An exciting time

It is a very exciting time in my life right now. Let me explain a little...

I have been continuing to work on my new project. It has actually become something. It works extremely well and it is very fast. I will explain more later.

I recently applied for a new job, working as a Web Developer in Cheltenham. I had the interview a week ago today, and I heard back from them on Monday of this week that they want to offer me the job. I'm very happy that finally I will be working doing something that I am passionate about and very skilled in. I feel like I have finally got the recognition that I deserve.

Finally and most importantly, my girlfriend will be moving to England at the end of the year, to live with me in Gloucester.

It's a very exciting time. There are so many things going on in my life right now, so many things to be happy and excited about. I don't feel stressed, or worried, or nervous, I just feel like every decision I'm making and everything that is happening around me is right, and feels right.

It started out bad this year, I made some bad decisions, and some bad things happened in the family, but it turned out okay in the end. I feel that I have learned many things this year, life continues to teach me every day. I have good health, good friends, good family, there is nothing more a man could want. Hmm, actually, I could do with a good meal.

More about the project, time to spill the details:

I have created a system that allows an end user to upload an image, or many images, then tag those images with as many tags as they want. Sure, many systems do this already, most notably Photobucket. However, the system I have made really specialises in the method it presents these uploaded images to the users.

Here is an example. You upload a picture of 3 apples and 2 oranges. 2 apples are red, 1 is green, 1 of the red apples is sliced in half, and of the 2 oranges, 1 is sliced in half. You tag the key features of these uploads as: apple, red, green, orange, sliced and fruit.

Now you can selectively bring back pictures of only red apples, by selecting red and apple. You can bring back the same results by selecting apple, but excluding green. You could show apples and oranges by selecting apple and orange, or simply by selecting fruit. You could show all apples by selecting fruit and excluding oranges. There are many ways to make it work. It sounds long winded, but all these things can be achieved with just 2 clicks, and the system is very fast - it uses some fancy AJAX, all data from the server is passed as teeny weeny JSON, and I have tried my best to bring back as much information as possible in one SQL query. It's been tough but it works.

I don't have a link to the project at the moment, because it's hosted on an old laptop at home. But some time in the future I will upload it to its own site, and use it as a demo.

I feel the best application for the technology will be for a specific niche site. I'm thinking seriously that this system would work well for the adult industry. I'd certainly like to get a cut of some of that money, but I don't want to put my finger too deep in to that pie right now, as it seems like a grey area, legally, and I don't know what is involved. Best to stay clear from that sort of thing until then. But also, I wouldn't want the technology to be advertised as purely a 'gallery for porn'...

Anyway. I hope you all have a great day. The weather here in Gloucester right now is... cold, wet, grey and quite foggy! But it is good to be alive.