New at Ajaban

Reverse Chronological order

No, really. Turn back time if you can. Undo all this labor.

8/2/05
It's not like I haven't done anything for 7 months. It's just annoying to do something, and then report that I did something. That's so inefficent. Anyway, the Fusion site is up! Months ago! Designed and largely written by yours truly. Go and join in quest for Fusion! Also, I finally put up the Foreign Relations Museum page and the Comparative Theme Park page. Yay! And here and there, throughout the site, I have snuck in various things. And deleted others. It's a mutating scripture. Never fixed. And now I'm just going to change a few sentences in the "promote democracy in the Middle East" page. And then I'm going on vacation for a few weeks. Hah!

1/1/05
A whole new Ajaban. It's not like I wasn't doing anything in the intervening months. Check out other websites I was working on: Screechthemovie.com and ajabanzaban.com. So anyway, the great thing is that I am now happy with the Ajaban.com layout, so I can just grow from here. Ajaban is on the fly! Juju flies again!

12/14/04
After all this time, I ordered a Juju T-shirt from Cafe Press for myself as a Christmas gift and it came tonight. Christmas eve. Putting the T-shirt on Christmas day filled me with joy. And suddenly, I was motivated to work on Ajaban again, after a year of neglect. I had a block there. And now the block is gone. Rejoice! But only if you have joiced at least once prior.

[Insert here: The lost year. Wandering in the wilderness. OK, not so lost, but I am not at liberty to disclose what took place.]

8/3/03
Wow. Almost 6 months of NOTHING. Embarrassing. OK, check out a new page [page has changed since.] And a new resolve to HIT IT HARD.

2/17/03
Some action in the Free Speech in Iran Area. What is happening there now? Aghajari Valentines Day aquittal, followed by some confusion.

2/3/03
Well, folks, tragic news with the Space Shuttle, so I was provoked to write. But aside from that I have been working on Ajaban, just offline, as all of it is learning how to do things to make this dynamic, etc. And all those graphics. So you'll just have to be patient.

12/18/02
Season's Greetings, folks. We've added a Winter/Christmas/Mitra/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/Yuletide/Solstice greeting to the site. The Free Speech page has a lament on holiday singing (an indicator that our voices growing weaker above the roar of our engines, just like little Juju the Cage-Bird. Such a prophetic story). By the way, you can buy Juju the Cage-Bird T-shirts. Oh joy and delight! That's it for now. Hopefully as the western new year unfolds I can get this website up and running. Make it a world class enterprise. Or just continue to ajababble, gently down the stream. Ah, that sounds so much more relaxing. Wishing you all the best this holiday season. Oh! and LOVE! Almost forgot. I am affiliated with this lovely mating site. Find your soul mate, for real. Or remain single. Don't mess with Mr. In Between. Single is great. Mating is great only if the mate is great. Trust me. More on mating on Ajaban's mating page.

11/27/02
We have added a Thanksgiving Greeting. Very cool, hits a lot of the US vs. ME spots and Political Mythology. The only thing missing is recipes and shopping tips. Oh well. Also, we have had a key update from one of our users on the meaning of "Helm" in Arabic. This vital information is now on the Panic Button page, scroll down to blasphemy. Who are you calling a Fat Camel?

11/25/02
OK, I just cleaned up the Free Speech page a bit (lots of typos) and added a link from it to the Programmable Rose Colored Glasses. That and I added the button to Reverend Brendan Powell Smith's "Brick Testament" in my Panic Button page, down near blasphemy. Too cool. But yes, there is so much more to do. Which is why I'm going to take a leave of absence from work to go to Tahiti and write a novel. But I'll probably end up staying at home and tinkering with Ajaban. It is my obsession. There is so much more to put in here. Really, this is just the first branch of the fractal.

11/6/02
What Joy! I have discovered the Babel Fish from Altavista! (Now if I can only get it to translate the whole site, not just the pages it's on. It seemed to do that at first. Maybe it depends on what type of page it's on.) (OK, Click to the free speech page where I have also placed a babel fish link, and it seemed to work. Let's test it. Man, I need to sleep.) I have added this text to my index page:

This is all nicely synergistic. This is the week we got the proposal in for developing Farsi language materials for Children to help preserve the Farsi language here in the United States (sadly, the third generation is losing their old native tongue! Quelle damage! And the babel fish doesn't speak farsi yet, but that would be so cool to get it up to par!

