It’s been over 3 years since I started investigating voter rolls. In April, it will have been 3 years since I discovered the first of many algorithms (the Spiral). And yet, I’m still looking. The most significant one won’t be published for awhile, but in my opinion, it is a bigger deal than the Spiral.
Just before I found it, I was physically and mentally exhausted, as if I’d been trudging through the desert for weeks, and just wanted to sit down. The algorithm, like the next oasis, was just over the next dune. I took a look, found it, and the trek began anew. The discovery, like water to a thirsty man, was energy.
A funny thing about this work is that at different times of my life, I’ve had the thought, “I’m working so hard now, that it isn’t possible to work any harder.” And then the next occasion arises, and I am doing more work.
My first full story assignment for Marvel Comics was like that. The project was assigned to me after everyone else had turned it down due to the short deadline. To get the project done, I broke down the assignment into how many minutes I could spend drawing, inking, and coloring each panel. I then got out a calendar and made a schedule. To make it fit, I had to wake at 3:30 every morning, work until 8PM, and then hit the sack. I gave myself ten minutes each morning to eat a bowl of oatmeal and take a shower. I had another 15 minutes throughout the day for bathroom breaks. I set a kitchen timer for every stage of the process. When it rang, I moved to the next step.
I finished the project with about half an hour to spare. That gave me enough time to run to the FedEx office to deliver it, but not enough time to dress appropriately for the 2 feet of snow and 18 degree temps outside. I dashed out in jogging pants, a t-shirt, and sneakers without socks. I got there minutes before closing, but realized I’d left one of the pages on my drawing table. The lady behind the counter told me the driver would stop by my house on his way to the airport, but only if I flagged him down in the street. He wouldn’t leave his van.
I ran out in the snow and cold, got home, found the page, repacked the box, and ran back out just in time to make the handoff. I thought that was hard work.
Next, I had to do a minute’s worth of animation in 11 days, for a thousand dollars a day. Everyone thought it was impossible, but I was willing to give it a try. The client was Mattel, the product was Puzz3d. I had to write a script, get it translated into Italian, hire a voiceover actor who could speak Italian, get his lines recorded, build and texture a 3D model of the Sistine Chapel and Vatican City, and animate and render it, then get music and edit everything—all by myself. For the last 3 days, I didn’t go to bed. it was 58 hours of work in 3 days. By the time I was done, I was so shaky that I told my wife I couldn’t stand or hold the package to give it to FedEx when they showed up. I gave it to her and collapsed on the couch. That seemed like hard work also.
In 1996, I moved to Hollywood to work on the Space Jam movie. I was asked if I could handle long hours. I thought about my earlier experiences and said, sure. No problem. However, a few weeks of sustained effort is a lot different from a few months. On Space Jam, no one got a day off. We had to deliver by Thanksgiving, and would have a hard time meeting that deadline. That meant mandatory 12 hour days and 7 day weeks.
Of course, a mandatory 12 hour day was actually a minimum. Most days were 15-18 hours. One programmer I knew regularly pulled 24 hour shifts interspersed with 15 hour shifts. He slept at the office.
The first week wasn’t bad. The second was worse. The third was difficult. After that, each successive day was torture. After 3 months, it was over. I thought that was hard too.
After that, I became art director and designer on a video game. At the time, I was fielding offers from 3 different companies, all well-known publishers. I picked the one that looked most reasonable: a 3 million dollar budget for an 18 month project. On my first day after being hired, I was told it was really one million dollars for a 6 month delivery in the stores. And I was the only person on the team. It can take 3 months or more to get a staff together, making my theoretical team late before we started. I told my boss he could have on time or good, not both.
That project finished on time, but only due to a sustained effort I couldn’t have imagined before I did it. The last six weeks were spent in communist China, riding herd on a team of about 100 animators. That seemed difficult also.
Working on the Spider-Man movie was comparatively easy. I had 50 hour weeks divided into 10 hour days, with occasional overtime. On my weekends, I drove to Yosemite to hike and paint. The respite didn’t last long.
Before I knew it, I was the co-founder of an academy for game developers in the Netherlands. This meant moving overseas, learning how to teach, and putting together all the constituent elements of a school (including the staff!) while working constantly: making course materials, designing curriculum, dealing with students, managing staff, serving as ambassador for the school to industry and prospective students, all while simultaneously earning a PhD in another country (United Kingdom), which required frequent air and rail travel.
On one day, I had to get up at three to catch my train to the airport, to meet my flight to Heathrow, the train to a venue where I had to give a speech, give the speech, and then turn around and reverse the trip so I could be home by 10PM so I could teach the following day. I was there for 12 years. That seemed hard also.
And then came the algorithms.
Life is funny sometimes.
I had no idea you were so accomplished! I am a graphic designer who learned to design pre-computer and never graduated from print except for a few web sites. I can understand now how your programming knowledge and creativity would allow you to see algorithms. This is your most important work. I hope you create a story to help the average Joe understand what you've found — how the rolls are being manipulated.
Andrew, I felt tired just reading all you've done, and I'm just amazed how you're still functioning!
Thank you for such important work as helping unearth the efforts to undermine our country. May God bless you and sustain you for all you do to preserve truth and freedom! This is a spiritual war!
Thank you!