Raratan's projects (still does not include crack)

I just decided to link to Mediaman Raratan from my wedding blog, so perhaps I should post something new here. The Mediaman Raratan blog is vaguely focused on things that are directly or indirectly related to my research interests. Taking a step back, I'd like to list all of the many projects that are currently piled-high upon my plate:

Everquest 2 Projects: various projects (I'm involved in at least 3) that draw from a large dataset on EQ2 and examine relevant theories (e.g., Flow, Social Capital, Economics). This is why I've been playing EQ2. I'm at level 27 now!!

SIDE effects of Being a Gaymer: Surveys of gay and straight gamers about their gaming habits, feelings of community (online and offline) and self-reported willingness to stand up against homophobia while gaming - analysis based on SIDE theory.

Male Bodies in Video Games Project: a comparison of body dimensions between male video game characters and a military sample of men from 1988.

Communication and Psychophysiology - Class project: Putting together a brief survey of Communication research that has utilized psychophysiological methods.

Taxonomy of Media Use: Analysis of 10 years of Communication journals to create a taxonomy of media use. This paper is 100+ pages and I've been struggling with it for quite awhile now. Too long to be a paper, too short for a book.

VHIL Second Life study: The VHIL lab at Stanford is conducting a ground-breaking research project on Second Life (among others). I can't describe it in detail here, but I helped them construct a Self-Presence scale for the study and I will be contributing to some of the data analysis.

Self-Presence and Racial Discrimination in Wii Avatars (Miis): My friends and colleagues at the University of Bern (Switzerland) are designing a study on the topics described in the title. I am helping with SP scale and will hopefully replicate the study in California.

Book Chapter on Classifying Serious Games - just finished, expecting publication within the year.

The Effect of Voice Agent Choice on Users’ Experiences in Business and Entertainment VUI Contexts: Presenting this paper at the International Communication Association conference in Montreal in May, 2008.

Quals: I'm planning to take my qualifying exams either at the end of 2008 or early 2009. Next task: assemble a 100+ item reading list.

Dissertation: Currently, I'm planning to do something related to Self-Presence in virtual worlds and online games. I would also like to find some way of relating this project to social network analysis and psychophysiology. Any ideas?

Website development: Turning my advisor's webpage into a research portal that would be accessible and informative for academics as well as *normal* people.

UpCode USA: This company is doing very cool things with 2D barcode technology. I'm helping out with a bit with their research and marketing. They're calling me their "Media Psychology and Research Specialist", or something like that.

Last and certainly not least (stressful): Wedding Planning!!

I told you my plate was piled high. ...I feel like a greedy (and probably rotund) kid at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Perhaps one day when I'm more accustomed to eating at nicer restaurants with large plates and small, artistically-arranged portions, I'll look back at this time and chuckle. Or perhaps I'll be twice as busy - squeezing two plates onto my little tray and piling them up like twin towers. Either way, if you have any ideas on how I can increase the rate at which I shove copious forkfuls into my face - or you would like me to slide a bit from my to your plate - please don't hesitate to holla.