan Snipes (also composer, sound designer). A very dynamic film, in terms of the sound track, and very non-traditional in a lot of ways. I had a great time mixing the film, which we did over 6 days thanks to Scott Jennings at Listen2 Sound. I'm confident the film can find its way into some festivals, so I'll let everyone know when that happens and where you can see the film.

Second, I'm going to be teaching a class this fall at Cal State LA. A fellow TFT grad from UCLA is an assistant professor at CSULA, and asked me if I would like to teach their Intro to Sound class for their TV, Film and Media Studies department, and I obviously agreed! This will be my first foray into teaching a full course, so wish me luck! Lots of information to cover in what amounts to 10 weeks of classes, so I'll certainly have no shortage of material, as long as I've got willing students.  I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Third: I'm currently sitting at the loverly Sweetwater's Cafe in Ann Arbor, MI, waiting to head over to the Music School on U of Michigan's North Campus, where for the next 2 days I'll be helping out friend and professor Andy Kirshner with his film sound class, as they embark on the post production sound for Andy's film Liberty's Secret. I'll be spending my time showing the students how to start the process of editing the sound for a film, going over tips, tricks, and techniques, and setting them loose. It's always nice to be back on campus here, and my stay will be too short.

More news to come, so come back for a visit!