10/20/02
We have updated the Free Speech Insurance page and it is now too irreverent even for us. We are deeply ashamed that these words came out of our mouths. In Arabic cultures, when you hear something you wish you hadn't heard, you say "Astakhforellah." Fun to say. Especially with the first "Assss" sound.

10/3/02
Check out some progress in the "Join Our Quest" page. Also other things which I can't tell you about since the pages are unfinished. They are there, but only accessible if you know how to get there.

9/30/02 Actually, it's almost midnight. Can that count as 10/1/02? All the end of September sales I missed. OK, what's new is that I found Morgan's Tarot online and got permission to use it. More about that in the updated Ubiquitous Sea Monster page. And I have updated the Paradigm Shift page. I had permission to use those pictures almost a year ago. Finally I put them up. I'll have to send Mr. Akers an email. And I have added an Adult page, but I won't tell you how to get there. You'll have to go through the Ubiquitous Sea Monster page like everyone else. Did I mention that I was moved by "Gods and Monsters?" Moved, I say.

Oh, and the other great thing is that I made a decision not to worry about dynamic aspect of the website for now. Yes, for now I will focus on dumping all my static thoughts into this venue. And when they are dumped I can get dynamic (oh, mean airtraffic controller that I am, those thoughts have been circling for DECADES. I'm amazed they don't run out of fuel and just crash. Actually, a lot of them do and I pick up the pieces and patch them up and...constantly thinking in metaphors can get annoying. I think I'll stop now. Good night.

9/25/02 Well, I am going to spiffen up the Economic Dilemma page. The addition of the Rumpelstiltz.com link (plus bonus: "Save the Billionaires!" link) actually takes care of a lot of the effort I was going to pour into the site. So good when you find someone has already done the work for you.

You know what I am discovering? Tangents are cool. I just go off on them and write all this stuff. And then there is such a backlog of the stuff I'm PLANNING to write. Which may never get written as the new tangents just bubble up. Like John Lennon said, "your website is what happens while you're busy making other plans." Or something. Did I mention I've been watching movies on my dvd player/computer. Heath Ledger rules. He has been with me throughout the processing of this website giving me succor (look it up). I must send him a $20 tip immediately.

9/11/02 Have adopted a new strategy for promoting Ajaban. Yes, it's all about self promotion. All I have to do is SURF THE NET! And find sites I like, that I think people who are attracted to would be likewise attracted to Ajaban.. Then I simply send an email to the webmaster asking to be linked to and VOILA! OK, so for one day, I surfed a bit, and sent a few tentative emails. BALLS. I need them. These lackadaisical stabs are silly. Then again, by luck I have found this site: Rumpelstiltz.com which expounds the idea that you can Make Money by Mistake. Egbert Sukop is the vanguard. A hilarious site, inspiring, and ultimately reassuring of my meandering ways. And it's linked to me! Yes, is this the first site to link to mine? Do I have any idea? All you fools reading this, do you have a link to my site from yours? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Bah.

8/6/02 How embarassing. No action here for over two months. This is because I am debating whether to pay these people $1000 because they claim to have some software that tricks the search engines to go to your site. Then I'll get more traffic. But I'm not really ready for the traffic yet. Still trying to get dynamic, so that when they come, it is built and ready to be interactive and grow and such. Yes, I'm just studying databases and interfaces and other boring stuff right now so that YOU CAN ENJOY, LATER. See, it's all about you.

OK, but what of the poor fans out there? So what I did today was decide that the masses can read the first ten pages of my 3 screenplays. YES! But first you have to sign the confidentiality agreement, of course. And then you can click through and read. And I would appreciate comments and feedback.

Also, a provocative picture from my friend Miroslav Stojkovski which I've put for the time being in the "What's happening now" page. Miroslav will have a web page of fine photos available soon, but for now, this is all we have from him.

5/24/02 HAPPY BIRTHDAY! On this day many millenium ago, SUSHI was invented! OK, that's a riddle. Anyway, lots of stuff is new. I have updated My First Apocalypse and Apocalypse pages. Also, you may have noticed that - and this was last week, we now have the beginnings of Mating and Free Speech Insurance. More to come. Keep on visiting.

5/10/02 Happy Birthday! OK, I have the Guest Book open! And LINKS! And a few other little bits and bobs.

