Well boys and girls, it's been a while.

And I'm afraid I've got some bad news.

You see, I've finally reached a point in my life where it's no longer feasible for me to maintain a website. At least not one with frequent updates and new content.

Age, it seems, has caught up with me. I find that I no longer harbor the same enthusiasm that I once did for web design and new media.

I'm told by my elders that this is a natural progression. That other interests will soon assert themselves. And in a way, I suppose, they already have.

I now find myself endlessly fascinated by language. Specifically those of the Latin persuasion. I'm neck deep in Spanish and I anticipate that I'll eventually work my way backwards into Latin itself.

And what about that graphic novel?

Well, to be honest, you really can blame this change on that very item. It was my desire to write and illustrate a fantastic novel that has driven me all these years to improve my artistic skills and my scholarly knowledge, but in so doing I've drummed up all sorts of new interests (history, politics, geography, philosophy) and I now find myself painfully aware of just how much I don't know and completely unsure as to how to proceed.

Does that mean that I've given up on the idea entirely?

Quite the opposite. In truth I feel an overwhelming need to cocoon myself creatively so that I might make the transformation from whatever-the-Hell it is that I am now into a novelist and scholar of merit.

In other words, I need to take some time and figure out exactly what it is I want to say. And I can't do that without confronting some essential concepts that I've done a pretty good job of avoiding up until now, like spirituality, ethics, morality... The list goes on.

You see, in order for anyone to accomplish any great work one must first know precisely who they are and, more importantly, why they are doing it in the first place.

I believe this is what authors refer to as one's idiom.

When I started making websites back in the 90s I was a fiery (and relatively uneducated) twenty-something who had something to prove. But 10 years and 2 college degrees later I find that I no longer have anything to prove to anyone.

That, in and of itself, is an incredibly liberating feeling.

The other zinger is the fact that all of those years in front of a computer have taken their toll on me physically. I simply can't sit in front of a computer or a drawing desk for 10 hours straight anymore.

Nowadays, in fact, I try to spend as little time as possible in computer chairs. (Yes, even my Aeron.)

I'm currently in the process of finding a work around. Perhaps a tablet PC that will allow me to work from the couch?

But even that won't be enough to undo the damage I've already done. According to my chiropractor the only sure fire cure is exercise and plenty of healthy natural sleep. Both of which are hard to come by when you're a computer animator.

So it's back to the Dojo for more Tai-Chi and off to the pool for more laps.

All of this, of course, translates into less time at the old computer.

And did I mention my 2 jobs?

Now that I'm teaching full time at the Art Institute as well as part time at Point Park University I don't have much time to write code or draw pictures.

This also means that the freelance job I'm currently in the middle of will most likely be my last for a very long time. Again, not because I don't love doing it but because I can't physically pull off having 3 different jobs anymore.

So here I am writing this last post... Hoping that when I eventually find the time to get back to this whole writer/artist/web designer thing that there'll still be a place for me.

But for now I think I'll focus on doing what I love. Teaching and (more importantly) really being a teacher.

So please don't think I punked out. I've pushed myself to a point somewhere beyond exhaustion, where I can hear the sturdy timbers in my brain actually creak...

So... In the near future this website will be folded into my new website pixelscholar.com.

Pixel Scholar will serve primarily as an online extension of the classes that I teach. There you will find some examples of my art work but the primary content will be video tutorials, hand outs, academic schedules, etc.

You know... Teacher stuff.

I may still write the occasional essay or opinion piece, or post a new drawing or 3D model but for the most part it'll be a pretty quiet place and will hold little interest for the casual viewer.

Of course the joke here is: “So in other words it'll be the same as your old site right?”

So there you have it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to practice my Spanish.

Gracias los amigos y buonas noches.