It took me a couple of weeks to figure out formatting and cover issues, but I finally got my first novel, JADE TIGER, up on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and GoodReads as an eBook. (Other formats may come later.) As for covers, I decided on two versions and am planning to try more as I go — it’s fairly easy to change them, and I’d like to see if some designs fare better than...
I used to be able to write anywhere, given even the smallest bits of time. Doctor offices, on line at the DMV, lunch breaks, meetings when someone boring was talking, mornings, evenings, afternoons, full and partial eclipses, zombie apocalypses — you name it. But oh, how things have changed! Over the weekend, my laptop monitor went kaplooey. After much weeping and wailing, I took it to the...
I love WordPress, and can occasionally obsess over finding new themes to try out on my blog. I’m incredibly picky and have narrowed down my searching to just a few sites that deliver professional-quality themes. In case you’re interested, I’m going to list my favorite sites below. Although free themes are perfect for people who want simple site designs or whose sites are for...
This poor WordPress theme (Design Agency by Simon Bouchard) has only lasted a few months, but alas, I’m feeling the inexorable tug of web design wanderlust. I like this theme a lot. It speaks to my personal design aesthetic of clean lines and an emphasis on typography. I love how the blog page looks, and especially the archives. I like the simple and clear navigation. What I don’t...
I’ve been off in jolly old England laughing it up with Stephanie, Patrick, Mr. Darcy, and Maya the Wonder Dog. It was a fabulous trip in so many ways, and just what I needed. The distance from my normal reality helped me to see it a little more clearly. I’m still recovering from jet lag, catching up on work, and sorting through photos, but I do hope to post some trip entries soon. In...
Geek legend Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple, aka “The Woz”) visited our studio for a few hours today! Alas, I’ll be keeping most of the details to myself, but I will dwell on this: He and his (awesome) assistant brought two Segways! I have always wanted to ride a Segway, ever since I eagerly awaited the unveiling of the “invention that would change the world” back...
About a month ago, I pre-ordered a T-Mobile G1 phone with Google’s Android*. It arrived yesterday, a full two days before it was promised. I couldn’t resist taking some “unboxing” photos. Why? I have no idea! I’ve seen “unboxing” posts on various blogs for so long, it just felt like the right thing to do. From 2008 Photobook (Totoro included for scale.)...
I’ve been streaming radio stations through iTunes at work, bopping between classical and folk and Beatles and NPR. But yesterday I discovered my new favorite: StreamingSoundtracks.com! Some of the choice pieces I’ve heard since tuning in have been from: Totoro Battlestar Galactica (new) World of Warcraft (Lament of the Highborn!) Pirates of the Carribean Hero Final Fantasy VII (but...
I heard about Twitter a few months ago, but despite being an early adopter, I didn’t check it out. Here’s Wikipedia’s definition: Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send “updates” (or “tweets”; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service (e.g. on a cell...
Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing says that SFWA may have used the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) to inappropriately request the removal of numerous works from a site called Scribd. (I’ll link to SFWA’s statement when they post it.) Instead of bashing SFWA, I want to relate a positive experience I recently had with Creative Commons licensing. According to the CC website, Creative...