Ted's Corner

Another chapter has ended in my life. Calvert Games (www.calvertgames.com) closed this weekend, almost three years to the day from when it opened. I was part of the staff of that great little website for thirteen months and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Jonathan, Kevin, Adam, and Derek were great to work with and I'll miss having our own private forum for our far ranging discussions. Jonathan has converted Calvert Games to his own personal blog so be sure to check in there and keep up with his world. Derek has his own blog (www.webdanzersspin.blogspot.com) and I didn't want to be left behind so here is mine. I hope Adam and Kevin find a forum to get their opinions and ideas out. Best of luck to all of them.

I've been putting a lot of time in with ESPN's NFL2k5 and I am very impressed with it. I'm not a football fan (really not), but this game has its hooks in me much like Winning Eleven 7: International had three or four months ago. Sure it has its issues, but it plays a good game of football, is challenging, is gorgeous to look at, and the presentation is the best I have ever seen in a sports video game. I'm enjoying learning about the game of football and trying to get the Green Bay Packers to the Superbowl. I may chronicle my exploits here or over at www.dynastymanager.com if I get really deep into it.

For those who don't know, I've been a self employed pool service technician for 4 years and I am in the process of selling my business. The buyer is lined up and in all likelihood the sale will be final by the end of October. I'm very excited because I have been ready for a change for two years. I started the business after working a the same job for almost fifteen years. That company had changed so much that when they offered many of us a severance package I took the money and ran. The pool business was fun at first, challenging and has always been a very good and steady source of income. About two years in I started to burn out a little, mostly from boredom and the commute, but I stuck it out because I know from experience that we all burn out (or burn down) every so often. Sometimes you just have to grind through it. After a year of burnout I knew it was over. Time to move on to something new. I've got some contacts lined up and I may even venture out into the realm of employee again. I'm not nearly as nervous as the first time I was out of work and am looking forward to the change. Here is a great website if you are interested in getting into the pool business. You can't buy mine, but there are always routes for sale at http://www.1prb.com/.

# posted by Ted @ 3:04 PM