Why, yes it is a free theme I downloaded. I also buy greeting cards instead of making them, even though I’m perfectly capable. I also go out to eat, even though I can cook. Yes, I design – but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the work of other designers.

It might feel differently if I used this website to get design clients – but as of today, I don’t. It’s just a personal watering hole, and I’m perfectly happy enjoying someone else’s lovely design here. So there. =P

Why:
Many devices connect to your computer via USB. Phones, handheld camcorders, ipods, digital cameras, even portable printers. Rarely do laptops come with enough USB ports to charge both your phone and your ipod while your video is transferring over and your document is printing. Even if you don’t need to use all of them at once – setting up the cords all at once instead of juggling plugs can save time and frustration. This Belkin model is small, lightweight, and can turn two onboard USB plugs into five.

Whether you’re just working from the local coffee shop for a few hours or going across the country for two weeks, this is a critical component in enabling mobile efficiency.

I can’t help but feeling like so many things would be better if this piece of advice were applied. One such example is The Munsters’ Scary Little Christmas. Sure, it’s over ten years old – but I’ve only just seen it for the first time, so it’s news to me. And though typically I am loathe to be heavy-handed criticizing anyone’s creative efforts, I’m comfortable labeling this as utter crap.

Sure, there are more important things in the world – but I grew up on the likes of the Munsters and the Addams Family. So this is my childhood you’re besmirching, Mister Liebmann. This is my history you’re turning into a joke, Mister Emes. This is my ‘happier time’ that you’re making into a big steaming pile, Mister Haas.

And it is not appreciated.

I love ALA, and I take it every year. And you should too. Right now.

The truth is, I talk all day along.
Seriously, all day.
Instant messages.
Basecamp entries.
Emails.
Skype chats.
Skype voice.
Phone calls.
iChat conferences.
Authoring documents.
Twittering (some).

And that’s just work related. Sure, I design too – and I build. But the halcyon days that I can just slip purely into a creation role and ignore most communication are few and far between. More often, my creative work is dotted with various forms of communication all throughout it. And that’s not to say that I’m antisocial; it isn’t that I dislike talking to people. Rather, it’s this: at the end of the work day, I have made so much chatter that I’m often compelled to just be quiet. Even I get tired of listening to me some days.

You might have noticed – that being compelled to be quiet… and being compelled to blog… are in direct opposition to one another. The crosswinds are enough to create bizarre doldrums filled with ‘draft’ posts in various stages of completion, from a single sentence that didn’t go anywhere to three paragraphs that you just can’t seem to end properly.

No, it’s not really a tragedy that I have trouble staying committed to blogging – but it does annoy me enough to ponder it.

And who knows. One day when I am wildly successful at happily publishing daily, I may delete this post. For now… my commitment to publishing will have to be satisfied by me saying… I’m going to have to get better at this publishing thing.

Work: I enjoy my work, and I enjoy my job – as much as anyone can expect to, anyway. But I’m pretty well tired of tap-dancing around people who can’t handle hearing that they’re failing. Hey – guess what. You fail. I fail. We already know you’re good at what you do, it doesn’t mean you don’t screw up. When you do, can we just admit it and move on to fixing it? I’d like to do the same when I screw up, if that’s cool with everyone. I move for no more complicated scenario building for how nothing is anyone’s fault or everyone’s fault. I don’t care whose fault it is, I just want to fix it and get on with things. Please. Pleeeeeease.

And I’d now like to add the other end of the spectrum to that.

Can we also not flip out as though one failure means that someone has gone totally off the reservation and should now possibly be shot on sight? It’s just as tedious as musical blame chairs, really – and a huge waste of emotional energy. A stupid mistake does not mean someone’s IQ or talent has suddenly evaporated. It does not mean they are suddenly incapable of doing their job. If heads need to roll for some other reason, then just say that. But please, for the love of all that is sane – could we maybe not act as though they’re suddenly a body snatcher that needs to be dealt with?

Work: I enjoy my work, and I enjoy my job – as much as anyone can expect to, anyway. But I’m pretty well tired of tap-dancing around people who can’t handle hearing that they’re failing. Hey – guess what. You fail. I fail. We already know you’re good at what you do, it doesn’t mean you don’t screw up. When you do, can we just admit it and move on to fixing it? I’d like to do the same when I screw up, if that’s cool with everyone. I move for no more complicated scenario building for how nothing is anyone’s fault or everyone’s fault. I don’t care whose fault it is, I just want to fix it and get on with things. Please. Pleeeeeease.

Apartment: This is where the physical manifestation of the clutter lives. I could be generous and say… I have too much stuff for this sized apartment (or at least this sized apartment with about two shoeboxes worth of closet space). But the simpler answer seems to be – I just need to have less damned stuff. But then, see – I’d like to get rid of a fair amount of the stuff I have, too… and replace some of it with things that look simpler. Even more than that perhaps, I’m over the building itself. The bathroom of non-stop maintenance issues (from black mold to the sink being clogged with latex paint because of the ceiling damage from a leak), the door hinges that look like they were screwed in a whopping eighth of an inch (in plaster, no less) and so come out at every opportunity, the maintenance crew that shows up for about 1/5 of the appointments they make. Tired of having to call the rental agent multiple times to get anything accomplished, tired of the floors that tilt nearly 15°. Tired of the ghetto stairwell. There’s no cleaning this part up, though – the answer will have to be a move. I have my eye on something in Va Beach at the moment – but that’s just the first thing I came across I liked. Something right on the beach has some appeal too.

… there’s more, of course.

But I started to write the next parts… about finances, and relationships, and paperwork, and and and… and realized that it would be only slightly more difficult to do stuff about it than it would be to bitch about it. So I think I’m going to add a subcategory in here called “Simpler” – and anytime I do something to accomplish this, I’ll pat myself on the back here. Being realistic, I’ll probably bitch here some more too.

At any rate – I need a laptop. Not just so I can roll down to Fair Grounds and look cool sipping my quad soy latte with with sugar in the raw… but because too much of my life is stored online for me to be away from it for days. And while I love my iphone – it’s SO not good for much more than token stabs at staying updated. Fifteen minutes of looking at the itty bitty screen and I’m ready to mug the guy next to me on the platform for his laptop case (that probably contains a PC).

So laptop it is. This one, to be exact. :)

Occasionally, I get obsessively fond of a song… outside my normal listening range. Which is admittedly pretty wide – but doesn’t usually include pop. But here and there – a pop song rattles around in my head in half-remembered snatches until I have to play it 20 or so times to make it go away. And this is one such example.

Kevin Rudolf: Let it Rock

I have had a number of blogs and websites over the years. Always splitting what the people I work with get to see from what friends get to see, from what another set of friends gets to see. WOW is that tiresome. So, no more. It’s all going here. One blog, one facebook, one all of it. The name should be warning enough; only enteratyourownrisk.com might have been better.

So, sure. On the one hand – I’m thinking it’s crazy. Do clients really need to know that I occasionally paint my hair silver and go do shots of Irish whiskey while watching an EBM band perform? Do they really need to know that I occasionally sleep til noon on the weekends? I don’t see why not. And besides… it’s not like I have plans to publish lurid romantic details. But if I’m hating a political candidate today? It could show up here. As could a temporary obsession with Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise. And, well… if that causes me trouble at some point, then it’s trouble I deserve, isn’t it?

At 37, I’m okay with taking the heat for who I am. ;)

That said – if you’re easily offended? You might wanna stay the hell away. =P