Point of Origin: about this site
On this page: Site History | Present and Future Status | Visual Elements
Site History 
My journey through the online world began in September of 1996. It had been five years since the invention of the World Wide Web, Gopher was still popular, people thought of dial-up access as leading edge, BBSes were in their twilight years, and the school I attended back then had computer labs full of 80386 and 80486 clones. Signs were in abundance that something big was going to happen and an exciting chapter in history was about to be written, but no one could fully predict the eventual power the Internet would come to wield over daily living.
The next few years brought a lot of reading, reflecting and exploring for me. Having seen hundreds of websites by that point, it wasn't long before I wanted to return the sentiment of the Web's open sharing ethos which had become so ingrained among the sites of that era. Even today, this hasn't really changed much and it's reassuring to see so many people continue the drive to share information freely.
My first site came together in 1997 on an intranet server; it was nondescript and basic in every way as I got my first taste of HTML. This was followed later on in the same year with a more ambitious revision (containing way too many animated GIFs) uploaded into the original GeoCities community, with later revisions following it in 1998 and 1999, including a move to Tripod's free hosting system after GeoCities was bought out by a competitor. In 1998 I chose my current screen name and began working toward a dedicated long term personal site in addition to a sister site titled Crimson Halo Designs which served as my portfolio.
After that, time seemed to speed up. New designs and fresh content were added as time went on, I made additional sites for my Halloween and portfolio work around 1999, moved them to Tripod in 2001, then combined them under a single banner when I opted or paid hosting in early 2004. I eventually retured my old free hosting accounts once the transition was complete, and that was that. I transferred my hosting in 2005 after finding a better plan with DreamHost, and things have been pretty good ever since.
Present and Future Status
Why does crimsonhalo.com exist?
At the time of this writing, much of the public still relies exclusively on a small number of popular websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube in order to maintain an online presence. While it carries some inherent benefits (e.g. popularity spurring user interest and application development), this dependence has an equal number of drawbacks in the form of reduced flexibility, reliability issues, loss of control over the medium and reduced artistic license.
Looking at the big picture, social media is aggressively transient in nature and many of its trends behave like a finely tuned machine, even the smallest parts can be surprisingly sensitive to disruption, breakdown, user interaction or change.
During my lifetime I've been fortunate enough to observe the World Wide Web's history, and probably the most humbling and salient point I can draw from that history is as time goes on, huge numbers of popular media portals, search engines and social hubs have evaporated due to user migration. This came to be known as the 'dot-com' bubble, followed by the 'dot-bomb' era (in reference to start-ups crashing as users and venture capitalists began to show stronger discretion or move to other technologies). Presently we're in the middle of another bubble that analysts call 'Web 2.0' and from here, it's not just a matter of whether this bubble will correct itself, but how soon.
Like virtually everyone else I know, I've made use of 'trendy' free offerings in the past (free webspace and e-mail providers) and learned from experience that these services are incomplete. If one is serious about online presence, owning a domain is the most effective way to consolidate it. This not only helps you weather the storm by reducing dependence on third party sites, it also gives you ownership of the primary means of production and the delivery platform your content appears on. While that involves more work, it also means more potential reward, as well as a reliable digital homestead.
Despite how much the major social media sites try to reassure us by saying they'll be around forever, users have wised up over the years and noticed that history tells a different story.
The people who thrive on today's World Wide Web are often those who have learned to launch, maintain and routinely renew a comprehensive online presence and take proactive measures to establish a private space tying it all together. One good example of this is video news blogger Phil Defranco, who makes nearly seamless integration between Web 2.0 media partners and his own private domain, showing quiet mastery of the boundary beyond which the need for personal space becomes unavoidable in fully sharing content and defining a person's identity, capabilities, interests, skills and thoughts.
Over the years, I've encountered a myriad of others who do most or all of the same things, myself included. This isn't something that was founded by any one person, it's just a pattern of behaviour that emerged over the years among those who are willing to take things a step further than the norm, or who simply want to know the freedom of running their own site. With a personal domain, one need not contend with the significant amount of media censorship that plagues mainstream portals and social media stes. This makes it easier to keep in touch with friends across geographical and political boundaries, and it's one of many reasons why I like doing what I'm doing.
Still, everything I've said up to this point pales in contrast with the strong do-it-yourself ethos that's part and parcel to launching a domain, and the sense of freedom it creates to be able to engage online media on one's own terms. These qualities are their own reward, and they're a tremendous learning opportunity.
My intention here is to maintain a permanent and ever-evolving Web presence and to keep it relevant to my life as time goes on. I make it a point to update as regularly as possible and provide a variety of content which both I find interesting and (hopefully) my readers will as well.
Long-term projects or works of significance will generally show up here, while on my Twitter and other social network feeds you'll find content of a more ephemeral nature.
Finally, I don't believe in advertisements on personal sites. There are already way too many places out there whose educational value, visual design or recreational purpose are fatally compromised thanks to sleazy commercial partners, gaudy banners, pop-up windows or fake links. No thanks. I firmly believe this is not what the Web was invented for, and it's a shame to see so many people compromise their principles so easily. If you're going to put down cold, hard cash for your online presence, then the least your owe yourself is to treat that investment with reasonable dignity.
As far as future additions to this domain are concerned, I'm planning to take it in stages, and to focus on meaningful content and clear presentation above all else. Some day, I might add a webcam stream or get into broadcasting a regular live show (maybe sooner than later). I'm not sure what the content or details would be at this point, but having already published some videos on YouTube, I've enjoyed the experience and would like to see where it takes me. I also wish to become more involved in the computing, writing, art, science and engineering communities. I don't profess to be an expert by any means but these are places where I feel I'm in my element.
Visual Elements
Flame Sigil
This is my personal crest, and it's seen several alterations over the last decade. The two-pointed flame version at left was fine-tuned and introduced in 2005, however the earlier version (non-pointed flame) goes back as early as 2001.
Composition:
1. In jet black, an ankh comprising the central element of the device, with its loop and horizontal strokes roughly similar in length, and with its downward stroke being longer than the loop and horizontal strokes;
2. In jet black, an awen at bottom comprised of three vertical lines spaced apart with their tops slightly convergent but not touching; it is formed thus by the downward stroke of the ankh serving as the awen's middle line, and two unattached strokes in jet black, each on either side of the middle line with tops canted inwards toward the ankh, to complete the figure;
3. In crimson, a stylized flame ascendant the top of the ankh with its base fitted parallel and slightly apart from the outer surface of the loop, and reaching two-thirds around its circumference; each of the flame's points are situated at the top of the figure on either side of a semicircular dip on the vertical axis, with the left point slightly lower in height than the right, with each tip pointed up and slightly outward from the center at an acute angle.
Meaning: the ankh symbolizes the stream of life and existence; the awen represents inspiration in the artistic, written and poetic sense; the flame represents optimistic passion and desire manifested in the determination of the human spirit to ascend, burn bright, and seek out all that stands above us.
Colour Theme
The colour palette for the current theme was inspired by my study of the coarse sands in the North Thompson River, situated on the western fringes of Kamloops, BC. There the silts and sands flowing through the river converge, intertwined in long rivulets along miles of beach that reveal themselves slowly and gracefully as the year progresses.
Beginning in the first half of the year with high waters and fast-moving currents, the river gradually slows to a pleasant lull by the end of summer, receding slowly to reveal the elegantly stepped, alien-looking landscape hidden beneath the surface.