OK so this is what I'm about... I'm a web developer specialising in ASP to Flash applications, but mostly I like to write games for fun. I also create contemporary digital artworks that embrace the latest available software. And I've got two young children, so I have to do a mortgagey type of thing too. This is the full-time job as a college lecturer running an Interactive Media course in Leeds, UK. ... http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/ChrisGray Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:33:35 -0600 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.squidoo.com/keithgray My dad touched a lot of people's lives over the course of his own. He enjoyed his life and took great satisfaction in practising his Dental work to an incredibly high standard. As a father, he was always there for my brother and myself. Now I've got my own kids, I just hope that I do half as good a job of it as he did. As a husband, I think he enjoyed the breadwinner's role and being looked after! Actually, something there was going well seeing as he and Jeannette were married for forty-eight years. He spent a great deal of his time since 1990 fighting off various cancer attacks. Some of the times we thought that he wouldn't pull through, but the tough old boot did just that and lived to see all three of his grandchildren. We're all so proud of who he was and what he achieved. If I had more time to do so, I'd write a much more involved biography than this. Perhaps I will in the coming months, but for now I'll leave it at that and hope that you will add your memories of him to the guest book at the foot of this lens. Please check back regularly to read the updates and to see if anyone with whom you've lost contact has left a message. Regards, Chris Gray people Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:15:43 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/excuseoftheday My students often point out funny things to me, and I think it's kind of selfish of me to keep them to myself, so here they are - the clean ones at least! Have a go at putting your own caption to them if you'd like. people Thu, 01 May 2008 18:26:27 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/blackcurrantjelly I have this vivid memory from my childhood of Midget Gems and Sports Mixture. Lovely jelly sweets in a multitude of flavours: rasberryish, pineapplyish, orange, lime, peary and licorice. As a kid, these are more often categorised as red, yellow, orange, green, white and black. The licorice flavour seems a little strange amongst the fruitiness of the others, but it was viewed either as a delight (that was me) or was loathed. It bursted with character regardless. The original makers of these sweets, Lion's of Cleckheaton all of a sudden decided to change a century of tradition with the ousting of licorice as the black flavour for insipid, cat pee scented blackcurrant. It might be a good idea at this point to indicate that I do have a life and that this isn't my life's work now, but I wrote to Lion's to ask them the reason for this decision. I was informed that they'd carried out a survey, and that the result was that people had agreed overwhelmingly that the new blackcurrant flavour was superior to the old licorice. I've asked dozens of people (honestly, I'm not mad or bitter and twisted), and the only overwhelming decision was that the blackcurrant smelled bad ("like cat pee" to quote more than one) and had a poor taste. They didn't ask me or my survey sample!! Is it me or when a producer quotes "new improved flavour" it usually means that they've sourced cheaper ingredients? Anyway, please feel free to take part in the online survey below. There's also good news for the licorice jelly sorts amongst us. Look down under the survey :o) food Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:27:36 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/trainstorm In 1999 I found myself to be in the same position as so many other people, I was in an unfulfilling job. OK, I was good at it and it paid the mortgage, but it wasn't what I wanted to do. I'd been dabbling with the Internet for a few years and couldn't wait to expand my knowledge and therefore the possibilities that that medium offered. Luckily at the time I didn't have any kids, so...how did I become a Web Developer? The modules in this lens are laid out chronologically from the bottom. This means that the latest instalment is always at the top of the stack! I now help to run a very successful web concern: trainstorm.co.uk education Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:47:43 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/fibres_gallery Stand in front of these artworks and try to figure out what's going on. As the pieces are devised using 3D computer software there's a natural depth within them that offers the viewer more than usual 2D artwork. The featured picture shows a section of "Fibres Bars Red". Artwork available to view and purchase online @ gallerisation.co.uk [Online gallery artwork is necessarily small in order to avoid reproduction] arts Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:14:13 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/iphonephrenzy This was the question that a couple of my friends were asking after they'd just purchased their spanking new Apple mobile products. They had a good idea what they wanted, but didn't really know the best source/s of purchase and/or download. After a few sorties into the online minefield of iPhone downloads, they asked for friends' input, and a logical battle plan was drawn up. computers Sun, 25 May 2008 07:15:52 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/underground_gallery Underground is a series of fantastical underground rail networks (after Harry Beck) that connect each part of the globe to the others. What would you think if you could jump on a tube in London and arrive within an hour in New York? I suppose you'd hope to get a seat and not be sat next to a nutcase!! Amongst other things, I create artworks based on the theme of the world underground map. The idea for a world underground tube came about when I was travelling far from home, so I thought I'd write about the thought process in relation to the physical journey that inspired it. This is that journal. You can squint* at the maps online @ gallerisation.co.uk and are also waiting to be purchased so that squinting isn't required! *[Online gallery artwork is necessarily small in order to avoid reproduction] I set this lens up a few weeks ago along with a few other promotional(ish) ideas, and the sales on my site have increased dramatically. The modules in this lens are laid out chronologically from the bottom. This means that the latest instalment is always at the top of the stack! arts Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:21:32 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/excuses My colleagues and me are constantly amazed at both the level of innovation and re-cogitation of excuse that we receive. We thought it might be fun to list some of the most inventive ones. people Fri, 02 May 2008 13:53:52 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/alternativecocktails The mystique of the phrase "Shaken, not Stirred", the wonderful vision conjured up by the cocktail named desire... Angel, Singapore Sling, A Slow Comfortable Screw! Real life just isn't like that. You're more likely to encounter The Devil, a Singing with a Sling or a Hurried Awkward Fumble and end up rather shaken! food Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:43:59 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/adobecs3 I'm a College Lecturer of Interactive Media, and unluckily for me my college went out and spilled a load of cash on CS3. Im talking from a Flash ActionScript viewpoint when I say it's new, clumsy and full of glitches. I've been to the Adobe CS3 roadshows, asked questions about the Macromedia elements and got no answers! No, that's a fib, apparently CS3 is good because it's possible to port a PSD straight into Flash...and the swf file size is??? computers Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:57:59 -0600