4/26/02 Today! Grieving Page is improved. As is the "What does Ajaban Mean" page. Getting lots of response from my "I am Offended Page." And Lots of activity in the past couple of weeks. I figured out how to save pictures at a lower resolution for the web in Adobe (Save for web!). This will make pages with images faster to download. I am filling up the allotted server space. a quarter of my file space is used but only an eighth of the memory space. Lots of little documents? Am testing Google and Altavista as search engines. Are my meta tags good? And that robot no index thing, should I have used that?

4/25/02 We have a Terms of Use page now! All filled out, a modification and personalization of the terms of use from other major websites. Very legal and intimidating. Can't wait for "Mating at Ajaban.com" and the new layers of legal language that will require.

4/23/02 New content: the "Babe" review is up on the Movie Review Gizmo page. All these dynamic gizmos I want to make. I just create work for myself. Template changes - but much more to come. Decisions to be made. Primary, Secondary, tertiary pages? Actually I will have to revamp this whole thing. I have to make this site navigable. Not to mention I want to go dynamic. I have to think this throughl. These site maps that they have aren't very good, they show hierarchic structure. They need to develop 3-D models so you can see the geometric pattern and recursiveness. For the dynamic goal, Should I learn coldfusion? Oracle? ultradev? What do I need? Ugh.

4/22/02 and a half. My First Apocalypse is on the web! Amazing that photos exist of this event. Or maybe the event happened repeatedly, throughout the summer. I really need to re-organize the intro page. Per the feedback from some users, I have taken pains to make "apocalypse" less threatening. There is a pop-up window that reassures the user right there on the first page when you click the word Apocalypse. Plus baby pictures make it all the easier to handle the topic. But why does that page not collapse? I have lost elasticity. Hmmm. Must fix.

4/22/02 Ajaban has a new look! The color from the beautiful carpet on which the clay Mollah sits is now the header color! How rich. And that clay Mollah, the fine craftsmanship of the addict in Iran who died many years ago. What was his name? What was his story? Are there other pieces out there made by him? He's an excellent artist. They should be collectible. I will investigate. Also like the irony of a clay Mollah on my website. It is a statue, a graven image, an idol, like a buddha statue. Islam is against idols. So making an idol out of a Mollah...

4/17/02 The "Are You Offended" page is up! This is excellent. Free Speech ain't for sissies. Handling the offended is an important part of the exercise of Free Speech. God bless the second amendment. I have a lot more about Free Speech to go. I am excited about this portion of Ajaban.

4/18/02 Joined the Amazon Honor Program! You can support this site by clicking the boxes on the side, or going to this url. Testing shows the page has troubles in Netscape and AOL. The link ("read more") does not work to take you down to the lower portion/expanded description. And when you scroll down there, that paragraph is in a much bigger font. Weird. Don't know how to fix that. Emails to Amazon support are returned with the suggestion of taking it up with Netscape! Oh well. So many bugs in this endeavor. It works fine on explorer. I need to modify it anyway, and point out to people that if they want to make a contribution more than $50 (yeah right) they should contact me direcly. Amazon gets 15%.

4/15/02 Counter works! Yay. It was a server side problem. I did it right. Yay!

4/12/02 Attempts at installing counter failed.

4/10/12 I think I'll join the Amazon Honor program and see if that gets me any revenue. Also, I am struck with the plan for "Mating at Ajaban.com". After all, if this site purports to be somewhat Sufi inspired, it's all about finding the beloved, and why not let that be the human incarnation of the divine tailor made for you? Ajaban should help visitors with spiritual AND mating needs. Becoming one with it all. "I don't want to set the world on fire, I just want to start a flame in your heart" as they say.

4/9/02 OK! Something new: check out the RES Fiction link, I've updated that page. Also, the Juju page (click on any image of juju). New reviews are posted : ). Also, the URLs for my screenplays are up, but I only give this URL to people after assessing their request. You only get the first 15 pages and you have to click through a confidentiality agreement first. The URL can be requested at scriptsuitor at ajaban dot com.

Type the url in wrong (as long as the www.ajaban.com part is right) and you will get to my own customized 404 page! Try it! Please! Yipeee! I am a real geek! Plus I figured out aliasing, which will help his agents handle all of that email that's been pouring in for Juju and the Cage. And I figured out how to view my webstats, so I know how many people click on my site. But I still haven't worked out that counter thing.

Now, I still haven't got to the heart of the matter. Lots of scanning, digitizing and writing ahead. And it's all really just a pre-amble. I plan to turn this site into an amazing interactive device of epic proportions. My fiction is just an explanation of the philosophy and an initial stab at the proprietary algorithm to be which will truly revolutionize the Ajaban-ness of the universe. Oooooh, it's so ambitious.

4/4/02Yes, nothing new up there. Tons of new ideas, that's the problem. Also a technofascination which leads me to spend endless hours trying to figure out how to program pointless little Java applets rather than spit out content. Plus I want to learn Oracle and take this website farther than I can imagine now, but in theory very far.

Did you know that you can modify the 404 error page and customize it on your website? Also I finally got my act together on the Affiliate Program to link books from my site so people can buy and I can get a few bucks. Counters. yes. None of this is up on the web yet. Just on my local files. And I've found a person to digitize Juju, but need to connect still. Juju on the web! Plus new roomate has a scanner. I should just upgrade my home computer and create an enviable office space.

And then there's the screenplay to be written, and this day job to struggle with, and I really must buy a car. And the landlord thing.

12/20/01 to 1/15/02: Hey! In case I don't get to revise this before my trip - Ajaban is on vacation between 12/20/01 and 1/15/02. Nothing will happen here during that time, but I may work offsite, where sausages and websites are ruminated upon.

Happy Holidays!

12/21/01 Content: Hey I tacked in a lot more stuff and I am about to miss my bus. Lots of new sections. Check it out.

12/18/01 Content: Updated "For Those Who Grieve" - added 2 poems. Fixed links that weren't working throughout site. Updated "Panic Button". Applied for Amazon Affiliate status. Doubt I can set up before I leave for vacation. Remember poem "Bound"! Must include in poetry page. Scanner. I need a scanner.

12/14/01 Content: By now got some kind of template thing going and a second page template. Started a few sections: Preliminary rough draft of "Apocalypse" section, US v. ME incoherent, nothing seems to be "happening now." Opening page essay nice. Why is it I just want to keep taking off on tangents every few seconds. Stay focused baby! One thing at a time. A few deep thoughts on Paradigm shifts. Stuck old Alien Abduction essay up there for padding. And ramblings on Moby Dick. "What is Ajaban" OK, but it's entering into "judgement" waters. Still don't know which spelling I prefer, judgement or judgment. Both OK in websters. (You say jud je mint I say kiss my lawyers...). Izzy pre-essay up. Juju and Gholombezom are wishful outlines at this time, a shadow of their full winged glory. Still to go: LOTS! Yay! (and time to join Amazon.com affiliate program. Ugh. Forms to fill.)

12/12-13/01
Some folks have peeked at my site. (note to self. Get a counter thingie. How do I do that?) and had nice things to say about it. I feel delighted. Others peeked and were put off by all the verbiage. "You need more pictures." Well we're doing triage here. Structure - Words - details of words - rewrite of words - distraction by words...and then! Copied images. And then original images and sketches. And then animations! And little polls scattered all around asking the kind of questions that provoke lying.

12/11/01
This will be an outlet for EVERYthing. What a delightful thought. All that irrelevant creativity all jiggling and no place to go. Hooray!

Between here and there is lots of pain and anguish. Alas.

11/12/01
Tech: I have discovered how to make templates, but not how to control them. Ditto tables, although I had discovered how not to control them much earlier (the evil, ever visible borderline.) As for templates, the table portion in which I could control background color and cell padding seems to be in the uneditable region no matter what I do. Html is evil. Good news: got a clue about behaviors/java script. Very cool. I may yet become advanced.

Content: Um, yeaaahhhh. You were hoping for new content? This is it. Venting about what's new. Actually, I'm all excited now about going over the past year and the heroic struggle that brought me to this point. Except it's not much heroism. Anyway, this is like going over all the old piano pieces you know and not tackling the new material. For the record, anything noted below before this date was written after. This is the first entry in this page.

11/11/01
Tech: Discover templates. Scrap "Arch" idea for website style. Go for simple left column + header. Wonder how to do rollovers just on text. Where does it say that in the Dreamweaver manual? Who wrote this thing. Very pleased with new layout. Friend not impressed. Font too small. Go away. Watch "Knights Tale" and eat pizza. Wish I were a cute guy with lots of energy the world would be mine.

11/10/01
Hate world. Evil software. Stupid design.